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[chickenlicken85]

Hi im looking for some advice please. Me and my hubby have decided to get some chickens. I have a farmer friend who will be providing 3 healthy chickebs for me. What is the best type of coop and run to get and what size should I be looking at. We have no grass but heard they like wood chips as a flooring to scratch eat bugs etc. What other equipment will I need? Thanks!

[mcfee2]

Hello

 

I'm very new to this too, and at the minute my lovely new hens are on a patch of grass that is going to be flowerbed once they've done destroying it. Longer term I'm hoping to put their run on some spare slabs we have with either wood chips or something similar. I'm hoping for some ideas as to what's best so we can learn together!

[good_egg]

I love my cube and have a run and extension at the moment which has woodchip in it.... I'm upgrading to a WIR thought so I would say consider going for that first. We put membrane underneath our woodchip, there is now not much membrane - I would suggest slabs or the clever method of laying plant netting over membrane to protect it that I think Newland Grange suggest (google and I'm sure you will find)......

 

If you have them on woodchip you will need something to keep the ground fresh - Stalosan F or Nettex. I would get peelets to feed them not mash (although I am suckered into alfamix just now) - personally a fan of garvo. Mine go mad for mixed corn and is a good bribery method. Apple cider vinegar is useful to add to their water, I was also glad of nutri drops so I can do something useful when they look peaky. I put dust free sawdust in the poo trays of the cube and the nest box, use ecover and a power wash to clean once a week and add mite control spray or diatomeous earth to the cracks. Everything else can follow on from there....

 

Enjoy, they are fab.

[chickenlicken85]

Thanks for the advice, so I need to put something under my wood chip I cant just put it over concrete slabs? What is a wir? Sorry complete beginner here! Think you ahead of me mcfee well get there though!

[charly1979]

Hi

 

WIR = Walk in Run (you will get used to the abbreviations I am )

 

I would think that woodchip on the slabs will be ok but I would say put a frame around it to contain them having said that chicken have a great flicking ability when scratching around. In my girls run I have a frame the base of which is covered with membrane and then a turf protector its then filled with wood chip. I expect you can do with out the membrane and turf protector if you have the slabs ?

 

I have mine in a cube, and if its something you can afford or pick up second hand its brilliant easy to clean and a nice height to so saves bending down etc. I started off with a wooden house it didn't seem to last long so I had to replace it I still have them both the oldest acts as a housing for my bedding and the other is sick bay if I have any illnesses etc. I think in the long run I would have saved by getting the cube first, mind you having a cube which will happily take 10 chickens will leave you wide open to 'More Hens Disease' but having said that I also find being on the Omlet forum also fuels this too I never would have had my bantums if I hadn't seen some beautiful ones on here

 

 

Hope this helps x

[chickenlicken85]

Thanks that helps so much will try and have a look for a walk in run and one that has plenty of space as they wont be able to have free reign of the garden unless supervised as we have a lot of cats round here the woman across the road has 14 alone!

[Chortle Chook]

Welcome to the forum Chickenlicken and Mcfee too

 

I know you say you are only getting 3 chickens now but be prepared to get the totally irresistable urge to have more (which we call 'Morehens disease' on here) and so it will save you pennies in the end if you start with the biggest accomodation you can afford. eBay is a good place to hunt out 2nds of Omlet housing and other plastic houses too like Gree Frog or Doodle houses. I'd avoid getting someone else's wooden house even if the seller sounds ever so nice, as it is quite likely to have red mite hiding somewhere in it and that is next to impossible to irradicate

 

For the base of your WIR hard woodchips are good. These can be got quite cheaply from tree surgeons if you have a local one. I got a lorry load from ours for £30 (and it was a massive amount - taller than me ). These should not be confused with bark chips which come from garden centres in expensive bags and go all mouldy and nasty, causing your chickens to contract breathing problems.

 

Don't forget that you'll need some rain proofing if you put your woodchips directly onto paving as the rain will have nowhere to go and if you don't keep the worst off you'll end up with a soggy mess. A transparent shower curtain can help here.

 

Good luck. You have lots of fun ahead of you

[chickenlicken85]

Ah right it was wooden ones Id been looking at are plastic ones better at keeping red mites at bay in general and would it be ok to get a used plastic one or does it have to be new? Can anyone post a pic of a walk in run?

[atsw]

All of the Omlet coops are made of (hard wearing) plastic. They are designed to be resistant to red mite, and should you get an infestation all that's required is a hose down and a little light scrubbing. Not so with wooden coops, they can be much harder to clean.

 

WIR's come in all shapes and sizes. Omlet have their own range, but there are a number of companies that manufacture them. Most come in kit form and you construct it (that's what I did). Some companies will come to your house/garden and build it for you (for a fee of course).

