Unsecure chicken perches

[Chucky Mama]

I know that this has been done before but I wonder if it might be helpful to start a new thread on the topic of your daily/weekly routine with your chickens.

 

My set up is:

I cube with standard run

5 chickens

1/3 acre approx garden, walled on 3 sides & fenced on remainder

Treadle type feeder in run and one of those hanging water jobs in run plus a glug that is lowered for them to drink from the top

 

Feed Layers pellets - Argo usually (easy to get from my cash & carry) but currently Fancy Feeds (bit squitty on them so going back to Argo when finished)

No supplements. The odd s"Ooops, word censored!" from the kitchen, maybe once a week. Mealworm (handful) occasionally, maybe once a month.

 

Morning 7.30 - 9am (whenever I am up and about) let girls out of run to free range. Check for eggs & remove any poo from nesting area (not often a problem). The cube door is left 1/3 open all year so they can get up in the morning and eat and drink.

 

Evening in the summer, shut in at about 9pm (winter as soon as light goes ?4pm)

 

Keep a check on water and top up with watering can.

 

Cleaning

 

Move run to fresh grass once a week, knock out poo trays and switch to fresh set of bars (1 have 2). I stand the dirty ones up against the wall and with all the rain we have they are usually clean by the time I need to swap again! Poo trays lined with newspaper or a sprinkle of auboise. Empty and refresh water. Refill feeder.

 

Once every 3-4 weeks, powerwash cube and replace nesting material (auboise on bottom, shredded paper on top). Give the whole cube a good spray with RIP Fleas (anti mite prevention/treatment) - smells nice and hopefully keeps any crawlies at bay.

 

Garden poo picked once a week or when the boys want to play football. I poo pick using a trug and a cat litter scoop. I put the poo in the compost.

 

Chickens given the once over every once in a while to check for lice etc. They are wormed with Flubenvet 3 times a year- I allow them to free range during worming as I consider them low risk and am rubbish at keeping animals penned.

 

That is my routine and it works for me. 2 of my girls are now 4 years old (1 still laying) I have no pecking, bullying, have never had lice etc ( ). We have lost 2 to peritonitis. I get 4 eggs every day pretty much all year round and they taste delicious

[Olly]

Setup

Walk-in run 2m x 3m, Eglu on a platform

Run is earth, with sawdust/aubiose added from time to time

Plastic feeder, suspended from roof of run

Galvanised drinker, stood on a short log of wood

6 hybrid hens

100 foot garden, fenced

 

Feed: layers pellets, a friend kindly picks these up for me as the farm shop is near her workplace

Treats: Vegetable peelings, bolted cabbages etc

Occasional limestone flour in the feed, no supplements otherwise

I also have a barrel of grain sweepings (my neighbour knows someone who works on a farm) this varies from time to time, I use a handful to get them back in the run

 

Morning - nip up garden, check all hens are upright, collect any eggs and remove smashed egg if necessary (I'm getting one nearly every day at the moment, someone's laying softies)

Evening - get home from work, let hens out to free range while I cut lawn/do watering, dead-head etc - this doesn't happen every night, and in winter hardly at all. Fill up feeder and drinker, change bedding in nest-box if it's very pooey/eggy. Handful of corn to get hens back inside.

Weekly (or less often) - empty poo tray, take Eglu out of run on to lawn and hose off worst bits, scrub anything resistant with a brush and washing-up liquid; re-assemble, aubiose in poo tray and nesting box, and red mite powder in nooks and crannies

 

3 monthly (or it might be less often ) rake out run floor, dig over and dig in some garden lime, scrub Eglu table, jetwash Eglu

 

Checking hens over - visual check while they are out and about, occasionally turn them all upside down to check for lice/mites but I mainly rely on the hens looking healthy and active

 

This is minimalist I know, but like Chucky Mama my oldest hen is now 4, they are laying and happy and I have never had disease problems. One of mine does very runny poos, but she is laying and seems fine in every other way so I don't worry about it.

