# Chickens - New Keeper Advice Please



## Amymay (28 February 2014)

So, OH and I will be getting some chickens in the near future. We have the house (which is big), and are thinking that 2 or 3 chickens will be enough to start us off. 

 But having never had them before it would be great to get some advice on what breed to go for, and general advice on keeping our girls healthy and happy.


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## Evie91 (28 February 2014)

Was unsure whether to comment or not as relatively new to chicken keeping and so far not having much luck.
However, they are addictive - had four, then upto seven, now six.
They are so easy to keep - I use shavings and straw in their coop and poop pick every day (takes minutes).
They love fresh fruit and veg, adore meal worms - should cost pence to keep but I over indulge mine. Fresh eggs are fab, I practically have a wait list for mine!
I'd go for four as a minimum, incase of any set backs!


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## Amymay (28 February 2014)

Thanks Evie. What breed are yours? Do they free range, or do you restrict them?


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## Lacuna (28 February 2014)

Not going to advise on numbers. We had two healthy chooks in last trio we Bought and the other died of unknown causes (never matured like t the others that were the same age)

Would recommend exbatteries as first birds though. Mine were and they are already pretty used to bring handled. Plus you get a great feeling watching them discover outdoor life.


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## Evie91 (28 February 2014)

They are mixed breed - gifted by a neighbour. Then I bought a few more!
They did free range - only when I was at home- until mr fox took two (Boxing Day and New Years Day). They loved being out and about and would run to the door! 
They now stay in as run is fully fox proof - only to have a buzzard eat one in the run!!! (Aerial attack!)
So my biggest difficulty has been keeping them safe. Apart from that they are great fun, mine used to come to call (when out and about), literally running over to me (they love mealworms). They are easy to keep. I have a rooster and the lady's love him. I really didn't want one, but now I'm pleased I have him, the ladies love him and he is very protective of them ( and I'm secretly hoping for little chicks!).


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## Meowy Catkin (28 February 2014)

I've had various different breeds in the past. My absolute favourites were the Black Sumatra. After that Araucanas as they lay blue eggs. Welsummers are also nice but I didn't like Rhode Island Red as the ones we had were very aggressive. I'd like to have some more and I'd definitely go for bantams. 

RE cockerels, our Sumatran cockerel once saw off a peacock that wandered into the garden. He would also keep the cats away from the hens and chicks. He was fabulous and very friendly - you could pick him up (some of the hens were sods to catch) and he'd also eat from your hand.


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## NeverSayNever (28 February 2014)

IME the friendliest and best layers are the hybrid types rather than pure breds, something like ISA browns  

I only have pure breeds now. Welsummers - love them, they lay amazing dark brown speckled eggs but they are quite a feisty bird and dont like to be confined, although my Welsummer Cockerel is lovely and very friendly. Cochins - a BIG bird with feathered legs/feet, mine was (lost her the other week  ) absolutely adorable and loved cuddles, she was a good layer too! They dont do well in the wet though. Cream Legbars - also lay amazing blue eggs and so far since point of lay, mine has laid every single day since Dec!! She is also skittish though. For cute factor (but small eggs) I love my pekin bantams, mine try to come in the back door. Ive also had Light Sussex who are a nice breed that lay well and are pretty friendly. Good luck  They are addictive 

I have the eglu cube and mine free range over a couple of acres as well.


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## Amymay (28 February 2014)

Thanks for the comments so far. The hen house we're having is from a neighbour who no longer wants it. However it's filthy. So whats the best thing to disinfect it with??

What's an Isa brown NSN??


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## MotherOfChickens (28 February 2014)

hens need to be able to perch, to dust bathe, some need to fly. 
Always have three-they can die seemingly randomly and don't do well on their own. But if you want more than that, don't get them all in the same year-you'll end up with lots of hens the same age laying badly as they get older. 
Don't mix commercial vaccinated stock with unvaccinated. worm regularly and watch out for mites. 
I didn't much like hybrids tbh, I found that after their first moult a lot of them were prone to egg peritonitis -they generally aren't bred for longevity.
I prefer traditional pure breeds that can cope with poor weather and still lay into their 5th year-although pure breeds generally don't lay a lot between moult and the new year 
I have Marsh Daises, breed rumpless araucana and Scots Greys (banties and large fowl). The MDs and SGs are fab, the araucana are bats hit crazy-as were all of the hybrids I had bar one (all different ones).
Oh, and put all food away at night or use rodent proof feeders such as a treadle. Don't bother with chicken drinkers-useless things. I use the small flat trugs or buckets sturdy enough for them to perch on the sides.


