[trencherpilot]

After far too long, this weekend I finally got the garden done after moving in a year ago. The new hen house/ run was ordered on Monday. All credit to the online company that supplied it, as it arrived today. That is now built, in the garden and the Ross Lohmann chickens arrive on Friday or Saturday. We can't wait. The kids are desperate to go out and collect the eggs in a morning. Any tips?

 Will keep everyone posted on our progress. The house is thouroughly fox proof, and off the ground. I know it is possibly not the pc solution, but I live in the country and have Fox control covered. (Lead Shot)

[ANHBUC]

Hi trencherpilot, how old are the hens you are getting?

I put my 6 hens, 2 bovan goldlines and 4 black rocks in their coop with food and water even though it was day time.  Let them out the next morning and they had made friends bar the usual pecking order squabbles. 

[jinty1911]

Start as you mean to go on.  Set a certain time for them to be let out in the morning and stick to it and don't spoil them, only give them treats at bed-time. I learnt by my mistakes 

[maggiem]

Make full use of this forum. This is my tip for anyone who is new to poultry keeping.
 It has helped me out many times over the past two years. Everyone is very friendly and you will find that however daft you think your question is- it's not, and it's probably been asked before! Thanks all, Maggie

[orchardlady]

Your new girls will be a little shy at first. As suggested pop them straight into their new coop with some food and water if you collect them in the morning. Ideally collect them late afternoon or even dusk as they will be calmer then. You don't need to put food and water in the house for over night. Try to keep the children as quiet and calm as possible when you let the birds out he next morning. this will pay off as they will become slowly used to you all as people who don't scare them! Only feed layers pellets a lib during the day and any greens. Any table scraps feed in the late afternoon in the summer or about an hour before bed in the colder darker months wit ha handful of mixed corn for each bird. Give them as much space as you can afford to offer. If the children would like to hand feed them get them used to it by putting some corn in their hands and doing this over a bucket 'peck' with a slight pinch at the corn in their hands to mimic the feeling of a hens beak. It can be a bit scary for little people to experience this but hey will then be prepared for the onslaught of hens pecking their hands. Just reassure them and let them know that when the hens do it they are not trying to eat or hurt them only eat the corn! Spend as much time as possible near your new charges. They like company and will soon learn to recognise who is bringing the grub. Your girls will probably be quite young and it will take them a few weeks to settle and start to lay. Once you find your first egg you will be totally smitten and never buy a supermarket egg again. Make sure the birds have lot's to do to. Plenty to peck and scratch about in and to behave like chicken do. Use this forum there are plenty of very knowledgeable people and no question is seen as silly or daft.

Good luck and enjoy your new friends.

Orchardlady.

[Jacinta]

Hello and good luck.  Make sure you have suitable footwear on for going into the run and change out of it before going back in the house, i spent too long picking up a trail of poo from where i walked!  Stand the water drinker/feeder on a couple of bricks or the girls will kick loads of muck into it and it won't be pleasant for them.  Look into the amazing diatom-disinfectant slurry that hillfooter and other people use to paint inside their houses, it's great stuff and it so much easier to apply and better for the girls respiratory systems than powder, keeps the red mite at bay!  Put garlic in the water, again for red mite as they don't like the taste but won't taint your eggs.  Make sure there is some shade for the girls as they can't cool themselves down, mine have an afternoon snooze in the shade everyday.  Get yourself a routine and soon everything will seem dead easy and stress free, i found the first night the worst but once you see them alive in the morning, the relief will be amazing!  Once the girls are confident and comfortable with you, get used to picking them up so inspecting is much less of a drama.  I try to hold and stroke mine everyday, they do get used to it i promise.  As already said, use this site and peoples knowledge to the maximum, you will never be thought any less of for asking any question no matter how silly or trivial it seems.  I've only had chickens coming up two weeks and this site has made me feel very supported, my knowledge grows every time i ask some thing new.  Good luck, you'll never regret it!