Considering getting us some chucks - a few questions and a bit of advice plz!

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi Guys!

Mr D and me have been thinking of getting some chucks to keep at home in the back yard for a while (ever since Yo and Bob mentioned the idea a year ago at a BBQ!

We are both interested in the whole business of setting up, from buying a henhouse or ark (we both love the eglu's, but too pricey and we dont feel e have a need to be able to move them too often, the lawn at the front is not somewhere we feel that they would be safe enough), thru to what types of hen to get and how to look after them. We've a fairly secure back yard (tho we'd have to keep the greenhouse securely closed when the birds were out!), with another area to the side of the house that could also be utilised (tho we'd have to move the blueberries from down there first).

The only problems we could forsee is with our beloved Bella (a great dane x alsatian rescue we got 2 years ago), as she is fairly boisterous and we aren't sure how she'd react to the chucks, but if needs be we could try and keep her out of the yard, and the local cats, one or two of whom often sit on our fance or garage roof, overlooking the area we'd like to keep the chucks in!

We're possibly looking at a henhouse with attached run to be permanently sited in the back yard, (with an area of soil beneath it), and with the possibility of allowing the chucks free run of the yard / side of the house when we were in. The yard measures about 15' by 18', and the area at the side of the house is about 22' by 4'.

I was thinking of possibly going for rescue ex bat hens, or if not then one or two fairly docile breeds, probably between 4 and 6 hens in total, but would like everyones opinions on what breeds are best for our situation, bearing in mind that finances are limited to say the least! It may well be that the chucks end up being our joint birthday prezzies to each other for this year, so if we are going to do it, then it needs to be good!

Any info, encouragement, ideas, contacts, advice etc would be very welcome!

[TPeers]

I'd go for that 22' by 4' area - raise any fencing to 7' using a fairly solid, close mesh trellis (small enough holes so that cats etc can't get through) Roof in the same material to stop cats jumping in and gate off the garden end to secure the area. You could staple wealdmesh over the trellis for added stabiliy and safety and you could also consider covering part of the run with clear plastic so they always have a dry area. If all the construction is behind the line of the house front and in wood or other non-permanent products you don't need to ask permission first.

Bark is a fairly good surface for the hens and is usually on offer somewhere. If you use the deep litter approach you will only need to dig it out about once every six months or so and you can chuck it all on the plot so nothing wasted!

Have a look on freecycle - sometimes people give away hen houses (occasionally with the hens!)

You will need a secure, vermin free storage area for food bins and ancillary kit - do get secure bins rather than leaving the feed in bags - picking up a bag to have the contents fall on your feet is not fun!

22'x4' is approx 9.5 sq yds - enough space for 9 hens though personally I would like to give them more space than that as mine can only free range if I am there to watch them.

have fun

Terry

[heebiejeebie]

Our cats are OK with our 4 ex-batts. If anything, the cats are wary and keep a respectful distance. I think a dog would be another matter!

We got a mini swiss chalet ark from Jim Vyse. It's good, but if I was starting over I'd get a cheap shed and modify the inside to make nest boxes and perches.

[janeyo]

Hi, hens are great, funny to watch and they give you eggs and they eat snails and slugs!

How is your Hubby's DiY? he could make one - we did form marine ply, much cheaper than buying the same size ready made. One tip if it's not going to be static make sure you put wheels on they can be darn heavy to lift and you will have to move it each week if on grass. Or adapt an old shed. Mine started in a 6x6 enclosure and we had to move them weekly as they just scrathed it away and had nothign left. They now have 25x square and they scratched that to nothing within a fortnight! 3 birds! Amazing.

We have a black rock, quite docile quite a big bird, lays every day at the mo. Can lay HUGE eggs up to 110 grams (like a duck egg) A white star, she lays white eggs and is also laying one a day. She is very flighty and had her wing clipped but we won't do that after she moults. She is impossible to catch!
And a brown one, not sure of her breed but we think is a like the battery ones. She follows me round like a dog, eats out of my hand and is very happy to have a cuddle. Even my 3 yr old can pet her.She lays one a day at the mo too. Our ones are bred to lay about 280-300 a year each.

They cost about £12 each at point of lay - ie just about to come into laying eggs as a young bird about 18 weeks. This is a good time to get them so they can settle into their new home before they start laying. Food and upkeep costs a bit (wormer, lice powder, red mite powder, feed etc) but but they also eat fresh greens, porridge cooked pasta bread etc.

I would really recommend hens but make sure you give them enough room, we thought 6x6 woudl be huge for 3 birds but they looked far too cramped and are much happier now!

Hope this helps, janeyo

ps I was actually terrified of chickens before I got them and now will happily pick them up for a cuddle and the little bokbok noises they ake are really sweet!

[Sue]

Hi Mrs D
Great news on the hen front - you won't regret it.
I'd just add that I'd consider roofing essential, especially if they are on earth. Even though rain can drive in sideways it does keep the ground protected and having just got through a very wet winter I am truly grateful that mine is roofed. It's a clear corrugated plastic that you can get at DIY stores.
Also on the bark chippings - All the advice is to go for wood chips not bark as it can go mouldy and can affect the hen's respiratory systems. I don't use it and have used wood shavings, straw and leaves in the run. This is expensive -around £5 a week, but it's worked well, dries out the pooh nicely so a once a week clear out is enough and, of course I end up with a lovely pooh mountain. If I had the storage space and transport I'd go for aubiose which seems highly recommended, it's a horse bedding made from hemp and users say it rots down quicker than straw.

