phoebejo Posted January 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 I have 10 very happy chickens this morning They ran out of layers pellets yesterday, new sack is due to be delivered today so this morning their feeders were filled with mixed corn instead For the benefit of those who don't know anyfink about chicken food, layers pellets are the main part of their diet. The idea is that they stuff themselves with pellets all day then before bed they can have a small handful each of corn, which is like pudding or sweets for chickens. So my chickens now have nothing to eat but smarties all day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 So my chickens now have nothing to eat but smarties all day well they'll need some juice and crisps to go with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted January 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Layers pellets finally arrived a day late and the chooks got stuck straight in. They were sick to death of corn and all but Eliza & Primrose seemed delighted to have pellets again Picked up a bale of Easibed while I was there. Has anyone else used it in their coop? I normally use Aquamax but thought I'd try something else. The man there also sells Hemcore so I'll try that next time. Another first for me is the use of apple cider vinegar in their water. I've read so many positive things about it and I hope it can help clear up Primroses rattly chest before I resort to a trip to the vets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOB Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I can't believe your hens like layer pellets, my lot only eat them as a last resort. We are now on a mixture of very coarse mash which they love and generous helpings of wheat both morning and night. I've never used Easibed or Hemcore I get wood shavings and shredded paper for their house free from work so will take advantage of that offer while it lasts although I've also heard that they are both very good. We've used Cider Vinegar for quite a while now, the ex-batts suffered with colds a lot when we first got them so I have just kept up the routine of adding it to their water one week in every 4. I add a garlic clove one week in every 4 too and the other 2 weeks are just plain water. The do sometimes eat the garlic though, it does whiff in the henhouse the next day How are your babies coming along, i'm so excited for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Picked up a bale of Easibed while I was there. Has anyone else used it in their coop? I normally use Aquamax but thought I'd try something else. The man there also sells Hemcore so I'll try that next time. God, bedding ( and weld mesh) have been all I've thought about for the past two weeks , I had originally thought to use Easibed but it's supposed to be nigh on impossible to get at the moment as they have stopped producing it for now, so you've been very lucky to get it. So then I looked into Aquamax as it's only £5 a bag from our local shop, but smonbody else said Hemcore was great............and now I just feel I'd be interested what you think of the Aquamax, as this will be the easiest for me to get a hold off. I was also going to ask what people put on the floor of their runs ? I can't decide between wood chips or pea shingle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted January 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Aquamax is a lot of faffing around but once it's done it's fab, is very absorbant, the coop doesn't smell at all and it's easy for me to get hold of. The thing with it is you need to wet it before putting it in the coop. I have four washing up bowls, each gets filled with six mugs of Aquamax and three mugs of water (it's got to be two parts Aquamax to one part water), mix it all up, leave it on the table in the garden then by the time I've cleared out the coop it's all fluffed up and ready to use. One of the things I do like about it is that the chooks will dust bath in it so if I sprinkle some Diatom on top of it I know they're getting de-loused & de-bugged at the same time as bathing. The Easibed comes in a huge 25kg bale so I'm going to fill my washing up bowls up with it in the garage rather than lugging the whole thing out to the garden. Same will go for Hemcore. I'll let you know which one I think is best My candler arrived yesterday and off course I couldn't help but have a peek at my eggs I think one of the 12 isn't growing but that still leaves 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtychicken Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) My candler arrived yesterday and off course I couldn't help but have a peek at my eggs I think one of the 12 isn't growing but that still leaves 11 Excellent news I was just going to ask how our your babies were doing I have no chickens. I have no room for chickens. Unless I win the lottery and get somewhere with land, I will never have chickens, so why am I retaining all of this information about the best feed, best bedding, breed identification, etc?? I shocked my mum when we were out recently and there was a photo with a chicken on and I told her what breed it was! She just went "why would you know that???" Edited January 21, 2009 by dirtychicken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 The Easibed comes in a huge 25kg bale so I'm going to fill my washing up bowls up with it in the garage rather than lugging the whole thing out to the garden. Same will go for Hemcore. I'll let you know which one I think is best My candler arrived yesterday and off course I couldn't help but have a peek at my eggs I think one of the 12 isn't growing but that still leaves 11 Why don't you just sprinkle the hose pipe on it thats what I was planning to do. Please do let me know about the bedding, how much do you pay for your Aquabed , and how many bags do you use ? I was reading about candling today, must be very satisfying............and yes, eggciting too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted January 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Because I haven't got an outside water supply Aquamax has gone up. It used to cost me just over £4 a bag but now it's around £7 I paid £7.25 for the Easibed today, Hemcore is exactly the same price. I forgot to answer your question about run surfaces earlier. When my run is in use I use wood chips. 4 bags for £10 in B&Q. I put the run on grass or just bare earth. The chooks love scratching around in it. Rake it over every few days and all the poo sinks to the bottom and fertilises the ground underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Because I haven't got an outside water supply Aquamax has gone up. It used to cost me just over £4 a bag but now it's around £7 I paid £7.25 for the Easibed today, Hemcore is exactly the same price. I forgot to answer your question about run surfaces earlier. When my run is in use I use wood chips. 4 bags for £10 in B&Q. I put the run on grass or just bare earth. The chooks love scratching around in it. Rake it over every few days and all the poo sinks to the bottom and fertilises the ground underneath. Oh, I didn't know you could get wood chips in B&Q, I've seen bark, but I've never paid much attention untill now. I was going to get wood chip from an estate, they sell it for £6.99 for a 20k bag, but there would be a delivery charge on top so I'll have a look in B&Q. How often do you have to replace the wood chip ? I think from a behavioural point of view chip would be better, but the pea shingle would be better cost and hygiene wise, apparantly they still rake about in the shingle but I wouldn't imagine there would be as many beasties for them to scoff. How on earth do you manage without an outside tap ? I'd be lost without mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted January 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I guess it depends on how messy your chickens are, the consistancy of their poop (you must use Bokashi bran in with their food because it makes poop solid and frangrance free!) and how much time they spend in their run. My run holds two bags of wood chip and I changed it every six weeks or so. I gathered it up and dug it into one of the borders. Free fertiliser! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 I guess it depends on how messy your chickens are, the consistancy of their poop (you must use Bokashi bran in with their food because it makes poop solid and frangrance free!) I hadn't heard of that, I'll keep an eye out for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Is the Bokashi just the regular stuff or is there a specific one for hens ? It does look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendbert Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Ms Bejo, when will the chicks be born? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Is the Bokashi just the regular stuff or is there a specific one for hens ? It does look good. This is the stuff I buy. I mix a handful in with each scoop of food and it lasts about six weeks. I buy the red mite powder & diatomous earth from Omlet too because it's the cheapest I've found. Red mite powder smells heavenly but you're not supposed to breathe it in Ms Bejo, when will the chicks be born? It can take about 24 hours for them to break out of their shell but they should start next Friday. Only a week to go This next week will be really stressful because on Wednesday night I've got to stop turning the eggs, take out the dividers from the incubator, line the tray they're on with some cloth and attempt at some point after that to get the humidity levels right for them to hatch. I can't sleep for worrying about humidity levels Lewis, who I bought the incy from suggested I run it dry, so there is no water in it at all at the moment. To hatch the chicks need humidity levels to be around 65% but I can't raise it too early or they'll drown in their shells, or the membrane is too stretchy (like trying to shove your finger through the end of a rubber glove, they can't and will just die), too late and they can't break out. He suggests waiting until the majority have pipped (made their first crack in the egg) and then increase the humidity. Once hatched I can't take them out until they're dry and as soon as I remove the lid the humidity will drop so that might kill the others. AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH it's a nightmare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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