Chicken keepers...?

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letrec_fan

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Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone who keeps chickens could help me. The family got onto the topic of chickens a few days ago and I was wondering how easy they are to keep? I personally don't eat eggs but the rest of my family do and I was wondering if it was worth persuading them to rescue a few ex battery hens - I have seen on their FB page that they have a meeting near me soon.

Would it be viable to have a smallish run like the omlet (I think that is the name) one with a few chickens in, in the garden?

Do they wreck plants/the whole garden? (If they were allowed out to run with supervision?)

I am wondering how easy it would be to introduce our dogs to them etc as well - not so much the bichon because she would probably think it was great fun but the collie cross.

Is it best to move the run around the garden or keep a more permament fixture?

Any chicken advice would be great. :)

Thanks.
 
They are great fun and all have individual characters, you could sit and watch them for hours sometimes :)

They are really easy to keep, just need their water and food topped up daily, a weekly skip out and a monthly muck out if you set them up correctly to begin with.

We have our girls in an small shed (just remember to treat both chickens and wood for mites on a regular basis - they are harder to get rid of from wood than from a plastic run), with a large dog run attached to the side.

We use a deep base of wood chippings on the floor of the run and have a good drainage system in place so it doesn't become boggy, once a month the top layer gets scraped off, the remaining chippings piled up at one side and a new bag put down underneath.

For the inside of the shed we use a rabbit hutch as the egg box with a mixed handful of hay and straw as the base... I have adapted our shed with a small door so you do not have to enter, just reach in to collect the eggs :)
The floor of the shed is covered in wood pellets as they are very absorbant and I use them at the yard too! The exit to the run is an opening cut about knee height with a ramp up and down through the hole and I used old branches to make the perches, attaching them with screws from the outside of the shed.

We do let our girls out daily in the winter to rummage around the garden and whilst we are about in the summer... the don't destroy plants but like flicking flowerbeds all over the place.

Ours love vegetable scraps especially brocolli and rice, they get a cup full each afternoon when going to bed!
 
Hi The biggest problem you have with chickens is keeping them safe from foxes/predators.
I keep them but am by no means an expert. Mine are free range in the garden during the day and housed at night. They love to dig every where! so if you have lovely flower beds that you want to stay lovely... get a run. You can build a permanent type run with a chicken house in it or get one you can move round the garden.. that is up to you. They dont tend to dig grass up.
Apart from flower beds, they are very easy to keep, they are comical & of course the eggs are fab.
I have mains electric from the paddocks surrounding mine at night as we are rural. I hadnt lost any chooks to foxes until last week... broad daylight I was around but didnt see a thing... fox took 5 :(. we had rescued them too. Thats the hardest thing :(.
Ps if your not rural... dont get a rooster! Ours (the colonel) loves his girls, but they do love to make a noise! everyone round me has them so no prob for us :)
 
i loved my chickens! i had pekin bantams, nice small birds that laid tasty, very small eggs :-) i used the keep mine in a chicken house with a run attached so on a rainy day they could still get out and scratch away.
They will dig up flower beds etc while scratching for worms. they will steal your fruit/veg if your growing any ;-) but there is nothing better than having your own eggs!

mine were very noisey first thing on a summers morning. i had three which was just the right amount for me. mine free ranged the garden and put them selves in at dusk.
Local cats can be a problem. luckily if my cat was about she would see them off before they did any damage. the hens knew if it wasnt our cat and would squawk loud! my terrier loved them, she would have a play every now and then and would need telling no! but she was brought up with them since she was a pup!
i will find a pic of mine.
eta: these were my three girls. my YO has them now as we moved house and the garden is to small at the new house. they were down the yard but a fox got the black one so the last two are at the YO's house.
Photo-0001.jpg
 
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We have eight, four are ex bats and they are my favorites - all come to the call of tweets - we have Princess Foxy (she is very special needs with a strange walk but the best chicken in the world), Clever Clogs, Cowbag the Evil Alien, Cheeky Chops who pretends to lay eggs but doesn't! Ninja, Shelfie, Tweets who we hatched ourselves and Disco Dave the cockerel who we also hatched (not the best plan as he attacks me and is very noisy!)

