New To Keeping Chickens

[Hardfeather 56]

The best advice I can give you is read up on red mite, most new chicken keepers don't realise they have it until it's too late and make/buy a chicken coop that's practical,the easier it is to keep clean the better

YIS

[jeemes 5,254]

The best advice I can give you is read up on red mite, most new chicken keepers don't realise they have it until it's too late and make/buy a chicken coop that's practical,the easier it is to keep clean the better

YIS

we have just made some in marine ply.Its weather proof and less joints for the mites. I would avoid sheds with lots of planks.

[FENN 24]

The best advice I can give you is read up on red mite, most new chicken keepers don't realise they have it until it's too late and make/buy a chicken coop that's practical,the easier it is to keep clean the better

YIS

What i found with red mite was that they loved the felt on the roof so we removed all the felt and replaced the roof with a corragated sheet and sprayed the inside with thin bleach then let it dry before putting the birds in never had any trouble since . i must say that most of the treatments available for red mite are total shit and a waist of money .

[Art 20]

We keep pearl white leghorns. They typically lay 1 egg per bird per day. The folks at the hatchery recommended minimum 4 sq ft per bird but I have 9 birds and 128 sq feet. Mine quit laying almost completely when the days got short my first year with them. If you put in a light on a timer to give them 14 hours light each day then they keep laying steady. That means natural daylight + supplemental light = 14 hours (don't run your electric for 14 hours). We feed with 16% layer pellets. You'll want a 5 gal waterer so as to avoid having to refill daily. I put hay in the nest boxes.

[Chid 6,815]

if you wanting chickens just for eggs get blackrocks , brilliant laying birds