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SueChick

First Chicken Keeping Queries

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We have had our ladies 2 1/2 weeks now and have had our first egg already! Kids and us are very excited. Couple of questions if anyone could help.....

 

What extra titbits has everyone found they like? Successful so far - pasta, rice, melon and raisins. Royally refused: tomatoes, strawberries and apples.

 

I read on someones forum posting that they put CD's up in their run - what is this actually for? What do the girls do to them?? What other fun things do they like in their run? A newspaper article I read said they kick a whole white cabbage around for fun - is this right?

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What extra titbits has everyone found they like? Successful so far - pasta, rice, melon and raisins. Royally refused: tomatoes, strawberries and apples.

 

I read on someones forum posting that they put CD's up in their run - what is this actually for? What do the girls do to them?? What other fun things do they like in their run? A newspaper article I read said they kick a whole white cabbage around for fun - is this right?

 

Mine love sweetcorn, grapes, dried mealworms plus the things you mention, including the ones yours rejected.

 

The cds are to amuse them. They are supposed to like pecking at their reflections in them.

 

Mine weren't fussed so I took them down.

 

Welcome to the forum by the way.

:D

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Mine go wlid for sweetcorn. I bought a red (to match my Eglu) plastic dog bowl from Wilkinson's for about 60p which is their treat bowl. I need no Pavlov to know that they associate it with their treats! They free range during the day, we have just netted off the bottom of the garden for them, & I scatter cracked corn in there to keep them busy :D

i have not tried a CD yet. Some people hang greens in a string bag from the top of the run, or stuff a dog toy ball which has those holes in full of greens to keep the girls happy- but I don't know if the hens kick it about :lol::lol::lol:

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I tried the CD/mirror in the run but they were scared of it :roll:

 

I use a wire bird feeder to hang up bits of apple.lettuce, melon, cucumber etc for them as a treat if it's raining and they dont want to free range.

 

Try a whole corn on the cob in the run - always good fun to watch :lol:

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Also lumps of polystyrene hung up in the run.

I read somewhere that they like to peck bits off and eat them. Apparently it goes straight through them and does them no harm.

 

I hung a lump up for my girls and they didn't touch it for over a week but now all three of them love pecking at it and it keeps them amused for ages. (and yes, it does go through them ok :wink: )

 

I have also got a cat litter tray in the run with compost in it so that they can dustbath as well as a perch going from one side to the other which they like standing on (when they are pecking their polystyrene) and they like bobbing down to walk underneath it. :D

 

I have a hay rack (a rabbit one) above the door which I fill with treats as well as a basket thing which I got from Wilkinsons which is a suet feeder for wild birds and I stuff greens in that too.

 

As for the CD-mine are not too interested but I have left it up anyway just incase they fancy having a look at themselves.

 

I do like giving them things to do as mine only free range when I am in the garden with them so when I'm not outside they are in the run.

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Also lumps of polystyrene hung up in the run.

I read somewhere that they like to peck bits off and eat them. Apparently it goes straight through them and does them no harm.

 

 

 

I've not heard of that!

Does it make their poos blow away in the wind :lol::lol::wink:

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Also lumps of polystyrene hung up in the run.

I read somewhere that they like to peck bits off and eat them. Apparently it goes straight through them and does them no harm.

 

 

 

I've not heard of that!

Does it make their poos blow away in the wind :lol::lol::wink:

 

Now that would be useful! :lol:

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I think some of these chickens eat better than me!! Ours would follow you to the ends of the earth for dried mealworms, they also like corn on the cob, hated broccoli (which I can never spell!) and LOVE worms, slugs and snails, but mostly worms. They caught a moth today - fell out of the poo trays whilst I was cleaning them, and it nearly caused a riot :shock: . And if you ever get midges or mosquitos it's hysterical watching them trying to catch them on the run!

You must have got yours about the same time we got ours - 16th of June. Being nosey, :roll: where are you, how many have you got, what are they (chickens obviously!) We LOVE having chickens, we're new to it too, the kids popularity has increased 10 fold since the chooks came to stay! :D

 

Mrs Bertie

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Thanks to everyone who answered my queries - will try your suggestions. We are in Chatham in Kent and have 2 x gingernut rangers - called Chicken and Nugget (named by the children, I must add!). They have been a huge success although not with the cat who cannot believe that these huge new birds in her garden are not only not scared of her, they actually chase her away!

 

Chicken has now laid 3 eggs but Nugget doesn't seem to have a clue so far!!!!

 

One more question - do any of you hang up the 'glug' water feeder to keep the water a bit fresher? I was shown by the man who set it all up to put it down on the floor but they keep digging up dirt and bark chip into it and it needs changing all the time. Is it too heavy full to hang up on the run?

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The Glug is designed to sit on the ground: the plastic hooks are just for gentle support at the back to stop it falling forward, not to carry weight. It would not be possible to hang it up.

 

What you would have liked is the old peanut-shaped drinker. Some of us still think that they were better, so sadly (from your point of view) are keeping them. They held less, but being lighter they could be hung up easily: they had proper hooks designed for this too.

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The Glug is designed to sit on the ground: the plastic hooks are just for gentle support at the back to stop it falling forward, not to carry weight. It would not be possible to hang it up.

