The First White Egg

Letting the hens out for their early morning walk around the garden I checked the nesting boxes and there in the right hand box, gleaming white, was a small white egg; it was still warm. Finally, KFC has laid her first white egg.

This made sense because yesterday KFC didn't appear to be herself. She didn't follow the other two around and often just stayed in the run. She also appeared more docile and not running away when approached. She obviously had things on her mind.

The egg had a small hairline crack at the pointy end, so there was only one thing to do. Fried egg on toast for breakfast, yummy! Here's to many more small white eggs.

KFC

KFC, the hybrid White Star, being the lightest and smallest of the three hens seems to delight in perching on anything in the garden including flower pots, garden chairs and even the garden table! In the picture below you can see her standing on the garden chair surveying the back garden.

KFC's other favourite past time is dust baths, and lots of them. At every opportunity she digs out a small shallow hole and snuggles down in the cool earth. Given time she will even go to sleep closing her eyes and dosing in the sun.

She has yet to come into lay and therefore must be two or three weeks younger than the other two who are in full egg production mode. She is also the 'skittish' and often runs, hops and 'flys' away when approached. The closest you can get to her is when she's having her bath, she is the most relaxed then.

Hot Weather

Finally, the hot weather has arrived with temperatures in the high 20's. We have made sure the water is refilled at least twice a day. The hens don't seem to be bothered too much by the hot weather. The coop and run is situated in the shade for most of the day, nestled against the rear fence with the overhanging trees.

Egg production has been good with two eggs per day over the last few days, no new soft shelled eggs. So it looks like the soft shells were just the hen's bodies settling into laying.

We caught Chief Cluck going into the house whilst the other two were roaming the garden. She was sitting down in that 'laying' position. A few minutes later she came out and when the nesting box was checked there was a small dark beige egg. This was a good event, as now we can positively identify which eggs are Cullen and which are Chief Clucks.

We now have enough eggs to fill an egg box. Hopefully, KFC will start producing with her contrasting white eggs.

A Soft Shell Egg

Whilst sitting in the back garden trying to cool down in the early evening sun, one of the hens laid an egg on the patio about two feet from where I was sitting. Unfortunately I didn't see which one laid it.  I went to pick it up and immediately knew it was different from the others that had been laid. As I picked it up, my fingers made a small dent in the shell. It was soft, not all over but at the ends.

I had read that the first pullet egg may be soft-shelled until her system gets into its stride. But persistent soft shell eggs indicate a problem, calcium deficiency. Also a sudden shock (like a sudden downpour of rain, a loud noise or the sight of a predator) can also cause a soft shelled egg to be laid.

I think we just need to monitor the situation for a while and look for any signs of stress or ilness. But hopefully, everything will be fine!

First Eggs

Cleaning the hens out in the morning and I opened the hen house and there it was, tucked up in the corner, on its own; a small beige egg.

Well the day came sooner than expected. We have had the hens less than two weeks and we already have an egg.  Now, who laid the egg? Well it wasn't KFC because she should lay white eggs so it had to be Cullen or Chief Cluck. Looking at the combs, Cullen has the biggest comb, whilst Chief Cluck's is not very developed at all. So the consensus was it was Cullen.

But it didn't stop there! During the day another beige egg was laid in the hen house. So not just one egg, but two. How eggcellent was that!

The fist egg was eaten by Val for breakfast, as a 'dippy egg'. The egg was boiled for 3 minutes, the yoke was a rich yellow colour and it tasted delicious.

Here's to many more.....

The Hens

The Hens have settled in to their new home. They each have their own personality and are very comical to watch. There doesn't seem to be a top hen yet, although KFC is definitely the most 'skitish' and will be at the bottom of the pecking order. Chief Cluck is the boldest but Cullen seems to be dominant.

From top to bottom is: Cullen, Chief Cluck and KFC.

Apple Cider Vinegar

The three pullets have been in their new home now for a few days. They are still a bit 'skittish' and run up the ramp into the hen house everytime somebody approaches the coop. Even when hanging out the washing in the garden sends them into the house; except Cheif Cluck, she seems the most 'chilled' cluck.

Joined a Poultry Forum to ask a few questions regarding settling in new hens. The advice given was to add Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to their water for a few days. This apparently has numerous health benefits and supports the immune system. It is full of vitamins, minerals and trace elements helping to lower the pH level in the stomach and helping digestion. So took a trip back to Thorne's Poultry Centre to get some ACV and added it to their water, about 20ml to litre of water (2%). It didn't smell much like apples but a rather strong vinegar odour.