 

I don't poo pick, I either hose down any very messy ones on the patio, or just leave them to dry on the lawn. I don't have children, however - might be different if I did.

 

I remember getting my first ever Eglu five years ago, and taking the poo tray out on the first day, emptying it and washing it! What was I thinking ... hens don't really care about muck.

[Mrs_B]

My set up is:

1 Eglu Go with standard run + 1 meter extension, woodchip dust bath (big plant pot) - 2 chickens

1 Cottage Hen house and run (Flyte So Fancy), woodchip, dust bath with roof (from Flyte So Fancy) – 3 chickens

Due to fox problems, the chickens are currently allowed out onto grass into a 21 meter netting – but getting an electric fence approx 50 meters very soon

Grub & Glug in Cottage, Go feeder/drinker in Go. Auboise used for bedding/nest boxes. Various perches made from branches.

 

Feed Garvo Layers Mash. Handful of Garvo Alphamix & handful of corn in late afternoon.

Calcium powder/crushed egg shells in food twice a week. Verm-X pellets * garlic/mint always put in food. ACV in water twice a week & Life Guard/Nutri Drops as when I need them. Fine grit and calcium grit always available. I was giving the girls apples and pears but have now spotted this to once a week because they got runny poos!

 

Morning 5.30am, I set my alarm close to sunrise to let girls out of their house and into the run. I also poop pick the houses. Check for eggs during the morning/afternoon.

Evening in the summer, shut in the house about 9.30pm when girls have all put themselves to bed. Haven’t experienced winter yet, but I imagine much earlier!

 

Cleaning

 

Everyday, poop pick on the lawn and ‘tidy’ messy woodchip which has escaped the runs.

Run is kept in one place with woodchip. Once/twice a week the woodchip is ‘dug/raked up’ with Stalosan F. Poop pick first thing in the mornings. Clean out houses once a week with lice/poultry spray and dust. Scrub wooden house and the perches/nest box inside. Put the minimal amount of newspaper under the perches of the Go and on the dirt tray in the wooden coop and put Auboise on top (the chickens eat the newspaper otherwise!) Also, once a week, all feeders and drinkers are cleaned thoroughly.

Every few days fill up dust baths and fill up feeders/drinkers.

Every 2ish months, I intend on disinfecting the woodchip areas with Virkon S.

 

Poop and auboise goes onto the compost, everything else is double bagged and binned.

 

Chickens are picked up and checked once a week to check for lice etc. Having only had the chickens 6 weeks I have only wormed them once, but intend on doing so every couple of months. Will also change the woodchip every 4-6 months as and when I think it needs doing.

 

All my chickens are now laying – my Columbine laid her first yesterday and it was gorgeous. They have really tested me and caused lots of stress (pecking, red mite, softies etc) and I wish I could give them more space, but I am happy I have given them what I can and hope they are with me a long while!

 

x

[jimnpaula]

Setup

Eglu and Cube attached to (currently) 6ft x 9ft WIR on slabs, 3ft x 6ft shelf, 6ft branch

Rapport bedding on floor and poo trays, trialling astroturf in eglu nestbox

9 hybrids

3 glugs, 4 grubs, 2 mixed grit pots

chook house doors open all year round unless snowing/ other severe weather

large garden

 

feed

Garvo layers pellets 731 preferred, Dodson & Horrell layers pellets otherwise, Garvo Alphamix or mixed corn as treats

sometimes added: garlic & mint, Poultry spice

occasional leafy vegs, fruit, weeds

 

daily

someone (usually hubby) pops out in the 'morning' (ie before noon) for egg check & chicken count, refill any empty pots, use watering can to transport water, additional if someone is me: poop scoop nestbox, observe chooks for healthy demeanour

possible free range time during day/evening depending on shifts/weather/time of year

evening check for eggs/demeanour/food/water

 

weekly/2 weekly

s"Ooops, word censored!"e the plop off roosting bars/out of nestbox, empty trays, scrub out glugs, optional depending on suitable drying weather and whether it got done last time: spray down with poultry shield/ scrub down and rinse, poultry shield, diatom

 

much less frequently

s"Ooops, word censored!"e plop off run shelf, change Rapport flooring substrate, dismantle houses for thorough clean and poultry shield, worming with flubenvet

 

I don't poo pick the lawn, I might if we had kids. Free ranging must be supervised as we have foxes in the area.

