Our girls sleep on my daughter's lap, cuddle with her and follow her around, obeying her all the time. They know their names, recognize commands and just stay around us when free ranging. Consistency, treats and love. Greetings from Cusco, Peru.
That’s awesome! Do you have any tips for me getting my chicks to like my son? My son is 6, and our 5 chicks are about 6-7 weeks now. We got them the day after hatching. I would like to add the chicken care too my sons “house blessings” daily list, along with our other animals he feeds. Did you do anything particular with your daughter to help encourage the hens to her? Thank you for any advice. ♥️🙏🏽♥️
@@jaquirox6579 Hello there. Spending time with them in a little stool, offering food by hand (grains and greens). Using a particular sound for the group and names for the flock as for each one in a special tone of voice. My daughter starts sitting with them, sings and reads out loud to them. Now she just sits and they sit around her. She even scolds the old ones and they are like naughty children caught in the act. Chickens have personalities, like the people they choose to like and make sure you know if they are annoyed. There are special noises they make when happy, scared or angry. Knowing those sounds is basic. Oh, and they love to be scratches under their wattles. By now, if we are eating something and they decide we need ti share, they jump on our lap or shoulder demanding attention. Today Miilie the Silkie and her were doing math together and sharing apples... Oh, boy.
I would give chickens cornbread before giving them white whitebread, but I give mealworms and soldier fly larvae, and corn on the cob when it's cold. I use the cobs as a boredom buster
Great video though I must confess that I had a massive head start - our six lovely ladies were raised by Fiona & Hugh. All of them accepted treats from our hands from day 1 and whenever they see us they run straight to where we are. There is a discernible difference in their personalities 3 birds are very adventurous and outgoing whilst the other 3 are more reserved but they all love treats.
Oh that's lovely to hear! We try very hard to make sure buyers get hens that are more likely to spend time with their owners. It was lovely to meet you too and if you're passing, pop in for a cuppa!
Fiona, your channel has the best content! Thank you again for being such a good teacher. I would love to buy one of your girls, but since I live in the USA I will just have to keep admiring them from a far. I just posted a link on my local NH Backyard Chicken Group suggesting people follow you on TH-cam. Thanks again for all you do.
All my chickens are super friendly, even my Leghorn. But I have notice the heavy breed tend to be more calm than the lighter breed. BTW, a good news from my hatch, the Orpington chicks my broody hen hatched out 2.5 months ago turns out to be a girl!! So happy, I can keep her. Hopefully she will become a mum next year :)
Great video! We've been sitting out in the evening with the hens and they are very happy to be around us. Your girls really look happy around you. Such a happy group! Cheers Fiona!
I’m so glad you made this video. I had to remind myself I’ve only had my 3 for 3 days and I was disappointed they didn’t eat out of my hand 😂🤦🏼♀️ Thank you Fiona. They already come up to my feet when I’m sat on the chair and sprinkle the treats on the ground 👍🏼 I must 5:54 adopt patience 🙄
Great video as always Fiona - excellent tutorial! Our girls love wheat (something we learned from you) and come running whenever they hear the click of the lid of the bin where we store it! We also started making a sound when we fed them treats so now they associate that sound with good times.
@@EnglishCountryLife not sure how impressed you’d be if you heard us “chook-chooking” around the garden - just as well we don’t have close neighbours! 😂
Another great video with excellent training points. Since I’ve been watching and learning from your videos, I’ve been starting when the chicks are very small and give them small amounts of crushed meal worms so they’re small enough for them to eat. I do this with incubated hatchlings as well as those raised by their brood hen. They learn to come to me and they become easy to pick up. As the birds get older, I mix meal worms/insect larvae with scratch and use a hybrid form of “treating.” In the morning when everyone runs out of the coop to free range, I throw out a few handfuls of scratch with the worms/larvae included for the older birds, and for the younger ones, I’ll take them around the corner from the others and give them their own meal worms. I spend as much time with the chickens as I can, but not everyone has remained easy to handle. My focus tends to be toward the babies (which I’ve had far too many this year) so I don’t get to spend as much time with the older chickens and they grow a bit more distant. However, a handful of treats will bring them back to me. Thank you again for your excellent content! ❤️
I live in the UK and my family buys large bags of mixed corn. I wasn’t aware it raised the core temperature of the birds, thank you for the info! I will definitely be more careful in the summer months. We generally give our chickens corn at the weekends, when we clean them out. The only reason we don’t give them corn during the week is that we’re all very busy and don’t have much time to spend with the chickens. On a less regular basis, we give the hens any vegetable or fruit scraps we have in the kitchen - they especially love melon, cucumber and grapes! Before giving your chickens any food scraps please check whether it’s safe for the birds, as some things are poisonous and it’s not always the things you expect.
Absolutely right that you should check before feeding anything other than chicken feed pellets to your hens. Good advice. Just to make you aware that feeding scraps from a kitchen in the UK unless the kitchen is 100% vegan is against the law. If your kitchen os not vegan you can feed scraps if the food doesn't enter the kitchen. So if you dig out cabbage from your vegetable patch and peel the outer leaves on the way to your kitchen, you can give those leaves to the chickens if they never enter the kitchen environment. This is the page that gives all of the information: www.gov.uk/guidance/supplying-and-using-animal-by-products-as-farm-animal-feed All chickens fall under the category "any farm animal species kept as pets, for example sheep or exotic pig breeds" as chickens are regarded as farm animals no matter how they are kept even as pets. I am sorry but I would rather you had all the information available to you.
Thank you so much for this information! I regularly give my chickens corn on the cob stuck into a hole on a brick so it stands up and they can all have a go at it. I didn't know about the obesity and heat issues. Also, I didn't know that mealworms and crickets were proscribed in the UK. My lizards would be put out by that rule!
I'd love to feed mealworms particularly right now with a lot of the chickens moulting and needing extra protein but I can't guarantee that haven't been raised on kitchen waste (the most common way of raising mealworms) which falls under our Animal By Product (ABP) laws in the UK which means we can't legally give them to the chickens.
A hen wandered into our yard, a week ago. We are in Florida, and live in a city. Our yard is 1/4 acre, and has fruit trees, so maybe she thought it looked like a good place to settle in. Starting yesterday, I decided to try giving her some treats. I offered some whole grain bread, in tiny crumbles, and then offered some raw corn and raw green peas. Today, she is following me around the yard. I have no idea how old she is or what kind of chicken she is. We have no enclosure for her and we weren't going to name her because we weren't even sure she wouldn't just leave and go back to her home. Now we're calling her Petunia. I have no idea how to care for a chicken. We have 5 cats, and so we're not so chicken savvy. We're getting attached though. I walked across the street, this morning, and was surprised to see her following me. OH NO! So, I chased her back into the yard, and off the street. I suppose that if she is going to be here, we might as well feed her. What do I feed her, and how often? Thank you. This was a great video to watch!
