Thinking of getting hens.

[Guest]

5 minutes after I posted that I was offered free chickens. I think it's two hens and a rooster. I dont know what breed but I was told they have feathers all down their legs. I didn't want a rooster but they come as a package. There's a free coop too that can be moved about and it would do until I got a proper setup.

My brother has them so I know they've been kept inside. I can pick them up this weekend if I want.

When I get set up right I'll have a concrete kerb to stop anything getting ina under the fence and the run will be split, the smaller one will be covered on top but the bigger one won't.

I think he means they're broody but not as regular of layers as the red hens. The rooster is probably old enough now,the hens are less than a year I think.

I know silkies have been mentioned but the other is cochins https://www.omlet.co.uk/breeds/chickens/cochin/ either of these breeds will need extra attention in the winter to keep their feathers clean.

[Guest]

This thread seems a good place to ask a real noob question or two... the place we're buying is in the country with about 1/2 acre of land. We've floated the idea of chickens although personally ducks are more appealing (anyone hear know about that?)

Do you have to have a coop/run proper or can you just let them wander wild with an open coop to sleep in? Are they a "flight risk" or will they roam around during the day but come back each night? I'm probably after the least effort, most freedom route where they do as they please and I nick the eggs

Side question... does anyone eat their chickens?

More freedom = less chance of you nicking eggs especially fresh as they will be laid anywhere including ya neighbours. (Do you want to go there ) also chicken poo from height is not good.

I personally feel that chooks should have a coop with enclosure and if you wish let out to roam with a letting in and out routine with clean water and fresh food daily and regular worming. (same for ducks).Chickens can be flighty but you can clip there wings, however if they are a small flock with a routine I don't find it necessary. However, freedom root you get chickens roosting in trees.......drawbacks you only need one cockerel to appear from nowhere to end up with young roosters roosting in trees (do you have a rifle? or do you like your sleep?) In a situation like at the moment with shutting in birds due to bird flu you have no hope of getting them in and as already mentioned you will find eggs everywhere and won't know how old they are. Chickens will scrab a lot and make a mess of your garden etc.

I am not sure why ducks would appeal more, maybe you have seen some cute pics of indian runners walking down country tracks. Ducks can be noisier, they make a stink and leave wet pooey puddles everywhere. Depending on breed and personality they can eat pretty much any plant in their path or just lettuce so do ya research. Homing I would go coop and enclosure. The most freedom I have known some one to give ducks is an enclosed lake by chicken wire and electric fence with a coop on an island. God knows what they have done with the ducks with the current flu issue.

So in summary if you want something back from ya birds you need to put it in. If you want your birds to stay you have to give them a reason to. Otherwise don't get any.
There are a few peeps on here that eat their birds. BTW I love my birds

[Darwin.]

More freedom = less chance of you nicking eggs especially fresh as they will be laid anywhere including ya neighbours. (Do you want to go there ) also chicken poo from height is not good.

I personally feel that chooks should have a coop with enclosure and if you wish let out to roam with a letting in and out routine with clean water and fresh food daily and regular worming. (same for ducks).Chickens can be flighty but you can clip there wings, however if they are a small flock with a routine I don't find it necessary. However, freedom root you get chickens roosting in trees.......drawbacks you only need one cockerel to appear from nowhere to end up with young roosters roosting in trees (do you have a rifle? or do you like your sleep?) In a situation like at the moment with shutting in birds due to bird flu you have no hope of getting them in and as already mentioned you will find eggs everywhere and won't know how old they are. Chickens will scrab a lot and make a mess of your garden etc.

I am not sure why ducks would appeal more, maybe you have seen some cute pics of indian runners walking down country tracks. Ducks can be noisier, they make a stink and leave wet pooey puddles everywhere. Depending on breed and personality they can eat pretty much any plant in their path or just lettuce so do ya research. Homing I would go coop and enclosure. The most freedom I have known some one to give ducks is an enclosed lake by chicken wire and electric fence with a coop on an island. God knows what they have done with the ducks with the current flu issue.

So in summary if you want something back from ya birds you need to put it in. If you want your birds to stay you have to give them a reason to. Otherwise don't get any.
There are a few peeps on here that eat their birds. BTW I love my birds

That's some good advice there. I'd like to get ducks eventually and possibly geese too but I know they're messier.

