a few last minute questions........

bockhamptoners · « **on:** July 07, 2008, 22:21 »

......we collect the girls tomorrow, the coop and run are built

but we just need to know
do we feed the grit and oyster shell together in one bowl,in with there food or in seperate containers?
what is 'hen scatch' and do we need it ?
i have added a garlic clove to the water but wondered what cider viniger does?
am i right in thinking,do we leave them in the house and run for 3 days before we let them out in the garden?

bockhamptoners · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2008, 22:55 »

gee thanks a bunch for all your advice!!!!!! and i heard you were such a friendly lot :?

agapanthus · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2008, 23:03 »

You can put the grit and oyster shell together.....they will take what they need. No idea what scratch is.....think it's an american term :? Cider vinegar is a good all round tonic....good for their feathers...especially when they are in moult. Leaving them for a day or two is fine....they will soon know that you feed them, so why run away

GrannieAnnie · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2008, 23:03 »

Another impatient member! I've only just come on here tonight, so have only just seen your post Bocky!

Different people have different ideas about how long to keep the chooks in. We usually put our new chooks straight into their coop and leave them in until the next day, some people don't do it at all and some people leve them longer. How long you keep them locked in the run before letting them out into the garden depends a lot on the size of the run?

If there is plenty of room for them in the run, then I'd say a couple of days to be safe, but a lot depends on teh chooks too. You may find they take to their new surroundings straight away, and you may find you will have to keep rounding them up towards night as they haven't got the hang of it.

There are no hard and fast rules with animals.

Likewise with the oystershell and grit. I usually give ours theirs when we get it in separate container, but as they free range in big runs, I don't think they need it often and eerything they need is in their pellets. But I do know some people mix it with their feed.

And I don't know what hen scatch is, sorry.

Brambles · « **Reply #4 on:** July 08, 2008, 00:30 »

Good luck with new hens. Would not worry too much about the right and wrong ways of doing things. They will most likely teach YOU! I did not have much idea when I first started and I am still learning (from books but mostly from this site!) Just enjoy your girls.

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