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Produce => Kept Animals => Topic started by: Philbasford on March 06, 2007, 15:40:54
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We are moving to a bigger property with a huge garden and some old outbuildings when the house was built in 1960(divided in to 3 with brick wall, pre cast conrete roof. I am wanting to keep 3 or 4 chickens and was wondering what size i would need for a coop and would it need a window etc etc in it?. Am also thinking is this a good time of year to get new birds settled in (i mean the chickens not the wife lol:)ive heard they are really easier to keep (had rabbits before and they were a joy). Also i wont be working during this summer so would be able to spend some time with then:)
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We've had chickens for a couple of years now and they are really easy to look after.
We had six to begin with and hubby built an ark (like the ones from Forsham Cottage Arks) but we decided after a while to convert our kids' old playhouse as the kids had outgrown it, with a large run attached to it. The playhouse measures 10' x 8' with a nice verandah!!! and we've partitioned it, one half to keep all the food etc., and the other half for them to perch. At one point last summer, we had 14 in there and still had plenty of room. They don't like to have too much room as they like to huddle together, especially in the winter.
You'll need one nest box per 3 hens and a long enough perch high up and access for them to get at it, like a ramp or something similar because they can hurt themselves if they have to jump/fly from too high up.
I must get sorted out with how to post photos etc., not so much of a whizz on the computer ;)
Hope this helps :)
Linda
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does anyone know where i could buy chickens in the nottingham area?
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Phil, try the Practical Poultry magazine, or their website - www.practicalpoultry.co.uk. They have list of people by area. You should find someone in there.
Linda.
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than ks great:)
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ive found this: http://www.ideas-4-pets.com/pages-main/category-247/products-for-poultry.html?zenid=a2d6a086eb5bba06e42f2e1fcb99c8df
But i cant see a pearch on it, what do people think of this?
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I think it looks very posh! ;D
Our hens are in an old shed. Admittedly a big old shed!
I'll have a look through my pics and show you.
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You could try the one stop chickin stop in Grantham, they sold me a coup hens, food etc etc, they are nice people to deal with :)
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Yes the one stop chicken shop is great ... going again at the weekend to get mydaughter anotehr Bluebelle!
I would def recommend a shed rather than a chicken coop.... soooo much cheaper! I do have 2 (inherited) chicken coops and one chicken ark from 1stop but after a year of keeping chooks i would say a shed is best!
PM me if you want any more info /
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thanks heldi, if i did buy that coop-run, would i need to pout something inside to collect the poops?
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i bought a second hand one fron the osc shop, they are far too dear new, just remember that it will soon be sh@ted up so my advise would be either buy a shed or pop to the osc shop and buy a econd hand one.
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Erm,I'm not sure as I have not had the pleasure of a brand new spanking chicken coop ;D I think they make them with removeable trays don't they? Also I have been told off someone who has an ark that the perch is above where they nest and the poop gets in there. You'll have to check it all out before you buy.
Here's some pictures. I started off with six hens. Two were boys ,both of which have gone. I now have 19. Two more cockerels. One has a home to go to but the other is a nasty evil bird (he is horrid) and OH has a knife and fork in mind for him! Harry in my avatar has gone to service hens for the rest of his life!
Under the perch is a little platform which you can't really see there. The perch has been sanded so there aren't any corners. It's not very high... about 15 inches off the ground. The big birds don't like to fly up or down so have to have a ladder. Which is only a plank of wood with some rungs attached.
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Heres a couple of the outside pen...made when the bird flu kicked off last year.
The back of it was made with old doors!
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Just to add the Hybrids are coming in now. Easter is a good time to get them but once summer is over they are impossible to get hold of as i found out last year.
Your outbuildings sound fine. No need for windows... chickens like to lay eggs in the dark generally. As for poop... shavings, hempcore is fine though you can put a layer of newspaper down too to make it easy to clean up. I only clean out once a week which is just enough in the little coop but once every 3 weeks for the big coop.
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Yes I thought your outbuildings sounded like a good possibility. It would have to be waterproof so the roof needs to be checked, the perch needs to be out of any draught...but there needs to be air.
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i use fine shredded paper (from work) for the bottom, and shredded strips for the nest box, all free ;D, i have six hens and getting six eggs every day :)
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Yes I use shredded paper too! (I'm agreeing with everyone here!)
Oh and Harry has gone from my avatar...thats me that is!
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yea, i think will get the one i showed in pic for use in summer and the outbuilding for prehaps wen the weathers cold?, or would they get unsettled, am of to a place in grantham tommorrow called the one stop chicken shop for what hybrids to get:)
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Hey so am I - I'm going down about 2pm... bet i will miss you!
I am getting a bluebelle... but I think the speckledy's and black rocks lay more frequently and bigger eggs. Only reason im getting a BB is because my daughters got taken last year and i promised to replace it.
