My mum told me not to get chickens because...

[GordontheGopher]

a) They smell too much.

b) Children can't play in areas they have been in.

I reckon she knows what she's talking about as we used to have them when I was little.

But I'd really like some chickens!

my dad didn't like them because he said they tore up his garden, which is his pride and joy.

he gave them to my sister.

My neighbour's got bantams & they don't seem to damage her garden. She said the ultra-high performance egg-layers are the voracious feeders, so if you're happy with quality over quantity - just research the breeds.

The very feathery-legged breeds don't scratch nearly as much as normal bare legged hens. The abundance of foxes means that most chickens are better off in an enclosed run anyhow - which also solves the childrens play area problem.

They don't smell if cleaned out regularly although my hens have recently started eating layers pellets AND have gone broody and thus are doing poo's the size of eggs which are stinky when er, fresh. I'm putting them back on mixed corn as they didn't smell then!

Well - ours don't smell, they're in a run so they don't damage the garden, and they don't poo all over the grass! And the kids lOVE them!

I really want one of these, talking of feathery legs!

i found on the omlet site garlic powder, which aparently if you add to feed neutralises the smell of the poo.

so thsts the smell out of the equation

But it makes the eggs taste of garlic...

The secret is using decent bedding like easibed, and then dusting them with mite powder which smells delicious!

that one looks cool.
i want more. we have loads of space, theyre out all day, and even tho theres foxes in the fields either side of us, they havnt been a problem. prob coz they have so many other things to keep em fed, like rabbits for a startr.

i want a big new additional house and at least 10 more chooks

They have the Daily Mail seal of approval

(You have to get a pink Eglu though)

chickens are really great, tehy are no trouble. get two and see how you get on

does it?? hehe, im a bit of a garlic lover actually... ponders...

what powder do you use shell? i squirted them all in clouds of diatomacious earth the other day, when they were penned in the run. they did not appreciate it (looks v panicked)

I've got some of the red mite and louse powder here - I just bung a load in their dust bath and let them get on with it!

ok, ive got the red mite one of that.

erm, about the dust bath thing... mine are out and about all day and dont seem to have created a dust bath anywhere... is this a bad thing? wouldnt they have created one if they really wanted/needed it?

I have the Barrier versions of those and add it to their 'sand' bath (which is a deep cat litter tray in a dry corner of their run). I rarely smell it on the hens though the henhouse smells of it for a few days after sprinkling. I prefer the smell of fresh straw though.

boyz - they probably do dustbath under trees/bushes etc were the mud is looser & drier. Mine often dust bath in the hollows between tree roots when they're free-ranging.

Ours have a cat litter tray too DofNB!

Oh thanks. I'm tempted now! I thought you had to let them out for a run around every day?

Well, they will like it if you do, but they're fine if you don't. Mine can't atm, as our fence is down, and they would be into the street straight away! But normally they do like to come out and have a scratch around.

as long as you have a decent size run, they dont have to have the run of the garden. mine dont come out much in the high risk birdflu times in spring and autumn.

the citronella in the hemore in the run dissolves the poop so i dont have the smelly poop problem. when they are out in the garden with the kids they tend to poop in the borders and i jet wash them.
as long as they are cleaned out regularly they dont smell. i change the hemcore once a month and empty the poop trays under the roosting bars two or three times a week or when they need it.
chooks are fantastic pets for children.