A Chickens eye view from the hen house, looking out of the 'pop hole'But already on day four, Betty, Peggy, Maud & Hetty (in pecking order) are settling in well. They are already showing signs of normal hen behavior, scratching soil, pecking up grain, eating greens & sunbathing too.
They are almost putting themselves to bed at night too, hardly had to coax t
hem last night, unlike night 1 & 2 where I had to lift them into the hen house through the 'pop hole' but as I said they are learning fast.And they are laying an egg each a day.
Here you can see them Dust Bathing, but in forest bark, not ideal, but they seem to like it.
The Kale was a hit and they have already finished off the Chickweed, I gave them an extra treat too, a handful of Supermix Corn and they went wild for it, will try Mealworms tomorrow, have been told the same reaction will be observed.
Thanks for reading/returning. Ian
Bet they think they're in heaven.
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog! We're in the 'thinking about' phase of getting chickens so it's great to see someone blogging about the process from the beginning... :)
ReplyDeleteThe things that have been putting us off is how much space they need, and how much the house/run will cost us... Sounds like you've been nice and frugal about it so that pretty inspiring to see... I really need to get a book or something, do you have one you've used that you'd recommend?
Thanks Paul & Melanie, I'm a DIY fan so didn't need books on building the house/run, but do have books on Chickens: Beginners Guide to Keeping Chickens - Lee Faber, Keeping Chickens & other Poultry - Vivian Head, Keeping Pet Chickens - Johannes Paul & William Windham.
ReplyDeleteBut we also went on a Poultry Keeping Course at Reaseheath College, Cheshire, which was a big help.
Also you will need approx 1 sq Mtr per Hen in the run & if buying a hen house always go for one that takes more than you intend to keep (so if re-homing 4 hens go for a house that homes 6)
Good Luck. Ian