Keeping Hens

[calismum]

For quite a while I have been considering having a few hens.

Really just a few to get some eggs from.

So - Advice on best breeds, age to buy etc would be welcomed.

Have done a bit of research and am now totally befuddled - point of lay for max eggs, but I don't want/need loads. How to keep them - total freedom, confined at night, in an enclosure or in one of these hen house things that get moved around the garden.

What advice, experience can you offer, and what is best number to keep 3/5 etc.

Thanks

[alexgirl73]

Hi CM

I am a relative novice in the world of chook keeping lol, Smudgley would probably be able to answer your questions better but I will give it a go.

I have 8 chickens (started off with 3 but they are addictive lol). They live in a converted shed with a run on the side. They get out to freerange in the back section of the garden as well though. I used to let them have all of the garden, but since I would like things to grow in my veggie patch, they now have to be confined!! Three is always a good number to start off with, that way if one unfortunately dies, the others have company still, and it's very difficult to integrate one chicken with others.

The hen houses that move around the garden are great, until you get fed up with moving it LOL! And tbh a permanent one is easier. You can get all sorts of fancy breeds, but good old warrens (the brown ones) are your best layers I find. They are great fun to keep and I wouldn't want to be without mine now :)

[Mags]

I'm sure Smudgley will be able to give you loads of advice CM, she's the 'chicken lady' amongst us. :D

[calismum]

Thanks alexgirl73 and Mags.

Never thought about the moving it about all the time, although I'd put it in the field beside the house so there'd be lots of space to move it around in - just wondered if it was too confined for them! I like the thought of hens running around free and popping into the kitchen etc. OH says they'd ruin the garden and s*** all over the kitchen so I've to be less 'romantic' and more 'sensible'.

[dinahsmum]

You might even think of bantams. Smaller than chooks and smaller eggs, though with the same size yolk as hens. You can get really gorgeous ones and you could have more in a small space, they won't do as much dmage round the place etc etc

[calismum]

You might even think of bantams. Smaller than chooks and smaller eggs, though with the same size yolk as hens. You can get really gorgeous ones and you could have more in a small space, they won't do as much dmage round the place etc etc

see - I knew catsey would be a great source of real info about chooks. :lol: :lol:

Thankyou

[angieh]

1st question: How many eggs per day will you and your family eat - do you want to be able to "sell" any surplus to friends (not talking about marketing - that's a different thing)

2nd question: Do you have predators around the farm - eg foxes. If you do, you really need to give major consideration to having a fox proof enclosure, with buried wirenetting as foxes will dig underneath and get at your hens.

3rd question: If you have a local breeder, it is probably best to go there because those hens will have already adapted to their environment. Hybrids are hardiest and tend to be the most consistent egg layers. Pure bred hens might look prettier!!! Point of lay is a good option, as you will have the best of their egg laying lives and at the start of their laying, they sometimes tend to lay double yolkers!

So first, get your fox-proofed enclosure, with an enclosed roof too if you want to exclude wild birds from eating your chicken feed/corn. Decide how many chickens you want and depending on that how large your hen house will need to be which depends on the number of nest boxes needed.

You can still let your chickens out in a field if you want during the day. Chickens put themselves to bed generally, but then their house needs to be shut up securely against the fox. Those things that you can move around the garden are good if you have a small number of birds, say 2 or maybe 3, but I found them to be heavy and I wasn't able to move it on my own. You really do need to move it every other day in order not to ruin your garden.

Other things: Chickens need to dust bathe so an area inside the enclosure where you can place a good sized tray for sand is great. You can add mite powder to their dust bath to keep them parasite free.

You will need somewhere dry and vermin free to store their sacks of feed/corn etc. They will need a hopper for their food and something to drink from.

Chickens are lovely - having your own eggs is special. I would thoroughly recommend it.

I think Smudgley keeps chooks.

