New Hen Surrogate Mama as of this week!

[BuckBuckCluck]

Hello, All. We have 6 Rhode Island Reds, their abode was built by the property owner (with whom I live). I have happily taken on the responsibility of caring for their hens. We live in a rural part of San Diego, California.

I quickly learned they need a poop pan under their standing pole (which I believe is called a roost?). I am considering putting another pole above their little condos, and adding a poo pan beneath the pole- that will hang over their condo for more privacy, and cleanliness. Thoughts?

I give them veggie, fruit scraps and earth worms, along with the corn mix from the feed store.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Yes, my hen language is that of a novice, and I am here to learn from those who are in the know. Thank you in advance!!

 

[Blue Raptor]

Hello, All. We have 6 Rhode Island Reds, their abode was built by the property owner (with whom I live). I have happily taken on the responsibility of caring for their hens. We live in a rural part of San Diego, California.

I quickly learned they need a poop pan under their standing pole (which I believe is called a roost?). I am considering putting another pole above their little condos, and adding a poo pan beneath the pole- that will hang over their condo for more privacy, and cleanliness. Thoughts?

I give them veggie, fruit scraps and earth worms, along with the corn mix from the feed store.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Yes, my hen language is that of a novice, and I am here to learn from those who are in the know. Thank you in advance!!

Welcome to BYC!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Nice coop for them! However the chicken wire on the outside needs to be replaced with Hardware Cloth, a wire you can get at the Hardware store. Chicken wire is extremely flimsy and night time predators can rip through it very easily and eat these birds. Do you have them on chicken feed? It is needed for their health and laying, oyster shell too for laying hard shelled eggs. You can get both of these at a feed store.

Enjoy this new experience! If you have any questions about anything else along the way, be sure to ask. Welcome aboard!

 

[Boppo]

Glad to meet you, and welcome to BYC. You have already discovered a very important piece for keeping a coop and run cleaner - the poop boards. Good for you!

You don't want to just feed them corn. If you look at the feed store, they will probably have a blended mix for feeding chickens at different life stages. If you have chicks, you will want chick feed, if your hens are laying, you may prefer layer feed. Or with a mixed flock, you can put out all flock feed (though chicks still need special chick feed). The blended feeds are good because they have a measured amount of all the minerals and nutrients that the birds need to thrive.

Laying hens will also need a calcium supplement. Best is usually crushed oystershells, and that calcium supplement is also usually available at feed stores.

All your birds will need grit in their diet. Because birds don't have teeth, they use small stones, grit, that they swallow down to their crop to grind the food they eat. Grit is sold in different sizes, for chicks and for adult birds. You can put the calcium supplement and the grit out in a bowl or a mounted holder - you just want something sturdy enough that the birds are not going to keep knocking it over when they scratch.

You should not give them fruit or the worms every day. That is too much for their digestive systems. Veggies seem to be fine every day, and my ladies are always happy to get chopped vegetables. But I only give them fruit once or twice weekly. And I try to limit meal worms or earthworms (from my composter) to once a week or so. Too much protein is not good for them, though they love the treat!

I keep a bin of "scratch" that I put out to keep them occupied and happy in their pen when they cannot free range. It consists of a different feed pellet than they usually get, mixed with some oats and some black oil sunflower seeds. The ladies love this, and go for the seeds first, the the oats, and finally clean up the unusual feed pellets. Because it is scattered on the ground in their pen, they can hunt and scratch for the food, which seems to be more satisfying for them than just eating out of a bowl or feeder.

Some folks start composting inside their chicken pens. I don't know if you want to go that route, or if your landowners would agree. But it is another way for the birds to have things to keep them busy. The hens will scratch around in the compost, looking for bugs, and stir it all around. Occasionally, they might find an edible bit, too.

Best wishes as you care for these hens! They are so fun, and have such personalities.

 

[Kenneth Zweerink]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens. Thank's for Sharing the picture's your Chickens are Beautiful and your Chicken Coop Is Real Nice ! And a Big Hello from Eastern Nebraska.

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC. It's a beautiful shelter but like @TwoCrows I recommend hardware cloth. I think that is more important than any other improvement at this point.

 

[Grammy60]

Hi and welcome to BYC We are excited to have you join us. Nice coop and chickens.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC and good luck with the flock.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
You need to replace or cover over all the chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth to make your set up more predator proof.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Welcome to BYC @BuckBuckCluck

Glad you could join us all here