[cammi]

 I was watching my girls the other afternoon ( my DH laughs at me as i now spend about 2 hours each day just watching chickens)  and wondered if in the high summer they need a big dish of water to stand in and cool down, or if they like garden sprinklers?

the other one is how long does it take for what the chicken is being given to eat to turn in a egg?  Just wondering so you can tell if what you are feeding them makes a difference to the taste, colour etc of the egg


Many thanks

[Jeanette]

In the hot weather (if we get any) I put plastic milk bottles half full with water in the freezer and when they are frozen the chickens have them and they love to play with and lie next to them to cool down.

[rachelr]

Over the winter the deliveries to my local chook food place were interrupted and they only had the next expensive one for sale(dodsons). Within 24 hours the eggs my chooks produced were even better than they were before and some of my hens who only laid once a week were laying every other day.

I will not go back to the cheaper brand any more.

[hillfooter]

A nice airy shady spot is usually all they need.  In very hot weather I ofter sprinkle water on the roofs of their houses with a hose to cool them down.  Also you can sprinkle the ground of their run with the hose on the fine spray (a power hose is good for cooling the air around their run which they do seem to appreciate.

Never used the cold water bottle idea which sounds novel though a little bizzare.
HF

[cammi]

thanks folks i knew you would know the answers lol

fingers crossed now we get some hot weather................it's hard to imagine at the moment as i can hear the wind howling down the chimney!

Thats interesting about the different feed.  Mine dont seem keen on the stuff the breeder gave me (which i am presuming is just cheap rubbish as its in a plain white bag with on markings at all and she charged me £7.50) so i have been thinking to trying some better food and Dodsons is one i have seen available around here.  Out of interest how much did you pay?

[cammi]

oh has anyone tried freezing some treats in water in an old ice cream top, then popping it out like a big ice cube for them??   ITs something we used to do with the dog and her dry food in the hot weather and wondered if chickens would go for it too

[rachelr]

I paid 7.99 for a 25kg bag from a pet food store near boston. Pets at home charge 10.99!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pertelotte]

For the water I freeze margarine tubs overnight and leave them out during the day. As they melt they provide a steady supply of cold water for the girls to drink. Before I had chickens I used to do it for the cat and the rabbit, and it seemed to work.

If you empty a chunk of frozen water into a larger bowl with water already in then they have cold water from the start and don't have to peck at the ice. It works best in a drinker as the ice floats and the coldest water lies at the bottom.

Re pellets, I started with Dodsons and now use Marriages which come in at just under a tenner/25Kg. Pricey, but worth it. The girls prefer them too, although nothing seems to beat a fresh, juicy worm dragged out of the ground.