[Mags]

You'll find more info on the different breeds here (http://www.pandtpoultry.co.uk/index.php/fuseaction/home.content/page/breeds) :D

[calismum]

1st question: How many eggs per day will you and your family eat - do you want to be able to "sell" any surplus to friends (not talking about marketing - that's a different thing)

2nd question: Do you have predators around the farm - eg foxes. If you do, you really need to give major consideration to having a fox proof enclosure, with buried wirenetting as foxes will dig underneath and get at your hens.

3rd question: If you have a local breeder, it is probably best to go there because those hens will have already adapted to their environment. Hybrids are hardiest and tend to be the most consistent egg layers. Pure bred hens might look prettier!!! Point of lay is a good option, as you will have the best of their egg laying lives and at the start of their laying, they sometimes tend to lay double yolkers!

So first, get your fox-proofed enclosure, with an enclosed roof too if you want to exclude wild birds from eating your chicken feed/corn. Decide how many chickens you want and depending on that how large your hen house will need to be which depends on the number of nest boxes needed.

You can still let your chickens out in a field if you want during the day. Chickens put themselves to bed generally, but then their house needs to be shut up securely against the fox. Those things that you can move around the garden are good if you have a small number of birds, say 2 or maybe 3, but I found them to be heavy and I wasn't able to move it on my own. You really do need to move it every other day in order not to ruin your garden.

Other things: Chickens need to dust bathe so an area inside the enclosure where you can place a good sized tray for sand is great. You can add mite powder to their dust bath to keep them parasite free.

You will need somewhere dry and vermin free to store their sacks of feed/corn etc. They will need a hopper for their food and something to drink from.

Chickens are lovely - having your own eggs is special. I would thoroughly recommend it.

I think Smudgley keeps chooks.

Thank you for all that angieh.
In response -
1) 2 or 3 eggs a day would be ample.
2) We get the odd fox but they are generally much further away from the house. But I would still want to ensure any enclosure was fox (and pheasant) proof
3) Only know two folks hereabouts that we would consider buying from. One only sells pol Rhode Island Reds, the other shows a lot and tends to have fancier breeds but would maybe be able to point me to a local breeder.

So – I’m thinking if not the move around type then a small hut with a hole in the door to protect against weather and a small run fox proofed but the option to let them out and about might be ok.

The dust bath could be in the run as could a feeder. Feed will be stored with all our other animal feed.

Do you not have chooks any more then?

OH has just come in for lunch and is cursing you all for being so helpful:lol: :lol: :lol:

[calismum]

You'll find more info on the different breeds here (http://www.pandtpoultry.co.uk/index.php/fuseaction/home.content/page/breeds) :D

Oh no, now I want one of each:? :lol: :lol:

[angieh]

I started with 4 Black Rocks (Rhode Island Red x Barred Plymouth Rock) but 1 died - I found these hens to be not particularly easy. Good layers and very hardy but quite aggressive. http://www.blackrockhens.co.uk/

Then I got some Isa Browns - who were much friendlier but not nearly as hardy as the Black Rocks.

When we had our garden redesigned and completely remodelled, the remaining chooks, who had by then passed their best egg laying days were found a retirement home.

I had made the mistake of giving them names!

I found the cats after an initial interest left them well alone, but we did have a strange dog come into the garden that chased them (they all had free range of the garden) and put them off their lay for a while.

Please apologise to your OH from me - I didn't know that he wasn't in on this enterprise! He will be once he tastes the eggs!

[dandysmom]

How wonderful, CM; wish I could keep a few; City regs don't allow it. My grandma kept White Leghorns and a few banties; for some reason I can't remember she disliked Rhode Island Reds. I wasn't allowed to name them, because when they stopped laying they were destined for the pot! Do keep us posted n the enterprise, I find it very interesting!

[farthing]

Hi CM,
we have 25 chickens and keep them in 5 big permanent runs- seperate runs to keep the cockerels from killing each other.
We have them in 6 x 4 BandQ sheds with a nest box added and some perches. This works out cheaper than buying a fancy hen house and you can also keep the food and water inside, as recommended these days.:roll: As said before you need to make sure whatever you decide to do is safe for the hens.

