Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Fruball

I keep chickens and have had quail too.

I've not got time to reply in depth now but have you considered quail? They take up very little space, lay well (altho small eggs, cute tho!) and can be tamed!)

Back tomorrow x

Fruball

You could have chickens - I would recommend bantams (small breed) hens which take up little space

Gigervamp

How big is the space?
Also, I can't quite picture a balcony that doesn't have a drop?

wiggywoo9

I've got a picture- not sure how to post it though?

Pink.

Hi wiggywoo,

I've added your thread to our existing one on keeping chickens where you'll find lots of advice.

Pink

wiggywoo9

I've read a few pages of this thread and I have a few questions:

What flooring is best for them, if they have a coop like any on Amazon? Do I need to put grass rolls down? It's pure concrete at the moment.

What do they eat per week? Can you buy in bulk?

Would pigeons attack? Or is it best putting netting over area so there's no issues?

Are they quite easy to pick up?

What do you collect the eggs in? Basket?

Thanks

Mojisola

wiggywoo9 wrote: »

What do you collect the eggs in? Basket?

With a question like this, I'm not sure this thread isn't a wind-up.

wiggywoo9

No, I'm geniunely asking. I wouldn't want to scare them by keep coming in, so how do I do it all discreetly?

Mojisola

wiggywoo9 wrote: »

No, I'm geniunely asking. I wouldn't want to scare them by keep coming in, so how do I do it all discreetly?

You don't have to be discreet. Our chickens love it if someone comes into the run and sits and chats to them - more so if you happen to have some really tasty foods for them! Ours will come and sit on our laps while they peck sunflower seeds out of our hands.

How close will these chickens be to your neighbours? Although hens aren't too noisy, if they are right outside the window, your neighbours may not be happy.

Gigervamp

First of all, you need to hit the poultry websites and read, read, read. Here's one site to get you started, Poultry Keeper.

Chickens like to scratch around and peck at greenery. Don't use plastic grass as they might eat it and get sick. If you have concrete you can put down some dust extracted wood shavings. You can buy big bags at places like Countrywide or Scats.

They eat layers pellets. A 20 kilo bag will cost between £7-£15 and will do 3 chickens for about a month if I remember correctly (I've got a lot more chickens and get through 20 kilos a week.)

Most coops come with a nesting box, that's what they'll lay their eggs in.

If they're going to be in a run, it will need to be fairly large. The runs you can get with the coops on places like ebay (haven't seen coops on Amazon) are far too small if the chickens are going to be confined.

Pigeons won't touch the chooks, but they will eat the chicken feed if they can get to it.

One other thing, although you will see lots of people saying that they feed their chickens scraps from the kitchen, it is actually illegal to do that.