Does anyone keep chickens?

[Shadowchaser]

Please talk to me about them!

I was thinking of getting some ex battery hens for the garden after seeing some sorry looking ones and thinking it would be a nice thing to offer them a home. Not too fussed about eggs but it would be nice to get the odd one.

How much time do they take to keep care of? Is it a case of daily cleaning or more like weekly? What happens in winter do they have to stay inside lots of the time, do they get bored?

Best coops/runs? I’m rural ish with foxes (think long gardens backing onto woodland but with neighbour's either side)- am I condemning them before I begin? I have huge gardens so they could run free but I have a cat and dogs who haven’t been chicken tested so at least initially they need keeping separately.

Ive also heard a lot about rats and mites, how much of a huge issue are these? Not sure how impressed my neighbour's would be if we created an infestation.

Any experiences would be great.

I have kept chickens on and off for twenty years. Foxes, mink and red mite were the bane of my existence. If I was going to do it now, I would build them a massive bombproof run and house them in a plastic coop such as an Egglu which is not in the spirit as they love and need to roam in my view.

I am very rural though. In a town you might have more luck, red mite aside.

I’m on the outskirts of a town but my house borders woodland on 3 sides (the other side is a neighbour)
We definitely have foxes and red and white weasels/stoats/mink? We also have many wild birds and badgers.

Ive seen the eglu houses and runs, would they be unhappy in this type of setup full time?

In the nicest way is it more hassle than it’s worth?

Mites are the thing worrying me the most as I hate anything like that, I heard they don’t get them in Eglu type houses though unless that’s false!

My niece has about 20 ex battery hens. She has had several taken by foxes or birds of prey, rats are a big problem as are mites.

She has more of an estate (very rural, woody) than a garden so they have tons of space.

I must say it is very smelly though. Wet chicken poo stinks. It's put me right off getting some.

I have 4 chickens and they have an omlet cube - we have attached it to a large, tall run which has the wire dug into the ground and has a roof over it. I do not allow them to 'free range' as there are too many predators and they are a bugger to catch!
No mites or rats as yet - I collect eggs daily so check on their food / water then - I use large containers so only need top ups every few days
I clean them out about once a week but it takes minutes as just pull out the trays, dump in compost bin and reline with newspaper

We had red mites when we had a wooden coop, but not when we had an Eglu. We kept three bantams in an Eglu - plenty of room as they had the garden during the day. When we had ex-battery hens, we had six and they needed something bigger, but I think Eglu do a larger coop. Ours laid a lot of eggs the first year, and then 4 or 5 the following couple of years, and even in their last years, one or two a week in the summer. They don't need a lot of room to roost at night, but you do need enough nest boxes - they won't all lay at the same time, so not one each.

Care is easy - they put themselves to bed, so. you just need to lock them in. Ours free ranged a large suburban garden and ruined everything in their reach apart from shrubs. Flowers, herbs and any patch of soil big enough for a dust bath was fair game. If you have a huge garden, you could just fence off anything precious. We didn't have a problem with foxes, maybe as we had a well trained dog. She can the cats didn't bother the chickens.

Kept hens for many years and have been lucky to speak to some real experts (I write about gardening in the national press).

I think your instinct is spot on. Ex batts are ideal for anyone new to hen-keeping. Be warned that they are incredibly sorry for themselves when you first take them home, but they bounce back amazingly quickly and seeing your girls blossoming into individual characters is priceless. They will soon be eating out of your hand (especially if you give them chopped up grapes). Best of all is hearing them purr with happiness when they have their first dust bath.

I second buying them an Eglu. They are very easy to clean and if you buy a second-hand one it will hold its value. Don't be put off by horror stories about red mites, leg mites and other parasites. Just buy layers pellets with VermX. I wish I had shares in the stuff - it works like magic and keeps all the nasties at bay.

There are foxes everywhere so you'll need a secure enclosure. But hens are canny and will soon be taking themselves up to their Eglu every evening before dusk, so you just have to close the door behind them. Whenever you are pottering in the garden your girls can 'help' by overseeing everything you do and eating any woodlice, worms, earwigs and grubs that you reveal.

Verm-X Original Layers Pellets for Poultry, Ducks & Fowl

I have ducks and chickens and love them.

I would say that the amount of hassle it is too look after them depends on the coop and pen you have. After years of faffing about with DIY set ups, we now have a large omlet walk in run and classic coop, and it is very easy. Our birds free range during the day and get shut in at night, bit we still need a large pen for when they are in for a fews days (either when we're on holiday or when in snows heavily). We have a large waterer that I fill weekly, but they need feeding and checking on every day, and letting in and out of the coop.

A lot of people don't know how much space chickens need - you need to aim for a square meter space per bird. Coop and pen need to stay clean, and they need access to a dust bath (either one you provide, or they can make their own if they have free access to some dirt). They also make a mess of your garden and eat your plants.

I love my chickens, but if you are on the fence about getting them, I'd suggest not doing it. They take up time, space and money.

We have silkie chickens. Never had mites or issues with foxes or minks, we have had mice sometimes - its the food they are attracted to. Don't have issue with smell. We got a coop from FlytesofFancy, wooden one like a cottage with run and it looks lovely, painted one but they are pricey. We get all our stuff from there mostly. Care is minimal each day put out food and water, let them out of coop, shut it, maybe 10 minutes a day plus ordering food, hay, bedding etc as required. Cleaning weekly is OK. Though we only have a few, if you are getting loads maybe you need to do more often.

https://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/ They are excellent for advice as are https://www.pipinchicksilkies.com/

There is a chicken keepers section on MN, not massively active but people do respond if you ask questions.