If you just want eggs for youselves, you can afford to go for rare breeds who don't lay as much, but look nice. If you want lots of eggs, go for something like a black rock, which is a hybrid designed for free range. A rare breed chicken will lay maybe 200 eggs in her first couple of years and then the numbers start to drop, a hybrid will lay over 300 in her first couple of years.
What might be a good idea is to get 3 to start with and after 3-4 years whe egg numbers start to drop get another couple. It is much better to add more than one bird or the poor thing gets severly hen pecked, at least the abuse is more spread out if there are a few to pick on.

Initially we chose 5 breeds so we could get different colours of eggs- araucuna for blue eggs, maran and welsummer for dark brown eggs, speckled sussex for cream eggs and a scots dumpy for white eggs.( the rest are all rescues)its much more fun when you know who laid what.:lol:
Another option would be ex-free range/battery hens as both are culled at 2 years old as they no longer are commercially viable.
Good luck and enjoy.

[calismum]

How wonderful, CM; wish I could keep a few; City regs don't allow it. My grandma kept White Leghorns and a few banties; for some reason I can't remember she disliked Rhode Island Reds. I wasn't allowed to name them, because when they stopped laying they were destined for the pot! Do keep us posted n the enterprise, I find it very interesting!

I am quite excited about it too. I remember my grandfathers friend saying Rhode Island Reds were over rated! I really don't know what breed I'll end up with.

Obviously, firstly I need to decide on accomodation and get all the accessories required before I get them. Then I'll be able to bore you all with 'guess what my chooks are up to' stories.:lol: :lol:

[calismum]

Hi CM,
we have 25 chickens and keep them in 5 big permanent runs- seperate runs to keep the cockerels from killing each other.
We have them in 6 x 4 BandQ sheds with a nest box added and some perches. This works out cheaper than buying a fancy hen house and you can also keep the food and water inside, as recommended these days.:roll: As said before you need to make sure whatever you decide to do is safe for the hens.

If you just want eggs for youselves, you can afford to go for rare breeds who don't lay as much, but look nice. If you want lots of eggs, go for something like a black rock, which is a hybrid designed for free range. A rare breed chicken will lay maybe 200 eggs in her first couple of years and then the numbers start to drop, a hybrid will lay over 300 in her first couple of years.
What might be a good idea is to get 3 to start with and after 3-4 years whe egg numbers start to drop get another couple. It is much better to add more than one bird or the poor thing gets severly hen pecked, at least the abuse is more spread out if there are a few to pick on.

Initially we chose 5 breeds so we could get different colours of eggs- araucuna for blue eggs, maran and welsummer for dark brown eggs, speckled sussex for cream eggs and a scots dumpy for white eggs.( the rest are all rescues)its much more fun when you know who laid what.:lol:
Another option would be ex-free range/battery hens as both are culled at 2 years old as they no longer are commercially viable.
Good luck and enjoy.

Thanks for that farthing. Like the idea of different egg colours. I had heard ex battery hens would struggle to be outside birds in our extreme weather - is that rubbish do you think?

We are not huge egg eaters so I'm not too bothered about volume.

[farthing]

I would think battery hens would be a bit less sturdy, but if you get them at this time of year it gives then time to build up for winter. The advantage of a shed would mean that they could stay if it was a bad day.

[angieh]

Just think of all those cakes!!!!

[random]

My mum is getting some too so I have enjoyed this, exciting times!

[angieh]

If you get POL, you have to sing to them to encourage them to lay ...... you know the song, I'm sure .......

"Say little hen, when, when, when
Will you lay me an egg for my tea?"

(I used to be called "Mad Chicken Lady" too!)

[calismum]

My mum is getting some too so I have enjoyed this, exciting times!

