Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

ionahenor2

Lettie has managed to make her claw bleed again ( while having only newspaper underfoot and a smooth log to perch on)! So she is still staying in sickbay. I took Daisy the boss into visit her but she ate the grapes. Lettie had lots to say whilst Daisy was very quiet.( too busy eating)

Hope you can sort out your new girls Heather.

shegirl

Hi.Can anyone recommend a good site for beginner info on keeping chickens?Me and ds have wanted some for ages (they're his favourite animal) and with our new house having larger gardens and nice neighbours(!) have decides we can now do this.

How much space for a run and hen house would you recommend as minimum for 2 hens?What breeds would you recommend?Just want eggs and a pair of friendly little chooks really Don't want to give them a tiny space but don't want the enclosed area to be too big as we've got/will have a pond (above the ground),pool etc along with waggy tailed friends when everything has been put in place.

Syman

shegirl wrote: »

Hi.Can anyone recommend a good site for beginner info on keeping chickens?

http://keeping-chickens.me.uk/
http://poultry.allotment.org.uk/
http://www.downthelane.net/Page_7.php

A few to start you off

The consensus of opinion is to try to start with 3 girls, if you lose one then you still have a pair to keep each other company. When looking for a coop, bear in mind that the dimensions given are minimum numbers. If you are looking for two or three birds you will need a coop for 4 birds.
My coop and run area (with 3 birds when i replace my girls) is about 2M X2M but they also have access to the garden when we are around.

There are many on this thread with infinitely more knowledge than me and from whom I have learnt loads. They are also some of the friendliest posters on MSE and are always ready to help with advise and tips.

have fun

HeatherintheHills

shegirl wrote: »

Hi.Can anyone recommend a good site for beginner info on keeping chickens?Me and ds have wanted some for ages (they're his favourite animal) and with our new house having larger gardens and nice neighbours(!) have decides we can now do this.

How much space for a run and hen house would you recommend as minimum for 2 hens?What breeds would you recommend?Just want eggs and a pair of friendly little chooks really Don't want to give them a tiny space but don't want the enclosed area to be too big as we've got/will have a pond (above the ground),pool etc along with waggy tailed friends when everything has been put in place.

Welcome shegirl Syman's suggestion of getting 3 girls is a good'un. Hybrids are really good to start off with as they lay well, are pretty hardy and are friendly and entertaining birds. Hybrids are usually the big brown girls most people imagine when they think of hens but you can get other colours too. Check out your local poultry breeders HERE to see what is available. Don't overlook bantams, they come in all sorts of sizes from 3/4 normal hen sized to miniature. The bigger bantams tend to lay full sized eggs and the miniatures lay little ones and I personally am crazy about bantams so I shall shut up now.

Rescuing ex battery hens (now called caged hens) is also a wonderful thing to do and many of us get started that way. Watching the girls discover grass, the sky, worms, scratching, dust bathing and everything else hens enjoy is the most amazing experience. Check out the British Hen Welfare Trust for more information.

If you are building a run make it as generous as you can, chances are you will start with a few hens then want more, there is a high probability you will catch something called morechickenitis and there is no known cure, well, we haven't found one yet Either way, the larger the run the more fun your girls will have adapting it to their own requirements.

Have fun and let us know how your plans progress

shegirl

2x2 isn't bad that would be no probs and they'd be allowed to roam the gardens when we're home aswell.

What height is recommended?

I have a couple of spare rabbit hutches that I can fiddle with for a hen house,so that's a start!

Syman wrote: »

http://keeping-chickens.me.uk/
http://poultry.allotment.org.uk/
http://www.downthelane.net/Page_7.php

A few to start you off

The consensus of opinion is to try to start with 3 girls, if you lose one then you still have a pair to keep each other company. When looking for a coop, bear in mind that the dimensions given are minimum numbers. If you are looking for two or three birds you will need a coop for 4 birds.
My coop and run area (with 3 birds when i replace my girls) is about 2M X2M but they also have access to the garden when we are around.

There are many on this thread with infinitely more knowledge than me and from whom I have learnt loads. They are also some of the friendliest posters on MSE and are always ready to help with advise and tips.

have fun

shegirl

Thanks I did think of ex battery hens.Will have to see what's around me locally!Ds has already decided he's going to call one Nugget:rotfl:

Are there any plants that are poisonous to them?

