Recent content by Paul Richardson

I have a foot of sand in my pens (course river sand) with a little straw on top and it is great throw some scratch in there and they turn it over and every couple month i fork it over for a deep clean.

No not ever you will kill the chooks if they eat any part of the carcass

Be careful with baits for if they kill rats and mice they will kill the chooks if they find the rodents and eat them which they will happily do if they find them they love em

Gorgeous King Joop worthy of his status in the hen house

Yes chooks can die from mites not a nice death they become anemic from loss of blood then slowly die imagine the itch and stress they would be under in the mean time. The solution is simple use Ivomectin cattle drench which you put on there skin using a 1 mm syringe giving 1mm to each bird then...

There is no proof what so ever that Diatomaceous Earth kills worms as once swallowed it goes soft and is useless but there is scientific proof it causes lung problems including cancer besides hens love roaches so feed them back.......live protein

Yes you need to keep out rodents as these pollute the feed

Oh lucky you grab the little devils and feed them to your hens they love them wish i could catch them that easily yum yum protein..

Try putting a small LED light in there as this has worked for me at times if this doesn't work check the pen at night for lice as they hide during the day and feast on the hens at night thus they will not willingly go in on there own have a clean out and spray the whole pen with Mortien Surface...

I have read all the replies now i will give you my 50 years of having chooks start with chicken crumbles for around 6 weeks switch to growers untill they are 20 to 22 weeks then go for a good quality layer pellet from then on, growers mix has to much protien in it to keep the pullets on past...

Get rid of him they should not dominate the hand that feeds them there are good bred roos out there and get one of these if you want to keep him pick him up and get someone to hold him then with a pair of pliers gently grip the spur and twist back and forth until the spur pops off sounds...

No luck about it i pick them while there young as this is when they start showing there traits and i have had the very odd rooster turn rough on the hens but they tend to visit God as i will not put up with this but have never had a rooster turn on me generally most i have had i can pick up and...

This sounds a bit foppy now i have re read it but believe me treat an animal with love and kindness and they will give it back in bucket fulls no matter if there hens or roosters use the whip once and they will never forget

I love roosters and they should love you back and respect you this comes about with kindness and treats they should treat the hens with kindness to this can be seen by them calling in the flock with some tit bit they have discovered or as i often say to them there joshing not really having found...

My dear old mum would not eat eggs from hens running with roosters when she was young but 50 years on a dairy farm changed her mind its all in the mind and take it from me once you start breeding chicks you can't stop its the most exciting pass time you can experience bringing new life into the...