Regarding fox proofing, the 60m I have to fence off is at the, top of a bank of a small stream. A hedge at the top of the bank with a chainlink fence is as good as I can do. If he still gets through that I can't help it. At night the chickens will be in their coop, it's going to be inside a 16' x 8' cage bolted to a concrete foundation, no fox is getting in there even if he gets into their bigger run.

As for getting used to each other, the coop I'm getting now has a little run with it, some can stay in that inside the bigger run. When they get used to each other they can mix. I hadn't thought of it before now.

[vixylix]

Grandad (of sheep fame) has ducks - they have an old horse stable enclosure for the night, but wander totally free during the day - and they have a lot of land to roam!

I don't know what they do about the poop, but I've never seen any, the veg patch is fenced off and the whole land is surrounded with electric fence. I've no idea what type of duck they are though... white ones

They don't have hens anymore, they lost too many to predators (even with the electric fence) but the ducks have been there forever!

[Darwin.]

I had two ducks and a drake as a kid, waddler, toddler and snowman. They have free roam of the farm but didn't usually go all that far. They were fed in the same spot every day and there was always fresh water there for them. We shut them in every night and they always came back.

It was 30 years ago now so I can't be sure but I think the fox eventually got the two ducks and maybe the drake too.

[Nicos]

I was just thinking.....
The cockerel will have no problem mixing with the new gals ... he'll soon sort out any dominant lasses who think they are the Alpha male!
If the new gals haven't run together before then they wouldn't have a chance to get a hierarchy so they would be better running together straight away...unless you want to keep them separate for a few days to check they aren't introducing lice/got colds etc?

[Darwin.]

Hopefully I'm picking up the first two this evening. The rooster is probably 5 years or older, no idea about the hen but I'll find out this evening. She doesn't lay at all seemingly but from what I've heard, they really aren't being looked after right. They never move to fresh ground, don't have fresh water all the time and aren't fed right.

If she's too old to lay that's ok, the new ones I get next month will provide me with eggs anyway. If she's young then being properly looked after and given a more balanced diet might get her laying again. I'll be feeding them crushed egg shells, some raw veg (spinach, kale, cabbage mostly) and a little bit of household stuff but mainly layers pellets. They can sort themselves after that. I'm getting a 3 litre drinker and I'll make sure it's always topped up.

I have a month to decide on how to let them mix but I suppose it makes sense that once there's a rooster there the hens should accept him as boss. I'll probably still give them a day or two of looking at each other before letting them mix. I'll need to learn about clipping wings now but there's a 20 page book as part of my starter pack so a lot of stuff is probably covered.

[Nicos]

You may well end up needing a second water feeder when you get the rest...they drink a lot of water!
But 2 are OK ...means you can one inside and one outside if you want!

[Nicos]

This evening?...yey!
So...you need to find a picnic chair and a flask and a warm set of clothing, cos we know what you'll be doing all day tomorrow!

[Snadger]

Never felt the need to clip chook wings, I'd rather keep them au-natural!

[Darwin.]

THEY'RE HERE!!!!!! :-)

I got some photos but not terribly good ones, I can't seem to upload them though. I gave them pellets and they loved them, they haven't had in since last summer. The hen was bought last spring as a chick so is about a year old, she layed for a while but stopped once the pellets ran out. She's a Brahma, a brown one. The rooster is a big fella, don't know the breed though.

[Snadger]

THEY'RE HERE!!!!!! :-)

I got some photos but not terribly good ones, I can't seem to upload them though. I gave them pellets and they loved them, they haven't had in since last summer. The hen was bought last spring as a chick so is about a year old, she layed for a while but stopped once the pellets ran out. She's a Brahma, a brown one. The rooster is a big fella, don't know the breed though.

Brahma's are huge chooks!

[Nicos]

Fantastic!

Some chooks don't lay over winter, starting again end Feb , early March.
Mighty not be the food, but you'll find out next winter!


Names??? ....or are you going to need to study them carefully?

[Darwin.]

His name is Cornelius, hers is Bird. I don't think they'll understand that though. My wife says Cornelius is pretty but Bird isn't. I think Brahmas are lovely looking.

[Bigmallly]

Most male species in the animal kingdom seem to be the most handsome..................notice I said "most"..........