Who else is getting chickens

[Gin4thewin]

We decided a little while ago to get chickens and theyre not ready until april so didnt rush to order the coop. They are sold of EVERYWHERE! And the people we ordered the chickens from said theyve been inundated aswell!

Sold out*

Nobody, I would imagine, as it’s not essential travel.

What happens to the poor things when all this is over though?

Yes I see this on facebook forums. A sudden rush to get chickens. Chickens and coops being stolen. I wonder whether there will be a glut of unwanted chickens after all this.

I’m trying to persuade my DH but he’s having none of it!!!

Yes, I would be a bit worried about what happens when people can easily get eggs and the novelty has worn off
One of my neighbours got some and THEN posted on FB asking for an enclosure because she can’t get one from the usual places. Poor things are in a rabbit hutch I think

We have pet chickens and honestly I regret it and wish we'd never got them!

Keeping chickens is actually fairly hard work, we used to have them but circumstances changed.

I'd not get them unless you're prepared to get filthy and not want lie ins ever again.

@Hoppinggreen that’s awful! Poor chickens! Guidelines are 2m square run per chicken.

I wanted day-old chicks to fatten up for eating but cannot source anywhere! They're usually quite easy to get hold of.

I hope to god they are looked after properly and not just rehomed after all this calms down.

It’s quite hard work having chickens.

Chickens are really easy to care for, I love mine, but you need to get their coop and run sorted before you collect them! Ime there is always a big rush in spring / easter to get chickens but normally can buy coops and runs easily.

#Thighmageddon not quite true on the no lie in's again. We got a Chickenguard about 5 years ago which opens & shuts the door at whatever time we set it for, has been great, esp when we've been out at night & know we'll need a lie in in the morning

Theyre for pets, we said about them ages ago, so not linked to current circumstances, thank you to the 1st response telling me its not essential travel, well aware, not every post has to be about cv.

I worried about that too, them not being looked after properly or slung out or worse once things are a bit easier. The auto door opener might be worth a look if they get a bit shouty!

Thing is i dont think people realise, they aren't going to instantly start laying either!

We kept quails years ago, in the bottom of a small aviary with budgies. Used to have boiled quail eggs in packed lunches, like proper posh folk.

The quails were awfully skittish, and extremely dim, and occasionally would have a prolapse with all the egg laying, which led to a steep learning curve of how to deal with that!

They laid 3 eggs a day which were great for baking. They'd be happy in a big rabbit hutch, might consider doing it again if this goes on.

The budgies were lovely, but, not any use for eggs.

Use a shed, put a hole like you'd use for a cat flap at the bottom of one wall and attach a run made of chicken wire on a wodden frame.
You can make it as fancy or as plain as you like so long as they have room to run about.
I miss my Chickens we had them for 20 odd years, day old pullets raised in the garage in a big box with woodchips on the bottom, and a heat lamp over one end.
I've trying for ages to get Dh to make a run so we can have them again.

Supposing you had, as a result of this thread, spent some time daydreaming on websites of people who sell eggs for hatching...and have a neighbour who has nursery's old incubator in her garage...and you have just inherited an outdoor rabbit hutch and run...

...would you order quail eggs online and call it "educational"?

I'd do it, but am a bit nervous of getting 12 male quails. I've only ever bought sexed chicks before, and even then we got some males.

I don't mind keeping 1 male to 5 females, lower than that and the poor females get shagged too much.

I dispatched injured/sick quails when we had them before - felt really quite sick afterwards and I certainly didn't enjoy that part of keeping birds, but, can't quite get my head round killing a fluffy little chick just because it's a boy. Can't keep a bunch of males together, though.

Anyone got advice about what to do for the best with unwanted males? Sensible thing would be to rear them for meat, I guess. Anyone done that? In a suburban back garden?

We want some, we'd been planning to put them on our allotment up the road, but obviously current circumstances have changed that for now.
My Dh grew up on a farm that supplied the town with eggs, hundreds of chickens, so he knows what to do with them. Quite excited.
You can build your own coop but I imagine going to get the materials isn't really an essential journey.