I'd look for a plastic coop. Lots on the market not just eglu. They definitely seem both easier to clean and less red mite friendly.

I'd also have a permanent predator proof run with roof for them. It looks like flock down is going to be an annual occurrence for the next few years. So personally I'd build a compliant run for the winters as a safe place for them to be.

We have a couple of seramas, a couple of silkies and some Pekin bantams. We have just finished building a new coop and run for them. This was because we felt they needed more space and also the old coop had become infected with mites which we did find a real pain to deal with.
I have surprised myself at how interested I have been in them. We have raised some indoors until they were old enough to go out and they run up to us when we go into the garden. We have done everything we can to make sure their environment is good for them.

Thankyou everyone for your advice!

Those pellets @heathspeedwell look great! On average how long would a bag last with around 2-3 chickens?

I like the look of the Eglu just not the price 😄

I would say I am on the fence but I just wanted to do something nice for something while I have the space to do so. I can’t rescue dogs anymore because we have unruly young children so thought I could potentially give something else a nice life and it would be nice for the children to be involved. Maybe I’m a bit rose tinted about it though once it’s cold and wet (and if they really stink!)

I used to keep 20 chickens when I lived in the countryside. I fed them layers pellets, corn, and potato peelings boiled with cabbage leaves. They roamed around my huge garden which was enclosed. They had a large wooden hen house which I mucked out each week and put in clean straw but once a month I pulled everything out and pressure washed the inside then sawdust and all new straw.

With regard to red mite, they catch them from wild birds and they live in the wooden structure of the coop and etc and come out at night to feed on the hens to the point of total anaemia if left.

I used to use Ivermectin as a spot on and built a wire lining for the coop with axle grease on the walls behind the wire so the hens would not get grease on their plumage. It helped but I would go down the Eglu route or copy a friend of mine and house them in a large plastic wendy house in a run.

Head over to the Chicken Keepers board under Pets - there are lots of useful threads there including a recent one by someone who is just getting started.

IMO the Omlet runs are too small.

Eglus are good. You definitely can get red mite in them - we've had infestations - but it's less likely because they are easy to clean thoroughly.

I strongly recommend doing a chicken keeping course - you'll get tons of useful info.

Chickens don't stink if you keep their pen clean. They are lovely, friendly pets who recognise different people and are easy to tame with treats.

You could keep an eye out for a second hand eglu. I got a great deal on one of mine second hand.

They are lovely and we really like the cooing and clucking- very comforting.

mine are always desperate to come in the kitchen! They’re quite cuddly too and like a neck scratch

Thankyou everyone! Off to have a read of the chicken threads 😄

Our cat is a fabulous mouser so he may keep some of that in check.

Our dog on the other hand has never seen a chicken. She hasn’t shown any prey drive so far but I don’t know how tempting a chicken would be! She’s a German shepherd so not small.

I am not precious about my garden. The vast majority of it is weeds or wildflowers. DH does like the lawn but he wouldn’t be too bothered as it’s already trashed by the dogs, the resident mole and the kids!

Rural chicken keeper, my girls live in an old concrete shed with a concrete floor and access to an area of the garden that is theirs and theirs alone. Only seen a fox once in the chicken garden and that was in the early hours of the morning when the girls were safely in their coop. Not had a problem with rats although mice do sneak into the shed from time to time, no problems with red mite as the shed isn't wooden. Mine are ex-batts and I get regular eggs from them. My dog used to be more scared of the chickens than the chickens were of him. We have nearby buzzards who never pay any attention to the hens and the local cat picks the time he crosses the chicken garden wisely as they have seen him off before now too.

Omlet eglus, had two varieties over 10 years and no mites. Did have a fox get one despite a 6' fence all around the garden when I didn't have eglus foxproof runs. Easy to clean out and I sold my cube for about two thirds new price after 7 years use on ebay. I used to let them out of the run to free range once I was back from work and they would put themselves to bed at dusk and I'd lock them in the run. To be honest i never shut their actual door unless it was freezing so they could come down into the run when they wanted as I'm not an early riser. I got very attached to them, they are such characters, the last two lasted 8 years and used to come running for treats if I opened the door.😍

I currently have 5 rescue chickens on my allotment I bought a run from Mano Mano 4x3m one upgraded the chicken wire supplied to 16g welded mesh all round and surrounded in paving slabs. We have loads of foxes and they've never got in. They need 2sqm each in their run.

Its so lovely giving rescues a home. We have lost quite a few to peritonitis which I believe is common in rescues. It's heartbreaking to lose them but it's nice to give them a lovely home for however long they live. We've had out longest rescue for a year so far and she is doing well!

They don't take much looking after really just feed them and keep them clean! Ours have pretty much all laid every day as well. I am now addicted to chickens and am about to get 3 silkies for the garden for my 40th birthday. Going to get an omlet walk in run 3x3m as I think it'll look a bit nicer than the one we have at the allotment.

Chicken keeper here!

My rescued girl is just wonderful! She's my baby and will sit happily on my knee for a nap.
Her coop is always clean and NO she doesn't smell. The odd plop does of course but as long as you clean up after then no mess.
She loves the garden and since getting her I've never been in the garden so much! Really good for the spirit. Nothing better than sat in the sunshine with a glass and watching your girl content.
Chickens are fabulous characters. Just keep them safe!!
Best of luck on your chicken adventure.....