Hi! There are complete chicken foods called pellets available that would be perfect - available from pet stores & feed merchants like Tractor Supply. We have a complete series on chicken keeping for beginners that might help th-cam.com/play/PLDluIIoNPsldJo1GHNzIyHupbMBgQue-p.html
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you. I have a bird vet, because we have a 30 year old parrot. I am going to call his office this morning to ask him what to do. Being in the city, there may not be too many feed stores, though we do have pet stores. Not sure that they would have chicken feed and grit. I'll keep looking. My husband is not willing to build a hen enclosure. We don't really have the room for it, anyway. So, I pray she'll be ok being a free range chicken. She has no comb or wattle yet, so I assume she is a pullet. I'm learning as much as I can. Thank you.
Love you videos - entertaining and very informative. So good from Aus. Agree with your comments on bread - we do give our Wyandottes bread everyday but only a very small amount so it has been OK. Again love all your videos - so well done, thank you
Thanks for this! Could you do a video (or just message me) on a flock overview. How many hens do you keep? How long do you keep them? How many of your hens usually go broody? How many coops do you have? Do you ever isolate a portion of the flock for breeding or other purposes? Are you able to raise all your own meat? I love your dual purpose setup and am striving to do something similar in the US! I don’t know anyone who has multiple small coops though, everyone usually has one big coop.
Hi, we do have a video which covers our breeding plan and philosophy. If it doesn't answer all of your questions or if you have more, feel free to comment on the video and I'll do my best to help. th-cam.com/video/JDaMa8FawvM/w-d-xo.html
Great and informative video! Should I be concerned about some recent guests I had over, their kids kept going up to my 5-6 week old chicks, and very aggressively grabbing them. I kept trying to stop them, but their parents didn’t intervene for discipline so it just continued for the entire visit. My son knows not to force picking them up, and to be calm and still near them, so that’s our house rules. But now I’m just wondering if I should be concerned with the birds possibly being more anti-human because of the kids that tormented them for a couple hours? Or will the birds just forget about it??? Also on the same note, should people force handling them as chicks? In the sense of desensitizing the birds to being picked up? Of course in a gentle and calm way, but nonetheless still forcing them to be held? Or is this passive technique better? Does anyone know? Thank you for any responses. ♥️🙏🏽♥️
They should get over the fright fairly quickly, although it doesn't help. Gently handling chicks and making sure they get a treat is useful - they learn that only good things happen when a person handles them 🙂
Any tips on introducing new chicks to the old flock? They’re about 4-6 weeks old and have most of their feathers and I have 4 grown ladies (2 buffs, 1 RI Red, and a white Leghorn).
We wouldn't mingle chicks so young with mature hens. We would advise putting fencing between the hens & chicks so that they can see each other but the chicks are safe. We wouldn't remove that fence until the chicks are fully feathered and about 12 weeks so more physically robust.
I used to buy live mealworms and crickets as a treat for my sisters chickens when she decided to raise them for eggs for the family. I love animals and wanted to spoil them but also because I wanted eggs. Needless to say they would come running and calling as soon as they saw me because they associated me with their favorite treats. I would bring them in a plastic container and if I wasn’t quick enough they would jump up and peck at the container trying to get at the contents. I was a great chicken auntie.
It certainly would make you popular. It's such a shame it's not legal to feed mealworms or crickets to chickens here in the UK otherwise I'd do that too!
Love your videos and the chickens are always great to see 🐣. My hens are very tame because they lived in the house with us for a long time. I was still building their coop so they were a few months old by the time the coop was ready. They were quite a handful but they were very used to people being around and handling them. I still notice some are tamer than others. I think it’s just down to their personalities.
Yes, you're absolutely right. Our Orpingtons are by nature quite easy to tame whereas the Crested Cream Legbars are naturally more suspicious and take a bit more time.
Helpful video! I've found that chickens being friendly really depends on the chickens' personality. My friendliest chicken, named Daisy (who is now dead from some sickness I still don't understand), started perching on my shoulders and knees about a week after I got her. Meanwhile, I've been feeding the same treats and giving the same opportunities to come inside the house for weeks to another chicken named Cinnamon, and she's still very skittish. She follows me around with the rest of the flock, but then just takes any snacks from my hand and runs away.
@@EnglishCountryLife I've seen her more friendly than when she came, but I'm unsure if that is the limit of her kindness or not. I have an older hen who has started laying eggs, she too isn't as friendly as little Daisy.
I treat my birds to targeted massages. The first step is a single-fingertip rub gently stroking the earpuff.I move on if they're amenable. They love me rubbing their shoulder joints and their wing muscles, and then I do circular finger swirls around each vertebral bulge as I slowly work my way down the spine. I move onto long, firm strokes along their sides from the side of the breast, over the folded wings, and down to the hips, with an upward chiropractic tail pull as a finish. That was how I tamed my chary Deathlayers, whom I'd left alone for the first two months so as not to meddle with their mothering.
@@EnglishCountryLife I learned it from a French TH-camr named papy nounn and added my own spinal technique. If you search "papy nounn massage" that seminal lesson that inspired me is the first video that pops up. I love the thumbnail of the patient hen awaiting the healing hands.
There may be all sorts of reasons why there are broken quills. At this time of year it may be moulting so check out the moulting video to see if this is relevant th-cam.com/video/92Bj3M-AVAA/w-d-xo.html If this isn't the case it could be bullying so check for pecking by other hens. Anti-pecking spray may help. It might be mites or lice so check for evidence in the coop and on the chickens. It could also be an irritating skin condition in which case veterinary advice will be needed. If you are concerned at all about the amount of quills you are finding and cannot see and obvious answer please consult your veterinary professional.
We have and we followed the advice from the British Hen Welfare Trust (link below). If you are concerned or unsure, please contact your veterinary professional. www.bhwt.org.uk/hen-health/health-problems/sour-crop/
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you I love your videos. Two questions. Do you do certain things to prevent your hens from crop issues. And what was the treat you give that is safe for the hens when getting them to come closer. My friend who gardens loves your flowers in the front of your home
Yes very good article. I did take my hen to a vet. I gave her the meds. And sadly she died. I am new at this and just wondering if there was something I may have done. I watch your channel and one other. You are very good and practical.
Hi! The treats we give our chickens are wholewheat grains like these www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007TIJ4XA?ref=exp_englishcountrylife_dp_vv_d In terms of avoiding crop issues, the key is to keep food moving through the crop so that it doesn't get stuck and go sour or become impacted. The best way to do this is to feed poultry feed pellets as the bulk foodstuffs and supplement with chicken grit. Treats should be just that, treats and given in small amounts. Treats that are closer to their natural diet e.g. grains, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables are much better than bread and healthier for them. For some chickens they are more prone to crop issues so don't beat yourself up. You are doing your best, have sought veterinary advice and are wanting to learn more to keep them safe. That's responsible chicken keeping.