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## NeverSayNever (28 February 2014)

here you go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISA_Brown

i forgot to mention my black rocks (also a hybrid), they are pretty cool too 

http://www.blackrockhens.co.uk


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (28 February 2014)

OP why don't you consider some ex-battery hens? Google ex-battery hens and you'll come up with something - think it would be the British Hen Welfare Trust or something similar, can't quite remember what, perhaps someone on here will know?, and you can then contact the person in your area who arranges collections locally, and see when they're next picking up a batch and you can then go and collect. They ask for a donation, we gave about £30 for ten birds if my memory is correct.

Bear in mind though that ex-batt's will look AWFUL, they will need time to feather up and will have been kept intensively all their lives, so they won't have seen sunlight or outdoors  Also bear in mind that they won't have enough muscle or wing-capacity to fly up at night, and it will take them a long long while to be able to do so, you will need to be patient, ours took about three months before they learnt properly how to fly up into the house (only a couple of feet) at night to roost.

BUT........ they give enormous rewards in that they will lay from day one, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you've given them a totally new lease of life. Also they are nice & docile to handle in the main.


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## Amymay (28 February 2014)

Would love some ex batteries, and have looked into it - it's just a question of whether I can get hold of any. Looking at their website Welsh collection days don't seem to regular.


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## Honey08 (28 February 2014)

I agree with MijodsR too, we have had loads of exbatts over the last few years and they've been great layers and lovely to watch become "real hens".  We've been lucky in that all of ours have popped up onto perches within a day or two.  They do seem to like sleeping in a heap in the nesting boxes though, for some reason.  

I personally prefer them in a run that is dug into the ground and secure.  If you free range them when you're not around you can pretty much guarantee that some of them will be taken by foxes at some point.  Our run is huge, so they've plenty of room to play.  They can also make a mess of gardens etc, so I prefer to keep them separate.


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## Fides (28 February 2014)

I have silver laced orpingtons - they lay enormous eggs! They are the Labrador of chickens - very tame...


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## Amymay (28 February 2014)

Ooo Fides. So beautiful!


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## Evie91 (28 February 2014)

Wow! Fides they are beautiful!


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## caro72 (28 February 2014)

We've just started out with chucks, the most entertaining and friendly of our brood is a gingernut ranger - a hybrid I think - very friendly and cheeky, and a good layer too...but not as good as the adopted duck we have - so many eggs I don't know what to do with em!


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## Clodagh (28 February 2014)

As for cleaning your house you have to assume it has redmite, which kill far more hens every year than foxes, so give it a mega scrub, take it to pieces if youcan and really go for it. Use a knife to get any dry poo off and make it as sparkly as possible. Then let it get really dry and treat in and out with cresote if you can get it, the real stuff. I have never used anything else but I gather there are modern substitutes.

I do mix vaccinated and unvaccinated birds and don't have any problems but don't go for known disease likely breeds. I don't think many large fowl are mareks prone? (Anyone?)
I have bantams so can't really advise on large fowl, although ISAs (also known as warrens) are very easy if you do go for a hybrid. Some pure breeds are a bit mad, generally anything fat and feathery looking is placid and anything leggy and light looking is mad. (A bit sweeping, that!).


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## Amymay (28 February 2014)

But what about disinfecting the filthy chicken house???

Jinx!


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## Clodagh (28 February 2014)

Cross posted! Use bleach for the initial scrub. Or jeyes if you can stand the smell.


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## Amymay (28 February 2014)

What disinfectant Clodagh?


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## Clodagh (28 February 2014)

Cross posted again, but really just get it clean first. As you have probably since read - LOL - bleach or jeyes fluid will be fine. Or Virkon, but you just need to get the dirt off first, hot washing up liquid would do for a first go.
Once it is dry it needs treating with a longer term thing.


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## Evie91 (28 February 2014)

How do they catch red mite?


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## Clodagh (28 February 2014)

Wild birds carry them, you cannot keep them away. They don't live on the birds but sleep in the house cracks or under felt rooves and come out at night to feed off the hens. In summer you can go out after dark and hear the hens moving about instead of sleeping. It is controllable but is a nightmare. If you run our finger around dark places in the coopop and under the perch if they have redmite you get a red smear if they have been feeding. If they are not feeding then just tiny little grey insects. Google them - revolting things.


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## Amymay (28 February 2014)

Really interesting.


