Recent content by mrrossi

I don't but it's only 3 hens in an outdoor covered area, and I use the "special hay" for chickens - there's no dust!

Some brilliant responses there guys! I wont' reply to all (RSI / tendonitis kicing in today) but thanks so much, some great advice

The courtyard is protected by walls, gates etc and then there's additional chicken wire, so it should be well protected against predators. UK midlands climate so it does go below 0C sometimes. Don't the chickens (1) need somewhere to rest / roost? - they are still not using the beam inside...

Thanks guys - I only added the heat lamp last week on the advice from here...! It's a low wattage one (I'll double check that) and not particular hot.

Thanks all for the replies. Ventilation - I thought with the huge gap underneath there would be plenty but perhaps they need "roost height" ventilation as mentioned here; can't recall off the top of my head whether those two holes are repeated on the other side (and there is a 1cm gap or so...

Hi again all. So... I made some modifications over the past week or two. The slide out tray was removed, the coop shifted about on the concrete slabs it's on so one was removed- i.e. "raising" the coop. The tray was placed on the floor directly underneath. I also sawed away the bottom wooden bar...

Erm... OP here... not quite sure what those last few responses were all about, but, erm... thanks?? I think ...

Thanks again for the answers, love the details in these!! I've managed to slide the "not very slidey" tray out of the bottom and put in the floor, this has made the roosts much higher. I need to measure and determine if it's enough but I could always raise it higher with some slabs/bricks under...

Thanks everyone for the replies! My set up is predator proof, but not climate controlled - it's basically a chicken wired area within a small "courtyard" around the shed, side door and garage, with some plastic sheeting on parts of the chicken wire to keep a little rain off. UK midlands so not...

Hi all Previously I had a small chicken coop in an enclosed area (some rain protection, netted area) and they would sleep inside the coop, but it got a little small and there was nowhere to roost - they started to sit on the roof and roost there. This was a felt roof and got incredibly dirty...

Thanks guys. Without measuring exactly, I'd say my stage 1 brooder (plastic tote box) is around 2 square feet and my stage 2 brooder (pet pen, not set up just yet) would be around 6 square feet so sounds like I'm probably fine to move to that now - 'violet' seems pretty steady on her feet, and...

Ha, well - nothing is guaranteed !! Based on other breeds though... it was a tricky choice and hadn't 100% made our minds up but then some came up nearby, so RIRs it was :)

Hi all I currently have 6 chicks (Rhode Island Reds) in a stage 1 brooder (tote box and Brinsea heater). 5 of the chicks were hatched 13, 12 and 11 days ago. You can actually see the size difference. The 6th chick (the "8th egg" - two failed in early incubation) is only 4 days old. I really...

Thanks all!! To answer the various queries: No, the other 2 eggs failed (day 6 and day 8) - will submit another post shortly as I have a query related to this and the "late 8th egg". RIRs best matched our criteria (hardiness, friendliness, lack of broody-ness, egg laying ability, availability...

Hi all New to the forum and the world of chicks! To answer the template questions: (1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? - yes, recently got 8 fertilised eggs; 6 chicks (Rhode Island Reds) have hatched! (2) How many chickens do you have right now? - 6 (3) What breeds...