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

[fluffyknickers]

Have you any tips on settling in some new chickens?

 

I assume they stay in their crates/boxes til the Omlet man has made up the cube and run and then I will put the bedding in and they will be released!

 

I will of course have the pellets and water all ready for them.

 

Should I wait a few days before offering them any treats like corn or porridge oats or even broccoli or kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s like apple cores, strawberry tops etc or is it ok just to offer them a treat later in the day as soon as they arrive?

 

I was planning on having grit available to them from the start.

 

 

Anything else we should or shouldnt do?

 

Thanks

[quickcluck]

DON'T WORRY!!!!!!

 

From what i've read on here, the luverly man from Omlet tells you pretty much all you need to know!!!!

 

You can't resist giving them a few treats, but try not to over load them, think of kids and chocolate they need to eat the pellets for nutrition!

 

Just remember to get your chair and camera out ready so that you can us all how it goes!

[thewhitehouse]

Hi - I'm not a huge expert but when I got my first girls from Wernlas this is what I was advised and it worked well. I'm trying the same technique with my new girls and so far so good (although we're only 3 days in yet).

 

When the chooks arrive, shut them in their house for 30 mins to an hour - this is so they get used to their house and know it as a safe place.

 

Then let them into their run (or you may have to encourage them!) for the rest of the day. With any luck, they should take themselves to bed.

 

Food, water and grit ad lib from the moment they arrive (in the run not the house).

 

Treats - I gave from day 2 and they love this.

 

Free ranging - my first girls from day 6, the new girls will be the same. The first girls found their way home at dusk - hopefully, the new girls will do the same.

 

Good luck!

[ruth1]

Congrats on your girls,

 

The Omlet man will keep them in the boxes until your set up no doubt.

 

I would advise putting them straight in the cube with the door shut for 10 mins or so and then opening the door, this lets them come out in their own time and once they've come down the ladder they should hopefully go back up again when the time comes to go to bed.

This worked like magic for my girls.

 

I also gave them peace for a few days popped in and out and sat quietly so they got used to me but didnt push them.

 

I gave them a little veg and corn ( please like me bribe) but not much as the corn is fattening especially if they are not laying yet, and they didnt really know what to do with it at first ( that changed very quickly)

 

Hope it all goes well

[Plum]

I was advised to give them marmite on toast to help them recover from the journey which my friend who was with me thought was hilarious and the little swine refused to touch it.

[Larkspurs]

Mazzyc, I bet your are really excited! We were too. The Omlet man will very happily guide you through pretty much all you need to know. He'll even show you how to clip their wings!

 

Our girls arrived in the morning. We had everything pretty much set up and the Eglu was put into the run. We put the girls in there via the eggport and the door was open. They hung around inside for about 5 seconds then tentatively explored the run. We let them do that until about 5pm and then popped them into the eglu at about 5pm, it was getting dark then.

 

The next night they put themselves to bed.

 

The best advice though as thewhitehouse and others mention, maybe a little longer than 5 seconds inside. But it didn't do any harm in the long run.

 

I would confine them to the run though for a few days at least before free ranging. The Omlet man will mention this too, remember to pump him for information! I don't know if they have one or more but ours was really knowledgeable and very helpful.

 

Specifically, grit available is good as it aids digestion. You don't really need to worry about calcium additives yet though until they start coming in to lay. Pellets will supply all they need until then BUT we had it available for them on their second day in with the grit. They hardly touch it from what we can tell but we'll soon make it more visible to them.

 

Treatwise, we found they didn't understand what a grape was no matter how finely chopped but they instantly knew what a mealworm was. Bokashi bran is something they munch quickly too. Some treats take a little time and practice I think. It took them 5 days to realise the brussell spouts stalk was edible. Now it's stripped almost bare within a couple of days. They ignored the cabbage football for a week. They've now figured it can be pecked at for greeny goodness. It wasn't until the second week we gave ours sweetcorn, they seemed to recognise that on an instinctive level! Woosh, gone!

 

Have treats (try different ones out as all girls seem different) , a camera and a mug of tea or coffee. Most importantly, have fun.

[MedusA]

I was advised to give them marmite on toast to help them recover from the journey which my friend who was with me thought was hilarious and the little swine refused to touch it.

 

I remember being told the same thing, only my gannets devoured theirs in no time!

[fluffyknickers]

I took all your advise and they spent some time in the Cube and then we had to help them out.

 

I offered marmite on toast and they didnt touch it!!! However they went MAD over corn and ate out of our hands!

 

They are all asleep in bed and hopefully getting settled in.

 

I am shattered I dont know about them!

x

[splodge88]

Just a word of advice.

We got ours eating out of our hands and it was cute and everything...but they can peck!!

My advice is don't get them used to eating out of your hands or whenever they see your fingers they'll think its food.

Saucers work well. So do gardening/oven gloves.

Enjoy your chickens

[fluffyknickers]

Thanks Splodge we had leather gardening gloves on! I am not brave enough without!

x

[thewhitehouse]

Aren't they wonderful? Pretty soon you'll be wondering how you managed without them!