New Bluebelle keeper from Lancs, UK

[Jobi1234]

Hi all

I've just signed up as a member of the Poultry Keeper Forum and wanted to say hello to all my fellow fowl fanciers!

I picked up 3 new bluebelle girls (Beyonce (22wks), Cheryl (20wks) and Jacqueline (16 weeks)) this weekend and have them installed in their new coop/run combo quite happily it seems. They're friendly enough, one of the reasons I picked that breed to keep. I've got the feeder and water on the floor of the coop though so after doing some more reading realise I need to raise these (because they're getting full of poop and shavings) and I also noticed they'd tipped the grit over this morning so need to attach that to the wire this evening. I think I'm going to let them out for their first bit of free ranging tonight I think, it's a relatively pleasant evening so I'll give it a whirl and see how they go.

Because space is a bit limited for them in the combined coop I'm thinking of getting rid of the 3kg feeder and 3l water containers and just putting feed, grit and water into bowls that clip onto the mesh at feeding height but I can't find any informaiton anywhere that says whether that's a good or bad idea. Could any of you more experienced chuck keepers give me any advice? My idea in doing that is that the bowls will be kept poop/shavings free and it will give them more floor space.

No eggs yet though it's not even been 24hrs yet since they arrived in their new homes so I'm assuming that they need a few days to settle in before the eldest starts laying again. The other 2 are too young to lay yet so it's just a matter of time with them.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you deem fit to give and I'm looking forward to a long happy life of poultry keeping. Jo

 

[Marigold]

Hi Jobi and a big welcome to the Forum for you and your girls.
I think that if you put the feed into open containers they're likely to scratch it out and a lot will be wasted, and will attract mice and rats as well. I wonder what area of run you have, if the feeder is taking up a lot of the space in there? We advise an absolute minimum of 2 square metres of run space per chicken, otherwise they will be overcrowded and may develop bad habits such as feather pecking or bullying. Also a run which is too small gets filthy very fast. I know many suppliers sell coops with attached runs which claim to be adequate for the number of birds the coop will hold, but this is never the case I'm afraid! Small attached runs are OK first thing in the morning before the hens are let out into a bigger enclosure, but many of us move on to a freestanding coop in a walk-in run which gives more space for both the keeper and the birds, important when it comes to the daily poo picking tasks. And if they are allowed out into the garden for free ranging you may find that the local foxes are rubbing their paws together with glee, I'm afraid.
Sorry to sound so gloomy, but it would be terrible if they got attacked, as has happened to some of us on here. Foxes are everywhere nowadays, do you know of any reports of them in your area?
I will move your post to the General Chickens section as I think more people will see it there. Do keep posting, we are here to help, and enjoy your chickens.

 

[Jobi1234]

Hi Marigold, thanks for the warm welcome. I bought a coop and combined run which measures 6ft x 2ft with an external nesting box. The site claimed it was suitable for up to 4 hens but having done a lot of reading on the subject I thought 3 was more than enough. I intend to keep the girls in there during the day and let them roam free when I'm home from work til dusk and at weekends all day. There are reports of foxes in the local area but I've never seen one. They have plenty of food though with 2 local duck ponds and a thriving wild rabbit community! I'm a little worried now that my girls aren't going to have enough space from what you've said there :-( they're currently exploring the garden for the first time and seem to be enjoying pecking at the grass and my flowers! If the open containers fail (they're raised up and attached to the wire) I will go back to the larger "hoppers" but try hanging them to free up floor space. I've been doing some poo picking already tonight and some enrichment with dangly CDs and a ball..,let's see if they like them

 

[Icemaiden]

Hi Jobi & welcome to the forum.
There's nothing quite like introducing hens to your garden when it comes to attracting foxes 11
It won't be long before they become regular visitors. Fear not though; it's quite possible to build a larger enclosure around your coop, so that your girls don't have to be confined within a 6' by 2' run when you're out. Just make sure that the fence of the larger run is at least 5' tall & / or electrified, and with the wire / weldmesh either dug well into the ground or surrounded on the outside by patio slabs or similar, to stop foxes (or badgers) from digging underneath it.

There are quite a few examples of people's set-ups on the forum; have a browse around.

If you roof your larger run to keep squirrels etc. out, you might want to make it tall enough to stand up in, to avoid back ache when poo picking.

 

[Jobi1234]

Thank you for the advice. The girls took themselves to bed tonight and were all roosting when I went to check on them - result! I have to remember they're not new to this, I am. I found two soft shelled eggs on the floor if the coop tonight too, I've heard that can be quite common in new laying young birds. Will keep my fingers crossed for better eggs once they settle properly in the next few days. I'm so thrilled with them, I couldn't stop watching them tonight. Crickey though, they poop a LOT more that I realised :lol:

 

[valeriebutterley]

Hello Jobi and once again, welcome to you.
Bluebells are lovely girls, and great layers once they get into their stride.
All hens poo a lot, I've discovered, but the nicest poos are the little khaki blobs with white icing, easy to dispose of, and not much smell!
Hens are intelligent creatures, sorry, birds, and just love home, house, nests, mates and treats.
I have them loose all round me on dry days in the garden, waiting for a goody to turn up, or wandering round the garden, getting into dry earth, digging for Australia and getting ecstatic with a grit bath.
I have never had to clip wings even on the flighty ones. I just love having them around. I've kept them them now for about 5 years, and never intend to be without them.
I hope your hen keeping turns out to be as enjoyable as mine has.

 

[Jobi1234]

Hi Valerie. Thank you too for the warm welcome. Until now I didn't realise there was a nice kind of poo, but after only 72hrs with my little flock I know exactly what you mean! I'm hoping for many years of wonderful chuck enjoyment.

 

[tim85a]

Hi Jobi,

Just wondering if your still getting the soft eggs? I've had my hens about 1 & 1/2 weeks and keep getting the soft shell eggs. They have oyster shell grit, layers mash and corn to eat but are laying more soft eggs that hard shell eggs... am I just being impatient?

 

[Marigold]

Yes I guess so, Tim. As you've only had them 10 days or so, they will need to complete at least their first month with you before you could expect to see them fully settled. Moving home at the same time as coming into lay is enormously stressful for chickens, even if they appear calm and happy, and hormonal disturbances like soft egg laying do take a while to settle down. Next time you get new birds, you might consider getting ones not yet in lay, i.e. 16-18 weeks old or less, so the settling in period is complete before they come into lay at 20+ weeks. Older girls who have started to lay will have to cope with the disruption of a move at a critical time in their 'puberty' development, and it's very common for laying to either stop, or for strange eggs to be produced.