[AndreaT]

Set up

 

Cube attached to 6 x 12ft WIR on slabs, 3 x 6ft shelf and large branch.

Easibed on floor, sawdust in nest box/poop trays

Hanging feeder, honeypot drinker

4 chickens

 

Eglu classic on a table in 2 x 2m WIR.

Easibed on floor, sawdust in nest box/poop trays

grub and glug

2 chickens

 

Both runs have a small, netted, free range area and the coops are left open year round unless weather is extreme.

 

feed

 

Layers pellets, currently trying Garvo but use what I can get at farm/pet store

Have a selection of supplements inc. AVC, garlic powder, poultry spice which I have been using regularly. Also put out a bowl of oyster grit.

Occasional treats inc. Garvo chicken treats, corn, mealworms and a selection of fruit/veg.

 

daily

 

Check for eggs, fill feeders and drinkers as required.

Poop pick/refill nest box as required, add red mite powder if new sawdust added

 

Cleaning

 

Weekly or when needed; Empty poop trays, clean roosting bars, wash feeders/drinkers

 

Monthly; Dismantle coops for a full clean and dusting with red mite powder, clean/s"Ooops, word censored!" tables/shelf and rake over flooring (inside and out), sprinkle with sanitising powder.

 

Quarterly (ish!)

 

Replace flooring. Worm and treat for lice/mites.

 

M girls don't particularly like being handled so I tend to leave them to it and react if I see something wrong. I've had my fair share of drama in the 12 months I've had them but they all lay regularly, even Fizz the one winged wonder , and seem happy enough so I must be doing something right!

[jackian]

Set up (I want a cube) 2 wooden coups one empty at the moment (they all squeeze into one ) .WIR with corregated plastic roof 5m x 5m seperated in the middle with an open sliding door. aubriese on the floor and 2 dust baths .(they all squeeze into one ) Down to 3 girls from 4.

Feed Wriggley pellets at the moment . Our local pet shop has pellets but they bag them up themselves so not sure. Veg gone to seed from allotment especcially spinach .Occasional pasta s"Ooops, word censored!"s or rice with peas or sweetcorn in afternoon . Given up on meal worms as sooo exspensive.

Morning Up at 6 and let them out ,. make sure their food is there and plenty of water which is 2 grubs and 2 metal water dishes...As all 3 sleep in the nest box scoop poop the box and take one sheet of newspaper off the coup floor and wrap all poo and put in compost bin ...They are a bit like my OH first thing in the morning and don't have a lot to say so let them roam in their bit of garden until 8 when I go to work.Lock them in at 8 till 1.15ish.

Evening They FR until bed time which at the moment is about 9 (but getting earlier every evening ) I always watch them go to bed ..Love it ! Scoop any poo from patio with an old BBQ spatula and fill a watering can with water and disinfectant and wash the patio and sweep over .Bring in their food bowls.

Weekly When I first had them 15 months ago I was so paticular but now just as clean but not so paranoid

change waubrose in nest box and scrub coup in and out with washing up liquid and water ,lay 7 layers of telegraph on floor (something for them to read and it just fits perfectly ) spray with Wilkos pet disinfectaent (smells nice)and scatter red mite powder every where. rake over anything on floor of WIR and top up dust baths with old compost and rlice powder .etc.,and scatter sanatizing stuff over.

2 of them get picked up everyday and stroked and chatted too 1 not on your life! I talk to them all the time and my neighbour reckons I make more noise talking to them than they do boking .

wormed every 3 months or so but I don't really keep them locked up during that time ...Never had lice yet or red mite or lice etc.,(fingers crossed.

