PoultryTalk.com

Hi there thought i would say hello, just joined poultry talk ..I am a complete newbie......had my ladies since last Tuesday Queenie a light sussex.....Jemima a silver sussex and Rainie a black maran ........they seemed to have settled in and on Sat had the first egg not sure which one is laying.....so at the moment everything is ok...just waiting for the others to start.... anyone with any advice they would like to share would be grateful

Hi there thought i would say hello, just joined poultry talk ..I am a complete newbie......had my ladies since last Tuesday Queenie a light sussex.....Jemima a silver sussex and Rainie a black maran ........they seemed to have settled in and on Sat had the first egg not sure which one is laying.....so at the moment everything is ok...just waiting for the others to start.... anyone with any advice they would like to share would be grateful

Welcome to the site.

When your other two hens start to lay eggs will depend on their age and breed. Most will start to lay somewhere between 20 - 26 weeks old.

You should be feeding them layers mash or layers pellets by now. Mash can have a little water added to it, or it can be fed to them dry. Mix some grit with it - they need it to help the digestive process (I use crushed oyster shells which I get from my poultry supplies shop).

The best thing you can do for your chickens is to read and research online about how to look after them. You should also be aware that you will have a constant battle against red mite - they can kill your chickens if you don't keep them under control.

If you need any specific advice, I'm happy to help if I can. You can reach me via the Message facility on this site, or through my blog.

http://muckycluckers.blogspot.com

Hi everyone im fairly new to chicken forum, i have 3 Silkie Hens a Silkie Cockeral a Pekin Cokeral a Pekin hen, and my newist additions were 4 cross Silkies /Wyndotte think thats ahow you spell it, they are about 2 mths old we had them outside in avairy but had to bring them in the house when the weather turned cold as they didnt have mum to snuggle up to orr they were very cold and makin such a racket they settled down on mine and my sons knee ( hes 8 ) he loved cuddling them, now there back out side with a lot more feathers, when we had them in the house we notice that a couple of them seem to have colds, they took it in turn to get it one by one got better just one the smallest ( stripe ) seemed to have problems breathng looked thik n sounded like she had asthma but she was eating and drinking so just thought with her being the smalest it was taking her that bit longer to fight it of, but unfortunatly she she stopped eating we tried to put moist food in her beek and seemed to b eating that but yesturday 30 sep 11 she died but seemed to have a sneezing fit then looked as though she couldnt breath, so my little boy asked daddy to berry his fav little chick oh it was sad, now my problem is my Silkie Cockeral yesturday he started with a sort of bubbly puss in both eyes i got hold of him and bathed them with warm water he seemed fine after that just looked a bit put out by me picking him up well he is a big bad Cockeral well so he thinks, but today his eyes seemed to be stuck clossed he didnt come out of the coop, well he couldnt see, Ive bathed them again managhed to get them open but they look very watery and only half open he is having trouble seeing, also his beak looked as though it had yellow puss on it which I have bathed of, Please can anyone help we dont want to loose our good old bad tempered Bruizer

Suggest you get your chick to the vet fast. It sounds as if he needs antibiotic treatment.

Sounds awful - you can't leave him in that state, and he might infect the rest. Kaeta is right, you need him to go to a vet straight away. Keep us posted and all the best.

Hi, I am looking for hatching eggs, I mean 10 000 and more. I couldn't find websites of big hatching egg farms. Can anyone advice please? Thanks for your help.

Hi,
I would like to buy 12 Lavender Araucana and 12 Salmon Faverolles hatching eggs, to be posted to Greece.
Please contact me in: dascala@otenet.gr

Hello, I have just joined the forum . I am a newbie at this . I have just acquired a trio of Pekins they are still young not sure how old I think about 12wks, one of the little females (Henrietta) goes for me every time I go into the run,tries to peck me and a couple of times has lifted her feet at me, How can I stop this? .I would be grateful for any advice,Thanks

First of all, welcome to the forum Bluebell. I have a Pekin too, it's a super breed.

You need to get her to associate you with something nice and the best way is to offer her treats. It's best to do this in the afternoon, so that they've had their nutritionally balanced mash or pellets first. Every time you go in, offer her (and the others of course), something like lettuce, chopped apple, bits of boiled potato, grapes or get some mixed corn and hold a handful out to them. Make them come to you. Just sit or squat down and stay alm and still, maybe talking to them at the same time.

It will take a little while, so be patient. Some may respond quicker than others.

Once they get used to you, try stroking them, and then when they're happy with that, pick them up. Again, some won't mind, others won't like it at all. But it's important that they get used to being handled, because the time will come when you need to check them over and you can't do that if they won't let you near them.

As I said, be patient and take things a step at a time. Good luck.

