Thinking of getting some..

[weekendwellies]

Ok, here's the thing.... I have been dipping in to your posts, and am being swayed towards getting some chucks.
The trouble is I know nothing about them. I know you will tell me to go to the library/book store and get some knowledge first, which I intend to do before taking the plunge. But I was wondering if you all could give me a bit of info as well.
1st, my back garden is where I would need to keep them as the lottie is in my opinion not that safe and I would be gutted if the ladies got harmed. Back garden consists of part paved, approx 10ft square and part grass, approx 12ft square. Also borders which I don't do much with. Garden is fully enclosed with 7ft high fences.
So, is it best to site the run on the paved or grassed area?
2nd, any tips you could give on the best type of run to get would be welcomed.
3rd, how many chucks would be suitable for the space available.
4th, which are the best type to get for a) egg laying and b) healthiness, weather tolerance, etc.
5th, I know the books will tell me what feed to give them and what veterinary care they need, but your advice/experience would mean so much more to me

Anything else you may feel I should know about but haven't thought of asking?

[Hilary B]

I would make the run part-and-part, with the house definitely in the paved area, and some paved beyond, although if that means putting the hen-house just outside the back door, it may need to be reconsidered. Grass will not be present for long once there are chickens in the run....
If the garden slopes at all DO NOT have any part of the run at the low point.
Best type of run will have a roof, and be tall enough to stand up in comfortably, it will also be made of weldmesh or something similarly strong enough to prevent foxes or stray dogs breaking in. Precautions against anything digging UNDER the fencing are necessary.
You will need rat-proof feed storage (best if you can also make the run ratproof).
I would recommend starting with 3 hens. You will probably end up wanting more, so best start small.
For laying, AND best chance of hardy, healthy hens, you need POL pullets from a reputable breeder. Hybrids lay best, but there are hybrids bred for backyarders (such as Bluebelles) and these might be a better option than the more conventional 'bred-for-battery' types. A few pure breeds are also good layers, and may be even better at 'weather'.
The rest of 'basic advice' gets repeated on here so often that a quick skim through threads will tell you most of it.
One important tip is to get a house with the minimum of hiding-places for redmite. Felt-roofed sheds are tricky!

[Bramble-Poultry]

Looking after chooks is no more difficuly that looking after any other animal, feed and water them and clean out once a week. Keep them safe and healthy.

Paved or grass makes no difference at all, except that in small spaces they will churn up grass in a few days so you will have no more grass, some breeds are better for not doing this than others.

Perhaps if you have some flowerbed space you can put over to a permanant run and then let them free range when you are at home.

I would say in that space I would have a 3ft x 2ft house and a 3ft x 6ft run, the house is ok about 3ft high with a hinged lid but the run is best at 6ft high so you can get into it easily to clean them (although my run of this size is only 3ft high with a removable plastic roof so the run stays dry but I can remove the lid to clean them). This isn't a large run and would be best for no more that 3 standard size layers or 2 large layers, possibly 3 -4 bantams. This is also asuming that they are only in it for safety when you are not around and free roaming the remainder of the time. If you want to give a little more floor area, have the same run size and house size but elevate the house so they have under it aswell.

The picture is the run before we changed it to have a removable roof. The other benefit of building a house like this is you can extend it at your leisure!!

[Flummery]

Here's ours. You can walk in, it's roofed with mesh (though soon to be roofed with corrugated plastic) and is on slabs so it can't be dug into (or out of - they love a good dig!) The 4 hens have 3 x 2.2 metres but get out daily onto a grassy area (now fairly scruffy!)

They are easy to look after and very easy to fall in love with. My best advice is - don't rush. We decided about this time last year that we'd like chickens. We spent ages designing and re-designing the run, ages building it and got the chickens in April this year. Meanwhile I joined about 4 poultry forums - this is the one I stick to now though. Find out all you can before you buy.

[bluemoon]

I'd agree with Flummery. Research all you can then take your time buying and/or building the housing and runs. It took us 18 months from first thinking about chickens to actually moving the first ones in - and it would probably have been even longer if I hadn't offered to take Lynda's 2 cockerels to save them from becoming Sunday lunch - I'm glad we did spend time on it though. During those months I was 'going to have' just about every type of chicken available, from ex-batts, to posh pure breeds and changed my mind virtually every week. In the end we got utility Copper Marans and Rhode Island Reds and both have been perfect for us, but if I'd gone to a poultry supplier with no idea of what I wanted I know I'd have been swayed by pretty feathers. The houses were designed with the number and type of chickens we had finally decided upon in mind and - touch wood - problems have been minimal.
When we went to buy our Rhodies the farmer only had eight week old growers, so we bought those and although we had to wait months for eggs it was the best thing I've ever done, chickenwise, as they are much more friendly than the Marans which were bought point of lay and who seem to have little interest in us. The Rhodies are much easier to handle as they voluntarily wander up to be picked up, making checking them over simple. I will always try to hatch my own from now on, but if this is not possible I'll definitely buy them as sexed youngsters.