[Lavenders_Blue]

Set-up

Approx 20m.sq open run with woodchip

Two wooden arks (roosting area and nest box above integral run)

1 wooden dustbath (Flyte so Fancy)

1 small Grandpa's Feeder and 2 galvanised drinkers, both stood on a pallet

5 ex batts

 

Feed

Layers Mash. Currently Heygates, but I don't like it as much as Smallholder so planning to switch back.

Mixed grit always available.

Greens fed when I have them (maybe once a week).

Occasional handful of wheat.

Supplements: Currently adding garlic to the food to attempt to reduce poo smells (not sure it's making any difference so I probably won't continue once this tub is finished). Lifeguard tonic in the water to improve egg quality - has only been an issue since feeding Heygates.

 

Daily Routine

7am - hens let out of their ark run into the pen

Afternoon/evening - check for eggs and clean out nestbox if needed (occasional squashed egg)

Dusk - Lock hens into their arks. Check food and water.

 

Weekly Routine

Clean out arks - poo picking and changing nest box bedding. Sprinkle of Stalosan if needed, but that's very occasional. Check for mites in the coop.

Try and grab an unsuspecting hen to check for lice.

 

Less Frequently

Take coops apart, Poultry Shield and scrub clean. Requires a dry day to allow coops to dry out - not happened yet this year

Apply wood preserver to coops - once a year

Rake over woodchip in run. Change as necessary (mammoth job). Have used Stalosan in the run this year due to horrid weather creating horrid smells, but not used in the past. Will probably Stalosan the woodchips periodically - as and when needed.

Worm girls with Flubenvet 3x per year, no change to routine as they don't FR in my garden and get little by way of treats.

 

Like a few others, this is quite a minimalist routine but I have happy, healthy hens including 2 ex batts who are fast approaching 3 years freedom and... STILL LAYING! So I can't be doing anything so terribly wrong.

[Minnie&Moose]

Set up

Cube with 2m run inside 36 square metre run protected by electric netting.

Area is divided in 2, birds occupy one half for 6 months, then switched to other half: area that is resting is reseeded; area birds occupy is covered in hardwood chips once grass has gone.

4 large fowl currently

birds get to free-range in garden when we're around at weekends or holiday times.

 

Feed

Organic feed co. layers pellets

Occasional handful of corn & daily greens when their grass runs out

Supplements - poultry spice or Life Guard during moulting, cod liver oil added to pellets once a week during the winter (aging hybrid seems to need this to help with egg shell quality)

 

Daily routine

Cube left open except when temperature drops below freezing so birds normally have access to cube run.

Let out into electric fence anytime from 6.45am onwards

Fresh water daily

Pellets topped up if necessary

Greens hung up in main run when they have them

Each bird checked visually to see they're behaving normally

Eggs collected daily, usually late when we get home.

Cube run door shut once birds have gone to bed or in winter, when we come home

Electric fence is kept on day and night - checked every day to see it's functioning OK.

 

Weekly routine

Droppings tray emptied twice weekly, aubiose from nest box used to line them

Roosting bars s"Ooops, word censored!"ed and washed weekly

Aubiose in nest box refilled at weekend

wood chip raked and sprinkled with Stalosan F most weeks

birds caught and checked over

Grub and Glub washed out

 

Less frequently

Cube dismantled and scrubbed out with barrier VI disinfectant every 3-4 weeks, and sprayed with Poultry Shield.

Wood chips changed every 6 months, area treated with garden lime and then reseeded. Birds moved to other section.

Worming - every 3 months with Flubenvet.

 

Birds laying well given their ages and breeds!

[patsylabrador]

MY SET UP

Walk in run 3m x3m

wooden coop with small attached run

Jacobs cracker plastic box for feed

Congratulations sweets plastic container for water - both of which sit on a little platform of bricks.

Earth floor with gravel mixed in

Logs for them to jump on and walk along

 

FEED

Layers pellets

Plenty of Spring greens, cabbage s"Ooops, word censored!"s.

Very, very occassionally a cream cake - Hermione has a sweet tooth.

