I'm new to this

[Flummery]

Mine are in a 3 x 2.4 m run most of the time unless we are out to supervise - we do have daytime fox patrols here! We have 4 in that space and each has room to get away from the others if they choose to. The house is raised about 18" so they can use the full floor space. I would go to 5 or even 6 maybe but no more, even though the house would take 8.

[Mell]

get some ducks! my khaki campbells have laid loads of eggs and are still going strong even with the cold

I'm with is ! After 20 odd years keeping hens of all sorts we swapped to ducks, runners in our case, and find them far easier as you are not bound so much to get home a dusk to put them away. It was that which we got sick of with hens ! Might not be an issue is they are kept in a run though

[motherhen]

We have 150/200 hens here sometimes and they are all in either fixed runs or arks with attached runs, we cannot have anything freerange as foxes are dumped nearby and they are just to brave even in the day.
Having had hens free many years ago I would always keep them confined for their own safety, with the proper husbandry it should not be a problem.
I loved to see them roam around the paddocks but it was so upsetting when you found them pulled to pieces!!!

[Snadger]

Even though bantam ae smaller they are more flighty and I think should be alotted more run space/height than large fowl.

Three or four hybrids sound your best bet. You can now get hybrids in most feather colours but also to lay white,brown,blue or green eggs!

[Bramble-Poultry]

we dont (touch wood) have problems with foxes here as we have "da management" who shepherd our chooks and look after them. they challenge anything on four legs that comes anywhere near their surrogate flock.

The attached picture is Ernie patrolling the one of the barn areas, whilst Eric checks the ducks in the little shelter by the feed shed

[Newtothis]

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this!

I think that the consensus is that we should get 3 to 4 hybrids to start with and we'll be looking in to that over the coming weeks. i'll keep you all informed.
I've been having a look around the various threads and they have a great deal of helpful stuff in them.

By the way Lisa I'm in Didcot too.

and Bramble I love 'da management', shame I haven't got the space.....

Happy New Year to you all, and no doubt I'll be asking more questions in 2011.

Kindest Regards

David

[Snadger]

we dont (touch wood) have problems with foxes here as we have "da management" who shepherd our chooks and look after them. they challenge anything on four legs that comes anywhere near their surrogate flock.

The attached picture is Ernie patrolling the one of the barn areas, whilst Eric checks the ducks in the little shelter by the feed shed

Eric and little ern are wonderful looking specimens themselves!

[Liza]

By the way Lisa I'm in Didcot too.

Small world eh Have you got a lottie ?

[elizajay]

. I would go to 5 or even 6 maybe but no more, even though the house would take 8.

I am impressed with your ability to stop at 4 when you have room for more!

[Bramble-Poultry]

the text book states that birds with feathered feet do less damage to the ground with their scratching.

well take it from someone who breeds cochins and pekins, they are just as enthusiastic at knackering up your lawn and veg bed as the other chickens so dont count on it!

[country chic]

3's company

hi i am relatively new to this too but here is what i think, 3 chicken is a good starting point because when in full lay, potentially that gives you 21 eggs a week.
Do you want to sell the surplus eggs on and if you do, do you want breeds of birds that give you coloured egg shells ?

More chickens means more mess, more feed and more space needed, in a contained garden as i have since learned this can be a bit of a problem, however i have kids running around and chickens poop everywhere.

You may want to think of having a mixture of hybrid birds and pure breeds as pure breeds have the potential to lay for longer than hybrids.

I have 3 girls, a Leghord hybrid, a Wellsummer and a Maran Blackrock cross, this gives me a white a black and a brown bird, easy to tell them apart and the eggs from each are all different so again easy to tell who has layed what.

Hope you enjoy your brids when you get them good luck. Cc

[chris]

I started out with 3, originally planned on 4, but glad I started out with just 3. 3 eggs a day is plenty, we're a young family of 3 and sometimes are a bit sick of eggs!

It's good though in 2 days I get half a dozen, and I recently worked out the cost of the eggs which was surprisingly cheap.

