4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[StephanieSB]

I am a bit addicted to DVDs on any kind of skill or knowledge I go about learning (soap-making, crochet, candle-making, gardening, and now chickens, of course). So I get this DVD and -- bang -- all manner of info and advice that seems to contradict the 7 chicken books and 2 other DVDs I've got.

 

Can anyone out there with experience please confirm or deny the following:

 

1) chickens in same run must be same colour and breed, or they will always fight

 

2) hen house must always face south

 

3) oyster shell is a bad additive for hens, as it makes shells weak (enough calcium in feed, so it is useless to them and can cause harm)

 

4) 60% of any hatched eggs will be cockerels

 

5) broodiness is bred out of hybrids and most pure breeds now sold, so didn't discuss it much

 

6) oats are useless to the hens, as there is no usable nutrition in it for them, so don't feed it to them

 

7) hens love their baths and hair drying

 

There were some tips that seemed quite good, so the dvd not entirely strange to me. But I'd like to know if anyone else thinks the above is largely contradictory to other advice or not?

[jills]

I can only comment on 1 and 5, someone else with much more knowledge will come along soon.

I have a Pepperpot and a Gingernut Ranger - they love each other and are inseperable - have never even seen one peck.

They are hybrids and not supposed to be broody,but my Pepperpot went broody six weeks after I got her, so I guess no-one had told her.

Enjoy your hens!!

[syed_king12]

not really my chickens are diffrent breed and thier like all sisters

[ubereglu]

Can anyone out there with experience please confirm or deny the following:

 

1) chickens in same run must be same colour and breed, or they will always fight

This is false, I have two bluebelles, A cream legbar and a barnevelder who live quite happily together. Admittedly they don't share the same run most of the time as they're out free-ranging, but it's down to space that makes them fight when they're enclosed.

 

2) hen house must always face south

I think this is something that's best advised, but is not really necessary.

 

3) oyster shell is a bad additive for hens, as it makes shells weak (enough calcium in feed, so it is useless to them and can cause harm)

It isn't a BAD additive, it just needs to be given to hens when they need it.

 

4) 60% of any hatched eggs will be cockerels

This is true.

 

5) broodiness is bred out of hybrids and most pure breeds now sold, so didn't discuss it much

This is bred out of hybrids, but I'm not so sure about most pure breeds, it really just depends on their egg laying ability, as generally a hen that lays lots of eggs is less likely to go broody most of the time.

 

6) oats are useless to the hens, as there is no usable nutrition in it for them, so don't feed it to them

I don't think that this is correct as they contain a lot of carbohydrate which provides energy and fibre-I think.

 

7) hens love their baths and hair drying

I don't know, but whenever I see hens having proper baths they don't look too happy! They do love their dustbaths though!

 

There were some tips that seemed quite good, so the dvd not entirely strange to me. But I'd like to know if anyone else thinks the above is largely contradictory to other advice or not?

 

Hope that helps,

 

Liz

[TAJ]

Can anyone out there with experience please confirm or deny the following:

 

1) chickens in same run must be same colour and breed, or they will always fight - mine are all different & fine - when I asked the breeder if these ones got on they said 'they don't know what colour they are' reasonably equal size to avoid bullying is good

2) hen house must always face south never heard this one - they like early morning sun - you might not want them to get up that early though!

3) oyster shell is a bad additive for hens, as it makes shells weak (enough calcium in feed, so it is useless to them and can cause harm) It is advised to give calcium - yes calcium is in the pellets, but my girls like more

4) 60% of any hatched eggs will be cockerels I have heard 50%

 

5) broodiness is bred out of hybrids and most pure breeds now sold, so didn't discuss it much Hybrids generally yes - pure breeds it varies - some are very broody, others not so - need to look at breed details

6) oats are useless to the hens, as there is no usable nutrition in it for them, so don't feed it to them well they eat up porridge oats?

7) hens love their baths and hair drying some probably do - a show silkie probably has this done - you average back yard chicken is less like to need washing and drying - I probably wouldn't get eggs from Rye for weeks if I did that!

 

 

Tracy

[StephanieSB]

Thanks everyone!

 

I think, after watching it again (it's not a long dvd), it is aimed at pure breed chicken owners (not a hybrid in sight) and definitely assumes you will be showing your birds. Maybe that is why some of the advice seems to clash or contradict others.

[WitchHazel]

My irls love to have a bath and be dried with a hairdryer. I find it really funny,

[Egluntyne]

 

Can anyone out there with experience please confirm or deny the following:

 

1) chickens in same run must be same colour and breed, or they will always fight

 

I have heard it before...but mine are mixed and don't fight.

 

2) hen house must always face south

 

Erm...that's a new one on me.