Sometimes a cheese sandwich

Sometimes a shovel or two from the compost bins for all those delicious bugs

mealworms sometimes but they get shouty and demanding if they know I've got those.

 

MORNING

Get them up about 8am at the moment

Clean poo out of coop

Clean up any food s"Ooops, word censored!"s

Top up feed and put in fresh water.

I tried leaving the coop door open but they're too noisy too early then.

 

EVENING

Put them to bed around 8pm

They always go to bed with a corn cob and their water bowl, partly because it stops them shouting in the morning and partly because I feel happier that any broody girls can get food and drink in case they haven't had enough in the day.

 

CLEANING

We refresh their coop about once a fortnight during the summer and once a week in winter because they're in there so much longer then. I sweep it out and spray with poultry shield usually at that point.

I use Miscanthus (elephant grass) it's £6.50 a bale, smells nice, lasts forever and does NOT get carried into the house. It doesn't fly around or stick to the chicken's feet. It is dusty and makes me sneeze though when I get it out of the bag so that should be considered.

Every couple of months I take the floor out of the coop and scrub as much as I can reach.

They don't freerange so looking after the earth floor is important. Every couple of months we shovel a certain amount out, put down garden lime and stalosan. Sometimes we put in some new bags of soil and gravel. It works, it never smells. Occasionally I dig a hole for them to play in and the soil looks lovely.

Every now and then I turn over and move the logs which reveals all sorts of hidden delights.

 

I've had my three ladies since Summer 2009 with no issues so quite happy with my set up.

[loumabel]

SET UP

 

2 cubes and 1 classic in three WIR's

Dustbaths in each

Lots of perches and a jungle gym in each WIR

Bantams Free range all day, Ex batts for only about an hour each day

 

FEED

Smallholder range layers crumb mixed with equims eggshell improver.

tsp of cod liver oil on each bowl once a week

Lifeguard or ACV added to water every other week

greens in the afternoon, lettuce, cabbage or apples usually

Meal worms or mixed corn as a treat

 

DAILY

Poo pick nest box (they all sleep in the nest boxes!)

Change newspaper in poo trays

Change water in Drinkers

Wash food bowls at the end of the day when I lock them up at night

 

WEEKLY

Dismantle and scrub eglus with pet safe disinfectant. Spray nooks and cranies with poultry shield. Diatom bedding (wood shavings) I actually do this every other week now and on the other week I just wash the roosting bars and change wood shavings.

Rake over aubiose in WIR's and sprinkle with Stalosan F

Scrub and sterilise Drinkers with Milton

Add Diatom to dust baths and top up with fresh Peat as necessary

Hang up a new fly paper in WIR each week in the summer

 

Check birds over and very occasionally dust with a bit of Diatom.

 

Every TWO MONTHS

Remove and Change aubiose in WIR's and sanitise ground with Stalosan F

[zakjon-98]

Set up-

Eglu go with run extensions

House door open all year round

Chickens free range everyday with a minimum of 5/6 hours but pretty much all day at the moment

 

Feed-

Dodson and Horrell layers pellets

Mixed grit and occasionally broken up eggshells

A handful of corn to get them back in the run

Fresh water

Kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s such as boiled veg peel, rice etc

 

Cleaning-

Clean eglu once a week in summer and about twice a week in winter with hot soapy water and johnsons poultry disinfectant

Give Eglu a dust of red mite powder every so often (more frequently in summer)

Scrub algae off drinker when needed

Change wood chips in run 3 times a year

[Chucky Mama]

 

Droppings tray emptied twice weekly, aubiose from nest box used to line them

 

oo good idea

[scarlettohara]

I do more or less what chucky mama and olly do, except I have 20 chickens I empty the droppings tray and hose the roosting bars on and bantams wooden coop once a week. My girls (and boy) free range everyday as I work in the evenings. I have 2 WIRs and these are completely changed and cleaned twice a year, I sometimes poo pick but not often as they never smell (bedmax on floor). I feed garvo and leftovers for treats at bedtime, if they are upright and bright eyed I know they are OK - never had lice or red mite Mine are always in bed long before dusk as we have very crafty foxes

[The Dogmother]

Set-up

Cube with 3 extensions, covered with clear tarp. Aubiose in the run and housing, 11 bantams at the moment. Cube door left open 24/7 unless it's less than -6deg at night. Large dustbath tub in the run.