The layers pellets cost me £6/bag, which last me ~2 months. A bag of corn is £5, that'll last me ages, a big bale of shavings is £5, which I've worked out will last me a minimum of 6 months. My chickens cost me £6.90 each (although afterwards, I discovered that they were intensively reared as I was asking why their beaks had been seared off at the top). Next time, I'll pay more for a decent breeder - I'd like 1 more chicken in the near future but still not decided yet (i.e. because of the introduction, etc).

The only cost other than the above was for some onduline roofing for the coop (that I converted out of an old falling down bike shed), and some weld mesh for the small run I created for them. Size wise, mine is much smaller than yours - at 2x1, but they free range around a garden (similar to yours, I guess - sort of L shaped in terms of wrapping around house) - but it's separated by a wall, which is good because they're beginning to make a mess of both gardens now.

I'm about to make another coop, and this time around I'm going to go with plywood as whenever I plug a hole up with silicon or similar, the chickens just pull the silicon out and half of the time I find them running around with a big long bit of silicon hanging out of their beaks. Makes me gag when I pull it out of them. I've given that idea up now

The eggs are AMAZING. I've had farm eggs before, laid fresh that day - yes they're tasty, etc but these are something else. Everyone I've given some too have commented on them. I'm not sure what makes them taste so "eggy" but it's unreal. I can taste the difference in cakes, pancakes, custard - whatever I make with them. The yolks are so thick, and dense, it's amazing Almost orange too, and the whites are really cloudy - a far cry even from the organic eggs you buy in supermarkets. I've not had to buy any eggs since I bought mine, which was Oct 2010... One didn't lay for a month, the the 2nd came into lay within a few weeks after, and on Christmas eve I've had my 3rd hen come into lay I think it was.

I've got hybrids, a french black rock (no idea what the difference is between mine, and the traditional black rock?) - who is my favourite. Always pleased to see you and sprints over first to see what you have. A Magpie - looks like a black rock, but instead of a brown neck, she is silver there... she is HUGE mind, I didn't realise chickens could be so large. I'm thinking she must be a product of large foul -her feet are like velociraptor feet, no joke. Last, but not least I've a light sussex - who's always challenging the others to be top bird, is very feisty and won't hesitate to peck you if you bug her Her eggs are very pale, and the others are more egg like that you'd get from a usual supermarket egg. They all taste the same though.

If I bought again, I'd get something a bit different, I like the look of a bluebell, would def have another black rock as their colours are so majestic - the black in their plume is tinted with green - similar to my magpie, but hers isn't as intense. Perhaps a maran too - I don't know, I like things a bit different. Those dark eggs seem kind of cool. Most people that come over to see them always say oh I thought chickens were brown, I think the mix is nice though.

Good luck anway, they're cool things to have around

[Newtothis]

3 chicken is a good starting point because when in full lay, potentially that gives you 21 eggs a week.
Do you want to sell the surplus eggs on and if you do, do you want breeds of birds that give you coloured egg shells ? Cc

Hi We don't need to sell the surplus eggs, but some to give away to friends and neighbours could be nice.
Have'nt really thought about colouered shells? Mmmm....tasty eggs is the main concern I think.
And having hens that are child friendly, calm, tame, fun to watch, decorative (for OH), good layers, easy for a beginner, full of personality, and OK to stay in run when we're not around.......big list there....

Someone has said that Black Rocks are good though the OH would like a mixed bunch....flock.....to look pretty.
Do all hens mix well or are some better with others?

Also although both our boys are grown up we do occaisionally get some small visitors. Are some hens more child friendly?

Thanks for all that good info Chris, I hope I enjoy my hens-to-be as much.

David

[chris]

Here's a pic of mine so you can see the difference:



Left to right - french black rock, light sussex, magpie. The two dark ones are very friendly, the light sussex is a bit of a moose, and won't think twice about pecking you if you annoy her - but shes getting better. They seem to come running and follow me around, don't really do it for my wife - but that might be because I tend to look after them more so. Not sure if other breeds are more friendly, if you get them young enough and handle them often (at night is a good time as suggested to me by Richmond Hens - they're more docile then as will be roosting at night) - easier to pick up then

[chris]

Oh yes, and to echo above - they do poo everywhere if you let them roam around the garden. I'm planning on keeping mine in a side garden to stop our little one treading in the muck/picking it up/eating it/goodness knows what else with it.