Thanks Kaeta44, I will keep trying with her, the other two are fine. I already give them lots of treats, it when I do that she has a go. hopefully she will settle down. I have had them for about a month now, and I love the breed, in fact I have my eye on some that are POL, will they mix together ok? Bluebell

They'll mix together fine, but it will take time and a few squabbles. If it's possible, section a bit of the run off and keep the new ones there, so that both groups can see each other, but can't get to each other. After a week or so, put the new ones into the coop at night, via the nest box, so they all wake up together next day. Do you have somewhere secure for the new ones to sleep for that week? If not, keep them separate all day and put them into the coop at dusk, as described above. Next morning, put them into their own section again.

If you haven't the room to do that, introduce them into the coop as it's getting dark, then let them all out together next morning - and stand back. There will be squabbles and feathers flying, but they will settle down together after a while. This was the way I had to do it with my first lot of chickens when I started. It took a week or so (as far as I remember), but they were all fine once they knew who was where in the pecking order.

Be prepared for a takeover bid by the POL birds as they will be older than the ones you have. Your little firebrand may put up a fight, as she might consider that she's top of the pecking order and may not want to give the position up. In fact her attacks on you may well be because she wants to put you in your place too!

So when you finally put them all in together, a few feathers may fly as they sort out their relative positions. However, it will all settle down. There may be power bids from time to time in the future, but that's nothing to worry about.

As with all creatures, patience is the keyword.

http://muckycluckers.blogspot.com/

Hi ,

Welcome Jo. Lots of questions, but I'll try to help you as best I can. I have 6 bantams and love them to bits. I also have 2 "big girls".

I'd put your run straight onto the grass. Your hens will eat the grass and scratch it up - and thoroughly enjoy themselves doing it! I've put playground quality wood chips in my run. It's expensive, but helps prevent the run becoming a mudbath when it rains. Whatever you do, don't put untreated woodchips or garden quality bark down as it may harbour fungi which can harm your chickens.

Red mites can kill your chickens if you don’t control them. They aren’t quite such a problem in winter, but multiply rapidly in summer. Try looking inside your henhouse after dark – shine a torch round and you may well see lots of red mites, especially in a cage that isn’t new. They hide up during the day in the tiniest crack or crevice in the wood, so you don’t often see them. As well as spraying and scattering mite dusting powder everywhere inside the coop and on the ramp from the pop-hole, I also smother petroleum jelly (vaseline) inside the coop (before I dust). I put it round the end of the perches and about 2" along the perch; on and all around the perch holders; along the edges of the nest boxes; along any joins in the wood. In fact anywhere I can reach that might harbour the nasty little blighters. Check for little holes on the perches and smother vaseline across those too, because those holes will also harbour mites. Smother it round the edges of the roof too, so when they try to get out from under the waterproof stuff on top there (they hide there, believe me), they get stuck in the vaseline.

A thin layer of vaseline/petroleum jelly is quite enough to do the job. I renew it when I clean the coop out each week.

It's a messy job, but works very well because the mites get stuck in it and can't get to the chickens. I see lots of them stuck in the petroleum jelly, but it's rare for them to manage to get to my chickens.

You can get spray and powder from some pet shops, from a poultry supplies store or your vet. When you spray, do it soon after the chickens have gone out for the day and close the pop-hole for an hour or two – you don’t want them inside until the spray has settled. People do use "bombs" but I wouldn't want to.

One thing I would suggest is that you try and find a vet who knows something about chickens. I’d make enquiries now, even though you don’t need one at the moment – but you undoubtedly will at some time. If you can find one in a rural or semi-rural location, they would be your best bet. Town vets tend to deal with cats, dogs, hamsters etc and cage birds and have no idea when it comes to poultry health problems. If you’re in semi-rural Dorset, you should be able to find a suitable vet. If you can’t, go to http://www.bhwt.org.uk/cms/recommended-poultry-vets/ and there’s a list of chicken-friendly vets in your area.

Foxes are lazy and will only dig a foot or so down to try to get under the fence. So dig a spade's depth down and slide some chickenwire (or similar) down into it all the way round the run. Dog pee will probably deter a fox too.

Your hens can't infect your other animals with anything, but I wouldn't let your dog get in a situation where he can reach your hens, no matter how well-behaved he is usually. I've known of mild-mannered, lovable dogs revert to their natural instinct and kill chickens before now. Your cat may or may not be bothered.

I don't always remember to check my messages on this site, but if you think I can help you with anything else, you can reach me through my blog at www.muckycluckers.blogspot.com

Finally, get yourself a "How to look after chickens" book. We did when we first started and found it really helpful.

Welcome again.

Welcome Jo. Lots of questions, but I'll try to help you as best I can. I have 6 bantams and love them to bits. I also have 2 "big girls".

