Timber or Plastic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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I am sorry if you thought i was rude, Shirley, i didn't mean to offend or upset you. You asked for an explanation of why it was considered important to train hens not to sleep in the nestboxes, and I tried to explain about the way the structure of the eggshell can allow bacteria through from dirt on the outside, whether or not they are being incubated or kept for eating. Chris also added the point that ventilation is poor when hens cluster all night in nestboxes and thus they are at greater risk from respiratory diseases and parasites. Between us we just tried to give a fuller explanation of your question than had been spelled out by previous posts. We all have different ways of doing things and I thought you were asking for ideas about how to keep your hens clean and well ventilated at night, and why. As I said, Its entirely up to you how you manage your birds and I think they are very lucky to have found such a caring home.

However, I noticed that you say 'Their nest boxes are cleaned out every morning when I collect their eggs.' So I suppose at least sometimes they lay their warm eggs before you get there, on top of the poo or dirty bedding, before you have a chance to remove it from the nestboxes? Even if the eggs don't visibly appear soiled, they will have been in contact with millions of invisible bacteria. It's just my personal opinion that this can be avoided easily if the hens are taught to perch, and this makes things better both for the keeper and the birds.
 
Hi Marigold (et al).
A long & naive (sp) question: how do you teach ex-batts to perch, & how long do you wait for their legs to strengthen before you try? I'm guessing that Shirley's ex-batts wouldn't have known how to perch when she got them, as they'll never have had the chance before. I'm getting my 3 in mid December, so I'll have the same problem.

When I first get the girls, should I leave the removeable perches out of the coop so that they can roost on the floor? The perches are arranged in a kind of rack of 3, screwed to a base, so either the whole of the floor area is covered in perches or you have to leave them out. They're about 5" tall in total (not adjustable apart from putting in more bedding to build up the effective height of the floor around them).

Will the girls' legs be strong enough initially for them to get on & off of the perches, & if I leave the perches out initially, how will they ever learn? On the other hand, if they find it too difficult to get onto the perches, & haven't got room to sleep in the main part of the coop because the perches are in the way, will they all try to sleep in the nest box because it's easier for them? Should I block off the nest box to stop them from getting into bad habits in the first place?

So many questions :-)07
 
Try popping them on it when they're sleepy, moved one of my girls this way when they kept percing miles away from the others, all 6 now squash together into a space of about 2 1/2ft
 
I havent any experience with exbatts Icemaiden though I expect someone will be able to advise you about how soon their legs will get strong enough to try to perch. Perhaps it would be best to remove the perches from the coop at first so they can sleep on the floor, and block off the nestboxes initially so they don't get into the habit of using them overnight. Then after a week or so when they are getting stronger you could try teaching them to perch, or of course if this is difficult you can just leave them to sleep on the coop floor. Once they've learned not to use the nestboxes at night you wont need to go on with the flowerpots. The main thing is to try to keep them out of the nestboxes at night so they remain as clean as possible when they come to lay next morning. It doesnt matter so much about whether they perch or not in the coop, and although its easy to teach young hens ro perch obviously exbatts are a special case.
Will they have a low perch in their run? Mine have one in a position where they can look out on the world and they all spend a lot of time sitting up on it companionably. If you could provide this you could see whether they were interested in using it, or able to do so. I think perching is just one of the natural chicken behaviours that one would hope exbatts would be able to explore in their new world!
 
Regarding your question around ex-batts Icemaiden, if the birds look reasonably feathered and fit (pecking and bright..) just leave the perches in as long as they are not too high.

If however, they are in full moult AND still laying, then a small supplement of limestone powder added to their feed will rectify any minor calcium defect. Just a pinch mixed in with their feed and a tablespoon of cod liver oil twice a week for a couple of weeks.

Exbatts receive a diet that ensures the are in the best health for laying whilst in production. So the most important thing would be to get hold of a good quality feed to cover off the appropriate nutrients for bone strength and feather regrowth. I think Smallholders produce a good feed ration designed for exbatts so that would be my best bet. Don't change their diet or add supplements at this time including treats such as corn, mealworms etc.. until they are used to the changes in their new environment and their digestive system has adapted.
 
i'm getting my ex-bats this weekend and i have bought some smallholders ex-bat crumb (ordered from countrywide) also you can get a £3 voucher direct from the company against your 1st purchase ( arrived next day in post!) ;)
 
Let me know how your ex-batts get on with perching, Fuzzyfelt; I'll be interested to hear.
How high are your perches, & will you be leaving them in?
 
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