a couple more queries

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lynne

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Hi everyone. Am enjoying being on here, and taking in all the advice that is given to everyone, it's really interesting. However, I have a couple of new questions someone might be able to help me with?
The first is following on from my "waiting for eggs" query. Someone has over the last week, laid two eggs, clearly one of the pullets, and they are pale brown in colour. No idea who, though the light sussex hybrid has begun to squat when I try to stroke her, which I understand they do when laying? But, both eggs were laid UNDER the nest boxes, in a scrape made in the woodchip. My query is... how on earth do I persuade them to use the nest boxes? they are a good size, lined with wood chip and straw, but no one seems interested in them. My previous birds always laid in one corner of the shed floor, too - so we ended up putting straw there for them to make a nest, but following advice here have stopped doing that to encourage these girls into the boxes.
My second query concerns their food. They have layers pellets available in a hooded metal feeder. Clearly one of them enjoys digging the pellets out - all over the run floor, and if it rains, of course, they are ruined. I have tried raising the feeder, but it makes little difference, I dont know who, or how they are doing it, but it is turning into quite a costly waste, so wondered if anyone has any ideas to stop this? In the afternoon, they have a handful of mixed corn each, which they love, and Im training them to know what a shake of the container means, so that when I start letting them out for a run in the garden, I can (hopefully!) get them back. They REALLY love the corn!
grateful for any ideas on either problem..
thanks, Lynne
 
Your hens squatting behaviour is an Invitation to mate, so she will be in laying condition. Regarding your Nestboxes, You could try placing rubber or Pot eggs in them, this often tempts a hen to make use of the nest. Laying hens will instinctively look for somewhere cosy and secluded to lay, so you could try making the box entrance smaller, and thereby darkening the nest making it more appealing to the hen, or by attaching a piece of sacking to the entrance, in the form of a curtain to make the hen feel concealed .
There are Hoppers available that allow hens to feed without letting them scratch the contents of the feeder out onto the ground and wasting it. These can be as simple as covered troughs, with gaps to allow the hen's hen to pass through to feed, but preventing her from getting her feet to it and scratching, although she will rake the food about with her beak!. Treadle feeders are becoming popular, with the hen operating a release pedal allowing just enough feed to be released for her to peck up, and their are 'spring' release feeders, that have a Coil like device that the ration Gravitates to,and is visible to the birds. They peck at the feed inside the coil which releases it in limited amounts, again, just enough for the hen to eat, rather than her to scatter and waste.
 
They are perhaps looking for grit or corn amongst the pellets. Corn treats need scattering on the floor as we found out.

Try removing all the material from the floor of the coop Lynne so they have nothing to nest in -worked for us.
 
I would recommend the Ascot Feeder, see http://www.solwayfeeders.com/products/25kg-indoor-ascot-feeder-p1817-c400.html which holds enough feed for my 4 hens for 2-3 days, so not too massive or heavy when filled but a useful capacity. I find spillage is minimal from this design, maybe just a few pellest (less than 10) per day. I found the feet were useless, hard to attach and not very stable but once I'd thrown them away and put the feeder on a solid concrete vblock all was fine. You can also hang it from a beam, theres a metal bar across the top under the lid which is not apparent in the photo. you can also get an outdoor version with a plastic' ' hat' top to help keep rain off. It's easy to move around and perhaps morte suitable for a few hens than some of the bigger treadle ones.
 
Thanks for the advice, have been on the site you recommended marigold, and ordered a feeder. Like the big hopper ones, but perhaps a bit big for us!!
I also like the idea of putting sacking over entrances, (though shed is completely blacked out and should be v. dark inside anyway), and the false eggs - never thought of that! The corn we already scatter, and they have grit in a coop cup already.
Thanks again, I knew i'd get the answers here.
 
I hope it works!
I would go easy on giving them a handful of corn each, at least at this time of the year, as it's quite fattening and will take the place of their layers pellets. Probably not a big problem until they come into lay because they won't actually be needing all the extra calcium etc in the pellets until they have to make an eggshell each day, but corn is mainly used in the winter afternoons before they go to roost at about 4.00 as a good warming snack to help keep them going through the 15-hour winter nights without food. At this time of the year they don't need to spend energy keeping warm, and you'll find they will come just as readily for a small sprinkle or a few grains on your hand. At least corn is much better than some of the unsuitable human food scraps that some people offer them, especially stuff high in fat, sugar and salt, which of course they love as much as we all do!
 
Thanks Marigold for the link - my order came the next day, was far cheaper than at the farm suppliers where Ive been buying stuff too! And two days and NO wastage - result!!
and even better ..... whilst I was looking up where to buy some sacking and fake eggs.... I discovered 2 eggs yesterday, and 1 today - actually in a nesting box!!! really pleased. All eggs are a light brown, so am geussing one from each of them, or someone is giving me an egg a day and the other two arent there yet. Either way, cant believe it... our old girls always refused to use the boxes, no matter how much straw we put in them...
 
Well done, glad they're using the boxes and starting to lay, also being less messy with the food - makes it all worth while, doesn't it?
By the way, you might like to reconsider that straw in the nestboxes - many people use woodshavings instead, because redmite can colonise the hollow stems of straw and hide away very effectively.
It's quite a good idea to stick your head inside the coop and have a look at the inside of the nestboxes from the hens' point of view. I wondered why mine always seemed to prefer one box rather than the other, and realised I had to be more careful shutting the lid as a crack of light tended to come through into the unpopular box. Once I shut it properly they used both boxes OK.
 
Hi All

My chicken coop has just been delivered. There is one large nesting box.

One of Lordcluck's suggestion in his post the way to get them using the nesting box to lay is:

"by attaching a piece of sacking to the entrance, in the form of a curtain to make the hen feel concealed"

How heavy and long should this be, and how do the hens know how to move it to get through it? :-)19

Very Puzzled

Thanks

Carol
 
I would wait and see if they do use the nestbox. If so, there's no need to fix anything across the entrance, is there, and most pullets get the hang of it quite fast. They will begin to explore the nestbox during the day when they are nearly ready to lay, so make it nice and comfy in there, with wood shavings or whatever you are going to use for bedding. Check on them after they've gone to bed, and If they try to sleep in the nestbox, discourage this by blocking it off with a big flowerpot at night and lift them on to the perch so they learn to use it.
 
I wouldn't use sacking Carolb as we tried it and it frayed and got wrapped aroung the hens. Plastic bags aren't much good either. As Marigold says, leave it for now as its not a problem. If it becomes one in the future when they are laying use slit rubber matting and hold it open with clothes pegs for a day.
 
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