Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

RacyRed

poohbear59 wrote: »

Well done on all your eggs! Hopefully you will make a profit too.


I have found that a family of rats is nesting in my bale of straw in my back porch!! We are looking for a rat proof container. DH thinks an alluminium coal buker so we can keep it outside. What do you all do to protect your straw etc?

I got one of those cheap and cheerful outside storage boxes that poundstretcher are doing for £40 ish They look like this


I keep the straw and sawdust I use in there, it is right in the middle of a rat hangout at the bottom of my allotment but so far they have left it alone. It is meant to be waterproof but seems a little flimsy to me so I keep everything in there well bagged up. I've a bag of mixed corn in there at the moment too, no sign of it having been got at.

Gigervamp, thanks for your advice. I really miss reading about Sebastian My little guy is a dutch bantam called Henry. I'll do some pics.

Tina20 don't worry, hens will soon let your Rottie know who is boss. I've 4 cats and while the chooks were in my garden it was a no-go area for the cats unless they wanted a good pecking.

Gigervamp

I really miss the little man, he was such a character. And whereas Sebastian used to follow me around and pretend that he wasn't, Blackie's a bit of a s0d and follows me around to give me a good kicking, especially if I pick up one of *his* girls! It's a good job he's only a bantam, if he'd been full size he could do quite a bit of damage.

Syman

Well, the old girls (Cabbage and Flower) moved in this morning. They have downsized somewhat, but that is what happens when you retire LOL.

Off home in a while to let them out for a run around the garden.

Will try to post a couple of photo when i get a moment

(p.s. 1000 posts woo hoo)

Syman

here they are. having a good old nose around.

pinkpixie_2

We're very seriously considering getting 3 chickens. I do have a few questions though and stumbled across this thread.

1) They sell chicken houses on ebay that look the same as the ones in Frosts garden centre, but for much less money (c. £120 instead of c. £250). Are they the same quality? Are they likely to fall apart in the near future?

2) Are 'hen rescue' hens as good? (in terms of egg production)

Thanks so much in advance.

tjak

In terms of a house, I would recommend watching out for a second hand eglu - they are so easy to keep clean, and last forever.
I have 5 girls inside a walk in run with an eglu go on an old table, we use horse bedding on the floor, rat proof feeder and metal water bucket.
In return we get 4 or 5 eggs every day, and they are great to watch.

Go for it!

pinkpixie_2

Where's a good place to keep an eye out for a second house chicken house or eglu?

I have tried keeping an eye on freecycle but got nowhere...

Gigervamp

You sometimes see Eglus on ebay, but even 2nd hand they're not cheap.

Syman

I bought mine from Ebay, paid a little under £100 for it. The quality seems pretty good, though, like tents, the stated number of birds i think is a little optimistic. The one i got is supposed to be able to house 6 birds, but i would not want to put more than 3, 4 at a push in it.

RacyRed

pinkpixie wrote: »

2) Are 'hen rescue' hens as good? (in terms of egg production)

Thanks so much in advance.

They are usually better. they are bred for laying. Plus they arrive fully inoculated against some of the nastier diseases chickens can get although they may be a bit short on feathers at first

And watching a previously caged hen discover grass, soil, worms, insects, the sky, rain and the million other things they have never seen before is the best entertainment there is, IMHO