 

3) oyster shell is a bad additive for hens, as it makes shells weak (enough calcium in feed, so it is useless to them and can cause harm)

 

Rubbish. Forgive my bluntness. It is a useful addition to a hens diet. If they free range daily they might not need grit, but if they are laying every day, a calcium supplement is a good idea for many reasons.

 

4) 60% of any hatched eggs will be cockerels

 

Unfortunately, this may be true.

 

5) broodiness is bred out of hybrids and most pure breeds now sold, so didn't discuss it much

 

Hybrids are less likely to go broody as they have been bred to be egg laying machines. Purebreeds are a different matter. Hybrids may still go broody though.

 

6) oats are useless to the hens, as there is no usable nutrition in it for them, so don't feed it to them

 

Whilst it is true that they don't provide optimum nutrition for the egg layer, hens do love their porridge, and there is some nutrition in them. If for any reason you want to try to stop your hen from laying, if , for example, she has a prolapse, oats, wheat and barley are just the thing

 

7) hens love their baths and hair drying

 

They don't object.

 

There were some tips that seemed quite good, so the dvd not entirely strange to me. But I'd like to know if anyone else thinks the above is largely contradictory to other advice or not?

 

It is a mixed bag. What is the title of the DVD?

[hilda-and-evadne]

2) hen house must always face south

 

Hmmn. Is this DVD aimed at people/breeders in the UK? I thought that it would be nicer for the hens, if the back of the eglu/hen house faced the weather, ie the south-west. For the same reason that, when you pitch a tent, for your own comfort/dryness - and so that the tent is less likely to take off in a gale - the back end should face the prevailing wind/weather.

[Gallina]

If you get young hens at the same time they always seem to get on, regardless of colour. But if you introduce a hen of a colour they haven't seen before (especially startlingly different) they do regard it as alien and go for it. This has been my experience, anyway. "Birds of a feather" applies.

 

Chicken houses facing south: I think this would be desirable. North is definitely best avoided, otherwise the hens will get hardly any sun in winter when it is low in the sky.

 

I have never experienced broodiness, except a slight touch of it once in a hybrid, so I maybe it is disappearing; but I have heard a lot about it on this forum.

[Mrs Frugal]

1) chickens in same run must be same colour and breed, or they will always fight - only 4 of mine are the same colour and we've not had fights at all.

 

2) hen house must always face south - west ??

 

3) oyster shell is a bad additive for hens, as it makes shells weak (enough calcium in feed, so it is useless to them and can cause harm) - first I've ever heard of that as all other poultry reference books etc say you should give crushed oyster shell and grit.

 

5) broodiness is bred out of hybrids and most pure breeds now sold, so didn't discuss it much - Jenny was broody 3 times the first year we had her and she's a Pepperpot hybrid

 

7) hens love their baths and hair drying - true , although I have struggled with one or two when they've needed their fluffy pants cleaning

[clucking mad]

i looks like alot of rubbish to me, well the first few anywy. im not sure of all of them

[StephanieSB]

Hi everyone -- sorry not to have replied, but for some reason, I never got an email telling me anyone was still chatting with me on this thread.

 

In answer to the questions: yes, it is a British DVD, called Poultry Matters, by Alexandra Bastedo and David Bland. Honestly, of the three DVDs I've got, this one is the least helpful. The best being Poultry at Home by Victoria Roberts.

 

This Bastedo-Bland one is very short and whizzes through all the info. I'm not sure whom the dvd would suit really, as the info is too rushed through for newcomers, too shallow for experienced people... but if you want to know how to wash a hen for show, there is a great segment on there showing just how!

[Nuggywoo]

1) chickens in same run must be same colour and breed, or they will always fight I've got a blue, 2 blacks, 2 splash's and a gingery/black - they've never had fights - all the same breed apart from gingery/black. I don't think chickens are breed prejudiced! Although not in a run now they all were at one stage - no problems whatsoever..

 

2) hen house must always face south Why?

 

3) oyster shell is a bad additive for hens, as it makes shells weak (enough calcium in feed, so it is useless to them and can cause harm) How can it cause harm if calcium is stored in the bones and used as required? I've never heard of a calcium O/D, any excess is excreted.

 

4) 60% of any hatched eggs will be cockerels Complete rubbish! I hatched 3 out of 6 - all girls.

 

5) broodiness is bred out of hybrids and most pure breeds now sold, so didn't discuss it much Again, rubbish. How can you breed out broodiness??

 

6) oats are useless to the hens, as there is no usable nutrition in it for them, so don't feed it to them Why? As long as they have an otherwise balanced diet what's the problem?

 

7) hens love their baths and hair drying They very well might do - dust baths and the sun.

 

That DVD should be thrown in the bin or better still used as a mirror for your girls