[Lardman]

1 & 2 1.5ltr should do. The smaller they are the more often you will have to refill.
5. "Best" is really difficult to answer but Flax based /  Aubiose / Hemcore are nice. See http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=27236
8 & 9 They'll have it in the feed store. I bought 1KG in September for 30p. Its crushed shells with limestone chippings (like the ones used on a flat roof to reflect sunlight) I always have some in a galley pot but add a handful once a week to the pellets.

Depending on how you feel about pooh - a yard brush and a scrubbing brush specifically for chicken related cleaning - oh and gloves.

[ScottBarton]

Ah yes! Cleaning utensils! Forgot about those!  :thumright:
Thanks...list updated....

1. 1.5Ltr Plastic Feeder. For up to 4 hens.
2. 1.5Ltr Plastic Water drinker. For up to 4 hens.
3. Red mite powder
4. A suitable disinfectant to clean the coop.
5. Bedding. Flax based / Aubiose / Hemcore
6. Feed. Layers Pellets
7. Any other medicines/ointments i need to keep?
8. Grit. Given with feed.
9. Crushed oyster shell. A handfull once a week to the pellets.
10. Provision of a dust bath? Was thinking of a large washing up bowl?
11. Purple spray
12. Diatomaceous earth
13. Wound Powder
14. Worming prevention
15. Camera!!  
16. Gloves
17. Scrubbing/Yard brush

Anything else?  :?:

[happy chick]

I find my girls tend to make their own dust baths, even at this time of year, and even in their runs(covered and open).  I was going to put a tub in for mine in the beginning but won't bother now.  I just add some mite powder/ diatom to their bathing spots to cover the bases!

Definitely agree with the others about the bedding; having been on straw now for about 5 wks it's really beginning to annoy me so am in process of switching over to hemp based stuff.  

[woodburner]

My list is a lot shorter.
I have (1)hoppers for feed, and (2)plastic dog bowls from IKEA for water.
(3)Straw for bedding.
I feed my chooks (4)wheat as a scratch grain and (5)growers pellets or mash ad lib in the hopper. Pellets or mash alone (of appropriate type) is supposed to be a complete feed up to a year old, after that they will need oyster shell for extra calcium. If they have anything else to eat they will need (6)ordinary grit to help with digestion as well as the (7)oyster shell to make sure they can get enough calcium without eating additional pellets just for the sake of the calcium.
The local mills sell purple spray so if I ever need it, it won't take long to get some. Similarly, if I get an infestation of mites or lice I will buy appropriate stuff when needed. Other than that if a bird goes sick I'm afraid I'm more likely to cull it than treat it.
Oh, and (8)metal bins from IKEA for rat proof feed storage.
Oh yes and a coal shovel and wheelbarrow for cleaning out, but I already had those. OK not a lot shorter after all. :oops:    

[3Bluebelles]

Hi,

Is that true about the apple cider vinegar? I bought a galvanised drinker because I thought it would be less likely to go green in the summer than a plastic one. But I have always put just a drop of ACV in the water every time I fill it up.

Am I creating problems for the birds?

Thanks,

Jacky.

[ScottBarton]

Couple more items to the list recommended from the book i am reading. ACV and a sharp pair of scissors for wing clipping!

1. 1.5Ltr Plastic Feeder. For up to 4 hens.
2. 1.5Ltr Plastic Water drinker. For up to 4 hens.
3. Red mite powder
4. A suitable disinfectant to clean the coop.
5. Bedding. Flax based / Aubiose / Hemcore
6. Feed. Layers Pellets
7. Other medicines/ointments inc. Vaseline for wattles and combs in cold weather, garlic, aloe vera (immune system boosting properties)
8. Grit. Given with feed.
9. Crushed oyster shell. A handful once a week to the pellets.
10. Provision of a dust bath? Was thinking of a large washing up bowl?
11. Purple spray
12. Diatomaceous earth
13. Wound Powder
14. Worming prevention
15. Camera!!  
16. Gloves
17. Scrubbing/Yard brush
18. Scissors for wing clipping
19. Apple Cider Vinegar (Unfiltered, not the supermarket variety)

[Kiwi]

Jeez - that's a lot of stuff!

I have a cat litter tray that I feed them from - as well as chucking stuff on the ground for scratch
2 dog bowls, one for water and one for grit.

that's it.
I don't clip their wings
They make their own dust baths.

I clean their house out, but they roost in the tree so the house is clean!
Oh and I use big sawdust for their nesting boxes - free from local sawmill.
And my chickens are happy and ( touch wood) none of them have ever been ill.

[ScottBarton]

Just bought my future hens a few bits and bobs from 'Regency Poultry'...very good postage, £6.95, on this little lot!  :thumright:
3Kg Feeder
4Ltr Drinker
Wound Powder
5Kg Diatom earth
1Ltr concentrate poultry shield
1Ltr Ready mix poultry shield (so i can re-use the spray bottle afterwards)
Barrier Aloe Vera Juice
8Kg Stalosan F

Next working day delivery too!

[raeburg]

Hi,

Is that true about the apple cider vinegar? I bought a galvanised drinker because I thought it would be less likely to go green in the summer than a plastic one. But I have always put just a drop of ACV in the water every time I fill it up.

Am I creating problems for the birds?

Thanks,

Jacky.

i can't remember the exact chemical reaction, but the ACV breaks down the galvanised coating on the drinker releasing zinc into the water and this can be harmful to the birds over a long period.

[Roll Roll]

We do our the same as kiwi, we put the feed in a cat litter tray, so they can all get to it at the same time, we have never had to clip their wings(yet). Vasaline this time of year is recomended, as you've read already.

What I would recomend before buying is to read about what happened to us this weekend. Read tinsells poorly eye. Not that i want to put you off, far from it, we want you to enjoy them as much as we do.

Keep us informed.

[Vember]

Bodger has written a great piece on first buying chickens, tells you what to look out for health wise.
Well worth a read before actually getting birds

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=19629


Sarah

[andreadon]

A few books that I've read say that you shouldn't need oyster shell if they've got a balanced diet and that layers mash should cover it, especially if they're able to forage in soil etc.

We give ours milk and cheese as a treat once a week and that seems to do the trick!
We put the milk in a dog bowl, so when they see that come out they go mad!  

Don't forget to buy a shovel for the poo- we use an old fire shovel.
and a plastic spade (from "bucket and spade") to dig out the food (the bag gets really deep!)

OH bought a blow-up football because he was worried that they would get bored.... They've never even touched it!!!

[Jane-M]

I started with my hens in August and went through all the angst that ScottBarton is suffering now to ensure that my new birds were as well looked after as I could possibly manage. And frankly they are totally ungrateful. For instance, their pellets are served in a lovely galvanised trough inside a roomy wooden box laid on its side - wind and rain shelter, what more could a hen ask? Last night in the gales the whole caboodle blew upside down. I sorted it all out this morning and replenished the trough. Ten minutes later the little beggars had totally scoffed the heap of filthy wet pellets lying on the ground.

Honestly SB, if they have a warm dry house and food and water the rest is tinsel.

Hope you are prepared for the effect they will have on you tho. I started with three and within three months got another 2 and am planning at least one more in the spring. If I can liberate a bit more space next year then more birds will arrive to fill it