I haven't got my hens yet, but due to pick up 3 ex batts tomorrow and have never had hens before.
So I have my coop and run all set up with woodchips in the run but I don't know what to do about a dust bath and grit.
I keep reading about dust baths and I have filled a large metal dog bowl with soil and sand and put it in the run, would that be okay for them
I am also not sure where to put the grit. As they are ex batts I am guessing it will be confusing for them to know what to eat from. I have an Eglu with those Glugs that go on the side, but I was intending using some dog bowls at first as these would be on the ground and more easily found. However I don't know whether you put the grit with the food or in a bowl near it
Thanks in advance for your help
Lyn
_______________________________________________ Gold/White Shih Tzu, Green Cheek Conure
Considering the weather we are having at the moment I think your hens will love their dust bath you have made for them.
As far as the grit is concerned, fine stick some in a dog bowl, the hens very often don't know what the grit is and it may take them a while to get used to it, but I'm sure they will get there. Alternatively you could put some in with your layers pellets or mash.
Good luck with your new arrivals when you get them and say goodbye to your free time cos the lovely ladies will occupy most of it!
I have grit all the time in a small metal bowl attached to the side of the coop I also from time to time mix some in with their food. My girls are partly free range in my garden so are able to pick up other stones also!
As to the dust bath what you have set up sounds good, but be prepared for your girls to ignore it and make their own hole to "bath" in.
I got my dad to make a lovely bigish box with a roof and everything and the girls decided part of the garden was better! So now whereever they seem to choose to "bath" I put a sprinkle of diatome powder in to try and help combat the dreaded red mite!
Claire Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicky lay a little egg for me! Our other lovelies include 3 cats, 2 pond gold fish and a handful of tropical fish. x x
Thanks for your replies. I am so excited about getting the hens, but also a bit worried too as not sure what condition they are likely to be in. I have heard some of them need sun tan lotion so they don't burn if they have feathers missing
I have a couple of small bowls from my parrot cage that I have clipped onto the side of the run, so I will put the grit in those and see if they eat it. I've got a bag of layers mash, pellets and mixed corn too, so hopefully I have thought of most of the things I need for now
I have some of the diatome, so will put some of that in the dust bath
Lyn
_______________________________________________ Gold/White Shih Tzu, Green Cheek Conure
I tend to scatter a handful of grit in the run every few days and they pick bits up while scatting around. If I make them a mash, I put a bit in there too
Good luck with the new arrivals when they come, keep us posted and remember to post some pics too (we're very nosy here )
Lucy x
Lucy x
Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut - Ernest Hemingway
I bought a seed tray from Wilkos for a couple of quid to use as a dust bath, and made a bit of a frame and roof for it. The chickens mostly ignored it for about 3 - 4 weeks then started to use it...
As for grit, i used to put it into a bowl, but they just pood into it or knocked it over, so i just scatter it around now. They also free range in the garden and get grit whilst destroying the flower borders.
Hi Mercedes Know exactly how you feel - I am collecting my first ever chooks, 3 ex-batts, tomorrow too. Weird, that mixture of excitement and apprehension (almost said, fear!) Mine will be on soil (plus bedding) in the run, and I plan to free-range as much as possible, so they can make their own dustbath. I was thinking of putting the grit in a bowl, but wondered if they would poo in it. May give it a try, but scatter some and put some in the feed too. Hope it goes well, and look forward to exchanging posts about the experience and the problems (and hopefully not too many of those!)
Hi Rhubarb, where are you getting your hens from tomorrow? We are getting ours from the BHWT and the pick up is in Surrey.
Yes it is a very weird feeling, that mixture of excitement and well yes fear I guess. I wanted to get hens after reading an article in the Daily Mail quite some time ago, but my other half said no. It was only when another article was in there a few weeks ago that mentioned ex batts and I knew my other half would go along with that as he has such a passion about helping neglected animals and now he is as excited as I am
Lyn
_______________________________________________ Gold/White Shih Tzu, Green Cheek Conure
For a dust bath I use a raised veggie bed - a bowl wouldnt work for mine, they'd just scatter the dirt all over the wood chip, they need more space - so i have a raised plastic veggie bed filled with soil, diatom and play sand and I have half filled it so when they flick their feathers, the dirt stays contained...
Hi Rhubarb, we aren't picking ours up till 3.45pm, so I guess you will have collected yours by then. It's a fair distance from us as we in Herts and none of the collection points are near to us, I would say it's at least an hour on the M25. Thankfully as cars these days have a/c they will be nice and cool in the car. I just hope the heat isn't too much once they are back as right now it's really hot here. I have just got my coop ready with some newspaper and wood shavings in the tray and then wood shavings sprinkled with some diatom in the nest. Not really sure what to expect! My other half has already decided he would rather have 4 hens, but I'm not sure the Eglu is big enough, although we are already planning to buy a bigger coop and a huge walk in run soon. Hope you get on well today picking up yours, maybe we can share pics
Lyn
_______________________________________________ Gold/White Shih Tzu, Green Cheek Conure
Hi Mercedes Hope your re-homing went well. Had a little panic with mine - when I went to put them into their new home, I saw some blood, but couldn't see exactly where it was coming from. Let them settle a bit as they were very stressed, just standing round looking bemused, then checked them all, and it was just an over-enthusiastically clipped nail (by the BHWT people!, but I guess they had a lot to do and were in a hurry.) All tucked up for the night to acclimatise now. Hope you enjoy your new girls.
Hi Rhubarb, well right now I am a little concerned as one our hens has a bad limp and is just hopping around the run and I'm not sure that she will be able to get into the coop later on.
So far I have managed to get all the food and water all over the run as the bowls obviously aren't heavy enough and they have tipped them over. I don't know whether I should try to clean it all up once they are in the coop later or in case rats come for a meal, not sure if they could get into the run or not
Sorry to hear you had a panic with yours, it's all very worrying at first I think isn't it. I have taken a pic with my phone and will try and post it later on
Lyn
_______________________________________________ Gold/White Shih Tzu, Green Cheek Conure
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