Paging those that keep chickens

Well, there seems to be some serious research being done in the Canning
household re chickens and the keeping thereof.

So, anyone on here keep them and have any thoughts on the best way to
do so?

Plan is to convert the kids wooden playhouse into the actual coop,
should be simple, it needs the plastic windows (2 of 2 foot x 2 foot
perspex) replacing with wood and then convert the inside for the roosts.

Size of the house is 5 x 4 foot on the floor and is another 4 foot to
the roof which is an apex.

Then its a matter of sorting a run, looking at wood, wire fencing etc
in wickes / homebase plus fixings it looks like it'll be easier and
cheaper in the longer run to buy one from the likes of ebay.

This is the plan so far anyway, but thought I would see if there's
anyone on here that has chickens and might be able to give me some
suggestions as to whether this is viable and if there's any obvious
hurdles that I havent even considered yet?

 

The only animal more stupid than a chicken is a turkey, and that's
purely a body mass/brain weight issue.

You are what you eat.

 

Are you a vegetarian?

 

Are you calling me a ****?

 

Sounds OK. Have you got fences around your garden?
If so, then just let them out in the morning, and they'll be free-range.
I think keeping them in a caged off area is cruel, as they get bored
pretty quickly. Mine have never been locked up in the daytime from day
one. One side of the garden has a 6' wooden fence, the other, a 3' wire
fence. I have only had one 'escape', and they soon came back when they
heard the food tin rattling. (rattle the tin when you feed them, then
they soon know it is food time when they hear it.)
Make sure they are secure at night, else a fox will have them.
Alan.

 

Thomas said:

Nurse!
I'll have what he's having 'cos to come out with that gibberish it must
be something good!!

 

Colin Irvine said:

I've heard it before but genuine LOL

 

A.Lee said:

Yep, 6 foot high fencing all the way round though the back gates got a
gap that is on the list to sort beforehand anyway.
I was under the impression that it is best to have them in a run when
there's no one in the house, ie so they are protected but not in their
coop uncomfortable IYSWIM.

 

Would you be offended if I did?

 

If you have a fox in the daytime, then yes, probably best to keep them
behind wire, but in most places, the fox doesnt come out until dusk.
Cats dont tend to be a problem, dogs can be - they like chasing things,
so best to not let unknown dogs in.

Try it out and see how they get on, ours are quite happy out all hours,
they even go to bed on their own, unlike the ducks, who have to be
chased in every night.
Alan.

 

We keep 'em.

First thing is that whatever run you have, or nearly, the foxes will
find a way of digging into it. Wire netting needs to be buried, or
spread out flat along the ground by the run so the foxes can't start
digging adjacent to it.

Just don't underestimate foxes. We've lost two to Mr Fox in the last
couple of years, due to the garden being invaded in the middle of the
day when we thought it was safe and let them out. Foxes normally hunt at
night, but in winter they got really hungry and desperate and came out
at midday.

We have an Eglu (www.eglu.com). Yes, it's pricey, yes, it scores over
wooden runs in that it is amazingly easy to clean, yes it is 100%
fox-proof. Worth the dosh, I'd say.

Next: chickens are unbelievably stupid. Words can't describe. And they
have an utter preoccupation with food.. Everything is tested for
edibility.

Eggs. Our three chooks deliver two or sometimes three eggs per day.
Laying tails off in winter, a bit. The eggs are fabulous: creamy,
sun-yellow yolks, delish

Watching chickens is hilarious, especially when they establish the
pecking order. Someone has to be Number One, and chicken politics is
highly amusing.

Do it. They're fun, and therapeutic, and the eggs are fab.

 

Well, I've been told I have water on the brain, that I'm an airhead,
and that if I keep riding the way I do, I'll wind up a vegetable, but
for certain, while occasionally I may show discretion, I ain't no
chicken. I am also not a fat cow nor a porker, and I try real hard
not to be a snake. On occasion, I am a bit crabby, and after a few
days on the road I get a little fishy, but that's about it.

 

See, Donnie? See?

 

We keep them too. We've got 4 in a home made ark stylee run. The run's about
12 feet long by 4 feet wide with the roosting area over the run at one end.
A couple of handles and it's easy to move with 2 people. When you see what
runs are recommended commercially for 4 chickens you see that ours have lots
of room in comparison. We would let them out but we have seen foxes during
the day so they get let out when there's someone in the garden (which
usually means at least a couple of hours of freedom a day). The run gets
moved every day so they get fresh grass to scratch in.

Ours are three bog standard red/brown layers and one silky cross and we get
3 or 4 eggs per day during the spring and summer and a couple per day in the
winter. We don't feed them organic food, standard layer pellets will do with
kitchen scraps thrown in as well.

Here's a good place to visit http://www.domesticfowltrust.co.uk/

--
Malc

Rusted and ropy.
Dog-eared old copy.
Vintage and classic,
or just plain Jurassic:
all words to describe me.

 

Bernard Manning? Dear oh dear.

 

It's not as if they have a reputation for being cunning or anything.

 

Nice

 

No.

 

Roy Brown, but just as bad I suppose.

 

All too true. Neighbour round the corner 'ere lost forty chickens to a
fox a month ago.