My bf wants us to keep chickens and i know absoutely nothing about them

[lou33]

can anyone please tell me what it all entails?

how much space do you need per chicken, how often do they need cleaning out, what type of chicken is best and how many etc?

i have said i may be persuaded to get some if i have all the facts and info so i know what i am letting myself in for

thanks in advance

have a look at omlet.co.uk

You/him can go on a day course & then see how you feel.

I've had them & found it emotionally hard..I let them free range all day because i didn't like seeing them cooped up. Having said that, loved having tasty eggs.

Thanks. I dont want to pay for things like courses until i know if it is something that could potentially work for us iyswim.

I am wondering stuff like initial outlay as well as care. The sites are confusing me with everything they offer for sale, so just wanted to know from actual non profit making chicken owners what was what

:)

Bump

Anyone else?

If he wants to keep them and you're not so sure, won't he be the one looking after them?

I'd quite like chickens and dh wouldn't mind, but I know I'd be doing the work because it'd be my interest, iyswim.

We have 5 atm, layers of varying breeds.

Do you want them for show or eggs? Choose your breed according to how many eggs you want.

You need a run and house - you can go for an expensive ready-made one or make it yourself, it needs to be fox-proof and warm in winter, but well ventilated.

We move ours round the garden so the ground under does not get too mucky.

The bedding in our coop is woodshavings, it only needs cleaning out once a month or so - that will depend on how wet it gets and how many birds are pooing on it and how much time they spend inside/outside.

And like any pets you need someone to look after them if you go away.

outlay - chickens themselves will cost you about a tenner each, you will probably want 3.

The biggest expense will be the house - you are probably looking at a few hundred pounds; you could do it much more cheaply if you are good at DIY/have access to scrap materials to convert.

food works out at a few pence per day, then probably around £20 on random anti-lice things, worming medicine etc. Straw etc for lining the nest box - a few pounds per year total.

time - couple of mins per day to feed, collect eggs etc, then big clean, say half an hour every couple of weeks.

I should add: they can trash your garden. So if you are garden-proud you will need enough space to give them a big run or a part of the garden to themselves.

The easiest, though not cheapest thing, is to just get an Eglu and get it all from Omlet.

We have homemade coops. The overall size is 3'x3' for the coop, integral run is 9'x3'. This is for 3 chickens, but we have a big fox population so they spend most time in their runs. We put the runs on paving slabs with easibed or aubiose for them to scratch in. They are very happy in there, but I think that is the minimum coop size I would be happy with. They don't take much looking after - need cleaning every 4-5 weeks, keeping their food/water topped up. They are lovely pets!

Ok thank you:)

Bf wants to keep them at mine, hence me wanting to know the ins and outs, as it will mean i would be also looking after them.

This may be a silly question but are they noisy? He is only thinking of having 3-4 hens

They're not generally noisy, though they can be a bit squawky. We always shut ours up at night in the summer, otherwise they get up really early (4.30 am) and if a fox comes there is a real racket and I am worried about the neighbours.

We would have to keep them locked at night as we get lots of foxes round here. This is all making me come round to the idea, i was expecting to be put off!

they cluck a bit when they lay an egg.
I love the noise, I couldn't believe how I missed it when I went on holiday

Oh thats just making me want some more. Another possibly silly q, but can we just have hens?

I think i will go to the poultry farm not far from us tolook about. They sell to the public ftom eggs to point of lay and all the equipment. I just wanted to hear some mn pov's about it.

Looks like bf might get his way. Its his birthday tomorrow as well so it might put a smile on his face!

yes, you don't need a cockerel - that is a misogynist myth

brilliant, well i think i may tell him yes then, it will make his birthday tomrrow

:)

definitely don't get a cockerel, they are LOUD!

I definitely dont want a cockeral!

Ok well i have written a note and put it in an envelope addressed to my bf, telling him that his birthday gift is a coop plus up to 4 chickens and accessories. He will be chuffed to bits.

And dinner at the weekend

Thanks so much :)

He was really delighted, thank you all.

One more question tho, do you think it would be better to get rescue ex battery hens or not?

no, get hens in good condition to start with so you don't give yourself too many problems while learning the ropes then you can always get some ex-batts later when you get hooked.
There are people on here who have adopted batts and found it a rewarding experience but I think it could be quite stressful if you're just starting out.

Ok thank you :)

I would second that, don't start with ex-batteries, get yourself some point of lay, and have fun. I use shredded paper for the nest box, rather than straw, my girls are quite happy with that, we seems to generate a lot of paper in our house! It is important to handle them as much as you can, to get them used to it, also it gives you a heads up if something is wrong with one of them. My girls have an ark from Flights so Fancy, and we have built them a large enclosure 6 foot high and buried in the ground and additional foot to 18 inches to keep the foxes out. You don't need a cock, but my girls do make a little crow to announce the arrival of an egg, a big crow from my black rock if it is a big egg!

thanks sparkle :)

We have two at the mo (started with three, one died, replaced her, another died).

Anyway, we live in an urban area. We have a paved garden which is about 20mx5m and our hens live in an Eglu which itself is in a purpose built run. The run takes up about 1/6 of our space and is plenty for two or three hens. We don't let ours free range much these days as I got sick of the garden being permanently covered in poo, but they have a good amount of space in their run and come out a few times a week. Aside from that, they more or less look after themselves. Obviously they need food/water/quick clean of nest area each day, but that's it. they get a more thorough clean once per week which takes about 15mins.

They're a lovely pet to have with children. So much more interesting than dogs, cats and goldfish!

well we have a cat and dogs (and hamsters)
i think we are turning into the waltons lol