Keeping Chickens..

Ive never kept Chickens before but seriously thinking about it now.

I neen to buy a coop and run, is this best placed on soil or grass?

Do they need to be locked into the coop at night?

I want to keep 3 or maybe 4 chickens, what is a good type for laying eggs?

Many thanks for any help.

 

Hi Gaz
I've kept chickens for years - thoroughly recommend it.

They are fine on grass but it will last about two weeks before it disappears and you are left with soil (or mud in winter). Best to spend as much money as you can afford on as large a run as you and your garden can manage and make it permanent with a good thick layer of woodchips.

Yes, they need locking into the house at night time. Predators (fox mainly, but also badgers, stoats, weasels) are adept at finding a way into a run, so unless you can make it the chicken equivalent of Fort Knox, best lock them up. Foxes have been know to scale a 6 foot fence...

For eggs, hybrids are best - your common 'brown hen'. They will lay like the clappers for a year to eighteen months, then stop or dramatically reduce the amount of eggs laid. Alternatively, pure breeds such as Sussex (cream eggs) or the Legbar (green/blue eggs) will lay a bit less each year, but don't 'wear out' so quickly. Or, for cuteness and character, bantams - but their eggs are smaller and they have a tiresome habit of going broody all the time!

Check out Victoria Plum's thread on this section (from last year I think, so look back a few pages) for lots more advice.

 

Thank you very much Aaron, very helpful info..

 

One more point to re-inforce. Space is really, really important. Overcrowding can lead to all sorts of issues - boredom, feather pecking, bullying, disease. Give them as much space as you can, or cut down the number of birds you intend to keep. But making the run as big as possible is best, as you WILL want more chickens, once you have a few. I guarantee this!

Oh, and a lot of the poultry housing is badly made, flimsy and overpriced. Do extensive research before spending your money.

 

We have a few chickens, but are far from knowledgeable on the subject.

We have an Omlet coup. They are hideously expensive (relatively speaking), but are remarkably easy to clean, easy to move around the garden, and thus I think well suited to the beginner.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/homepage/

We got our chickens from the local breeder. He has loads of different varieties, and we asked his advice - our preference was for something interesting, but not too fussy or in need to special care (I don't know to what extend the breeds that have feathered legs are "more tricky", I've always assumed that they must be, but either way we didn't want anything "advanced". He suggested French Marans - they probably don't lay as well as a hybrid

They have free range of the garden, and are a hoot to watch waddling about - highly recommended. We lock ours in their coup at night.

You could have rescue chickens from a battery farm. I believe they tend to lay well, and are basically birds that have past their economic prime in a battery farm.

For high-yield egg laying, and great entertainment, I recommend Indian Running Ducks. I think they are great fun to watch - but obviously they aren't chickens but they aren't very different in terms of looking-after

 

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Our hens' coop is within a covered, paved run covered in deep straw and has a roof. It is 'Fort Knox' because the lower part of side mesh is weldmesh, low level timbers have mesh stapled on and there is even a layer of mesh under the corrugated plastic roofing just in case something gets on top and tries to gnaw through. There are additional barriers below ground to stop anything burrowing under despite both the whole of the interior and outside perimeter being slabbed.

So in fine weather, they can be left in the locked run and put themselves to bed and we don't bother closing the pophole so they can get up whenever they want. Food is however removed from the run at night despite it being sited so mice can't get up at it, but water (again in a vermin free postion) left out in case they are thirsty first thing in the morning). Free ranging in the garden is under supervision only.

Make your run tall enough so you can get in there with your hens - much more fun than watching from the outside!

 

Lots of brilliant advice from the knowledgeable folks already. Sussex gardener helped me a lot when I got mine last year.

We have 5 silkies. They are fabulous friends, and don't fly, but boy do they love going broody!

I'm pushed for time at the mo but post up any nagging questions or doubts and someone will help you out. I'm still learning myself, but am happy to help.

 

Sounds like a great chicken run you have there Scrungee And yes, chickens are much more fun when you can sit in the run and waste time watching them!

Told you!!

 

Thank you all for the brilliant information, much appreciated.

Im thinking 3 or maybe 4 chickens.
What do you think of this Coop and Run:-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290478274322&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

There is so much choice on the type of chickens, Im just not sure what to choose.
Is there any good sellers(for chickens at POL) in the West Midlands?

 

Alright..... alright !! I keep putting them in seclusion so they can't get in the house, but if left with the others they still sneak off with a copy of 'take a break' magazine and lounge around in the nest box!

 

I don't think it's big enough. If you have the skill, making your own house is a much better idea. Most chicken houses on the market are cheap because they are badly made and wouldn't keep predators out. For a decent house, you need to pay the money that goes with it. Kristen's recommendation of an Omlet house is good - they are well made and you can build your own run for them, instead of the (too small) run that is provided. Or try googling Forsham housing - reasonably priced and sturdy. Above all, think how you will be cleaning them out, not just in summer but in winter as well!

 

I can recommend flyte so fancy, quality houses!

 

Have a look on the interweb and the local papers to see when and where the local farmer's auction is on. At our local one you have to register the first time you go, which is a bit of a pain because the queue is massive, but once you have your auction number that's it, and it doesn't cost to get one.

Stuff at the farmer's auction is often a fraction of the price you'd pay elsewhere, and it is a good day out too.

I'm not the expert, but my dad and I kept plenty of chickens over the years, on allotments. Obviously keeping predators out is vital, and more difficult than it sounds, but it also helps if you can keep predators out of sight too somehow. The very sight of a fox, or if a dog stands at the fence and barks at them, the chickens get stressed and will stop laying for days. Ideally the chickens should not only be safe, but should also feel safe.

A few years ago my dad had his chickens safe, but their run was right up to the perimiter fence. They suddenly stopped laying (not a single egg from 20+ hens). Other allotment holders had lost chickens to a fox that had moved into the area. Since then my dad has always made the chicken enclosures away from the perimiter fence (regardless of how secure the fence is), and with ply board two foot high around the side nearest the perimiter, so that if anything scary does come too close, the chickens don't see it. There's been no problems since, and that's been the case now for better part of 10 years.

 

Have you decided what sort of chickens you want Gaz? Pets, egg producers or a bit of both? If space is a bit lacking, then seriously consider bantams.