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

[mojocvh]

I am planning on getting chickens in some weeks from now and I have some questions I want to ask;

 

What is an ex battery hen?

Are chickens likely to attack small animals?

What nesting is best for chickens?

Sexing chicks?

How to deal with brooding hens?

Accidental fertile egg?

Clipping talons?

Allergies?

Dyeing eggs?

 

As you can see I have millions of questions although I will be here forever if I ask them all, also some of them have already been asked and answered also any advice on looked after them for beginners?

 

Thanks!

[kissinuk]

Hi, welcome to the forum, have you tried the 'Search' box above? I'm sure it will answer most of your questions.

[Egluntyne]

The answers to most of those questions can be found in the Frequency Asked Questions section.

[Purplemaniacs]

Welcome to the forum. As others have said most of the answers are already on the forum.

 

Have a search there is lots of information on here.

 

If you still can't find any answers ask again and I am sure someone will know the answer.

 

Chrissie

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum . Are you planning on going straight into hatching your own? You might find it useful to start by getting some point of lay hens first, just to get used to keeping chickens. There's a lot to learn when you start out (which this forum is brilliant for ) but I think it might be simpler to start with some "grownup" hens first!

 

Very brief answers to your questions:

What is an ex battery hen? a hen that has been kept in a battery cage all its life for egg production and is discarded at the age it becomes less productive

Are chickens likely to attack small animals? they may catch and eat small rodents or frogs but family pets should be safe (I'd keep them apart though)

What nesting is best for chickens? any form of horse bedding

Sexing chicks? I've no experience of this but lots of forum members do

How to deal with brooding hens? there's lots of advice in the forum FAQs

Accidental fertile egg? only possible if you have a cockerel, not normally recommended for urban setups

Clipping talons? not normally required

Allergies? do you mean allergies to chickens? that's pretty rare

Dyeing eggs? not sure what you mean - for Easter?! different breeds lay different colours

[kinsk]

What is an ex battery hen? - past their commercial lifespan but can still go on to lay for 12+ months, very rewarding to adopt

Are chickens likely to attack small animals? - small rodents yes, ours didn't mix with our quail very well

What nesting is best for chickens? - we use straw or chopped straw

Sexing chicks? - only necessary if you are going to be hatching your own. Best to start out with point of lay hens in which case it will be more than obvious at that age. Some breeds such as legbars are autosexing

How to deal with brooding hens? - Various different ways, some breeds are likely to be more broody than others

Accidental fertile egg? - only a problem if you have a cockerel. As long as you collect eggs regularly and keep the fertile eggs in a cool place they will be fine to eat as they wont have started to incubate/develop into a chick

Clipping talons? - As long as the hens have decent access to the outdoors it's not normally necesary

Allergies? - allergies to hens or allergies the hens might have? Either way have never come accross any

Dyeing eggs? - not sure what you mean

 

They are great animals to keep, but the decision to get some does need thinking about.

 

The main consideration is do you have room for them? How will you house them and can you give them adequate access to a decent size run if some sort of free ranging isn't possible. If only a run is available what flooring will you use as hens can quite quickly make a mess of the ground in confined spaces.

[jimnpaula]

Welcome the the forum! If you have not already done so I would suggest visiting someone who owns chickens - I'm sure it would help answer a lot of your questions

[Beantree]

We took three chickens off someone on an urgent basis because they discovered a few days after arrival that they had a chronic allergy to feather dust. They were seriously ill as a result of it, so worth checking before starting by visiting someone with chickens and picking one up.

 

Egg yolks are dyed yellow by the three permitted chemical colourants in feed. 'Yolk enhancers' they are referred to. Only necessary if the chickens don't have access to a more varied diet. You can buy feeds without these chemicals, but they will be slightly more expensive as they are manufactured in far smaller quantities.

 

We don't use straw for bedding because it harbours red mite. We use wood shavings in the nest box and just newspaper on the coop floor.

[Chickabee]

Very excited for you. I started chicken keeping about 4 years ago. Got 3 from Omlet plus an Eglu go and extension. I didn't ask any questions. I read lots of stuff, but as anyone on here will tell you, I'm still learning. Got 16 girls now. Not planning on ever giving it up

[Chickabee]

Sorry 17, lost count

[mullethunter]