Hi Fiona, we moved up to the countryside in Lincolnshire last year and we are growing our own veg and as of last weekend we have some chickens which I have already named. We have one buff Orpington which is called buffy. This is the right video for me as I want them to be tame and like me. All your good videos give good advice and I am watching everyone from the beginning as I am a novice. Where is your chicken farm based in lincolnshire and how do you go about buying chickens from you
Hi Beverley, we are South Lincolnshire between Boston & Skegness 🙂. We sell pullets in Autumn ( right now we are in the middle of hatching with broodies, so the chicks will be ready by Autumn)
Really helpful, Fiona, as ever. I don't suppose you have any ducks do you? I'm thinking of expanding my smallholding to include ducks (and possibly quail) and have read contrasting views on whether chickens and ducks can live together.
This video inspires me to try again. We've raised them from a few days old to today, almost 2 years old, but they still do not care for us to touch them. Last week hub was trying to grab one so we could powder her for mites and she let out a scream worse than a human being, even though he was absolutely gentle as could be, picking her up. We feel we have traumatized them now but the other side says we have spoiled them to the point of no return. Thank you for showing us other ways to gain their trust and try again. Thank you very much from the States. ps edit to add a question, how do you have so much grass with them? Our area is pretty big as well, but void of grass, just wondering if you have a trick for that as well? Cheers!
It just take time and patience and some chickens take to it quickly and others take more time. With the grass we are lucky with the UK climate that between early spring and late autumn it continually grows. It rarely gets so hot that the grass stops growing. In winter we go down to between 12 and 17 chickens which is a low enough number in such a large space that they can't destroy all of the grass before spring. Does that help at all?
Throw treats each time you see them, then try to handfeed it to them. They will just take the treats and run at first, but after a while, put your hand on your lap so that they have to climb on to take the treats. That's the stage I'm at right now.
Hi Fiona, my buff Orpington Jacinta is usually very friendly with me and likes to be picked up. She started molting 2 weeks ago and I have noticed she has become very reserved and won’t great me anymore like she usually does. Would that have anything to do with the molting process? Love your videos!
Hi Marge! It very possibly is. Moulting takes a lot out of a chicken and the new pin feathers can be very uncomfortable to the touch as they emerge through the skin. Normally they revert to their usual outgoing nature when moulting is over.
Hi! We currently have a the Orpingtons, Crested Cream Legbars, Welsummers and one Barnevelder. The Barnevelder does look like a Copper Black Marans, the Welsummers lay dark chocolate brown eggs and the Crested Cream Legbars lay blue eggs so you are right.
Thanks for the video, I didn't know I was feeding them illegal food as in mealworms in the UK, oops, is this just the dried ones or fresh or both?, had the 4 rescues for 6 months now and they are so friendly if not overly so fallen over them so many times to avoid standing on them it is literally like the pied piper.
The problem with mealworms is what they are fed on so it applies to whether they are live, dried etc. Most mealworms are fed on catering waste and catering waste will include animal by products or not be isolated from animal by products so are illegal in the UK. It all came about from the BSE/CJD scandal where protein from sheep infected by scrapie was fed to cattle causing BSE which in turn caused CJD in some humans. It's good to note that due to these rules unless you have an entirely vegan kitchen no food can be given to chickens that have passed through your kitchen. For example if you prepare you vegetable in your veg garden you can give your excess cabbage leaves, carrot tops etc to your chickens but as soon as you remove cabbage leaves or top your carrots in your kitchen then can no longer legally be given to your chickens. Sorry!
@@EnglishCountryLife Hey thanks, I did go and have a look at the web about this, I didn't know, they certainly won't be getting anymore, great vid thanks.
I've been giving my chickens plain Greek yogurt too. They seem to like it but aren't sure how to eat it. They chomp on it like it's a bug, and then look like they're drinking it, with their tongue moving around and lifting their head in the air.
If you let milk ferment/clabber into curds and whey, they have a much easier time eating it and will give them the same benefits of yogurt (maybe even more!) Ps it can be done with store bought/pasteurized milk even though some people say you can't
Thank you for taking the time to make this educational videos. Some of my chickens peck very fast and aggressively that my palm hurts if I want to hand feed them. Is it ok if I use a glove or is there any other solutions?
It's absolutely OK to use a glove. The only advice I would give is try to use the same gloves each time. They will be suspicious of it at first but will get used to it very quickly. They can be a bit enthusiastic if they are you or there are quite a lot of them.
Do what they do..let out a loud “ouch,” when they peck too hard, they’re very smart, they’ll catch on. I do that when a little Whiting True Blue goes after the folds in my jeans and picks up my leg too..she understands, and I actually think now she does it on purpose to get that exact reaction from me..
Great video. My Light Sussex hens will eat out of my hand. But one of them is quite aggressive, she pecks really hard and tries to get me to spill the food. How do I get her to stop doing this as it is painful?
The lady who had our hens before us tamed them so much. In fact, if I have bread in my hand and I don't give it to certain ones, they come and bite me (not hard) 😅
Hi Fiona. I am going to be getting my first chickens in the next few weeks. How tall should the fences be? What should I do with the chickens on the very first day they arrive? I heard that you should keep them in the nesting area until the following day. I don't have existing chickens, so there wouldn't be any chickens to 'show them the ropes'.
Hi James, It's worth keeping an eye on them for the first 48 hours. Confine them in the coop with food and water until the following day on the day you get them. If you can put a temporary fence keeping them close to the coop for the next 24 hours whilst they learn where home is that's helpful. Keep the food and water neer the coop initially. Electric fences are generally 1m tall. For other fence types taller is better. Hope that helps.
@@EnglishCountryLife Thanks for the advice. I think I will need to invest in an electric fence. The current run is pretty large but in some places the fence is quite low.
Great video, as always Fiona. I have a question. If we don't raise our hens from chicks, at which stage of their development should we purchase a small flock to be able to train them?
Good question! At any stage of their life the rules are the same. They need to be able to recognise you, see you as a food source, you need to be consistent and patient. They will learn whether young or old. It is true that it may take longer if they are older and have had very little human contact is my advice would be not to look at their age when you buy them, but look at how they have been cared for. Lots of contact with another human will make it easier for you to connect with them than if they have been hatched and raise by a large commercial organisation. Does that help?
Recommend the dried black soldier fly larvae treats..they’re good for the girls too, with a decent amount of calcium. Grubterra in US makes a good product. Mine really love them. Like..really..love..them.. Single F digits I’ve been giving dried organic cracked corn. Even put a small panel heater down low on N wall of coop to push temps just above freezing inside. Personalities are so different, and not consistent. Sometimes a previously shy girl will suddenly climb in your lap for warmth and hugs. Never trying to grab them is very important in building trust. I have several that love to jump in my lap and push their heads under my arms for warmth. Rewarding to develop that trust..
All good advice although in the UK we have very strict rules on animal feed that generally precludes feeding animal or insect products to livestock (a sweeping law passed after animal byproducts fed to cattles caused Mad Cow)
@@EnglishCountryLife yes, I keep forgetting that! It’s too bad..they go nuts for those grubs..and the grubs are raised on restaurant and grocery store/chain coffee/fast food waste, so recycling at its finest..!
