ok ..building coop weekend what else

[knat]

do I need to know. We're putting the coop and run on slabs. What's best to put on the slabs in run and coop?

we know a place that rescues ex battery and once they're back to full health re-home. What's people's experience of ex battery,and arethey good layers? We're hoping to get 3 chickens to begin with. any advice would be great. Thanks.

hi knat

i've never had ex-batts personally but I would love to one day, it seems a very rewarding thing to do and they do lay well from what friends have told me.

mine are free range so not sure about what to put on the slabs although i did hear of some rubbery things like bark chips somewhere?
in the coop - wood shavings under perch and straw to lay eggs on

good luck!

bark chips is best for your run floor if it's solid, but make sure they also have a bowl of dusty soil to dust bathe in (they won't use it for a while because they won't have a clue what it's for! one of ours would use it as a toilet to start with, and then try to eat the soil (which is actually a good thing) she would just stand in it looking lost. )

and try to keep an area with just concrete, because they use that to keep their tow nails down.

toe nails

thanks everyone. We have an area of concrete, one with gravel in and an area of lawn. We have extended the runs by making an extension between the two runs so they have more space now.

We have 3 chickens (not ex battery - they may come later) all hybrids and one who's layed the last four days!!!! The others are not so keen at the minute!. The layer has been pecking at the other two and pulling feathers so have lengthened the run to give more space which we hope will help (may just be a "pecking" order thing?) All well so far today!.

yes, it is sorting out the pecking order, but also, yes, the bigger the run the less likely they will peck.
the ones at the bottom of the ladder can always find somewhere else to go if the top hens start on them.

if you think it might be a problem, though, make sure you've got somewhere else for them to eat and drink (we have a dog bowl full of food and another hanging drinker so they can still eat if being pushed out from the proper one) they also seem to like the variety of places to find food!

thanks. will do. I have heard that eating the feathers can be sign of protein deficiency? She is the only layer at the moment so don't know if that has any significance?

it can be, but that would be more likely in much older hens, especially when moulting.

if you feed them a standard layers' mash or layers' pellets then they should be getting sufficient protein. (although if you feed them cat food, that will increase their protein levels too)

you can also deter them from pecking by spraying "purple spray" on them (that's its name and you can get it from anywhere that sells horse supplies). it gets everywhere though, so i would only use it if they've drawn blood.