Ours our free range too, (the vegetable garden is fenced off from them!) and ALWAYS locked up at at night. So easy to keep, saying that we have to catch and dip them tomorrow as they have lice.
 
We had six ex-battery hens last October,and they are fab! Its so nice seeing them adjust to a normal life and being able to move around. Ours have a huge run behind the stables, and they have totally removed all the grass and plants from that even (it must be 25x10 metres)! I would suggest fencing a strip off at the bottom of the garden, and putting in a proper,secure chicken fence (ie, quite high chicken wire that is dug into the ground), and putting a shed/chicken hut in that. I don't think the igloo run is that big for a everyday run. I think they deserve better really.

To keep, they are very easy. I bed ours on straw, and pick the droppings out daily with rubber gloves on - takes two minutes. They get corn in the floor outside am and a tub of layers pellets to pick at ad lib. I usually fill it twice a week. They also need grit to pick at, and worming now and again. Ours love to roll in shavings, so once every six weeks or so I put a pile down for them, and put mite powder in it, so they powder themselves while playing!
 
Thanks everyone for all the replies. :) We do have quite a lot of cats and foxes in the neighbour hood so would have to make a secure run unless I was literally standing there watching.
 
Very interesting post! I am hoping to get my first chickens this weekend!

I just wondered, is there anything you shouldn't give them food wise? Is there anything which is Poisonous to them?

(sorry for hijacking this post!)
 
I've kept a few chickens for years. Most of them have died from old age.
My present 3 girls (Gladys, Beryl and Ethel) are divine. We have more
eggs from these girls than we will ever need. Here's some very important
information with which you should be aware:

- If you have a small garden in which you allow your chickens to roam, they will destroy low growing, small plants with their scratching. Likewise,
in a small, grassy area, they will destroy the grass in a short time.

- Despite what some people will tell you, you do NOT need a cockerel to keep with your girls unless you want chicks.

- Be very careful with your dogs. Even the most gentle of breeds can be
surprisingly rough with the birds. I NEVER allow my dogs (JRT and GBGV)
access to my hens. I'm also very wary of cats, especially those "visiting"
from parts unknown.

- Never put hay in nest boxes. The risk of aspergillosis is too great. Use
straw or shavings, but make sure the bedding is always dry.

- If you decide to have a permanent run, make sure the chicken wire or
weld mesh is either set into the ground about a foot all the way around,
or there is a "skirt" of mesh at ground level coming out from the run a
good 15 - 18 inches. Either of those choices will deter Mr. Fox from digging
under the run to take your girls. Access to shade is important, as well. If
you don't want to wind up feeding all the wild birds in your county, a wire
roof to the run is extremely advantageous.

- Chickens must have fresh water, layers pellets or mash in the AM and
wheat, maize, sunflower seeds, etc. in the PM, PLUS grit. The grit is
insoluble and is essential for them to break down grains in their gizzards.
All these items are readily available at your local feed store.

- Be aware that chickens are easily infested with red spider mite, lice and
other little nasties.

- I've only recently been made aware of a remarkable product for the
care and housing of chickens. Diatomaceous Earth is, for all intents and
purposes, a talc-like powder which is completely chemical free and safe.
It is "mined" from the bottoms of lakes and is composed of the dead
bodies of billions of microscopic diatoms. The skeletons of these creatures
are extremely sharp and when minute mites, lice, bugs walk through the
powder, their waxy outer shells are pierced causing them to dehydrate and
die. The DE can be applied to the inside of the hen house in all the corners,
cracks and perches where mites congregate. It can be added to the nest
boxes and mixed into all the bedding. It can be applied to the hens' dust
areas and onto the hens themselves, and even mixed into their food. DE
in bulk can be bought on eBay, specialist outlets and most commercial
poultry suppliers. The only kind to buy is Food Grade DE. The only
precautions you have to observe are breathing in large quantities of the
dust so as not to irritate your lungs and eyes.