Oh, we'll be able to compare notes etc.

If you get POL, you have to sing to them to encourage them to lay ...... you know the song, I'm sure .......

"Say little hen, when, when, when
Will you lay me an egg for my tea?"

(I used to be called "Mad Chicken Lady" too!)

Never heard of this song:cry:

- mad chicken lady :lol: :lol: :lol:

[dandysmom]

If you get POL, you have to sing to them to encourage them to lay ...... you know the song, I'm sure .......

"Say little hen, when, when, when
Will you lay me an egg for my tea?"

(I used to be called "Mad Chicken Lady" too!)


:-D :-D :-D Never heard that one!

[angieh]

I've been looking on YouTube - there is a whole episode of The Good Life from 1975 called "Say little hen" but whether the song is actually sung, I can't remember! It's a sort of nursery-rhyme type song - I can't do the tune but the words are

"Say little hen when when when
Will you lay me an egg for my tea?
Say little hen when when when
Will you try to supply one for me?
Make a little nest
Take a little rest
Do your very best
And I will do the rest
Say little hen when when when
Will you lay me an egg for my tea?"

(the words do tend to vary a bit as you can imagine.)

Then there's Chick chick chick chick chicken,
Lay a little egg for me ...... I'll see if I can track that -

(I am one sad woman - but at least a cat loves me!)

Here it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jdn8Q1Fn8Q

[calismum]

I've been looking on YouTube - there is a whole episode of The Good Life from 1975 called "Say little hen" but whether the song is actually sung, I can't remember! It's a sort of nursery-rhyme type song - I can't do the tune but the words are

"Say little hen when when when
Will you lay me an egg for my tea?
Say little hen when when when
Will you try to supply one for me?
Make a little nest
Take a little rest
Do your very best
And I will do the rest
Say little hen when when when
Will you lay me an egg for my tea?"

(the words do tend to vary a bit as you can imagine.)

Then there's Chick chick chick chick chicken,
Lay a little egg for me ...... I'll see if I can track that -

(I am one sad woman - but at least a cat loves me!)

Here it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jdn8Q1Fn8Q

I know that one!

[smudgley]

Chickens. :-D

Everyone should keep chickens, they are wondeful little creatures!

Breeds, (these are all hybrids) I love calder rangers, otherwise known as columbian blacktails. They have been bred as a good layer & are placid & docile & make wonderful pets. I like black rocks too, they are also very good layers and are hardy in all weathers and have a good resistance to disease. Any hybrid layers are your best bet. Isa browns, RIR, goldlines.

Light sussex are good layers if you want a bit of varirty in coat colour.

I would get them at POL. Day old chicks are cute, but hard work as they make such a mess, they are fairly easy to rear if kept in the right conditions but make a mess with their water & food and all the bedding gets messy very quickly, they need heat and a safe area away from puss cats!

How many - well, we have 7 now. Ours have a large hen house made by my hubby from a shed. It has nest boxes on the sides, so the eggs can be collected without disturbing the hens. If you just want some little pets and a few eggs, I would say get 3 or 4. (Not 2 though, if one pops-it, you'll be stuck with one and you'll need to find her a friend)

They are no trouble & easy to keep. They are cheap to feed and give a lot of pleasure. They love treats though, ours have tinned sweetcorn at bedtime. :roll:

They are nosy and will come in your house if given the chance, ours will wander in the conservatory if the door is open. In fact the other day John shouted me to show me that the dog & 3 of our cats & 4 of the hens were in there chillin out and the kids had left the TV on in there, so it looked like they were having a social gathering & watching the telly. I soon booted the hens out as the house is out of bounds.

