The Girls Have Arrived

Picked up a flock of 27 birds on Friday. I wanted adult hens and I was able to find a guy who got them for me. An old man had them and couldn't tend to them anymore. They are laying but I haven't gotten any eggs yet. They looked a little scruffy and stressed but have gotten a lot better over the weekend.

So I have a few questions for the experts:

1. When should I expect them to start laying?
2. They are eating laying pellets and scratch feed. Should I be giving them anything else?
3. How often should the coop be cleaned?
4. Is their feed sufficient or should I be giving them some vitamins or something?

AND DON'T LAUGH AT MY CROOKED CHICKEN HOUSE!

BB

Another Picture.

If anyone can ID any of these breeds, I'd appreciate it

It was raining when I took these so most of them were inside

What a beautiful setup, those girls may never come out of there Bronx.. you've put them up at the Hilton.. with room service.. Do they have a pool boy?

Great job.. and I see no crooked.. lucky girls

I wouldnt laugh! It is so homey for the girls. They just need a bit of time to settle in. They should start laying once they are calm and feel safe. Anytime really. My hen stopped laying when I moved her and it took 4 days or so to start again. It could be longer because I only moved her on my property. They look happy. Congrat!!!

It looks like one Barred Rock at least. The red ones might be Rhode Island Reds--or some sort of sex-linked. If they are "white" under the red, I would say a red sex-linked. Same with the Buff--they don't look massive enough to be Buff Orpingtons, but I think there is a sex-linked with golden plumage and white underfeathers--one of the hatchery has them and calls them "SilGols" or something. They should be very good layers.

I took these pictures yesterday when it was raining so most of them were inside. I will take some more when I get home. I have 2 roosters which were thrown in with the deal. One is a little larger the the hens and I have a little black one that crows up a storm

BB

excellent!!! I think Catscan hit the nail on the head about the breeds. What a great deal, chickens look quite comfortable, and will probably start laying withing 48 hours. I bought three barred rocks two weeks ago and they laid the same day I brought them home. I'm sure you are going to enjoy your birds and investment. Hay

BB, I think the little rooster may be a black Old English Game Bantam. When you post a pic,I'm sure others will have a better idea. He is really a feisty one. Becky

Thanks Hay:

Want to hear something funny. I've never had chickens before so I didn't know what to expect. Anyway, after we clipped their wings, they were hanging out in their pen and they were sort of laying over a little bit. I thought they were dying!!!!. But it seems that is the way they lay down and rest.

Our Bull Mastiff was absolutely fascinated with them. She sat in front of the pen and just watched them for 30 minutes. The lab barks at them until they go into the pen. And the rat terrier? Well he's nuts and I'm not letting him anywhere near the pen!

BB

If the dog is barking at them it may take them longer to start laying. In my experience, labs will get excited and kill chickens. They are, afterall, bird dogs. Love your setup. My poor chickens are living in the slums until it dries up and i can get some work done on the coop.

I read this and can't believe I didn't post! LOL I'm sorry! I was thinking that you are the only one who will see crooked.. I know.. cause I built 2 coops and NOT one person noticed the flaws that drive me insane.. LOL

Your set up is great!

I love that flopped over one leg out lazy pose they take... super funny when they all decide to lay in the same hole.. LOL

Welcome and we LOVE pics!

The dogs don't bother them too much. The girls are like old news to them now.

Should I be doing anything in terms of general health and maintenance or is making sure they have food and water sufficient? Because I just got them, should they be getting vitamins or anything? They do seem to be picking up a little weight and seem perkier and healthier than when they first arrived

BB

Yeah, BB!

I've brought home hens that didn't start laying again for 2 weeks, so don't be surprised if does take that long.

I can't tell how big in square feet your henhouse and fenced pen is, but you are suppose to have a certain number of square feet per chicken. You might check on that (if you haven't already) to make sure they have enough room.

I put out a fresh dishpan of water every morning.

My hen house has a dirt floor, and I keep quite of bit of straw down in there and in the fenced pen. It helps keep the ground cooler for them, plus attracts more bugs and worms for them to eat. In the winter, I read it helps prevent their feet getting frostbite.

My last batch did that kind of fainting thing, with their legs spread all out. They'd lay there a few minutes and then get up and wander off again. Never did learn why.

Not sure about any additional vitamins, etc. I never did, but never had ours for more that a few months at a time.