Before you purchase your chickens it would be wise to obtain a few books
on their care, housing and welfare. They are a delight. If you buy purebred
hens they will produce fewer eggs than hybrids and they have a tendency
to go broody.

Good luck, whatever you decide!
 
I forgot to mention that there is a wonderful forum on poultry keeping
called, imaginatively, The Poultry Keeper.
 
Laughed at your comment about keeping dogs away from chickens - our chickens attacked Bumble Dog and now she refuses to come out back!
 
letrec_fan said:
Thanks everyone for all the replies. :) We do have quite a lot of cats and foxes in the neighbour hood so would have to make a secure run unless I was literally standing there watching.
Click to expand...

Defo make anything you create to house them FOX PROOF (easier said than done too!)

As for cats, well we've got 4 big tom cats and yesterday Id let the ex-batts out of their enclosed run for a bit of free roaming around the back garden. Not thinking I went out back and put down the cats breakfast bowls down as normal. Before the cats had a chance the chooks were over in a flash. I shooed them away and let the cats through to start eating. Were the chooks bothered? Nah! As soon as I moved out of the way they were back at the cat dishes helping themselves. The cats looked a bit taken aback but when they approached their dishes again the chickens just gave them a peck on the nose and carried on eating. The cats slunk off and I had to go catch up the chickens so the poor cats could eat. Itd be a very determined cat whod tackle one of my girls. :D
 
The British Hen Welfare Trust deal with rescueing ex battery hens, and their site is good for information on rehoming and caring for them. Its www.bhwt.org.uk.

Ours love soft fruits too - melon - the seeds and pulp from inside is their absolute fave, and they also strip down the skins. They also love oranges, tangerines, grapes and tomatoes! Between the hens, dogs and horses not much gets scrapped at our house!

All our ex bats lay like crazy. They laid all through the winter, and now its summer they sometimes even lay two eggs. The eggs are much larger and tastier than shop eggs too. I reckon it costs about £7 a month to feed them, so they give back much more than they cost to keep.
 
Thank you for all the replies since my last post. I will take a look at the Poultry Keeper Forum.

Re: dogs - I would be very careful with them - hoping the idea of chickens will grow on them!

I looked at the 'Eglu' cage again and was wondering if I could buy the actual Eglu without the run and set up a much bigger run with something else perhaps as the runs look tiny and only suitable for 2 hens - the min. number the bhwt will let you rehome is 3.

I would probably move the run around to stop one area of grass becoming wrecked if possible. Only issue is fox proof fencing but the 'skirt' idea sounds good and easier to move around - if it was pegged in with metal pegs would this be enough to keep foxes out or are they very determined? Obviously they would be locked away at night in something secure so run would be day time only and foxes would hopefully only be an issue then during winter when they are very hungry.
 
they are great fun to have around - well worth the effort.

they don't take a great deal of looking after really - your garden would need to be reasonably secure to stop them trashing your neighbours gardens. They'll scrat at small plants, and grass, but won't take on big bushes or trees or anything spikey.

they can be left pretty much to their own devices during the day, and with a bit of practice will put themselves away at night so you'd only have to close the door for them!

feed is about £10 for a 20kg sack, which for 3 hens will last for ages (a month maybe). grit needs to be mixed and oystershell, but a little sack will last for ages and ages and ages.

go for it!

ours are totally free to roam and we've not lost any to foxes in 10 years. They are pretty clever most of the time.
 
