[Coop-a-Cabana]

Hi everyone this is my first post!  I have been lerking around the vegetable part of the site for over a year and found loads of useful information but never had the nerve to join. Now that we have just got our first three chickens that has changed as we have so many questions!  Our girls arrived yesterday we have a Lohman (Rosebud) a Bluebelle (Blueberry) and a Black Rock (Belle).  They seem to be settling in well and we even got our first egg this afternoon (which we are about to share with our tea!) we think it was from Belle.  Our first questions of many is do we need to provide grit as well as oyster shell as at the moment we are only providing oyster shell.  Also as soon as we put them in their pen Belle started to pull out the feathers of the other two and she also ate some of them is this just usual sorting out pecking order or do we need to be thinking about protein deficiency.  It seems to be poor little Rosebud who is coming off the worst as now Blueberry as also started to do this. Sorry to go on so long but can guarantee it won't be the last time   

[mrs.ploppy]

Welcome to the hen house (mad house).  You have now officially become one of us mental people who bang on about chucks 24/7.

Firstly how big is the area you are keeping them in?
O.shell should be ok on its own as they will obtain grit from the ground unless totally on concrete etc.

Feather plucking can quickly become a habit and should be nipped in the bud ASAP.  Feed high protien feed, pellets, spray bums with purple spray, or cover bum in stockhom tar to put others off.  Cat food (fish flavour is good) and provide greens hung up and things for them to do to distract them.  Plenty of topics on here that go through all this in more detail.  Pecking order needs to be established of corse and this may subside in a few days when they settle together.  Space to get away from each other is important so if their area is too small needs to be made bigger.  Hope this helps and again hello.

[poultrygeist]

Hi Coop-a-cabana. Welcome 

I think Mrs Ploppy has covered it all beautifully. 

Please ask as many questions as you want.

Rob

[Coop-a-Cabana]

Thanks for your quick replies!

The space is about 14ft by 5ft they are fully penned in and it has a perspex pvc roof the coop is raised about 2ft off the ground so they have full use of the whole length of pen.  The coop measures 4ft wide by 41/2 foot deep and 4ft high.  With a perch and three next boxes.  I will try to post some pics in next few days if i can work out how

[cathangirl]

Welcome Coop,
Where abouts are you?  Pop it into your Profile if you can.
Good luck.
cathangirl

[andreadon]

hi coop, welcome!

it's easy to post pictures if you've already got them on your computer -
resize your pics to 128kb and click on additional options below the reply box - then you can browse your files for the photos and bob's your uncle!

your set-up sounds quite nice and i'm soo jealous you've got a bluebelle, cos i want one!

andrea

[Coop-a-Cabana]

Thanks for your messages they are very much appreciated!  I haven't seen my girls this morning as I work on Mon and Tues and have to leave early with the children however my OH who never surfaces out of bed until after we have left on a Mon and tues was up at 7.30 to let the girls out and give them there breakfast!  They will have been on their own most of the day so hope they ok will give them lots of fuss and some corn with the children when we get back hope its before they take themselves off to bed!

Andrea - The Bluebelle is a stunner and when I went to choose them there were two but had to leave the other one cos i hadn't taken enough money and was under strict instructions to only fetch 3

[andreadon]

ooohhh! that's so unfair!
never mind, you'll find that 3 is plenty to start with!
 

[poultrygeist]

Bedtime here is about 6.30-7pm at the mo although with today's weather it might be a bit earlier 

Rob

[coo!]

coop-a-cabana!!  i like it