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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to consider a few Chickens (and am I underestimating how much work they are?)

80 replies

St0pTryingT0MakeFetchHappen · 01/11/2019 12:25

Blatant post for traffic. We have recently moved into a house with a large enclosed garden and plenty of room for a big chicken run. My thought was that once we are settled (perhaps Spring next year) we might get 2 or 3 chickens, primarily for eggs. They would have the chicken run, plus I would like to give them limited forays into the vegetable patch/main garden to organically pest control slugs/snails etc. I have no experience of chickens (although I am quite familiar with goats/alpacas). So... am I being a hopeless romantic? Is there a good book ( Chickens for Dummies?) Are there any major pitfalls?

Please tell me your chicken secrets!

OP posts:
Purrpuss · 02/11/2019 07:59

The things you learn on MN.... I didn’t know about kitchen scraps, chickens and the law...

Slight de-rail here, sorry OP, but has any of your chicken gurus kept quail? I’m scared of chickens but thought I might be able to work up to them via quails.... or does having quail simply invite every rat in the village to come live in your garden?

Purrpuss · 02/11/2019 07:59

*you not your!

Pardonwhat · 02/11/2019 08:32

My understanding is it can’t be food that has been for consumption and then not consumed - if you understand me.

So for example, the external lettuce leaves that you were never going to eat are fair game but some from your bowl that you didn’t eat are not. (Not that that stops me) Smile

Fruit and veg really enriches chickens lives and mine are privately owned. I’d like to see myself charged.

Zeldasmagicwand · 02/11/2019 09:46

I live in Ireland so can feed food scraps but it's usually reduced price fresh salad veg from Aldi/Lidl they get rather than food scraps. DEFRA rules don't apply over here.

Chickens are not smelly unless you don't care for them adequately. Their poo is no smellier than any other animal poo. Would you use a cat poo tray indoors and not empty it regularly? Confused
I clean out my 2 Eglu coops every single morning and hose them down. I check their good levels and top up the feeders and put out fresh water daily. I have bark chippings inside the walk-in run which helps keep it clean.

If you want them on the basis that they're very low maintenance, maybe get a pet goldfish instead?

Zeldasmagicwand · 02/11/2019 09:47

Should say 'I check their food levels'.

kjhkj · 02/11/2019 15:09

My current flock all crouch down to be stroked when I go into their run

I'm not sure whether that was a joke. You do know that when they "crouch down" they think you're about to shag them don't you?

Original poster
St0pTryingT0MakeFetchHappen · 02/11/2019 16:32

I do not intend to either pet or shag any chickens I may purchase...

OP posts:
Zeldasmagicwand · 02/11/2019 19:40

@kjhkj are you 13yrs old or just rather silly?

Cakecrumbsinmybra · 02/11/2019 19:51

A year ago I would have said go for it. We inherited some chickens with a house that we bought and they laid well; it was fun to look after them and we enjoyed their different characters. When they all died (they were already quite old for chickens) we got 12 ex commercial layers from the BHWT (£5 per bird!). All fine for a couple of months, loads of eggs etc. Last 6 months, maybe more, have been not great - they have started eating their own eggs, hardly any of them lay in the first place now (we’ve hunted everywhere in case they are laying somewhere else, I don’t think so),they got red mite which was gross to sort out, they cost a lot if you have to buy eggs on top of all their feed, bedding! No one wants to look after hens that aren’t laying so not sure what we’ll do when we go on holiday in winter! I wish we hadn’t got this last lot. If we did get them again, which I’m not sure about (although a shame as we have the coop, run, feeder, water supply, loads of land), then I think we’d get them from very young.

Hearthside · 02/11/2019 19:53

This is really making me miss mine Sad.We had ex batts bhwt for a long time .We never had red mite for years then we did and it killed my ladies even though i treated them and the coop .I then had a really bad accident which put me out of action for 6mths and my husband said no chickens so we have had none since.

Cakecrumbsinmybra · 02/11/2019 19:53

Um, and to the PP, going on about hen sex, I read that the couching down is a social thing amongst groups of hens, part of establishing pecking order etc

frostedviolets · 02/11/2019 19:54

are you 13yrs old or just rather silly?

When hens crouch down when approached or touched it is thought to be a submissive behaviour in readiness for mating by the cockerel.

Honeyroar · 02/11/2019 19:55

I think the squatting is like a sign of submission personally. They do it when scared too.

frostedviolets · 02/11/2019 19:58

No one wants to look after hens that aren’t laying so not sure what we’ll do when we go on holiday in winter! I wish we hadn’t got this last lot

Well obviously get someone to look after the chickens for you...?

