So tell me, main pros and cons of keeping chooks?

[cheerycherry]

Have been thinking of it for a while, but would like to hear your honest views on the best and worst bits...thankyou!

I loved keeping chickens.

Spot the past tense. I had three gorgeous grey speckled hens that followed my around the garden like puppies, but i also had one BIG FAT BROWN RAT.

The rat decided the chicken coop was a bit cold and made my home his home.

I did everything I could to discourage rats, metal bins for food, no scraps, no compost bin etc etc

It took four months to catch the dam thing as it moved into my attic.

The chicks went to my parents farm and are very happy AND i still get some eggs but never ever again.

No matter what you do chickens=rats.

Now rats are something I haven't considered...the cats often bring us field mice and small rats from the fields around us...so I know they are around. Surely if I keep the food well secured they will steer clear? Thanks, you have given me another thing for the list!

i am rural and of course, there are rats about ... but so far i havent had too much presence from rats associated with my chickens.

if your hen house is raised off the ground and you take precautions as mentioned it ought not to be too much of an issue. i think in an urban environment theyre more likely to move into the house (zanzi, that sounds HORRID!)

there were a few when the eglu cube was in a different part of the garden, but rat man gave me some bait and plastic bait boxes and that kept them down. tbh, im pretty sure they were in there anyway... big old woodpile and some cleared formerly overgrown land...
theyve been in their current home for a few months now and no sign of rats so far.
i did see a wee mouse in the food cupboard i have out there, but it was teeny.

cats are good insurance against rodents anyway

Yes cheerycherry I would like pros & cons too as im mulling it over, my DB has offered to build be a hen house.
We have a rat or two anyway but never see them, but really worried they will be more of a pain if I get some chooks?

I have the hen house, but no hens (yet). DH says they will wreck the garden, esp the lawn so wants to build some sort of enclosure to keep them in. This means that I will have the hen house and no hens for some 20 more years.

Will they wreck the lawn?

Thats twice you have made me laugh today Jux!

Yes I think they scrat around a lot and ruin grassed areas, so you have to move them around I think.

I told DH that they ate all the moss, he let them free range, they have eaten the lawn limited free ranging now!

I use the Omlet netting to fence off the area and move it around,but we do love to watch them when we are eating breakfast outside, so they are allowed free rein for a couple of hours!

I had rats before I had chickens. They came with the compost bins.

here you go Jux www.taylorsgardenbuildings.co.uk/store/customer/product.php?productid=19750#main%20picture

doh

pros - eggs, good company, good for cleaning weedy areas out,entertaining for children, good for teaching children about keeping the nest boxes clean - watering and feeding.

cons - food scraps can attract rats or crows, they might cackle a bit after egg laying which may upset neighbours, they can fall prey to mites and need treatment.

Overall they are not much trouble really.

We built our run with 2x2 and weldmesh. It has a perspex roof instead

Can I ask also, how long are your chickens free range each day? would be worried about foxes when we are at work.

Plus, do they eat snails??! We have zillions come springtime.

happy to be of service Tidgypuds!

Ratface, that looks suuuuuper. We'd have to buy a new garden to put it in, though. Or perhaps a bit of next door's....

Mind you, putting it together will take as long as it is going to take to put up shelves, so I can unpack my books (three years and counting).

they do eat snails and slugs - very big plus.
my lawn currently looks like a mud pool - minus, however I am told it will come back greener than ever due to the fertilizing.
we have a cube and takes about 10mins a day to keep perfectly spotless - plus
mine free range for an hour or 2 when we are about and stay in the run if we are out all day or something - they dont seem to mind either way
Biggest con- you would not believe the amount of poo a hen can produce.
Get them they are the best pets in the world - but be aware that once you do you will need to have more and more.

sockmonster...that is a great post! how many hens do you have in your cube...we are thinking of getting one, with 4 or 5 hens. Do you move it round a lot? Sorry for all these q's but i want to get it right!

they wreck the grass
ours don't free range, but have a fairly large run (which a fox could get in, and which cats jump into to get accross it) which they have open access to.
tbh I rarely shut the pop-hole at night, so guess the foxes just haven't found us!
Not seen any rate, abundance of aforementioned feral cats probably help with that

They are highly addictive, I'm sure my neighbours think I'm crazy! I had wanted chickens for absolutely years and mine and DH's families both kept them when we were growing up
I love the fact my children know where meat and eggs come from, that they know it dosn't come from plastic packs in the supermarket. On the downside my lawn looks like a mud bath!

I have 6 in my cube, thinking of getting some more very soon and some has offered to lend me an eglu for intros.
I keep my cube in one place and have something called aubiose on the foor, a bit like woodchip, it is a horse bedding and just absorbs the poo, I clean it out once a week by raking through it and chucking out any lumps.
I am thinking of rescueing some ex batts now, going to try and find out when next rescue is.