Im a pre-beginer, with lots of questions!

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

Would love to keep a few chickens, have convinced DH from next year we can have them. Ive scoured the net and have a few final questions for the mumsnetters.

Why 3 Chickens rather than 2?

We have a slabbed yard, was planning on a permanent arc and attached run for the to be in, almost all the time. Was thinking of around 6 by 12 foot. I could grass in there if i absolutly had too, but i wouldnt be able to ever move it. Is this a no go?

Id prefer a wooden structure that would tie in with the rest of the garden, but for this too work I'd need to stain it, would this be a problem for the chickens? Do they peck at there houses?

We are looking at getting going around Spring, cash permitting, any other advise would be most welcome x

3 because chickens are flock birds (and can't count) and 3 is sort of closer to a flock.

The run needs to be easy to clean if you're not going to move it. Chickens poo a lot and need frequent cleaning out. Putting them on slabs would make it easier for you to scrape but means the birds cannot scratch around - their natural behaviour. Can you put some bark down for them to scratch in? Grass will not survive if the hens are permanent there.

Wood needs re-treating in a pet-friendly preservative every few years.

Wood is not ao easy to keep free from mites.

But wood is warm, cheap and looks better than plastic imo.

Enjoy your birds.

What sort are you going to get?

Mine are ina 12x 12 pen with a cube on the outside. I put slabs in the run thinking it easier to clean, not so.

I have now removed all except a two slab border round the edge. The poo disappears faster on the earth bit, I have to scrape the poo off the slabs. I use aubioise (horse bedding) in the run and it is great on earth, on slabs it compacts when wet. ( Vom emoticon!)

I hadnt thought of that, Id imagined it would be lots easier to clean on slabs os thanks for the other view.

Am now re-assessing garden.

Think we could have a 5ftx 3ft ish hen house type thing, then a 5ft x 5ft area of run, with free access between the two at all times, will be slabbed all around so a fox couldnt dig under, Run will be 6 ft high to match the wall around it, so will maybe feel roomy for the hens? Im probably being daft now.

How often will this need mucking out do you think? Im expecting a weekly job of new horse bedding in the whole run area on top of the soil, or will this need to be more frequent? What do you do with the old bedding?

We were looking at bantams i think, just thought it would be nice for the kids really, and the added bonus of the eggs of course!

Hi there, another chicken addict here! You might find it helpful to look at the omlet website forum. I know you're looking at a wooden house, but there are lots of threads on there about setting up for new chickens. Good luck!

I am getting strangely addicted to this chicken lark and i dont even have them yet!

How much does it cost to keep chickens?

Ive convinced DH on the understanding they will keep themself in eggs alone, but i have plucked this idea out of my head lol.

I find that I put a bit of fresh bedding in once a week and have a major clear out every 4-6 weeks. I put the manure mix and freecycle and people queue up for it for vegetable patches and allotments!

I use it in the nesting box too and in the poo trays, makes it easier to poo pick!

Basic costs: Chicken pellets, price varies on what you buy. I buy the ex bat feed from my horse feed supply shop and they have it very cheap, £11, but it can cost up to £15 a bag

Grit, cheap for a large bag and lasts forever £5 ish

Corn for treats, depends on size of bag £7 up

I second the Omlet website, loads of info and picture gallery to look at run designs

I was the same as you a year ago, now have 7 cickens! I have mine in a wooden house (we liked the look of it more and they are cheaper), didn't need staining when new but will after a few years. I clear out the nestbox every day, poo pick the house every other day, clean out well once a week and do a good scrub out and dust with anti-mite powder every 4-6wks(use aubiose horse bedding in the house). Mine are on bare earth, but I put down bedding/straw when its muddy in the winter. I've also covered half of their run to reduce mud and they have a covered area (just marine ply on breeze blocks) which I keep their food under. My manure all goes on my allotment or my garden. The chickens will also reduce your compost heap by eating loads of your fruit and veg trimmings, mine get some veg or fruit every day. I pay £7 for a 15kg sack of farmyard poultry feed and £6.50 for mixed corn - produced locally and bought from a wholesalers so pretty cheap. £9.50 for my bedding. Bedding lasts about 3-4mths, pellets 1 1/2 - 2 mths, corn about 3mths. Also give mine poultry spice when moulting, garlic powder to keep them healthy, apple cider vinegar in their water for 1 week each month, grit and anti-mite powder. But these all cost £5-10 each and I haven't yet used up one, so will last you at least 2 years with 3 chickens. Have fun choosing what to get!

Thats brilliant info thankyou very much, it seems so cheap! nothing for DH to moan about then hehe. I was thinking of starting off a veggie garden too, liking the whole goodlife feel Ive got at the moment.

What do you put in the runs for them to 'play' with?

Im quite excited but have to wait til April. Think i may have burst by then though!

My girls are on slabs. I use horse bedding in the run for them to scratch about in (and it absorbs the many poos!) I started with two hens, and that has quickly escalated to 7 (very addictive!). It's best to keep a minimum of three in case one dies. Chooks do not do well on their own. My house/run is wooden, and I use cuprinol garden paint on it.

