[Carla]

I'm off to pets at home (expensive I know, but living in West Brom, I'm limited as where to go) to stock up for my girlies arrival on Sunday. Ex-bat crumb and  oyster grit are on the list, as is mixed corn, wood shavings for the coop and run floor and straw for the nest boxes. Is there anything else I shold be buying today in preperation for their arrival or will that just about cover it until I get to know them and see if they need anything else? Worming treatment, lice treatment etc??? I'm presuming they're treated for everything in the battery farm?? But presumption is the mother of all cock ups eh!

[PaulineM]

Hiya
I have my girlies just over a week and its amazing how much you learn in that time. Make sure your shavings are dust free as the stuff I bought seems very dusty so I cant wait till its used up. Also I bought straw and after a few days removed it and now just use shavings in the nest boxes. Also I bought grit only to discover it was only oyster grit and did not contain flint grit so I will need to get some of that as well to mix in. Buy Flubenvet for worms as verm-x I have been advised does not work.
Hope this helps  and good luck  welcome to the world of chicken obsession! 

[henamoured]

Have you thought of hemcore (it's dried chopped hemp stem) instead of wood shavings. I started off with the latter, but have found hemcore much better - more absorbant, no dust, better smell and composts much faster. It's more expensive (£10 per bale) but lasts much longer so evens out long-term.
Other things I've found useful - a rubber egg left in nest box helped newbie chx coming into lay to know where to lay; red mite powder dusted under wings and round vent every week for preventative purposes; diatom (diatomacous earth) for coop - again for red mite prevention.
One other thing I got fairly soon was some organic cotton string and knitted a string bag to hang up cabbage in to keep the chx amused - particularly when I know they're in their run all day, which, although it's quite big (about 25x8 metres) is now denuded of all grass! I think some places sell a stand with a spring type arrangement to put leaves in.

[henamoured]

Just thought of thing more - poultry shield, a specialist poultry disinfectant for cleaning out the coop every weeks or so.
Good luck with your ex-batts, I'm sure you'll find it so rewarding and enjoyable

[alancane]

I would add to my list:

Poultry shield - to use when cleaning coop out
Diatom powder - to dust birds and coop
Wood shavings - have a look around - so many types out there - but best I think are Easibed or Hemcore - both equestrian, so they might not stock it but try and find a stickist. Easibed has a search function their website

Oh and of course.....

Garden chair - you will spend hours just watching them

[Carla]

I've got some pretend eggs, birthday prez off my sis and a couple of bags of diatom which I'm hoping to paint the coop with if the weather cheers up ever! I didnt want to use sawdust really, but wasnt sure what else I should use, so thanks for that, I'll see if they have anything similar.
I've just phoned the BHWT and they said I need to treat them for everything, that the farm just vaccinates and thats it, so its going to be an expensive trip out!! Also need dog food, cat food, rabbit food, gerbil food........ I really need to stop taking in waifs and strays  :blink:

[hillfooter]

I would add to my list:

Poultry shield - to use when cleaning coop out
Diatom powder - to dust birds and coop
Wood shavings - have a look around - so many types out there - but best I think are Easibed or Hemcore - both equestrian, so they might not stock it but try and find a stickist. Easibed has a search function their website

Oh and of course.....

Garden chair - you will spend hours just watching them

Wood shavings if you get suitable ones are very good and personally I prefer them to Hemcore which is a bit stick like though has other advantages like composting and deodourising.  I don't like it for nestboxes but I definitely agree NO straw even in the nestbox .  Use  shavings or hemcore.  I can get Hemcore from the local equestrian stockist at £6.80 a bale and Snowflakes Premium (the best by a long chalk) at around £8.  Not all shavings are equal and I found Snowflakes the best bedding it's very light coloured softwood very clean and absorbant (better than Hemcore) as the shavings are not too thick which many are being intended for horses.  Hunter shavings aren't too bad but I'd prefer Hemcore to them.

Poultry Sheild is expensive and is basically a combined detergent and disinfectant.  I prefer cheap washing up liquid detergent and Vanodine V18 a very versatile disinfectant which can be used on soiled surfaces and added to water to reduce cross infection.  It's available on the web.  Ordinary household disinfectant (eg Detol or Sainsbury's own does a good job too but make sure it's dry before introducing the birds as it's caustic.)

