England UK

That's OK! It must have been a hard thing to do but good on your for doing it! They should be very tasty ( or so says my brother in law)!
Most of my cockerels have names - my boyfriend despairs hehehe!

You will have to do a stakeout and see where the girls go! I had one hen who got out of her run everyday to go and lay under a bush and then she would go and get back in. They are so funny sometimes.
I started a mealworm farm a few weeks ago and have got some tiny tiny baby worms which I'm sure the chooks will go wild for when they are bigger!

I'm interested to know more about your meal worm farm. Are they difficult to set up?

Having said that, my chickens have three massive horse manure heaps to pick and scratch through, so they already get plenty of grubs. I can never keep anything tidy anymore. I just get things swept up, turn my back for a moment and it's all scattered everywhere again. It really is impressive how powerful their legs are and how much manure they can move.

As regards staking them out, there are too many to keep tabs on and they head off in all directions. I've been in the feed room and heard the egg song in the tractor shed next door but as soon as I open the connecting door it stops, no matter how quietly. Close the door and it starts again.... I sometimes wonder if there is a You've been Framed camera somewhere. I can't identify the culprit without catching them in the act and there might be several other chickens hanging out in there dust bathing in a corner or scratching around and I've looked under machinery and in carriages and behind stacks of timber etc but nothing!.

My set up is very basic, I have a plastic storage container with ventilation holes drilled in the lid sat on top of the boiler ( as they need a relatively warm spot). I use wheat bran and milk powder as the substrate and then put in carrots or broccoli for food and moisture. I am at the stage now where I have no full size meal worms just a load of beetles ( which the chickensalso love). I hadn't seen any baby worms so I took all the beetle out and put them in another container and while I was doing that I noticed the tinsy worms. I was sure the beetles were eating these worms but im not so sure now, I think I was a bit over eager to suddenly see big worms! I think I probably could have left the beetles in there. I think in a few more weeks the worms will be visible. I might put some in a tub in the fridge so I can give some little ones to chicks. Its quite interesting to do even if they are a bit. Creepy when there are loads all rolling around!

Thanks for that information. Does it not smell? And do the beetles not escape through the ventilation holes? Not sure I understand why you would put them in the fridge..... sorry I'm not very clued up on this at all! It's funny because I'm a very enthusiastic beekeeper, but don't have a clue about the life cycle and requirements of other insects. Actually just thinking about this has given me an idea. I'm going to have a dig in my compost bin and throw a shovel full in the run for the 4 chooks that I do have penned in down at home here as they don't have the option of raking through the manure heaps. I know there are loads of wood lice in there and plenty of worms I would imagine and goodness knows what other bugs. Really don't know why I didn't think of it before!

No they don't smell at all. There is a alight smell of the veg if you get right in there but the actual worms and beetles don't smell. Also the beetles can't get any grip on the aide of the plastic so they can't climb out - which is good!! Putting the worms in the fridge slows don't their development. So for example if I put small worms in the fridge for the chicks then they won't grow any larger and get too big for them to eat. The worms moult and get bigger numerous times before they turn into to beetles but to do this they need it to be quite warm. Hope that helps, still very new to it myself, my idea was that it would be a good source of nutrition for them in the winter when they need a bit of a boost!

Your chickens are going to love you! Mine go mad for worms if I'm ever doing any digging!

Hey, im from Hampshire UK I have just got my first flock (4) of lovely ladies this weekend!

I am in Reading, Berkshire, and I have got 3 naughty Khaki Campbell Ducks that I adore

Hi I’m based up in North Yorkshire and was wondering if anyone had an incubator I could borrow only needs to hold 6 eggs because ours holds 3. Nice to know there is British on this site