We picked up 5 rescue chucks on Saturday, got them from a local 'chicken lady' she gets batch loads of battery birds and keeps them on her small holding for about 4 weeks then sells them on.

They're a bit tatty but not too bad, nothing like the batch load she'd just had in. Ours can walk and don't behave as though they've never seen anything other than bars around them. They are bog standard brown jobs, Warren Hybrids, apparently they are the ones bred for battery because they are good layers and mild mannered.

At the moment they are in our aviary, it's a big one 21ft by 14ft and only has 11 cockatiels, a plum head and an amazon in it.
We're going to build a big run so they can get out on to the lawn for the green stuff.

We've not kept poultry before and I just wondered what I can feed them.? They've got layers pellets, cooked up household veg, worms from the garden and parakeet mix my dippy OH chucked some down and they seem to love that :) I hung a cabbage up for them and a corn on the cob and they've had a few hand fulls of grass.
Any other suggestions?

They'll already think that they've died and gone to heaven compared to what they were used to!  Just make sure that they don't get cold at this time of the year until they've grown new feathers.

I used to do the same except I would mostly be given the ones whose legs were broken as they were dragged out of their cages! :( 

They make great pets and more than pay for their keep with wonderful free range new laid eggs.  I would always be asked for 6 eggs rather than a plant or bottle of wine when visiting family or friends! :)  Oh happy days!  My chickens and ducks are the only things that I miss from my old life. :)  Enjoy them. :)

Mine get layers pellets, poultry corn and any left over bread/ rice/ pasta.  If I give mine too much sloppy stuff, like cooked veg or soggy rice, they get a bit sloppy!  So you might have to watch that, but really most left overs that are dry.  Mine are in a paddock, but if I have to lock them in their pen for any reason, I also give them grass, I think it makes their yolks really lovely and orange.
Have they got something to perch on at night and a couple of boxes for when they start to lay?
Well done and good luck.

Morning Westcoast

They're not in too bad a condition considering what they've been through, they do have quite a bit of feathering, they've still got bald bums and necks and the feathering round the wings is very tatty, the combs are very pale and floppy, the lady we got them from said that as they get healthier the combs should go pinker and stand up more, their beaks are still a bit stumpy from having been trimmed.

I've fancied having chickens for years and I just happened to be moaning to OH about the cost of free range eggs in the supermarket and that they weren't even very good ones and he said 'lets get some then'.

It's nice to see them rolling in dust and generally doing 'chicken stuff' :)

We are thinking about getting some as well :-)

One question I do have is how cats react with them ? My two are very good and prolific hunters and have come back with very big wood pigeons before now so would you think they would look upon them as prey or as fellow pets ?

We've put some Hazel branches lower down in the aviary for them to perch on, it's what we use for the parrot and other birds and I got some fruit boxes from Tesco for nesting in, they've got a corner of the aviary as their sleeping nesting area but they have the run of the whole thing.

Typical of us we get the chucks before we've got the hen house, OH will be building this coming weekend, that should keep him out of my hair for a while :-D

I shall go easy on the cooked veggies as you say.

We had one egg yesterday morning, OH had it poached for breakfast and even though they've only been out of battery for just over a month the egg was already a better colour than the shop bought things. :)

Our chucks will not have total free run of the garden or fields next to us, my problem would be my two young Shelties and maybe my BC, we do have a cat but she doesn't bother with chickens, my neighbour has had them for years roaming around her garden and Pinky has never bothered with them at all. She is also a killer and has come home with a squirrel and on one occasion a moorhen :(

I have two cats, who also like to hunt, but they don't bother the hens at all.  They wonder around them eating the bread, the hens don't mind them either!

my neighbour has chickens roaming free we watched my cat go over the other day but he was more interested in hunting rates and mice around their coup than the chickens - although the chickens were very interested in him !

My mother has kept chickens for years and at one stage owned a 'killer cat' (seriously, she once tried to attack a Weimaraner - she had no fear!) funnily enough she never bothered with the chickens.

Mums chickens are lovely, they are really quite tame and will eat from your hand, they lay several eggs a day and they are a great attraction for my friends with young children, my parents live within walking distance so we often walk down armed with pocketfuls of bread. The dogs like them too - but in a different way I think !!

We had chickens years ago and at night they were locked away in there house with a small run but in the day they were let out, we had anout 15 acres of our own and neighbouring fields and they never went far, the dogs and feral cats never took any notice of them, we had a pony that had a game of try to eliminate the chicken but never managed.
they were easy to go back in there house at night as they knew they would get fed.
We fed corn, bread and any household scraps. We never lost any at all. Although we lost a few ducks by the buzzard as they were not as quick as the chickens it seems.

Congrats on your new chickens, I have kept them for 6 years and really enjoy it.

Try and make sure that layers pellets make up a large proportion of their diet as they are balanced (like complete food for dogs).

You should also ensure that they have access to both soluble and insoluble grit, to aid egg shell production and also digestion.

I was amazed to hear that they are in an aviary with cockatiels etc, do they take much notice of each other?!

Sounds like they have plenty of space in there and are safe from foxes etc too while you sort out their new henhouse.

