Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

TheMoneySpider

Would dearly love to keep chickens, we have a nice garden but would be more than happy to sacrifice some of it for a couple of hens. Typically how much space do you need for both coop and for the birds to peck about in. Would it destroy my lawn?

southeastlass

just a quick question what state will an area of lawn be when a hen house is removed ?
tenants have kept at least 4 chickens without permission although might get some someday myself.

what would we have to do to get the lawn back to its original state?

RebekahR

TheMoneySpider wrote: »

Would dearly love to keep chickens, we have a nice garden but would be more than happy to sacrifice some of it for a couple of hens. Typically how much space do you need for both coop and for the birds to peck about in. Would it destroy my lawn?

I'm in on the newbie questions here! We have been thinking about getting hens for a long time now. Whist we would prefer 2 I think I will get 3 incase 1 dies I don't want the other one left sad and lonely and then have the stress of having to get to know another new bird on top of grief.

We are currently constructing a pond in the garden with a bridge over it and then we will look at the chicken situation. I am going to give up my veggie patch for them! This big dirt area is about 5x3 metres or around 15 x 12 foot maybe a bit longer actually. This would be just dirt so easy to put stuff on top of. Will they eat any weeds that come up? And even more so will doing so harm them at all? What in the garden are they to avoid that might be harmful? And will they go into the pond at all? I don't want them to drown!!

RebekahR

southeastlass wrote: »

just a quick question what state will an area of lawn be when a hen house is removed ?
tenants have kept at least 4 chickens without permission although might get some someday myself.

what would we have to do to get the lawn back to its original state?

Whilst I do not keep chickens at the moment I have read that what normally happens when kept on the lawn is rotation of the coop. So moving it round should provide less damage. Can't guarentee they have though! If they haven't no worries just dig up what's damaged if it looks more mud like. Til its a fine soil and then put grass seeds back on top.

ginnyknit

I move my girls 3 times a year and the soil is very fertile after they have been on it and will take new seed really fast. i also put their spare pen on my veggy plot so they can clear it for me in the spring. When they have finished rooting around its ready to plant in.

scotty1971

looking to buy 2 or 3 black rock hens,does anyone know a good breeder of them around the central scotland area,and would it be ok to have 2 or would 3 be better.any help with this would be most appreciated.

cheers

scott

Gigervamp

3 chickens is better than two (as has been mentioned before) and an extra one doesn't make much difference in feed or what they do to the garden.

just a quick question what state will an area of lawn be when a hen house is removed ?
tenants have kept at least 4 chickens without permission although might get some someday myself.

what would we have to do to get the lawn back to its original state?

It depends on how long the house was on the lawn. If it was longer than a few weeks, the lawn under the house and run will be non-existant, but it will have been fertilised and coops and runs don't tend to be very big, so it's not really a problem.

If you're a landlord, can I please ask you to allow tenants to keep 3 chickens, as in this day and age it would be very helpfull?

And get chickens yourself! It took me 5 years to persuade hubby to get them and now he wishes he'd agreed earlier! We get eggs for ourselves, extra eggs get sold to friends and family and we spend lots of time watching the antics of the girls which is much more fun than the TV!

Gigervamp

What time are your girls going to bed now?

I noticed that mine were getting ready by 8.30 tonight. Amelia was already in bed and the others went in at 8.45. (would have been earlier if Daisy hadn't stood in the doorway stopping Gracie and Tabitha from getting in!)

This was half an hour earlier than last night.

gillian62

We have noticed that ours are going to bed earlier too. And the rainy cloudy days don't help too, by making it seem a lot duller.

scotty1971

would this coop be ok for three black rock hens

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280549279018&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

cheers

scott