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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 8, 2011 10:46:40 GMT
I did the best I could for it anyhow Ladies. :)Sorry to hear of your loss Carol, thankfully the other one is picking up.
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Post by Chuckles on Apr 8, 2011 20:41:27 GMT
I thought you were going to say you'd caught the cockeral LG and it was going to Ruths ;D Lucky for the cockeral that you found it and got the chicken lady to get it. Oh dear broody hens, Mmmmmm I've yet to cross that bridge with mine ;D Hope the other Wellsummer does pick up Carolann.
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 9, 2011 5:24:08 GMT
;D Chuckles.
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Post by andy on Apr 9, 2011 6:06:13 GMT
Well, my daughter's friends parents own a farm and they have 3 chickens for sale...£15 for the 3. So i've dug me strawberries up and bought 50m of chicken wire and hopefully, in the next week, i'll start building their little home
Can't wait ;D
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Post by Chuckles on Apr 9, 2011 7:35:29 GMT
You sure you know what you are getting into Andy ;D You could name them after us chicken keeping ladies on here, LG, Carolann and Chuckles  |
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 9, 2011 11:38:42 GMT
;D That sounds like a good idea Chuckles. I was talking to Ruth and she was telling me that Ethel (the chicken who was laying outside) is now happily laying where she should. Happy days. At any time Ruth has loads of eggs, lucky her. She uses them all in rotation  |
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Post by Chuckles on Apr 9, 2011 12:48:17 GMT
Glad Ethel his laying indoors now. Just for a laugh Ruth should hard boil an egg and put it where Ethel used to lay ;D an old rotten egg would be better ;D I date all our eggs so they get used in rotation and we range from having 4 - 12 eggs at any one time, its simply the best to have your own fresh eggs.
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 10, 2011 5:53:31 GMT
I know Ruth has a spiral thingy that she puts her eggs into and that way they use the oldest first. Next time I'm chatting to her I must ask her if she writes the date on them. Do you use a pencil or a pen. The shell is porus or something is'nt it Chuckles.? I ment to say, Ruth has encouraged a neighbour to buy a couple of chickens too. The went and picked them out a couple of weeks ago, it's catching. ;D
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Post by andy on Apr 10, 2011 11:05:28 GMT
Started building my run. It's going to be 8' x 6' and be made from panels which are screwed together.
The panels will sit on 18" x 18" slabs all around the outside....this will hopefully make it harder for rats to get in.
I will also clad the bottom 18" all round with wooden cladding just for that bit of protection
The bit in the middle will be left bare...soil, bark chips, straw, yurf etc will also be put in to give them something to dig in.
So will i be better covering the roof completely to stop the rain getting in ? Obviously i want to keep them dry but not sure if they should have a bit of rain on them ?
I'll be building the nesting area out of tongue and groove.
Any comments or suggestions ?
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 10, 2011 11:11:29 GMT
Ruth has something called an Iglo Andy, it's fully lockable at night to keep them safe. She has a run as well which leads to the outside lane. There is a bit of it (the run) not covered as it lets some fresh air around but the hut itself is completely secure, I think it has to be to be safe if you know what I mean. Although in the frost she has a removable cover that she bought especially for the open bits of the run.
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Post by andy on Apr 10, 2011 11:44:15 GMT
I think they're called "Egloo" LG. Damn expensive but pretty good.
Had to make mine myself as i was horrified how little room commercially made runs give the chooks....i was looking at this 6 foot by 3 foot by 3 foot high run with built in house and they said i could keep 3 or 4 chooks in there. Well not in my garden i wont.
so we'll have a 8 x 6 x 6 high run for 3 chooks and ill put some higher up perches for them to fly up to (only 2 feet off the gound)
Happy hens = lots of eggs ;D
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 10, 2011 11:48:57 GMT
;DIt's great that you're so good with your hands Andy I'm sure you'll do a great job. The thing with Ruth's one is that her girls have the run of the whole of the lane and surrounding hamlet.. They're happy girls too and give eggs every day. I wish you all the very best with your new brood. |
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Post by JennyWrenn on Apr 10, 2011 21:51:53 GMT
Now I know why I havent seen many slugs and snails - just spotted quite a large hedgehog in my garden
Will get camera ready just in case ;D
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 11, 2011 5:45:25 GMT
How wonderful JW you're so lucky. Have you found his little home yet?
