gooner.girl Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Hi. I got my eglu and lovely chickens last week and have a few questions i was wondering if anyone could help me with?! Thanks 1. My chickens sneeze quite often, are they ok or are they ill? 2. When can i expect eggs (i think they are about 21 wks now and have been with me 1 wk) 3. Is it usual to have so many slugs around eglu and feeder stuff? What can i do about them? Thankyou! Helen Daisy and Buttercup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Hi and welcome to the forum! 1 Do your chickens have discharge from their nostrils (2 holes on either side of their beak!), or is it clear? A lot of us have chickens that sneeze occasionally, sometimes a lot, with no ill effects. 2 Eggs will probably appear soon - how dark are their combs? Do they squat when you walk up to them - both are good signs that eggs will come soon! 3 I bring my food and drink in at night, as the slugs make a bee-line for them, which is fine during the day, becuas ethe girlies scoff them, but they tend to over-run the place at night if I leave the food out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 Hi! Thanks for getting back to me . The chickens don't appear to have discharge (not obvious to me anyway!) I was just surprised to hear them sneezing! I'll keep an eye on them but they seem fine in every other way so can't be to serious yet! Re eggs I have been letting them out when i am around into the garden early in the morning, does this mean that they are more likely to lay there then in the nest box? (i put a golf ball in there as recomended by the guy who delivered the eglu!) What sort of time do they lay? Perhaps i should be playing hunt the egg?! Combs are quite dark but they don't squat when i walk up to them just chirp at me for sweetcorn! Do the girls eat slugs? I'm guessing there were so many because it rained but there were 2 in the food bowl and neither seemed very interested in eating them! Despite all this am loving chicken keeping already! I just want to know more and more about them! Guess the forums the place to be huh?! Thanks for getting back to me! Helen Diasy Buttercup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Yes I think the chooks would lay around the garden if they were not used to laying in the nesting box. Welcome to the Forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel (& Paul) Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 HI! thanks Shona for the answers! yes, some chooks do sneeze - almost as if they are allergic to dust or similar. Some people put different things in the nesting box - I use shredded paper which is less dusty. the chooks will lay at different times. I have heard they work on a 25 hour clock (or something similar!) So they will start early, and each day will get later. Ours certainly do. If you have a golf ball in the nest box this will help. Ours learnt quite quickly where to lay - and even the ex battery hens who on the first two days layed where ever they happened to be standing now lay in the box. You might want to keep them in the run for a little longer until they start laying and get used to the box. Yes, they will eat slugs, and spiders and butterflys and insects and anything else they can get their beaks on !! Too many may give them squishy poos but they'll do them no harm (as long as you dont use a slug killer) Chickens are the best and this forum is great - and dont worry about asking loads of questions - we were all novices once and I know there is no such thing as a stupid question (ask the others ) See you on the forum and have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Cooks Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 One of mine sneezes really often - it's actually quite cute! The other hasn't sneezed yet! It is quite surprising though! Glad you're enjoying your chooks - I'm still madly in love with mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
