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

[Kazoo]

Hi All,

 

Well the day is nearly here when we receive Florence and Gertrude as part of our cottage garden and I am very excited. Does anyone have any obvious first week tips for keeping the ladies happy that I may not know?? We've never kept chickens before but can't wait for our first egg. How long does it generally take to get one?

 

Cheers

[Electricbarbarella]

No advice you are2 days before me but you must nbe so excited.

[Scramble]

Nice! You must be excited aboput keeping them, hopefully I'm going to get some at the end of summer (fingers crossed!) but I've been reading up lots and omlet forum surfing, and I have quite a few tips

Apparently, marmite, on bread, is a good welcome gift as it is full of B vitamins, a healthy start! They also like couscous and broccoli is good for them! Oh, and also scattering sweetcorn around, and watching them find it, apparently they love the stuff.

Hope that helps.

[Purplemaniacs]

My advice would be to have alternate accommodation available in case you need it, we use a dog crate which was used by our lab when she was a puppy, it has found a second use now as separate accommodation for pecked chooks, and a broody cage for our broody chooks.

 

I feel it is a vital part of chicken keeping equipment.

[Hen Watch]

first week tips for keeping the ladies happy that I may not know?? We've never kept chickens before but can't wait for our first egg. How long does it generally take to get one?Cheers

 

Chickens, food, water, housing...... all you need at first. And some shade from the sun (either a run shade, or situate them under a tree).

 

Gradually get some other stuff like bedding (eg Auboise), mixed grit, garlic powder (from horse supply shops - put in their food to reduce poo smell), poultry spice. There's a sticky on this forum somewhere about nice to have stuff. But TBH I would just let them settle in for a week and enjoy them before you go mad buying stuff you may not need.

 

Browsing this forum for top tips is the best tip I could give you. You hear about lots of niggly little things and get to know what to look out for before you experience it yourself.

 

Eggs - depends on how old your chickens are. POL (point of lay) can mean anything from 16 weeks +. May have to wait till they are 22 or more weeks old. It's just a waiting game.

[Tilly Bud]

I got a green eglu, a gingernut ranger and a miss pepperpot (just like you're getting) last tuesday. For the first two days they were quite shy, they got to know the cats and i spent a lot of time say next to the run talking to them. I put a washing up bowl with dry soil in quite early and they loved it. Also make sure they have plenty of pellets and water because i'm sure they've had quite a journey in the Omlet van.

 

I didn't really do anything else. I held Betty for the first time today as they have both become a lot more tame. I let her out of the run, leaving Gloria inside, and she just pecked about and let me hold her which was very exciting!

 

My chickens favourite treat is raisins so try enticing them to come to the bars and eat out of your hand with some of those. Once you find a treat they like, their personalities will really start to show! My Miss Pepperpot is fantastic!

 

Chickens don't seem like hard pets to keep, i think by just having the eglu, pellets, water and your company they'll be very happy!

 

Good luck anyway, i'm sure you're as excited as i was!

 

Keep us updated with how you get on!

 

Karen xx

[Hen Watch]

Right.....am back.

 

There's a sticky in the FAQ section at the bottom.

 

Some light reading for you from recents posts, but please, please this is for info only and waiting until you've had your chickens for some time is best before you go off buying extra stuff that's not essential.

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26731&highlight=buy

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24156&highlight=buy

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22882&highlight=buy

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20132&highlight=buy

[Kazoo]

What great advice, I really appreciate it all. I'm very excited and will just enjoy until I see what they need. Cheers.

 

[Abbey Road Girl]

Kazoo, I wish you the best of luck! You must be dreaming of chickens!

[Electricbarbarella]

OMG thats today what time did you get up then?

[Egluntyne]

Why not browse the FAQ section Kazoo....the answer to the questions most likely to be asked by new chicken keepers are already there.

[Lapinou]

Chickens, food, water, housing...... all you need at first. And some shade from the sun (either a run shade, or situate them under a tree).

 

In our limited experience, I'd also say to get a shower curtain to put over the run for some shelter from the horrid rain we've been having! We've only just got one on Sunday because the girls have been spending so much time looking all sorry for themselves in the corner of the run - the omlet shade doesn't really provide dry space when it's heavy rain and the chooks are too daft to get in the eglu when it rains!