Thinking of getting Chickens

owetoomuch

Can anybody help, thinking of getting some chickens, ideally would like rescue ones, any ideas how I would go about it?

Have really big garden so space is not an issue, would like to get 3 if possible.

Thanks for your time

dan1979

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/adopt_some_hens.php

Pink.

Hi owetoomuch,

I have never kept chickens so can't advise you but these older threads might help:

Ex-battery Hens & Chicken Advice Generally Please

Keeping free range chickens - Help needed

Does anyone keep chickens in an EGLU?

Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Ever thought of keeping chickens?

Cheap eggs - Keep some chickens!

Hen house corner


Pink

FunkyFairy

I would love them too. Hubby said i can when we move and get a bigger garden.

Muppet81

Hello,
I adopted 6 ex battery hens about two years ago, then added another 3 and another 2.
It is a lovely thing to do and I get so much pleasure from seeing the girls enjoying the sun.... as they did yesterday. Eating your own fresh eggs is wonderful. You cannot compare them with bought ones.
If you have land and a weatherproof, sound chicken hut/coop I would recommend it. You could adapt a hut or buy a swish chicken coop (mine cost £350 - it was mine and my OHs birthday and Christmas pressies all rolled in to one to justify it) or one of the Omlet Eglus or Cubes .. take a look at the Omlet website.
Big things to consider though are the need to keep them safe from foxes, the need to let them out in the morning, be it into a secure run or to free range if you feel like risking it, and the need to lock them away at night as it starts to go dark. Think about holidays too as you will need someone to look after them when you are away. I find neighbours are happy to do this if you bribe them with the eggs.
Mine only free range when I am about but are out all day in a secure wire run.
Ex battery hens are initally fed on Layers mash £5 bag lasts me about 3-4 weeks. Once they have settled you can start them on pellets or mixed corn as well. Mine have Layers mash and mixed corn. They also get spoilt rotten with sweetcorn cobs, brocolli, lettuce and grapes.
Hope you decide to go for it. Therre are so many ladies waiting for a happy retirement and the BHWT will be happy to arrange some for you. Following on from Jamie and Hugh's campaign though, there has been a lot of interst in them so you may have a short wait.
Good luck

abwsco

We're thinking of getting a couple of chickens as well. Thanks for posting the old links for us to read. I just need to persuade hubby to move the shed and then build a coup and run. Would ex battery hens be good for a beginner?

Aril

Country File this coming Sunday BBC1 11am is doing a feature on a family of 5 who are getting chickens. Might give you a few pointers [2nd March]
Aril

abwsco

Thanks Aril. Just have to remember to watch it now-lol

evi3000

We have chickens - got them from omlet with a purple eglu (chosen by my 2 year old son - there's no accounting for taste!!!!) in August 2007 although we had been discussing it on and off for ages.

My chickens roam free in the garden almost everyday and the great thing about chickens is that they always go home to roost (unlike my 2 free range rabbits who have to be carried to bed!)

You need quite a large(ish) garden as they poo for England and my partner gets home from work every night and clears up after them, the rabbits and our dog (he wanted all these pets so he happily does it - even in the rain and cold). We are planning on keeping the chickens and the rabbits in the back half of the garden when summer finally comes so we won't be constantly treading in chicken doo-doo.

By the way we live in London and our garden is 90' long. There are foxes but we never see them during the day (although they have always liked coming into our garden at night because our delicious range of animals!

And as a previous poster said - there's nothing like home grown free range eggs - they are simply delicious especially soft boiled. Our chickens are fed organic layer pellets and they have decimated the snail and slug population in our garden.