 

Feed

Currently trying out Gablestock co"Ooops, word censored!" mash which they seem to love, they usually have either Garvo or Smallholder pellets. They get a handful of mixed corn to get them in at lunchtime, a few greens apart from what they tear up in the garden. A splash of either ACV or Life-Guard in the water depending on when I remember. Cod liver oil on the pellets once a week, sometimes some seaweed meal.

 

Daily

Top up the feeder, fresh water in the drinker. Let out in the morning to free range, remove the trug from the nest box divider. Back in the run at lunchtime. Collect eggs 3 times a day. In the evening I put the trug back in to stop them sleeping in the nest box. All hens get a visual check. They get a few greens as they go back in the run; usually dandelion leaves.

 

Weekly

Scrub and disinfect the drinker and feeder, clean out cube, rinse with Total Mite Kill Concentrate and powder with Buz Busters. Put clean Aubiose in the nest box and use the (pretty clean) stuff from there to fill the poo trays, rake over litter in the run and sprinkle with Ground Sanitising Powder. Top up dustbath with wood ash or Diatom.

 

Other stuff

Run gets cleared out, sprinkled with Ground Sanitising Powder roughly every 4-6 weeks, clean Aubiose.

Chickens have monthly check-up, worming with Flubenvet pellets and lice preventative treatment quarterly

Twice a year I dismantle the cube, blast it with the pressure washer, let it dry then spray, powder and re-assemble.

[Chortle Chook]

Critters

8 chooks (one's a cockerel) :Silkies, Polands & Frizzles

plus two call ducks and 2 white doves

 

Set up:

Granary house, large shelter and dinky duck house from Flyte So Fancy

Small 3 hole home made /on the house dove cote.

No run as everyone free ranges together in a 20 x10 m garden totally surrounded by 6ft fence (higher in parts) with locked gates at top and bottom.

Aubiose used on house floors for all and chopped straw in chicky nest box. Tobacco stalks in dove nest box

 

Food arrangements

2 Grub / Glugs on wire frames.

Larg pottery plant saucer on bricks for dove water but this is also used by my Polands who seem to prefer to use this to the Glug. It is high enough for them not to dunk their hair does in but not so high they can't reach the water.

No run as chickens FR all day long.

 

Feed:

Garvo layers pellets for the chickens and Garvo duck food for, yes, ducks, plus Garvo dove food (chickens eat any bits that fall down)

Supplements. A little cod liver oil at moulting time.

Treats: hmm, rather too many Includes coconut hung up, spring greens, shortbread biccy crumbs, rice, various green salad leaves, apples, pears, soft summer fruit, cottage cheese, yoghur

 

Routine

Morning c7.30am: put out dove food and water dish, let hens out and put out re-filled grubs / glugs. Poo pick chooks and remove the barrier from the nest area, put perches out to air (they are left out all day if it is not raining) and leave main granary door open (unless raining when I just leave the pop hole open);

fill ducky paddling pool and let out ducks, poo pick duck house and leave off the roof for about 1hr to air (then close it up totally so chickens can't get in)

 

Lunch time: chicky lunch (2 low earthenware cat saucers with salad leaves, and some other goody from the treats list above)

 

Tea time (summer 6.30, winter 3.00) : chicky corn time - 2 small shovels of corn (slightly larger in the winter); also put in chicky house nest blocker

 

Evening: shut in chickens (at about 8.30pm in the summer and c3.30 in winter) then shut up ducks (who get given a small dish with corn and meal worms in their house). Doves are never shut in.