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Post by JennyWrenn on Apr 11, 2011 5:47:47 GMT
Am bit worried about that Lady - I think I know where it could be and I was going to clear all the leaves out and weed that area this week
Any advice I dont want to destroy his little house
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 11, 2011 5:53:36 GMT
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Post by JennyWrenn on Apr 11, 2011 5:55:36 GMT
Just googled them and there is a hedgehog food called Spikes Dinner - I will go and visit pet shop and see if I can buy some They also do hedgehog houses which i think are only for hibernation This could be an expensive operation  |
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Post by farmersboy on Apr 11, 2011 6:00:46 GMT
If you have hedgehogs Jen,you should find its poo around the garden,we have them, and most mornings we find some on the pathways
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Post by JennyWrenn on Apr 11, 2011 6:09:19 GMT
Erm what does it look like as I think what I have seen is cat poo maybe made a mistake wasnt thinking of looking for erm hedgehogs' Number twos You could PM me if you like as not a good idea for some people to read this so early in a morning during their brekky |
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Post by Ladygardener on Apr 11, 2011 6:14:23 GMT
JW I would'nt be going and buying a hedgehog home yet, I'd wait and get the whole story first.  |
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Post by JennyWrenn on Apr 11, 2011 6:29:57 GMT
Have just googled the poo <SHRIEK> so off to investigate  |
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Post by farmersboy on Apr 11, 2011 6:41:52 GMT
Erm what does it look like as I think what I have seen is cat poo maybe made a mistake wasnt thinking of looking for erm hedgehogs' Number twos You could PM me if you like as not a good idea for some people to read this so early in a morning during their brekky I could take a pic,and send it to you ;D |
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Post by Chuckles on Apr 11, 2011 7:58:09 GMT
Gosh for a minute I thought you'd gone and got some chickens Jenny then I read on ;D All sounds like a plan to me Andy. I'd not worry about them being covered atm, see how it goes. As we get into summer you may find they would like a shadey area to dust about in and the same for a bit of protection when it rains hard. I used some conifer branches for a short time and just put some props in the ground for the branches to rest on and wired them to the props to make them secure. Sometimes you can't plan these things and I'm one for improvising until I fnd something better. Another thought is the feeder, if its outside all the time then that would be good with a cover over it, rain makes it mash ;D |
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Post by carolann on Apr 11, 2011 8:52:10 GMT
Cant wait to see the pics of the finished house Andy sounds grand. All 3 of the Fluff balls have gone broody so they are all sitting on eggs now a dozen in total and OH said to start collecting the Wellsummer eggs as the incubator will be going on at the end of next week not sure yet where the time will come from to look after it ;D
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Post by pdblake on Apr 11, 2011 9:22:18 GMT
We have chooks. They are so easy to look after.
They make plenty of good compost too and are great at weeding the veg patch over winter ;D
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Post by pdblake on Apr 11, 2011 9:39:19 GMT
so we'll have a 8 x 6 x 6 high run for 3 chooks and ill put some higher up perches for them to fly up to (only 2 feet off the gound) Ours have a 8ish x 3 enclosed run with a 8 x 8 run attached, so that gives them about 8 x 11, for 4 birds. They seem happy enough and lay well. The whole lot, with the runs cost me about £80 to make, though you could knock the price of the felt off as it's not needed and not really a good idea (mites love hiding under it) and has long since been stripped off. The birds themselves are hybrids and cost £5.50 each. Tongue and groove is not the best stuff for a henhouse as mites will hide in the crevices. You would need to seal them all with silicone. Trust me, eveyone gets mites at one time or another and they are a sod to get rid of, best not to leave them anywhere to hide. You don't need a roof on your run. Some netting will stop most things getting in at them and them getting out (though I find the rattle of a tin of corn brings them all running if they do wander off). They only cover they need is somewhere to keep the feeder out of the rain and a shady spot for hot weather. Slinging a tarpaulin over a part of the run does it for mine. Have fun either way, and make the run bigger than you need because once you get a few birds, you will want more. ;D |
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Post by carolann on Apr 18, 2011 7:52:22 GMT
OH has just bought me a new incubator a RCOM 20 pro so that should be arriving later this week and will be put on with the other one ;D it does everything and has a buzzer to let you know when the water needs topping up I will let you know how I get on with it. The fluff balls are playing musical nest boxes everytime I go in they have moved so not sure which eggs are to hatch first I lost another Wellsummer hen yesterday not sure what was wrong with her but she had been off colour for a couple of weeks. I'm picking up a one and a half trays of eggs every day so all the girls must be happy but I know a few of them are not laying as they are a lot older. |
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Post by chickengirl on Apr 21, 2011 18:27:16 GMT
Hi all, we have four lovely chooks which we are all crazy about. They are a breeze to look after and are such good fun! We also have two little dogs. I agree with pdb, you should be careful about the type of wood you use as the dreaded red mite love little hidey holes, so try to get something that will be easy to clean. LIkewise with your roof - avoid felt if you can. I am sure you will love your girls once you get them Andy, I absolutely love mine!! ;D |
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Post by carolann on Apr 22, 2011 7:10:33 GMT
The incubator arrived on Wednesday so its up and running with the other one, goodness knows where all these chicks are going to go and the fluff balls and their chicks thats if the cock is proving himself. ;D
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Post by Chuckles on Apr 22, 2011 7:27:14 GMT
Sounds like a chick invasion is on the way ;D
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