New hens not going into Eglu Go Up

[RRRisnewtochickens]

Hi all, I'm a complete newbie here and would love some advice. I've been looking at lots of different sites about various chicken related things and I've just ordered a couple of books on Amazon, but I always think people's personal opinions and knowledge are much more valuable then anything written in a book.

 

Firstly, housing - what sort is preferable? I see that a lot of people have eglu's on here but I haven't a clue what they are or why they are better than a conventional coop? Runs - how big, how much floor space, is it better to make your own?

 

Bedding - what sort is best? And do you use different substances for the floor, the nesting boxes, the poo tray, etc? Do you actually have poo trays? Or do the chickens just prefer to go in a certain place (or is that asking too much! )?

 

Feed - what do adult chickens eat as their main diet? What about younger chicks? And why is there a need for different types at different ages? I presume this is just the same as puppy food to dog food but want to be sure. What treats/titbits are they allowed? Are there any big no no's when it comes to food? How much do they tend to eat? Any recommendations on feeders/water things?

 

Cleaning - how often is cleaning needed to be done? Any chemicals that are good and any that should be avoided?

 

Worming and such like - what do you use and how often? Are vaccinations needed for backyard chickens?

 

Handling - do chickens enjoy being handled or should you wait for them to come to you? Are they happy with children to pet them? Is it just down to the individual chicken?

 

Other animals - do they get on, can they mix or is it best to keep them completely seperate?

 

Free ranging - can you safely allow them to free range in the garden? Will they fly off? Do they need their wings clipping? Is clipping done on chickens?

 

Common ailments/illnesses - anything that we should be on the look out for? Do normal vets treat chickens or would they need to be seen by a specialist vet?

 

I think thats all for now, sorry there are so many questions! Thanks so so much for any help you can give on any of the above, I really appreciate it.

 

Ria

[Guest]

very sensible to do your research first!

 

Firstly, housing - what sort is preferable? I see that a lot of people have eglu's on here but I haven't a clue what they are or why they are better than a conventional coop? Runs - how big, how much floor space, is it better to make your own?

 

we started off with a cheap-ish wooden coop from e-bay but it leaked and we got red mite and found it impossible to shift so we invested in a cube which is much easier to maintain and we've had no problems with it.

 

Bedding - what sort is best? And do you use different substances for the floor, the nesting boxes, the poo tray, etc? Do you actually have poo trays? Or do the chickens just prefer to go in a certain place (or is that asking too much! )?

 

we use aubiose in the cube, in the nest box, in the poo trays and the run...it's really absorbant stuff, keeps whiffs down and can be composted.

 

Feed - what do adult chickens eat as their main diet? What about younger chicks? And why is there a need for different types at different ages? I presume this is just the same as puppy food to dog food but want to be sure. What treats/titbits are they allowed? Are there any big no no's when it comes to food? How much do they tend to eat? Any recommendations on feeders/water things?

 

adult chickens eat layers mash or layers pellets, both contain the same stuff but mash is ground up. If your chooks are in the run for a long time it helps to feed mash. It takes them longer to eat it so keeps them busy but it's a personal choice really.

 

chicks eat chick crumb, yes they have ddifferent nutritional needs at different ages hence different foods.

 

Cleaning - how often is cleaning needed to be done? Any chemicals that are good and any that should be avoided?

 

we pick the lumps of poo out of the nest box/poo tray once a day. The run gets a good clean about every 4-6 weeks depending on the weather. When it's wet we tend to clean it more often as it gets slushy and a bit smelly.

 

we use poultry shield to clean the cube and dig garden lime into the soil in the run before putting the new bedding down.

 

Worming and such like - what do you use and how often? Are vaccinations needed for backyard chickens?

 

flubenvet every 3-4 months. vaccinations are done by the hatchery or the breeder. smaller breeders don't use vaccinations as they're very costly but we've got vaccinated and unvaccinated girls in our flock.

 

Handling - do chickens enjoy being handled or should you wait for them to come to you? Are they happy with children to pet them? Is it just down to the individual chicken?

 

some chickens like it, others don't, they all have their own personality let them settle in first and try hand feeding them, you'll get to know which of them likes cuddles.

 

Other animals - do they get on, can they mix or is it best to keep them completely seperate?

 

no, keep seperate IMO. My yorkshire terrier is okay with the chooks but they attack her. Birds are highly strung animals so just be ultra careful.

 

Free ranging - can you safely allow them to free range in the garden? Will they fly off? Do they need their wings clipping? Is clipping done on chickens?

 

ours live in a big walk in run, I don't want them to free range all day every day as i wouldn't have a garden left to speak of AND I worry about foxes. Some people clip their wings, we don't tend to bother as they've never shown any inclination to take flight and our fences are over 6 foot.

 

Common ailments/illnesses - anything that we should be on the look out for? Do normal vets treat chickens or would they need to be seen by a specialist vet?

 

some people say "my vet doesn't do chickens" but a chicken has more or the less the same anatomy as most other birds so if a vet can treat a budgie then i don't see why they can't treat a chicken! we do actually use a vet that deals with farm animals and they're great with our girls so if you have a problem, look for a vet that deals with farm animals/livestock.

 

have a look thru the chicken clinic on here to see what people are asking about but don't let it frighten you.

 

hope that helps

[Egluntyne]

Why not have a read of the FAQ Section. There is heaps of info there for the new owner.

[RRRisnewtochickens]

Thank you so so much for your replies, its so helpful to hear answers from someone personally. I really appreciate your help.