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## Evie91 (28 February 2014)

Googled red mite - now scared myself! Pretty sure my hens don't have them, any tips on ensuring it stays that way?


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## flirtygerty (28 February 2014)

|Treat them with lice powder, same stuff as you would use on horses, I used to powder the hen house after cleaning as well, my lot dispensed with their hen house and chose to roost in the barn, facinating creatures, I miss mine, we had light sussex, black rocks, buff orpington and a rhode island red, one of the black rocks was called 'Gobby' a NE term for talkative, mine were free range and we often found them clucking contentedly under chairs in the sun room. Pics please


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## MotherOfChickens (28 February 2014)

Evie91 said:



			Googled red mite - now scared myself! Pretty sure my hens don't have them, any tips on ensuring it stays that way?
		
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you won't see them much in the winter-hot summers like last year are awful for them. They can survive for months and months without feeding. There are various things that manufacturers claim keep them at bay but if you have a major infestation they can be almost impossible to get rid of. Creosote (the real stuff as Clodagh points out) is regarded as the best thing, but you can't keep chickens in a freshly creosoted house. Some swear by a mix of creosote and diatomaceous earth in the nooks and crannies of the hen house. Plastic houses are easier to clean and disinfect and less likely to house red mite but it can still happen.

permethrin in the hen house can help. Ivermectin (prescription only) can be used to help control but will only kill mites feeding on them, not ones hiding in the house-its more use for scaly leg mite if you get a persistent problem.I have wooden coops and felt roofs and touch wood, have not had a big problem with red mite. I did have a problem with scaly leg in a couple of hens and the usual topical treatments didn't work. Mites come in from wild birds, not much you can do about it if your chickens get out and about.

Apart from that, always quarantine any new hens for a month before introducing them to current stock and don't believe anything chicken sellers/breeders tell you-worse than horse people


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## cyberhorse (1 March 2014)

Disinfect your house thoroughly with something like Vermix. Rinse out and then leave to dry. Then use poultry shield to get rid of any mites (disinfectants don't get rid of them). Permethrin is OK if the hens won't be going in straight away you might want to do this just to clean this house up - woodworm sprays/household flea sprays from the vets have this in and are easy to use. 

When you muck out your chickens use poultry shield and then sprinkle a little diatom powder throughout the bedding this will prevent any mites. Most people use dust extracted shavings and straw but we use the hemp/eucalyptus horse bedding as it stays fresher longer, is easier to muck out and the hens seem to really love it. I have not had any mite issues at all since using poultry shield.

We have had chickens and ducks of many breeds for years and the friendliest we have found are Pekins (if you want bantams), Faverolles or BHWT rescue hens. The rescue hens and Favs are good layers. Generally with most breeds we find the boys the most friendly and they tend to like to be a "shoulder parrot".

Don't be put off by the rescue hens looking unwell at first they soon pick up with the right care. We usually take the really poorly ones they put to one side. Generally the ones we take on can't even stand and they do great, our oldest is now 7. Most of the girls that come out are far fitter than this and ready to go, but just proves they are very responsive to TLC.

If you are buying from breeders take a chicken savvy friend with you or you'll end up being taken for a ride with a group of young cockerals - MotherOfChickens is right when she says they can be worse than horse dealers! To be honest you can't go wrong with some BHWT hens to start with - it is worth the journey even if you do need to travel they are the most fantastic characters. Always have a minimum of 3 just in case you loose one as they don't do well on their own.

You will need to worm your chickens periodically and we just get a some from the vet to add to their food (really cheap) the fancy packaged natural/organic ones are actually more expensive and don't work.

Have a look at Flyte so Fancy as they have some fantastic stuff on there and they are really helpful when you need help getting set up or have a problem. You are always welcome to PM me if there is anything I can help with!


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## The Bouncing Bog Trotter (1 March 2014)

Creosote is your friend, you can buy it online. I also have a dust bath of sharp sand and diatom. Remember to worm your girls. I use flubenvet, easiest way is to use the pre treated layers pellets from marriages but you can buy it in powder form to mix into your feed. 

Mine free range in the garden when we are are around and they also have a walk in aviary/run with a sharp sand floor. I spoilt mine and bought them a Forsham Lenham off eBay...... One of the older ones, not an Omlet version. 

Just remember to buy a house far bigger than you need as chickens are totally addictive. I stated with 3 ..... , then you see a breed that you like the look of so buy a few of those, then you get a broodie so you buy some hatching eggs, then you get an incubator (or 2) and end up with a whole flock. In the summer mine pretty much pay for themselves as I sell the eggs at the gate and also sell the stock I breed. They have their own chicken piggy bank!