 

Here's a picture of my WIR, which I built in 2009. It's still looking great today.

 

You'll find loads more pictures of my cooks and my WIR in my signature link below.

 

There's a whole section of the Omlet forum dedicated to WIR's -> http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=4

 

Hope that helps

 

Andrew

[Chortle Chook]

Ah right it was wooden ones Id been looking at are plastic ones better at keeping red mites at bay in general and would it be ok to get a used plastic one or does it have to be new?

You'd be fine getting a used plastic house. Wooden houses are nice and traditional (I have one from Flyte so Fancy) which make several different sizes and designs, all very sturdy. However you do need to keep on top of the hygene (I give mine a total clean out with DE every fortnight) and keep it well aired (I take out the roosing bars and leave the main door open all day on sunny days) and I certainly would not get a used one Omlet also do wooden houses - made by Forsham Cottage Arks

[chickenlicken85]

Thanks for all the advice what lovely friendly advice:) ive looked at the different coops and think im leaning towards a wooden one as i prefer the look and the plastic ones are a bit too expensive will follow advice and buy a brand new one i quite like this one what do you think? http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=151016999609 would you say this is adequate space for 3 chickens and is the run big enough for them. They wont get too much time outside the coop as I will need to supervise them due to cats so I want a nice spacious run. That walk in run looks amazing your so clever to have built it yourself! My garden is only small though:(

[chickenlicken85]

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=151016999609

[merlina]

I've seen these on ebay, and on the face of it, they look like very good value

It has galvanised mesh which should be strong enough and it looks well built

 

Without seeing it, it's hard to say anything about quality - it needs to be heavy (to stand up to the weather and help keep out foxes) - and I wonder whether, at this price it would be heavy enough

 

Many people think it's a good idea to stay away from coops with roofing felt because these provide an ideal/inaccessible place for red mites to hide (between the roof and the felt). You can fix that by replacing the felt every couple of years (take it off; dust with a ton of diatom; put new felt on)

 

I'd also want to check the base of the nesting box to make sure that was very strong - that seems to be a place foxes target (again, you could always reinforce that easily)

 

Having said all that, I think this might well be a good, inexpensive way to start keeping chickens. If, like most of us, you find that this is something you want to continue with/expand in the future, you would probably want to get something bigger/better in the future (your can always keep this one as a 'spare' for new hens/poorly chooks etc so your money wouldn't be wasted)

 

EDIT: If you're looking at full sized (rather than bantam) hens, I really wouldn't worry about cats. There's some pretty tough old farm cats around here, and my own moggy likes to think he's a mean killing machine, but they're all terrified of the hens!

[chickenlicken85]

Thanks Merlina that's great advice, think i will start with this one and see how i get on, if i find it isn't heavy enough i will find a way to weight it down i'll have to have a think how i can do that. Great news i won't have to worry about the cats!.

 

Last little bits of advice i could do with are what is the best thing to feed them on, where can i get it from and how much food does each hen need?.

 

Also can anyone recommend a good breed to start with, they need to be quietish, not mind spending time in their enclosure, not easily spooked and not mind being handled too much. My son is desperate for silkies but i don't know if these fit the bill.

 

Also what is a hybrid hen?

[Chortle Chook]

Funny, this is exactly the coop I sarted with. I found it very easy to keep clean. I used to put a bit of newspaper under the roosting bars which I changed each day. I also used to leave the little door on the side open when my chickens were free ranging to give the coop an airing.

 

As for size - I'm not all that good at measurements and sort of assumed when I ordered mine, because of the way it looks in the picture, that I would be able to walk in through that run door - not so. It is really quite small. I'd say it is good for 3 bantam hens but would be rather too small for 3 normal / big sized hens. However that would make it perfect for Silkies. These little birds are extremely pretty and sweet natured. They make good pets and though I'd been told they would not lay many eggs I've found them to be fairly consistent layers of smallish but very tasty cream eggs - about one every other day, even through most of the winter. They also don't do much harm in the garden and seem not to be able to fly so don't need high fencing for the periods you want to let them free range.

 

Here are two to tempt you but I'd also take a good long look on the The Omlet Breeds listing which I found most helpful

 

[Chortle Chook]

Oh by the way, hybrids are crosses, bred to increase egg laying ability. They can be great characters and come in various colours. The bluebell has a particularly sweet nature and if my OH had allowed me to have the biggies I wanted I'd have certainly had one of these. You can also get ones who lay blue eggs The only downside to hybrids is that they have short lives and can get egg laying complications

 

As for what to feed them on, Omlet has various different foods. My hens and I both really liked the organic Omlet chicken feed. You'll probably need some grit too if your hens are not doing much free ranging. This helps them to digest their food in the absence of teeth Both can be bought here

[chickenlicken85]