Hens learn where their home is and do not like to be moved - egg laying can be affected, pecking order might need to be reestablished etc... So decide on which one to go for I say!
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will proberly be there about the same time:)
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do people just let thier chickens run around in the garden when they are in the garden/at home or do u have special runs made for them?
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when mine were at home they were out all day - but it is a concrete yard with an 8 foot brick wall all around.
My mums were kept in by elect fencing... it all depends on your circumstances/garden really!
Did you get to 1stop today? I came home with a bluebelle and a white bird - maybe white star... will have to look it up - they lay white eggs anyway.
Also set my 8mth old silkie on 3 eggs today that i got from my other pen as i have a cockeral in with those so fingers crossed she sits tight! - the chicks should be Black orpington bantam cockeral x maran and the other 2 will be either x light sussex, buff orp LF, Blue Cochin or black orp banty! I was going to buy some eggs but then remembered i have a cockeral durrrrr
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I keep chickens in the back garden but they are in a run - we tried having them loose but they kept wandering into neighbour's gardens & also they can strip a veg bed in seconds - useful when you are digging up weeds not quite so useful when you have months of salad crops! Plus it keeps them safe from foxes.
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We used to let them have free range but it got a nightmere for the poo they leave behind on the paths that you always manage to step in and they strip the plants in no time. This year i've actually got primroses in bloom and they look lovely. They have a nice run that they use now.
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no :(,the other half had to go and comfort his mother who had broken her wrist, so it ruined our day, just as we were going there, going there in two weeks time and will come bk with some:), our garden is bit empty so they can run around until we get things sorted:)
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Have you ordered the birds??? If not call on tuesday/wednesday and reserve them as I know quite a few breeds had sold out already and they only arrived in this week. I know they have bluebelles, black rocks and some warren/ranger types and another speckledy looking hybrid but begins with M, oh and the white egg layers too!
Let me know if you come over - my plot is only a couple of miles from 1stop and you can see my 16 birds... I started out with 3 last easter!!!
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no we havent ordered yet, going down thursday to order them if possible,ill pm u:), Is the hybrid one a quiet bird do you know?, I think they are open again wednesday if i am not mistaken?
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Hi Guys,
i have mine down the side of the house, in a large open run, i had them in the garden for about 3 months and they were slowly ruining it. There is something nice about seeing them wandering around though hey olive i'm from Grantham where are you from
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I'm in grantham too!!!!
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very popular area on this board it seems.
Something my other halfs dad said yesterday. *your neighbours wont like u keeping chickens, enviromental health and all that*, but we ve got such a large back garden with no immediate houses either :). Theres no by laws about keeping chickens in the city of nottingham is the?, i did try nlooking on thier website but nothing came up
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depends on your house... most new builds wont allow it... but older properties no problem. I live in the middle of grantham and had 3 chooks in our yard until my obsession got to much and we moved them to the lotty with all the other chooks i had secretly acquired. None of my neighbours complained - thought i was potty but liked hearing the chooking clucking away.
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thanks, this property is nice and old, checked deeds nothing in them, sorry about lots of questions!
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Went to One stop chicken shop today and chosen 3 birds that we are picking up a week on sat , one brown hen, one black rock and the other suffolk something, will pick up all our stuff next week, feeders/feed/ and maybe bale of straw, ooo am excited:)
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ooo how exciting for you. My 2 new ones have settled in... even let them out past couple of days and they have returned to the coop although not yet cuddly like the rest of our birds yet but im sure they will settle.
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yea definately, will come home with a car full!
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Mine have a chicken run with overhead fleece to stop 'em escaping or other nasties getting in. Keeps birds out to prevent other diseases too.
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oooo today's the day! I think I'm as excited as you (almost hehe)
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lol its next sat we are getting them, moved in today, d**n hard work , nackered. had to get a slightly different coop as they had run out of other one, just a different design, loads of unpacking to do today!
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built our chicken coop and run, brought bale of straw(£1 bargin:), just gotta pick up food and feeders etc when i get the birds!
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have got our chickens home:)!, already the dominant one seems to have become evident!!
how often do people tend to feed thier birds and how much do you give them each?, We have a moveable cage and run, because they poop a lot do people tend to move thier runs a fair bit?. Will be making a long permenant run for them at back of garden before long:)
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Congratulations! :) How many? What sort? What are their names? Where's the pics? :)
I feed mine all their food in the mornings cos during the winter it is dark by the time I get home from work & they don't want to eat then. I tend to be guided by how much they want to eat & then offer a little more. About a small handful of pellets each [in a pigeon feeder] & similar amount or a bit less of mixed corn plus leftovers from the kitchen. everyone seems to have their own regime - just need to find what suits you and yours.
About the run. The general advice seems to be if chickens are to be kept in a permanent run then they need 2! We started with one but it quickly became quite nasty & smelly so we made another the other side & now we alternate them - a couple of months each. If you are making one long one you might want to consider cutting it in half in some way & only allowing them on one half while the other recovers. You can put lime down to speed up the recovery but we've never done that.
