Thinking of getting 6 chickens.. I’m a terrible over thinker and got myself in a right tizzy! 1)I’m panicking what if they get ill, finding a vet that deals with hens and that cost! Have you found that chickens need a lot of medical assistance? Do I need to really consider that cost? 2) looking at getting a pen like yours..how big is yours and whee did you get it from? And do you find the normal chicken wire is enough to keep things out and keep the girls safe? I work during the day and get home early afternoon so I need to know they are safe in an enclosed pen. 3)once they have destroyed the grass on the pen floor do you just keep the wood chip on it? How often do you change that? 4) are they really that simple to keep? Am I over thinking it all too much? I want to know I can look after them correctly and look after their needs. I have watched all your chicken videos and subscribed to your channel! You have been very helpful just watching you and I love the way your girls just follow you about! Also I noticed in your first chicken video you was racking up autumnal leaves…get a leaf grabber (I got mine from screw fix) and it’s a deal breaker!! I have a huge oak tree in my garden and picking up those leafs every autumn use to be back breaking! Until I bought a leaf grabber! 😂 Thankyou for your time
Hi, I’ve found chickens to be very self sufficient and are not often taken ill. The only illness we have had to treat was coccidiosis in our chicks. A couple of days of antibiotics and they were good. We joined a local small holder training group and have had loads of help and there are a number of vets near us who provide care for poultry. I’ve personally found that, if they get to adulthood and are kept in good conditions, they tend to do well. That’s not to say things could happen but we have a good network of people to give us advice. Other than the antibiotics, we have not had to pay for any vet bills over the last 4 years. I built our coop from old fence panels, so it did not cost too much. The run cost around £200 here’s a link to a similar one (amzn.eu/d/54dipZT) it is not secure, the wire is held on by tie wraps which can become brittle and snap in the sun (I check and replace them regularly) and animals can dig under the bottom, to secure this I would need to dig wire into the ground and connect it to the run. The door is also unsecured, I had a fox pull it open. If I could do it again I would create the run out of a wood frame, a wire base and make the walls and roof out of stronger mesh. After a couple of fox attacks at night we focused on securing the coop which is covered by chicken wire. I can see the foxes have tried to get in but the chicken wire has done its job. Yes, I add wood chips to the run. I tend to do this once a year or if they are still ok, every two years. It helps keep it relatively dry and reduce their smell.
They are easy to keep. For Food, water and security they will give you lots of company and eggs. The biggest issue we have had is security and keeping the foxes out. Thanks for the advice on the leaf grabber, I’ll give it a go this year. Thanks for subscribing. Got a new video in the making and hope to get it out soon.
Hi, hens love a dust bath. It helps keep them clean and prevents mites. Our chickens has a dry patch of ground they use but you can put sand in a tub (large enough for them to get in) for them to use. I use bird sand for my quail which I picked up from a feed store, I expect it would work well for chickens too.
Great feeding summary and also nice to finally see some sun!
Thanks, it’s great to have some sun finally.
Thanks - all very useful to know..
Thanks, glad I could help.
Thinking of getting 6 chickens.. I’m a terrible over thinker and got myself in a right tizzy!
1)I’m panicking what if they get ill, finding a vet that deals with hens and that cost! Have you found that chickens need a lot of medical assistance? Do I need to really consider that cost?
2) looking at getting a pen like yours..how big is yours and whee did you get it from? And do you find the normal chicken wire is enough to keep things out and keep the girls safe? I work during the day and get home early afternoon so I need to know they are safe in an enclosed pen.
3)once they have destroyed the grass on the pen floor do you just keep the wood chip on it? How often do you change that?
4) are they really that simple to keep? Am I over thinking it all too much? I want to know I can look after them correctly and look after their needs.
I have watched all your chicken videos and subscribed to your channel! You have been very helpful just watching you and I love the way your girls just follow you about!
Also I noticed in your first chicken video you was racking up autumnal leaves…get a leaf grabber (I got mine from screw fix) and it’s a deal breaker!! I have a huge oak tree in my garden and picking up those leafs every autumn use to be back breaking! Until I bought a leaf grabber! 😂
Thankyou for your time
Hi, I’ve found chickens to be very self sufficient and are not often taken ill. The only illness we have had to treat was coccidiosis in our chicks. A couple of days of antibiotics and they were good. We joined a local small holder training group and have had loads of help and there are a number of vets near us who provide care for poultry. I’ve personally found that, if they get to adulthood and are kept in good conditions, they tend to do well. That’s not to say things could happen but we have a good network of people to give us advice. Other than the antibiotics, we have not had to pay for any vet bills over the last 4 years. I built our coop from old fence panels, so it did not cost too much. The run cost around £200 here’s a link to a similar one (amzn.eu/d/54dipZT) it is not secure, the wire is held on by tie wraps which can become brittle and snap in the sun (I check and replace them regularly) and animals can dig under the bottom, to secure this I would need to dig wire into the ground and connect it to the run. The door is also unsecured, I had a fox pull it open. If I could do it again I would create the run out of a wood frame, a wire base and make the walls and roof out of stronger mesh. After a couple of fox attacks at night we focused on securing the coop which is covered by chicken wire. I can see the foxes have tried to get in but the chicken wire has done its job. Yes, I add wood chips to the run. I tend to do this once a year or if they are still ok, every two years. It helps keep it relatively dry and reduce their smell.
They are easy to keep. For Food, water and security they will give you lots of company and eggs. The biggest issue we have had is security and keeping the foxes out. Thanks for the advice on the leaf grabber, I’ll give it a go this year. Thanks for subscribing. Got a new video in the making and hope to get it out soon.
Good content. Just got 5 chickens. What do you provide for the hens to clean themselves?
Hi, hens love a dust bath. It helps keep them clean and prevents mites. Our chickens has a dry patch of ground they use but you can put sand in a tub (large enough for them to get in) for them to use. I use bird sand for my quail which I picked up from a feed store, I expect it would work well for chickens too.
I hope things are going ok with your 5 hens!
Really useful!
Thank you, I really appreciate the comment and glad I could help.