Chickens

beki x-x

uses to many smilies :o
Oct 1, 2008
2,791
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doddinghurst Essex
do they need to be on grass as my mum has specialy made this area to build our run and coop on :confused:
 

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They don't need to be on grass, as long as there's somewhere for them to get away from the mud. Chances are that even if you built a coop on some grass, it would be mud in a short space of time. Just watch in winter when it gets wet and claggy....they won't thank you for leaving them standing knee deep in the mud! :p
 
more than enough, we have thirteen chickens, one cockrel and a duck, the duck just wondered in boxing day and now rules the roost, even above our cockrel, they say one square foot per chicken but we would never keep to that ratio, our space is maybe twice that but that should be more than big enough for three or four. we started off at that and now were looking for more. they are such funny creatures. were selling our egg and we make enough to cover all there food. good luck with them, love to see what you get. :D
 
Even if it had grass I doubt it would have it for long!
The chickens would dig it up, rake it, and eat it all to be honest!
Ours have bark chippings which they can scratch in and I prefer it to muddy grass now.
 
They should have a minimum of 1 square foot for roosting and 1 square yard for the run, each.

If your run is not movable keep an eye out for Cocci (would be wise to keep a small bottle of Coxoid in the medicine cabinet), and you'll need to provide extras such as mixed oystershell and grit.

Chooks are great though! :)
 
They should love sratching about in that!! I love chickens, used to have some, had them for years until a nasty mink came and got them :( I'd love some more now :)
 
They will be fine without grass. You can give them greenery and veg etc for the variety and vits. Mine love apples and tomatoes best although I have read you can feed cabbage and greens etc. You will love them as they are so funny. Walked into my run last weekend with a cup of tea and sat on an upturned bucket and 2 chooks jumped straight on my lap !!!
 
you should have enough room there for abou 10, it wil just turn to mud in a short space of time anyway, chickens are great fun youll enjoy them, they all have different characters
 
It is short for coccidiosis. I dont know a huge amount about it but young chickens can be affected and I think it lives in the soil ??
 
Just watch their poo - if it looks runny or a funny colour then ask vet as could be coccidiosis it is a bug that occurs naturally but animals can pick it up and if not 100% themselves can get sick from it. They should be fine on that plot as they quickly destroy whatever they are on anyway! They will also need worming every so often - they have come out with a spot on wormer for chooks now which is 0.8% ivermectin that you drop on the back of the neck so alot easier than stuff you stick in feed! You also may need to stick in a tray with sand in it so they can have a dust bath. I love my chooks - they are so funny to watch!
 
Just watch their poo - if it looks runny or a funny colour then ask vet as could be coccidiosis it is a bug that occurs naturally but animals can pick it up and if not 100% themselves can get sick from it. They should be fine on that plot as they quickly destroy whatever they are on anyway! They will also need worming every so often - they have come out with a spot on wormer for chooks now which is 0.8% ivermectin that you drop on the back of the neck so alot easier than stuff you stick in feed! You also may need to stick in a tray with sand in it so they can have a dust bath. I love my chooks - they are so funny to watch!

Hey blackhorses - where do you get the spot on wormer for chooks - who makes that. Was just thinking the other day when I was doing the cats how much easier it would be to do the chooks that way too.
 
You can either buy it on ebay - type in Ivermectin wormer chicken and it should come up, it was about £26 for a small bottle to do 30 large hens - or the cheaper option, which is what I did, was to go to the vet and get them to dilute the cattle Ivermectin spot on, which is exactly the same stuff just stronger, down to 0.8% and it is 4 or 5 drops on the skin of each bird - obviously less for a bantam. It does all the creepy crawlies as well as the internal worms.
 
You can either buy it on ebay - type in Ivermectin wormer chicken and it should come up, it was about £26 for a small bottle to do 30 large hens - or the cheaper option, which is what I did, was to go to the vet and get them to dilute the cattle Ivermectin spot on, which is exactly the same stuff just stronger, down to 0.8% and it is 4 or 5 drops on the skin of each bird - obviously less for a bantam. It does all the creepy crawlies as well as the internal worms.

Thanks blackhorses - sounds perfect. Need to pop to vets later this week to pay monthly bill anyway so will ask.
 
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