You missed an opportunity to name this video: "How To Train Your Dragon: Chicken Edition" :D. Ours are very friendly though prefer to not be picked up. If you do they settle in, it just isn't their preference. Our entire flock follows me around everywhere, it's adorable. Interacting with them from little on is important with any animal.
How can I train my roosters to do the dance instead of being aggressive.? They are making only a few of my hens have bare back. I have seperate these hens in another run
@@joeypatton1002 Hi Joey, your ratio seems good. We suggest 12 hens to a cockerel as a minimum. Even then we do see feather wear on some hens. We fit these hens with chicken saddles to prevent undue wear. If you have one particularly rough cockerel, drop down to 2, they will tread that number of hens easily & you can simply remove the rough one.
@@EnglishCountryLife Yes ma'am. I will take the aggressive Cockerel out tonight when they go in the roosting coop. Thank you so much for the help and you and your husband are a blessing to us. Debbie and I Love you and your shows
So I try these things allready for a long time and it seems I always have the same problem. The head chickens don't allow the other chickens to come and eat out of my hand, they get picked on. So I think it has an other result for me. They really want the treat, I use meal worm, but they come and run away as fast as possible if my other head chickens come around. The other chickens are older and know very well what I have with me.
I feed tge older chickens first and leave them with a full Omlet Pecking Toy. I then hide behind one of the shelters at the other side of the field and give treats to the youngsters. It might work for you too.
We cant give dried mealworms in the UK because they are imported from China & not checked for pathogens! Mine love flax seed. Our local Polish shop has it (very healthy for humans too, just sprinkle over cooked meals). They are small so not so easy to overfeed.
Okay so what if you grow the mealworms yourself and feed them with let’s say dog food? I don’t have any yet but was thinking to get my chickens something to grow on my own. I understand if you buy them from suppliers, they can feed them whatever they want and the worms can pass diseases (as per googled information that I found), but if you grow your own, I don’t see a problem 🤔 PS: I’m outside of the UK :)
My chicken bites me when it wants to be picked up, and it hurts extremely bad, what should I do to stop it and make the chicken do something else to let me know they want to be picked up
It's illegal to feed animal or insect products to chickens in the UK. Chickens are legally livestock and covered by the animal feeding laws brought in post BSE etc
@@PsycInColour Its part of catch all legislation trying to avoid another Mad Cow type event from feeding creatures meat that shouldn't eat it. Same reason its illegal to feed kitchen scraps ( other than Vegan)
Mad cow disease was found to have been caused by feeding animal materials (animal by products) to livestock. A law was passed banning feeding animal materials to all livestock
I rehomed a cockeral after my old one died. This new one is no gentleman. He rushes out of the coop in the morning to gobble up the food at an alarming rate. Chases and pecks the hens away until he's eaten. Jumps on them without any proper approach so they get scared and run. Once feeding is over the girls do follow him around and stay with him but he seems abit of a bully, anything I can do? He does not go for me.
This is weird, I gave my chickens corn yesterday, they didn't liked it, took it in the mouth and spit it immediately out. I tried bread before, they don't want to eat it too, so do i have weird chickens?
@@EnglishCountryLife lol, yes my chickens are weird. They do like mealworm offcourse, they eat that in seconds. And banana they like too, strawberry and tomatoes
@EnglishCountryLife I appreciate the reply. I live in the central part of a city and a rooster came to my house. No one claimed. I considered keeping him but not only is my city very warm, but he would be so lonely. He now lives in Angel's Sanctuary (shelter and no-kill). I fell in love with his magic.
Our girls sleep on my daughter's lap, cuddle with her and follow her around, obeying her all the time. They know their names, recognize commands and just stay around us when free ranging. Consistency, treats and love. Greetings from Cusco, Peru.
Absolutely! You are so right and that's wonderful that you daughter has such a close relationship with her chickens
That’s awesome! Do you have any tips for me getting my chicks to like my son? My son is 6, and our 5 chicks are about 6-7 weeks now. We got them the day after hatching. I would like to add the chicken care too my sons “house blessings” daily list, along with our other animals he feeds. Did you do anything particular with your daughter to help encourage the hens to her? Thank you for any advice. ♥️🙏🏽♥️
@@EnglishCountryLife I would love your input on my above question as well, if you have a moment to spare for me. 🙏🏽♥️
@@jaquirox6579 Hello there. Spending time with them in a little stool, offering food by hand (grains and greens). Using a particular sound for the group and names for the flock as for each one in a special tone of voice. My daughter starts sitting with them, sings and reads out loud to them. Now she just sits and they sit around her. She even scolds the old ones and they are like naughty children caught in the act. Chickens have personalities, like the people they choose to like and make sure you know if they are annoyed. There are special noises they make when happy, scared or angry. Knowing those sounds is basic. Oh, and they love to be scratches under their wattles. By now, if we are eating something and they decide we need ti share, they jump on our lap or shoulder demanding attention. Today Miilie the Silkie and her were doing math together and sharing apples... Oh, boy.
I would give chickens cornbread before giving them white whitebread, but I give mealworms and soldier fly larvae, and corn on the cob when it's cold. I use the cobs as a boredom buster
Ours do love corn in cold weather
Cute Hen ❤
She is
Great video though I must confess that I had a massive head start - our six lovely ladies were raised by Fiona & Hugh. All of them accepted treats from our hands from day 1 and whenever they see us they run straight to where we are. There is a discernible difference in their personalities 3 birds are very adventurous and outgoing whilst the other 3 are more reserved but they all love treats.
Oh that's lovely to hear! We try very hard to make sure buyers get hens that are more likely to spend time with their owners. It was lovely to meet you too and if you're passing, pop in for a cuppa!
Fiona, your channel has the best content! Thank you again for being such a good teacher. I would love to buy one of your girls, but since I live in the USA I will just have to keep admiring them from a far. I just posted a link on my local NH Backyard Chicken Group suggesting people follow you on TH-cam. Thanks again for all you do.
Thank you so much! That's absolutely wonderful and I'm very grateful.
Having "Chicken on the Knee" almost sounds like a Julia Child receipe for a delicious dinner, doesn't it??? 😁Thanks for the great video!! ❤❤❤
We do like a floof cuddle 🤗
All my chickens are super friendly, even my Leghorn. But I have notice the heavy breed tend to be more calm than the lighter breed. BTW, a good news from my hatch, the Orpington chicks my broody hen hatched out 2.5 months ago turns out to be a girl!! So happy, I can keep her. Hopefully she will become a mum next year :)
That's great news. Congratulations!
Great video! We've been sitting out in the evening with the hens and they are very happy to be around us. Your girls really look happy around you. Such a happy group! Cheers Fiona!
I do spend a lot of time with them. Their field is my happy place.
@@EnglishCountryLife It shows! You're the perfect lady at the top of the pecking order!!
