Single hen

[Guest]

as per my last thread, we're getting our first (ex battery) chickens in a few weeks- please tell me, apart from the basic housing, feed troughs and hay/straw etc- what else do I need on hand? E.G lice powder, first aid stuff etc? I only want the basics but I need to know what they are so I have them on hand, just in case.

 

Also, what disinfectant do you use for cleaning etc...I am getting a wooden coop, this one - has a coop and run which is partly sheltered- at the end of the run, my hubbie is fencing off a bit of garden so they can have a scratch about

 

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thanks all, don't know what I'd do without you! [/url]

[Olly]

You can go mad with chicken 'extras'!

 

I'd get red mite powder (or Diatom), and I highly recommend powdered garlic to add to the feed. It stops the poo smelling! it's also supposed to be good for them.

 

Maybe as they are ex-batts it might be good to get some supplements like citricidal or poultry spice, I have never used these but someone else on here will know.

 

Other than that, I'd would wait and see what you need - I haven't needed a lot more.

[Guest]

what disinfectant should I use to clean the coop should I get some verm-x too?

 

so far, I have red mite powder on the must have list...

[Egluntyne]

There is an excellent topic in the FAQ section of the Chickens part of the forum covering this subject.

[Guest]

There is an excellent topic in the FAQ section of the Chickens part of the forum covering this subject.

 

thanks, I've had a look at that but the problem is one link leeds to another, to another, to another ad infinitum. I was hoping I could get the advice just under the one thread, if "Ooops, word censored!"ody minds?

[Egluntyne]

There is an excellent topic in the FAQ section of the Chickens part of the forum covering this subject.

 

thanks, I've had a look at that but the problem is one link leeds to another, to another, to another ad infinitum. I was hoping I could get the advice just under the one thread, if "Ooops, word censored!"ody minds?

 

Once you get sucked into the forum there's no escape!

[Cinnamon]

Personally,I would get -

 

Feed

A good,tought feed bin & scoop

Garlic Powder

A tonic or supplement of some kind - Battles drink or Poultry spice

Aubiose

Staolsan-F, a disinfectant powder foer cleaning out

 

That should do to begin with,then if your girlies need extras you can buy them as & when.

[lozkate]

Sorry to gatecrash your post Freshly Laid Egg but you have asked just what I was wanting to know. I posted a message at the beginning of last week as I was getting cold feet with the idea of the chooks but now the coup is on order and should be here at the end of the week.

 

So far I have bought food, corn, oyster grit, bokashi, red mite powder but wasn't sure about the disinfectant (like you ours will be wooden). I did see some on ebay so any help on this would be great for me too.

 

Just out of interest the red mite powder that I bought yesterday at our Horsey place is actually more expensive (OK only just) than the Omlet site with P & P.

[Tina C]

Ex-batts need protein - mealworms and tuna fish are good. Also oyster shell to boost their calcium.

 

I use Poultry Shield to clean the wooden house my ex-batts live in and put diatom in the nest boxes with the aubiose - as that's where they sleep (can't get them to roost!)

[Jules.]

Once you get sucked into the forum there's no escape!

[Guest]

so:

 

red mite powder

poultry shield (or similar disinfectant)

oyster shell and grit

some sort of tonic

 

cool, I shall get onto that now-anyone know a good web site where I can get ALL these items in one go?

[Cinnamon]

You could try the Omlet shop, I think they do all of those

[Guest]

damn, darn and blast it!!!! I ordered my organic mash from here yesterday http://www.gjwtitmussshop.co.uk/acatalog/POULTRY_FOOD.html and they also do all the above, I could have got them all at the same time, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[Cinnamon]

Give them a quick ring & see if you can add to your order - it probably hasn't been processed yet

[Guest]

hi cinnamon, just did but it's already been processed :0(

 

can't see any disinfectant in the omlet shop

[Ain't Nobody Here]

It's surprising what you can get on eBay! I bought oystershell and a galvanised steel dustbin to keep feed in (£5 cheaper than B&Q - who were out of stock anyway). I'd already bought other stuff at various online shops but would probably do a quick search on eBay in future.

 

My local horsey shop sells hemcore, layers pellets and apple cider vinegar (sorry, something else for you to decide to get or not!)

 

You can get poultry shield and diatom here http://www.s-p-r.co.uk/

 

One question I have (which hopefully will help you too!) is:

 

what's the difference between Diatom and red mite powder? Is it that Diatom treats lice too? I know you can feed the hens Diatom but presumably you just use the red mite powder to dust them & the eglu? Or do you dust them with both?

[Guest]

it would help if you told me what hemocore is and what it's used for, also, what would you use apple cider vinegar for?

 

yes, I bought the coop off e-bay, trouble is, it's hard (if not impossible) to find one seller who sells every single item you want and you end up paying thru the nose for postage. The titmuss site seems to have everything I need (for the time being anyway).

 

I think diatom is a preventative and red mite powder is to treat when you have an infestation- at least that's how I understood it when I read about it. One's the prevention, the other is the cure.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Sorry hemcore is horse bedding that you can put in their run and coop. It's supposed to absorb poo and prevent smells. I use it and think it's great - I hardly ever see poo in their run (maybe they only do it in the eglu!) and there's no smell at all (although I do give them garlic powder too). Lots of people on this forum seem to recommend it. It doesn't need changing very often either.

 

have a look here - http://www.hemcore.co.uk/bedding.html

 

I think Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is supposed to help generally with health & digestion and if they have sniffles.

 

See this thread which might shed some light on it:

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=228&highlight=apple+cider+vinegar

 

I know I went mad getting everything in sight - you definitely don't need to. Take your time and you'll pick up advice from here which will help you decide what else to get.

[Guest]

thanks very much, I see it's made from hemp- can you smoke it?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

You go first Just make sure it's before the chickens have spent any time on it !

[Guest]

"you go first" ya chicken