Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

squeaky

LOL

Did you find anything useful there?

chrislee765

bugs wrote:

Not if you spend five minutes a day picking up the bits they leave behind, put them in the compost heap, which rots down much more quickly to boot.

And somehow they keep their little fluffy bloomers (that's what it looks like to us!) perfectly clean unless they're ill.

Our chickens mainly smell of sawdust, straw, and herbs when the damn creatures escape in to the garden beds.

When their feathers get wet - cos chickens aren't the brightest of creatures, unless they're thinking up new ways to get to food, and one of ours is particularly prone to staring threateningly at the sky when it rains, instead of heading for cover - anyway when they get wet there is a certain wet dog smell due, I think, to the oils which protect them. But I wouldn't call it a stink cos it's not that strong or that bad.



They can't be house trained and they're very unselfconscious so yes, they'll do it where they stand. But it doesn't smell so bad as say, a dog, which lots of people have, and it's easy to clear up. And you can compost it, unlike dog mess. And if you have a garden and a diary large enough for chickens then you have a garden and a diary large enough for a compost heap!

When you say pick up behind them.. do you have to 'poo pick' the garden..? I have a compost heap to poo from the coop i could deal with.. but i really dont want my garden to stink of chicken poo, surely it smells no more than other birds?

leonie_2

Well my hens like to sit around the patio door area so they can look in and check on me lol. They poo a lot in that area and whilst it was hot last week it was very smelly. I had to hose down everyday, however when its on the grass i dont really smell it so it could just be as its on the concrete.

I wish they could be house trained as they could pop in the house whenever they wanted then.

competitionscafe

Surprised no one has mentioned this book

lady_lucan

I was thinking about quails - sounds poncey I know, but there's only me and OH and they're smaller, quieter and less messy...

Ted_Hutchinson

We were watching our silkie and brood of chicks out of the kitchen window yesterday when there was a sudden panic and the mother hen started a demented despairing clucking.

We went out to investigate and not one of the chicks was left. Searched everywhere and no sign of life or the predator. I think we were as upset as the mother hen.

Then after about 15 minutes we heard a cheeping from various corners of the garden and were able to shoo them back to their mum. All present and correct.

What impressed me was that in those pea sized brains is sufficient instinct to make them disappear in different directions to foil the predator, to require the mother hen to stay where she was and see off whatever it was and also ensure the chicks stayed absolutely quiet for sufficient time for the danger to depart.

They certainly had us fooled.

chrislee765

The only thing really between me and getting chickens is the smell. I dont want my garden smelling and becoming awful for the neighbours and me!

bugs

chrislee765 wrote:

The only thing really between me and getting chickens is the smell. I dont want my garden smelling and becoming awful for the neighbours and me!

They will only smell if you don't clean up after them, and anyone who doesn't clean up after their animals shouldn't have any at all

You can put all "that" in to a compost bin where it will very quickly help turn the rest of the contents into nitrogen rich compost - the lid will prevent any initial smell becoming a nuisance and it doesn't take long at all for this to dissipate anyway.

bugs

chrislee765 wrote:

When you say pick up behind them.. do you have to 'poo pick' the garden..? I have a compost heap to poo from the coop i could deal with.. but i really dont want my garden to stink of chicken poo, surely it smells no more than other birds?

Sorry Chrislee, only just saw this. It depends on how much you let them roam - in short, a chicken is bigger than a robin...it eats more...and therefore...I leave the rest to your imagination. However, it really is not a problem...clearing up after a dog or having a cat regularly "visit" is *far* more unpleasant and smelly. We have a little plastic spade from God knows where and this is more than sufficient to keep the garden clean, and we both work full time. Depending on the size and type of garden and of course whether you have small children with busy hands to consider, you can push or tip the er...you know...in to a hedge/bed and it won't cause any unpleasantness. The only problem that would arise would be with the housing which is obviously where things would be concentrated - we give that a twice daily "pick up" when feeding/watering, a more in depth clean at the weekend with fresh shavings; every couple of months tip the whole thing out and give it a brush or disinfect as we see fit.

They're much less trouble than you might think, you just need to be prepared to keep them clean, secure and AT LEAST DAILY watered and fed.

culpepper

I'd like chickens.Do you have to have a cockerel to start them off laying or do they lay anyway but just no chicks? We used to have a neighbour with a mobile home in the field behind our house.He had a cockerel and hens and nobody seemed to mind the crowing but now there is a housing estate there so I think there would be complaints.