Empty ducky paddling pool, empty and clean dove water dish, empty Glugs on the garden, check Grubs and put both sets in a cupboard in the kitchen

 

Cleaning

Poo pick chicken and ducky houses daily

Once a fortnight total clean for both duck and chooks (remove all aubiose and nest box bedding, brush out house corners, put in fresh diatom and bio something puffed in all corners everywhere including roof area, wash floor covers), let everything air for several hours, then put back with new aubiose. Put Stalosan on ground directly around houses.

Doves are done about every 2 months as they do not poo in their nests.

 

Garden - poos get dug in as and when I do gardening. Paths brushed lunchtime and evening

 

Medicine: Chickens, ducks and doves given spot on wormer / general parasite remover every 3 months. Also spray my cockerel's legs with scaly leg mite stuff as he seems to have a tendency to this unlike the others.

 

So far so good. It actually does not take as long as it looks. Probably took longer to read

[C&T]

Setup: 2mx2m WIR, with 2 hybrid chooks (one old lady - will go to 3 when the sad innevitable happens). Eglu currently on the inside on the ground, but will attach to the outside very soon. Has ladders and high level perches etc - although all quite new so an ongoing project...

 

Feed: Layers Mash - the brand escapes me...

Some greens periodically - a couple of times a week, in a bird feeder hung from side of run.

Dried Meal worms are the treat of choice, OH gives them some most days

Every now and again we make hot porridge (their mash mixed with water) and add a few things like peas or whatever is lying around. They think a great treat, but is just their normal food!

 

Daily: In the morning before leaving I make sure they have both been seen and are OK. In the evening their food/water is checked and any eggs collected.

 

Weekly: Eglu poo tray is emptied, relined with newspaper and put back, and nest box is cleaned out and fresh Auboise put back in, with some red mite poweder (without the powder one chook refuses to use the nest box...). Any poo is s"Ooops, word censored!"ed off the roosting bars - both in the Eglu and in the run. Feed and Water containers cleaned.

 

Other Maintenance:

Aprox 2 weeks - the Eglu is taken apart and washed - either Fairy Liquid or Jetwash or sometimes just hosepipe and brush.

Aprox 6 weeks - the Auboise in the run is either completely changed, or the top layer is removed and topped up, depending on the state of the run. Stalosan gets sprinkled around.

Every 3 months - girls are wormed with Flubenvet

 

 

They now have no free range time (1 smallish garden and my baby become a toddler when I wasn't looking, so poo free garden is quite important) but they seem pretty happy wih their new WIR - quieter then when they were in their extended Eglu run.

[chickencam]

Set Up

 

1 Eglu classic in red with run extension, currently home to 4 newbies 18-20 weeks old one already laying. This run now has some woodchips in the base which is largely a deep layer of bark chips which are changed every 3 months or so, we will change to wood chips if we can find a reliable cheap source.

1 home made wooden house with all gaps filled and gloss painted to beat red mite, which we seem to have finally done. Currently home to 6 ladies ranging from 18 months to 5.5, they have only been living together for about a month so we are still having arguements at laying time, I am waiting for a complaint from our neighbour who works shifts

 

The wooden house is attached to a WIR which uses otherwise useless space down the side of our house, they have multilevel perches and the run has a deep base of bark chippings.

 

Both houses have aubiose as bedding which I mix with a little stalosan or red mite powder depending on the season.

 

Daily

 

Poo pick the nest boxes and top up with aubiose. Visable health checks on the girls and egg collection first thing, food and water topped up early evening along with a treat of mixed corn and meal worms, cheapest local source is Wilkinsons, they also get greens most days, usually lettuce from the garden of sell bys from the supermarket.

 

Weekly

 

Both houses are cleaned out and sprayed with Total Mite Kill.

 

Monthly

 

Birds picked up and given a good health check for lice etc, they seem pretty healthy and we have 2 elderly ladies so we must be doing something right

 

Quarterly

 

Birds wormed with Flubenvet, Eglu pressure washed and wooden house thoughly scrubbed and disinfected, and runs dug out and a new layer of bark put down.