So now I have chickens...

[BennienFlorrie]

Last week I bought two POL chickens, a Maran Cuivree and a Blacktail, a combined coop and run and all the necessary bits to start my new hobby. I think I have been on this site every day since, so decided it was time to join!
My hens started laying straight away, bless 'em. The run is on grass, but I have now put in wood chips, which they love to scratch through. I have solved the pooping in the water problem (I hope) by raising the container onto bricks, and I remove all the other poop I can find in the run and coop daily. My problem now is the food, they are having layers mash but seem to chuck a lot of it on the ground, which is almost impossible to clean up and although from day 1 I have removed both feed and water containers at night I now appear to have rats/mice digging underneath the end of the run and am at a bit of a loss as to how to deal with it, as they are obviously after the spilt food that I can't remove. Any suggestions?

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

You can try raising their feeder to about chest height.. That will sometimes help. There are also treadle feeders and bucket feeders that help keep feed spillage down.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC. Good suggestions above, imo but it's almost impossible to cut out waste completely. Pellets, rather than mash may also work a little better, maybe

On this link you'll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/


There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.


Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive


You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find Your State Thread

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[Kiki]

Welcome! We are glad you joined our flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.
Try soaking in water or fermenting the feed.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops

BYC has an APP!

 

[GayEgg]

We've attached and ran 2 foot chicken wire around our coops and runs. We also weighted it down with concrete pavers to prevent anything digging under.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Thanks for joining us!

 

[featherhead007]

Welcome to our forums, Scratch around a while!

 

[BennienFlorrie]

Thanks for the ideas, I had thought about hanging the feeder or changing to pellets, but assume there will still be some wastage to attract vermin, who by the way dug under the 2ft width of strong wire mesh put round the run last night. I am also thinking about giving the run a solid floor and raising it on legs. Who was it told me looking after chickens was easy!

 

[Teila]

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

Including your general location on your profile will assist others. Location, climate, season etc can be important factors when members are responding to any questions you may have and vice versa.

 

[drumstick diva]

A solid floor and raising the coop on legs will certainly help. If you post on the predator threads, I'm sure they can offer more advice. Welcome to Backyard chickens.