Hi all
- Thread starter dofarm
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Hi Dofarm, and welcome. Looking forward to hearing more from you!
Bugsy
New member
Welcome from another recent joiner.
Lots of info on this site.
Lots of info on this site.
Hello
I've never used a forum before but have just bought 4 chickens having moved to France 6 months ago. All change! I don't know how to tell if my chickens are healthy. I bought them from a Garden Centre as I thought this would be better than buying from a market. This is what's happened so far and I would welcome any comments and/or suggestions from the forum members:
Feed
Agricultural merchants sell Poules Pondeuse food (mixed grains) for laying chickens as well as straw for bedding.
I have been giving them some veg - blanched potato peelings, lettuce, white asparagus, cabbage, apple and I strung up some breakfast cereal rings (which should have been a treat according to a book I have, but which they ignored)
They scrabble around literally all day in the run, pecking the ground, presumably picking up small insects etc.
I put the feed in a trough outside.
Run
Approximately a hundred square metres, fenced with plenty of oak tree shade. It contains a plastic gravity feed water pot, changed every other day, located in the shade.
Coop
We think it was adapted from a garage, about nine square metres with three nesting boxes two roosting poles and a raised flat roosting area which we built because they have been roosting every night on the sloping top of the nesting boxes. They still are! They have another water pot in the coop, but no food, as I was concerned not to attract vermin.
They look healthy, have shiny feathers, bright eyes and don't seem to be pecking each other at all as they're too busy!
One of our cats took an immediate interest and keeps getting into the run, but now he just sits and watches them. They're not bothered unless he gets too close, when they scatter. Apart from this, they seem happy, but we have no eggs yet. How soon before we can expect some?
And, although they seem ok, how can I tell if they really are settled, healthy and happy?
Thanks in advance
Ailla
I've never used a forum before but have just bought 4 chickens having moved to France 6 months ago. All change! I don't know how to tell if my chickens are healthy. I bought them from a Garden Centre as I thought this would be better than buying from a market. This is what's happened so far and I would welcome any comments and/or suggestions from the forum members:
Feed
Agricultural merchants sell Poules Pondeuse food (mixed grains) for laying chickens as well as straw for bedding.
I have been giving them some veg - blanched potato peelings, lettuce, white asparagus, cabbage, apple and I strung up some breakfast cereal rings (which should have been a treat according to a book I have, but which they ignored)
They scrabble around literally all day in the run, pecking the ground, presumably picking up small insects etc.
I put the feed in a trough outside.
Run
Approximately a hundred square metres, fenced with plenty of oak tree shade. It contains a plastic gravity feed water pot, changed every other day, located in the shade.
Coop
We think it was adapted from a garage, about nine square metres with three nesting boxes two roosting poles and a raised flat roosting area which we built because they have been roosting every night on the sloping top of the nesting boxes. They still are! They have another water pot in the coop, but no food, as I was concerned not to attract vermin.
They look healthy, have shiny feathers, bright eyes and don't seem to be pecking each other at all as they're too busy!
One of our cats took an immediate interest and keeps getting into the run, but now he just sits and watches them. They're not bothered unless he gets too close, when they scatter. Apart from this, they seem happy, but we have no eggs yet. How soon before we can expect some?
And, although they seem ok, how can I tell if they really are settled, healthy and happy?
Thanks in advance
Ailla
dinosaw
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Hi Ailla and welcome to the forum.
It really depends on how old the chickens were when you bought them, suppliers normally sell them as point of lay anywhere from 16-22 weeks old, if they were on the younger end of that range then it could take up to 8 weeks for them to lay, the normal age that they start is 20-24 weeks old. They sound healthy enough from what you say and have plenty of space which is great, if they have access to grass/weeds etc at the moment then there isn't really any need to feed them extra veg. They don't need water in the coop and indeed it can be a liability as it can get spilled leading to wet bedding. If their run is secure against predators then they will be fine roosting outdoors, if not then you can train them to roost indoors (sometimes) by picking them up when it gets dark and putting them where you want them. How long exactly have you had them?
It really depends on how old the chickens were when you bought them, suppliers normally sell them as point of lay anywhere from 16-22 weeks old, if they were on the younger end of that range then it could take up to 8 weeks for them to lay, the normal age that they start is 20-24 weeks old. They sound healthy enough from what you say and have plenty of space which is great, if they have access to grass/weeds etc at the moment then there isn't really any need to feed them extra veg. They don't need water in the coop and indeed it can be a liability as it can get spilled leading to wet bedding. If their run is secure against predators then they will be fine roosting outdoors, if not then you can train them to roost indoors (sometimes) by picking them up when it gets dark and putting them where you want them. How long exactly have you had them?
rick
Active member
Hi Dofarm & Ailla,
100 square metres containing an oak tree! It doesn’t get much better than that (so jealous!
100 square metres containing an oak tree! It doesn’t get much better than that (so jealous!
