Am i doing the right thing

[jessabelle]

Hi im jessica and live south of glasgow in a newish estate with my partner and 2 boys 4 and 2 years.

I grow veg on my parents farm not far from here and the next step seems naturally to get ourselves some hens not only for eggs but for fun and to show the boys where our food comes from the problem is my partners not to sure he thinks people will think us a bit mad and worried about the noise, our garden is on the small side but not tiny and we do have 2 rabbits.

Any advise would be great and would give me some amo to use in our discussions.

Thanks

Jessica.

[Urban Chickens]

Yes it will be the right thing to get some chooks!

They are cheap to keep after the outlay of the coops and things and you will get fresh eggs every day!

[BUFFS]

hi jessabelle,why not try three bantams,or even three hybrids(laying 300+ per bird a year),you dont want less than that as birds are social creatures,have a good read on these threads,loads of experiences on here to help you decide what to do,but chooks make you smile and their antics are addictive,once you get some thats it,converted....

[jayjay giant]

My garden is only small and I got so fed up waiting for an allotment I turned it in to one complete with chicken run and raised vegetable beds.
We live on a fairly new estate in Wolverhampton and to be honest other folks think its great and often ask to bring round their children and grandchildren

Go for it !

James

[Liza]

Hi im jessica and live south of glasgow in a newish estate with my partner and 2 boys 4 and 2 years.

I grow veg on my parents farm not far from here and the next step seems naturally to get ourselves some hens not only for eggs but for fun and to show the boys where our food comes from the problem is my partners not to sure he thinks people will think us a bit mad and worried about the noise, our garden is on the small side but not tiny and we do have 2 rabbits.

Any advise would be great and would give me some amo to use in our discussions.

Thanks

Jessica.

I was in exactly the same situation as you.

I got my 4 girls last Friday, my neighbours haven't even noticed

go for it !

[Nicos]

So...have you got them yet????


Seriously- go for it! ( you can always take them to the farm if things don't work out- but I really don't see why not!)

By the way- welcome to the Vine!!

[yeti]

hi jessabelle, i would most definately go for bantams in a small garden,the pekin breed would be best they are child friendly , they can also become quite tame , and they wont damage the garden half as much as big girls!! so go for it , three is a good number to get as mentioned in a previous reply. and there alot of varieties to choose from in the pekin breed. let us all know what you decide. cheers joel.

[Nicos]

Now then- I have bantams which fee range- but didn't RH mention
(post #11..... http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...any_44846.html)

that bantams actually need more space????
An interesting concept!
Yup- mine are always running about and fussing- so I can see where RH is coming from!

[Bramble-Poultry]

jessabelle. chickens in a small garden is totally feasible. Have you got a "works" book outllet near to you? if so, go and purchase "the urban hen" written by paul peacock. it is purely about how he keeps chickens in his garden at the back of his small house in the city.

if you cant get to a "works" then Good Life Press publish it i think (or at least have ties to Paul), or you could try his website Urban Hen

but dont go on the good life press website - they have a sale on and i uended buying loads and gave the posty a hernia!

[jessabelle]

Thank you so much all of you, the advice you have given is amazing, its great to get info from people who know what there talking about.

Thats it im going for it. yay

Next question is wheres best to get the hens from? As i said i live south of glasgow.

Thanks again

Jessica

[frias]

Hi jessabelle, welcome to the vine. You didn't really expect us addicted choockaholics to tell you not to get some did you? Chickens make great pets and children love them. Three or four hens won't make much noise and it's only the noise of cockerels that neighbours might object to.

[RichmondHens]

Now then- I have bantams which fee range- but didn't RH mention
(post #11..... http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...any_44846.html)

that bantams actually need more space????
An interesting concept!
Yup- mine are always running about and fussing- so I can see where RH is coming from!

I have Light Sussex bantams and various crosses of them. They love to run and fly and I have plenty of space for them to do that. Other breeds such as Pekin are quieter and would possibly be quite happy in a small garden.

I never feel comfortable with chickens being kept in a small space. I have seen too many stressed little birds literally running up and down the wire of a tiny pen just desperate to get out and it makes me very sad that they don't have freedom. Just because something is small doesn't mean it can be happy in a small space.

[yeti]

i agree with you there,pekins are quieter , i have wyandottes too, and they are definately more active..but most definately agree that just because something is small it would be happy in a small place..i sugested pekins because they are not known to be very flighty birds , and are quite content with less space than larger breeds,and they can become very tame easily,which is ideal when you have young children..oh and they do less damage to the flowery parts of the garden because they dont scratch as much, which pleases the oh!!

[jessabelle]

Thanks for all you comments.

I totally agree with you and wouldn't agree with keeping them in a small space either, our garden isn't the biggest in my opinion but i did grow up on a farm the coop/run is over 2m in length and they will be able to explore the garden when we are here which is 50ft long and totally enclosed.

[yeti]

that sounds ok to me,good luck with getting them , they are tottaly addictive..but extremely fun to watch and kids love them ...