chickens

I have got a space coming up 10 mtrs x 2mtrs running alongside a boundary wall (mine).

are there any restrictions about keeping chickens in a surburban residential location and is the area mentioned sufficient to maintain a small flock?

 

Check if you are allowed to keep chickens. Some newer housing developments forbid it and a house may have a covenant attached that specifically state no livestock to be kept there.

The space is fine, but how many were you thinking of having? Five is probably enough in that area, although bantams are smaller and therefore don't eat as much and need less room. Better not to overcrowd, as this can lead to health and behaviour and boredom issues (feather pecking being the most common). And of course, a cock is out of the question in suburban areas, unless you are going the route of a cockerel box and endless faff...

 

The deeds do have a covenant re chickens (around 1963 ) but over the last twenty years the covenant holder has not been able to enforce any of the covenants that are on the deeds and they appear to have lapsed.

He tried in the past to get payment for extensions etc. and he has given up trying to get them even when the properties are sold on again.

We also have things like no washing to be put out after midday :hehe:

Regarding hens, they must have a boring time without the gentleman around, do they still lay eggs then?

 

Yes, they will still lay without a cock there. They've been developed by humans over hundreds of years to lay regardless. If you have a small flock, they'll be happier without a cock bothering them constantly, although the more gentlemanly boys tend to ask nicely and present a titbit before jumping on! Hens are gregarious creatures so happily sort themselves out into a pecking order and will be content as they are without male attention.

 

we have a smallish run with 4 hens. before we got them and even before we built the coop i looked the space needed up on the internet and it was surprisingly little! a full sized hen needs 12inches square. a bantam needs 8 inches square. thats all!! i think it may have been the rspca site, but dont quote me.

i remember thinking it wasnt much space at all! we have a 6x3 foot run with a 3x2ft coop and we have 4 full size hens and its plenty for them. good luck

 

I think your space is fine for a couple of hens, Devongardener.
You don't need a cockerel unless you are trying to raise chickens.
The hens will do eggs all by themselves.
A cockerel will annoy you and everyone around you with his crowing and they can be quite vicious - flying at you with claws and spurs up for the fight.
Whether or not you are allowed to keep poultry on the property you have is written in your land title - so you need to check there. Or maybe the local bye laws.

 

Checked with the Torbay council and four chickens without a cockrel they said was in order.

I suppose a cockrel for 4 hens is a bit OTT, but it does mean I cannot rear my own stock replacement.

How much do I have to spend to obtain four on the point of laying hens, not exoctics?

 

I keep a few hens too in my garden, & I like them, (the eggs are fantastic) - have kept them for many years - a few hens are definitely happier without Mr.C. bothering them and anyway if you rear your own chicks 75% of eggs hatched will ALWAYS be cocks....then you have problem of getting rid of them - can you bring yourself to pull their necks/chop off their heads having lovingly watched them grow up - most breeds are NOT easy to sex until well grown and full of expensive corn! I was brought up on a farm and yet still cannot end a chickens life in any way. I have to find someone who will do it for me - not easy!
My advice - buy 3/4 POL pullets from a good breeder and you will all be very happy! Re - Bantams - they usually get very broody which means less eggs for you but do look very pretty. If its plenty of eggs you want - all year round - stick with some nice fat hybrid hens.
hope this helps anyone who is considering keeping chickens!

 

Jennylyn, reminds me of a true story, I called on a farmers wife in business many years ago and it appears she use to purchase any lambs from her husband that she had fostered from birth herself rather than he sending them to market.

 

Hybrids are all well and good, but they lay like the blazes every day for a year to 18 months, then their egg production greatly reduces...thus you are left with freeloaders, fine if you want pets, not so good if you want eggs! Pure breeds (which are not all "exotics"), include Welsummers, Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Marans, Faverolles, etc, would be better. They lay less eggs over the year, take time out to moult (while hybrids continue to lay through the moult, thus wearing themselves out further) and in subsequent years lay a bit less, but continue to do so for 4 or 5 years.

Not all bantams get broody - the minature versions of the large fowl, ie bantam Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, etc lay just as well as their larger counterparts. But yes, the ''fluffier' breeds are notorious broodies - handy though for when you want to hatch out your own chicks. You can buy fertilised eggs online (eBay for example) so a cock is not necessary and there is nothing better than seeing a broody hen clucking over chicks. Although yes, out of 6 hatchlings, all 6 could be boys, or 50% could be boys...or none could be boys - it's the luck of the draw.

Point of lay large fowl pure breeds will cost you anything from £25 plus and upwards, depending on the breed and the breeder. Bantams a bit less (although again, down to breed) and hybrids at POL from £20 plus...although some unscrupulous 'breeders' will try to sell scraggy old hybrids as 'pure breeds' so beware.

My advice - join a Poultry Forum and do a bit of reading, on feeding, housing and what breeds/type/size of chickens you want. There are several good ones out there - message me if you want to know more. Don't be tempted by overly priced housing - the market is flooded with rubbish and most aren't worth it. Chickens only need somewhere dry, draught free and safe from predators, where they can sleep at night and lay during the day.

 

Thanks Aaron, a very interesting read.
£25 for a pol. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How long before chicks from hatch to laying ?

 

That's £25 minimum. Unless you are a huge, commercial 'breeder', that price barely covers the cost of hatching, rearing and feeding a young bird for most of us who raise a few chicks until they can be sold, at POL, which is (approximately) 5 months old. I currently have three Faverolle chicks running around the garden, 2 months old, still with their broody mother, which can be sexed relatively early, but other breeds (Silkies!) take longer, much longer to be sure if they are boys or girls.

 

I must remember we are not in the 1940's I suppose, I remember they came by post, I am sure half a dozen were under a pound.

 

If you have the ability, facilities and time, you can still get day old chicks...and these days, we have auto-sexing available now, so you can tell the girls immediately. Any breed with the ending 'bar' in it's name would be one of them and they also have the advantage that many lay eggs with a green/blue tinted shell, which seems to be the 'in' thing now.

Alternatively, perhaps give a few ex-battery hens a chance of life for another couple of years. They will lay less than POL birds but there is great reward in seeing them experience the outdoors for the first time. Contact the BHWT to see if there is a rescue in your area.

The choices are endless eh?

 

Aaron, its a shame that Devon and Sussex are miles apart. !