Chickens

[Nonsuch]

I'm thinking of getting my wife some chickens for her birthday - a back garden set up with an enclosed run. Probably 3-4 birds. Any tips / tricks / advice from experts? If you go away, how long can you leave them?

Thanks in advance

 

[Ogri the trog]

The larger you can make the run, the longer they will take to destroy it, but they certainly will, given enough time. When you first get them, shut them into the coop for a day or two so they know where safe refuge is! If you only fence a low enclosure, you may need to clip their wings (one wing only, primary flight feathers to stop them flapping up onto the fence and down either into your garden or off into the wilds. The eggs from them have to be experienced, there is simply no comparrison that can be bought in a supermarket no matter how they have been labelled - and the first "warm" egg you find will be a supprise.

You'll be able to leave them as long as they have food and water, but it is far better to have someone visit refularly to do that and to collect the eggs - otherwise you find pecked eggs and an unholy mess on your return.

Even old battery hens should be capable of laying 270 - 300 eggs per year, with premium breed higher than that if you use an artificial light source during the winter months (check out Roosterbooster.co.uk or similar).

They will each develop personality traits, but its sometimes best not to get too attached as you will suffer losses!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Bushwhacker]

You can tell which ones are laying and which aren't by holding them by the legs and if you can lay 2 or 3 fingers flat between the pelvis bones, they're most like laying or are nearly ready to lay.

 

[Nonsuch]

Thanks for the advice guys - I am thinking about a fully enclosed coop and run, bought as a complete kit.
something like this http://www.aamcintyrepoultry.co.uk/poultry-starter-package-a.html.

Any further advice much appreciated - I know naaarfing!

 

[bmartin1uk]

Fresh eggs are great, but man they are a pain in the ****. Brooding, fighting, lack of eggs for the smallest of reasons, red mite and foxes! Gave them up in the end. I do miss the eggs though

 

[Ogri the trog]

I don't suppose thats a bad price for everything listed. With the added advantage that you can move it to a new patch when the ground becomes pecked bare.

Ogri the trog

 

[Suffolksteve]

Hi Nonsuch,

I wouldn't call myself an expert but I have kept chickens for over a year. Before you take the plunge do some research, lots of research.

I found the forum below was great when it came to all things growing and chickens.

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/

As with any hobby, you can make it as expensive or a cheap as you want. There is no way I would pay that much for a house and run, I converted an old childrens play shed into the house and made a run out of cheap materials. I think their total housing costs were around £50. I paid £2 per bird (ex batts) and we got 8 but the eggs were being shared between 2 families and a single lady.

With ex batts, even with a lot of care you will lose some birds as ogri the trog says. When it comes to making a run it will mainly be to focus on keeping foxes out, so either dig it about a foot deep or build a skirt round it. The main thing I found with the run is the ground became covered in chicken mess pretty quickly so the ability to move it around would/should be considered.

As for leaving them, you can leave them but it is recommended that someone should come and lock them up at night and let them out in the morning which can be a chore but if you have good neighbours free eggs certainly could swing it.

There was another post on here from a while ago you may find interesting

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58432&p=709878&highlight=#post709878

Any questions please feel free to ask.

Steve

 

[Hugo]

If you could take time out to make your own it will save you half that money.
Nice gesture on your behalf getting your wife such a nice present.

 

[JohnC]

We have 3 hens, one old one that lays very occasionally, and just trots around.. the other 2 are young and just starting to lay, we built a hutch a couple of years ago, its needing a bit on repair now, and we're thinking of making a smaller hutch with a larger run. During the day, they run around in the garden, if we're about. The veg plot needed fencing off... We've only had a little trouple with foxes, and once a neighbors ferret...

 

[Bodge]

Thanks for the advice guys - I am thinking about a fully enclosed coop and run, bought as a complete kit.
something like this http://www.aamcintyrepoultry.co.uk/poultry-starter-package-a.html.

Any further advice much appreciated - I know naaarfing!

We have had ours for almost 2 years. I got one of these houses http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Chicken-Coop-...t=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item43a803e91b for about £90.
Although the setup you are looking at is probably designed for 3-4 chickens as is the one in my link I quickly decided to extend our run to over double the floorspace as they destroy everything in their path and I wanted them to have grass to scratch around in.

Yes that was my lawn.
you will notice that the coop door is open to allow them to wander around the garden. I made some panels out of 38mmx25mm roof lathes and chicken wire. The panels measure 1.8m high and 2.5m wide and are hinged in pairs (3 pairs in total). The timber is 30p a metre and the wire cost me about £25 (£70 for the full roll of which I have loads left). With these panels I can change the shape, size and position of the run to allow the grass to recover and only shut them in at night. The extension cost about £30 in total including the bitumen board roof from Wickes (£12 ish). This part is fitted with cabin hooks top and bottom each side and I removed the end panel to allow free passage between the coop and extension.

Get a book like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keeping-Pet-Chickens-Johannes-Paul/dp/1842861034 for loads of info.