Good luck.
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one bird will eat 1kg food per week - so x that by the number of birds and then divide by 7 days and there you go!
Mine eat at least a mug full each per day and i add extra just in case. I'm thinking about going over to pellets though as the coarse mash they waste alot. I'm sure they wont be happy about going on to pellets but they will only starve themselves for so long LOL.
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yea they seem to eat a lot!!!!, always wanting more!, they like grass to, cut them some and its all gone in no time:) had our first egg yesterday,hmmmm nice:)
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OO I fed mine mash for a long time but was so fed up with them just getting in the bowl & scratching it all out & wasting it that I changed to pellets in a pigeon feeder & hardly waste any. They soon got used to the pellets but much prefer their corn & scraps.
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Pellets purchased today - will see what they thought of them tomorrow LOL Maybe they wont give me any eggs in protest LOL
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Might take a couple of days to settle down. We all went out for the day on Saturday & got back really late & there were no eggs [usually have 3 or 4] - obviously didn't like the lack of attention :)
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It took 3 days to eat the same amount of pellets. this is going to save me a fortune... and i've benn getting 9 eggs a day!
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Wow - well done - obviously what they had been waiting for. ;D
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Had chickens now for 2 weeks, they are fab, have built them a 18 ft by 12 ft run. they seem happy, one is laying every day, the other just started and waiting for the final one, They go bonkers when they see a spade and go after worms. Does other peoples chicken go mad for worms??
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Our run is next to the compost heaps & when OH is turning it over he picks out the worms for them & they go MAD - they also really love spaghetti - must think it's worms as well ;D
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yep they go barmy ,
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I let mine roam my plot every day whilst i dig or plant. At first it was lovely, there were a couple of hens who were constantly under my feet waiting for every worm opportunity. Now they wander and start eating my blooming plants - think the sweetpeas have had it... and worse still. they flattened my potato earths so while i earthed back up they went next door and started running round with neighbour onion sets.... I could have killed the little buggers... had to gather a dozen onions up and replant before anyone saw!
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Hi Phil :) I'm in Nottingham too :)
I'm getting two of THESE at the beginning of May :D
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,28/topic,24178.0
2nd photo down! PURPLE CHICKENS! Think I might paint their shed pink!
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Just back from the vets having my Rhoda [Rhode Island red] chickie put down. She had been unwell for a while & just sort of sinking slowly - decided today it couldn't go on any longer - we had tried antibiotics in the past and she would perk up a bit then start sneezing & wheezing again. The vet thought she probably had an abscess so definitely the right thing to do.
A tip for those of you buying chickens for the first time. Sick chickens always have a sort of smell about them, healthy chickens don't smell of anything other than warm feathers. My daughter can tell a sick chicken at 100 yards :) so when buying new ones give them a good sniffing .
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Awwww :(
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Hello everyone.
I had planned on keeping chickens for a while and a couple of weeks ago i was given a pair (i think Barnvelders). So i have just got the 2 at the moment (1 cockerel 1 hen). I am planning on getting some more hens this week if i can.
I have a few questions if you can help me please.
1. Do all breeds of chickens mix well?
2. Fertile eggs are OK to eat aren't they? (a neighbour told me they would taste off! think he was taking the Micky but thought I'd ask anyhow).
3. Just out of curiosity! How long can you keep fertile eggs before they become infertile?
thank you for your help.
I'm just going to smell my chickens now.
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1 Probably though they will have to sort out their own pecking order - this is usually related to size but not always.
2 Fertile eggs are fine to eat.
3 My first chickens were hatched from eggs which had sat on top of a cupboard in my office at school for two weeks, but they are supposed to be as fresh as possible if you want to hatch them.
PS I think the one female will probably be getting a bit too much attention from her mate - if you mean to keep him then I think you need some more girls to keep him happy - just remember to give them a good sniffing first. :)
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Sorry to hear about your hen mary... i have a bantam orpington off for quite a while but no symptoms other than looking sorry for herself and i often find her away from the others or perched in the house!
Fertile eggs taste the same... the only difference is the fertility spot!
Hens arent racist and will happily mix between breeds.
Freshest fertile eggs are best or within 10-12 days of collecting
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Thank you for your advice.
Ye i'm off to try gets some more hens in the morning. Think the one i have is getting tired from all the attention!!
We have a farmers auction in Brigg on a thursday and they sell chickens and other animals, so i'l have a look there.
I'l be the one getting funny looks from sniffing the chickens. ha ha
thanks again
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Mycoplasma infections definitely smell and it is quite distinctive.... chances are most the chooks at market will smell of it as it can be brought on by stress and obviously markets are stressful for chooks.... look out for foamy eyes too!
Which reminds me - must go to market at Melton next week for a peek... I have 3 broodys at the moment so could get some eggs!