Hello,new chicken keeper here frm wales, i gt 4 hens 1 warren,1 bluebell ,1 blackrock and 1 warren crossed with a white susex, all point of lay apart frm the w susex whos only 11 weeks, just bought a 3mx3m run to home them all though they will be free ranging also nearley everyday, no eggs yet though ive had them 2 weeks lol ,post pics of run and set up soon.
newbie hi
- Thread starter rob77
- Start date
Hi Rob, good to have you on the forum, welcome, and looking forward to some pics of your pullets. How old are the POLs, in weeks? They're called POL from about 16 weeks but won't usually begin laying until theyr'e around 22+ weeks for hybrids like yours, especially with the days getting shorter and the daylight less, but you should get some eggs soon nevertheless, when they've settled in and grown a bit more mature.
Shazzybird
New member
Hi Rob. Welcome to the forum.
Their soon start laying once they settle down.
Their soon start laying once they settle down.
i do hope so, bt its exciting waiting checking the boxes, however by night they dnt sleep on theyre roosting perches, bt sleep in the actuall nestboxes, pooing everywhere ,so ive now closed off the nest boxes frm 8 evening untill 6 in the morn, is this ok or shd i leave it open??
Yes this is the right thing to do. Most probably they've been raised in a shed without any perches so don't know what they're for. Do they get up on the perches when you have closed off the nestboxes at night? If not, you could lift them off the floor and on to the perches after they've settled down to roost. They'll soon get the idea and will prefer it, once you've activated their grip reflex which keeps them from falling off whilst asleep.
Remove the blockages during the day as they will begin to inspect the nestboxes when they are thinking of laying those first exciting eggs.
Remove the blockages during the day as they will begin to inspect the nestboxes when they are thinking of laying those first exciting eggs.
Sue
New member
Hi Rob and welcome to the forum. I'm looking forward to seeing your photos of your new girls and their home!
bantiekeeper
New member
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Hi Rob, Welcome to the forum. From my own experience help is always to hand here. 
foxy
Active member
Hi Rob and a big welcome to the forum! 
99 99 99
99 99 99no they seem to be sleeping on the floor, but with the coop i bought its perches are only about 3 inches off the ground , but i will def try lifting them on to the perches and see what happens, i gt a feeling theyre going to panick, as theyre only just getting used to me, but its a good isea, also i just bought a 10 ft by 10 ft x 6 ft tall walk in cage to keep them happy while im in work, do you think this a large enough run area for them during day? thanks for all the replies and welcomesMarigold said:
Your coop is 9 square metres of floor space which is OK for your 4 girls. The recommended minimum space is 2 sq metres per bird so if you can sometimes let them out they will enjoy it also, but their safety is the main consideration.
They won't panic if you wait until they are asleep to move them. The idea is to activate their grip reflex which cuts in to wrap their feet round the perch so they don't fall off when they sleep, cool eh? If the perches are rather low, are they above the height of the nestboxes? If not they may prefer to roost in the nestboxes as they like the highest point usually, and you don't want that. What kind of coop is it? Any possibility of raising the perches a bit?
I have an Eglu with this problem.
They won't panic if you wait until they are asleep to move them. The idea is to activate their grip reflex which cuts in to wrap their feet round the perch so they don't fall off when they sleep, cool eh? If the perches are rather low, are they above the height of the nestboxes? If not they may prefer to roost in the nestboxes as they like the highest point usually, and you don't want that. What kind of coop is it? Any possibility of raising the perches a bit?
I have an Eglu with this problem.
foxy
Active member
I have had a look at your photos, I noted 2 photos of your chickens? The run I'm afraid looks too small for them.
They need an absolute minimum of 1 sq metre each, generally speaking 2m sq is far better.
They need an absolute minimum of 1 sq metre each, generally speaking 2m sq is far better.
damn, wasnt ment to put those pics up lol, i hope theyve gone ??, however, thats just theyre coop, to nest and sleep, theyre run is 10 foot wide by 10 foot length 6 foot high il post pics when i figure out how to do this, has the pics come dwn yet?
Marigold said:
I meant to say 'run,' not 'coop.' sorry. Yes this 10ft square run ahold be OK for 4 birds, giving them just over 2 sq. metres each.
I'm sorry you took your pics down before I saw them!
foxy
Active member
rob77 said:
Try this thread for info re: posting photos, or you can use Photobucket just paste the code into the body of the message.
http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5624
If you get stuck just shout!
VALBURNHAM
New member
Hi Rob I have Picaso too you need to put the photos you want to post in an album and then put the link to the album that way you only post the ones you want
Margaid
Well-known member
Is there any way Valburnham's comment can be added to the thread about putting photos on the site? I use Picasa as well and I'll never find this when I want to post some photos. Thanks for the info Valburnham.
foxy
Active member
Margaid said:
I will be updating with help re: other web based album hosting services, so don't worry it is on my list of things to do!
Most PCs which run Windows you will be able to save photos directly onto your hard drive and upload onto the forum from there.
