The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: YoungRasher on December 09, 2013, 07:32:00 pm
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Hi All.
A customer of mine has offered me a hen shed and 9 hens. They are all laying at the minute and I've been around over the past 12 months and seen them every time i've been.
My question is how much room do 9 birds need outside.
I can't have them at the farm because i'm not up there every day due to work so I will have to keep them at home.
I don't want them caged up but do need to stop them wandering into next doors property.
any other advise would be great.
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My hens have at least 15m2 each (the most crowded are 9 hens and 1 cockerel in a 20mx8m pen) but I think that's relatively generous, even if I'd rather they were genuinely free ranging. If you have them too crowded in a small space, you'll lose the grass and have worm problems too so you need to think about the surface and how you stop it becoming a mud bath.
H
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Thanks.
The first thing i did was google hen runs for 9 birds and i was shocked at the size.
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I would give 9 hens a 50m net and aim to move it a couple times a year.
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Whatever you can give them is going to be better than the hens that lay supermarket eggs, and a lot better cared for no doubt! In addition to space they need toys. Mine have branches, perches, and a feeder turned into a drinker so they have to push the tines around to drink from it. :excited:
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Aim for 4 metres squared each in a fixed run YoungRasher. You can reduce that depending on the breed, but laying hybrids need all of that. They will trash the ground quickly though and it will take a long time to recover. Or range them over a much larger area giving them 10 -20 square metres each, depending on ground quality. Problem will always be predators though and large enclosures are expensive.
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I've just picked them up.
I had to dismantle the run in order to get it home because it was fastened to her fence panels. I'll use what I saved and add to it so its as big as possible. They are probably going to be here until april when they will move upto our land where they will be able to have much more space.
The spot I have in mind for them has a small area of grass and a few stone flags. Is there anything wrong with that and will I need to put anything else in with them. ie branches etc.
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They will destroy the grass pretty quickly (like days) if it's a small area so you may have to re-seed that once they are moved on. As to their happiness, that's up to you to judge. Some people are happy to keep 3 hens in a eglu all their lives, some are happy to keep them on cages in a shed, some give them lots of room and so on. It depends what you have to offer them really, only you can judge what is acceptable. If you have plans to move them to a bigger place then keeping them penned up over winter is no real hardship for them. As you say, give them lots to do, branches, perches, litter to scratch in. A dust bath (we use a cardboard box with wood ash in it as it kills lice too). Plus they love stuff like hanging up some spare greens like cabbage etc. Make it harder for them to get so it stimulates them. Good luck with them.
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I've just picked them up.
I had to dismantle the run in order to get it home because it was fastened to her fence panels. I'll use what I saved and add to it so its as big as possible. They are probably going to be here until april when they will move upto our land where they will be able to have much more space.
The spot I have in mind for them has a small area of grass and a few stone flags. Is there anything wrong with that and will I need to put anything else in with them. ie branches etc.
That sounds fine to me and as I said in my last post give them some 'toys' - branches, perches, odd shaped water bowls and feeders, hang things from the top of teh run etc.
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Thanks for all the advice. They seem to of settled in very well. we haven't had a day without eggs yet.
They've got branches and I've hung up a cabbage which they seem to love and they have there mixed corn. water and grit. I've been told to give them all our spare veg but wanted to check if there is anything I shouldn't be giving them or anything else I can give them as a treat.
also when i picked them up there was a tub with milk and bread in the coop. is this a good thing to give them?
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Hi, your best giving them layers pellets and just give the corn as a late afternoon treat. Everything they need is in the pellets. They will love your left over veggies, but cook any potatoes. They love yogurt, l give them organic low fat greek yogurt as a treat its good for there guts and so funny watching them eat it :roflanim:
They are all little characters am sure you will enjoy keeping them. lve kept hens for 13 years l couldnt be without them. One of mine a black rock l rescued is 15 :o looks great good plumage no dirty back end, which is usually a sign somethings wrong. Enjoy ! :thumbsup:
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Thanks again for your help.
Whats the thought on the bread? are they ok having it. do they like it? or is it best not to bother?
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Don't give them bread or at least very, very little. It will mess up their crops and you could have serious problems.
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Only brown/wholegrain bread too - I give it occasionally if I've a stale slice left at the end of a loaf. Mind you, my geese absolutely love it so there's always a scrap.
H
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I'll pass on the bread then. thanks.
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Things are going well with the hens but egg production has dropped to 1 egg today. I've been reading other peoples posts about the lack of eggs but just wanted to check i'm not doing anything wrong. They have layer pellets and corn to get them into the coop. water at all time. I think its quite normal for them to quit laying when they have been moved but what needs to happen for them to start again.
Thanks.
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How long is a piece of string? As you say, it's normal. You are probably changing them to a different brand of feed as well so that may have a temporary effect. They have the stress of the move. So don't panic.
Are any of them looking scraggy or losing feathers? It's moulting time for hens and they won't lay during this time. Nothing to worry about, it's normal. It's also normal for commercial birds to be dispersed before moult as they don't want to feed them through it!