Thank you so much!
Ive trained my girls to come to me when I make a loud squeeky kissing sound. Makes it so much easier if I cant find one of them haha!
That's a great idea!
I’m so glad you made this video. I had to remind myself I’ve only had my 3 for 3 days and I was disappointed they didn’t eat out of my hand 😂🤦🏼♀️ Thank you Fiona. They already come up to my feet when I’m sat on the chair and sprinkle the treats on the ground 👍🏼 I must 5:54 adopt patience 🙄
It's much easier when you raise them as chicks. Each day, begin by offering treats from your hand held low. One day they will take them!
worth watching for all the animal lovers and students in general....
That's so kind of you 🙂
Beautiful video.
Thank you
I love your videos with the chickens, they are incredible animals! Thanks for the tips =). Hugs from Brazil!!
I'm so glad that you like them 🙂
I love your channel. Thank you
That's lovely of you 🙂
Great video as always Fiona - excellent tutorial! Our girls love wheat (something we learned from you) and come running whenever they hear the click of the lid of the bin where we store it! We also started making a sound when we fed them treats so now they associate that sound with good times.
Love that! It is about conditioning them to associate treats with sounds, containers etc. I'm really impressed!
@@EnglishCountryLife not sure how impressed you’d be if you heard us “chook-chooking” around the garden - just as well we don’t have close neighbours! 😂
@@geoffanddebshipton6797 If it works I'm impressed! I shout "Floof" for the hens to come to me. That works too!
@@EnglishCountryLife whatever it takes! 😂👌
Another great video with excellent training points. Since I’ve been watching and learning from your videos, I’ve been starting when the chicks are very small and give them small amounts of crushed meal worms so they’re small enough for them to eat. I do this with incubated hatchlings as well as those raised by their brood hen. They learn to come to me and they become easy to pick up. As the birds get older, I mix meal worms/insect larvae with scratch and use a hybrid form of “treating.” In the morning when everyone runs out of the coop to free range, I throw out a few handfuls of scratch with the worms/larvae included for the older birds, and for the younger ones, I’ll take them around the corner from the others and give them their own meal worms. I spend as much time with the chickens as I can, but not everyone has remained easy to handle. My focus tends to be toward the babies (which I’ve had far too many this year) so I don’t get to spend as much time with the older chickens and they grow a bit more distant. However, a handful of treats will bring them back to me.
Thank you again for your excellent content! ❤️
It sounds like you're doing an amazing job! 👏
@@EnglishCountryLife ❤️
I live in the UK and my family buys large bags of mixed corn. I wasn’t aware it raised the core temperature of the birds, thank you for the info! I will definitely be more careful in the summer months. We generally give our chickens corn at the weekends, when we clean them out. The only reason we don’t give them corn during the week is that we’re all very busy and don’t have much time to spend with the chickens.
On a less regular basis, we give the hens any vegetable or fruit scraps we have in the kitchen - they especially love melon, cucumber and grapes! Before giving your chickens any food scraps please check whether it’s safe for the birds, as some things are poisonous and it’s not always the things you expect.
Absolutely right that you should check before feeding anything other than chicken feed pellets to your hens. Good advice.
Just to make you aware that feeding scraps from a kitchen in the UK unless the kitchen is 100% vegan is against the law. If your kitchen os not vegan you can feed scraps if the food doesn't enter the kitchen. So if you dig out cabbage from your vegetable patch and peel the outer leaves on the way to your kitchen, you can give those leaves to the chickens if they never enter the kitchen environment.
This is the page that gives all of the information:
www.gov.uk/guidance/supplying-and-using-animal-by-products-as-farm-animal-feed
All chickens fall under the category "any farm animal species kept as pets, for example sheep or exotic pig breeds" as chickens are regarded as farm animals no matter how they are kept even as pets.
I am sorry but I would rather you had all the information available to you.
@@EnglishCountryLife ah thank you so much!! I had no idea. Will definitely be more careful now 👍
Brilliant! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for this information! I regularly give my chickens corn on the cob stuck into a hole on a brick so it stands up and they can all have a go at it. I didn't know about the obesity and heat issues. Also, I didn't know that mealworms and crickets were proscribed in the UK. My lizards would be put out by that rule!
I'd love to feed mealworms particularly right now with a lot of the chickens moulting and needing extra protein but I can't guarantee that haven't been raised on kitchen waste (the most common way of raising mealworms) which falls under our Animal By Product (ABP) laws in the UK which means we can't legally give them to the chickens.
@@EnglishCountryLife Ah. Thanks for explaining the reasoning behind the law.
Thanks lovely video
Thank you Sonia 👍
Thak you. I'm looking forward to training my new hens. I got them at 14 weeks.
That's a good age, still young enough to learn
Fantastic video!
Thank you very much! That's lovely of you to say
Me encanta la manera que crían gallinas,es una lastima que no esté en español la página.
Muchas Gracias
A hen wandered into our yard, a week ago. We are in Florida, and live in a city. Our yard is 1/4 acre, and has fruit trees, so maybe she thought it looked like a good place to settle in. Starting yesterday, I decided to try giving her some treats. I offered some whole grain bread, in tiny crumbles, and then offered some raw corn and raw green peas. Today, she is following me around the yard. I have no idea how old she is or what kind of chicken she is. We have no enclosure for her and we weren't going to name her because we weren't even sure she wouldn't just leave and go back to her home. Now we're calling her Petunia. I have no idea how to care for a chicken. We have 5 cats, and so we're not so chicken savvy. We're getting attached though. I walked across the street, this morning, and was surprised to see her following me. OH NO! So, I chased her back into the yard, and off the street. I suppose that if she is going to be here, we might as well feed her. What do I feed her, and how often? Thank you. This was a great video to watch!
Hi! There are complete chicken foods called pellets available that would be perfect - available from pet stores & feed merchants like Tractor Supply.
We have a complete series on chicken keeping for beginners that might help
th-cam.com/play/PLDluIIoNPsldJo1GHNzIyHupbMBgQue-p.html
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you. I have a bird vet, because we have a 30 year old parrot. I am going to call his office this morning to ask him what to do. Being in the city, there may not be too many feed stores, though we do have pet stores. Not sure that they would have chicken feed and grit. I'll keep looking. My husband is not willing to build a hen enclosure. We don't really have the room for it, anyway. So, I pray she'll be ok being a free range chicken. She has no comb or wattle yet, so I assume she is a pullet. I'm learning as much as I can. Thank you.
Love you videos - entertaining and very informative. So good from Aus. Agree with your comments on bread - we do give our Wyandottes bread everyday but only a very small amount so it has been OK. Again love all your videos - so well done, thank you
Thanks for watching! That's so kind of you to be so complimentary. Thank you
Thanks for this! Could you do a video (or just message me) on a flock overview. How many hens do you keep? How long do you keep them? How many of your hens usually go broody? How many coops do you have? Do you ever isolate a portion of the flock for breeding or other purposes? Are you able to raise all your own meat? I love your dual purpose setup and am striving to do something similar in the US! I don’t know anyone who has multiple small coops though, everyone usually has one big coop.
