Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

zarazara

re the chickens,check first with the council then just go ahead and do it. so long as you have a suitable hen house and run and clean it regulally there should be no problem. I think the RSPCA has leaflets about keeping chickens,you could have a look round their web site. When we lived in a terraced row and kept 4 hens, we gave surplus eggs to the neighbours and let their kids feed our hens occasionally. Worked wonders,but we didnt sell the eggs,so the moaning folk [who refused the eggs but were asked anyway] in the row had no excuse to say we were running a business LOL.

camelot1001

When I first got my hens the neighbours (only 2 houses here) complained that they would be noisy and smelly. 6 months later they too got hens and they all pal about together during the day and go to their separate houses at night!

Check with the council first and then enjoy them and the eggs!

poohbear59

It is three weeks now since we got our ex battery hens and the three we had already seem to be accepting them a bit better. I am still putting out extra feeding bowls for them though as the old girls do bully the new ones over food.

The dilemma I have now is that I have been offered 4 feral bantams and I am not sure how they will all get on. I know I will have to go back to the 'keeping them separate' regime but I don't think the bantams will use the hen house as they currently live in trees. We have trees in the garden so they can roost there.

Gigervamp

I had a surprise yesterday. I heard some agitated clucking, so had a look out of the window to see Amelia running down the garden with a dead bluetit in her beak and Gracie running close behind. :eek:

By the time I got out there, Gracie had managed to steal it and was legging it back down to the other end of the garden, closely followed by Amelia shouting "Stop thief!" and the others, who had been alerted by the commotion and were hoping to get a slice of the action (or rather, a bit of the bluetit).

The next ten minutes was spent with Gracie running like she was dodging bullets as the others chased her, occasionally stopping for a few seconds to eat a bit before the others caught up with her.

Finally, the last bit was swallowed and calm was restored.

mambury

Can I ask some of you advice please???

I have been thinking about egetting chickens for a long time and now (or at least in the spring) seems a good a time as any so....

Where do your chicken live?? And how much would you expect to spend on starting off from scratch?

Ta in advance
Mambury!!

Gigervamp

I spent £150 on a coop with run. My first 3 girls were £15 each. Then there were the pellets, corn, grit and woodshavings, so about another £30. Oh, and the plastic feeder and drinker which cost about a tenner or so. That was the start-up cost.

I keep the girls in the garden. I have a large garden and they free-range. We did have to buy some rylock (stock fencing) as part of the garden doesn't have any fencing, just a low wall on the boundary to a field and the girls liked hopping down into the field.

We also bought an ark to keep new girls in until the others have got used to them and are planning on getting a basic 6'x4' shed so we can expand the flock.

mambury

thanks Giger..... a bit more saving for me then!!

What time of the year would you say is best to get chickens, or does it not really matter? I know they tend to go off lay in the winter, so I was thinking that (psychologically) its best in the spring so you can actually see a return....

JMurph

I've also been giving serious thought to chickens! And have managed to persuade MrsJ that they would be much more useful than getting a dog. So, just to procure a hen house and the rest of the paraphernalia. Oh yes, and hens!

susyrosy

This morning (9.00) I heard a dreadful squawking - and another of my hens has gone. I'm now down to two, having now lost 2 in the last couple of weeks. No sign of feathers, last remaining hens up a tree and won't budge. I don't know if it's a fox or a cat. It's all very sad.

Susy

jellycattwo

Oh dear thats sad Rosy, I think a chuck would stand up to a cat, well mine do. We have ours roaming all day but late afternoon they are put in thier run and then put to bed at dusk.

Our girls have a plastic dog kennel its sealed and has a wire door thet we can close and cover. It came of ebay and was about 20 quid. In the past a fox got into a wooden ark and also plastic is easy to clean and no problems with mite also. The run is some old builders panel fencing and food and water goes in dog bowls. It doesnt have to be a big outlay.

Ex-battery hens are apx a £2 donation each. We got our latest 3 about 18mth ago and get 3 eggs aday everyday. And they are the best eggs EVER!!

Go get some, they are such a joy to keep.

littlehenrescue.co.uk :T