Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Craftfairy]

Hi folks, its going to be another 5 weeks or so before we are ready for our chickens but I am starting to get a few bits here and there and wondered what i needed, for example i have heard people mention mite powder, purple spray and a few other things and I want to be prepared, can you let me know the essentials and how ofter or what i use them for please so i can make a shopping list! I also want to be able to compare prices too!

[gavclojak]

Hi and welcome

My hit list was....

Cube/run or the alternative

Gravity feeder

Auboise/ for litter tray

Purple spray/ for any wounds

Diatom/ sprayed in the nooks and crannies in the cube and in the dust bath,

Leg rings if all the hens look alike

Poultry shield/for the big weekly clean

ACV/apple cider vinegar as a supplement

A metal bin/for storage

There are a few other bits and pieces you will pick up in the way, but I think they are the essentials

I also swear by baby wipes rubber gloves and nappy sacks for wiping over the cube and the poop pick in the morning,

 

I hope that helps xx

[Chickabee]

Baby wipes, rubber gloves and nappy sacks (sorry)

 

Grit

Drinker (I have found that a large gravity one is best)

Red mite powder is a must

Chickens

 

And a large dose of anti "morehens disease" medicine for you. Warning this inevitably doesn't work!

 

Very excited for you. Good luck

[Redwing]

Beyond the normal feeder/drinker/food my essentials are purple spray and something for red mite

 

People can go crazy (I did in the earlier days) but you could buy loads of stuff and never use it!

 

I had a chap ask me recently for a certain product, I asked him if he felt skilled enough to administer that product and if he knew what it was even used for, he said no, I said 'well you don't need it then'

[Beantree]

Hi Craftfairy. I think you only need the essentials first. Feeder, feed, drinker, grit, wood shavings for bedding. Poultry Shield for general cleaning we have, but have only used half the bottle in 8 years as we steam clean now. The rest can follow as required. Red mite powder and louse powder can be good preventatives with new birds as they could be carrying them. All the injury stuff you should already have in your first aid box. We use lint, micropore tape and tea tree cream for just about everything. Feather pecking stuff you just need to know where to buy it. We use Stockholm Tar a lot but usually only for cockerels combs that the hens have pecked at so you don't need that. We have Gentian Violet antibacterial and anti fungal treatment, but very rarely resort to it.

 

An isolation area is important and we have a dog cage which we can put up in the house. Worth getting a mid-sized one off Preloved. Hopefully you will never need it.

[jackian]

A Camera and a glass of wine or two for sitting and chicken watching ...not forgetting dried meal worms for bribery .

 

Jackie x

[gavclojak]

Baby wipes, rubber gloves and nappy sacks (sorry)

 

 

Yea, first thing in the morning I use the rubber gloves and poo pick the litter trays, wipe over the roosting bars with the wipes and dispose of it all in the dog poop bags:))

[Grandmashazzie]

Nutri drops in case of sickness.Wallpaper s"Ooops, word censored!"per (Poundland pack of 3 ) essential for pooh picking

[gavclojak]

Nutri drops in case of sickness.Wallpaper s"Ooops, word censored!"per (Poundland pack of 3 ) essential for pooh picking

 

Haha the joys of chicken keeping:))))

[clucker1]

Old plastic trowel and bucket used here for poo picking and then onto the compost heap.

[chickanne]

TIME!

You are about to lose your life to little critters that will steal your every moment with their demands.

But you will never regret having them.

[gavclojak]

Oh I should have added a few ex-commercial girls;))

 

See!!!!

The list just keeps on growing