Does anyone keep chickens?

tankgirl1

Hiya

i want to get a couple of chickens for the back yard. Ideally to fatten up for crimbo dinner, but I suppose that depends on whether I can bring myself to kill them or not :rolleyes:

Anyhow, I have got a rabbit hutch off freecycle, which I was hoping to convert to a chicken house. Its a fairly big hutch, and is off the ground. I only want a couple of hens, and Ive been told that this would be big enough for them. does anyone know how I would go about converting it? I've tried googling to no avail.

Thanks in advance!

tg x

7_week_wonder

tankgirl1 wrote: »

Hiya

i want to get a couple of chickens for the back yard. Ideally to fatten up for crimbo dinner, but I suppose that depends on whether I can bring myself to kill them or not :rolleyes:

Anyhow, I have got a rabbit hutch off freecycle, which I was hoping to convert to a chicken house. Its a fairly big hutch, and is off the ground. I only want a couple of hens, and Ive been told that this would be big enough for them. does anyone know how I would go about converting it? I've tried googling to no avail.

Thanks in advance!

tg x

Hi tg,

I've kept hens for about 3 years now. I have to admit that I wimped out and bought a hen-house from these guys:

http://www.forshamcottagearks.com/poultry-housing/cat-prod-boughton-chicken-housing.htm

If you look there it should give you some ideas of the adaptations you'd need. I think the main things you would need to do are:
1) Add a perching pole to the sleeping area, hens like to roost on something above the floor. The pole needs to be about 4-6 inches off the floor and needs to be alot thicker than you think. The one in our hen-house is square cross-secction, about 3 inches by 3 inches, and runs the length of the roost.

2) Section off a bit at one end of the roost for the nest-box. This will be where the hens go when they want to lay eggs. It is quiet and dark and out of the way. It should have a small entrance (not much bigger than the hen's body) so she can get inside, turn around and feel secure. It should probably be big enough to fit two hens in next to each other.


I have killed one of my hens myself, but only because she had already been badly injured, the other hens were hassling her and it was after vets hours. I did not enjoy it, but it is straightforward to do. The only problem is - the longer you keep your hens, the more you will get to know them and their personalities, and the harder you may find it to dispatch them. If, on the other hand - you want a ready supply of eggs, and some of the best ingredients for a compost heap (chicken poo and straw - superb!) then I thoroughly recommend them.

If you've got any other questions fire away - because I could witter for Britain on the subject of hens,

7WW

teapot2

Hi Tankgirl

you might also want to look over on the Greenfingered money saving board as there's a big chicken thread going on here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=423623

[what I mean is its a big thread not one about big hens ]

HelzBelz

This is something I'd love to do, but!!!!!! it's made me worry for nearly as long how would I keep my cat from ripping their throats out?????

7_week_wonder

HelzBelz wrote: »

This is something I'd love to do, but!!!!!! it's made me worry for nearly as long how would I keep my cat from ripping their throats out?????

My hens are kept permanently in a 15 foot run, and they are more than content in there (it gets moved round the garden so they get fresh patches every week). I would love to let them out - but it's the foxes that I worry about! I've seen them sniffing around the edges a few times and that was in broad daylight, so I'm happier keeping them enclosed.

As for our cat, well they are about the same size as her. When we first got them she sat and watched them over a couple of days, but now she completely ignores them. They respond by clucking crossly at her if she gets too near - but apart from that they all live and let live!

7WW

Pink.

Hi tankgirl,

These older threads might help too:

Chickens - where to get them?

Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Ever thought of keeping chickens?

Does anyone keep chickens in an EGLU?

Cheap eggs - Keep some chickens!

Old Style Book - Anyone Keep Chickens?

Pink

Andybez38

The only time i keep chickens is in the fridge/freezer much cleaner that way.

HelzBelz

7_week_wonder wrote: »

My hens are kept permanently in a 15 foot run, and they are more than content in there (it gets moved round the garden so they get fresh patches every week). I would love to let them out - but it's the foxes that I worry about! I've seen them sniffing around the edges a few times and that was in broad daylight, so I'm happier keeping them enclosed.

As for our cat, well they are about the same size as her. When we first got them she sat and watched them over a couple of days, but now she completely ignores them. They respond by clucking crossly at her if she gets too near - but apart from that they all live and let live!

7WW

Thanks darling but my no.2 cat has has 2 water voles same size as her and her and no.1 had a chicken when 6 months old, so they're not exactly cute kittens

7_week_wonder

HelzBelz wrote: »

Thanks darling but my no.2 cat has has 2 water voles same size as her and her and no.1 had a chicken when 6 months old, so they're not exactly cute kittens

Blimey - remind me to tell our cat she's a complete wimp!

7WW

HelzBelz

:rotfl: .

7_week_wonder wrote: »

Blimey - remind me to tell our cat she's a complete wimp!

7WW

Hapless_2

Some advice I will give is
1) check there are no local bylaws stopping you keeping them
2) if you house is council, they may not allow it as chickens are "livestock"
3) if you house is ex-council then check your deeds, there may be a covenant written in preventing keeping them. (there was in my brothers.)
4) Brush up on the notifiable diseases from the DEFRA site.