I now breed speckled Sussex bantams but have a selection of other Sussex colours (red and silver), I have a few Perkins, silkies and gold tops and I have my own little mixture that lay green or blue eggs. I also,have one Ixworth (she was the only egg that hatched and fortunately is a girl). I also had cuckoo Marans........ Best coq au vin ever! 

This year we will do more meat birds as I am now brave enough to convert them to oven ready myself.

Happy chicken keeping.


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## Janee (1 March 2014)

The nicest chickens we have had were the Isa Browns (Warrens) very friendly and good layers


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## Amymay (1 March 2014)

Thanks everyone. I can't wit to get some now.

We have creosote.  So once we collect the house and I've given it a good clean I'll use it on the house.

How long after using it is it safe for the chickens to use?


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## MotherOfChickens (1 March 2014)

creosote will take weeks and weeks to dry this time of year. I let houses dry out for 3 weeks in summer.


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## JillA (1 March 2014)

I got some diatomaceous earth for the mites on mine - completely harmless powder made from fossilised diatoms and the sharp edges destroy the mites outer shells. Mine made themselves a dust bath last year so I sprinkled some in.
When my hens are looking a bit under the weather (as in when they are moulting etc) I give them some cat or dog food to brighten them up, more protein as well as their beloved meal worms. I soak kibble for mine and they love it - just be careful not to choose chicken flavour!! Sounds wrong I know but think about it - they eat worms and invertebrates so not against a little meat and mine are now laying well when others round here are still getting over their moult. You can offer them all sorts of kitchen scraps, they love bacon rind.
I have an ambition (when I win the lottery lol) to get them an Eglu from Omlet - they look brilliant and easy to manage https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chicken_keeping/eglu_classic/


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## Lucyad (1 March 2014)

We have had a few breeds now, but agree with the poster above that Orpingtons are special - beautiful, docile, fluffy and lovely big eggs!  I loved our old English game bantam for tiny eggs (like mini eggs!) - lovely to float in soup, for example.  We have 2 buff Orpingtons, 1 part Orpington, 1 white legbar cross (the scattiest one, who pecks, and goes broody), one barred Plymouth, and one hybrid 'orange chicken' just now.  The only breed we really didn't get on with was a silver spotted Hamburg who was totally loopy.

They have a big coop, made from a shed, with perches and next boxes added.  This is attached to a porch, which is useful for them to shelter out of the rain - this is where their feed lives too.  This is all in a large run, which has perches and a dust bath in it.  It is on compacted hardcore, as if on grass or earth they make a real mess.  The chickenwire is dug into the hardcore and set in a concrete strip foundation that we had to put in when a fox dug a whole and stole our bantams.  They are locked in at night, but out during the day to free range in the garden - we don't seem to have a fox problem during daylight hours.  In the depths of winter when we leave for work in the dark and get home in the dark they only get out at weekends.

They eat layers pellets ad lib, treats of corn, and also kitchen scraps and meal worms.  We collect egg shells, bake them in the oven, and crush them, which they also get ad lib for calcium.


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## Clodagh (1 March 2014)

In summer I cresote and leave for a week, make sure coop is opened right up so air can get through. This time of year it would take a month I sghould think. If you really scrub your house and use diatemous earth (spelling) that should see you through until it is drier and you can use cresote (assuming you have a back up house or stable for the weeks drying).
A good tip with redmite is don't use much bedding, it just makes a nice house for them. I put opened up feed bags on the floor of the hen house and roll them up and chuck them away weekly. In the nestboxes I use shavings but first line the nestbox with any red mite powder.
Tip - if your hens aren't laying where you want them to use hay in the nest boxes, it is not recommended normally but hens love it. In fact our farmyard hens lay every day in the hay bales.


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## Honey08 (2 March 2014)

Evie91 said:



			Googled red mite - now scared myself! Pretty sure my hens don't have them, any tips on ensuring it stays that way?
		
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I put mite powder and louse powder in the straw in the nesting boxes once a month so they sit in it.  I also put a pile of shavings down on dry days and add powder to that - they love rolling around in it - so they powder themselves!  Touch wood we've never had mites so far.  I also wipe mite powder on the perches, as they are meant to hide underneath perches, and make sure some of the powder goes on the walls too.