Hi Dinosaw
Thanks for taking the time to reply. The label said "Pret a Pondeuse" - ready to lay, so we assumed we'd get eggs almost immediately. Their combs are quite small compared to pictures I've seen online and in my book - is this an indication that they're a bit young yet? We bought them 10 days ago. We guess the run and coop have not had chickens in for many months by the state of them - repairs and cleaning took quite a while and there is a fair amount of grass/weeds in the run but I haven't seen them pecking at them. However, their poo is mostly dark green/grey with a bit of white and comes off with a scraper quite easily. It's less runny than it was when we bought them. Should they have straw all over the floor of the coop? At the moment I have it only in the nesting boxes. They don't go in these at all and they are still clean. How often should I change the straw? I've cleaned the coop by scraping away the poo and sweeping the floor twice since they arrived. (Husband says I've OCD!) The first three nights were difficult getting them to go to bed in the coop, but since then they just take themselves to bed at 8.15 or line up ready if I've forgotten to open the hatch - how amazing is that! I think I have the right amount of grains going down every day as they eat almost all of it. I took off the metal dividers from the troughs as they seemed to get in the way. The chickens go straight for the grains first thing - am I right not to put it down inside the coop overnight?
Sorry to be a pain with all the questions - I just want to get it right for them.
Thanks very much!
Ailla
Thanks for taking the time to reply. The label said "Pret a Pondeuse" - ready to lay, so we assumed we'd get eggs almost immediately. Their combs are quite small compared to pictures I've seen online and in my book - is this an indication that they're a bit young yet? We bought them 10 days ago. We guess the run and coop have not had chickens in for many months by the state of them - repairs and cleaning took quite a while and there is a fair amount of grass/weeds in the run but I haven't seen them pecking at them. However, their poo is mostly dark green/grey with a bit of white and comes off with a scraper quite easily. It's less runny than it was when we bought them. Should they have straw all over the floor of the coop? At the moment I have it only in the nesting boxes. They don't go in these at all and they are still clean. How often should I change the straw? I've cleaned the coop by scraping away the poo and sweeping the floor twice since they arrived. (Husband says I've OCD!) The first three nights were difficult getting them to go to bed in the coop, but since then they just take themselves to bed at 8.15 or line up ready if I've forgotten to open the hatch - how amazing is that! I think I have the right amount of grains going down every day as they eat almost all of it. I took off the metal dividers from the troughs as they seemed to get in the way. The chickens go straight for the grains first thing - am I right not to put it down inside the coop overnight?
Sorry to be a pain with all the questions - I just want to get it right for them.
Thanks very much!
Ailla
Hi Ailla, and welcome from me too. What lucky chickens you have. All that space is wonderful, but have you you thought about securing the perimeter of the run against predators? You don't say which part of France you live in, but another ex-pat member in he Dordogne has had a lot of trouble, not only with foxes but hunting dogs. It would be sad to lose your lovely new birds, so do read the threads about foxes etc and maybe get some electric netting. You could then enclose smaller areas and rotate the grass a bit.
It certainly sounds as if you have young POL pullets, and you should expect them to take up to another 4 weeks or so (maybe less) before laying if their combs are still small and pink. This is good, as they will have a week or two to settle in and finish growing, moving home is always stressful for chickens and older ones who have started to lay often go off lay for a while when getting used to a new place. When their combs get redder and they start inspecting the nestboxes without laying, then they are nearly there. It's good to leave the coop open all day so they can do this. Poo sounds fine, it should usually be fairly solid and the white streak is the urates, I.e, the urine part of the droppings, birds do it all in one go. They also do a more runny, smelly sort sometimes, called a caecal poo, which is also normal if it's sort of a one- off every few days.
Straw isn't very good in nestboxes as its not absorbent and is hard to keep it clean if it gets pooey, and also the hollow stems may possibly harbour redmite. Aubiose (shredded hemp stems, used as horse bedding and made in France) is softer, very absorbent and can be used on the floor as well as in the nestboxes. There are other types of bedding which you can use as well. It's good that they don't sleep in the nestboxes as if they can be taught to perch, they won't poo where they're going to lay eggs next day. Do they have a perch in the coop area? It needs to be 2 ins wide with the edges rounded off a bit.
You're quite right to clean up every day - if you can get some absorbent stuff on the floor, such as Aubiose, it's only a couple of minutes job to pick it up into a bucket and it's fab on the compost heap. Leaving it longer attracts flies and it will get smelly. If they don't sleep and poo in the nestboxes, just change the bedding when it looks as if it needs it.
Had you noticed the link at the bottom of each forum page to the main Poultrykeeper website? Lots more articles on there about all aspects of chicken keeping, very interesting reading.
(I'm going to move this thread to General Chickens, where it will be more at home. Any replies, please post under General Chickens.)
