[Jo-n-Neil]

Im quite new to chooks but i keep getting told off on the plot by another chicken owner, and a visitor to the plot (dont ask) who has chooks. They both keep on at me saying i clean them out to much etc etc. I poo pick every day and scrub the hen house out every week - 2 week depending on how it looks, i check the run etc and make sure they have fresh stuff to scratch through. They got corn as a treat in the afternoon and then i call up to check and lock them in at dusk. I enjoy doing this and have been quite ill recently and daft as it sounds they have given me a bit of purpose on the road to recovery. So when i asked them how often they cleaned theirs out the answer they both gave me was couple of times a year.  :shock:

Am i too fussy/picky or just plain daft for doing all this?

Jo xx

[FRUITFULL]

i think you are doing a great job
i havent got chooks yet but they will be our babies and we will be just like you.
brilliant job!

[naturesparadise]

there is no rule saying you have to clean your chickens out once a week or every two weeks

doing it the way you are just means your chickens are very clean
and that is good for them

so just ignore them and do it the way you are

[Jo-n-Neil]

aww thank you. I do treat them as pets really i suppose i shouldnt but im silly daft with animals. They are supplying me well with eggs anyway.  

I have a very springy spaniel and a collie X Alsation and we all have a cuddle as well which makes non doggy people recoil in horror. :?

[FRUITFULL]

Nothing wrong with that.The best people are animal lovers.Our dog is 12 a bit grey and sort of ugly in the cutest way and we adore her.Even the fish in the pond all have names.As for the chickens we are getting next spring we have names for them already.At the moment though i have been told by OH they are not coming indoors!We will see.

[Vember]

At the moment though i have been told by OH they are not coming indoors!We will see.

At the moment in the house I have 2 poland chicks and a baby turkey

Crumb (goose) lived inside for the first 12 months and every night I do battle with her 'cause she'd like to come in her cage in here rather than in her shed with her 4 "babies"  

Mo (chicken) wonders in as an when she feels like it, and quite often I find my original 2 ducks Daisy & Jayzee in the bathroom  :shock:


Sarah

[FRUITFULL]

Sounds great i want that too.
Our chooks home is going to be outside the back door but on a higher level so we look out the kitchen and will see them looking in.
I will draw the line at the bedroom as OH is 6ft 7 and the dog in bed i am on the edge as it is!
Roll on spring.

[agapanthus]

Im quite new to chooks but i keep getting told off on the plot by another chicken owner, and a visitor to the plot (dont ask) who has chooks. They both keep on at me saying i clean them out to much etc etc. I poo pick every day and scrub the hen house out every week - 2 week depending on how it looks, i check the run etc and make sure they have fresh stuff to scratch through. They got corn as a treat in the afternoon and then i call up to check and lock them in at dusk. I enjoy doing this and have been quite ill recently and daft as it sounds they have given me a bit of purpose on the road to recovery. So when i asked them how often they cleaned theirs out the answer they both gave me was couple of times a year.  :shock:

Am i too fussy/picky or just plain daft for doing all this?

Jo xx

You're doing it your way Jo....and that's all there is to it!!! Carry on...you're doing a great job!!!  

[poultrygeist]

I would say, let those who want livestock keep livestock and those who want pets keep pets. And if you want to tuck them up with a duvet and a bedtime story (as if :roll: ), then it's your business.

Kindness (however extreme) can only be a good thing. If you're inadvertently hurting them then that's another thing but cleaning them out can only help. We poo pick everyday and top up shavings, etc but only clean out completely every couple of months or as needed.

Keep doing what you want to do.

Rob

[sunshinemedic]

When I first got my girls I kept cleaning out the coop and cleared the poo daily. When I went for a short 2 day break I came home and found to my suprise very little poo in the house. I swear the girls have got wise and started kicking the droppings out the door?? They can't be that smart can they??

[Jo-n-Neil]

LOL Well i had a weeks holiday in Arran ( so want to live there) and my mum looked after them who is scared of birds. Well when i came back i discovered she is soppier with them than i am, and even picks them up. She adores them. I have to fight her off now  

[Hengist]

As someone's already said, it depends on your style of animal-keeping.  I'm hoping to give a home to 4 rescued ex-free rangers.  A local farmer who already has a couple of dozen reckons I shouldn't expect much in the way of eggs.  He's only getting 3 a day at the moment.  He doesn't poo-pick, worm, clean out very often, treat for lice/mites etc.   Another local has 5 and gets more eggs than the farmer!  You get out what you put in, I think.

[Debz]

My husband said the other day that I have the most spoiled hens around.  He reckons they get fed better than he did as a kid.  I spot clean them most days and a good clean on the weekend if it needs it.  They get pellets and greens for breakfast, and a handful of corn and some more green stuff at teatime.  They reward this with eggs almost every morning and a delightful dance when they see me coming at teatime.  You have to do what is right for you and your girls.

[Jo-n-Neil]

Theres one thing, im glad its not just me    Mine rush up to the fence and do s jig when they see me. I like to kid myself they are pleased to see me but i suspect its because they know im bringing food  

[Piglit's Pullets]

Jo, I would just like to add that I also keep my ladies tidy with a daily poo-pick.  I clean out properly once a fortnight, had to early this week as one- Gertrude - had scratched up all the shavings and newspaper lining off the floor.  It would seem that she is also concerned about the credit crunch, as it was the FT stocks page.... perhaps she was checking the corn futures market worried that they might get cut off if feed prices continue to rise  :shock:  

Have fun with your chickens.... or you might as well just buy eggs. Tell those people you have a secret natural fertilizer you are making and you need the fresh droppings to develop it properly.... they will think you are mad or might even start cleaning theirs out more often too!!!

   

Anyone read 'Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance' ?, it is very funny