Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chicken keepers

Meet others keeping chickens on our Mumsnet Chicken forum.

Flip

Original poster

Help me persuade DH that we should get some chickens

15 replies

OhDearNigel · 12/07/2013 16:09

We've just moved house, we have a lovely big garden and I am enthusiastic about getting some rescue chickens. We should be able to do it quite cheaply as I am hoping I may be able to get a large coop/run for free. I have a cake decorating business and get through loads of eggs. One of my colleagues has been keeping chickens for 2 years so have an old hand on tap for advice. DD (3.5) is riveted by chickens and is always making my parents take her to the smallholding where they get their eggs from so she can stroke the hens.

DH said "no" when I briefly mentioned it in a phone conversation earlier. He thinks it will be too much hassle. Help me persuade him :D

OP posts:

ElectricSheep · 12/07/2013 18:12

They are very little hassle about as much as a cat, a lot less than a dog.

They need water and pellets everyday. Pellets cost about £9 per 6 weeks for 6 chx.

They need a coop and putting to bed (locked so fox can't get them) every night and letting out every morning. Coops are expensive but you could make one if you are handy.

They need the coop cleaning every week. I use hemp based bedding on coop floor which is £10 about every 3 months.

They need worming (cost minimal) and can get lice/mites say once a year which need treating which can be anything from £15-£40.

If you are keeping them for the first time I wouldn't get rescue ones. They often need special care that needs a bit more experience. They also often don't lay at all or for very long after rescue. Go for hybrids just coming into lay (pullets) first. Get some rescues when you are confident in 6 months or so.

Also don't ask your DH, just get them :)

mummymeister · 13/07/2013 10:26

Electric has just about covered all the info you need. however, you will always need to be there to put them away at dusk whatever the time of year or organise someone else completely reliable to do it. this makes holidays, weekends away, delayed coming home type emergencies a pain. you only have to not lock them in once and they are gone. think also about the smell (they poo a lot) if free ranging they will scratch and dig and they will not lay eggs all year round. ours lay from around Feb/March to Nov depending on light levels. If you are using the eggs for a commercial business then as part of your food hygiene/traceability type requirements there might be other things you need to do. would suggest you have a word with your local eho about it. eating them just for you is one thing, using them in items sold to the public is something else. also many breeds stop laying some after only a couple of years so you need to be clear about what you will do when this happens. personally if my OH was dead against something I wouldn't do it but it is up to you.

Pixel · 13/07/2013 20:50

My dh wasn't that keen but bought me a coop for Christmas as he knew I wanted them. Now he seems quite fond of them and likes giving eggs to his friends think he's showing off a bit , although I don't think he's ever cleaned them out!

Would your dh be easier to persuade hassle-wise if you told him you can get an automatic door to shut them in at night and let them out in the morning? Means you aren't so committed to rushing back home from days out/missing lie-ins, and it's easier to ask neighbours to look after them if you want to go away.
I've been thinking about getting one but I'm not sure if we've got the sort of coop it will fit on as there isn't much room between the door and the roof which overhangs, so something to consider in advance!

mummymeister · 13/07/2013 23:34

Pixel before you get an automatic door do a post on this forum, have a look back at previous comments and also go on omlet. they have a nasty habit of shutting when the light changes ie during a storm, locking your girls out. some are solar and some are battery. the battery ones, like electric fences can malfunction with horrible consequences. wouldn't really recommend them but you need to have a look at other opinions.

DelayedActionMouseMaker · 13/07/2013 23:37

Electric pretty much said everything I had to say, except my DH wasn't convinced either, And now he LOVES having gorgeous eggs with deep coloured yolks ans a taste you just CAN't buy in a supermarket. Also they are very entertaining and soothing animals to have around, we love ours, our garden would feel all wrong without them now.

DelayedActionMouseMaker · 13/07/2013 23:38

Oh and we're never short of chicken sitters when we go away, eso as our friends get to keep all the eggs whilst we're away!

ElectricSheep · 14/07/2013 19:49

To get round the locking away issue (after my first lot got taken by a fox) I built a walk-in run that is big enough to leave them in for the day or even a week if they are checked on now and again. It was a godsend last winter because I wasn't getting home until quite late in the evening, hours after dark.

Have a look on this website OP - in fact the whole site is very very good for beginners. Don't get put off by all the posts on illnesses, it's a bit like mn - posters only come on when they've got problems!

chat.allotment.org/index.php?topic=73179.0

Pixel · 14/07/2013 22:41

Thanks mummymeister, will bear that in mind. Ours are in a walk-in run as well so should be pretty safe really, I just like to be sure they are all tucked up and had seen the door things advertised. I should have known they would be too good to be true!

Pixel · 14/07/2013 22:44

Don't get put off by all the posts on illnesses.

Lol at this. When I first got my girls I was buying feed at the farm shop and picked up a chicken keeping magazine. Before I'd got halfway through it I was a nervous wreck from reading about all the terrible afflictions! After that I decided ignorance is bliss .

IHeartKingThistle · 14/07/2013 22:55

Just to say, my mum has chickens but won't use their eggs in cakes - says it makes them too 'eggy' - so maybe check first in case she happens to be right?!

JillJ72 · 15/07/2013 21:36

Hi, would say plan to have two homes, as you may need a back-up as a 'sin bin' or sick bay... And also v helpful when getting new girls and taking introductions slowly.

Original poster

OhDearNigel · 17/07/2013 09:25

well, we met our neighbours a couple of days ago, hadn't said anything to DH about the chickens. I said to the lady "I would like to have some hens but DH isn't keen" when he piped up "actually I thought I'd renovate that outhouse for them and I can build a big run at the end of the garden".
He has a change of heart quite independently and had done quite a lot of research online and is now looking forward to getting them :)

OP posts:

Original poster

OhDearNigel · 17/07/2013 09:29

chicken sitters not a problem - we have a vast family who will be happy to do it :)

OP posts:

ElectricSheep · 17/07/2013 23:03

Oh that's great news. Hope you enjoy them. They are very relaxing aznd surprisingly full of personality once you get familiar with them :)

MyBoysAreFab · 23/07/2013 15:50

Fabulous, I am very jealous - I am chicken sitting just now and loving it, have come on here and posted on just about every chicken post on it! I am looking after my friend's three ladies while they are on holiday. It is just up the road, and is very little hassle, and I just love them!!!

Flip