Chickenlicken Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Hello again, I pick up my Eglu Classic and run tomorrow, plus the three chickens that have been living in it. I live an hour's drive away from where they are being collected, and their current owner said that she will pop them into her baskets whilst she dismantles everything ready for me to collect. I have my own cat baskets which the hens will then go into to be transported home. i imagine on arrival home, it'll take me at least a couple of hours to set everything up, (I have the area where they are going freshly wood chipped from trees that i had cut this week, which are currently covered by tarps to keep dry.) Once i have put up the run, I will then cover the inside with Easichick bedding, plus stretch over my new transparent tarpiflex tarpaulin. I shall add water and a little food and then add the hens. My question is; i do not want to overly stress the hens. What should I do with them on arrival home? I could either put them in my garage in their carriers, put them in a quiet area of my garden (if it isn't pouring with rain)in their carriers, or possibly (and I am not convinced that this is a good idea) put up the Omlet fencing that i am also buying, and pop them into a small pen. I do not intend to feed them treats(On arrival)-I want to keep them to a normal as poss routine, layers pellets AM, a little corn before bed, plenty of water and greens to peck from the run roof. I have made up the Eglu extension for the run. I have bought A and B, but not sure now if 4 m will fit. I will decide on that once everything else is in place. I am just hoping that the wind that is currently whistling down my garden dies down by tomorrow!! I shall face the coop to face away from the prevailing winds. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Best put them in the garage, in their carriers, where it is nice and quiet so they can settle from the drive home. Accepting that they will have been a few hours in carriers before you get there, plus you have to load, drive back, unload and assemble everything, it is still not sufficient time to worry about feed and drink, as long as they go out whilst it is still light and can eat and drink before bedtime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenlicken Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 Thanks Beantree. You have said what i thought initially. I shall pop them into my garage until I have everything in place, then add food, and leave them alone to settle in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Sounds exciting! Please can we have pictures when you have them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenlicken Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 Well, what a day!! The wind was relentless and freezing whilst trying to construct the run. Luckily our son turned up and helped my husband as our fingers were frozen and we couldn’t get the run clips to open or close. I ran out of time to add bedding on top of the bark, as time was getting in and I wanted the hens to be able to eat and drink before bed. They managed to look like they were tunnelling for England! Lots of what I perceived to be happy clucks. They already dash towards the door when I called them and shook the corn. Tomorrow I shall take stock of all the lotions and potions that I was given. I bought the Eglu extension A&B, but we couldn’t add them as the two A sides are identical. This will mean a phone call on Monday to Omlet. I shall get extra run clips too. A shame as I wanted them to have a 4 metre run , but we will get there. We are due very heavy rain tonight, so hopefully my tarp set up should keep the run dry. I need to find something to put grit in next as well. Excuse my dreadful grammar. That should have read ‘ call and shake’. I blame the wind for keeping me awake last night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Check you’ve got the run parts the right way round. I seem to remember having a similar problem with ours. Don’t bother with extra run clips. Use cable ties. I find them more effective anyway as you can pull them tighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Lovely looking run and chooks 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenlicken Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Patricia W said: Check you’ve got the run parts the right way round. I seem to remember having a similar problem with ours. Don’t bother with extra run clips. Use cable ties. I find them more effective anyway as you can pull them tighter. We did check the parts every way up, and they def look the same. I’ll look again in the morning. Good tip about cable ties, but I’m hoping that Omlet May send me some clips due to their error- we’ll see! 25 minutes ago, mullethunter said: Lovely looking run and chooks 😀 Thanks. I’m trying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I rarely have to fiddle with run clips as my runs are all together, but a 50p piece is great for getting them apart - darned things are made to slash fingers. They look well and happy Let them settle in the run for a couple of weeks before letting out. When they have gone to roost and have settled, go out and give them all a health check by torch light while they are relaxed... check for lice and mites (I would treat anyway) and get a worm egg testing kit form Westgate Labs and send off a poo sample to see if they need worming. How many run panels do you have there? I can't see - you will need at least 3 (so the regular run + 1 extension) if you are keeping 3 birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenlicken Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 1 hour ago, The Dogmother said: I rarely have to fiddle with run clips as my runs are all together, but a 50p piece is great for getting them apart - darned things are made to slash fingers. They look well and happy Let them settle in the run for a couple of weeks before letting out. When they have gone to roost and have settled, go out and give them all a health check by torch light while they are relaxed... check for lice and mites (I would treat anyway) and get a worm egg testing kit form Westgate Labs and send off a poo sample to see if they need worming. How many run panels do you have there? I can't see - you will need at least 3 (so the regular run + 1 extension) if you are keeping 3 birds. Hi, the previous owner told me that she’d just puffed them with anti lice stuff as she saw something in them after one had lost feathers at the neck. I haven’t looked at all the bottles of stuff that she gave me yet, so I’m not sure of how soon that can be repeated. I believe that they have regular Verm X added to their food, so hopefully should be worm free. The run is only 2 metres long. I have another 2 metre ext bought last week but one of the panels is wrong, so I can’t join it up. I shall ring Omlet tomorrow and ask them to send ASAP as I agree, 2 meters isn’t big enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 VermX is a herbal gut improver and not a dewormer. In my opinion it’s just as effective as treating a broken leg with a tea bag. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 6 hours ago, Cat tails said: VermX is a herbal gut improver and not a dewormer. In my opinion it’s just as effective as treating a broken leg with a tea bag. Haha, bit like my analogy of a certain product being as much use at treating red mites as peeing on them! The product mentioned above is NOT a wormer - I would send off to Westgate for a faecal testing pack, or just worm them with Flubenvet pre-medicated pellets anyhow (7 days straight, nothing else to eat and keep them in the run. If you are not sure of heir worming history, then repeat again after a 3 week break. Treat the litter in their run with Nettex's Ground Sanitising Powder while you are worming, and weekly when you're not; this will keep down the worm egg count in their environment an stop any bacterial build-up too. Puffing them with powder doesn't really get rid of mites and lice - it just makes you and the hens wheeze give them all a good inspection, and take any with lice to a chicken-savvy vet who will prescribe an Ivermectin spot-on preventative (off-licence) to be used quarterly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenlicken Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Ah, looks like i will be buying a proper wormer then. When should I do this? I have managed to get the hens to come to me today so i have had a quick rummage in their feathers, but am building up to a proper look. They are eating well and laid three eggs this morning (very exciting!!). The eggs were also massive compared to my shop bought free range ones. I have already bought ground sanitizing powder, but haven't used it yet. I'll probably put it down when i have to dismantle the run to add the extra extensions on. The other exciting news from today; i have my first batch of frog spawn in my wildlife pond (which is well away from the hens I might add!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 You'd be best to get a 5kg bag from www.farmandpetplace.co.uk it arrives quickly and the shelf life on the wormer ingredient is short, so get started asap. Look in the feathers and the skin around the vent area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenlicken Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 On 2/23/2020 at 5:28 PM, The Dogmother said: You'd be best to get a 5kg bag from www.farmandpetplace.co.uk it arrives quickly and the shelf life on the wormer ingredient is short, so get started asap. Look in the feathers and the skin around the vent area. Thanks. I've just ordered the wormer that you recommended above. I presume that any poop that the birds expel after eating the wormer will contain worms. Would this be safe to compost? (I compost everything and have seven bins). I am guessing that it would be as the worms would be dead and not of interest to any other creature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 As you have said, they will be dead - I haven't had any problems with composting it. I think that amount of wormer excreted will be minute and not enough to affect the 'wild' worms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
