Hi! I am returning to ex bat keeping and have ordered an aviary run. I would like a chicken coop which looks like this which is suitable for 3-5 hens. I had one the same as this previously and it was good but I'm not sure who I bought it off. Amazon and eBay are full of things which have very mixed ...

Hi all I seem to remember there being a thread, or perhaps a page on the website, that collated pet sitters info from across the country? I cant seem to find it after a search so wondered if I'm going mad. Anyway - I was wondering if there are any pet sitters in the South Wales, Swansea area, or ind...

I use straw on my concrete floor. It dries quickly if you turn it over regularly and dont lay it too thick. I dont bother poo picking in the main run. I will take out any really messy straw when necessary but I have only given it a full clean out and wash down twice in the past 12 months. But then m...

I have a skelter! I used to have a wire chicken basket but it got annoying having to fish out the oldest ones without breaking eggs. Breaking an egg in the bottom of a wire basket is not fun. I like my skelter. And with only three chooks and plenty of family/neighbours to give them to, I rarely have...

hiya

Might be interested in taking these off ya. Im in Llanelli so can do a halfway meet perhaps? Will sound out the other half tonight and let you know. I have three batties at the mo and room for two more. Its so unfortunate when you cant keep them any more :-(

When I go out to "head count" and shut the door for the evening, my girls are usually emitting some sort of grunty, squeaky, clucky, "woooo" type sound. I think its a combination of snoring and being woken by the back door opening. That inquisitive coo-ing sound. But I do hear th...

hahaha this thread is hilarious! Its amazing what people come out with. My sister in law will not eat our eggs because they are sometimes a "funny shape" and she definitely wont even look at them if they have traces of pooh on them because it reminds her where they come from. Stupid woman!...

Same as Aldo, I leave my coop door open all the time so they get up and go to bed at will. Since the clocks forward, they've been up and bobbling around in the run since daybreak, so probably 6ish? Going to bed at about 8.30 now. In the winter they were still bleary eyed poking their heads out the c...

Oh really? Oh, best stop giving them it then! I sometimes use the crust of my toast in a morning to get them to go back in the run haha! Will start using bits of fruit more often instead. Thanks for that and sorry to hijack!

Fab news that she has recovered!

Re the lump... my chickens lump definitely wasnt an egg! It had a ridge and was all uneven and lumpy.

Also.. why is bread bad??

If you can, try and feel behind her ribcage in her abdomen area for lumps/abnormalities - you will have to push your fingers in quite firmly and have a good poke.. if there is anything you should feel it easily. My girl brought up water/fluid and the vet found a lump in her abdomen. One of my others...

Personally, I think Eglus are overpriced for what they are. They are convenient and look nice but very expensive. I would go with a plastic shed instead!

Well I never knew this.

I've been rinsing my eggs under warm water for two years now!!!


Will start with the dry wiping pronto! Thanks!

It is advised that hens are provided with somewhere to roost as it is a "natural" behaviour. However, as Mad Chick has said, if you have the perch there and they dont use it for months on end, and its getting in the way, you could remove it. I know lots of us will make sure than there are ...

My ex batties, who were only rescued 10 months ago, have laid fantastically all through the cold and snow and the past week they seem to have given up the ghost. 1 from 3 hens every day for the past week..... They must have telepathic abilities and are having a nationwide "Chicken Coffee Mornin...