I've loved having so many eggs and would add that you'll need to stock up on egg cookbooks to get recipes and inspiration for what to do with another dozen of them. The eggs make great gifts too and are always much appreciated.

Would echo the advice about metal containers for feed, protects it from rats and mice too.
And be prepared to waste a lot of time, they are fascinating creatures and can be made quite tame with some attention.

As well as freecycle check out ebay, some good offers on housing and equipement and easy to find things like egg boxes in relatively small quantities for a back-garden operation.
And lastly join one of the hen forums, tons of advice there
Good luck!
Sue

[OverWyreGrower]

Great idea!!

Just as a bit of info.... our dogs generally don't go near the chickens... they like to chase anything that moves

Our hens are in an ark & run combo, so are pretty protected, but they are also in a small fenced off section of the garden. The fence is made with fairly rigid green wire stuff and stakes, and can be moved when we need it to be. Otherwise the dogs tend to jump and bark and headbutt the chicken's run; and it stresses them out...

Does Bella have a high prey drive? Does she have a strong "leave" command? Is she bothered by cats, birds, rabbits etc? She may get used to the chickens in time. I'm sure that there are lots of Grapes whose dogs are fine with their chooks. I only mention it as Murphy (our pup) has killed 2 of next doors free-range chickens in the past 6 months (1 in our garden, 1 in theirs) and it's a horrible thing to witness

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi all, thanks for the great advice and encouragement!

I've already been looking at hen houses on ebay, but they do seem to be going for a highish price atm, so perhaps building our own is the way to go, will have to look into it!

Bella does have a high prey drive, she loves to chase cats away from the garden, and at the weekend when visiting Mr D's folks she shot into their back garden and tried attacking the 2 stone ducks (lifelike painted ducks Lee's Mum has on her lawn), she got quite a surprise when they didnt move and she headbutted one I can tell you! lol! So perhaps best if we fence off the side of the house and keep her out of there. It wouldnt be too difficult to gate both ends, nor to put a roof over it, I'm thinking of using chicken wire over a part of it and perspex over the rest, attached to the house and to the 6' fence with the neighbours perhaps!

I do know tho that we will be deffo having some chucks this summer at some point, so will deffo keep you all informed!

Actually, the whole idea of keeping livestock and attempting to become as self sufficient as possible is one we've been contemplating for a long time now. I'm beginning to feel that I'm reaching a point in my life that I'd rather be living out in nature with limited monies rather than working so hard in such a stressfull job that I'm going to end up in an early grave, so I think we've hit upon a bit of a plan. The idea is to spend the next 10 years paying off as much as we can, and working hard on reducing the outstanding mortgage until we've got enough equity to be able to try and buy a piece of land (with woods and pasture hopefully) out in the wilds, then build our own eco house with minimal energy consumption (and possibly a water wheel and wind turbine for electric and solar heating), a large veg patch, keep chucks, goats, a couple of dairy cows, pigs and possibly some sheep, and then live frugally but enjoy having the time to do what we want. We'd possibly supplement our income (as at 50 I could take early retirement and have a smallish pension) by having some Yurts and renting them out, and possibly having some land set aside for camping, plus possibly run a veg box sheme aswell. I'd love to think that in 10 years we could be doing this, but a lot of research and hard work is going to have to go into finding out if it would be feasible, and whether we could afford to do it, but at least it gives us something to aim for!

[Tracey]

Hi Mrs Dobby

We've got some friends that gave done exactly what you're contemplating doing. They sold up a small house in England and moved to a a few acre smallholding in Southern Ireland and are trying to become as self sufficient as possible. They're really loving the new lifestyle.

I would recommend keeping chickens, we've had ours since last November and they are pets to us with the bonus of producing lovely eggs. The only downside is the dastardly fox.

Tracey

[Hans Mum]

caught the back end of a programme tonite about ex bats rehoming heres a link
How to care for Battery Hens - Battery Hen Welfare Trust
hope its of some use, would love to have some but am nervous of such a big comittment

[terrier]

Actually, the whole idea of keeping livestock and attempting to become as self sufficient as possible is one we've been contemplating for a long time now. I'm beginning to feel that I'm reaching a point in my life that I'd rather be living out in nature with limited monies rather than working so hard in such a stressfull job that I'm going to end up in an early grave,

Good luck to you Mrs.D. If you go down that route you'll be part of a growing number of people who feel they have just had enough of living the stereotyped lifestyle we are told we should live. OH and myself started down that road quite some years ago. OK, so paying off the mortgage took all the money we could scrape together and we don't go on long hols to exotic places, we don't have a TV 'cos we wouldn't have the time to watch it anyway, but what we do have is worth more to us than any amount of money( not that winning the lottery would go amiss ). Our day to day living is centered around our dogs, cats, horses and chooks, we grow our own veg and buy other produce direct from local people. Of course, this sort of lifestyle doesn't suit everyone, but it's the best move I've ever made for personal happiness, I couldn't ever imagine changing now.