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

[beverley]

hi, i'm really unsure what to do. i've my chickens for six months (omlet) i wrote a post recently asking about when to worm, so with the replies, i went to a poultry nursery

near to me, to buy some verm ex . the man i spoke to was very anti omlet, and said that

they had been on the wrong food. i had bought layer pellets from omlet when i got the girls in november, they were still eating the same bag. the man said they had been too young

to have them when i got them. (they didn't lay until mid feb) he said not to give them any more, as they would be now out of date. he said to try them on growers mash, as this was

a better conditioner for the hens. he also advised me not to worm them yet. i am now only getting about 6 eggs a week. and on cleaning the eglu today there was a soft egg under the rungs. olive had been sneezing so i have been putting citridel in there drinking water.

sorry this is such a long post. but im so worried im doing the wrong thing. both chickens look well, i do give them greens etc in the morning as i work all day, and they are often in bed

before i come home. they mainly freerange at the weekends.

please does anyone have any advice?

oh and the one of them has started laying very pale rough eggs.

thank you

beverley

[quickcluck]

Oh Beverley you poor thing......

 

I'm not an expert as still I novice, but if they are laying they should be on Layers pellets of some variety. The bag you had should have an expiry date on them. I think some people find that their chooks are not keen on the organic ones so maybe try Small holders or Marriages.....

 

Worming is a good idea, but I think the general opinion is that Vermin-X is good but Flubenvet is preferred.........

 

If you are having softies make sure you have grit with some oyster shell, or add some Limestone flour to the feed or some liquid calcium to their water.

 

On the whole though, if this chap is making you feel like a bad chook mummy which you are not then change supplier!

 

Hope this helps.....

[splodge88]

If they're omlet chickens they should be old enough for layers pellets and should be fine to worm. I don't know how long the pellets last but they eat more as they begin laying. At first they seem to last a long time but once they become steady layers they will eat more. The odd soft egg is nothing to worry about although you can always give them cooked eggshell or grit. I've never had a problem with sneezing but I've heard citridel works well. Pale rough eggs don't sound too bad, one of our chickens laid a few but they went normal again.

Sounds like your doing a great job

p.s. I use verm-x too and it works fine.

[Aggienator]

I am always distrustful of someone who is so "expert" that they rubbish others. If Omlet were so terrible they wouldn't have so many happy customers! I suspect that the chicken business is like lots of others, there are lot sof ways of doing things, and lots of people who will tll you there is only one

 

I'm sure everyone on here does things a bit differently, and all have healthy chooks

[Guest]

i went to a poultry nursery

near to me, to buy some verm ex . the man i spoke to was very anti omlet, and said that

they had been on the wrong food. sorry this is such a long post. but im so worried im doing the wrong thing. both chickens look well, i do give them greens etc in the morning as i work all day, and they are often in bed

before i come home. they mainly freerange at the weekends.

please does anyone have any advice?

beverley

 

Sorry I live very near Stevenage and I bet I know where u went as I went to the same Garden centre ??

 

just guessing as the man tried to tell me to cancel my omlet chickens...didnt like the attitude..I am no expert at all but common sense prevails as i have other animals and most traits are the same for most of them(habits etc)

 

He was sort of nice but IF we are talking the same i did go out of my way to buy chickens elsewhere even if it meant a bit of a day out..he was expensive?? Am i correct?? Sticking my neck out here...?AND dont get me wrong I am a great fan of supporting local community businesses etc..

 

Mine were 18weeks and the lady that sold me them told me to give them layers pellets so I am plus other s"Ooops, word censored!"s ..we are experimenting..and so far its all good fun for the girlies

Enjoy indie

[Guest]

Beverley if u live in stevenage at Sandon is Sales of Sandon..they sell everything for poultry(not sure about wormer though..which I ordered on line last nite...if u look at flubenvet posting etc..u can get a smaller tub of it though).

I bought a bag of layers pellets 20kg at £6.90 from Sandon, they do all the different types of bedding & are open on Saturdays.

Thornes also sell it but are very expenive etc etc was that the centre u mean?

indie

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Hi Beverley . Sounds to me like you're doing all the right things. I wouldn't let what he said worry you unduly . I don't understand why he's saying put them on growers mash now . They're laying and should be on layers - we're all told to put our hens on layers when we get them at POL even though some may take a while to start laying.

 

Did you get the Vermex? If not, why not ask on the forum if you can buy some Flubenvet from somebody (like Indie999 ). The smaller tub is very expensive comparatively but the large tub will last for years so you can afford to sell some and still have enough for your own use!

 

I've been having all kinds of eggs recently, rough ones, pale ones, loads of softies - I think it's just blips in their laying and nothing to worry about (although I've ordered some Zolcal D to sort the softies out!)

[Guest]

Hi will pm Beverley as she is not far from me I think?? I have no idea how much wormer/dose to use as it hasnt arrived..I did pm last nite

 

I am still intrigued which centre said those things as I got a similar load of tosh too...as Harry Enfield says"saw u coming"

[Henhathnofury]

I get very irritated by these so called experts, who I suspect simply want to sell the layers mash. Chickens can have both, from the point of lay - most breeders use them and of course, they do know their stuff. Please don't get anxious - although I know that it is scary. This may has undermined your confidence and he is clearly on an anti-Omlet binge. Chickens get a bit sneezy sometimes too; my girls have had the sniffles from time to time. But I am pretty sure that they can be wormed....best to ask some of the lovely people on here.

 

You are being a wonderful caring carer for your girls...exactly how it should be.....I am sorry this man has undermined your confidence...

[The Dogmother]

If they are laying then they need to be on layers pellets/mash.

 

If they've been wormed recently then there isn't any need to do it again unles you think they have worms.

 

I always find that Limestone Flour works well if they are laying softies. I get mine from an equine feed store and it's by NAF.

 

Good luck with your girlies

[BarbaraJ]

Hm thats interesting!!!! i got told not to use organic pellets which i wasn't to bothered about but he was quite pleasant BUT i did not mention OMLET. Would be interesting to see if his attitude changed if i did

[Yolky]

Every time my Husband goes to buy our organic pellets he gets told by the bloke where we go not to bother with organic. I want the organic ones, they are only about a quid or 2 more and I only have 3 chooks so a bag lasts ageeessss.

[madchickenlady]

Hmmm. Well, I do give my girlies growers pellets if they're a bit under the weather, but not for more than two days. A laying chicken needs layers pellets/mash to keep her healthy. I also provide oyster shell in a cup in the run, and they eat a lot of this. Verm-x is a preventative, but it will not get rid of a worm problem if it's already present. I give my girls verm-x every two months or so (they love the pellets!) and use flubenvet twice a year, too, just to be sure. Personally, if your ladies have never been wormed, I would give them a dose of flubenvet just to make sure. As for the pellets being out of date, it is possible. Most poultry people I know discard pellets after about 8 weeks if they're not eaten, as it can go 'stale'. You'll know if it does, because it smells vaguely of vomit This only happened to me once, when my girls were still on growers and didn't eat half as much! I think that bag had been open for about 4 months, through the summer. I'm just coming to the end of a bag of layers, which was bought in january, and it still smells 'fresh'.

[Daphne]

There is a label on the bottom of feed sacks showing you the composition of the food and its use by (or sell by, can't remember). If it is out of date then do stop using it - because the vits/minerals/oils whatever go 'off' and your birds won't get the full nourishment. However, this won't help if you have a smaller quantity bought in a plastic bag.

[beverley]

thanks everyone for your replies, it has helped put my mind at rest, as i said they both look healthy. but you just need to know you're doing the best thing for them don't you.

beverley