[Dans]

Hi all  ,

I'm new and I haven't quite worked out the search so sorry if something similar has already been asked, and sorry if this is the wrong place to post.

I am currently thinking about getting 3 ex-bat hens. I've never kept hens before (most has been rabbits, fish, cats and dogs) so this is all very new to me.

My main concern about getting them is do we know what we are letting ourselves in for? My partner works full time but flexi and I am a student with no set hours. I was wondering if somebody could tell me what a day or a week in the life of a hen owner is like. How many times a week do you do a full pen clean out? Fed twice a day or more often? I've been scouring articles but none seem to go into the specifics and I don't want to rescue the hens for them to end up unhappy with us, so I want to make sure that we aren't taking on too much.

Also if anyone has any rec's for good books or websites it would be much appreciated. I'll no doubt have more questions to follow this.

Thank you all in advance.

Dans

[jaykay]

Here is my day and my week.
I work full time.

1. Each morning, before I go to work, I fill up the feeders with layers pellets (and would do the water if they were in a pen, as it is they free-range where there is a beck) then let them out.
2. When I get home I scatter mixed corn and collect the eggs.
3. When it gets dark, they go to bed and I shut their doors.

2&3 are separate in the summer and the same time in the winter!

Every weekend I clean out the houses and replace the shavings, which is what I use for bedding. In the summer, when I clean out the houses, I spray under the perches for red mite.


That's it. They will survive one weekend without being cleaned out, if necessary. They really are easy, the critical thing is being around in the morning and evening to let them out and shut them in, but you can get an automatic door that will do that at night, so you don't have to come home early if you're out.

[manian]

hi
for the hens; my day starts by letting them out at sunrise (well 6 in the summer ) i clean them out usually later in the afternoon but either me or OH collects the eggs during the day. they get fed twice a day (morning and about 2 hours before sunset) and have plenty of fresh water to last the day. they free range during the day as they are not in the garden. they then go to bed at sunset.
I do a good deep clean weekly and for this I clean, hoover and use sprite for red mite and then dust with diatom
 
but be warned we started with 8  birds and now have over 27 adults and 10 chicks with another 24 on the way

[Fowlman]

If you have never had poultry before i would suggest forget about the ex-batts and get some young healthy POL hens. Although rehoming ex-batts is a noble thing to do they arent ideal for the newbie as they can have health issues of various kinds (not always). Not always easy to spot problems if you dont know what to look for. Sorry to sound negative but its better to enjoy your poultry keeping from the start, once your more experienced you can think about ex-batts.
Everybody has different routines regards feeding, cleaning etc.

[jaykay]

That's good advice Fowlman, I think it's easier to help ex-batts too if you've learned what healthy hens are like first.

[Dans]

Thank you all. That sounds about what I was expecting which is reassuring.

Not negative at all Fowlman. Indeed that was going to be one of my next questions, are ex-bats the way to start or is it a good way to get in over my head. So thank you for bringing it up.

I have some more questions about where best to place a run and what surface to have it on (we have a patch of the garden that'd we'd like them on but it's currently paving over concrete it seems. We are pulling up the paving and were going to knock through the concrete as I thought soil is probably better for them but wasn't sure.). Is it best to continue in this thread or start a new one?

Thank you all again for your speedy answers!

Dans

[in the hills]

Much the same as Jaykays routine and as Jaykay says it is just important that someone is around to open up and close the coop at the right times.
 
Cleaning out is a bit variable. Keep numbers lower rather than higher and they will need cleaning less often and stay healthier too.
 
Only had one lot of ex-batts but they were very easy to handle and soon regained condition. Only needed help with going to bed at night for the first couple of weeks but then so have some POL pullets that I have purchased in the past. I think it just depends on your main reasons for wanting hens. If it is eggs then POL hybrids hens are a good choice, if you like the idea of watching ex-batts recover then contact the BHWT. I found them very helpful and think their website gives guidance about day to day care and talks about special needs that ex-batts may have. Mine are really friendly and very easy to handle. They are laying really well. Might have just been lucky 
 
Have fun - chicken keeping is great. 

[deepinthewoods]

the house will be better off on concrete it will help limit any rat issues, the chickens can be kept on concrete, but would much prefer it on soil, chickens are suprisingly sophisticated creatures and get bored easily, access to fresh greens daily is important for nutrition and also it gives them something to do, chickens will sour ground quite quickly so its usefull to move the run to fresh ground while the old recovers.
i wouldnt start with battery hens, and i would choose the breed carefully, dependent on the living conditions you are able to provide.some breeds need to be free range, others can cope without.

[Mammyshaz]

Hi dans  I think the daily routine is just about the same for most hen keepers by the looks of things.
We have had hens for just over a year and started with young hybrids just coming into lay. They lay an egg each a day and are easy to look after.
My worry was how much care they needed but it's not too difficult at all. I found a good book to start was Haynes chicken manual. It has a list of daily, weekly and monthly routines which is great for the first timer. I I do my own routine now but it gave me a base to start from.

I don't regret getting them, and the fresh eggs are fab  but be warned, as manian said, they are addictive  I want more now 

[Fowlman]

I'm probably a bit old school regarding my routine. My layers are kept in sheds and cleaned out twice a year and topped up with bedding as and when needed. As mine free range they are fed just wheat and a little maize in winter. My rare breeds are in enclosed runs with no house but one enclosed end and roof. Apple cider vinegar is added to their water once a week, this keeps the worm count down. All sheds and runs are creosoted annually, this will stop any mites.

