Does anyone here keep chickens?

Crizzy · 22 Apr 2018 at 13:13

I'm toying with the idea of keeping some chickens in the garden for some fresh eggs and as a bit of a hobby. I think it would be great to get the kids involved as well.

Does anyone here keep chickens? What's your experience been like?

I live in a residential area so I think hens would be ok, but obviously a cockrell is out!

I had a quick search but couldn't see any similar threads, so apologies if there is an existing discussion somewhere.

Cheers

Dis86 · 22 Apr 2018 at 13:15

You're going to need a cockrell...

Skillmister · 22 Apr 2018 at 13:31

Dis86 said:
You're going to need a cockrell...

What for? He wants eggs..

Dis86 · 22 Apr 2018 at 14:44

Skillmister said:
What for? He wants eggs..

To ensure future generations! And kick the crap out of hungry foxes.

Rroff · 22 Apr 2018 at 15:09

I've only got passing experience from other family members, etc. but I believe they largely look after themselves as long as you have some way of keeping them supplied with water. Make sure their diet is fairly balanced though as calcium is important and zinc and (the right sort of) proteins can cause issues if deficient i.e. pulling out/eating a lot of their own feathers, etc.

Russinating · 22 Apr 2018 at 16:02

I love chickens, we had some and a cockerel when I was growing up, and I would get 3/4 in a heartbeat, BUT..

They are a tie. You have to be there to let them out and let them in else Mr Fox will have his way. Even with some automated door system, there's no guarantee all the chickens will be in at the set time (we quite often had to go out and pick them up and move them in). You could have their pen entirely enclosed but you'd lose a lot of garden space if being humane about how much room you give them. I'd say at least 2-3msq per chicken outside of their coop but I'm sure you can find proper figures online.

Check restrictions where you live. We're in Southville and livestock are forbidden, so that might just be game over for you straight away.

NoNameNoNumber · 22 Apr 2018 at 16:31

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/whos-got-chickens.18597202/

We had them for a while. I loved them, and fresh eggs but A) they're vandals and B) they're messy.

They'll trash the garden and any flower beds

PlacidCasual · 22 Apr 2018 at 18:14

It is doable but depends how close they will be to houses and quality of their house. In the summer they will wake with the light so you’ll want an automatic door opener set for a reasonable hour. They will make noise particularly when laying and when people have windows open at night this enough to wake people. Hence you need a decent house that will keep the noise in.
You do not want a cockeril it’s like having your own football hooligan. It will attack you it is noisy as buggery and generally horrid. We ate hours after the first chicks hatched.

Ithink residential chickens are a bit but and miss we’ve done it but annoyed a lot of neighbours. Last 2 houses been more rural or remote so not an issue.

GSXRMovistar · 22 Apr 2018 at 23:07

The missus had some a while back, three Wyandotte Bantams, they were actually really interesting and fun to keep. Very friendly and easy enough to maintain assuming you provide them with a decent coop and run. However they were a lot noisier than originally expected, as above they would rise when light and if not let out soon enough they would kick off a little. Also when laying they can be quite vocal but the missus said they are smart enough to realise that making a noise will get you to do something (i.e. let them out).

In the end we re-homed them to a lovely person that provided them with a lot more space (and other chickens) without annoying the neighbours, if we were to move somewhere a little more rural without really close neighbours we would definitely keep chickens again.

Mr C · 23 Apr 2018 at 05:58

I've had chickens and i'd say there smarter than you think. Ours naturally head inside as it gets dark no matter what they are doing i have not once needed to open the automatic door to let them in.

They will destroy any greenery they can get to so keep flowers / vegetables well fenced off from them. Expect to spend a lot of time cleaning up after them too. Ours are quiet and rarely make any noise unless one of them gets seperated or a helicopter is overhead. It's the only time i have ever heard them. I'm asleep most of the day too.

An automatic door opener and a secure run is a godsend. I got this coop https://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/devon-hen-house and the chickenguard premium door opener from there too. Although i built my own run since i had a lot more space and wanted to be able to walk into it.

Crizzy · 23 Apr 2018 at 08:23

Hmmm I may give this a miss then, I don't mind the maintenance and work but I don't want to end up with noisy chickens that upsets the neighbours, not really worth it!

Thanks for all the advice though, much appreciated

FISHGUTS · 23 Apr 2018 at 21:36

If you want some feathered friends in your garden, then maybe have a think about getting doves.
Obviously you don't get eggs, but they are pretty interesting to have in a garden. My kids love ours.
Not much noise, other than when they clap their wings.
Plus they won't trash your garden, when they are mooching around.

Russinating · 23 Apr 2018 at 22:59

FISHGUTS said:
If you want some feathered friends in your garden, then maybe have a think about getting doves.
Obviously you don't get eggs, but they are pretty interesting to have in a garden. My kids love ours.
Not much noise, other than when they clap their wings.
Plus they won't trash your garden, when they are mooching around.

Isn't that dangerously close to being the weirdo on the street who has pigeons?

FISHGUTS · 24 Apr 2018 at 06:48

Happy to be a wierdo then.
They look a bit better than pigeons and you tend to keep them in a nice dovecote that adds to your garden

RoyMi6 · 24 Apr 2018 at 09:44

Crizzy said:
Hmmm I may give this a miss then, I don't mind the maintenance and work but I don't want to end up with noisy chickens that upsets the neighbours, not really worth it!

Thanks for all the advice though, much appreciated

Was just going to join this thread to say that chickens can make a right racket.

Can happen when they're laying eggs or one of them is getting pestered by the other, but although not as regular as a rooster hens are very capable of making a lot of noise.

It can be pretty ear piercing in person.

Ironically our chickens are nearer our neighbours house than ours and when we apologised for the fact they were making a bit of noise they told us that it was kind of nice to be reminded of when they had chickens back in the day and that they don't mind it at all

I think we lucked out a little though!

thesockpuppet182 · 24 Apr 2018 at 10:46

Used to, found them very easy to look after!

wilber · 25 Apr 2018 at 10:42

Chickens like most animals are easy. Chickens need water, feed and grit. Keep coop clean and give it a deep clean with proper cleaning agents every so often to stop the bugs they attract. They will make a mess of an area though with their scratching. Be aware that they could attract vermin.

I found saw dust the best to put under them and straw or hay in the nest boxes. Remove eggs regularly or they can start to peck them and eat them. I think 1 chicken will lay an egg every 36 hours roughly so that should give you an idea of how many hens you will need. ranging requirements can be quite large, Free range egg farms are required to supply a little over 5m2 per bird.

koolpc · 25 Apr 2018 at 10:49

I keep my chicken in the freezer.

Siliconslave · 25 Apr 2018 at 15:37

That Devon henhouse looks pretty good - the misses wants some this / next year and most of the coops we've seen are a bit rubbish.

Crizzy · 3 May 2018 at 20:55

FISHGUTS said:
Happy to be a wierdo then.
They look a bit better than pigeons and you tend to keep them in a nice dovecote that adds to your garden

Stupid question alert: Don't they just fly away? What keeps them at your property?