Ours have a large run attached to their house where they are safe whilst we are at work, but are allowed free roam of the garden when we are there. Don't EVER think your chickens are safe from foxes. A fox will come from miles and sniff out some chooks. We have lost 2 lots to the foxes (1st time Ashleigh had collected the eggs from the old pen when you had to go into the hen house and locked the run door behind her but all the chickens were on the wrong side of the door, ie in the garden, we didn't realise and the fox had them all overnight. We got another batch and the next time Lucy had gone into the garden after school and let the hens out but it was pouring with rain, Lucy forgot to tell us they were out so we didn't put them to bed, fox had the lot) It's really sad when it happens and without sounding heartless it is an expense to replace them. My kids are older now & we have rules around the chickens.

If you go away you have to get someone in to look after them and if they have to be let in / out of the run you need somoene to come twice a day. Our run is attached to the pen with a little door for them which stays open so they can come and go and the run itself is completely fox proof. It is made of galvanised mesh panels which were from kennel runs and the roof is the same. Roof is also covered so they don't get wet in bad weather. So if we go away, it's just a case of someone popping in to collect the eggs once a day and check their food & water.

Eggs are great, it's like winning the lottery when you get your first one, hard to describe unless you've been there.:-D

So in a nutshell, my advice would be get some POL hens from a reputable place, Calder rangers are my favourite. Get 3 or 4. Have a house that has an attached run which is safe. Don't be fooled that foxes won't get them, because they will day & night. Take lots of photos of them and post on Catsey.

The end!

[calismum]

Thank you for that smudgley. I am gathering all this info together and when lambing has quietened down will have a discussion with OH. I have wanted chooks for years but never really sat down and tried to do something about it.

I think we will opt for a small hen house/hut type building and a secure, covered run. The hens will be able to get out of the run.

I think 3-5 to start with, maybe a couple of different types and everyone seems to recommend hybrids and POL so that is how I'll start. I loved farthings idea about knowing who laid which egg.

Thanks for all your help everyone and I'll keep you up to date with developments.

(it's my birthday in the summer - and OH always looks for ideas - 5 chooks would be good :) )

[angieh]

Smudgley's advice re the fox is spot on. I am glad she has told you about her losses. Remember "as cunning as a fox" and as destructive and ruthless too, especially towards chickens and ducks too.

I love that Smudgley's chooks get tinned sweetcorn as a treat! That reminded me of another really good reason for having chooks. They love all the outside leaves and stalks of cabbages, broccoli etc and of course you can compost their used straw bedding and droppings! Wonderful for the garden.

If I were you I'd start collecting cards and pictures of chickens and just leaving them around your house as an aide memoire for your OH :lol:

[calismum]

Smudgley's advice re the fox is spot on. I am glad she has told you about her losses. Remember "as cunning as a fox" and as destructive and ruthless too, especially towards chickens and ducks too.

I love that Smudgley's chooks get tinned sweetcorn as a treat! That reminded me of another really good reason for having chooks. They love all the outside leaves and stalks of cabbages, broccoli etc and of course you can compost their used straw bedding and droppings! Wonderful for the garden.

If I were you I'd start collecting cards and pictures of chickens and just leaving them around your house as an aide memoire for your OH :lol:

:smt023 :smt115

[dinahsmum]

And a nice house/run? www.flytesofancy.co.uk (http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk) I hope that works - I'm working at a 'foreign' laptop, so haven't got my normal access to stored websites. Google flytesofancy if the link I gave fails.
.... and dont forget the bantams!

[angieh]

Cluck cluck! Designer chickens!

[calismum]

And a nice house/run? www.flytesofancy.co.uk (http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk) I hope that works - I'm working at a 'foreign' laptop, so haven't got my normal access to stored websites. Google flytesofancy if the link I gave fails.
.... and dont forget the bantams!

Link worked fine thanks - now I'm compiling a 'shopping list':-D (including the bantams!!!!)

[dandysmom]

Chickens...the birthday gift that keeps giving!! :D

Will be sending "think chicken" vibes to your OH ........:-D

[calismum]

Chickens...the birthday gift that keeps giving!! :D

Will be sending "think chicken" vibes to your OH ........:-D

Love it - I'll use that quote nearer the time!!