 

:shock: I've always hung both the Glugs up! :shock:

 

They have never fallen off, and I fill them to the brim every day. :D

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The Glug is designed to sit on the ground: the plastic hooks are just for gentle support at the back to stop it falling forward, not to carry weight. It would not be possible to hang it up.

 

:shock: I've always hung both the Glugs up! :shock:

 

They have never fallen off, and I fill them to the brim every day. :D

 

:lol: Me too!! I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to :?:lol:

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Mrs Bertie, where did you get your chickens from?? I am only in Woking and have won an eglu on ebay so will be getting chickens in a couple of weeks when I get back from holiday. I did post a thread on here previously asking if anyone knew a local breeder in Surrey (as my mum was getting chickens for her birthday and got 5 which has just added to my excitement!!) as Hollywater hens don't have any stock due to the owner being ill, Southmead poultry in Leatherhead where we got my mum's were excellent but once the ones she has at the moment are sold there wont be anymore until Sept and I don't think I can wait that long, and the place in Ligh"Ooops, word censored!"er seems extremely expensive with prices starting at £26.... I'll have to start saving again if I want to get 3 chooks....

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I hang our glugs up too! Roy from Omlet who put it together hung it up for me so that's what I've always done - they still get it mucky tho! And I'm afraid we paid out and went to Perfect Poultry and got ours there - was given a bit of cash by an old great uncle so the cost wasn't so much of a factor, plus didn't want to drive miles and miles to get them. We got two from Omlet and the rest from PP. But you're right, they're not cheap! (cheep, geddit :roll: )

 

mrs B

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I think I may get a couple of cheap ones from the Leatherhead place and 1 expensive one from Perfect Poultry, I just didn't want all 3 the same and I guess if I get them all on the same day it should be a problem mixing them all together should it - I think the Leatherhead place will only have ISA browns left by the time we get back from holiday and the only reason we weren't so keen on them is she said as they've been bred for egg laying, they only live 2-4 years which doesn't seem very long at all :?

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We got ours from different places and introduced them all together and it was fine. We then introduced two more a week later and still had hardly any pecking, I think we were very lucky. Don't be put off by the older guy at PP, just ask for Matt if you ring or turn up, he's really nice and knows EVERYTHING about chickens. Ian is the older guy I think and is very abrupt and has a sense of humour so dry it's like the Sahara desert - he seems really rude but he's actually not that bad. It's very off-puttinh tho!

 

mrs B

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The Glug is designed to sit on the ground: the plastic hooks are just for gentle support at the back to stop it falling forward, not to carry weight. It would not be possible to hang it up.

 

:shock: I've always hung both the Glugs up! :shock:

 

They have never fallen off, and I fill them to the brim every day. :D

 

I am definitely hanging mine up then because they fill it up with bark chip all the time with their frantic digging for worms! Chicken ate 9 worms one after the other yesterday - she found a good patch in the garden and thought it was her birthday.

 

People have been saying they hang up greens in wire bird feeders, etc, is this raw or cooked? My too girls ate the cooked brocoli stalks the other day but I wasn't sure what you were meant to cook and what they can manage to eat raw. Water melon went down well yesterday as well. Can they have bread products? Though about hanging up a bagel from the run for food and entertainment value (for them and us!).

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or stuff a dog toy ball which has those holes in full of greens to keep the girls happy- but I don't know if the hens kick it about :lol::lol::lol:

 

Actually, they tend to throw it about rather than kick it :lol::lol::lol:

 

Mine love sweetcorn, grapes, slugs, celery hung up, spring greens hung up, corn ( but not too often as its fattening), warm cooked veg peelings in the Winter. The Gingers used to hate broccoli until we got the Pepperpots who like it, now they all eat it.

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and me! :shock: in fact I'm sure the Omlet man hung it in position when he assembled the Eglu and run. I've nver considered not hanging it up!

 

Mine love the leaves from cauliflower; potato peelings (cooked); courgettes, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, broccoli - most of this is peelings/stuff going off in the fridge, I don't buy it specially.

 

but they WON'T eat slugs :evil: I thought this was what chickens were supposed to do! flippin' slugs are actually taking sanctuary in the Eglu run, there were two happily playing in there this morning!

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When I was a very nervous first time mother hen to the chicks, I tried them on some different foot stuffs with different results

 

marmite on toast - they thought they had been posioned, wiped their beaks along the ground and drank water

bananas, the same

raisins - sorry mum am not eating old grapes

grapes - totally addicted. They may need to Grape eaters annoymus meetings. Actually they wouldn't have a fermenting alchollicially effect in their digestive system - would it ?

cauliflower - yuck

brocoolli - double yuck

minature cabbages (reduced in Sainsburys), they loved, a food stuff and a football in one

Lettuce - okay

live meal worms (You cannot beleive how much they cost), well okay but not in the grape category.

 

Love giving them new things to see if they like them. Cannot wait to try them on brussel sprouts on the stalk bits.....

 

Cherryl and the girls

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But they are so dreadfully heavy when full. Are they really meant to be hung up??? The Glug holds four pints (which weigh five pounds).

 

I have just looked at the Omlet website, and they do appear to be hung up. How very strange. I must try it.

 

The old peanut-style feeders had proper metal hooks on the back that clipped tightly on the wire so that they didn't fall off. I felt safer with them.

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