chicken virgin needs help

[gunners71uk 0]

hi im going to have four chickens loham browns i am getting a run and coop and also fencing a free range area too i have 6ft 6 fencing all round will i need to clip their wings if so i know someone who can, they wil be pol i have read books and got confused by the info can some one give me some basic pointers please ta

Edited January 23, 2010 by gunners71uk

[poacherkev 64]

hi im going to have four chickens loham browns i am getting a run and coop and also fencing a free range area too i have 6ft 6 fencing all round will i need to clip their wings if so i know someone who can, they wil be pol i have read books and got confused by the info can some one give me some basic pointers please ta

no mate there is no need to clip there wings as they are ground birds just make sure you give them a perch to roost on in there hutch.The point of lay bit is very misleading as iv had birds from 18 weeks at POL and its taken the 12 weeks more to start laying but once your type of bird starts laying they will keep going and you will soon be selling the extra eggs to pay for some feed. hope this helps

[gunners71uk 0]

hi im going to have four chickens loham browns i am getting a run and coop and also fencing a free range area too i have 6ft 6 fencing all round will i need to clip their wings if so i know someone who can, they wil be pol i have read books and got confused by the info can some one give me some basic pointers please ta

no mate there is no need to clip there wings as they are ground birds just make sure you give them a perch to roost on in there hutch.The point of lay bit is very misleading as iv had birds from 18 weeks at POL and its taken the 12 weeks more to start laying but once your type of bird starts laying they will keep going and you will soon be selling the extra eggs to pay for some feed. hope this helps

t

thanks are loham browns just ground birds are they bread for that purpose i have heard some chickens flying over fences so im reassured by your answer thanks

[comanche 2,799]

hi im going to have four chickens loham browns i am getting a run and coop and also fencing a free range area too i have 6ft 6 fencing all round will i need to clip their wings if so i know someone who can, they wil be pol i have read books and got confused by the info can some one give me some basic pointers please ta

no mate there is no need to clip there wings as they are ground birds just make sure you give them a perch to roost on in there hutch.The point of lay bit is very misleading as iv had birds from 18 weeks at POL and its taken the 12 weeks more to start laying but once your type of bird starts laying they will keep going and you will soon be selling the extra eggs to pay for some feed. hope this helps

t

thanks are loham browns just ground birds are they bread for that purpose i have heard some chickens flying over fences so im reassured by your answer thanks

As has been said you probably won't need to clip their wings but if you do find the odd one is flapping over the wire it really is'nt a problem . Wing-clipping is on a par with trimming your fringe or cutting your toe-nails . You are only cutting a few feathers not great chunks of flesh. .

So much advice is about that it can be a bit worrying if you've not had hens before . As the above post said ,"just because they are sold as point of lay they may take a bit of time to settle -in and become fully mature so don't expect eggs the next day !. Sometimes the birds that are a bit slow to start are the best layers in the end . For the first few days let them out of the roosting box into the coop but not into the free range area . Once they are used to finding their way back into the hen house and taking themselves up to roost they will be fixated on returning there every night and can be let out to range further .

Good luck with them .

[harrycatcat 31]

I have three Lohman browns and they have layed three eggs between them every day since they started laying since last March. I cant fault them.

 

Let us know how you get on with them.

[DUCKWING 302]

IF YOUR SCARED OF FOWL FLYING OVER THE PEN ..... SIMPLE ......... GET HOLD OF AN OLD MONOFILAMENT GILL NET AND SPREAD OVER THE TOP

 

 

DUCKWING

[Lee85 44]

I'm thinking of getting some hens I like the idea of getting the eggs for myself and family, I already have this:

 

I'm told I could get four hens in there, does it look okay? are they quite easy to keep once you get going? also I would let them roam my garden do they make a mess? I've a young son who will be wanting to play in the garden in the summer etc.

 

Thanks

[artic 595]

I'm thinking of getting some hens I like the idea of getting the eggs for myself and family, I already have this:

 

I'm told I could get four hens in there, does it look okay? are they quite easy to keep once you get going? also I would let them roam my garden do they make a mess? I've a young son who will be wanting to play in the garden in the summer etc.

 

Thanks

 

That will be fine, place a run around that coop to keep the hens in one area. I have used 20m stones for the floor for some of my birds, the rest are free ranging. Jobs a goodun.

 

They will scratch no matter what you put down, id avoid those rubber chippings. Cats will shit in them all day long.

[Lee85 44]

good stuff, quite looking forward to this project - i'll build a ruin then so they can come out, i'm lucky as cats don't come in my garden, 9ft wall built around it, it's not huge though. What breed of hen would give the best egg laying rate?

[gunners71uk 0]

good stuff, quite looking forward to this project - i'll build a ruin then so they can come out, i'm lucky as cats don't come in my garden, 9ft wall built around it, it's not huge though. What breed of hen would give the best egg laying rate?

if you want a pure breed it be a light sussex

if you want a hybrid which is a cross to get the best layers

i hav black rocks there a good hardy strong bird

http://www.ruleworks.co.uk/poultry/black-rock.htm

there is also lohmann browns/isa warrens etc i just read up on it and came to me own decision