[chriso]

Any tips on how to get them settled in and keep them fit and well gratefully accepted.

[HappyHippy]

Have a read through the chicken section and the article section - great advice there (and much more detailed than I'm capable of before my 2nd cup of tea!)
We've only had our 2 for a few weeks, they've settled in great. We even had them in the garden with the kids and dog at the weekend and they're fine - I always expected them to be flighty, but they're really chilled out.
I think as long as they've dirt to scratch in, plenty of food and water, a bit of grit from time to time and a vermin proof house they'll be fine.
Let us know how you get on 

[plumseverywhere]

how many are you getting? how old are they?
I always collect late in the day so that I can put them straight into their house, that way when you let them out in the morning they know where bed is later on!  not so easy to do that with these lighter evenings though..
you will probably find that you have specific questions that come up once the birds are with you.
make sure they have plenty of pellets/mash and water.
they will need worming at least twice a year - find out when they were last 'done'.

most of all enjoy your new birds!!  that first egg will always be a brilliant moment!!

[egbert]

Hi

I only got my first hens 2 weeks ago - we have 2 Copper Stars and 3 ex-bats. Ours are in a run. The one thing I found surprising is how much water they drunk. Originally I bought 2 small size water drinkers thinking, as the books say, ex-bats would fight over eating/drinking points. And ended up refilling them 3 times a day as they were either knocking them over or drinking a lot. SO now I have one larger drinker that lasts the day (although they did drink it all yesterday) that is harder to knock about - and gives them more room in the run.

The Coppers were already used to people as I bought them from a breeder, but they are very chilled out and let me stroke them already. They also try to get through the door to the feeder as I try to put it in and are eating before I have got it on the ground. The ex-bats are still more skittish. We did have to show them all the way into their house the first night and one of the ex-bats had to be shown the next night, but after that they all find their way, and they all now lay in the boxes after a few days of eggs on the ground, with no effort on my part.

My daughter and I still find it exciting going to collect our eggs every day - 3 of the hens are laying (not sure which 3) so we usually get 2 eggs a day.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[bazzais]

We only picked ours up the other day too and they are a joy to own.  I dont have any tips other than take a dark box for transportation so they can settle during their ride.

Good luck with them, you'll soon get to know them like pets as they all have different mannerisms.  I was thinking of having some for meat - but I dont think I could now...  Maybe in the future I will get some for meat and try not to get to know them

Ta

Baz

[spencers mum]

Hi there - how exciting! I've had my 3 for 6 weeks now - a real expert!! They are lovely, so funny and such characters.  I agree, so much to read about on here and many real experts to answer your queries.  From my limited knowledge I'd say don't be surprised if they are quiet to start with, we had a couple of worrying days with 'cold' like symptoms and I thought they had something horrid but I wormed them again to be sure and really once they knew where they were they were happy enough. They love greens, cooked mashed veg and a bit of corn as well as their must have layers pellets.  And they are a perfect waste of time! Enjoy!!

[chriso]

Well I got 4 in total, 2 orpingtons and I don't know what the other 2 are - cross breeds of sort a beigey gingerish colour and quite a bit larger than the orpingtons. They are all about a year old so well into their laying age. One of the orpingtons seems a bit crazy and just wants to fight the others, the big gingers don't seem to take much notice and just get on feeding but it keeps chasing the other orpington around the pen. The crazy one (pit bull) already has a bald patch on the back of it's head. It looks like they are going to be fun!

[chriso]

Well chuffed - 3 eggs in less than 24 hrs. And they all seem to have settled down.