Hi, we do have a video which covers our breeding plan and philosophy. If it doesn't answer all of your questions or if you have more, feel free to comment on the video and I'll do my best to help.
th-cam.com/video/JDaMa8FawvM/w-d-xo.html
Thanks
Thank you so much!
Great and informative video! Should I be concerned about some recent guests I had over, their kids kept going up to my 5-6 week old chicks, and very aggressively grabbing them. I kept trying to stop them, but their parents didn’t intervene for discipline so it just continued for the entire visit. My son knows not to force picking them up, and to be calm and still near them, so that’s our house rules. But now I’m just wondering if I should be concerned with the birds possibly being more anti-human because of the kids that tormented them for a couple hours? Or will the birds just forget about it???
Also on the same note, should people force handling them as chicks? In the sense of desensitizing the birds to being picked up? Of course in a gentle and calm way, but nonetheless still forcing them to be held? Or is this passive technique better? Does anyone know?
Thank you for any responses. ♥️🙏🏽♥️
They should get over the fright fairly quickly, although it doesn't help. Gently handling chicks and making sure they get a treat is useful - they learn that only good things happen when a person handles them 🙂
Any tips on introducing new chicks to the old flock? They’re about 4-6 weeks old and have most of their feathers and I have 4 grown ladies (2 buffs, 1 RI Red, and a white Leghorn).
We wouldn't mingle chicks so young with mature hens. We would advise putting fencing between the hens & chicks so that they can see each other but the chicks are safe. We wouldn't remove that fence until the chicks are fully feathered and about 12 weeks so more physically robust.
I used to buy live mealworms and crickets as a treat for my sisters chickens when she decided to raise them for eggs for the family. I love animals and wanted to spoil them but also because I wanted eggs. Needless to say they would come running and calling as soon as they saw me because they associated me with their favorite treats. I would bring them in a plastic container and if I wasn’t quick enough they would jump up and peck at the container trying to get at the contents. I was a great chicken auntie.
It certainly would make you popular.
It's such a shame it's not legal to feed mealworms or crickets to chickens here in the UK otherwise I'd do that too!
Hi. Would you mind explaining why this is illegal please.? 🙂
Love your videos and the chickens are always great to see 🐣. My hens are very tame because they lived in the house with us for a long time. I was still building their coop so they were a few months old by the time the coop was ready. They were quite a handful but they were very used to people being around and handling them. I still notice some are tamer than others. I think it’s just down to their personalities.
Yes, you're absolutely right. Our Orpingtons are by nature quite easy to tame whereas the Crested Cream Legbars are naturally more suspicious and take a bit more time.
Helpful video! I've found that chickens being friendly really depends on the chickens' personality. My friendliest chicken, named Daisy (who is now dead from some sickness I still don't understand), started perching on my shoulders and knees about a week after I got her. Meanwhile, I've been feeding the same treats and giving the same opportunities to come inside the house for weeks to another chicken named Cinnamon, and she's still very skittish. She follows me around with the rest of the flock, but then just takes any snacks from my hand and runs away.
Its' true. Every chicken is different and breeds react differently but the tricks still apply....the just may take a LOT longer with some chickens.
@@EnglishCountryLife I've seen her more friendly than when she came, but I'm unsure if that is the limit of her kindness or not. I have an older hen who has started laying eggs, she too isn't as friendly as little Daisy.
Genuinely with an investment in time, patience, consistency and slow movement you should see results. I wish you luck.
@@EnglishCountryLife Ok thanks for the help and for making this video!
Anytime
I treat my birds to targeted massages. The first step is a single-fingertip rub gently stroking the earpuff.I move on if they're amenable. They love me rubbing their shoulder joints and their wing muscles, and then I do circular finger swirls around each vertebral bulge as I slowly work my way down the spine. I move onto long, firm strokes along their sides from the side of the breast, over the folded wings, and down to the hips, with an upward chiropractic tail pull as a finish. That was how I tamed my chary Deathlayers, whom I'd left alone for the first two months so as not to meddle with their mothering.
You need to video the chicken massage techniques!
@@EnglishCountryLife I learned it from a French TH-camr named papy nounn and added my own spinal technique. If you search "papy nounn massage" that seminal lesson that inspired me is the first video that pops up. I love the thumbnail of the patient hen awaiting the healing hands.
Thank you, very helpful😘 apart from mites, can you think of a reason why I find broken quills in the coop pls ty
There may be all sorts of reasons why there are broken quills. At this time of year it may be moulting so check out the moulting video to see if this is relevant th-cam.com/video/92Bj3M-AVAA/w-d-xo.html
If this isn't the case it could be bullying so check for pecking by other hens. Anti-pecking spray may help.
It might be mites or lice so check for evidence in the coop and on the chickens.
It could also be an irritating skin condition in which case veterinary advice will be needed. If you are concerned at all about the amount of quills you are finding and cannot see and obvious answer please consult your veterinary professional.
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you Fiona x
Anytime
Have you ever experienced sour crop issues. Thank you. I’m new at chickens
We have and we followed the advice from the British Hen Welfare Trust (link below). If you are concerned or unsure, please contact your veterinary professional.
www.bhwt.org.uk/hen-health/health-problems/sour-crop/
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you I love your videos. Two questions. Do you do certain things to prevent your hens from crop issues. And what was the treat you give that is safe for the hens when getting them to come closer. My friend who gardens loves your flowers in the front of your home
Yes very good article. I did take my hen to a vet. I gave her the meds. And sadly she died. I am new at this and just wondering if there was something I may have done. I watch your channel and one other. You are very good and practical.
Hi! The treats we give our chickens are wholewheat grains like these www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007TIJ4XA?ref=exp_englishcountrylife_dp_vv_d
In terms of avoiding crop issues, the key is to keep food moving through the crop so that it doesn't get stuck and go sour or become impacted. The best way to do this is to feed poultry feed pellets as the bulk foodstuffs and supplement with chicken grit. Treats should be just that, treats and given in small amounts. Treats that are closer to their natural diet e.g. grains, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables are much better than bread and healthier for them.
For some chickens they are more prone to crop issues so don't beat yourself up. You are doing your best, have sought veterinary advice and are wanting to learn more to keep them safe. That's responsible chicken keeping.
I'm so sorry you lost your hen.
Hi Fiona, we moved up to the countryside in Lincolnshire last year and we are growing our own veg and as of last weekend we have some chickens which I have already named. We have one buff Orpington which is called buffy. This is the right video for me as I want them to be tame and like me. All your good videos give good advice and I am watching everyone from the beginning as I am a novice. Where is your chicken farm based in lincolnshire and how do you go about buying chickens from you
Hi Beverley, we are South Lincolnshire between Boston & Skegness 🙂. We sell pullets in Autumn ( right now we are in the middle of hatching with broodies, so the chicks will be ready by Autumn)
Really helpful, Fiona, as ever. I don't suppose you have any ducks do you? I'm thinking of expanding my smallholding to include ducks (and possibly quail) and have read contrasting views on whether chickens and ducks can live together.
