OT keeping chickens
Any of you keep chickens? I am thinking of getting 2 or 3? I am looking up
info and reading a book.I was thinking of keeping them about 50 ft away from the house.A friend said he would put them at the very bottom of the garden due to attracting rats.But my garden is about 225 ft long so they wouldnt be in view from the house.What do you think?I am also going to build myself a chicken coup and run so any advise would be much appreciatted. Thanks Keith |
OT keeping chickens
Keith Kent wrote: Any of you keep chickens? I am thinking of getting 2 or 3? I am looking up info and reading a book.I was thinking of keeping them about 50 ft away from the house.A friend said he would put them at the very bottom of the garden due to attracting rats.But my garden is about 225 ft long so they wouldnt be in view from the house.What do you think?I am also going to build myself a chicken coup and run so any advise would be much appreciatted. Thanks Keith They don't themselves attract rats: it's left-over bits of food that do that. You can't keep them on the same spot all the time, so a movable coop is best: I made one of the triangular kind with a a wire run and a house at one end, and moved it every day or two. (That was after I gave up on letting them roam freely and just shutting them in at night.) As long as you've got somebody to keep an eye on them when you go away they're no trouble, and fresh eggs are a revelation if you've never had them before. You will have to be prepared to kill them when their laying days are finally over, though: it's important for the whole family to understand this. -- Mike. |
OT keeping chickens
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message oups.com... Keith Kent wrote: Any of you keep chickens? I am thinking of getting 2 or 3? I am looking up info and reading a book.I was thinking of keeping them about 50 ft away from the house.A friend said he would put them at the very bottom of the garden due to attracting rats.But my garden is about 225 ft long so they wouldnt be in view from the house.What do you think?I am also going to build myself a chicken coup and run so any advise would be much appreciatted. Thanks Keith They don't themselves attract rats: it's left-over bits of food that do that. You can't keep them on the same spot all the time, so a movable coop is best: I made one of the triangular kind with a a wire run and a house at one end, and moved it every day or two. (That was after I gave up on letting them roam freely and just shutting them in at night.) As long as you've got somebody to keep an eye on them when you go away they're no trouble, and fresh eggs are a revelation if you've never had them before. You will have to be prepared to kill them when their laying days are finally over, though: it's important for the whole family to understand this. And not give them names, or it becomes harder to get rid of them once they have passed their usefulnes, Alan -- Mike. |
OT keeping chickens
"Keith Kent" wrote in
: Any of you keep chickens? I am thinking of getting 2 or 3? I am looking up info and reading a book.I was thinking of keeping them about 50 ft away from the house.A friend said he would put them at the very bottom of the garden due to attracting rats.But my garden is about 225 ft long so they wouldnt be in view from the house.What do you think?I am also going to build myself a chicken coup and run so any advise would be much appreciatted. Thanks Keith I had similar thoughts, but my daughter did the research and convinced me otherwise. She was correct, and has summarised her experience on http://www.allaboutchickens.tk/ No noticable rat problem, probably due to: - food kept in metal dustbin - coop raised 18" off ground, too high for rats' comfort - 1/2" chicken wire mesh, too small for rats and wild birds - cleaned out regularly, at least weekly with three birds Consider - reading Country Smallholding or Practical Poultry to get an idea of possible coop and run designs (available from large WHSmiths etc) - roof over run to reduce chance of avian flu being transmitted from wild birds' droppings - coop floor 18" off ground - is much easier to clean than one at ground level - provides birds with shelter from rain - enables natural dustbathing and scratching around even when it has been raining for a long time - any grass will be destroyed in two or three days; either move them frequently and let the grass regrow and/or reseed itself, or just keep the coop/run in a single place - make the run 5' high, so you can get inside it yourself |
OT keeping chickens
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
You can't keep them on the same spot all the time, so a movable coop is best: I don't agree. They can be kept in a run that is permanently in the one spot but they do need to be managed. They need to be given scratch material and what better things than garden detritus - weeds, mown grass, deadheads etc. They are the ideal compost bin turner and thier run can effectively be used as an added compost bin. I even sometimes give my hens straw to turn before I use it as mulch. A few dasy in the run, rake it up and then spread it on beds. You will have to be prepared to kill them when their laying days are finally over, though: it's important for the whole family to understand this. I keep my hens till they die a natural death. I'd keep hens even if they didn't ever lay eggs. As I'm a keen gardener, I find they are ideal for doing work for me on garden material that I drop into their runs. They either start the compost process or if I'm lazy I just leave it there till they do all the work of turning, manuring and rotting it back down to earth. |
