Help needed...!?

[GollumsBrother]

I've just got 5 hens and have never kept chickens before. Do I need to take precautions and cover them in all the powders that are on the market!?! There seems to be all sorts of lotions, potions and powders for sale! If I buy them all then it will cost a fortune!! Please advise!?!

Matt

 

[PotterWatch]

The short answer is no. You don't need to use anything unless your chickens have a problem. I personally don't use medications or chemicals unless there is no other option. We focus on raising our birds in a healthy environment and using natural methods to prevent worms and things like that.


ETA: I have kept chickens for about six years now and I've never used anything more than blue-kote a couple times on a wound. We have never had any issues with worms, mites, etc.

 

[GollumsBrother]

So... My 5 new hens have plenty of room, their run is 6mtr x 5mtr and the coop is also big enough, with a roosting bar 5foot long inside the coop.
They also have a 10foot roosting bar outside.

My hens don't ever go into their coop on their own! Is that right? Also they don't seem to go roost on their inside bar when I put them away at night!

I guess they're chicken basics, however I'm still learning!?!

 

[buckaroogirl]

Did you just put them into the coop? Is their feed inside? How old are they?

I bought some chickens for my first time last year from the Hutterite colony, since they were production chickens they had no idea how to scratch, roost or lay in a nest box. Not until I bought new chickens did they learn how to be a chicken!
My young guys still haven't roosted yet--incubator chicks, but my chicks that were raised by momma are roosting already, and they're Half the others age.
Just takes time for them to learn what to do.

 

[GollumsBrother]

The coop is 2 levels. There is hay downstairs, with food and water! Up the ramp there is a roost bar and the floor is covered in sawdust and next to that is a nest box! My hens are 15weeks old!