The coops that you buy won't last over 3-4 years imo as every time you move them bits fall off and I have had to brace mine to strengthen it all up. I also added a bitumen board roof to the main coop as the felt started to lift and the edges of the plywood below started to split.

Overall though it is great fun and they keep Adam (age 9) amused for hours, we often find him sitting in the enclosure with a couple on his knee teasing them with spinach leaves or a juicy worm.

I hope this helps and has not put you off. I have no joinery skills and borrowed a chop saw to make the enclosure fencing and have a Stanley heavy duty staple gun to attach the chicken wire.

Give me a shout for any more info or piccys.

 

[FGYT]

Making your own house can be expensive to i bought a house of Ebay new imported was a lot cheaper than buying the wood to make one

we have 7 hybrid layers and use a Electric net as a Fence the odd one gets out now and again but the fence is there to stop foxes getting in not chickens getting out

even with 36 ft x 30ft of space and the grass starting at 6" high and during a good growing time they have scratched out most of the grass in a few weeks
im probably going to restrict the run a lot more in the winter and might make up some Net and frames to cover areas of the grass to let it grow up and rotate the covers

remember the smaller an area they have the more you need to entertain them etc ours are lucky in that they have a tree to climb and lots of area to scratch about in and make dust baths etc the house is raised up so they have shelter and it also covers the food and i chuck in tree limbs ive cut back and old logs to give more areas to find Grubs and insects etc

I also use Shredded paper as bedding. Chickens produce most of their Poo at night which if you grow your own is a useful stuff when cleaned out it goes on the compsot heap (usually clear out the lumps once a week and add a bit more paper in then a full clean out and replace every 2-3weeks )
gets rid of all the confidential paper work and junk mail

as said you can leave them as long as they have water and food and if you can ensure they are secure from Foxes if you cant shut them in the house at night

I have found the Gold Cockerel books to be good and have a few they arnt expensive the basic one covers several ways of keeping them hosed depending on how much space you have

http://goldcockerelbooks.co.uk/gold/index.php/21st-century-poultry-breeding-1.html



If you buy Ex battery hens etc or even some from Free range systems at 1yr- 2yrs old ish they you wont Lay for several months as they will have entered their moulting cycle (this is why the commercial guys get rid of them its not worth feeding a chicken for 3 mths for no eggs its cheaper to replace them )

ATB

Duncan

 

[Magentus]

I'd echo what someone above said; Do your homework first. We have had our chickens for about a year; When all is going well they are fantastic - lovely fresh eggs every day. But they are not an easy animal to keep if you do it properly. They are susceptible to many many (many) diseases and illnesses and it's best to keep a small medicine box for the many (many) occasions they need rescuing. They also need cleaning out regularly and thoroughly and I would recommend being around to put them to bed safely every night to keep them safe from foxes and rats.

I'd recommend this forum; http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/

As with this site the people are very helpful and friendly and can answer most of your questions, or point you in the right direction.

We decided before we got ours that we wouldn't take them to the vets as the cost is massive compared to the amount you save on eggs. It depends on why you're keeping them though.

One of ours died a couple of weeks ago (thankfully it died before we drew straws to see which one of us had to put it out of it's misery) and it was very sad - they all have different personalities, and try as I did, it's difficult to not to attach emotions to them when you've only got a few of them.

It's a steep learning curve and very rewarding on the whole, but it does (in my opinion) require a lot of work and commitment.

If you've got any other questions etc please feel free to pm me and I'll help if I can.

Let us all know what you decide,

Cheers, Magentus

 

[Magentus]

BTW nice set up Duncan. Are they blue Austrolorps you have there?

Magentus

 

[Nonsuch]

Great advice thanks guys

 

[FGYT]

BTW nice set up Duncan. Are they blue Austrolorps you have there?

Magentus

no they are all Hybid layers tho i chose pretty coloured ones not the usual red/brown

there are 2 Sussex Star 2 Bluebelle 2 Speckledy and 1 Bovans Nera

all from Here just up the road and nice people to deal with
http://www.chalkhillpoultry.co.uk/hybrids.html

Next is some Laying ducks to go on the pond we have doing nothing useful

we will get Cherry valley which is a Domestic duck and lays an egg a day

ATB

Duncan

 

[tomongoose]

I would go with a coop that is off the ground with a slated floor as it is less likely to attract vermin and is easier to clean

 

[greensurfingbear]

make sure your enclosure is fox proof.......lost my three hens to the local fox.....

 

[vizsla]

shame your not closer to me iv got two a year old you could have

 

[locum76]

Agree with all of the above except....



... get sultans, you're not needing commercial laying hybrids, you need birds that lay eggs and look good.

 

[satosato]

I grew up in a 'farm house' where my granny kept around 50 free range chickens year in year out, few ducks, few turkeys, a dozen rabbits in our back garden (around one acre land), plenty of fresh water (everyday), fresh feeds (dried corn) and you will be fine, don't forget to watch out for abnormality of behaviour. We didn't need alarm clock then .