I wanted to be the first to post

I have just got my first 5 chooks, young girls who are yet to lay. I am slowlygetting them use to their surroundings so they have not been free ranged yet but they will be very soon. I love them heaps and I think I will be guttered when I lose my first one.

RCC - as I am only just starting out I was just going to suggest dusting them and their enclosure for mites that might be making them itchy?

HotI - I would LOVE to see your over engineered chook house. I am looking for some ideas as DH has agreed to starting the rebuilding phase of the original chook area here on the farm. I was given permission to use the original Clydesdale transoprtation crate, but sadly its a HUGE, HEAVY crate and even if I remove the old timber it would still require a crane or similar to shift it .... something we just don't have.

SO that said I need to re think how I am going to do things and aside from the run would love some ideas on how to build a chook coop that will house quite a few more birds. Would you like to share?? photo's dimensions, materials etc etc????

I have a few Q's.

I have noticed one of the birds has slightly, what looks like blood, stain droppings. These birds have never had grass beneath their feet or to taste so I have put it down to new things aggrivating their system. I cannot tell which bird though and they all seem happy enough.

Also - a few of the birds seem to do a little bit of a cough, thinking they might have a cold. Are there vitamins that can be added to their water to help them recover or is their something I can "whip up"

Also - Scraps, the girls don't seem interested yet in scraps but are there things they SHOULD NOT be fed?

and - I have been covering one section of their run where I keep their feed because its been raining and I don't want their food getting soggy. Do chooks care about soggy food?

Finally - how frequently should I be changing their hay? and what to do with the used stuff as I don't have "garden beds".

Thansk Nae x x