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Ethical living

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Original poster

CHICKEN LOVERS I need your help......

32 replies

WishIWasAWalton · 08/03/2008 20:58

I am purchasing my first chickens tomorrow, can anyone recommend a breed that doesnt fly too high/decimate my garden?

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ingles2 · 08/03/2008 21:02

the way to get them to not fly is to clip one of their wings, you cut of 1/2 the last 3 feathers...
we have marans and sussex lights now, both good hardy breeds and decent layers.
hth's x

ingles2 · 08/03/2008 21:03

off... no of

Original poster

WishIWasAWalton · 08/03/2008 21:09

Do they eat your garden Ingles2? Do you let them out? My veggies are very precious.

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ingles2 · 08/03/2008 21:11

they definitely eat the veggies!!
I let them wander around the garden (it's big) during winter, but in spring and summer they have a fenced off area of the garden where the compost heap is.

Eve · 08/03/2008 21:12

yes they will eat your garden.

Mine ate all the herbs and scratched up all the new bulbs I planted.

They are now confined to their run.

Original poster

WishIWasAWalton · 08/03/2008 21:21

We have fenced off an area of approx 50sqm, and erected a 6ft fence. We are only getting 3/4 hens, so i know it's plenty of room, i'm just worried now that they'll fly out and chew my veg patch. Do you think they'll be happy in this space, how long should the grass last?

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ingles2 · 08/03/2008 21:27

they will if they can...
clip their wings, make sure their house is nowhere near the fence (they'll use it like a step ladder, ours do!)
and block up holes under the gate with a brick...
the grass will last about 5 minutes, they won't mind hat though.

tortoiseSHELL · 08/03/2008 21:31

Definitely fence them off an area, clip the wings. Make sure it is fox proof, or you will providing the local foxes with an easy dinner! I presume you've got a house for them at night?

Breeds - probably a bit late to start thinking about this - do you know where you're getting them from? What do they have? Are you getting them primarily for eggs or for the 'prettiness' in the garden? If for eggs, then I would get 2 brown hybrid (Isa Warren, Bovan Goldline etc), possibly a white layer (White Star, leghorn) and a dark layer (speckeldy, maran etc).

Original poster

WishIWasAWalton · 08/03/2008 21:54

My dh has built a fantastic house for them, fox proof fencing etc, and it is the egg laying qualities that we're getting them for!

We are lucky enough to have a poultry market about 15 mins from where we live, and the first one of the season is on tomorrow. There will be a fairly big selection at it, so although i had thought i had decided on a couple of marans and a couple of R.I.R's I wondered if anyone had experience of a fairly laid back breed.

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tortoiseSHELL · 08/03/2008 21:56

Are you experienced with chooks at all? Where are you (be as general as you like?) Markets can be a bit hit and miss - you might be better off going to a breeder, as then if one of them gets sick you can get advice/exchange etc.

Bovan Goldlines are very relaxed. Have a look at my pics on my blog if you like!

ingles2 · 08/03/2008 21:57

IME, if you want laid back, get marans, my RIR's were the most aggressive chooks I've had. and buy a silkie, just because theyre gorgeous, friendly things (but rubbish layers)

tortoiseSHELL · 08/03/2008 21:59

If you're wanting lots of eggs, then I would go for a modern hybrid - I have 4 hybrids - 2 goldlines, 1 speckeldy, 1 black rock - we get 3-4 eggs per day.

The black rock is lovely - really hardy chicken and she lays really beautiful eggs. She's not as friendly as the goldlines, but I think I would probably go for a black rock over a goldline for the look of the eggs - they are bigger, and more of a 'pinky-cream' colour. The only common breed that is a big flighty is the leghorn, or derivatives (white star etc). They can be noisy as well.

ingles2 · 08/03/2008 21:59

oooo or a polish, I had a blue polish once who was hysterical!

BoysOnToast · 08/03/2008 22:02

are bantams not supposed to be less destructive on the garden?

am worried now that my fenced off area is not secure enough. 6ft fencing you say? (also have first chooks arriving in next few weeks)

tortoiseSHELL · 08/03/2008 22:04

A fox will get over 6 foot fencing I'm afraid. I've seen them climb over our 7-8 foot wall. You can't be too careful imo!

ingles2 · 08/03/2008 22:04

no difference between the banties or the standards IME,...just their physical size and teeny eggs.. I think my maran banties are more flighty than the standards actually, but I've got one bantie, 5 years now, still lays really well and a really good brood hen, she's raised a clutch a year every year bless her.

ingles2 · 08/03/2008 22:05

don"t worry BOT, just make sure you shut them in early, there's nothing much you can do really.

BoysOnToast · 08/03/2008 22:32

oh dear, that doesnt sound great (!)

i have just now FINALLY found the website i found ages ago... has TONS of info on this page

after eading that, im tempted to cancel my eglu cube order and get something from them...

tortoiseSHELL · 09/03/2008 08:40

Bantams fly much more than chickens because they are lighter. Chickens do more 'flying jumps', bantams I believe can actually take off!

BOT - it depends on your area. Are you rural or urban? In our area, they need to be fox secure at all times because the foxes come day and night - they are very bold! I think if you are more rural then they are less likely to come during the day, dusk is the main time. Having said that, this is the riskiest time as far as foxes go - they are very hungry, have cubs to feed and food is scarce, so they will take more risks.

You can take various steps against them - electric fencing, a sonic 'fox watch' (although I wouldn't rely on this). Our chicken area has a roof on, so they can't climb in.

needmorecoffee · 09/03/2008 09:06

light sussex are heavy so rarely fly. Mine was very lazy. I had my 3 in a run with 5 foot sides and only the gingernut ranger would jump out and cpme peck on the door.
We're getting an eglu now as Mister Fox jumped into the run during board daylight and killed them
We're inner city.

GentleOtter · 09/03/2008 09:09

Cochins and orpingtons do not fly - orpingtons lay a decent amount of eggs and are good natured.
All chickens do a bit of 'garden redesigning' if they get off with it.

needmorecoffee · 09/03/2008 09:09

we've always had wooden houses too and endless mite problems. Wooden houses are hard work to clean properly.

tortoiseSHELL · 09/03/2008 09:46

nmc - We've got magic Poultry Guard spray, and so far had no problems at all - we spray it every time we clean the house out and it seems to do the trick!

GentleOtter · 11/03/2008 12:19

How are you getting on with your new arrivals Wish and which type did you go for ?

Original poster

WishIWasAWalton · 11/03/2008 21:31

No new arrivals, i'm afraid. Sunday started badly, and we didn't get to the market until late. I was in 'fowl' humour, and didn't see anything I liked. Just felt we had missed the good stuff. You know what they say, the early worm .... May have to wait until next month.

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