The Poultry Keeper

ukjamie · Joined: 05 Sep 2008 Posts: 2

Hi everyone

Quick intro , first time poultry keeper

1 warren
1 light utility sussex
1 blackrock

Fully free range and they love my tomatoes (note to self fruit netting next year Very Happy

)

Just a couple of questions , ive been on google for hours but no concrete answers.

Here goes

1, i have 3 hens around 22 weeks i have just taken them off growers and onto layers pellets , the sales assistant told me in the growers there was a vaccine of some sort and that the chicken wouldnt be fit for consumption for a few weeks after they had stopped on that feed, so does that mean that the eggs are also unfit for this period of time.

2, In my rather large coop i have a perch around 40cms off the floor and a shelf around 1 metre . 1 bird roosts on the shelf is this ok or should i replace the shelf with a perch.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

Diane · Joined: 05 Feb 2006 Posts: 276 Location: Dorset

Hello Jamie,

1) The growers pellets may have had an anticoccidiostat in them - although it's usually only in chick crumbs. If you can find out the make of the growers pellets you'll be able to check with the manufacturers, or simply ask the shop keeper to show you the bag and it should state the contents and whether it contains ACS or not. Then you can ask the manufacturer about egg withdrawal period, but as they aren't laying yet then I don't think this is a concern really. Or are they laying?

2) A shelf for them to perch on is fine - but where do the droppings go? If they are pooing on the shelf then it may be best to replace it with a perch with a droppings board underneath. The reason they are sleeping on the shelf is because it is the highest point.

ukjamie · Joined: 05 Sep 2008 Posts: 2

Thanks for the response

2 of my hens have started to lay in the last day and i have returned to the srore who have suggested i leave the eggs for a few weeks as precaution.

As for the shelf i have taken it down and i wont replace it

Again thanks for the help

Just need to teach them to lay in the nesting box and not down the side of the house or on the lawn Smile

CP · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 12:10 pm Post subject:

Try putting a pot egg or even a golf ball in the nestboxes to give them some encouragement! Very Happy

They should get the idea eventually, though some never do & always lay in odd places. Rolling Eyes

Scoop · Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 46 Location: Somerset

I've got warrens and light sussex - the warrens lay in the boxes, the sussex, all bar one, lay in a corner of their run and treat the dummy eggs in the boxes like toys!! Thankfully, they don't peck the real eggs!
Oh, and aren't tomato plant leaves poisonous to hens?? I'm sure I read that somewhere on this forum . . . although I think most chooks have enough sense to go for the tasty part of the plant, not the deadly bit!

jubilee · Joined: 04 Jun 2008 Posts: 125 Location: nottinghamshire

Dixie Chicks · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Posts: 312 Location: South West Cumbria

Sorry to disagree but tomato plants most certainly are poisonous, as are potato plants. Both members of the Solanum family and related to Deadly Nightshade.

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3540 Location: Monmouthshire

I shouldn't worry about the eggs and growers pellets. My layers will pig out on chick crumb (with ACS) if they can get it and since the growers live with the layers, they'll go for that too. I've always eaten the eggs regardless.

Timbo · Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 206 Location: Cranfield, Beds.

Easiest way to know if you can eat the eggs (if you don't feel comfortable) is to call the manufacturer of the food and ask them... Some growers do contain ACS and Antioxidants and usually they advise not to eat the eggs but ask them why this is and whether they had it tested since most manufacturers simply don't bother going through the licensing process to get the 'zero withdrawal period' status and since ACS is normally added to crumbs or growers pellets and birds don't usually lay until they have been switched to layers they probably won't have bothered.

Good Luck

Tim.