Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

sassybooboos

i would check there aren't any rules about being able to keep chickens etc at your home. the house i have just bought as a covenant stating that im unable to keep certain animals etc.

dont get a cockerel your neighbours will have a fit, with it making a blooming noise at 5am every morning. not sure how noisy hens are but i wouldn't be impressed if my neighbours got noisy animals.

my nans neighbour has got a cockerel and it drives her insane.

would it really be worth it, surely eggs aren't that expensive. what about all the food you would need to buy to feed them, would cost more than buying eggs from supermarket.

smooser

Yes you're right, the hens will lay unfertilised eggs which are fine for eating as long as there is no cockerel involved. Sometimes the hens will go broody and try to sit on the eggs, but just keep on collecting them anyway and they'll soon give up - don't worry, they can't hatch anything. I wouldn't advise getting a cockerel unless you want to breed, they can be very noisy and may bully your hens. Don't think your neighbours would be ecstatic either! I have kept chickens for years and they make great pets, very easy to keep. Although if you have a nice garden you may have to keep them penned up if you want to keep it that way! I got into it by visiting a poultry show near me...full of chicken fanatics who can offer you the best advice!

Nile

Hello smooser

Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

Hello cuffie. I'll move your thread to the 'Old Style' board, where the board guides may want to merge it with an existing thread about keeping chickens.;)

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Keeping chickens!

Regards

Nile

Penelope_Penguin

cuffie wrote: »

We would like to keep chickens. Just to get eggs. Not necessarily to breed. Now I am going to ask some really dumb questions here.......
I have looked into getting a "starter" chicken home. Comes with hen-house, 3 chickens, everything you need to set up, plus telephone support.
Please forgive my ignorance, but presumably, hens (chickens?? what's the difference?!) hens are just girls, chickens describes both sexes , will lay just eggs for me to eat without any intervention Yes . What if hen decides she wants to sit on egg to get a chick? That's called being broody. Take the eggs away and eventually she'll get the message. You won't get a chick without a cocherell, though Presumably I need a cockeril if I want to hatch chicks? How does egg get fertilised then? The usual way hen and coq Is the egg I eat for breakfast not fertilised? Not if it's not been near a coq, though some supermarket ones have So, if hen sits on it, I won't get a chick?? See above If I want to get a cockeril (or Rooster?? whats the difference??), would you be pi**ed off if you were my neighbour?? No - my cockerel, Darcy, is crowing like a good 'un, with no complaints
Sorry for being so dumb here!! Hope someone can help me! x

HTH, Penny. x

AussieLass

Yes Pen Pen, but you must remember Darcy has Mouse to contend with. Of course he's crowing. :rolleyes: I pity your neighbours.

lindens

I rang my council and I can keep chickens OK but I would need a license to keep a cokerel.
I also checked with my HA as we part-own our home and they were fine too.

Have you seen those Eggloo hen houses? Goto their website and they have a really helpful forum full of people who have eggloos but plenty of people who don't too. Also second hand houses and equipment for sale.

JennyW_2

Cant offer any advice on keeping chickens but my friend keeps them and has terrible problems with foxes killing them. Not very nice to wake up to

They've got loads of electric fencing up but the foxes still manage to get in somehow.

Just something else to think about.

scottish_lassy

Might be worth investigating - someone told me that ex battery hens get sold off cheap (£1) and once they are recovered they lay just like any other hen and you are giving them a nice life compared to what they had in the past.

cuffie

Thanks for all your replies! I was worried about the foxes.... I think I might give the cockerill a miss......I really don't want to breed them... Its not really for the fact of not bothering to buy the eggs from the supermarket - its more for "rural living"! The guy who owned this house before had sheep at the back here so I don't imagine chickens will be a problem...
You have been very helpful! x

champys

AussieLass wrote: »

Yes Pen Pen, but you must remember Darcy has Mouse to contend with. Of course he's crowing. :rolleyes: I pity your neighbours.

I had an uncle who kept chickens and cockerells. At night, they were shut into his barn. There was no daylight in the part of the barn where they spent the night, so the cockerells did not crow until my uncle let them out in the morning. In fact, he had a light in his barn connected to a time clock so the cockerells would crow at a 'civilised' time in the morning! I was only little at the time but still remember this.