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Welcome to our new Chicken Keeping discussion forum

Sun, 21/11/2010 - 22:50 — violetlight

Dear all,

Welcome to our new and eggstraordinary discussion forum about chicken keeping. 

We've been running advice and skill sharing workshops about keeping your own chickens for a couple of years now, and thought it'd be great to start a place where Chesterfield people  can discuss anything to do with our feathered friends. 

It doesn't matter if you've been to a  workshop yet - it's open to all and we're very eggcited to be launching it!

Transition Chesterfield

 

Tue, 16/08/2011 - 10:40 — eggtastic

Soft Eggs

We have recently started keeping chickens and have been getting eggs daily. We have a speckled star, a black star and a columbine (which should lay blue eggs)

The Columbine hasnt started laying eggs yet as its too young, but the other two have started laying small eggs. Toda for the first time we had a soft egg in the coop. When I say soft I mean that the shell itself was like a soft rubber. Why would this be?

 

We are feeding them this..Feathers Beaky Layers Pellets and also this grit..Mixed Chicken Grit. So I don't think its down to the diet. So what could it be?

Sun, 23/10/2011 - 21:08 — violetlight

Going on the lay

Hi Eggtastic,

The mixed chicken grit you have will probably have a mixture of oyster shell (for calcium and shell health) and general grit (to avoid crop issues like these: http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicken_a/chicken-crop/index.php

Since your chickens are just starting laying, I'd suggest that is the issue - they can lay a few soft shells and broken eggs while they get into the swing of it...

However, if they continue to lay soft eggs, then up the grit amount or start using the liquid calcium water additives.

Cheers

Simon

 

Tue, 30/08/2011 - 16:41 — gingertom

soft eggs

 Hi, soft eggs are usually a sign of calcium deficiency. My ladies have Shell Max and Life-Guard liquid in their water. Oyster shell grit is supposed to be good for boosting calcium too. If you ask at Irvings at Sheepbridge they may be able to help you.

Wed, 06/07/2011 - 17:13 — linda_xjr

Chicken keeping workshop

Thank you for the workshop last weekend, was informative and always nice to chat to fellow hen/chicken people. I am posting some web pages that I have found really useful and you can also sign up for a twice monthly newsletter via email. Thank you

Lin

http://successwithpoultry.blogspot.com
http://www.self-sufficient-life.com
http://www.keepingchickensnewsletter.com/site
 

Sun, 13/03/2011 - 13:09 — Merlin

Rats!

Hi All, I am a new member looking for advice.  I have had ex battery hens for two years now and the neighbour from time to time has said that he has had rats due to them.  He says he has now caught and killed two rats (never had rats before).  I have tried bringing in food at night and have a rat trap in the garden (never caught anything).  He is being very nice at the moment but is threatening he will call in environmental health.  Help is there anything I can do other than give my girls away? 

Wed, 16/03/2011 - 08:14 — dgtimlett

Rats

If you can affort to feed them, a couple of tough rescue cats ought to keep both you and your neighbour rat free

Mon, 13/12/2010 - 17:12 — gingertom

"chickens"

 once a chicken is 1 year old, or once it has laid an egg, depending on who you ask, it should be referred to as a HEN

Sun, 12/12/2010 - 19:42 — violetlight

Bedding

I just use straw - never any problems with it, and it's cheap at £1.50 - £2.00 per bale...

Simon

 

Mon, 06/12/2010 - 17:48 — linda_xjr

Frozen water

Hi all,

I have 4 'girls' all bantams who free range about my garden when its not covered in snow! With this cold spell does anyone have any ideas for helping to reduce the chances of the birds water freezing up? One that doesnt involve costly heatpads. Thank you

Oh and I also successfully use shredded paper in their nest boxes

Lin

Tue, 14/12/2010 - 16:26 — gingertom

frozen water

 Lin, it's all physics! If you get a larger water container and, like the man says, bring it in at night, then fill with warm water, you should have no trouble. Also the water in a larger  container will not turn green as readily in summer.

Sun, 12/12/2010 - 19:46 — violetlight

Water freezing

Hi Lin,

This may not be a sensible suggestion for you, but I have to open the shed hatch in the morning and shut it at night, and it's not too much trouble at this time of year to bring the water dispenser into the house.  Left inside the back door it won't freeze and will be nice for the chickens when you take it out the next morning.

Simon

 

Thu, 25/11/2010 - 19:00 — Forager

Self Sufficency in general

Hi All

Not completely chicken related, but I have loads of magazines that need a new home  'Kitchen Garden' and 'Organic Way' a couple of years worth at least, they are from about 1999, but does this sort of infomation go out of date?

Anyway, before they go on Freecycle, thought I would offer them on here to see if anyone is interested?

Anne

 

Sun, 12/12/2010 - 19:44 — violetlight

Me too!

Hi Anne,

I also have a couple of boxes of both of these mags which are very effective at gathering dust.

Perhaps a Transition library?

