Who's got chickens?

RedvGreen said:
I've always wondered about the ones you see near farms. Don't they just walk off or get lost?
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Nah, they like to stay near where they sleep.

RedvGreen said:
Do they lay without any male presence (i.e. like a Cow needs to Calf first for Milk production)?
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Yes, they lay regardless. Up to an egg a day during the warmer/lighter months.

RedvGreen said:
What do you do in the harsh winters? Lock them up, or what?
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They are pretty hardy. As long as they have shelter they can retreat to, they are fine with outside access all year.

RedvGreen said:
How long do they live for, and when they perish what do you do with them then?
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It varies. They can live 10 years or more. Dispose of them like you would a pet.

RedvGreen said:
Also, do you need any license or veterinary insurances?
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Nope. No point insuring them really. New hens/eggs are cheap, and veterinary care for them is limited.
 
We've had chickens for over a year now and to me, the number one aspect you need to be aware of is the dreaded Red Mite, which can kill a chicken and very nearly killed one of ours last year. Apparently, Red Mite can live on humans and other pets, as well as live in your house, so they are definitely not to be taken lightly. Get yourself a puffer tub of Diatomaceous Earth ready for when the mites show up - we dust our chickens regularly and mix it in with their dust bath. Don't put roofing felt on the roof of your coop as you'll only have to take it back off when you do get Red Mite.

Read up on everything you need to know to keep your chickens healthy and happy before you get them. There are some great sites and books (Haynes Chicken Manual) out there which have all the information you need.

For bedding we use Hemp, scented with eucalyptus, from a site called Flyte So Fancy. We've tried a few different things and found that to be the best.

Mr Fox can also be a danger to your birds, luckily we've never seen a fox in this area but we always keep an eye out for them. We have two dogs so hopefully their scent will deter any foxes that are about from coming in the garden.

We have an IP camera inside our coop so we can keep an eye on them to make sure they are safe as well as watch the various antics they get up to, which is highly amusing.

When the birds are establishing the pecking order it can look quite brutal but there are things you can do to limit any excessive abuse and also treat any comb or wattle wounds. We recently introduced a new bird and the other birds just seemed to hound her non-stop. We had to remove her from the coop and keep her indoors in a cage and gradually get the others use to her. That took a good four weeks or so but finally the other birds got used to seeing her and they leave her alone now, most of the time anyway.

Happy, healthy chickens lay the best eggs and everyone who has had some of our eggs say they are easily the best eggs they have ever tasted.

We love keeping chickens but it is definitely hard work sometimes.
 
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if you don't watch game of thrones go on youtube and search for "hound chicken"
 
I will say that you will notice quite a large difference in taste with your home grown eggs compared to shop eggs, it's really worth it in that regard although I don't know how much feed is, so you may still make a loss money wise. Been a while.
 
Well after a good look around the dog kennel, I'm semi convinced that the previous owner kept chickens it it... There's chicken wire everywhere, all around the border of out house is a 10' talk privet bush and there's chicken wire all along it so that's a bonus. The roof is already felted but duely noted...

Is it even worth pulling the slabs up in the run area?
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
Well after a good look around the dog kennel, I'm semi convinced that the previous owner kept chickens it it... There's chicken wire everywhere, all around the border of out house is a 10' talk privet bush and there's chicken wire all along it so that's a bonus. The roof is already felted but duely noted...

Is it even worth pulling the slabs up in the run area?
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Our coop is on slabs but we let the chickens free-range all day.

I don't think I'd have the slabs down if the chickens were kept in the run all the time, as they need to scratch, but putting slabs down definitely has its plus points.

You have to be careful with putting wood chip down as apparently it can carry fungus and whatever else that can be harmful to the chickens. You have to get specific wood chip I think but I'm not 100% sure on that. We did think about it but decided to just stick with the paving slabs and letting the chickens wander about as they please.

Red Mite like to nest under roof felt so be prepared to have to take it off, maybe think about replacing it with wood slats or something. Red Mite are notoriously difficult to get rid of once you get them. I had to strip our coop down, jet wash everything, re-build and re-paint it. Luckily we haven't seen any Red Mite since but I'm expecting them soon as the weather warms up.

The chicken wire around the perimeter of the garden is a good way to keep the chickens contained but it won't deter a hungry fox so you need to make sure the chickens are well protected at night.

Rats can also be a problem to chickens (apparently they bite the chicken legs!) so you have to make sure they can't get into the roosting area at night. I don't know how your coop is situated but raising the kennel up off the ground on stilts or something might be a good idea.


Edit: If you ever need advice or help with anything just give me a shout (email in trust) and I'll be glad to help.
 
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darael said:
I know I shouldn't laugh at this, but... :o
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My neighbour has one of those big Roman Mastif-type dogs and I do worry that it may be able to jump the fence.

Our chickens are like family pets so I would protect them if I had to but I'd be fighting a losing battle there I think - the dog must weigh a good 15 stone!
 
Dude, pop me a text. Or email or something. My father keeps loads of chickens, some rare breeds but mostly standard bantams.

I can probably get him to get you a few for free or cheap. Depends if he keeps any of the eggs for sitting or not this year.
 
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