A problem!

[adam04]

ive got a problem with this board, i want hens!! grrrr!!  i hate you all im not talking to any of you who have hens!

i dont think the neighbours would approve of them at home, and i dont think i would get down to the lottie often enough to look after them. is it possible by only going down once a week? maybe twice?

Do thye make lots of noise as they back onto houses so dont want lots of complaints about clucking hens!

[Delilah]

you're not going all stroppy and stomping your foot are you Adam

think so long as you don't have a cockerel its Ok to keep hens in a residential area Adam, but I haven't got any yet so am not truely qualified to comment

[Heldi]

I have an allotment neightbour who has moved house. He has a massive hopper for food and a lot of water for his hens. He is waiting for someone to take them over as he doesn't live in the town anymore. He visits about twice a week. I wouldn't recommend it though,he is just stuck between the devil and a hard place at the moment. Hens do need looking after and need to be observed. Most people I know who have hens go to them twice a day.  The longest I've not seen mine for was 3 days over the New Year. First thing i did when I got back into town was straight round to the hens...before going home or anything else.  Hens don't make that much noise. Well it depends on the hen. My Tammy makes a right cluck when she's laid an egg, but it's only once a day. Cockerels crow most of the morning,there's a one I hear all afternoon. He sounds like he's being strangled and one day it might just  be true!

I hope you do get some hens. I started with six and now have 15. I buy in threes. Don't know why.  Once you get them you may find yourself well and truely hooked and will want to spend more time with them,by hook or by crook!

[Jesse]

Awww, Adam, please talk to us Hens make a little bit of noise, especially when they lay an egg...they like to tell the world how clever they are, but it only lasts a few minutes. They are quiet when it's dark and even through the day they make no more noise than for example someones dog who may bark a couple times a day. Stay away from cockerels if you don't want noise! We live in a residential area, for a good few months some of our neighbours didn't even know we had hens. Check the covenants on your property for any clauses about keeping hens and it doesn't harm to call the council to make sure there aren't any restrictions in your area, I doubt there will be. I wouldn't recommend having them at your allotment if you can only check on them once or twice a week, I go out to see my hens twice a day. If you leave the eggs for days at a time then you'll probably have problems with hens going broody or possibly have hens starting to peck at and eat the eggs, a bad habit which is difficult to reverse. If you're worried about your neighbours why not chat to them and see what they think, ours say they love to hear the hens and the added bonus of fresh eggs keeps them happy.

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's why I have bees not chickens. I know of people who've kept bees 250 miles from home, visited twice a year, and got reasonable honey yields. I don't think you'd get away with that in these days of mites though. The longest I've been without seeing mine, apart from winter when thety might stay in their clusters for weeks without flying,  was two weeks last summer, when I was too ill to leave the house. It would be the height of the swarm season, with one colony already making preparations. Inevitably, it went, and I was lucky to get the swarm back.

[Paulines7]

Adam, I don't think you can keep hens if you are not there to check them every day .  I have a large feeder for mine which I top up every week or so and during the summer have the water to the trough on a timer, coming on twice a day.  If I am away for a couple of weeks, I fill up two feeders then all my son has to do is collect the eggs daily and check the water.  Could you not get someone else at the allotment to share them with you?  Are you prepared for this bird flu?  Many European countries now dictate that chickens have to be kept indoors.  Do you have the facilities to do this should the UK impose the same restrictions?

[agapanthus]

Besides not being able to check them every day you miss out on their great characters. They make amazing pets and if you tame them they will come and sit on your lap and adore cuddles I have one who uses the cat flap and comes in and demolishes the cat food!!! The cats let her Did'nt appreciate her going in my bedroom onw day and pooing in my shoes tho' !!!

[Heldi]

LOL Agapanthus!   

I was sat at the allotment last week with my daughter. She had a colouring book and some crayons. Dennis the cockerel was most interested and stood on my wellies to get a closer look.

[agapanthus]

thought you might like this

[glow777]

I agree with everyone else only the cockerels make noise except for the clucking after laying an egg.

We visit our hens at least twice a day but we also walk our dogs over the allotments and they are only a minute or two away.

I don't think the neighbours would find it a problem and possibly wouldn't notice tho you may have to have a better looking setup than some of the allotment style setups (including mine) otherwise house prices may drop in the area!!

If you did have them on your allotment you would have to visit at least once a day just to collect eggs, check water etc maybe one of the locals could do this for you or you could find someone else in the same situation and rotate duties.

[glow777]

Adam if you had an Eglu at the back of your house I can't imagine any complaints however the words overpriced spirng to mind

http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_services/products_services.php?view=Chickens&about=pricing

[Jesse]

Good grief agapanthus! talk about living in comfort What type of hens are they, they look large.

[agapanthus]

the one on the left (honeysuckle) is a columbian buff brahma
one on the right (blossom) is a blue partridge brahma....they are a beautiful breed, so placid and gentle......not great egg layers...but hey I love them

[Alan_Y]

Hi Adam

I have 7 Chooks at home in my garden .
The neighbours don't mind as they don't make much noise at all ( No Cockerels).
In fact a couple of the neighbour's regularly pop round to see them and they allways go home with a few tasty eggs.

The best thing is to ask your neighbour's how would they feel about it if your that concerned . But if you get on with them I would just go ahead.

Hope this helps

You wont regret it they are so much fun to watch and my two younones love them to bits

Alan

[Heldi]

Agapanthus I did love your picture! Lovely big birds they are.  I have a Blossom too. She has just started to lay which  is very pleasing as she belongs to the first group of chickens I got. They were 3 months old at the time. I didn't expect them to start laying until about March but it is pretty mild I guess. Feel like I must be doing something right. Happy hens and all that!

[agapanthus]

Is'nt it exciting Heidi when they lay their first egg