Am I insane to consider getting chickens?

[LayItDown]

Okay, I’m so on the fence about this - so someone talk sense into me one way or the other.

Detached house, medium sized garden in the subs. Neighbours fully backing our garden. No foxes, lots of cats (I have two, but the most they seem to be able to catch is flies). Neighbour is ‘normal’ noisy - neighbours to the right very quiet, to the left a big family, lots of chatter but generally respectful. Neighbours on back regularly have parties (but they never seen particularly loud).

Have considered for some time getting some rescue barn hens. Love the idea of fresh eggs from the garden.

I have a loud, obnoxious toddler but it’s just us, so our household is generally quite calm. It would be nice to teach him the value of food in a simple way he can understand.

I literally have no idea what I’m doing and going to need to research keeping them safe, caring for them, etc. So for now, this is theoretical. But I’m not sure if it’s reasonable to keep them.

Would you keep chickens whilst living in a suburban area?

[Boredbumhead]

Go for it. We have 4 and 2 cockerels!
Chickens have such fab personalities. You won't be disappointed. We have foxes nearby, but it's a risk you take.

[duckme]

Forgot to add that their personalities are just amazing. My favourite one would jump onto my lap in the garden and fall asleep. I broke my heart when she died.
Be aware that foxes can dig, so if the coop is to go on grass you need to make sure that fixes can't dig underneath.

[duckme]

Our rescue chickens were amazing and I miss them. They were noisy when they were laying (which is understandable, don't you agree?).
I'd love to have chickens again, but it's hard to find someone to look after them when you're on holiday?
They also have to sort out their pecking order when you first get together, that can be a bit brutal and noisy, but once they've sorted that out, they're normally fine.

[OwlInAnOakTree]

I live in a corner end terrace and keep chickens in a closed run on the patio at the side of my house. Before getting them, I was worried about noise, rats and foxes. They're actually quieter than I was expecting, just a bit of gentle clucking with the occasional shouting about an egg. No complaints from the neighbours. Although I do only have three bantams. More would obviously make more noise.

No sign of any rats in the two years that I've had them. It's the food, not the chickens themselves, that attract rats. So I think keeping them in a closed run on patio slabs helps this, as rats can't tunnel into the run. Their feeder is supposedly rodent proof and off the ground too, although I throw corn in the run each day for them. The bag of feed is kept in a metal bin behind the coop, so that's rat proof too.

My friend, two streets away, has foxes in her garden but luckily I haven't seen them in mine. The hens are locked in at night, but I've heard of hens being killed by foxes in the daytime so that's a real concern if they're free ranging.

You ask about what to do with a dead chicken. You're not allowed to bury them in the garden as they're classed as poultry, not pets. My local council says to double bag them and put them in the general rubbish bin. I had a very poorly hen put to sleep recently and paid for the vet to cremate her as I couldn't really bear the thought of putting her in the bin.

So yes, it's entirely possible to keep chickens in your back garden. I enjoy having them. But, like a PP said, it's cheaper to buy eggs than keep chickens. Also think about how often you go away. I pay a chicken sitter to come every morning and night whilst we're away. And like someone else said, they go to bed at dusk, so if you like to go to bed early, you'll be cursing them in the summer months when you want to go to bed and they're still scratching around. That's probably the thing I like least about them.

[OutOfHours]

We kept chickens.
It was great and very rewarding, for the adults and the kids, BUT it was more stress than it was worth in the end, the foxes were relentless until they finally killed them all, and they absolutely destroyed my lovely garden.
I would have them again, but only if I could havr a coop area big enough for them to stay in all the time.
It wasn't until after they had all gone, I realised quite how stressful it was having them.

[BluebellCockleshell123]

We had hens for a couple of years in a biggish suburban garden. They were lovely to watch pecking around and very comical - they all had their own personalities. But the fantastic fresh eggs were not enough to compensate for the incredible amounts of shit they created and the mess they made of the grass.

[LivingDeadGirlUK]

We used to have them as kids, really easy to look after but they do attract rats which is a downside, fox got mine in the end :(

[NotYourHolidayDick]

I've literally never had rats at all. Not once.

I've got 8 who free range my driveway and then get locked into a wendy house at night.

They just do their thing! I've got one broody hen who is sitting on 5 eggs, due to hatch on Friday

We have a cockerel too, but I pop him in my car overnight to muffle his crowing. Then just let him out again in the morning

I literally love my birds. They come charging at me for sweetcorn.

[OwlPop]

They smell horrible and attract rats. And they shit everywhere

If you don't mind the above then I think it'll be lovely!

[pigsDOfly]

We're semi rural here and since lockdown have seen a number of foxes wandering around during the day.

People have been able to take photographs of foxes with cubs out in the open during daylight.

They seem to have no fear of humans and will wander down the street and into fields as if they own the place.

I'd be very wary of having hens wandering around loose in a garden.