Diatom dust is a good thing to deter Red Mite and is relatively cheap whereas Barrier Red Mite Powder sold everywhere (there's obviously a good margin to be had for retailers) is very expensive for the tddly quantity you get, it's less effective but smells nice if you want boutique chickens.  I wouldn't use Barrier products they are all based on a single active ingredient which is a Mozzy repelant which even their horse products are based on it and they add a different smell and label it as if it's a special product targeted for that particular animal.  

Diatom is best painted on the HOUSE only as a slurry as it should be every poultry keepers target to reduce dust in the house which iritates a chx respiratory system and is a dangerous vector for viruses (thousands can be carried on one spec of dust and dense cloud floating about in the air in the confines of a house is deadly).  Birds are particulary prone to respiratory infections and you should do your best to design your sytem to reduce their exposure to aerosol based infection. Birds dust themselves outside so there's no need to do this for them and they should be given suitable ground to construct their own dust bath.  They rarely accept the ones you make in preference to making their own.  

Provide them with the tools and they will have a lovely happy active life foraging and making their own home don't put everything on a plate so they just lie around bored and developing bad habits.

DON'T be seduced into buying lots of supplements, "tonic" potions and treats.  The main benefits of these are for the manufacturers who make a fortune from selling quack medications and feeds to gullable owners.  The chx don't need supplements if they have a good quality layers pellet.  Also beware of specialist feeds for exbatts they may only benefit in the initial stages of rehab and you should aim to get them onto cheaper regular layers as soon as possible.  There's lots of specialist feed companies trying to fleece you with unfounded claims.)  Mixed Poultry corn with maize is all the treats they need given by the handful in the evening.

Best of luck

[Carla]

Ahhh, I'm glad you posted hillfooter, because the BHWT told me they recommend Barrier products, that they've found them to be the best to use, and I was wondering if maybe it could be a sponsor thing as I'm sure there is other treatments that work just as well.
I'm all for keeping animals as close to as how they'd be in the wild as possible, so I do frown on chemical use and pampering. I'll go out of my way to provide entertainment for them, but only in a way that they would entertain themselves in the wild.
I'm hoping the bit under the coop will be dry enough for them to make a dust bath, but I will provide a big old plant pot full of earth for them to use if they wish, is it good to mix a bit of diatom and/or red mite powder in with it??
I'm going to put a big, many branched log in the run eventually, once they're strong enough to jump, as they perch in trees in the wild dont they, so I'm presuming they'll enjoy that. My run is nearly 6ft high and fully enclosed so they should ave the space to flap a bit.
I've got a hanging food pole for their greens, make them jump up and work for their food a bit and I've got a multitude of different things I can rotate in their run for them to scratch around and sit on (breeze blocks, an old hoselock reel, logs, plastic crates etc), I'm thinking if I keep changing the things in their run, they sould stay amused.
BHWT told me to buy all the worming stuff and louse/mite powder (all Barrier) today because I will need to treat them for everything, but I thought it would be better to see which ones are needed (if any) over time. Is apple cider vinegar worth getting for in their water?
Ooooh, it's all exciting and a bit confusing, but I'd much rather go the natural way than chemical, there's no chemicals in the jungle after all!!!

[Jeanette]

One thing i found that my girls like is a mirror. I have got one that i have managed to fix to the mesh and they love it. I have also put several shelves and ramps in the run so that they can climb up or just fly on to the shelves.

[hillfooter]

Ahhh, I'm glad you posted hillfooter, because the BHWT told me they recommend Barrier products, that they've found them to be the best to use, and I was wondering if maybe it could be a sponsor thing as I'm sure there is other treatments that work just as well.
I'm all for keeping animals as close to as how they'd be in the wild as possible, so I do frown on chemical use and pampering. I'll go out of my way to provide entertainment for them, but only in a way that they would entertain themselves in the wild.
I'm hoping the bit under the coop will be dry enough for them to make a dust bath, but I will provide a big old plant pot full of earth for them to use if they wish, is it good to mix a bit of diatom and/or red mite powder in with it??
I'm going to put a big, many branched log in the run eventually, once they're strong enough to jump, as they perch in trees in the wild dont they, so I'm presuming they'll enjoy that. My run is nearly 6ft high and fully enclosed so they should ave the space to flap a bit.
I've got a hanging food pole for their greens, make them jump up and work for their food a bit and I've got a multitude of different things I can rotate in their run for them to scratch around and sit on (breeze blocks, an old hoselock reel, logs, plastic crates etc), I'm thinking if I keep changing the things in their run, they sould stay amused.
BHWT told me to buy all the worming stuff and louse/mite powder (all Barrier) today because I will need to treat them for everything, but I thought it would be better to see which ones are needed (if any) over time. Is apple cider vinegar worth getting for in their water?
Ooooh, it's all exciting and a bit confusing, but I'd much rather go the natural way than chemical, there's no chemicals in the jungle after all!!!