How much corn are you giving them? I believe the recommendation is a thimble full per bird late in the day and only in colder weather. Too much can make them fat quite quickly and stop them laying. A little bit before bed gives them a nice energy boost for bed time to keep them cozy.
Did you mention how old they are? Or what breed? Some rarer breeds will stop laying altogether in winter. Our Welsummers don't lay at all until spring. Keep in mind that all hens have pretty much the same number of eggs to give whether they lay them all in 2 years or spread them over 6-7.
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Quite normal after a change like being moved. If they were laying regularly before, they'll have some eggs already in process so they lay those even after the move but then stop for a while (typically a couple of weeks) before kicking off again. Because of the time of year, it might be longer but you'll just have to keep your fingers crossed :fc:.
H
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thats all great news thanks. I kind of knew but its always good to ask and see what others think. Thats what I love about this site.
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next question. all the hens stopped laying for about a week after they had been moved which i was expecting. over the last 2 days I've got 4 eggs. today i got 3 but one was a strange shape. long and thin and very pale in colour. I didn't like the look of it so I cracked it open and it had no yoke. is this normal when they start laying again or it it a sign.
Thanks again for all your help and I hope you all have a happy new year.
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I googled it and found it to be a fart egg. or any of the other names used. It did have the grey piece it so it all make sense now. thanks.
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Next problem.
One of the hens has lost all its feathers around its back end. It is still laying and the last egg it produced ( 10 minutes ago) has a small amount of blood on the shell. I've had hold of her and can't see any mites or similar things.
Any advice would be great thanks.
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whats the skin there like? if the house is too light, they can start pecking each other when laying. I use hessian sandbags as curtains to the laying boxes and replace them regularly (just burn them). It could also be parasites, dust for lice etc and it might be worth worming them if you haven't already.
do they roost off the floor overnight?
blood on the shell happens occasionally. if its excessive or if there seems to be an outward cause (vent pecking as described) then you need to address that issue. Or was it an especially large egg? How old is the hen?
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The skin looks fine. All the hens are 18 month old. I've looked for parasites and cant see any anywhere ( i checked all the other hens and the shed for red mite ) The egg was a good sized one but I wouldn't say it was abnormally big. We are only getting 4 eggs max a day so I'm not sure if this would be her fist time coming back in to laying. If that would have any effect?.
The hen hut is one with nesting boxes on the side and a metal floor which we clean out daily and re apply sawdust, above this floor are the wooden poles that they roost on.
During the day they are let out in to the garden run and the hen hut only has light from the drop down door. I wouldn't say it was bright in there but if you think that is an issue I could sort out a curtain. would you advise putting one on the main door to block light out or on each of the nesting boxes.
Thanks for your help.
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the blood may well just be a coming back into lay thing. I would maybe try the curtain thing, I just tack up one of the sandbags and cut slits in for the individual boxes-its worth a try. I wouldnt make the main house too dark or they'll not be able to find their perches :)
I would dust for parasites anyway (I do mine bimonthly)-you can't always see mites and its not a great time of year for mites anyway but still. so they have a dustbath in the run/garden? I stick lice powder and DE in mine, and woodash. Just in case anyone is feather eating, supplement their diet with some mealworms for a few days to boost their protein intake
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I read on here about the wood ash so I've been giving them the ash from the logburner. I got some lice powder when I bought them. Is it just a case of shaking it all over them? can we still eat the eggs whilst this is going on?
Thanks.
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The lice powder is shaken at the base of the feathers in a few areas at the top of each bird and under the wings. It will work its way downwards. Be careful not to get it in their eyes so watch the wind direction when applying.
The potash is added in moderation to their soil bath area. I read recently Darkbrowneggs used potash in the coops on the floor under the bedding, which is a good idea. Just watch the dust as you don't want respiratory problems as a result.
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Thanks for all the help. I've got them all dusted with the powder.
This was todays offering. Is this a sign that another hen is going to be laying or is this something else to worry about.
(http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo120/MuddyTriker/eggs_zps85cb719a.jpg) (http://s367.photobucket.com/user/MuddyTriker/media/eggs_zps85cb719a.jpg.html)
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Picture should be working now. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Looks like another wind egg. Could be from an existing layer or a new layer YoungRasher.
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Thanks for your help.
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Can I use saw dust in the metal tray under the perches in the hen hut. we have been using shavings that we got when we bought the hens, this is about to run out and i have free access to as much sawdust as i want. Its from pine wood not mdf etc.
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I think you can use sawdust in that application YoungRasher. Need to make sure it isn't damp or mouldy and any breeze through the coop when the pop-hole is open doesn't raise dust that the chickens could breath in. Wood shavings are normally dried and dust extracted. I presume they can't reach it and scratch about.
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They could probably get to it if they really tried but they would be wedged in between the roosting poles.
Do we even need something in the metal tray? we will still use shaving in the nesting boxes.
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A sheet of newspaper in the tray would be fine, or even nothing at all. But getting poo out stuck to the tray may be difficult, so I'd put something in as a barrier.
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the tray slides in and out so its easy enough to keep clean.
If the saw dust is not a problem for them i'll just put enough in to stop the muck sticking to the steel.
Thanks for your help.