sallyj

The egg with the black yolk had not been boiled first it was raw. Any suggestions what could mean? All the hens are well.

Thanks for your reply. It was my neighbour who had the egg and I'm not sure if she had cooked it or not. I'll have to ask her.

One of my hens has laid an egg with a black yolk!! Never had this before and the hens are showing no signs of illness/sickness. I have 6 of them(hybrids) and they are about 2 years old. Has anyone had this before or know what could have caused this?

I have discovered holes in the Omlet netting where some of my hens have been escaping into the garden. I don't know what has broken the wire in the netting to create big holes. Do you think a fox could have bitten through the wire? I'm sure the hens could't have done it. Has anyone else had this problem? Sally

My girls don't eat Hebe shrubs. They have quite thick leaves and they come in a huge range of sizes and different coloured leaves. These Hebes are low maintenance as well.

I have just finished introductions (it took 4 weeks) and I also used the cube run inside my WIR. It worked really well and I used a small rabbit hutch for the 3 new ones to sleep in. It had a hinged roof on it which I propped up slightly for extra ventilation. What actualyy happened was they preferred to sleep on the roof instead but they did use it to lay in

I'm integrating 3 new hens to 4 original hens and I would like to get some extra feeders/drinkers that I can move around to help stop some of the squabbles! What does anyone recommend?

I have a Skyline that looks exactly the same as your Columbine. Are they the same hen under a different name? I think they are both beautiful.

Hello wenhen I've just got 3 hybrids from Thornes last week and they are beautiful . They had a good choice and I now have a Bovans nera, a Magpie and a lovely skyline. I can certainly recommend Thornes chickens and Frank who looks after them is very knowledgable and helpful. Good luck

I keep the hens pellets in a small plastic bin with a lid (very cheap from Wilkinsons) which happens to hold exactly 5kg which is the size of the pellets bag. As I only have 4 hens the pellets are only stored for a short time (about 2/3 weeks) and stay dry. I think the bins cost about £3. I also have another bin the same for the mixed corn.

Thanks Clare.

Thanks for your replies. I have clear plastic corrugated sheets on my WIR at the moment but it has always leaked. It was made by Avaries4U and Tony has been back twice to redo the leaky roof. I don't know what else to do ? Has anybody else had problems with corrugated sheets leaking?

Has anyone got onduline sheets on their WIR roof? Is it any good and what colour do you have? Do they sell clear onduline sheets? Thanks for any advice.

Wyandotte 2 definitely The pose looks perfect to me

Thanks everyone for all your help. I shall definitely try there for some more hens.

I'm planning on getting some more hens soon when the weather gets a bit warmer . Has anyone bought hens from Thornes Poultry Centre, near Letchworth and would you recommend going there? Thanks.

Emchook My slabs cover an area about 11x15 feet and cost us £490! They have done an excellent job though. I got 3 quotes for the job and another builder quoted £600 and the third quoted £1,200 I think your job sounds very reasonable to me

Happy birthday dancing cloud . Have a great day

Magso You can borrow my spare run tomorrow to put Queenie in. What about the idea of putting one of the others in with her to see if it changes the balance of power? Just an idea.

I've got a WIR fom Avaries4u 12x9ft. I also found a stable type door very useful, also an eggport door, a poo tray hatch, and also a small free range door for the hens to get in and out of. Only problem, we've had is the leaky roof, but otherwise they are well made. Good luck with your plans.

My run is 9x12 and I now use about 3/4 bale of hemcore on the floor. I used to put more down but it took along time to clear out so now I put less in but change it more often.

Hi stoice Thanks for you help. I will have another go with a toothbrush

Mabel, my Bluebelle, had dirty knickers a while back so I washed them with soapy water but I didn't manage to rinse them properly because I was doing it on my own and she wriggled away. Well, some of the feathers around her vent looked permanently stiff rather than fluffy. Today I managed to rinse them in warm water (with help from OH) and then blow dry them. They look exactly the same. They are clean but not at all fluffy. What do you suggest? Have I ruined them forever? I never thought I would ever be having a disccussion about hen's knickers

Welcome to the addictive world of chicken keeping I know you won't regret it

Hi Andrew Your run looks great with the clear tarpaulin on . I now have the same at the back of my WIR where most of the weather comes from but now the rain is getting in from the sides I might have to get some more tarps