Keeping Chickens Newsletter

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picky chickens will eat out of one bowl or feeder over another. So if you have a couple to try that might also be worth a shot - with yours, perhaps the 'bowl' should be an empty pizza box!

Kerin Taoho : I have 5 week old laying hens. I need to know how old they have to be when you put them outside into their chook pens. I am still using a heat lamp at the moment. Thanks.

My Reply : Chicks normally will have their adult feathers at 5-8 weeks old but they can go out to their adult home whenever you want them to as long as they can be kept warm and safe enough (a mother hen would have them outside pretty much from day one). If you already have adult chickens then you may need to keep the two groups separate until they are of a similar size.

Cherry Taylor : (20th October) Thanks for all the newsletters; it is great reading and interesting to note all the problems that surround keeping hens. You think it would be simple, since people have kept then since the year dot! I have a problem in that my main layer Miss Molly a Rhode Island Red hybrid has taken to laying her hens out of the Eglu's nesting box. I have found two of her laying places and stalk her each morning to watch where she goes! I have had three other chickens that have been broody and who have monopolized the nesting box, would this have put Miss Molly off going in there, would you think? I shut her in the other morning and she went ballistic! She banged about and screeched and in the end I just let her out, as she sounded so distressed. It would be nice for her to lay again the correct place; I am not enjoying wading through the hedges trying to find her lovely eggs which are huge! I have seven hens altogether, with maybe two young cocks, but am not entirely sure about their sex yet. I adore them all and find them very entertaining and great company x

Any help with Miss Molly's problem would be much appreciated, thank you. Cherry x

My Reply : The three broody ones could have put her off using the nest box (they probably would have tried to keep it to themselves at their times of broodiness). It may even be that she herself is turning towards building up her own clutch of eggs to sit on and that is why she has taken to finding other 'secret' places to nest. The usual way to encourage laying in a preferred place is to put false eggs in there (such as ceramic, wooden ones or even golf balls). If she is trying to build up a clutch it may even help

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