Edit: my friend had young chickens with her feral cats who are great hunters, but the cats do seem to leave the chickens alone.

Cheers
Alex

Hi Louisdog

What's soluble and insoluble grit, I mean I know what soluble and insoluble are but what grits do you mean? As they're in an aviary there's oyster shell grit in the aviary all the time for the parrot types anyway, but I have been slow roasting washed egg shells and grinding them  up as well for the chooks. We're feeding them layers pellets, mash, poultry corn, cooked veggies, grass and they're pinching the banana and apple that's in there for the parrot-types.

There's no problem between the avairy birds and the chooks infact it's not uncommon for bird keepers to run fowl on their avairy floors, lots do it with Chinese Painted Quail and some of the fancy phesants.

If there was going to be a problem it would be with the Amazon parrot but ours is a very laid back ex cage rescue bird and has been with the other parakeets for so long now it actually thinks it's a cockatiel, it no longer makes the typical parrot shriek but shouts and sings like a very loud cockatiel, when it's not barking like a GR :-D and our male plumhead has a species confusion because he's paired up with her.

It would take a pretty strong fox to get into the aviary, it's on a 1ft thick concrete base with a double layer breeze block wall then and 6ft high flight with 2'x4' timbers, it's a standing joke with our friends that it's so bloomin big it should have it's own address, it's a man thing ;)

I think it's OH's intention to build a run on from the avairy so that at night they will stay in there and in the day they can go into the run, I'm not quite sure yet how he's going to do this unless he plans to train them to go through some sort of cat flap type door :-p

we shall see!!

Hi Pinky

I get confused with the grit, I think oystershell is soluble and is the one for good eggshells, and grey insoluble grit is the one you need for them to grind food in their gizzards (since they have no teeth). You can buy the insoluble grey grit in petshops for about £3 I think.

Interesting to hear about the aviary birds getting on with the chooks, I have wondered about seeing up a small aviary for some little bantams and also budgies or canaries and finches, and quail, but didn't know how they'd get on. Your aviary is huge compared to what I had in mind though.

Yes your aviary sounds ideal fox-wise, I keep my chooks in similar thing for those reasons (having had major fox probs first :( )

Not sure what your chooks are sleeping in/on but they might like a box with perches in, about a foot or more off the ground, which they access with a ramp, so they feel all safe and tucked up at night, away from draughts. If you do provide a box like that, they will probably go in there at dusk from the run your OH builds, as they like to put themselves away at night. Also if they are living on a hard substrate like concrete they will really appreciate a dustbath, you can provide them with a cat litter tray or trug with soil or sawdust etc in and they will love it.

What do parakeets do at night, do they roost outdoors if it is not cold? I see aviaries with night quarters but wasn't sure if people tended to close them up at night or not?

Hope your chooks are still doing well and laying some more eggs for you!

Cheers
Alex

I love Hens, there excellent pets, we always had ex battery's and loved to see them scraping and chucking to themselves in the fresh air, and sunbathing in the earth, and the fresh eggs were a bonus, ours had mixed corn, layer's pellets, grit, crushed shell, grass, scrap's, worms were the favourite, my mum would dig worms up for them!
They wondered across the road into the fields and had a great time, then I would shout on them to put them into there house, we have alot of foxes around!

Hello Alex

I think the insoluble one must be what my OH calls large grit, we've had aviary birds for over 15 yrs and used to breed a lot so I know the oyster shell helps with egg shell strength and cuttle fish too, we used to get through tonnes of both when breeding.

You could easily have a small avairy and run quail or bantams on the floor, canaries and finches would be fine with them and you get to have quail/bantam eggs with your summer salads. My neighbour does this. Budgies would be OK although they could be a little agressive with cockatiel in as well especially in the breeding season and more so if you put nesting boxes up.

Our aviary is very high and has a felt roof, it has eaves and wind protection boards so that is where all of the birds roost up in the eaves, we're lucky that our garden is south facing so they don't get too much weather problem. When the weather is really cold OH has some screens that he puts up on the westerly side to stop wind and rain going into it.

The chooks have a 4ft square shelter in the corner with perching and nest pans but it's only a temporary job and a proper roost is going to be built over this next weekend. Good suggestion on the litter tray, I dug and riddled some earth mixed it with compost and put it in there this evening, will have to see what they do with it.

We've had 5 eggs so far, which I think is not bad considering that they only arrived here on Saturday at about 4 in the afternoon, their combs are already looking pinker and there's lots of chickeny noises going on.

The parrot had some banana earlier and dropped it, one of the chooks was on it in a second and gobbled it all up so I hope fruit isn't bad for them cos there's apple pear and banana in the avairy. The parrot is partial to the odd piece of cheese or bit of cooked chicken  :(  but shush don't tell the chooks.

thr grit to buy is called mixed poultry grit from feed merchent.
thats got soluable grit-for calcium to make egg shell/bones in it . generally oystershell and simialar plus insoluable grit to help the bird grind up its food due to lack of teeth-insoluable is usually flint grit.

you just pop the mixed grit in a pot in corner and they will take what the need as and when. you get huge bag for aout £5 and it lasts years :)

hope you are enjoying your new chooks

Hiya Pinky

Thanks for your comments on aviaries, I will think about it. Can you keep birds in aviaries without them breeding or is that cruel? How do you stop them? I don't want to be overrun!