[Dans]

Thank you all again.

We were thinking of a coop like this one http://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/chicken-houses.htm, Unfortunately our hens won't be able to be completely free range, although I am hoping to build a larger run that can be moved about the garden that they can be in during the day. We'll likely knock through the concrete, I hate it and the neighbours cats are prolific mousers so they'll keep the rats at bay, my 4 are useless at catching anything, which is good as the neighbour's probably decimates the wildlife enough!

I'll have a look at the Haynes manual.

My main reason for wanting chickens is to keep chickens really. I haven't ever had them before and when I do get my smallholding (hopefully a couple of years once I have finished my studies) I most certainly would like a flock of layers. I'd like to take on a few hens, learn the ropes and see if it's for me (which from what you all say sounds like it will be). I'm not too bothered about eggs at the moment, but I love the idea of giving a few old girls a nice retirement. I do worry about my inexperience though and think that some layers would help sweeten the deal for the neighbours (asking them over the weekend ). I am very torn but I think I'm leaning towards POL to start with.

Thank you all for your help, this is such a wonderful forum.

Dans

[Bionic]

Dans,
I am very new to chicken keeping. I bought 4 POL's a couple of months ago, 2 light sussex, one bluebelle and one black rock. The black rock had a prolapse a couple of weeks after we got her and I didn't have a clue what to do but the kind people on here gave me advice and pointed me in the direction of some youtube videos. Prolapse now fixed but I don't think the bird will ever be the same.
Other than that I am finding them very easy to keep, with a routine much as everyone else has described. Mine free range and they treat me like the Pied Piper, following me everywhere (they know where their food comes from). I give them layers pellets but as a treat I buy them mealworms which they go mad for. They also love cooked potatoes, rice, pasta.
 
I am sure you will enjoy whatever you get and there is nothing like the thrill of your first egg. I took a picture of mine 
 
Sally

[Big Light]

Hi, everyones different in what they do or don't do - i  think there's a balance to be struck between our own lives and those of the animals we keep.
We keep quite a few pure bred chickens of various breeds which we show and get eggs from and some Hebridean sheep. We like you are away mainly during the day and have to work round this. Mainly during the week the birds are out between 6 and 7 but that's because we have to go to work and are shut in at night which at present is just after 10. However if we want a lie in then the birds stay in their sheds till we let them out ( we have big shed's with food and water). Food is add lib from feeders. I.E you top up the feeder when its getting low - you can get a feeder size to suit your shed and lifestyle - if you have time to feed every day then great if not then they have food for a week. We give grain on occasions.

I would steer clear of ex bats first time round get something fit and healthy near pol, if you are looking for something pretty bomb proof then you can't go wrong with black rocks they lay and survive well in all weathers. They aren't the prettiest to look at but depends what you want - if you want something to look at then think about some of the fancier pure breeds - if you want different coloured eggs then get a mix of breeds.

As per you choice of house - I'm not really a fan of these type -  they tend to disintegrate after a couple of years ( not saying this one would but the others i have seen / had tend not to last). At that price you could buy a small garden shed and put a couple of perches in it and cut a small pop hole. you said you plan to make a moveable run so that would be covered also. You can easily move small garden sheds by buying about 6 round standard fencing posts and you put them under one edge and just push and use them as rollers putting the one that pops out the back in again at the front ( like the Egyptians and Romans!). Ground gets chicken sick and muddy from them scratching it up so if you can move them about it's better.



The main thing is to be able to give the birds their basic requirements - food / fresh water / dry shelter and protection from predators. The rest is up to you. You can also get automatic door openers/closers if your lives's may not coincide with letting them in or out

[jaykay]

The first four birds I had, in a town garden, were Black Rocks. I had them in a little P&T Poultry house, which is still going strong.

The section of garden they were in was half concrete and half soil.

The concrete meant everything didn't turn to a mud bath when it rained and the feeders etc. stayed clean. The hens would choose to be on concrete then, so I assume they don't like muddy feet if given a choice.

The soil I dug over every week, much attended by Eenie, Meenie, Minie and Mo who would get the worms before I even saw them    They liked the soil for scratching about in.

So basically, my advice would be not to dig up all the concrete.


For letting them out into the garden, I bought some mesh panels which I think were sold to make a dog run. Anyway, they were 3ft high and clipped together. Again, I've still got those and they meant I could let the hens into the garden for a much bigger run and scratch about without risking them getting into the flower beds!

[Sylvia]

If you have to keep your hens on concrete you could use the Balfour method (designed by a Lady Balfour) in which you put down a thick layer of straw and sprinkle their food into it (I would use small bird seed as well as pellets) which satisfies their instinct to scratch. The straw is changed every few days and makes good compost.
You could also sprinkle in meal worms or maggots( easily produced at home) and put in plenty of greenstuff, apples, tomatoes, soft fruit etc. A lot of greensuff can be collected from non-contaminated hedgerows, weeds from friends unsprayed gardens or wherever you can think of.
As to ex-bats, I have never had any until a few weeks ago I took one on that was being bullied by someone's other hens. She is the dearest little thing, comes running up to be picked up and petted(and sung to ) and has selled in and blossomed.
I would think that if you could choose your ex-bats don't go for the poor, pitiful hunched up ones in the corner, difficult as that may be, but the bright-eyed shiny looking ones which will probably do well.
Good luck, anyway with whatever you get and however you keep them