It certainly sounds as if you have young POL pullets, and you should expect them to take up to another 4 weeks or so (maybe less) before laying if their combs are still small and pink. This is good, as they will have a week or two to settle in and finish growing, moving home is always stressful for chickens and older ones who have started to lay often go off lay for a while when getting used to a new place. When their combs get redder and they start inspecting the nestboxes without laying, then they are nearly there. It's good to leave the coop open all day so they can do this. Poo sounds fine, it should usually be fairly solid and the white streak is the urates, I.e, the urine part of the droppings, birds do it all in one go. They also do a more runny, smelly sort sometimes, called a caecal poo, which is also normal if it's sort of a one- off every few days.
Straw isn't very good in nestboxes as its not absorbent and is hard to keep it clean if it gets pooey, and also the hollow stems may possibly harbour redmite. Aubiose (shredded hemp stems, used as horse bedding and made in France) is softer, very absorbent and can be used on the floor as well as in the nestboxes. There are other types of bedding which you can use as well. It's good that they don't sleep in the nestboxes as if they can be taught to perch, they won't poo where they're going to lay eggs next day. Do they have a perch in the coop area? It needs to be 2 ins wide with the edges rounded off a bit.
You're quite right to clean up every day - if you can get some absorbent stuff on the floor, such as Aubiose, it's only a couple of minutes job to pick it up into a bucket and it's fab on the compost heap. Leaving it longer attracts flies and it will get smelly. If they don't sleep and poo in the nestboxes, just change the bedding when it looks as if it needs it.
Had you noticed the link at the bottom of each forum page to the main Poultrykeeper website? Lots more articles on there about all aspects of chicken keeping, very interesting reading.
(I'm going to move this thread to General Chickens, where it will be more at home. Any replies, please post under General Chickens.)
dinosaw
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Yes your right not to put food down in the coop Ailla. Sounds like you have pullets on the younger side, Marigold is probably right with her estimate of when you can expect eggs, but don't be alarmed if it takes up to 8 weeks, a tell tale sign that they are coming into lay is that they may start to squat down when you approach. Aubiouse is the ideal bedding but I have read that despite it being produced in France it can be quite difficult to source there, what you can look for as an alternative is any hemp based horse bedding I'm sure they must have something similar over there. You will want bedding in the entire coop to catch the poo. At some point in the next couple of months you will need to consider worming them and you will need a product called Flubenvet which can be bought either as a powder which you mix into the feed or as a feed which already contains the medicine, again not too sure of it's availability in France.
Thanks Dinosaw.
Found hemp bedding today in another garden centre, for lapins (rabbits) so all ok. So, can I use the hemp in the nest boxes and the straw on the floor, which is concrete? At the moment I'm sweeping the poo directly off the floor with a broom which works well, and the contents go on the leaf compost heap.
I can look for Flubenvet (sounds German, but we do have quite a lot of international products available here). Is there a generic name for the actual drug from the pack?
This site is just brill - a great support for newcomers to chicken keeping. Thanks everyone!
Ailla
Found hemp bedding today in another garden centre, for lapins (rabbits) so all ok. So, can I use the hemp in the nest boxes and the straw on the floor, which is concrete? At the moment I'm sweeping the poo directly off the floor with a broom which works well, and the contents go on the leaf compost heap.
I can look for Flubenvet (sounds German, but we do have quite a lot of international products available here). Is there a generic name for the actual drug from the pack?
This site is just brill - a great support for newcomers to chicken keeping. Thanks everyone!
Ailla
dinosaw
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Nope it is marketed solely as Flubenvet as far as I know by a company called Elanco. In the UK it also comes pre added in special bags of Marriages and Heygates Pellets so perhaps if you have family in the UK who are coming to visit they could bring you some. You can use the straw but it will be easier for you to poo pick with the hemp bedding on the floor however if you are finding sweeping it off the concrete easy and it is working for you then no reason to alter what you are doing.
You can use up what straw you have on the floor, and they'll like pecking around in it for grains, but it's not as easy to keep clean as hemp so in time, if you find the hemp more convenient you could change to just using that. Hemp is definitely better in nestboxes.
Flubenvet is available in powder form on Amazon, can you get that in France? A pack contains enough powder to dose 20 hens, so will do your four girls 5 times over, at intervals of 4-6 months. There's no generic equivalent and it's the only drug licenced to worm poultry without needing egg withdrawal (I.e, you can eat the eggs whilst treating the birds.)
Have you got the feeder under cover so it stays dry? It should never be allowed to get empty as they need to nibble whenever they want to, rather than having 'proper meals.'
Flubenvet is available in powder form on Amazon, can you get that in France? A pack contains enough powder to dose 20 hens, so will do your four girls 5 times over, at intervals of 4-6 months. There's no generic equivalent and it's the only drug licenced to worm poultry without needing egg withdrawal (I.e, you can eat the eggs whilst treating the birds.)
Have you got the feeder under cover so it stays dry? It should never be allowed to get empty as they need to nibble whenever they want to, rather than having 'proper meals.'