Your aviary sounds lovely, really well designed. Hope the chooks enjoy the litter tray with soil in. Re th efruit, I think it's good for them, I give mine apples and stuff. People recommend hanging a cabbage up for them to peck at to keep them entertained as well. For Christmas I gave mine a small granary loaf which they enjoyed! Cheese also is good in moderation as a treat (they reckon too much stuff like that unbalances their diet and reduced egg yield).

Cheers
Alex

Hi Louisdog

Yes you can keep birds and not have them breed and no it's not cruel, they don't need to breed for their wellbeing. Don't put up nest boxes, pans etc and they won't breed, they may 'vent' birdie rumpy pumpy as OH calls it and the hens may drop eggs but no chicks with out nest boxes.

This does not apply to any of the dove family they will nest on a stick cos they're a bit dumb.

Thanks Pinky. Would you remove any eggs if you do not want chicks then? Would you eat them?! With chickens you remove eggs even if fertile and they will not feel broody, or if they do, they soon get fed up of it, so it does not seem too cruel.

I was reading on a guinea pig breeder's website that she keeps bantams, guinea pigs and quail all in the same shed and aviary flight which I had never heard of before.

I have ordered a David Alderton (sp?) book on finches from Amazon, hopefully it will tell me all about aviaries and stuff.

I am jealous of your parrot and cockatiels, they have so much character don't they. My friend at school (years ago now!) had a fab cockatiel who was so clever and tame.

Cheers
Alex

Hi Alex

Yes we've always taken away any eggs that may have been laid if we are not breeding, but to be honest you don't generally get a problem as the hens will just drop them, so they get smashed on the floor, without nest boxes though parakeets/parrots are less likely to lay anyway.

Yes I have eaten a cockatiel egg, they're only the size of a marble so more trouble than they're worth.

I used to breed guinea's and personally I wouldn't run guineas in an aviary, they can be a little nervous with all of the flapping.

We've hand reared cockatiels in the past for friends that have wanted very tame birds, our parrot was a cage bird that we rescued he was in a very bad state from self plucking.
His cage was so small he couldn't even open his wings and he had no mental stimulation at all. It took some time to get him to adjust to avairy life, luckily we got him in the late spring so the weather was warm enough for him to get acclimatised and build his stamina.

We started by just putting the cage into the avairy with the door open it tooks several weeks before he would come out. Now he, well she actually is beautifully feather and a very steady bird.

Enjoy your book when it arrives.

Interesting that you have tried cockatiel egg, I guess it must be even smaller than quails eggs! Hand reared cockatiels must be amazing!

Lucky you breeding guineas, from the pics the babies look gorgeous, I am so jealous! My three have their own indoor cage and outdoor house and run so I will not need to mix them with birds, sounded interesting but I would worry that bantams would peck their eyes as well (not to be mean, just cos they think it's a beetle or something!) By the way, do you think I can introduce a baby sow to my existing 2 sows and neutered boar without too much trouble?

Your parrot sounds very lucky to have found you. His life is transformed from how it was. Do you personally disagree with keeping any birds in cages? Just curious, I don't have cage birds or have an opinion but wondered what an aviary owner would think.

Hope your hens are still doing well, have you tried giving them canned sweetcorn, I sometimes give them some as a treat, they also seem to like leftover cooked spuds and also cake.

Cheers
Alex

Do your 2 sows and neutered boar all live together in the same cage? Is the baby one of the sows babies or one that you bought in?

I didn't used to have a lot of trouble either leaving baby sows with their mums or putting new baby girls in. I always moved the baby boys out by 3 weeks of age or they start rumpy pumpy with sisters and mother :eek

I would usually have a couple of sows together with their babies anyway, the boar if neutered there shouldn't be a problem the girls always put them in their place anyway.

Rub the baby over with some of the dirty litter from the cage that the boy and girl live in, and put an extra food bowl in so that there's no competition for feeding.

Personally I prefer to see birds in a large avairy rather than cages, having said that a couple of our cockatiels started life as our own caged birds and the avairy thing started when we wanted them to have some fresh air and sun in the summer. Although I do realise that many a cage bird lives a happy life with a good owner.

Even though we have hand reared for household pets, we have always insisted that the prospective owners has 2 birds so that in the abscence of the human the birds still have company and do at least realise that they are birds, we used to pair male and female for a happy medium.

The chooks will have defrosted sweetcorn, we feed it to the avairy birds anyway as it helps keep the vitamin A levels up.

Hi Pinky

Yes my two sows and neutered fellow live together very happily, I just yearn for another member for the herd, haven't got one yet though. So it would be an unrelated young sow. They are about to move out into their summer home so I thought that might be a good time to introduce them all, but haven't decided anything yet. Thanks for the tip re rubbing the litter on the baby.

Thanks for your comments on birds, I feel like I have learned a lot. Sorry to hijack your chicken thread :)

Cheers
Alex