HeatherintheHills wrote: »

Welcome shegirl Syman's suggestion of getting 3 girls is a good'un. Hybrids are really good to start off with as they lay well, are pretty hardy and are friendly and entertaining birds. Hybrids are usually the big brown girls most people imagine when they think of hens but you can get other colours too. Check out your local poultry breeders HERE to see what is available. Don't overlook bantams, they come in all sorts of sizes from 3/4 normal hen sized to miniature. The bigger bantams tend to lay full sized eggs and the miniatures lay little ones and I personally am crazy about bantams so I shall shut up now.

Rescuing ex battery hens (now called caged hens) is also a wonderful thing to do and many of us get started that way. Watching the girls discover grass, the sky, worms, scratching, dust bathing and everything else hens enjoy is the most amazing experience. Check out the British Hen Welfare Trust for more information.

If you are building a run make it as generous as you can, chances are you will start with a few hens then want more, there is a high probability you will catch something called morechickenitis and there is no known cure, well, we haven't found one yet Either way, the larger the run the more fun your girls will have adapting it to their own requirements.

Have fun and let us know how your plans progress

HeatherintheHills

Gigervamp wrote: »

Heather, I'm always surprised at how well chooks take to being bathed and blowdried! Point the hairdrier at the cats and they scarper, but the chooks just stand there. I think they must like the warmth.

We've had to treat scaley leg. Why is it always the girls who are hard to catch that get it? We've contemplated getting a large fishing net at times!

Giger, I know exactly what you mean about the hard to catch girls being the ones who get scaly leg, although to prevent it spreading I'm treating them all, but I only have a few birds. I'm spraying mine with Battles in the evening just as they go to roost and oddly enough, I think they have begun to enjoy their evening foot bath, even the big rooster doesn't put up as much of a fight as he did at first.

How bad was it when you treated it on your girls? My 2 affected girls have really badly lifted scales, like the extreme examples you see in the treatment guides, and I'm hoping that they will shed the affected scales and grow nice clean ones when they moult. The powdery residue seen where active mite are has gone over the last 2 treatments so I'm hoping I've got rid of it. It is the 5th and final application tonight for this course of treatment. Fingers crossed.

HeatherintheHills

shegirl wrote: »

Thanks I did think of ex battery hens.Will have to see what's around me locally!Ds has already decided he's going to call one Nugget:rotfl:

Are there any plants that are poisonous to them?

Lol! Love the name Nugget :rotfl:

Yes, there is an incomplete list of toxic plants HERE Rhubarb is very bad for them. They tend to avoid plants they shouldn't eat though.

HeatherintheHills

shegirl wrote: »

What height is recommended?

High enough so you don't break your back when you are cleaning it and the hen house.

ionahenor2

Hi Shegirl,

You might want to consider a plastic coup as opposed to wood. There are a few suggestions a few pages back (168) by Happymum.

happymum2010 wrote: »

If anyone is interested in a plastic coop, I have made a list of websites in my frantic search. Our henhouse is being taken away tomorrow am.

Plastic coops
http://www.greenfrogdesigns.co.uk/category/poultry/

http://www.carefreecoops.co.uk/

[FONT=&quot]http://www.oakdene-coops.co.uk/[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]http://www.chicubes.co.uk/chicken-and-bird-houses/cat_15.html [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] This one looks fun, but very very expensive. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.chicubes.co.uk/Chicken-Houses-House-Hen-Packages/The-Egg/The-Egg/prod_32.html[/FONT]

http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_services/?gadid=fLz18%2BBuWcU%2FQzlglh0xqNmMBem8Ng8%2B9ukanFhIX9o%3D&gclid=CPOwnJTS0LACFU4lfAodhU3vWw

http://www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/farmers-and-smallholders

http://www.doodlehouse.net/

You can pick up a bargain eglu on ebay. I have one with extra run space but have since built a new run and just have the house. They are great for 3 girls, easy to clean and move by 2 people. The only problem is if you get 'morechickenitis' as Heather mentioned. :rotfl:Then you will need a bigger house. They do seem to resell easily too

Never too old are your girls laying now?

Happymum how are your girls and new house?