Simon

 

Tue, 23/11/2010 - 12:35 — attila the hen

Bedding materials

Top tip and handy hint no.1

Until now we have used aubios ( a great though pricey material for bedding ) Actually, when I say bedding, I mean what sits under the perch for all the droppings to fall onto. Anyway, having read about shredded paper on another chicken keeping forum we decided to try it. We used a bin bag of shreddded paper under the perches. The advantages are as follows...

It's free

It would have gone on our compost heap anyway

The hens seem to ignore it

We don't pay for it to be taken away to landfill

Did I mention that it's free?

We continue to use aubios and/or shavings (dust free) where the hens walk and hang out (in the house and the nest boxes) but as we regularly clean beneath perches this has really helped us keep costs down...Eggcellent!

Thu, 25/11/2010 - 00:44 — easteregger

Bedding material

 I tried shredded newspaper, but the girls helped themselves to some strips of media and it looked fairly unhealthy considering crop compaction. So I now line the coop with the intact paper with a few shavings where they walk. And when I clean them out I just roll the paper up and put it onto the compost. The two other advantage of this method in my mind is, that no electricity is used to shred and my secret pleasure to see some chicken poo on some politician's faces.

I also would like to offer a silky X cockerel free to a good home. He is a lovely boy and looks like a mini ostrich. He was born on the 5th of June this year. I can only keep 1 cockerel and unfortunately for him his brother has won the family quote.

 

Tue, 23/11/2010 - 08:09 — Forager

Foraging

Hi Nicki

Welcome to Transition! Re your interest in Foraging, we usually run a skill share each season, so take a look out for them.  In the meanwhile you could check out my blog at http://wildfoodforager.wordpress.com/.  Its a bit quiet at the mo for obvious reasons, but keep an eye on throught the year for interesting (I hope!) stuff.

Cheers

Anne

Mon, 22/11/2010 - 19:08 — meiklefamily

Chickens at home and school

We have three chickens at home - a Warren, a Black Rock and a Light Sussex. Light Sussex not yet laying. Getting an egg alternate days from the other two at the moment. Homemade coop from ply, scrap wood and pallet wood. We also look after the chickens at a local junior school, again there are three of them, ex battery.

Mon, 22/11/2010 - 20:02 — violetlight

Chickens at school

Megan Cooke was asking me on the last workshop for info on keeping chickens in school.  She'd like an example of a school who are currently doing it - could you share your experiences there?  

Where did the ex-battery hens come from, as I'm after a couple?

Cheers

Simon 

Tue, 23/11/2010 - 12:27 — attila the hen

Chickens in school

Newbold Community school keep chickens, contact Kirsten Lamb at school who is in overall charge of the project...

Mon, 22/11/2010 - 12:24 — AndyGreaves

The Deeds

Hello ! I've just joined TC. My wife and I love the idea of keeping chickens. Unfortunately the deeds to the house forbid the keeping of livestock. Does anyone know if i can do anything about this short of moving house which in the current economic cliamte is not feasible. 

thanks 

Andy G  

Mon, 22/11/2010 - 19:58 — violetlight

Covenants preventing chicken keeping

Tricky one that - moving house sounds fairly extreme to get some chickens!

 I assume that the organisation who placed the covenant on the property aren't going to grant a deed of variation, so your choices are around finding somewhere else to keep chickens.  We keep "communal" chickens - three families share a brood that live in one of our gardens, and while we don't get as many eggs, we only have to open and close them twice a week...

This approach also makes holiday arrangements a lot easier - there's usually one of the families who aren't going on holiday any particular week.  If you have a neighbour who doesn't have this property restriction, then you could suggest jointly keeping chickens in their garden.  

An allotment is another option (although some of those have anti-chicken regulations).

I guess the other thing to look at is if the covenant will ever be enforced by anyone - I live in a Victorian terrace which has a covenant preventing me from running a candleworks, but I doubt anyone would come round if I started melting pots of wax...

Hope that helps

Simon

 

Fri, 26/11/2010 - 18:54 — AndyGreaves

The Deeds

Thanks Simon

Appreciate your comments re the covenenant beinf enforced but we'd hate to get some only to have to give them away again.

Mon, 22/11/2010 - 10:16 — NicolaGilbert

Hi, I am new to the website

Hi, I am new to the website and joined after reading the article in the derbyshire times. It is so nice to know there are other like minded people out there. Anyway, I do hope you will be doing another skill shares re chicken keeping as this is something I am really interested in doing but haven't a clue where to start. I am excited to see the other skill shares that will be happening in 2011. I am also interested in foraging. Thank you and take care, Nicki x

Mon, 22/11/2010 - 20:06 — violetlight

Workshops

Hi Nicola,

We've run 44 workshops over the last two years and have no intention of stopping now - indeed we'd like others to join in and share their own experience in any skills which can help us to create a new low carbon community in Chesterfield.

There's likely to be a couple more chicken workshops in the spring.  In the mean time, I'm hoping that we can get some "how to start" guides up on this forum.  Keep your eyes peeled and we'll have something soon.

Cheers

Simon