(the main reason cited for 3 rather than 2 is that if something happens to 1, then there are still 2 left to be friends - there always muist be at least 2. I know it's a "god forbid!" answer but we did lose 1 of our original 3 to a fox, so we are proof of the theory)

It's okay to have slabs as the ground (and well done on the fox-proof slabs, btw). chickens like different surfaces to walk/scratch about on, so if you can have some soil as well as the slabs. they will also use the soil to dustbathe (ie wash!).
and some straw (not hay because of mites and stuff).

We don't bother with cleanign the ground because we go round with a shovel every night and pick out the poo (just a fire shovel and a stick) and we have 5, so it's enough. stops it from smelling.

try to have a cover over most of the run (like corrugated clear plastic) because the rain makes it smell rank. but make sure there's enough fresh air circulating the run because they might get over-heated.

and we use newpaper as bedding under the perches, because then it can be whipped away in the morning and composted - no messy mucking out or scraping!

have fun!

the best website to look at is the allotment website

there are loads of experienced keepers on there (it has a forum) and it's got loads and loads of useful info.

Must add ... I started with two and now have six (and my eyes on more!!!!)

do chickens have chicken toys? what goes in the run?

I have some branches for them to perch on, and a dustbath (they free range most of the day). Some people hand up cabbages for them to peck at, and cd's for them to look at themselves in. Throwing a handful of corn or raisins into the run keeps them busy for a little while, especially if they have some bedding to dig about in.

I have a couple of branches and log for mine to jump on, I also hang up cabbage leaves etc for them, and throw down corn for them to scratch about for. Having a veg patch too will be great - you can give your chickens all the left overs, mine love the outer leaves on cabbages and go mad for the tougher kale leaves which we don't want to eat! Greens also make their yolks more orange. I did do a dust bath for them too, but its a mud pool now, I'll resurrect it again one day! We get enough eggs from our chooks to sell 12-18 per week to friedns, which pretty much pays for all of their food and most of their bedding - see how you got with 3 - you might want to get more - its saves money - and chickens are addictive. I was going to get 3, couldn't resist a 4th, then got no5, then had to get 6&7 together. they all have their own personalities and different colour eggs. We won't get anymore though or I'll need a bigger hen house!

Hiya, im still planning, how high can chickens jump if they have been clipped, trying to encorporate a free rangeing bit for the girls befroe we set on placement x

Also, Im looking at chicken houses and have semi decided the large run around a house ill build, can i keep the complst bin in the chicken run, for ease of use or will he compost be dangerous to the chickens if they eat at it?

i wouldn't botherwith clipping, personally.
if you have a roof (mesh or onduline) on top of your run, then it won't matter.

our run is fully encased (all 6 sides) with mesh (bottom to stop fox digging, top to stop fox climbing and coming in from above)
(and a gate, of course )

when they run around the garden, they won't try to jump over anything that looks unsturdy, so if you put chicken wire in a haphazard fashion around the bits you're worried about, they won't go over.
the height they can jump/fly depends on the breed, though. they will use their wings, but as i say, if they think it's risky, they won't do it.

i wouldn't put the compost bin in the chicken house, though. nothing that'll harm them, it'll just be tricky to get to when you want to empty it.
but if that's the only place you have for it, then it's fine as long as it has a lid (or the contents will be pulled everywhere)

is yours in a permannt place then, how do you find it as this is what i am looking to do

We have placed our compost bins deliberately in with the chickens, so that they have the fun of scratching through the compost, eating the good bits, then poo in it which is a fantastic activator. They are quite large wooden bins and we just shovel it back in every now and then.

Okay then, have chosen a wooden house, which we will trellis aroud to create a run, woked out where its going etc, now the fun part - Which Chook do we choose? Are ex-bat okay for beginers?

Also, how do chickens get on with other animals, the Tortoise will be at the end of their area, will they be going nuts at him?

personally i wouldn't start with ex-batts. start with point-of-lay hens (aka POL: 16-20 weeks old).
the main reason for this is that POLs tend to be a lot easier to look after and much less heart-rending.
we got 2 ex-batts after we'd been keeping hens for about 8 months and it's an amazing experience, but the look of the poor things when we first got them made me sob.
they were such a worry because they looked half-plucked and they reeked! and they were very violent, noisy and angry all the time. they pecked at each other (and the originals) and found it very hard to eat anything with their clipped beaks. (we had mash for the others so it wasn't so bad)

i know i could not have looked after ex-batts to start with because i just didn't know enough about chickens and their normal behaviour. it would have been far too stressful.

(they will try to peck the tortoise but when he doesn't notice them, they will leave it alone) they can't do much damage to a tortoise as he's got such a hard shell )

ps: don't forget to nail/staple on 1/2"x1/2" weldmesh onto your trelisses. (a fox will be able to pull a chicken's head off through the gaps in a trellis)

nickelbabyjesus thanks for the advice, didnt realise a fox could do that! eeek! quite a few round here too. have now decided to have that galvanised steel wire stuff on all 6 sides.

Im so looking forward to all ths, dont think ill hold out to the summer!