General Chat

Eldest has been on at me now for over a year..........asking for chickens for her birthday. I hoped she'd go off the idea but she's still adamant she wants them.......so I am giving it serious consideraton.

I've read a few articles about keeping chickens online and it all seems pretty straightforward. Any handy tips or advice for me please? xx

i want some and dog said i can but i wouldnt no the first thing lol i just want the fresh eggs lmao

LOL Stray. I don't mind her having any animals as long as we can give them a good life and look after them properly. The eggs are a tempting added extra I must admit lol. I had chickens as a very small child and I know bits and pieces about them but would like to know a bit more before I commit xx

do you like foxes?

:-)

We don't get them here Eldrick.......I think the scent of my dogs keeps them away. My Rabbits and Guinea Pigs have certainly not been hassled by any in the four years we've been here xx

we have foxes

so thats my idea for fresh eggs out the wondow "tuts

My sister keeps chickens..lovely fresh eggs..YUM!

:)

Chickens last about 3 minutes here, and we really try hard to keep the fox population down.

I had 11 guinea fowl 3 months ago, bought at auction. I now have 1. About a week ago I found the remains of th elast hen on my lawn - I know the poor things had taken to roosting in the garden for safety.

In the same period, we have dispensed with 23 foxes and the neighbouring estate over 30.

So you might think you haven't got any - but when you get your chickens, they will be queuing up with their napkins and knives and forks.....

:-)

mmmmmmm that is a worry. Will it help if I lock them away in their house at night ? xx

Thats what our neighbors do, but if you dont get them all in.....or if there is any possible way for a fox to get in, it will. It's amazing the gap they can get through.

I think the rate of attrition will be a lot lower if they are locked up at night.......as opposed to being in a sort of compound, which a lot of people try. It's just a bind in the winter months :-(

hi

We got 4 chickens in february, they are very easy to
keep, feed Layers Pellets & fresh water daily.
Clean straw out once a week. Its costs us about £1 a week for the 4.
They lay eggs from round 22 weeks of age depending on the breed.
Great fun to watch & if handled reguarly make great pets, no different to having a rabbit or guinea pig.

sandra

Hi Muffy, I've had chickens since March, I bought 6 to start with, hubby made the hen house and run for them, although now they have taken over a large part of my garden, they absolutely ruin your lawn so if you dn't mind a piece ruined then thats ok lol
I have 1 ISA Warren 2 Bovan Nera and 2 Maran Cuirvee, I picked the warren because they are good egg layers, the others I picked because I wanted hardy hens without the likely hood of them getting sick, I did have a 1 Blue Belle/Haze, I made a massive mistake with her and she died, I gave my hens some lawn mowings to scratch about in, little did I know she would gorge on them and give herself sour crop, she died from this, I tried everything i could to make her well but failed.

On the bright side, they are easy to keep, i feed mine organic layers pellets which they have in a hopper to feed on when they want and organic corn mix in the afternoon to scratch about in. I also wet down some layers pellets in late afternoon and add some chicken spice to enhance egg laying and to help them during there moulting time.
you should always have grit for them, mine have it at hand in a grit hopper, they need this to help digest there food.
I get 5 eggs per day, I lock mine in at night and let them out early, usually about 6.am, they go to bed on there own at about 8.45 at the moment.
I haven't got a cockerel as I don't want a noisy cock crowing and waking the neighbours.
I let my hens roam free in the afternoon or early evening, they enjoy raking my roses out lol
don't give too much lettuce or they get the trots, they love snails and slugs, and I occasionally turn my compost over and chuck a couple of fork loads into the run for them to get the worms and bugs.
I chose Hybrid hens and not pedigree as I was advised that Hybrids were a healthier hen.
Nesting boxes have straw in and the floor of the hen house has shavings, I hand pick the poo out and add it to my compost, i bin the majority of the shavings as they don't all rot down quickly. scrub your perches weekly with jeyes fluid in a bucket of water, I also spray my hen house with the spray bottle of jeyes, keep them clean, you'll have hours of fun and happy hens..

Keep handling them, they make great pets. and the eggs are fantastic


Have fun with your girls, I don't know how many you want?


Gillie XX

My collie is VERY good at rounding up all different sorts of animals !!!!..........I'll put her to work. I don't mind the hassle of it Eldrick to be honest. I'd rather spend five mins shooing them in than be faced with no chickens in the morning lol xx

Forgot to say, bought the coop & run on ebay from albany pets reasonable prices buy it now or auction.

Thanks Gillie and Sandra. I'm noting everything down. Great advice ta. I've decided against the Cockerel as well lol.

I'm thinking of just a couple to begin with and see how we go from there? xx

I like chicken and egg's but....I wouldnt like them living near me.
Years ago we were on holiday in Majorca. Just over from our hotel there were chickens. The smell was disgusting and I could have pulled the cock's neck early in the morning lol.

As well as foxes,do they not encourage rats?

Marion

The plus side is definetely fresh eggs - far better by millions of miles than the shop bought 'free range' ones.

And they definetely have character! I wish I could keep them, but just dont have the time in the winter to devote to them.

Hi Marion. I don't remember my chickens ever smelling . I think as long as they are cleaned out regularly there shouldn't be any more odour than a rabbit or Guinea Pig makes?.

We DO get rats at certain times of year here already because of the rabbits **we live next door to a huge field too !!! which doesn't help........ but they are dealt with lol xx

I dont know where you are Muffy but look for local breeders, make sure your hens you buy have had vaccines, when you go and look for hens, which the breeder shouldn't mind you doing, make sure they are clean and there sheds they keep them in are clean, you'll know if a hens healthy by looking at some breeds on the net, not moth eaten or bald in any way, that way they should stay healthy.
I bought mine from the Dorking area in Surrey. I have my food delivered free as it is from a company not 5 miles from me. they do deliver all over the country.

I've not had a problem with rats, I rake there run most evenings and spray it about once a week with a hose, my hen house is up on blocks, and every so often I dig over the run to keep it fresh.


Gillie XX

Hi Gillie

I live in Cambridgeshire and it's a friend of a friend who has them.......I'm going on Monday to have a look around at them before I give a definate answer so if they look dodgy I'll just walk away and go somewhere else.

There is a place about 5 mins from my daughters school that does the feed and the accessories so that shouldn't be a problem either. xx