Their food feeder, which was situated on the ground, always seemed to have at least one dollop of pooh in it every day. So we decided to hang the feeder about five inched from the ground . Used a bamboo rod and looped a brass chain over it to suspend the feeder. The chain seemed too heavy for the bamboo rod so might change it for a strong piece of string, but shall see how it goes.

We are cleaning the droppings tray every day and have cleaned the nesting boxes once and replaced the straw in the run twice, all within four days! Not sure whether we are 'over cleaning' or not but we seem to be going through a lot of straw and sawdust.

First Night

KFC, Cullen and Chief Cluck the three pullets, slept the night without incident. At around six in the morning the hen house door was opened. KFC, the White Star, poked her beak out for a short while but didn't venture any further. Their water and feeder didn't need changing so they were left undisturbed.

All three chickens spent the whole day in the hen house, not wanting to venture out. They obviously felt save and secure huddled together. Around tea time it was time to 'encourage' them outside into the run.  KFC, was nearest the ramp when the side panel door was opened. She bolted down the ramp. Cullen was next out and Chief Cluck, the Bivans Nera didn't want to go out at all.

The droppings tray was cleaned out with new sawdust, although it was only slightly soiled and the wooden perching rungs was cleaned. During the time the droppings tray was out being cleaned all three chickens had jumped or flown back into the hen house through the gap in the floor. They certainly didn't like being outside. Some mixed grit in a small metal dog bowl was added to the run.

After this excitement they were left alone. About an hour later Cullen, made it half way down the ramp,slipping between the rungs and decided to go back in. Shortly, afterwards KFC, ventured out and all the way down the ramp and started feeding. The other two hens then decided they were hungry and joined KFC round the plastic feeder.

For the next few hours they hurriedly fed, drank and explored their new home outside in the run. It was decided to leave them outside until about 8:30 when they were 'encouraged' to go back up the ramp into the hen house for the night.

Well that was their first night and day over. They seemed to be settling in well although they were a bit 'flighty' but that is to be expected after their traumatic trip from the Poultry Centre and being introduced to new surroundings.

Bringing the Chicken's Home

The coop was all built and in-situ. Dust free sawdust was added to the hen house. It was now time to get some chickens. We decided to visit Thorne's Poultry Centre, near Letchworth, Hertfordshire.

We had trouble parking in their car park, as unknown to us there was a talk (“Starting with Chickens”) by Thorne's Chicken Club. There was a middle-aged man (Frank) standing surrounded by about 40 people of all ages, some had notebooks and were eagerly recording his every word.

The poultry centre was well set-up and catered for both the experienced and novice chicken keeper. The staff seemed very knowledgeable and friendly. We had a walk around and saw some of the rare breeds they kept, including Old English Game, Buff Orpingtons, Welsumer and some pure breed bantams including Silkie, Pekin Bantam and Araucanas.

They had quite a few hybrid pullets, including White Star, Rhode Star, Bluebelle, Bovans Nera, Coral, Goldline, Magpie, Maran Cuvree, Skyline, Speckledy and Sussex Line. We decided to get three pullets, although the coop could fit up to five, the additional space would help reduce stress.

There was a good discussion on which hybrid's to get. I chose a White Star, because it would lay pure white eggs, my wife Val and Alicia chose a Rhode Star, which lays a proper rural beige egg. Alfie chose a Bovans Nera, the larger of the three pullets.

Their wings were clipped and placed in a cardboard box to take home. The salesman who selected the birds told us they were about 16 weeks old. They would probably not lay for a further 3 – 5 weeks and should be kept on growers feed for at least 4 weeks.

The pullets had to have names: so here they are:

White Star – KFC

Rhode Star – Cullen

Bivans Nera – Chief Cluck

The birds were transported home in the car. After adding a generous layer of straw to the run and the hen house the three young hens were introduced to their new home. They were very subdued and all cuddled beneath the hen house in the corner. The feeder and water container were filled and they were left alone to get acclimatised. Early evening came and they were encouraged to go into the hen house and the door shut for the night.

Building the Coop

The chicken coop that had been delivered a few days earlier was unpacked. Alicia built the coop, whilst I completed the finishing touches to the slabs. As stated on the website, the only tool you needed was a screwdriver. The instructions were a bit obtuse in places but Alicia managed to put the whole coop together without too much difficulty, except a bruised hand screwing all those screws in place.

I was slightly dissapointed that some of the fittings were rusty in places but on the whole the coop was well made and sturdy. It took two of us to lift the coop into place.

Laying the Slabs

The slabs didn't take very long to lay, a few hours. But a slight mis-calculation in the width meant that some of the tree stumps still needed to be cut further back. The beige colour of the stones slabs fitted well with the garden and the wood colour of the coop.

