Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Gigervamp

I've found that cats are not a problem. Even if they fancy their chances, they're soon put right by the chickens!

mardatha

Was going to go back to the beginning of this thread and read up but just noticed that it's 43 pages long !!
Can I have your thoughts for & against bantams please ?
And for & against Eglus ?
And any recommendations ?

jungliemac

Eglus easy to clean and sturdy. So simple even I can do it! I have 3 bantams which are friendly, not tons of poop and fairly OK grass but not loads of eggs.

mardatha

There's only the two of us so tons of eggs would be a pain anyway Do you have the run and move it daily ? or have a fenced-off section of garden and the Eglu plonked in it ?

oldandhappy

We have 3 pekin bantems since May...girls that have sorted out the pecking order and are great buddies..love them even though no eggs since summer..but hey we have four call ducks two pairs and they have layed two eggs each day almost since we got them around August. Our two cats have got use to them and only our boy is a bit wary, like he is with anything that moves whilst our girl cat is laid back lazy indoors if weather is not perfect type= sleep 22 hours at least. We like small chickens because we like pets....hubby has built all houses and pens for all and saved a fortune.We have learnt so much thanks to our local chicken farm near us and basically copied what designs where available to buy!!!! .. Dianne

mardatha

O how I wish I had that kind of husband ... I think mine was a cat in his last life I do like the look of bantams though..

LolaLemon

Gigervamp wrote: »

Oh, Mardatha, has RV given in and agreed to chickens then? Yay!

We're getting a couple of new girls in a couple of weeks. A salmon faverolle and a barnebar. Can't wait!

As our garden is now trashed, we're going to move the girls to the top field. It's not actually our field but belongs to hubby's uncle and is connected to our house. Uncle actually suggested moving the girls up there and he's also suggested that we could get a couple of sheep or goats to put in the other fields (we have 3 here)! We've been talking about getting goats for the milk, so it looks like that's going to be the next project!

I am SOOOOOO jealous! i want fields, and sheep and goats and chickens and cats and geese and pond and and and... oh everything idylic about farm type life, but i dont want the early wake ups to make sure everythings ok, the mucking out etc etc, maybe i should win the lottery and live like lady of the estate! :rotfl:



Mardatha - thanks for all your questions, its mostly what i was coming on here to ask.

Im saving up for an eglu, due to my ingrained lazyness i think these would be best for me, trying to see lots of reviews before i buy - i like to see/feel what im buying before hand, but due to living in scotland i cant see them first. Out of all the reviews ive read, ive only seen one bad one, and that was down to the craftmanship, to me it sounded like a 'seconds' but the person said it was bought new direct from Omlet, im debating between the cube or the classic.

LolaLemon

just found another review that doesnt bode well for the 'newness' of the eglu
https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/reviews.php?cat=Chicken+Keeping&sub=Eglu+Cube&product_id=455&product_name=Cube+-+Green&action=view_all

" 4 Out of 5 Stars A good product, that makes life easier re cleaning etc - 29 Oct 2010
Really pleased with the Eglu Cube, having used a more traditional wooden house & runs beforehand. There is more room for the chickens, as the ladder is above the ground and they got used to jumping up quite quickly. The door lever is very useful. The best benefit is ease of cleaning, in my opinion. Not entirely conviced that all elements of our purchase were brand new though as the door hooks and the part of the run caging had some rusting on delivery. Overall, very pleased and glad that the chickens are off the ground. Using ours for 4 hybrids and wouldn't want to use it for any more unless we bought the extension run.
Sally"


things like this put me off

A._Badger

My wife and I shuffled over to make room for two Pekin bantams in May. It's been a revelation!

No problems with cats - even a feral, unfixed male. He's been so put in his place that he now acts as a guard cat for the two chooks and keeps away potential predators (very rural - we have everything here, probably including werewolves). House cat is equally wary and shares her territory without demur.

A downside to bantams? Only that they produce smaller eggs. BUT - they have fantastic personalities and they do a lot less damage to your garden!

I cannot describe the pleasure we've had from these two (not to mention their eggs) and we'll be adding two more within a month or so.

The pleasure of weeding with two chickens pecking around your feet and running up to greet you with their silly clown walk, just cannot be measured.

Gigervamp

Ah yes, that clown walk! My silkies are bantams. We've had them a few months now and they've not laid a single egg, but they are so cute! And because they have feathered feet, they look like they're wearing clown shoes and run accordingly!
A lot less poo than the big girls and although they do scratch around a bit, they don't do as much damage as the others.

When we move the girls up to the field, we're going to get a basic 6'x4' shed from B & Q and adapt that by adding roosting bars, a pop hole and nesting boxes. We'll be able to keep more girls in that as well as the feed and bedding and it will free up our other chicken coops to use for newcomers.