Poorly chicken

[herecomethegirls]

I have three chicks (still in a brooder box) . I have ordered an Eglu go up 3m. What else do I need?

[Cat tails]

- Feed (grower pellets to start with, layer pellets once they start coming into lay)
- treats (no they don't need it, but hey we like to treat our selves too!)
- Feeders (and sadly the Omlet ones are pretty useless
- Drinkers (again, Omlet ones are just tooooo big)
- Something for in the nest box (no hay/straw. I use woodchips)
- Something on the run floor (forget grass, it won't last! Put the whole thing on paving slabs and fill the run with wood chips or aubiose if your run is absolutely dry)
- A plan for worming chickens. (some do a worm count first, others worm every three months or so. And no, Verm-X isn't a wormer...)
- Cat carrier (If you need to take a chicken to the vet, it's much more handy than a box)
- comfy chair and a cup of tea (to watch the chickens!)

I probably forgot something... But their will be others along shortly! 

[mullethunter]

Phone or camera to take lots of photos of chickens.

Kit to help you with cleaning out and occasional cleaning of the house. I use an old paint tray and a child’s plastic beach spade for mucking out. When I clean I use a pressure washer (but only because we already have one) and virkon tablets to disinfect. I also use Nettex Ground Sanitising Powder every now and then on the woodchip in the run.

I use Easichick in the nestbox - a bale lasts me at least a year.

[majorbloodnock]

12 hours ago, Cat tails said:

- Feed (grower pellets to start with, layer pellets once they start coming into lay)
- treats (no they don't need it, but hey we like to treat our selves too!)
- Feeders (and sadly the Omlet ones are pretty useless
- Drinkers (again, Omlet ones are just tooooo big)
- Something for in the nest box (no hay/straw. I use woodchips)
- Something on the run floor (forget grass, it won't last! Put the whole thing on paving slabs and fill the run with wood chips or aubiose if your run is absolutely dry)
- A plan for worming chickens. (some do a worm count first, others worm every three months or so. And no, Verm-X isn't a wormer...)
- Cat carrier (If you need to take a chicken to the vet, it's much more handy than a box)
- comfy chair and a cup of tea (to watch the chickens!)

I probably forgot something... But their will be others along shortly! 

That's a pretty good list. The girls need something to eat and eat from, something to drink and drink from, somewhere safe to roam and sleep and some basic medical maintenance/health requirements. After that, you're into nice-to-haves rather than needs.

Essentials that I would add to the list are:

• a dust bath of some sort. If the run is completely dry and you don't have paving slabs underneath then the girls will simply scrape away whatever grass is there and make their own. In pretty much all other cases, an old litter tray with some wood ash or other inert and harmless fine powdery substance in it will work just as well. However, even then it'll still need to be kept absolutely dry to avoid becoming a mud bath.
• somewhere sheltered from both rain and sun. In practice, for your setup, that probably means a tarpaulin or similar over the top of the run. Not convinced the included sun shade is enough.

It won't take long before you realise other things to get that'll make your life easier, but each owner's preferences are different as are those of their flocks. Let your setup evolve over time and enjoy the hens as you go.

[SamK0403]

I'd also add a pet cage of a decent size onto the list that folds away. Our pekin bantam was poorly and we only had a cat carrier before getting this. We got one from Home Bargains for just £22.

[Luvachicken]

2 hours ago, SamK0403 said:

I'd also add a pet cage of a decent size onto the list that folds away. Our pekin bantam was poorly and we only had a cat carrier before getting this. We got one from Home Bargains for just £22.

Coop cups are also a good idea to have if the pet cage doesn't come with any food containers.

We put any poorly girls in the dog crate and then it also doubles up as a broody cage, and you can clip the coop cups to the side.

Sudocrem is something else I have in my chicken cupboard.

[mullethunter]

7 hours ago, SamK0403 said:

I'd also add a pet cage of a decent size onto the list that folds away. Our pekin bantam was poorly and we only had a cat carrier before getting this. We got one from Home Bargains for just £22.

I have always used a cat box for this

But as with Luvachicken I do have a dog crate that I use as a henspital

[herecomethegirls]

So, we are planning to put the run on a paved area and use woodchips on the floor. How many litres will we need for a 3m run? Is there a depth that it needs to be? Also, wondering how often this will need to be changed?

[Cat tails]

The deeper the layer, the less often you would need to change it in comparison. But you might want to come up with a way of keeping the chips in the run. 
I only have a thin layer in my WIR and to change it every month or so. But some on here only change it a few times a year, as they have a deeper layer.

Hard to say how much you would need exactly.

[mullethunter]

This page has a calculator

https://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/hardwood-woodchip-for-poultry-runs-handy-bag.html

[soapdragon]

Gin 

Edited July 17, 2021 by soapdragon