Very easy to keep have omlet cube and eglu

Brilliant to clean, never ever had mites..but do check for them & do sprinkle the bedding with mite powder etc just feed layers pellets and provide water. Safety from fox

thats about it. Mine do free range if we are around in garden but OH is fed up with the poop and dustbathing in the pot holes! Am thinking a bit of electric fencing(they do have a nice run). They have unearthed things I have lost in the garden! Everyone should keep them right little productive bunch! FAB eggs too. Good luck. Try to visit an eglu omlet owner.

Omlet web page is on line too.
 
I have a wooden hen house (a quarter of the price of an Eglu) and electric poultry fencing which I move every month or so onto clean ground. It does keep the foxes and dogs out and the hens in. The hens love to come out of their run into the garden to free-range (particularly around the back door) but they are tough on small plants. Bigger plants survive absolutely fine. They love to have dustbaths, every day if possible, and to spend hours scratching around in the hedges.

It is a real pleasure to have them with me. Their favourite treat is grapes.
 
Ive had my Ex bats for 2 months now, and they are fab, i couldnt reccomend them more.

Theyve feathered up and even come in the house now, i had three in the house yesterday pecking up crumbs.. didnt have to hoover, result
 
letrec_fan said:
Thank you for all the replies since my last post. I will take a look at the Poultry Keeper Forum.

Re: dogs - I would be very careful with them - hoping the idea of chickens will grow on them!

I looked at the 'Eglu' cage again and was wondering if I could buy the actual Eglu without the run and set up a much bigger run with something else perhaps as the runs look tiny and only suitable for 2 hens - the min. number the bhwt will let you rehome is 3.

I would probably move the run around to stop one area of grass becoming wrecked if possible. Only issue is fox proof fencing but the 'skirt' idea sounds good and easier to move around - if it was pegged in with metal pegs would this be enough to keep foxes out or are they very determined? Obviously they would be locked away at night in something secure so run would be day time only and foxes would hopefully only be an issue then during winter when they are very hungry.
Click to expand...

Love my omlet(done wood/rots) bought without run as yes otherwise £££ made our own one. With an eglu you could keep 3 hybrids easily in it. Look on ebay too as they do come up. You can jet hose it too and as its plastic easily to dry off in winter. Visit an eglu owner to see how they have it set up how it works.The run is absolutely fine and the skirt is to help stop fox digging but you could put slabs along the edge of any run. have pm'd you.
 
Sorry, but I think that the Eglu is not suitable for three birds. I had one in a run but the door was always left open. On one occasion I shut the cockeral in it overnight, in the morning when I opened it hot stale air wafted out and poor Peter was panting. Please dont use one (unless the design has been altered now)
Enjoy your girls' - the're great time wasters!!!!
 
Harrie123 said:
Very interesting post! I am hoping to get my first chickens this weekend!

I just wondered, is there anything you shouldn't give them food wise? Is there anything which is Poisonous to them?

(sorry for hijacking this post!)
Click to expand...

for some reason they aren't very keen on carrot (unless cooked) or melon seeds, otherwise they'll pretty much give everything a go!
 
How strange, melon seed is our hen's absolute favourite. They agree with yours about carrots though - in fact all hard veg unless its cooked.


Strange that the BHWT will only let you rehome three at a time - we had six in Oct, and a friend has had eight before. They did say that as farmers were gradually moving over to the new system and away from cages, they are getting less to rehome, so perhaps thats why.

We bought a caravan from a lady the other month, and she had some polish bantams, which were beautiful to look at - shiny bronze and brown feathers with a "fascinator" tyepe plumage on their heads. They were really small, but their eggs weren't much smaller than our battery hens' eggs.
 
Honey08 said:
How strange, melon seed is our hen's absolute favourite. They agree with yours about carrots though - in fact all hard veg unless its cooked.


Strange that the BHWT will only let you rehome three at a time - we had six in Oct, and a friend has had eight before. They did say that as farmers were gradually moving over to the new system and away from cages, they are getting less to rehome, so perhaps thats why.