OT keeping chickens
"Tom Gardner" wrote in message 43.37... "Keith Kent" wrote in : Any of you keep chickens? I am thinking of getting 2 or 3? I am looking up info and reading a book.I was thinking of keeping them about 50 ft away from the house.A friend said he would put them at the very bottom of the garden due to attracting rats.But my garden is about 225 ft long so they wouldnt be in view from the house.What do you think?I am also going to build myself a chicken coup and run so any advise would be much appreciatted. Thanks Keith I had similar thoughts, but my daughter did the research and convinced me otherwise. She was correct, and has summarised her experience on http://www.allaboutchickens.tk/ No noticable rat problem, probably due to: - food kept in metal dustbin - coop raised 18" off ground, too high for rats' comfort - 1/2" chicken wire mesh, too small for rats and wild birds - cleaned out regularly, at least weekly with three birds Consider - reading Country Smallholding or Practical Poultry to get an idea of possible coop and run designs (available from large WHSmiths etc) - roof over run to reduce chance of avian flu being transmitted from wild birds' droppings - coop floor 18" off ground - is much easier to clean than one at ground level - provides birds with shelter from rain - enables natural dustbathing and scratching around even when it has been raining for a long time - any grass will be destroyed in two or three days; either move them frequently and let the grass regrow and/or reseed itself, or just keep the coop/run in a single place - make the run 5' high, so you can get inside it yourself Thanks all for the advise! Cheers Keith |
OT keeping chickens
I am Tom Gardner's daughter.
1. There's no reason to kill them once they stop laying as they really do become pets, and believe it or not, they have lovely individual personalities. Plus, most chickens never completely stop laying, they just slow down to the point where you are getting one egg a month if you're lucky! In short, they lay 80% of what they laid the previous year. 2. I've never had a problem with rats. I know that there are a few mice around, but they were there before the chickens were, and there hasn't been any increase to my knowledge. It's more common to see next door's cat with a garden bird in it's mouth than a mouse. Just clear up any spilt feed, and you won't have a problem. 3. You won't have a complete lawn with chickens. If you get an ark (triangular thing) and move it around, you will just end up with a gradually thinning lawn. IMHO it's easier just to resign yourself to losing a small amount of lawn, and leave them in that place. 4. Are you allowed to keep chickens? Check the property deeds, and the local bylaws. Most towns will state no cockerels (due to noise), but hens will lay just as well without them, and they won't be terrorised by their constant raping. However, if it is in your house deeds, then more than likely you can get away with it. The number of violations I have seen of house deeds around here is astonishing (I'm assuming that they all say the same thing, as they were built at the same time by the same builder in the same style). However, if your neighbours complain to the council, then if you are in violation of the bylaws, the bylaws could be used against you. Appease them with some eggs. 5. I learnt the vast majority of what I know (a lot, my website www.allaboutchickens.tk is only a portion of what I know, and is constantly being updated, if and when I have time) from a message board called backyard chickens at http://p072.ezboard.com/bbackyardchickens and the people there are really friendly. I am known there as V Chic Chick if you want to come on over :) 6. Feel free to message me with any questions via the contact us page on my website, or by PM on backyard chickens. 7. Think about what breeds you are going to get. Pure breeds are prettier and can be shown. DEFRA has also promised not to cull any healthy pure breeds in the event of a bird flu outbreak. However, they lay less eggs per year, but don't burn out after 18 months like hybrids do. Hybrids are less pretty, but they do the job if all you are after is eggs. But they tend to just be a boring brown colour. 8. You can look at lots of nice pictures of different chicken breeds at www.feathersite.com 9. Don't bother with one of these eglu things. They're overpriced and undersized for anything larger than a couple of bantams. Much better to go with a nicer bigger wooden one, either bought in, or made yourself (much cheaper, and built to your own requirements). Helena. |
OT keeping chickens
Junk Address writes
You can look at lots of nice pictures of different chicken breeds at www.feathersite.com Hey, I do like the idea of being able to say 'come and see my Asbos' ;-) -- Kay |
Keep them in view of your house, ours have never attracted rats. I think rat problems are more of a problem with large farms and innapropriate foods, like meats.
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