Re cleaning, I would try and powerwash it then use jeyes or something.  I did my stables with creosote this year and it took weeks to properly dry.  One of my white hens brushed on it weeks later and was piebald for a week!


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## Amymay (2 March 2014)

Ok, so we'll leave the creosote for now. And will definitely use a jet wash on it.

Brain is addled over what breed to go for - but will take all your thoughts and advice on board. Thanks so much!!


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## Nettle123 (2 March 2014)

I spent yesterday taking apart and creosoting a filthy donated hen house. Scraped it first then wire brushed ever nook and cranny. It hadn't had chickens in for over 12 months but had clearly had a serious redmite infestation in the past. You can tell by white powdery marks on the walls or under the perches etc. Its been thoroughly creosoted and the panels will be left outside to dry for a couple of weeks before being used. The same as Clodagh, I tend to use feed sacks to line the pen and sprinkle diatom ( off ebay) on the perches and in the corners. Its a natural product that kills the mites when it touches them.  I burn the bedding every week when I clean them out. The nest box is just lined with newspaper.

As a starter I would have hybrids. I added three point of lay Speckledies a few weeks ago and they are all laying a lovely brown egg every day. Blubelles are lovely hybrids too, very pretty and widely available.

Practical Poultry is a great forum for advice. I love my hens, started with 4 and now have 20+


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## Clodagh (2 March 2014)

Do a checklist for yourself - do you want pretty hens or lots of eggs? Would you rather they laid less for years or more for less time? Egg colour preference? Do you wnat to spend time and rtame them or would youl ike to watch them scratch around without you? (Not that those things are mutually exclusive but it is a starting point)
For instance in the farmyard we have exchequor leghorns large fowl. Fantastic layers of huge white eggs but mad as a box of frogs and insist, unless you have the wheat bucket, that they have NEVER seen a human before. With them is a ISA hybrid, quite tame, a good layer but only for a couple of years at her peak (but her peak is an egg nearly every day) and a black rock hybrid who is quite tame.


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## Amymay (2 March 2014)

I want 'friendly' birds.

Eggs for us (2 of us).

No egg colour preference.

Easy maintenance birds (if they exist).


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## Amymay (2 March 2014)

Ok, just discovered a reputable breeder 15 mins away. So next step is to go for a visit and chat.


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## MotherOfChickens (2 March 2014)

if you have a wood burner, wood ash is fab on the droppings board and in the hens dustbath-seems to help keep the parasites at bay, although not a treatment for red mite.


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## Honey08 (2 March 2014)

Clodagh said:



			For instance in the farmyard we have exchequor leghorns large fowl. Fantastic layers of huge white eggs but mad as a box of frogs and insist, unless you have the wheat bucket, that they have NEVER seen a human before. With them is a ISA hybrid, quite tame, a good layer but only for a couple of years at her peak (but her peak is an egg nearly every day) and a black rock hybrid who is quite tame.
		
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That's really funny!  We got six white leghorns last October, ex barn/battery hens and they are exactly like that, the most skitty hens I've ever seen that go into a full on panic every time I go in the run.  The red ex-batts as in caged, are the friendliest bunch out of all ours, we have two big black things that are inbetween the two lots!


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## Clodagh (2 March 2014)

I would go hybrids then, 3 would be good then in a year or two, if you can wait that long, you can get two more so you keep getting eggs. You can keep retired non egg laying hens, I do with the bantams, but they fill up your hen houses. The LF are hens of work and once past it they get dispatched.


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## JLD (3 March 2014)

We keep a mix of hybrids and pure needs, the hybrids keep us in eggs through the winter, the purebreds lay longer and seem to have more personality. I love an old fashioned light Sussex and always have one or 2. Have also had speckled Sussex, and Welsummers are lovely too. We also have pekins for their comedy value and they are amazing childrens pets !


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## Amymay (6 March 2014)

Well we attacked the donated chicken coop and we're now covered in bites. I decided that the house was too vile to be used, even after cleaning and disinfecting - so it's gone up in smoke.

However, has anyone ever experienced bites from red mites? Will we have brought them into the house????


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## JLD (6 March 2014)

Yes been bitten, but don't think you can bring them in. Although may now be itching just thinking about them !! Thanks ! Has brought back memories and reminded me that winter is not so bad - we had a bad go with them last summer. Horrid things.


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## Honey08 (6 March 2014)

This thread has been good - I dusted my coop for mites and lice the other  day - prevention at this time of the year is better than cure, hopefully!