[ishouldntsaybut]

We have had 4 hens for the past 3 years. We have an eglu and they really are fab for cleaning and keeping the chickens secure. Would never have a rooster for reasons previously noted. We live on the edge of a large town and our house backs onto farm and parkland. We have never had an issue with rats (although a friend has) or foxes. Have an issue with magpies stealing eggs though! Feed is in a covered feeder off the ground and the bags are kept in a cupboard in the house. They do poo a lot and get noisy in their coop when it gets light. We have a fenced off area in the garden and they do have a wired run but we never shut it although the door to their coop is always closed overnight. They free range in their large fenced off area all day which is covered in wood chip as without, it would get muddy with persistent rain. I do limit the time they are allowed on the lawn as they decimate it. Hens are lovely, the eggs are amazing. We luckily have a hen hotel we send them to for their holidays. Will def get more when my ladies go.

[StillWeRise]

I got a cube like that, also from ebay
our first coop (well second actually the first one was crap)- was very solidly built wood and lasted many years but we had to get rid in the end as it was impossible to get rid of the red mite. I'd recommend the cube.

[Murinae]

The flagged area works well even with the ones you can move. You can then swop out the wood chip when it gets smelly and jet wash the flags. I have a „moveable“ cube and once the run extensions are on it it’s really heavy! Make sure they have enough space in the run as they will spend a lot of time in there. One of those tiny rabbit hutch type things is too small for three hens unless they are out all the time. The eglu coops with an extra metre or two run extension works well. Here’s mine. I got it second hand off eBay but it was still expensive. Buying eggs is much cheaper than keeping hens!

[MuthaClucker]

AntiSocialDistancer basically, it’s illegal in Britain to feed chickens kitchen scraps, UNLESS they are from a vegan kitchen. It’s to prevent cross contamination of meat products and diseases into the food chain. Not just from the chickens, but other birds, wildlife etc that could transfer to other livestock in the local area.

It seems far fetched, but when we got ours we decided to abide by the rules. We do also have an allotment though, so they get the occasional manky cabbage etc

[StillWeRise]

normally hens require minimal effort (feed, water, put away at night, clean out) but as with all animals they need that every single day, so you need to think about who will do that if you're not there- I've never found it a problem but I have adult DC who have holidays at different times, plus accommodating neighbours who like eggs
a hen can fly surprisingly high, and once out of your garden are very hard to catch
red mite is TERRIBLE and for that reason I would reccommend a plastic coop, and I say that as a real lentil weaver.

[zscaler]

My mum has two cats who are the most brazenly confident animals to ever exist and often bring in mice and shrews, but they very much leave the chickens alone - I think they’re just too big for a cat to seriously contemplate!

My mum’s hens are lovely things. All are rescues and now have beautiful, glossy plumage and bright red combs. One will come and sit on your knee if you’re seated in the garden and they kind of make a happy almost purring sound.

I’ve also never even once seen a rat and they live in the middle of the countryside with lots of animals and animal food around. That might be thanks to the aforementioned cats...

[1Morewineplease]

We had four beauties who all had individual personalities. They were wonderful beasties and will reward you with eggs and even a bit of love, too!

We kept ours in a large , walk-in , chicken hotel which combined a roost, egg laying box and a fair sized run. We took heed of foxes’ ability to dig so we sunk chicken wire into the ground.

We let them loose in the garden as they loved to dust bathe ( they wouldn’t do this in their hotel!) and they loved to hide under our hedges.)

Our garden suffered as they each had their own dust bathing patch , however, we never had weeds! Trouble is, I could never plant seedlings or small plants.
I should have organised my garden better.

We lost them all to foxes in the middle of the day.
Don’t let them loose. Foxes will come from far and wide and, yes, we had rats.

We also found it hard to go on holiday/ weekends away. It was hard to find someone to pop in and see to them.

Wish we still had them but the fact that we didn’t replace them probably suggests more.

[zscaler]

They are not filthy dirty things

[TopShelf]

Hen keeping is a lovely thing to experience but...
don't leave their little lives to chance.
Keep them secured at all times.
Foxes are opportunistic, they will have chickens day and night believe me.
They will dig under a hen coop so make sure the coop has wire netting on the bottom.

[Windyatthebeach]

Our chickens loved the snow!! We had no issues in the winter.
Once caught ds showing his chicken Keith around our house!! They used to come in the front door regularly!!

[Frouby]

We have chooks in our allotment. I wouldn't have then at home personally unless I had a huge garden and could have them right away from my house.

No matter how much care you take they will attract rats.

They are noisy, even hens.

And even if you have a big pen, in winter it gets sludgy, in the summer it gets smelly and attracts flies.

But chooks are brilliant I agree.

[Destroyedpeople]

That cd work layit down. Are you going to get a custom made hen house? If so I believe they can be lifted and moved when the ground beneath gets worn...
Not sure but I think these are better on grass.

[Destroyedpeople]

True that isadora. No doubt about it...

[LayItDown]

Just another thought - I have a large patio area to the side of the house which is disused. Could I keep the coop there with woodchip and let them out into the garden during the day, rather then keeping them on the grass?

[isadoradancing123]

Filthy dirty things and most definitely do draw rats