I'm sorry but we don't have ducks.
I rang a bell every time I fed them. They are free range so I would just need to ring the bell for them to come instead of having to look for them.
Great idea!
This video inspires me to try again. We've raised them from a few days old to today, almost 2 years old, but they still do not care for us to touch them. Last week hub was trying to grab one so we could powder her for mites and she let out a scream worse than a human being, even though he was absolutely gentle as could be, picking her up. We feel we have traumatized them now but the other side says we have spoiled them to the point of no return. Thank you for showing us other ways to gain their trust and try again. Thank you very much from the States. ps edit to add a question, how do you have so much grass with them? Our area is pretty big as well, but void of grass, just wondering if you have a trick for that as well? Cheers!
It just take time and patience and some chickens take to it quickly and others take more time.
With the grass we are lucky with the UK climate that between early spring and late autumn it continually grows. It rarely gets so hot that the grass stops growing. In winter we go down to between 12 and 17 chickens which is a low enough number in such a large space that they can't destroy all of the grass before spring. Does that help at all?
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you, it does help and we appreciate all your knowledge and help. Have a spectacular weekend!
Throw treats each time you see them, then try to handfeed it to them. They will just take the treats and run at first, but after a while, put your hand on your lap so that they have to climb on to take the treats. That's the stage I'm at right now.
@@LeoTheYuty Thank you very much, I will try this and keep at it.
Hi Fiona, my buff Orpington Jacinta is usually very friendly with me and likes to be picked up. She started molting 2 weeks ago and I have noticed she has become very reserved and won’t great me anymore like she usually does. Would that have anything to do with the molting process? Love your videos!
Hi Marge! It very possibly is. Moulting takes a lot out of a chicken and the new pin feathers can be very uncomfortable to the touch as they emerge through the skin. Normally they revert to their usual outgoing nature when moulting is over.
It looks like you’ve got copper marans now? Possibly chocolate and olive layers?
Hi! We currently have a the Orpingtons, Crested Cream Legbars, Welsummers and one Barnevelder. The Barnevelder does look like a Copper Black Marans, the Welsummers lay dark chocolate brown eggs and the Crested Cream Legbars lay blue eggs so you are right.
Thanks for the video, I didn't know I was feeding them illegal food as in mealworms in the UK, oops, is this just the dried ones or fresh or both?, had the 4 rescues for 6 months now and they are so friendly if not overly so fallen over them so many times to avoid standing on them it is literally like the pied piper.
The problem with mealworms is what they are fed on so it applies to whether they are live, dried etc.
Most mealworms are fed on catering waste and catering waste will include animal by products or not be isolated from animal by products so are illegal in the UK. It all came about from the BSE/CJD scandal where protein from sheep infected by scrapie was fed to cattle causing BSE which in turn caused CJD in some humans. It's good to note that due to these rules unless you have an entirely vegan kitchen no food can be given to chickens that have passed through your kitchen. For example if you prepare you vegetable in your veg garden you can give your excess cabbage leaves, carrot tops etc to your chickens but as soon as you remove cabbage leaves or top your carrots in your kitchen then can no longer legally be given to your chickens. Sorry!
@@EnglishCountryLife Hey thanks, I did go and have a look at the web about this, I didn't know, they certainly won't be getting anymore, great vid thanks.
There are a lot of chicken owners in the UK that aren't aware so you were not on your own on this.
This works on cats and dogs too.
Good to know 🙂
I've been giving my chickens plain Greek yogurt too. They seem to like it but aren't sure how to eat it. They chomp on it like it's a bug, and then look like they're drinking it, with their tongue moving around and lifting their head in the air.
Chickens and yoghurt is hilarious to watch particularly when they shake their heads!!!!
If you let milk ferment/clabber into curds and whey, they have a much easier time eating it and will give them the same benefits of yogurt (maybe even more!)
Ps it can be done with store bought/pasteurized milk even though some people say you can't
Thank you for taking the time to make this educational videos.
Some of my chickens peck very fast and aggressively that my palm hurts if I want to hand feed them. Is it ok if I use a glove or is there any other solutions?
It's absolutely OK to use a glove. The only advice I would give is try to use the same gloves each time. They will be suspicious of it at first but will get used to it very quickly. They can be a bit enthusiastic if they are you or there are quite a lot of them.
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you. Yes they are young and many.
It all makes sense now.
Thank you.
Do what they do..let out a loud “ouch,” when they peck too hard, they’re very smart, they’ll catch on. I do that when a little Whiting True Blue goes after the folds in my jeans and picks up my leg too..she understands, and I actually think now she does it on purpose to get that exact reaction from me..
how long a chicken lives?
Up to 8 or even 10 years
Great video.
My Light Sussex hens will eat out of my hand. But one of them is quite aggressive, she pecks really hard and tries to get me to spill the food. How do I get her to stop doing this as it is painful?
It's difficult - we take the hand - and food - away from any rough pecks
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank-you ❗
@@poet.alhashimi You're welcome
The lady who had our hens before us tamed them so much. In fact, if I have bread in my hand and I don't give it to certain ones, they come and bite me (not hard) 😅
No bread for naughty chickens! 😁
@@EnglishCountryLife Lol yeah.
Hi Fiona. I am going to be getting my first chickens in the next few weeks. How tall should the fences be? What should I do with the chickens on the very first day they arrive? I heard that you should keep them in the nesting area until the following day. I don't have existing chickens, so there wouldn't be any chickens to 'show them the ropes'.
Hi James,
It's worth keeping an eye on them for the first 48 hours. Confine them in the coop with food and water until the following day on the day you get them. If you can put a temporary fence keeping them close to the coop for the next 24 hours whilst they learn where home is that's helpful. Keep the food and water neer the coop initially. Electric fences are generally 1m tall. For other fence types taller is better. Hope that helps.
@@EnglishCountryLife Thanks for the advice. I think I will need to invest in an electric fence. The current run is pretty large but in some places the fence is quite low.
Do you sell your Buff Orpingtons to the US?
Sadly not, we only sell on a "buyer collects" basis, sorry
Great video, as always Fiona. I have a question. If we don't raise our hens from chicks, at which stage of their development should we purchase a small flock to be able to train them?
Good question! At any stage of their life the rules are the same. They need to be able to recognise you, see you as a food source, you need to be consistent and patient. They will learn whether young or old. It is true that it may take longer if they are older and have had very little human contact is my advice would be not to look at their age when you buy them, but look at how they have been cared for. Lots of contact with another human will make it easier for you to connect with them than if they have been hatched and raise by a large commercial organisation.
Does that help?
@@EnglishCountryLife Yes, thank you so much! You really set the gold standard in raising and caring for chickens---it's wonderful!