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## Evie91 (6 March 2014)

Omg they bite humans too!!! - will try preventing them but also keeping fingers crossed I don't get red mites - they sound gross


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## Amymay (7 March 2014)

So itchy Evie....


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## MotherOfChickens (7 March 2014)

they'll bite but not live on you for long. they are quite fast as well for little things  (I work with mites, but not red mite). Its good you torched the coop, a bad infestation is nigh on impossible to get rid of and can make the hens life miserable.

A lot of the commercial, cheaper coops are woefully inadequate in terms of space and quality of wood. Quite often sold as being adequate for 4-6 birds when they really are not. They simply don't last a year, unless you keep them under cover perhaps. 

Its actually more cost effective to convert a shed-put in laying boxes (and you can use anything from covered cat litter trays to wooden ones), a pop door and some perches.


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## Nettle123 (7 March 2014)

The donated pen that I creosoted last week had no sign of live mites thank goodness. I would have been sorry to have burned it as it was only 6 months old. 

It belonged to my Sisters neighbour. My Sister noticed that the hens were becoming more and more reluctant to go in at night so she went to have a look. The outside of the pen was crawling with mites so Lord knows what the inside was like. Despite spraying the pen both hens refused to use it. One hen roosted on a stool in my Sisters Kitchen next to the aga. Sadly the other one stayed outside and was taken by foxy.

Lots of diatomous earth keeps my other pens pretty clear but it is a constant battle, that's why I burn the newspaper bedding each week. The pen I mentioned had a thick wood shavings bed so killing the mites with a spray was a pretty futile attempt


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## heebiejeebies (19 March 2014)

How much room do they need? I've always wanted to keep chickens too and have been looking for house/run ideas online but they don't seem to have much run space? Or maybe that's more than enough and I'm being paranoid!
My neighbor has chickens in a run in his garden, and I always feel sorry for them with not much space, but it looks ideal because he moves it round the garden when the grass gets bare.


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## heebiejeebies (19 March 2014)

I also have these from when we had rabbits, the ramp of the hut goes through a hole in the enclosure so they can go in and out - would something like this be suitable? Although they do need to perch don't they? 














Sorry for hijacking your thread OP!! Some really useful info on here


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## Honey08 (19 March 2014)

As much as possible really.  Given a choice they will roam quite a bit.  I don't think that the pens that come with the houses have good space really - ok if you free range them generally but want somewhere to pop them in when you go out and avoid foxes etc..  We have 14 hens and they have an area about 10mx50.  We built the run and dug the fences into the ground.  I don't want them totally free range as they mess the muck heaps up, but they have a lot of room to wander and scratch in the run.


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## Fides (19 March 2014)

I'm with what Honey08 said. The runs are fine for bedtime but not for day to day use. There are minimum space requirements for free range chickens and a lot of these pens/runs do not meet those requirements...


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## heebiejeebies (19 March 2014)

Thank you, not just me being soft then! So do you need to shut them in the house part at night or is it OK to let them roam in the run through the night letting them do what they want?


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## Fides (19 March 2014)

heebiejeebies said:



			Thank you, not just me being soft then! So do you need to shut them in the house part at night or is it OK to let them roam in the run through the night letting them do what they want?
		
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It depends on how confident you are that foxes can't get in... I used to electrify the wire on mine to keep the foxes away


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## heebiejeebies (19 March 2014)

Fides said:



			It depends on how confident you are that foxes can't get in... I used to electrify the wire on mine to keep the foxes away 

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Good plan, although I have lived in this village all my life and can honestly say I have never once seen a fox here, which I've always found very odd being in the country. They seem to prefer more suburban areas these days I think, though still wouldn't take the chance!


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## Fides (19 March 2014)

heebiejeebies said:



			Good plan, although I have lived in this village all my life and can honestly say I have never once seen a fox here, which I've always found very odd being in the country. They seem to prefer more suburban areas these days I think, though still wouldn't take the chance!
		
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You can get little ones powered by D-cell batteries that will do the job...

Rutland Electric Fencing ESB15 Battery Energiser  - is the one I had. Was about £35 second hand


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## heebiejeebies (19 March 2014)

Fides said:



			You can get little ones powered by D-cell batteries that will do the job...

Rutland Electric Fencing ESB15 Battery Energiser  - is the one I had. Was about £35 second hand
		
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Thank you so much!


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## Honey08 (21 March 2014)

We tend to shut the door to our coop in winter, but in summer leave it open so they come and go as they please.  Just make sure that the cage bit is secure and can't be knocked over or dug under easily..


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