Thanks shabby chic youve been so helpful! I decided to go for a slightly different one as this one has a bit more space and no felt what do you think? http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=400309288925 and hopefully big enough for if I wanted full size hens but after what youve said I think silkies will be fine:)

[Chortle Chook]

I think that would be fine for 3 normal sized chooks, but I'd be slightly less believing about the manufacturer's claim that it would house 5 hens. Manufacturers seem to have a tendency to 'stuff them in' which leads to the chickens getting stressed and doing things like plucking one another's feathers out

What I found in the other example you gave, and it could be the same for this one, is that the space under the house bit is very low and my chickens, even though they are banties, did not seem to like it much. What they did like were perches (just bits of branch, nothing special) put across the bottom end

[carrotspine]

Hi all

I'm new and after reading the posts regarding what house to get and whether a WIR (this took me a while to figure out too) is necessary or if I start with an eglu as I'm going to eventually need a cube for the inevitable 'chicken addiction' I'm now very apprehensive about the whole thing. I went on a hens for hire course at the weekend and came away thinking I would be great with chickens and how easy they were to keep. Please convince me otherwise! I still want to get some ( I think) but the amount of products, lotions, powders they seem to need is worrying me. Please tell me I won't spend my entire life dusting them with chemicals and adding stuff to the water! I've been reading all the posts for about a week now and all I know is that we want omlet products! Thanks everyone in advance for any help, pursuasive words you can offer!

[atsw]

I went on a hens for hire course at the weekend and came away thinking I would be great with chickens and how easy they were to keep.

Your impressions from the course were spot on . All you need to get started is a couple or three chickens, a coop (wood, plastic, whatever), food and fresh water. Chickens are great at looking after themselves, you only need to provide them food and fresh water at the start of each day. In return, they will provide you with eggs and hours of entertainment. You certainly won't spend your entire life dusting them with chemicals and adding stuff to the water! Like any pet or animal, chickens can sometimes get ill, but if/when they do there's loads of people here to offer help and advice. In my experience, keeping chickens is virtually trouble free and very rewarding indeed .

 

Andrew

[carrotspine]

Thank you so much ASTW,

You have reassurerd me that I do need chickens in my life! Like any new pet it's daunting, particularly when it's an animal I've never kept before. Hopefully I'll get the living quarters soon, get the garden sorted and perhaps pursuade the family to help build a lovely walk in run!, oh then choose my new chickens!

[Chortle Chook]

Hi all

I'm new and after reading the posts regarding what house to get and whether a WIR (this took me a while to figure out too) is necessary or if I start with an eglu as I'm going to eventually need a cube for the inevitable 'chicken addiction' I'm now very apprehensive about the whole thing. I went on a hens for hire course at the weekend and came away thinking I would be great with chickens and how easy they were to keep. Please convince me otherwise! I still want to get some ( I think) but the amount of products, lotions, powders they seem to need is worrying me. Please tell me I won't spend my entire life dusting them with chemicals and adding stuff to the water! I've been reading all the posts for about a week now and all I know is that we want omlet products! Thanks everyone in advance for any help, pursuasive words you can offer!

 

Oh don't be put off. They are such life enhancing birdies. You can't look at a chicken and not smile

 

For housing, go the biggest house you can afford right at the start. So if you can get a cube go for it, rather than wasting money on an eglu, but if you can't, no matter, small is better than none

 

And don't worry about all the masses of chicken ills. I've often wondered why chicken books are full of information about parasites and syndromes when dog books don't normally have pages and pages about distemper and tape worm. Most chickens are healthy most of the time. However, unlike dogs, when chickens fall sick many people will turn to books for diagnostics and cures rather than taking them to the vet for cost vs value reasons. Personally I'd take mine to the vet.

 

The other thing is that we all love to spoil our chickens and have a lot of fun making them toys and finding them extra eatables etc.

 

Last but perhaps not least, as they are birds, not mammals like us and most family pets, a little extra understanding is a good thing e.g. about moulting. However as Andrew has so correctly said, we all learn mostly as we go along and if you ever have an issue, you can just pop on here and within minutes there will always be people to help you.

[chickenlicken85]

Yep I defo wouldnt go off the manufacturers claim of 5 I think 3 is more than enough in there as I want them to be comfortabe if I want more then I will deff invest in a bigger one!

[carrotspine]

Thank you so much for all your help, you've really made me feel more confident now, I'm constantly looking on the web for second hand classics as I don't think I can afford a new one. I just want them to have a lovely life with me and the family. I keep looking at all the fantastic photos of everyones walk in runs and getting jelous and then thinking maybe I will get addicted and should get a cube :not sure the man with the wallet will agree......

I just think these forums sre so helpful and friendly, thanks agian and I'll let you know how we get on and put some pictures on.