Does anyone keep chickens in East Belfast?!

SuperMum2008

I still hanker for the good life! But I live in suburbia - East Belfast to be precise. So does anyone else live in this area and keep chickens in their back gardens?? If so, I have 101 questions but to start with:

1. are the neighbours still speaking to you?
2. are they smelly/noisy/rat infested as my friends imply they will be?
3. How much space would I need to do the same?
4.What happens when you go on holiday?
5. Will my cats bother them? (They are all old cats and not interested in much except baked bean juice and ham - LOL!)
6. Where would I get them from in the first place.

Phew - that should do for starters. Would just love fresh eggs every once in a while!

Thankyou!:o

happymummy24-7

:They supermum.....super question,lol.ive been thinking the same for a while now being a follower of the OS board but people keep telling me im crazy! i heard the poo is easily cleaned up once a day and is great at making the compost heap rot down quicker. Id love to give it a go so i will watch this thread with great interest!hope some replies come along soon!

bingo_bango

My mother has chickens out the back of the house. She has a quite large garden, but the chickens stay in the run pretty much all the time (they fly across the main road in front of cars :rolleyes:).

She has 6 chickens, They have a shed (8ft x 4ft) which they use as a roost, but you could get away with half that size. Half a dozen fence posts and some chicken wire make up the run, which is about 30ft long, and again 4ft wide. You could again get away with less than this. You will need to have a board running along the bottom of the wire so that foxes can't dig their way in. From what I can gather, Ebay and other online sites are better value for wire than B&Q etc, but always shop around! (try Amazon, free delivery if over £5). You'll need 1" and it will need to be approx 2m tall. You might want to get 1m and run 2 lengths of it.
There isn't actually that much of a smell, and they're quite easy to clean out. You need to remember that you will have fresh eggs every morning, so plan for that, as you'll need to collect them (neighbours to take eggs while you're away?).
You can buy a few chicks quite cheaply. Half a dozen will cost you about £5 or so. Most chicken farmers will happily sell you a few as they get ~10000 delivered at a time.

Willyk

The information on here may be of use.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/guide.php?view=Chickens

This was on the news last week. It is the biggest hen rescue attempted and they are giving away 11000 so you could try them:

http://littlehenrescue.co.uk/adopt.aspx

They said they had centers all over the UK, but this may not include NI. I also live in East Belfast so will be listening out for you ! Good Luck.

My Uncle used to keep hens, but he also had ducks. If you have never had a duck egg, they are great. Massive big yolks.

natasha8642

Hi
I live in the country but recently gave my aunt 3 banties(sp?) and she lives in a housing estate with a medium size garden. So this is what she says

1. are the neighbours still speaking to you? YES, they think the birds are cute
2. are they smelly/noisy/rat infested as my friends imply they will be? They are none of these although you do have to clean out their house and provide them with saw dust so they can have their dust baths.
3. How much space would I need to do the same? The hens live in a large cat house (rabbit house) but have the garden to wander around during the day.
4.What happens when you go on holiday? Neighbours come around to feed the birds and get the eggs in return.
5. Will my cats bother them? (They are all old cats and not interested in much except baked bean juice and ham - LOL!) No. You would have to watch out if you got chicks however.
6. Where would I get them from in the first place? Markets and such. We started out with 4 banties and now there an army of them going around. One hen has just hatched 7, another 2 are sitting. I would not recommend you get a rooster however, they are really noisy. If you are near Craigavon Tannaghmore Gardens sometimes offer poultry (they did this with me thought I didn't take it)

Let me know if you need anymore information. If you find it hard to locate hens then let me know.

All the best,
Natasha.

Ps. Kids love hens. We have one hen that walks up to my son to get picked up and petted.

Willyk

About 20 years we bought a chicken from a farmer in the Gilnahirk hills (battery hen type place) and gave it to one of my mates for his 21st birthday. Something different anyway! We called her Agnes and she lived in our flat with us for a couple of weeks. We had a little house in the back yard for her. She used to hop onto the window and peck the window to come in. She was great fun. Anyway we decided she needed some company so we gave her to a friend' parents who had a large house and garden in Comber. That was when the real fun started ! She was so tame she used to walk in and out of their house and peck the window if she could not get in. They also had 2 other chickens and a dog. The 2 chickens were safe enough but she used to chase the dog. She also went into their neighbour's houses. She lived for a couple of years, had a great life and was a great pet.

I would love to get some chickens, but with a dog, 3 snakes, 2 toads, 3 gerbils and a load of crickets I think we have enough !

SuperMum2008

Thanks for all your answers...still have to convince husband though! (Especially as he would have to build the hen house!) Do McKees keep hens up on Craigantlet? Might take a run up there this weekend to see...

Artytarty

Streamvale keep them I believe, SuperMum
.
Good luck, I have often thought of the same but I dont think I could wring a chicken/hens neck if it needed to be done. They get "laid out" dont they? and they dont have a very long lifespan at any rate
Arty.

SuperMum2008

THanks Arty - will maybe take a look there too....Im sure they might let me in for a free chicken cuddle!! They live for 4-5 years I think, about the same as my guinea pig, and as a veggie I certainly couldnt wring a chookie neck...would have to float peacefully to chicken heaven in my household...!!

waaag

Type in to google : Battery hen welfare trust. This brings up a great website, I think these know were there are some in your area, it'd be nice to rehome some, the happy endings are nice to read. (I'd have sent you the link, but it won't copy for some reason.)

SuperMum2008

Doesnt seem to be a contact in NI :-( otherwise would love to do that...