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Any pelletised product runs the risk of being eaten by chickens. You won't know if it is harmful unless they do and it is, unfortunately. However I do think that it is unlikely to pose a problem of toxicity, rather one of not being digestible and impacting their system. I would only let them out into that treated area after they have eaten their food in the morning; that way any ill effects will be considerably diluted.

Hi Guys I have recently had a problem with cats using our garden as a toilet and despite my best efforts to keep on top of it the Chicks are scratching up hidden gems shall I say. I have read on line about a product called Silent Roar which is pellets soaked with lion poo, it says its non- toxic and pet friendly but I was wondering if anyone knows whether its check friendly too ? Any advice gratefully received.

Okay, thanks.

We put our oldies on grower/rearer pellets without any problems. It has more 'good stuff' in it and they seem to prefer the taste. Have two 9 year old Marans who went off eating layers pellets completely, but have now been enjoying rearers for several years (and started laying again for a while).

What is the best food for older hens. My remaining 2 are 8 years old and I still have them on layers pellets but have read that they would be better off on growers pellets? Neither are laying any longer.

Is it hard to find one. For me the sprays are the most effective, and it is hard to find an alternative.

Hello Eggsperts I have 1 cream legbar and 1 columbian blacktail who is sadly sick. Once she passes I am considering 1 Brahma and 1 Faverolle, and/or 1 hybrid, however I have concerns about their feet as although there is a lot of free range space it is mainly dirt and wood chip so can get muddy when we have wet weather which seems to be a lot recently. The covered run is 3x4 metres and there is a dust bath area which is also covered, plus some sections that are dryer as under shrubs/trees. I am getting conflicting information on whether my garden is suitable or not for these breeds so wondered if anyone had the same? TIA!

Four years is a long time to put up with the noise. When did you start working from home? It may be that your exposure to the noise is now considerably extended to the extent that it has become intolerable, whereas before it wasn't? The only way you will have this noise declared unreasonable is if more neighbours join you to complain. Have you asked other neighbours what they think? Alternatively you could have your own chickens and your view of their noise will change completely.

I see this a very old thread but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice. Our neighbours got chickens about 4 years ago and they drive us mad. Periodically through the day they will be very loud, so much so that we can't work with our windows open or hold a conversation in the garden. These bursts can last 2 minutes or sometimes up to an hour. Then there is the almost constant chirping and moaning that they do. This certainly isn't as loud and on the face of it, doesn't seem that bad. But I'm trying to work right now with my window open and every 30 seconds I can hear the chickens. It's completely ruined our garden for us. If we get chance for a a break during the working day, I often prefer to stay inside rather than risk going out and having my break ruined by the chicken noise. It's often the first thing I hear when I get home and get our of the car. They are there when I do the bins, collect the kids from school, hang out the washing. It just seems so unfair that our neighbours can get pets that we can hear so much. We have tried talking to them but they completely dismissed it. They said there is no rule against having chickens and they quite like the noises they make.

I have read that chickens can be upset too by the ultrasonic devices. I'm not sure if it's true for all devices/frequencies though.

Never heard of male urine, but I've installed some of the ultrasonic devices from this seller I mentioned previously, and they seem to be also very effective. I just plugged them in, and the work is done.

Thank you Beantree. I've brought her in and given her some scrambled egg with a little olive oil which she has scoffed. She's drinking and has had some pellets. Her poo is fine no blood but not very much of it. I think I'll keep her in tonight and give her little massages. She's very up and down so I think a night resting may help. Thanks for your advice.

She doesn't sound too poorly. For the crop I'd simply lightly massage it because there may be a small solid lump of undigested food in there which is rotten? When they know their system isn't right they will eat grass to clear it out; unfortunately that can just make things worse because it can sit in the crop and block it. Not eating pellets can be because they have been bullied off the feeder previously as well. The solution there is to provide another feeder and drinker. I would avoid yoghurt and if the crop is too hard to massage give her a few drops of water until it softens (not too quickly because she could choke). What are her poos like? It won't be coccidiosis unless her poos are bloody. Don't try anything else at the moment.

