Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Misty7

We've kept chickens for a number of years now, we have couch grass which is murder to weed out but the chickens make quick work eating it, of course it still grows back but I just let them at it again. We normally section off a part of the garden for them as they do seem to eat everything in sight and poo everywhere, but its lovely collecting the eggs everyday and seeing them happily wandering around.:)

Syman

SAS0 wrote: »

My home deeds say I cannot have livestock and other animals like pigeons, etc because my area is considered to be within the city limits area.

I have a good size garden on the front and a good size terraced area on the back.

Can I have chickens or not ?

Thank you

I too would go to your local council. Owning a few chickens is now becoming the "in thing" many councils allow it. (I'm in Woking and they have no issues with them)

However, it needs to be checked.

house_mum

105 pages is a lot to read through! Thinking of a simple hutch for 3-4 hens, one ready made with raised sleeping area/enclosed run.

Do you need to do anything to prevent salmonella from home raised hens? How long do hens live? Do they get a lot of problems that require a vet? Or is it really as simple as buy hutch, add hens, feed/water/clean coop and bingo, fresh eggs?

ljonski

hi it is a very good thing to keep chickens. you need to do a lot of research before taking the plunge. they are suspeptible to illnesses but most things can be home treated but you must be prepared if necessary to cull if things deteriate. Worming, cleanliness , balanced diet and security are absolute essentiels . All the best Lj

nearlytherenow

I have four chickens in a secure run in my back garden and they are great. A massive advantage is that no food ever goes to waste. I buy a lot of yellow sticker items of fresh food and we enjoy it. If it goes past its best the chickens have it as a treat! Recycling at its best!

rubys_mummy

i'm a relative new chicken mummy, but i just couldn't be without them now

i got my first ever broody 12 days ago, Peggy, so i went and got her 6 fertile eggs to sit on and she's doing great, considering it's HER first time as well! i'm counting down the days

and then yesterday, i got my 2 new additions that i've been waiting weeks for ..... Thelma and Louise, 11 week old white silkies. i've got them in a separate pen next to the other chooks till they're a bit bigger tho, plus it lets the others see their new "sisters" before they're all let loose together!

just wanted to share cos i'm so excited lol!!

Syman

Interesting happenings, in the last 2 days i have had eight formed eggs and evidence of a softie.
But, i only have three girls, so it would appear that they have laid THREE eggs in the last two days.
I am guessing that it is something to do with the long days.

My question is whether or not it will cause any health issues.

Viviennef

Soft eggs are usually corrected by making sure they have shell grit in a bowl. I collect cuttlefish when I am at the beach too.

I had six chickens and four at different times started dropping their tails and then slowly got paralysed. It was a virus and they died or we had to destroy them. I took one to a vet but the euthanasia wasn't great so the others, one died and the other two we killed quickly. It want nice but they couldn't walk and I kept them in the laundry in a basket and fed and watered them and they were happy but anyway in the end it proved pointless as they didnt recover and it became cruel. It ws very upsetting.

Anyway I got rid of everything and built a metal frame suspended coop with buckets underneath to collect the poo. And it can be hosed out quickly so they are spotless. The other two never layed again though. That's ok though.

Mine have a 4x8m enclosure and they free range three times a week but they do make a mess a bit. One flies so she just comes out when she feels like it. I'm going to get more but was waiting for a year since the others died. I feel like it's a bit mean,there's no grass left in the coop does anyone else keep them where there is no grass?

Jenny_Wren_3

Advice required please!
I have 3 x 3 year old hens and a week and a half a go got 3 x POL chickens. I separated the run for them so they could all see/ hear each other and lifted them into the house with the others at night, putting them in their own run in the morning. For the last 4 days I have let them free range together where they mainly ignored each other apart from a bit of chasing. Yesterday I removed the wire that separated them and left them to it. But ... the new girls won't come out of the house because the old girls won't let them, apart from when I opened the door to the run and let them all out into the garden.
One hen was being especially aggressive so I have put her in a dog crate on her own for a few days as I've read that can help.
What more can I/ should I do? This is way harder than I expected!

spanishlivinginUK

Hi everyone! How are u all??

Our garden is decked entirely apart from a 2mx2m which has wood chip at the end of the garden. We have lots of pots with plants and veg.

Do chickens need grass? We are thinking of getting 3 or 4 chickens but I am a bit concerned they might not like the deck floor. What size coop would suit 4 hens more??

We don't have a cat, but the neighbours do, and even tho they don't come down into de graden they walk along the fence every now and then, would they attack the chickens??

More than one question in the end! Sorry!