To add to the different texture for the chickens we decided to replace two square slabs with stones, this would also help with drainage.

The family took a trip to Woodside Farm to look at their poultry centre. They has plenty of point of lay chickens for sale. Their most numerous breed was a hybrid West Sussex chicken and some Rhode Black Rocks.

Whilst we were there we had a look around the farm. They had a few 'spitting' geese, different types of lamas, some small monkeys, chipmunks, a lone otter and a pair of funny looking capybara. They also had a few rare breed chickens, including different bantams types.

One service they provide are coops for peoples chickens when they go on holiday. This might be usefull if we can't get someone to look after our chickens when we go on holiday.

This was my daughter, Alicia, pretending to be a trac'or driver.

Cotswold Stone Slabs

The twelve 450mm x 450mm Cotswold stone slabs arrived as promised. As I was in Paris, on business, my son had the task of moving the slabs from the driveway where they were dropped off by the delivery woman to the back garden. The plan was to use them to provide a flat and easy to clean solid surface to put the chicken coop on.

The dimensions of the chicken coop, purchased from Hen House World was 980mm x 755mm x 1032mm. Thus, six of the slabs doubled side by side should be adequate. The infill from the edge of the slabs to the fence would be done by stones. This would help drainage and prevent weeds from growing in the gap.

Search for a Coop

Finally, removed the last tree stump and tree root. You wouldn't believe the number of thick invasive roots there were from next door's tree. Anyway, all sorted and ground nice and level, awaiting the Cotswold slabs.

That evening started looking at chicken coops on the Internet. Keeping Chickens at home is certainly a growing industry, there are a large number of sites dedicated to the amateur chicken keeper.

Pets at Home had a range of coops from 'Chicken Coop' by Hutch Company to the large 'Poultry Chicken Coop' by Shire. The larger one was only available online. The coops seemed well built.

Omlet sold a range of unique looking coops that have a double walled construction build for insulation ensuring the chickens will be warm in the winter. They were a bit expensive but looked very modern.

Had a look at EBay and there were a few power sellers that were selling very well priced coops. One in particular, from Romney Marsh, was offering free delivery in mainland UK.

Hen House World, a Lancashire outfit, sold a range of very well made coops. Their 'ch-101NT' version seemed to fit the style and shape we were looking for. You could shut the chickens in the indoor hutch by a lever mechanism without opening the enclosure and there was a tray for easy cleaning of droppings. Anything to make life easy. The prices of the coops seemed heavily discounted.

During the day, took a trip over to Frost's Garden Centre near Woburn Sands. They had a complete poultry section with chickens and coops for sale. They had a good range of chicken coops from the starter coop to the equivalent of the chicken stately home, 'The Berkley'. Again the coops were well made and sturdy but a bit expensive.

All their chickens seemed in good health including some Pekin Bantams as well as the large Orpingtons and the smaller Hipswell Ranger. I'm not sure I know the difference between the breeds but the cage labels said they laid between 250 and 300 eggs a year, which seems quite productive.




There were a few other websites selling coops but I settled on the 'ch-101NT' from Hen House World. It seemed to have all the right fittings, and it was the right size for our small area of garden set aside for the coop. Perhaps, more research was required but I was eager to get our small egg production unit up and running. The price was reasonable, so I placed an order. Delivery was within 2-3 working days. The web site said it came in two flat pack boxes and all you need to assemble it is a screwdriver. Well, we shall see!

The Garden

We have a small garden, overshadowed by trees from the neighbours. So it would never be a winning candidate for the Chelsea Flower Show. We have been toying with the idea of keeping chickens for a year or so but done nothing about it. The family had discussed the idea on several occasions but the conversation usually revolved around what we could do with all those eggs that would surely be laid every day.

The June sun was shining, I had a few days off work (half-term) and with great enthusiasm we decided to take the plunge. But where to put the coop?

There had always been a patch of the back garden that had been neglected, overgrown with Ivy and Wild Rose Bushes and this would be the ideal place to put a small coop. That day, with help from my son Alfie, we dug up the old apple tree stump and the rose bush roots. Well it actually took a few days with blisters and aching muscles, mainly my muscles and Alfie's blisters.

Once the vegetation was removed we had to level the ground ready for the paving slabs. We had ordered 12 450x450mm Cotswold slabs from a local Garden Centre, which would be delivered on Monday. So we had the weekend to get the garden ready.

Meanwhile there was great activity in the family. What chickens would we get? How many? How big would they be? What type of Coop to purchase? etc. Many questions but not a lot of answers. First things first, the garden!