We bought a caravan from a lady the other month, and she had some polish bantams, which were beautiful to look at - shiny bronze and brown feathers with a "fascinator" tyepe plumage on their heads. They were really small, but their eggs weren't much smaller than our battery hens' eggs.
Click to expand...

Sorry, think you misread! You must have minimum three and I think max is around 20, going by their website.

Re: Eglu - I might have to look at something bigger then if it gets very hot in there. Is there any other good plastic housing?

Thanks again for all the posts - been reading up a bit on the forums.
 
Been on the eglu site and they do have a bigger one, the Eglu cube which can hold 3 chickens but that is nearly £700! Not quite sure of the difference between Eglu Classic and Eglu Go - looks like they both hold 2.

ETA: Found this site: http://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/eco-chicken-lodge.htm
They do plastic coops of different sizes - big enough to accomodate 3 hens and cheaper than the Eglus. Would have to build own run though.
 
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We have 4 - two ex battery hens and two Light Sussex. I would go for the ex bats every time - they are friendly, excellent layers and the Light Sussex go broody all the time which is a real pain. We bought a reasonable wooden run off ebay - I've friends who use the Omlet system but the run is small but if you let them out everyday it wouldn't be a problem.

Someone on here the other day raised the issue of botulism keeping chickens near horses - I keep mine in the same field and didn't know this but it's something I'm going to look into. As for the dog and cat - they are fine, it's the pony who chases them!!

I love my chickens, I pestered my OH for ages to have them and haven't looked back. I love being able to use their eggs without buying any, and the look on friend's faces when I give them half a dozen - it's fab : )
 
We have the large Omlet house and run, we have however set up a larger electric fence enclosure around this and keep the doors open so they can wander around as they please in their safe area. We have three chickens, although one is broody at the moment so she rarely comes out of the house, and it's more than enough space for them.

They get all sorts of random scraps from the kitchen, left over cereal, bread crumbs, potatoes etc as well as grass cuttings which they adoreeeee as they can dig through them. They have completely destroyed any grass that was down in their area though so that's something to be aware of. We let them out into the main garden every so often, they like to 'help' with the gardening. Specifically digging out flower pots... =/ They like it when you did dig ground over for them so they can get worms.

Our cats are petrified of them, it's quite entertaining! They are lovely characters to have around. They're great fun to watch, I especially like the way they run! They're relatively easy to keep. Only problem we've had is one of our chickens died from a fever/virus of some sort so we're quite cautious with the others now and I have been sent to the vets with a chicken a couple of times getting plenty of odd looks. Just like any other animal they need worming regularly which is just a powder that goes in their food.
 
there has always been a omlet v traditional debate for a long time

Eglu is fine for 3 hybrids the skin of plastic is double (it has a huge air gap) it keeps cool in summmer and warm in winter and they have large ventilation gaps in the plastic bigger than a lot of wood ones.(the original was smaller air vents)

I have had wood and have about 60 ducks. Wood gets wet when it needs cleaning the floors rot with urine etc.(I use to line with lino) etc etc etc. The floor eventually fell out.

I have now have an omlet eglu and an omlet cube. The small eglu is fine for 3 hybrids (but probably not the large fancy breeds) A cube is much bigger and is suitable for 10-12 hens

The thing that is more important is outside space as they will only go inside to lay eggs and at night to roost. Most of the time a chicken will be scratching the ground and dustbathing or sunbathing.My outside run has a roof on they do like to keep dry. The housing is more bedtime. They are not boiling hot and I advise you to look at one. They are a lot bigger than in the picture(I had a cube first and ordered a smaller eglu to raise chicks and was suprised at how big it is). The plastic roost bars come out for cleaning too. You can jet wash the lot.

But yes they seem expensive but I have had my cube for about 5 years and it looks exactly the same as the day I got it. My forsham(wood one) lasted similar and ended up on a bonfire and a fox broke into it. The door warped too.Forsham are not cheap ££ either.

Go and see an eglu and cube. lots of people have them. One of the best animal houses ever invented! Faultless.
 
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