Hi - one of my girls (Miley) has been under the weather for a good couple of weeks now and I'm at a loss as to what it could be. She is eating and drinking but doesn't scratch around much like the others and will go off and stand by herself. The others aren't bullying her but she seems to be selective with what she eats. She seems to want grass or greens more than pellets. I let them in the garden a couple of days ago and she was back to her old self - scratching around and eating. I've checked her over and her crop does look as though it doesn't empty as quickly as the other girls so I'm not sure if she has an impact or pendulous crop. I've tried giving her kefir yoghurt (which she loves) but have stopped that for a few days as seen that lactose isn't good for them. I've tried treating her for coccidiosis but am reluctant to try any other treatments at the moment as don't want to upset her system anymore. I've also checked her vent and doesn't feel egg-bound. Any suggestions as to what else I can possibly do will be most welcomed. Thank you!

You will find the chick crumb just drops to the bottom, so they don't eat it anyway. I'd just throw it away or bury it in the compost heap. Worth checking if your rearers has significantly more protein than layers, because if not it's not worth doing. However, here we do add rearers to the layers pellets in very small quantities (1 or 2%). The reason is that rearers here (growers they are called) contains probiotics and the layers doesn't. This then keeps their digestive systems in good order and they get the maximum benefit from what they eat, rather than it just passing through partially digested. You can see the poos are less 'grainy' and cecal poos increase (digestive enzymes stored in the cecal ducts which are periodically emptied; brown paste) It also contains more vitamins and minerals. BUT we have had problems with a pair of Marans who decided the rearers tasted better and discarded all the layers pellets onto the floor, simply by picking the individual pellets up and tasting them. The danger of feeding it once or twice a week is they might just stop eating the layers at all? Possibly a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", so making a change is potentially far more trouble than it's worth; chickens can be very picky. That's a lot of hens to be sharing one feeder. Are you sure all the youngsters are eating properly?

Hi I have five two-year-old hens and four nine month old hens. They share a rodent-proof feeder that contains layers pellets. I bought a bag of growers pellets and wondered if it is okay to supplement their diet with growers pellets say once or twice a week? Or to mix layers and growers together? I did research before but everybody says different things and now the hens have been through a moult (which is why I gave them extra protein) I wanted to check again. I also have a bag of chick crumb and wondered if I could give them some of that sometimes too. Any advice would be happily recieved. I don't want to do harm by trying to to right! I don't feed my hens kitchen scraps but I do hang up cabbages or dandelions often for them.

Thank you, I'll try that ☺️

Thanks Alison, it's a persistent little *****!

Can only suggest the usual: Remove food & water overnight which you are already doing Block up any holes as soon as they appear, some people suggest wire wool plus weldmesh / hardware cloth Remove other food sources outside the run wherever possible Remove / tidy up hiding places and especially near the run Raised hen houses help so they cannot make their home underneath & nip out for a snack whenever they feel like one 🤣 Borrow a terrier / mouser Basically you need to make it more trouble than it’s worth to the little perishers! ps not sure if the sonic repellers work or if they upset the chooks who have quite acute hearing

Nice too see you are back!

Most of the photos used to be hosted on your personal Photobucket account (the forum wasn’t able to host pictures until it was upgraded). If you log onto Photobucket they should be there!

Hi, have rat burrowing into my chicken run. I remove food and water every night, but the little perisher is still burrowing every couple of days. How can I stop this ( without traps or poison please

👍

A long, long, time ago 🤔 about 2007. I was a member here in good standing. I've posted pictures here and while I'm cruising down memory lane, I'd like to view them if possible. Especially the larger pic of what is my avatar for this group. Can anybody direct me and help a brother out 😘

Found the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-help-protect-poultry-industry-from-bird-flu