Thinking of keeoing chickens- can I do it?

[Izzywhizzy]

I really love the idea of keeping a couple of chickens in my London garden as pets for my LOs and for some yummy fresh eggs.

Just wanted to give some details about my circumstances and get some feedback on whether I should attempt it.

I've got a good sized garden for the city- its about 80 ft long. The last 30 ft is hard-standing, the rest is grass and shrubs. It's west facing, so nice and sunny, but the shrubs and trees also provide lots of shade.

I have two cats. They're both pretty lazy and easily scared so I can't imagine them trying to take a chicken on, but not sure if this is going to be a problem.

There are foxes in our area. Sometimes they come in the back garden at night because I can smell their urine in the morning.

My DP works full time and I work 4 days a week.

I have one 13 month old with another baby due at the end of the year.

Is it possible? What kinds of things should I consider from the start?

I'm thinking of getting an Eglu with just two chickens (don't want to be too ambitious at first).

Thanks.

bump

You have more than enough garden to keep chickens on. They don't need people around all day so don't worry about your working hours. A smallish coop will need cleaning out about once a week. They will need a very fox-proof coop/run but I think the Eglu meets the requirements! And if you put them on the hardstanding at end of the garden no foxes or rodents will be able to dig their way in. And keep their food in either a metal dustbin or indoors so that it doesn't attract rats.

There are lots of Eglus on ebay that are pick-up only but with London addresses. If you buy one from there, just give it a good wash with disenfectant and then hose it down and let it dry out thoroughly before putting bedding or hens in it.

I'd get 3 chickens rather than 2 - just in case you lose one to illness or whatever. A mix of colours/breeds is often useful to tell them apart but try and keep them the same age and roughly the same size.

The cats won't be a problem even if you let the chickens out of the run to scratch around the garden. You mostly buy chickens that are 'Point of lay' (POL) which means they're about 20 weeks old and too big to interest cats.

And the more you handle them, the tamer they'll be. They make very good pets for children and because you get the eggs, you don't feel so hacked off about cleaning them out!

There are quite a few threads in the chicken section from MNers who have bought the whole set-up from Omlet which might be worth you looking at. Good luck!

Thanks very much for the response.

I've got a couple more questions- are they very noisy early in the morning? I'm not bothered as I'm up at the crack of dawn anyway, but am wondering if I should expect some neighbour wars!!

Also, how much (roughly) do they cost to keep a week? And how much time do they take a week to look after them properly and keep their house in good order?

Most hens just make a quiet 'brau brau' noise that wouldn't disturb anyone. They sometimes squawk when they're scared or laying an egg. It doesn't last very long. They shouldn't be noisy at all when they're in the coop and they won't make a lot of noise at dawn like a cockerel would.

A sack of chicken food costs about £7 and will last 2-3 hens for up to 2 months. Straw from pet shops costs about £5 for a big bag and you'll need maybe one a month (it costs about £3 for a whole bale if you can get it from a farm/feed merchant). Some people use shredded paper bedding but I've no idea how much it costs.

Letting them out in the morning, collecting eggs, feeding them and changing their water takes about 5 minutes. And the same in the evening. Once a week you'll need to spend about half an hour cleaning the coop and the run. Twice a year you'll need to add worming powder to their food and from time to time you should put some dusting powder for fleas/mites in their dust bath (ie. a cat litter box of sand). They're not very high maintenance! And if you keep them clean and well fed they're not likely to get ill.

Thanks Duchess!

i started out with an eglu, they are fantastic, i ended up with four!!! then sold them on e-bay and bought the cube. chickens are really easy to keep and the eglu is perfect to keep clean when you have young children (i have a 3.5yr old and a 2yr old).
i selected breeds that are good with children (we had chooks when i was a child and they were not nice natured).
we have a shreader for confidential paper at home and we use that paper for the roosting box. also its a good idea to make a permanent run area as chooks will distroy your grass. you can still let them roam around they garden freely. i have my run on a mixture of slabs and rubber matting and cover with hemcore (horse bedding £8 per bale) it has citronella in and it dissolved the pooh. my run is fairly big as i have seven chooks and i change the hemcore every month (depending on what its like) i use paper in the poop trays and just fold it up and change it every few days.
i give the girlies all the non meat scraps from the kitchen in the afternoon and they have layers as well, it costs me £6 every 4-5 weeks to feed them on average. i have between 4-6 eggs a day.
if you call omlet they might have some reconditionned eglus for sale they are usually ones from shows etc. i bought my cube reconitionned and it was £60 cheaper. also look in the adtrader or on the newly listed buy it nows on e-bay, i have seen some for £150 on both. but they dont last long - you have to be quick. if you are going for an eglu you have to be aware that there are two versions. v1 often have a mesh floor the v2 have a solid floor. also v1 is smaller in size and you can tell it as it has a smaller door.
have a good look on the omlet forum as well there are often ones for sale on there.