Complete novice needing advice

[Words]

I am moving house in October and inheriting two hens. The owners say they would be happier with a couple of other pals, and am happy to accommodate that if need be,

They have a very large fenced enclosure and a separate dark shaded area under trees with coop, presumably for night time? Do I move them from one to the other at night? ( how? Will they potter over themselves?)

What food, bedding, other supplies do I need?

How often does everything need cleaning, and what would their routine be?

When do they stop laying in the winter?

Understand about rats and foxes , and have seen something about mites?

What other advice can you offer?

I realise I need to ask current owners about their peccadilloes ( sorry) but I also would like as much info as possible from other experienced keepers.

Any and all advice gratefully received.

There are several useful Facebook groups for chicken owners. You will fall in love with them I'm sure but they are a fair bit of work. Main things are you need to be prepared for bird flu every year for several months. They have to be kept in a roofed enclosure 24/7 so having their coop and run separate won't work.The coop needs to be within the run or attached to it. The run needs to be big enough so they don't start attacking each other. It needs to stop droppings from wild birds getting in. Also, finding people to look after them if you go away can be tricky, you need to butter up neighbours with nice eggs! Hopefully there will be some kind a farm feed store nearby, much cheaper than pets at home or similar. Ours stop laying for a few weeks in the winter, can't remember how long. It depends on the breed.

Our hens would lay all year, probably because they'd get warm spaghetti, tuna and tinned sweetcorn a few times a week as a treat!

So they have a coop for night? They should take themselves in, and if they're not used to it it won't take then long to learn once you've chased them in a few times. You can get solar-controlled doors so they will be let out in the morning and shut in at night.

I know this sounds bizarre but this https://haynes.com/en-gb/chicken-manual is a really comprehensive book about chicken keeping. It will tell you everything in a practical way. Thoroughly recommended.

The British Hen Welfare Trust website is a great source of information, and the Omlet website has a useful forum (not just for owners of their products).

Buy a good book for reference. Go on a chicken keeping course if you can. I did Clare Taylor's - she's really excellent
https://www.claretaylor.com/courses

Chickens are pretty low maintenance but have specific health issues and needs. Things can go badly wrong but that won't happen if you are well informed.

Chickens are so sweet and great little characters!

Thank you so much! Yes the looking after bit when away is concerning me slightly. I wonder if current owners have a neighbour arrangement. Another thing to ask, but not yet. The agents are trying to have all comms through them at the moment and it is getting a bit cumbersome.

I may be away shortly after the move for a week, when I won't have got my hand in. Considering trying to re arrange that tbh.

Neither enclosure is roofed, and the coop is I think quite small- surely they won't have to be shut in that 24/7 for bird flu reasons?

Thanks for the Haynes manual (!) tip. I will buy it now.

Rural, so various at suppliers for food etc.

Ag suppliers

Right Haynes Manual ordered. Clare's courses are full but am on wait list for next year. And am far away from Oxfordshire but they look really worth it.

She runs them in Northampton now. There are plenty of other providers though and some are online.

Runs ideally should be fully roofed under avian flu measures, but can be just better to prevent wild birds and keep droppings down to a minimum. To be honest I stopped keeping hens due to it as mine got so blooming depressed not having free range over 1/2 acre as usual.

Netted! Not better! 😂

If they are used to their coop they should potter in and roost at dusk. Any new ones usually fall in line after a couple of days showing them where to go and when. Mine will also go in if it's raining. I wouldn't rush to get more chickens until you know if you like keeping them and have the time as they won't necessarily like each other and 4 chickens is obviously 4x more poo, feed etc.
I keep mine on chopped straw which you can buy in a big bale from country feed stores, likewise layers pellets for feed which you will need if they are laying. Chickens also need access to chicken grit. I chuck them veg scraps over like broccoli stalks and carrot but there are some things to avoid like pepper seeds so quick Google before feeding is good.
I pick the poo out of the coop every morning but there isn't usually a lot. I do a full clean out and mite powder the coop every month or so. The outside I leave as it's a big area and I only have 3.
Chickens can be left overnight without food or water which reduces the likelihood of rats in their coop. Keep all food in something like a dustbin with a secure lid too.
I find them quite low maintenance really, but then I also have ducks who make a right mess everywhere! Good luck.

Thanks @FictionalCharacter . Claire has already responded! There doesn't seem to be anything suitable close by, but I have found an online course to start with.

And thanks to @roseopose - and indeed everyone else who has offered helpful advice. Really appreciate it.

So

Chopped straw
Layers pellets (I even had to look up what these were)
Grit
Mite treatment
Netting for their run potentially

I want to go into this with eyes open. It's a serious responsibility!

I've noticed on the hen welfare trust website that I have a hen friendly vet reasonably close too. I will check with my normal (superb) small animal vet if they treat hens. I don't think they do.

Re vets: there's a list here https://www.chickenvet.co.uk/

I've sourced an online course and have been emailing Clare - her courses remain in Oxfordshire apparently. Northampton not an option now. Great excuse for a trip though!

Thanks re extra vet info :)

This post is one of the reasons I love MN , strange non child related questions with loads of really helpful replies 😀.
And now I feel like I am over invested in how @Words gets to grips with keeping chickens .

Oh, her website must be out of date. Sorry about that!
Ironically they weren’t in Oxfordshire years ago when I did it - I live in Oxfordshire and had to travel miles!

@ScottBakula . I fully intend to keep the thread updated

@Words with photos too please 🐓😃

Here is one of the girls making an appearance in the sales particulars.

This is the separate run I mentioned. They also have a second one under trees at the other end of the garden where their coop is.

If you don't have a willing friend or neighbour, I'd try someone like a professional cat sitter (ours will happily look after cats, small animals and chickens, just not dogs).

There are also places (similar to kennels/catteries) that offer boarding for chickens, however I steer clear on the basis that my animals would be miserable uprooted like that and it's less expensive to get someone to drop in.

I also second BHWT as a great source of information.

I feed mixed corn along with my layers pellets.

You'll need to think about rodent proof feed storage - I use a large galvanised bin.

This is really good. Thank you for suggesting it!

Chicken boarding? Who knew!

Yes I am hoping the cat sitter will hop up to the perch when I go away.

"egg colour is normally related to the colour of the chicken's ears- red ears produce brown eggs and white ears produce white eggs"

Another revelation!

Err... where are the ears exactly?

😁 The ears are set slightly to the rear of the eyes - there's a diagram here:

https://www.bhwt.org.uk/blog/health-welfare/do-hens-have-ears/