Thank you!
Chickens aren’t dumb, I taught two little bantam hens to play two tunes on a toy piano. Old MacDonald and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
I have seen toy xylophones given to chickens but have never seen them play a tune. Well done if you've achieved that.
Recommend the dried black soldier fly larvae treats..they’re good for the girls too, with a decent amount of calcium. Grubterra in US makes a good product. Mine really love them. Like..really..love..them.. Single F digits I’ve been giving dried organic cracked corn. Even put a small panel heater down low on N wall of coop to push temps just above freezing inside. Personalities are so different, and not consistent. Sometimes a previously shy girl will suddenly climb in your lap for warmth and hugs. Never trying to grab them is very important in building trust. I have several that love to jump in my lap and push their heads under my arms for warmth. Rewarding to develop that trust..
All good advice although in the UK we have very strict rules on animal feed that generally precludes feeding animal or insect products to livestock (a sweeping law passed after animal byproducts fed to cattles caused Mad Cow)
@@EnglishCountryLife yes, I keep forgetting that! It’s too bad..they go nuts for those grubs..and the grubs are raised on restaurant and grocery store/chain coffee/fast food waste, so recycling at its finest..!
@@johncspine2787 Ours eat lots of wild flies, worms, woodlice etc.
You missed an opportunity to name this video: "How To Train Your Dragon: Chicken Edition" :D.
Ours are very friendly though prefer to not be picked up. If you do they settle in, it just isn't their preference. Our entire flock follows me around everywhere, it's adorable. Interacting with them from little on is important with any animal.
Hugh suggested a similar name!!!!
It sounds like you have a great relationship with your chickens
How can I train my roosters to do the dance instead of being aggressive.? They are making only a few of my hens have bare back. I have seperate these hens in another run
Hi Joey, how many roosters do you have (and how many hens are they with)?
@@EnglishCountryLife I have 41 Buff Orpington hens and 3 Cockerel
@@joeypatton1002 Hi Joey, your ratio seems good. We suggest 12 hens to a cockerel as a minimum. Even then we do see feather wear on some hens. We fit these hens with chicken saddles to prevent undue wear. If you have one particularly rough cockerel, drop down to 2, they will tread that number of hens easily & you can simply remove the rough one.
@@EnglishCountryLife Yes ma'am. I will take the aggressive Cockerel out tonight when they go in the roosting coop. Thank you so much for the help and you and your husband are a blessing to us. Debbie and I Love you and your shows
@@joeypatton1002 Thank you 🙂
So I try these things allready for a long time and it seems I always have the same problem. The head chickens don't allow the other chickens to come and eat out of my hand, they get picked on. So I think it has an other result for me. They really want the treat, I use meal worm, but they come and run away as fast as possible if my other head chickens come around. The other chickens are older and know very well what I have with me.
I feed tge older chickens first and leave them with a full Omlet Pecking Toy. I then hide behind one of the shelters at the other side of the field and give treats to the youngsters. It might work for you too.
We cant give dried mealworms in the UK because they are imported from China & not checked for pathogens! Mine love flax seed. Our local Polish shop has it (very healthy for humans too, just sprinkle over cooked meals). They are small so not so easy to overfeed.
@@evelynwoolston7 Whole wheat works for us 🙂
Okay so what if you grow the mealworms yourself and feed them with let’s say dog food? I don’t have any yet but was thinking to get my chickens something to grow on my own. I understand if you buy them from suppliers, they can feed them whatever they want and the worms can pass diseases (as per googled information that I found), but if you grow your own, I don’t see a problem 🤔 PS: I’m outside of the UK :)
If you are outside the UK the laws don't apply 🙂. Some people do breed insect larvae as food, but we don't have any experience of it I'm afraid.
My chicken bites me when it wants to be picked up, and it hurts extremely bad, what should I do to stop it and make the chicken do something else to let me know they want to be picked up
Hi Richard, is it a hen or a cockerel?
Wait….we’re not meant to be able to feed our chickens mealworms here in the UK? 👀
It's illegal to feed animal or insect products to chickens in the UK. Chickens are legally livestock and covered by the animal feeding laws brought in post BSE etc
@@EnglishCountryLife wow all these years I never knew! How do I un-know this information 😅
@@PsycInColour Its part of catch all legislation trying to avoid another Mad Cow type event from feeding creatures meat that shouldn't eat it. Same reason its illegal to feed kitchen scraps ( other than Vegan)
Why is it illegal to feed your chickens those 3 bugs in the UK?
Mad cow disease was found to have been caused by feeding animal materials (animal by products) to livestock. A law was passed banning feeding animal materials to all livestock
I rehomed a cockeral after my old one died. This new one is no gentleman. He rushes out of the coop in the morning to gobble up the food at an alarming rate. Chases and pecks the hens away until he's eaten. Jumps on them without any proper approach so they get scared and run. Once feeding is over the girls do follow him around and stay with him but he seems abit of a bully, anything I can do? He does not go for me.
If he is calm around you, you cannot do much to alter his behaviour to the hens. Some cockerels are gentler than others
I'm just curious. Out of all of the chickens you currently own, do you have a favorite?
We have a soft spot for Frankie because she has such an amazing story
th-cam.com/video/3GDTSKKLFu8/w-d-xo.html
Oh yes, I remember her story well. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but as a Christian, I really think that she is a blessing from God.
This is weird, I gave my chickens corn yesterday, they didn't liked it, took it in the mouth and spit it immediately out. I tried bread before, they don't want to eat it too, so do i have weird chickens?
Honestly, this is the first time I've heard of chickens not liking bread or corn, but every chicken is different.
@@EnglishCountryLife lol, yes my chickens are weird. They do like mealworm offcourse, they eat that in seconds. And banana they like too, strawberry and tomatoes
🐔😁👋
👋
What kind of chicken was she.?
She's a young Buff Orpington.
I was always told there are 3 rules for training any animal - consistency, repetition and bribery!
Very, very true but you do need patience too!
Sure you aren't talking about kids and husbands?
I feed my 4 girls out of hand but I wear a glove because they peck soooo hard. Without the glove I'm afraid they would hurt my hand.
It can be painful if a bird has a sharp beak or nips. Keeping your hand very flat helps avoid nips.
Would a rooster be happy alone to live with a busy human with no other chickens or birds?
No, they are social animals and need to live in flocks
@EnglishCountryLife I appreciate the reply. I live in the central part of a city and a rooster came to my house. No one claimed. I considered keeping him but not only is my city very warm, but he would be so lonely. He now lives in Angel's Sanctuary (shelter and no-kill). I fell in love with his magic.
@@almatoledo1608 That sounds a much better place for him
@@EnglishCountryLife may it be so...!
Why cant we give insects like mealworms to chickens ? ...
I mean they eat insects in the grass ...
The rules were brought in after "Mad Cow Disease" was traced to feeding "animal by products" to cattle
No 🌽 for me thanks 🤨