Hybrid chickens, which battery hens usually are, are typically pretty short lived anyway, 3 - 4 years usually tops.

They lay a ridiculously large, unnatural amount of eggs then conk it.

The heritage breeds tend to lay much less and live longer, up to 10 - 12 years.

So I wouldn't worry too much.

chomalungma · 02/11/2019 20:01

I walk past a garden everyday that has a lot of chickens in. I have nothing to say except I like looking at them in the morning when I walk past.

Good luck

frostedviolets · 02/11/2019 20:04

I do not intend to either pet or shag any chickens I may purchase...

And why no petting?
They are friendly little things, mine used to love coming in the house, DD liked to stroke them while they sat in her lap.

If I had a massive garden I'd probably get them again, I don't think they are suited for the 'average' urban garden though as I've said.
Too noisy and destructive.

Didiplanthis · 02/11/2019 20:04

I've had quail ! I love them. They make the most amazing noises on summer evenings. They are VERY stupid (make chickens look bright) don't go to bed at night, don't roost or go up stairs as ground nesting, lay eggs EVERYWHERE and poo lots. If you have any males you need 5 females for 1 male ( we hatched our first lot got 2 males and had to source additional females ) as they have voracious sexual appetites and less females don't cope well. We bought all females last time. They need foliage to shelter under and hide.

Didiplanthis · 02/11/2019 20:05

Pekin bantams are lovely pets as well if full size chickens scare you.

frostedviolets · 02/11/2019 20:10

make chickens look bright

Chickens ARE bright!
There have been really interesting studies done on them, they are far from stupid.

thecatsabsentcojones · 02/11/2019 20:14

I've had chickens for four years now, I've always wanted some and do really enjoy having them.

Re them wrecking your garden, we've got a one acre garden and when they free ranged across all of it they didn't wreck anything. I think a smaller, more manicured garden than mine will suffer though. We've established a veg plot this year and the chickens were hilarious, each time we dug anything they were there for the worms. When we had a digger in for landscaping they were always to be found in the bucket, gobbling worms frantically! They are real characters.

Get a plastic or metal shed/coop because some coops are almost designed for red mite to multiply. My first coop had to be burned, the metal shed I've replaced it with is brilliant.

We've got rats in the coop but as we're rural and the enclosure is at the end of the garden I'm not bothered. Rats are everywhere anyway, did get the pest controller out and he said to not worry too much - I've just put up with them. At one point the electric fence killed a few rats and I suspect my killer chickens have killed the odd one too.

We do currently have a fox problem so they can't free range at the moment which is annoying as I do like them to have a lovely time exploring, but the electric fence we got is amazing.

If you can put up with the downsides they are lovely!

Velveteenfruitbowl · 02/11/2019 20:18

They smell horrible and attract rats. There is also a likelihood that’s fox will get at them at some point so you have to be prepared for that. But otherwise they’re quite easy. Just make sure you decide on the number you want first and move them all in at once rather than adding some later as that does not go down well.

Original poster
St0pTryingT0MakeFetchHappen · 03/11/2019 09:59

@frostedviolets - I may have been a little facetious. I'm not a huge cuddler - if I get hypothetical chickens then we shall see! All this info is v helpful, so thanks!

OP posts:
kjhkj · 03/11/2019 11:05

@kjhkj are you 13yrs old or just rather silly?

Neither. I was letting you know that what you think is your hens crouching to let you stroke them is actually them thinking you're about to mount them and have sex.

Elieza · 03/11/2019 17:38

@Cakecrumbsinmybra sorry to hear your chooks aren’t laying. Can you contact someone local or a local organisation for adbice before you think of what to do with them? Are you feeding them what their previous owner fed them (eating eggs could perhaps be a vitamin or mineral deficiency) etc. Are they scared of something roaming around (foxes, new cat next door). What’s changed?

frostedviolets · 03/11/2019 17:59

sorry to hear your chooks aren’t laying. Can you contact someone local or a local organisation for adbice before you think of what to do with them? Are you feeding them what their previous owner fed them (eating eggs could perhaps be a vitamin or mineral deficiency) etc. Are they scared of something roaming around (foxes, new cat next door)

They're probably just old!
They only lay well for the first three or so years.
If it's a hybrid chicken they tend to die soon after.
And they don't lay over winter usually either

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