[jaws]

Thank you to the people who gave me advice to my previous request.
I am probably naive and gullible. I had been considering keeping hens and had looked at coops and adopting battery hens but got seduced by a lady on our farmer's market and bought a package of coop, 2 hens, equipment, some food and bedding. The hens were about 13 weeks old. They were described as Amber and Goldline although I cannot find these breeds in identification sites - can anyone enlighten me?

On her advice I have
- been using sheets of newspaper on the floor of the coop which I replace daily as there is sooo much poo. Is this OK?
- using a mixture of wood chips, straw (although mosty books say this attracts red mite) and shredded newspaper in the nest boxes although these do not appear to have been used much yet.
Any advice re bedding/nesting?

Having read this site I have attached a larger rounded top to the perch/batton as the previous one was small and sharp edged. From the sites of poo piles it appears the hens are using this rather than the floor to sleep on. It is about 3" high now. Do I need to make a higher perch above the nesting box height?

I have attached a hook to suspend the feeder and brackets for removable wheels and handles so I can relocate the coop around the garden freqeuntly.
I feed layers pellets, mixed with a little grain given by the vendor. I have given them a bit of baked potato and a raw parsnip (not popular) for interest. Any other suggestions?
In this cold weather I have put a pot of water in the coop incase the outdoor water freezes and I put cider vinegar in their water.

I may have started off naively but I intend to do a proper job with the girls and who better to go to for advice than other hen keepers.

Thanks for all your help 

PS my 2 year old grandchildren have named the hens - Quack (sorry - a hen with an identity crisis in the making) and Lily

[slurp]

  hi i am very new to hens but i know the perch height needs to be higher than the nesting boxes otherwise then hens tend to sleep in the nesting boxes .some nesting boxes i have seen have a board that comes down to shut off the nesting boxes at night obviously this would be done manually but if you raise the perch the hens should naturally roost where its higher[safer]

[andreadon]

It sounds like you've got it all sussed! 

Don't worry about the height of the perch unless they start sleeping in the nest box - then you can reconsider.
It doesn't sound like they're having a problem working out where to sleep.

[Bodger]

Hi
The birds you mention are hybrid commercial strains and not pure breeds of chicken. This is why you wont find them in any books. 

[BestBreast]

Hi I would'nt use newspaper at all because of the quality of the print. Your hens will probably get the ink on them if they are wet and they love nest making, pulling and tearing at it, they will probably eat some too. I tired shredded paper once but stopped after seeing them eat it becuase, I do not want them to come to any harm.

I use straw in the nesting boxes and a mixture of silver sand, wood shavings and shredded straw in the house. I just put it in and let them get on with it.

I remove poo daily and if I find any in the nesting boxes I clean it out (to help prevent salmonella).

They have a 1lt water feeder in the house most nights (opps I forgot tonight).

I use a 2.5lt bucket for water. On the advice of others I use apple cider vinegar at the weekends only and use approx 40ml for the full bucket. Helps keep guts healthy.

As for food try a little cooked pasta or rice, raw or cooked broccoili (esp stalk), whole apple, stale bread (watch salt content and preservatives), cooked parsnip may go down better. Only one of my hens like carrots, cooked potato peelings (wash and remove any growth) and finally mine get a really treat of cerial with soya milk when my boy does not finish his breakfast).

A note about milk, stick to one kind, cows, soya, goats, soured etc, you can soak bread in it too.

I never over do the treats, I don't give them every day and they only get what is available this way they eat the LP and MC.

I know the brand of LP I buy has grit etc incl and it states they do not need any other foods so technically the MC is extra but they don't eat that much and in this cold weather I think it is beneficial. They also get plenty of exersize.

[andreadon]

Hi I would'nt use newspaper at all because of the quality of the print. Your hens will probably get the ink on them if they are wet and they love nest making, pulling and tearing at it, they will probably eat some too. I tired shredded paper once but stopped after seeing them eat it because, I do not want them to come to any harm.

A note about milk, stick to one kind, cows, soya, goats, soured etc, you can soak bread in it too.

We've always used newspaper and they've never come  to any harm 
We just roll it up in the morning and throw it in the compost bin.
and ours sleep on it (they never have got the hang of the perch idea)

I know seom people say don't give them milk, but as long as you don't do it too often (it makes their poo runny and apparently, they don't digest it very well anyway) it should be fine.  I reckon it gives them that extra bit of calcium for the egg shells!
 

[blossom1044]

Sounds like you working your way around it all.

My chickens hate cooked potato & spagetti, love most raw veg and plants!  They go mad for cherry tomato and cauliflower.  they have all our scraps and any veg which won't get eaten (I'm a terrible supermarket shopper and always buy too much). Ours also like millet and grass and grass seed.  Though the last is in short supply at the moment.  when out and about they eat most of my plants, esp the herbacious and annuals.  I also feed mine as you do on a normal layers pellet and corn mixed with a bit of chicken grit.

In their coop I line with News Paper and wood shavings on top.  I empty every other day, but usually scoop the poop out and it goes in compost.

My nesting boxes are on 1 side and the perch is the other and a lot higher. 

Mine seem happy enough and lay very regularly even on the mad weather we've been having.

good luck

[LittleRedHen]

Mealy worms that you can buy fresh or dried in the pet supply stores are a real treat too!   They're a bit expensive however. 

[Debbie D]

You sound like you are doing a great job with your new chickens.  We use woodshavings in the nest box  and newspaper under the roosting bars which gets changed daily.  Our perches are higher than the nest box but that doesn't stop some of them sneaking in there to sleep each night.  For treats ours love grapes, and some very funny games of 'grape rugby' take place when they get those.  They also love tinned sweetcorn but only have that very rarely.  At the moment mine also get a scoop of mixed corn about an hour before bedtime so they go to bed with nice full crops to keep them going through the long winter nights.

[mrsdirtyboots]

Your hens sound happy so I wouldn't stress too much!

We give ours whatever left-overs we have of a veggie, non-processed nature.  They love chickpeas, lentils and rice but won't touch carrot.  Boiled potato peel in milk has been going down well lately as a treat on cold evenings.  Oh and for some reason our latest batch are scared of tomatoes (I though hens always liked red things).

Ours won't eat or drink from a stainless steel bowl no matter how tastey the treat!

They're all a little different but you'll get used to each other quickly enough.

[Hengist]

I think it's hay you want to avoid, for harbouring red mites.  Straw is fine.

[betty]

I have just found out my chooks love Alfalfa hay.  I guess because it's green.  I shake it real good, making a powder out of it.  They really look forward to getting it. yf Betty

[babe]

Hi
The birds you mention are hybrid commercial strains and not pure breeds of chicken. This is why you wont find them in any books. 

bodger guest?

huh???