I have a Chesapeake which is duck dog and he was taught that anything we call a "baby" is off limits. Ours free range during the day and he leaves then alone. Regarding free ranging....they will destroy your garden and landscaping!

The eggs are SOOO much better than store bought!

The coop is 8 x 10.

I have a wood floor and lots of straw in it. I need to clean it out. I am going to compost the straw should make a great fertilizer eventually

BB

BB, here's a good link for more info regarding raising chickens. I was thinking it was roughly 2 sq.ft. per chicken, but I wanted to verify that before I spoke.

http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/AGDLEP/PoulRab.htm

Forgot to mention also, that yes, I use the old straw for mulch or to add to compost. Bear in mind that chicken droppings are pretty potent and will burn your plants if placed too close if used too soon. Not sure of the recommended aging time to cool it off. I usually spread it out on a new bed that isn't going to planted for a few weeks.

Robin

I'd compost it to death. That stuff is hot as fire. Horse and rabbit manure can be used fresh. I think sheep can also. Not sure about cow and goat. I wonder if the difference is that chicken manure is also urine? Anybody know?

Thanks Cajun, I wasn't sure how to describe it, but "hot as fire" is perfect! LOL!

Goat manure is as safe to use right away as rabbit droppings are. Heard cow manure has to age at least a year, if I remember correctly. I was thinking I read chicken manure needed to age almost 2 years.

I only clean our chicken house and their side fenced area 2-3 times a year. I start with about 6-8" high with straw or hay. When it gets down to about an inch thick, I'll remove it. But they both have dirt floors and we've only had 5-9 chickens at a time. The straw and droppings gets mixed well with soil as they are scratching, plus ours free range most of the daylight hours. OTOH, since they do free range and they love digging up the mulch in my flower beds and leave lots of dropping behind and they dig those into the soil and mulch, my flowers and bushes are doing very well. Guess I'm just lucky they don't drop close to the plants!

BB, I'm assuming you're planning on selling the eggs?

Thanks Msrobin:

That is a good link.

I am putting a compost bin near the coop and will toss the old straw in there and let it rot over the winter.

Yes. We are going to sell the eggs. Looking for a candling course now

BB

Friend of mine told me she uses one of those little red laser lights to candle her eggs with. I'm going to try it. Knock has one.

Here are some better pics

What typr of little rooster is the black one and what about the brown hen?

BB

Here's a better pic of the brown one

Don't know what these white ones are

And look what the girls gave me today!

How should I feed them?

I've been leaving their food down. Should I only feed them at a particular time and then take up the food?

BB

BB, not sure how you are going to manage your chickens and that has some bearing, I'd think, on your feeding habits.

Our intention was to free-range all day and lock up at night. They got to be pretty destructive as they got bigger, so then they only got let out for a couple of hours in the evenings during the growing season. In the beginning for a new flock for a week or two, I kept the food put up. till I got them trained to follow me to the henhouse in the evenings. If I let them loose in the morning, they were more interested in making their rounds when let out, so I didn't feed them then.

I bought a galvanized metal round feeder that held 30# (about $30-$35 at the feed store) and just let it sit inside the hen house all the time. Even free ranging, I found them wandering in during the day to eat grain and they would still fall all over themselves racing me to the pen at night, where I would throw out a handful or two on the ground to entice them in. I also fed them lots of vegetable scraps, that I just dumped in the outside pen. They love tomatoes, melons, squash, cucumbers and strawberries.

They will go through quite a bit more feed, when not being free-ranged. I would imagine with 27, you'd probably go through around a 100# a week. I kept my extra feed stored in a lidded trashcan in the henhouse. They also need lots of water and I just used a couple of plastic dishpans and refilled them daily.

I have pictures (I think) of a cool henhouse that had lots of great features, including a built-in feeder that would hold 100# or so of feed. Do you have roosting posts in your henhouse?

BB, Is the hen is post 569 the same as the red in post 571? 571 looks like a partridge rock to me. A young or thin one to me, Or maybe just an odd angle. And 569 could be the same hen.. but really looks like a rhode island red. Back to 571, that is a Plymouth Rock in the background. The white ones.. look like leghorns.. = white eggs. No clue on the rooster.
And your pretty roundish brown eggs back up my partridge rock theory.
Still a great job on that pen!