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

[RyefordPaul]

Well I now have my Eglu & 4 chickens from Omlet for a week. It's been hard work sorting out a safe area for them when it hasn't been raining. But now I am up & running & feeling a bit more confident.

 

Pros....

 

The chickens are great very curious & friendly. When the guy from Omlet took them out of their transporter one had kindly laid an egg for us as a moving in present! They each have their own personality & my daughter just loves them. One of my cats is terrified of them & he is a right bully usually. The other cat sits by them watching & my third cat just goes for them to make em scatter so out she goes!

 

Have only just started to introduce the cats to them (yesterday) & I am sure they will settle down together.

 

Cons.....

 

My goodness the chickens are like the TV Times. I never knew there was soooooooo much in them! Poo glorious poo every where! I need new wellies to cope!

 

Concerns.......

 

As mentioned one of the chickens arrived with an egg & continued to lay for the new two days. However for the last 5 days nothing, so she has stopped. Is this something to worry about?

 

Also since arrival & for a week now, at least one of them has a very upset tummy with running yellowy brown poo (sorry if you are about to or have just eaten!). Is there anything I can do or will this settle down.

 

Just to clarify the stopping of eggs being laid & upset tummy is not because of the cats as I only introduced them yesterday.

 

All advice is most welcome for this newbie!

[Redwing]

thats very amusing about the TV Times

 

The strange poo is common for a couple of weeks after they arrive - it soon settles down and becomes firmer but no less prolific

 

The pause in egg laying is also common in the early days, most of mine laid an egg or two then thought 'wow thats an enormous thing to be laying every day I am not impressed my that mararky' and didnt lay again for some days - joking apart it is pretty common

 

Glad you like your chooks

[greenfreek]

Those are all the thoughts and concerns i had too!

 

I'm in my first week of chicken keeping too and absolutely loving it.

 

I was about to ask about the eggs, as on the first day, all of my girls laid an egg each, the following few days there were only 3 eggs (cant tell who from tho) and today there was only 1 (again, im not sure who from.)

 

I know what you mean about the poo! theres sooo much! lol

 

And the personalities too, they are all so funny with the little things they do, I find myself talking to them and chuckling away... I'm sure the neighbours think I'm mad

 

We also had the woman from the letting agency we rent our house thru, come round yesterday to do the anual house inspection....

 

She took one look and was like 'Chickens...??????' So I replied 'Yeah! - chickens are the new dog, dont you know!!' Thankfully she laughed and didnt seem at all bothered by them being there. Especially after I gaver her a handful of fresh eggs to take home.

 

 

I love my chickens!! I cant believe I've never had any before!!

[Plum]

The yellow brown poo, known affectionately as curry poo could be what they pass every 10th(?) poo and comes from a different part of the gut. Stinks don't get it on your clothes

 

I've found it's worth poo picking the run and garden at least daily so they are easier to live with

[CluckyBucks]

Hello there

 

Welcome to the forum

 

xx xx

[JanTheDiver]

I must admit I was shocked just how much can come out of a little animal but have got used to it now (except maybe not the curry sauce ones ).

 

Their characters and they way they act and play with each other makes up for the amount of poo picking I do daily

 

They make me laugh a lot and that has got to be good for the soul

[Chucky Mama]

You were maybe a bit spoiled having eggs so early. The stress of moving can product runny poos and no eggs for a short while. It should all settle down soon. I poo pick our garden a couple of times a week to keep things under control but yes they do produce a huge amount Glad to hear that you are enjoying them though. I find them very relaxing to watch and interact with. It suprised me how much they enhance our lives and we are delighted that our garden is put to good use - with our summer (or lack of) we have spent precious little time in it.

[Plum]

If you put a spoon of garlic powder (horse type) in the pellets it helps reduce the smell of the poo.

[annieblue]

It's wonderful!

This week has presented a steep learning curve though and I'm sure I've got more grey hair than I did this time last week.

 

The girls have been delightful and the characters are starting to show through a little bit more with each passing day.

I must say that I am more than a little troubled with Pip's behaviour. She is getting pecked constantly while in the run and tends to stand by the door of the run if I'm around and about in the garden.

She's always desperate to get out of the run and then goes off and potters about on her own while, the other 5 tend to stay more or less together.

All the others are very cautious and won't really come near me unless I have something tasty in my hand and even then, it's a 'peck and run'

 

Pip, on the other hand, will just happily stand next to me, eat whatever I give her and then maybe wander off - but never too far.

 

I'm worried that she's getting bullied because of the contact with me and that I'm making it worse for her. I really don't know what to do.

One thing I tried was to get her back in the run first and make sure that Lizzie (the queen chook) got in last. Not sure it made much difference but Pip took herself off to bed almost straight away and left the others scratching about in the run.

 

Any thoughts, encouragement, words of wisdom etc from newbies and experienced chook keepers would be much appreciated.

[Patricia W]

It sounds as though Pip is bottom chook. Not to worry - it's just part of the pecking order. Just make sure she can get at the food and water - put out extra feeding stations if necessary. They'll settle down- and it's nice for you that you have a cuddly one!

 

Tricia