I'd put your run straight onto the grass. Your hens will eat the grass and scratch it up - and thoroughly enjoy themselves doing it! I've put playground quality wood chips in my run. It's expensive, but helps prevent the run becoming a mudbath when it rains. Whatever you do, don't put untreated woodchips or garden quality bark down as it may harbour fungi which can harm your chickens.

Red mites can kill your chickens if you don’t control them. They aren’t quite such a problem in winter, but multiply rapidly in summer. Try looking inside your henhouse after dark – shine a torch round and you may well see lots of red mites, especially in a cage that isn’t new. They hide up during the day in the tiniest crack or crevice in the wood, so you don’t often see them. As well as spraying and scattering mite dusting powder everywhere inside the coop and on the ramp from the pop-hole, I also smother petroleum jelly (vaseline) inside the coop (before I dust). I put it round the end of the perches and about 2" along the perch; on and all around the perch holders; along the edges of the nest boxes; along any joins in the wood. In fact anywhere I can reach that might harbour the nasty little blighters. Check for little holes on the perches and smother vaseline across those too, because those holes will also harbour mites. Smother it round the edges of the roof too, so when they try to get out from under the waterproof stuff on top there (they hide there, believe me), they get stuck in the vaseline.

A thin layer of vaseline/petroleum jelly is quite enough to do the job. I renew it when I clean the coop out each week.

It's a messy job, but works very well because the mites get stuck in it and can't get to the chickens. I see lots of them stuck in the petroleum jelly, but it's rare for them to manage to get to my chickens.

You can get spray and powder from some pet shops, from a poultry supplies store or your vet. When you spray, do it soon after the chickens have gone out for the day and close the pop-hole for an hour or two – you don’t want them inside until the spray has settled. People do use "bombs" but I wouldn't want to.

One thing I would suggest is that you try and find a vet who knows something about chickens. I’d make enquiries now, even though you don’t need one at the moment – but you undoubtedly will at some time. If you can find one in a rural or semi-rural location, they would be your best bet. Town vets tend to deal with cats, dogs, hamsters etc and cage birds and have no idea when it comes to poultry health problems. If you’re in semi-rural Dorset, you should be able to find a suitable vet. If you can’t, go to http://www.bhwt.org.uk/cms/recommended-poultry-vets/ and there’s a list of chicken-friendly vets in your area.

Foxes are lazy and will only dig a foot or so down to try to get under the fence. So dig a spade's depth down and slide some chickenwire (or similar) down into it all the way round the run. Dog pee will probably deter a fox too.

Your hens can't infect your other animals with anything, but I wouldn't let your dog get in a situation where he can reach your hens, no matter how well-behaved he is usually. I've known of mild-mannered, lovable dogs revert to their natural instinct and kill chickens before now. Your cat may or may not be bothered.

I don't always remember to check my messages on this site, but if you think I can help you with anything else, you can reach me through my blog at www.muckycluckers.blogspot.com

Finally, get yourself a "How to look after chickens" book. We did when we first started and found it really helpful.

Welcome again.

Thankyou very much for the advice , Im sure I will be asking more questions! The girls are arriving Monday evening so all excited here :D

They are so much fun if you spend time watching them.

hi there, i've just signed up yesterday. I got my hens a while ago, but they were given to me in bad health. Thankfully though, i managed to help them recover and they were happy for a while after. Unfortunately, most of them have died now and I only have two left and half a destroyed chicken house. But, for christmas, I got enough money to buy some more, new chickens, and I am helping my dad to build a new chicken hut right now! Hopefully, I'll get a bit more luck from now on!! I hope so! If anybody has any advice on settling in new chickens, please let me know as I am willing to learn new tricks!! Thanks.

hi there, i've just signed up yesterday. I got my hens a while ago, but they were given to me in bad health. Thankfully though, i managed to help them recover and they were happy for a while after. Unfortunately, most of them have died now and I only have two left and half a destroyed chicken house. But, for christmas, I got enough money to buy some more, new chickens, and I am helping my dad to build a new chicken hut right now! Hopefully, I'll get a bit more luck from now on!! I hope so! If anybody has any advice on settling in new chickens, please let me know as I am willing to learn new tricks!! Thanks.

Hello Dan

If you have the space to do it, the best thing is to let them sleep together at night, but keep them separated during the day - but so that the old ones and newbies can actually see each other. We divide our hen run with a temporary wire fence. Keep it like that for a week or two, then take the fence away.

There will be fights, so be ready for that. They'll do that to sort the pecking order out. But don't worry, they will settle down in time. It's quicker in some flocks than in others.

Best of luck with them all.

I need all the advice i can get, so thanks!!