That's the spirit Carla but don't go overboard on the anti-chemical thing and natural methods.  There are lots of chemicals in the wild it's just they don't come in packets. In fact we are all star dust which are nothing more than chemicals.  Also there's no such thing as a wild chicken they are a domesticated animal with many different behaviours than their wild ancestors and they depend on living with man just like a cat or dog.  

Yes "there are lots of things which work as well as Barrier" if you insist on basing your judgement on the facts and not the marketing hype, so remember nothing works better than Barrier Red Mite Powder or Spray and is a lot cheaper too.  I wouldn't be surprised if the BHWT are sponsored by Barrier who are a highly market aware company who I haven't found to be as ethical as I would like for any company I deal with.  They were very devious and evasive and not at all straight with me when i was trying to get some information from them regarding the effectiveness of their products.  They wouldn't publise the results of any tests they claimed to have done.  This doesn't surprise me since you only need to look beyond the marketing gloss to realise the "chemicals" they sell are in fact just formulated solutions and formulated on the basis that if our powder contains a mosquito repellant component it must also repell flies and if it repells flies it must also repell mites and if we add it to different herby mixes we can sell it for many different applications it's just a matter of printing the right label.  Their white, nice smelling powder, costs £10 a pop so they they are coining it.  Why is it sold everywhere? Because they offer their resellers good margins on the wholesale price is my guess and there are few (if any) really effective treatments for RM which aren't also subject to pesticide regulation.  Launching a product which has health implications costs big money to satisfy the legal proving requirements of safety standards, however selling a benign  ineffective corn powdwer with a herby smell and an already approved repellant (which maynot even be effective against mite) costs hardly anything compared to the income and more over it's safe so that you don't need a persciption and can sell it over the counter.  
VermX are another "natural" herby medication company in similar ilk who sell a garlic based wormer.  If you check their web site you will find nothing about how effective it is or any information which constitutes test reports though there's reams about it's natural goodness and purity and lots of testamonials from one supposes satisfied customers.  VermX have just been censored by the Advertising Standards Agency for making unsubstanciated claims about their products use with different species of animal (where have I heard this before) so they've been forced to remove many of their claims.  They ay VermX is award winning but when you look into it in fact the award is for business development growth.  ie they are making lots of money out of their gullible customers.

These companies aren't alone in this practise.  Use these products if you place your natural principles above the welfare of your animals but otherwise insist on seeing the proof that they work not just testamonials which are far from being scientific.  It's not difficult to perform a valid test if you really try and the lack of data speaks for itself.
HF

[hillfooter]

Re Dust baths.  It's best if they are dry but they will still roll about in wet broken earth and it willl dry to adust so will still be almost as effective.  You can use Diatom in their dust bath in the open air as well as RM Powder but just be aware Diatom is arguably more effective and can be had at about a twentieth of the cost in 20KG sacks.  Soil on the otherhand is free around here.

I've just got back from the feed merchants and boy has Hemcore shot up it was £8.60 a bale the same as Snowflakes when last I bought some.  I think I must have been thinking about Easibed Traditional when I quote £7.60.  This is a chopped straw product many use but personally I've tried but didn't like.

This year I'm sure there will be a shortage of straw as well as hay and grain as the harvest is down due to the dry weather.  Be warned.

ACV some swear by but personally I don't use often.  It's again a fad health product which came to prominence in the 50's when a seminal work on natural remedies and foods was published in the states.  It became very fashionable but today is used for animals such as horses & chickens.  I didn't notice any benefits when I used it and was a bit suspictious it caused some problems so I didn't continue it's use.  I've still got a litre or two left.  Contrary to popular opinion it can breed acid loving bacteria.  If you use it get the stuff from the horse feed merchant not Sainsburys which is distilled and clarified.  Its the floating goo which is supposedly good for them.  I prefer to throw them an apple ocassionally.

Mixed poultry grit is helpful to grind their food in their gizzards and also for exbatts to provide additional sources of calcium.  Make it available adlib.

HF