Chicken coop on small stones / gravel??

heidimax

Hi everyone,
Just looking for some info on keeping chickens. I'd like to get some ex-battery chickens but my problem is my "garden space" which is quite large but isn't seeded (with grass!)...i.e. it's just all small stone/gravel finish. Would they be happy walking around on these stones or is it necessary for them to have access to grass? I would like them to have a good quality of life. (I live in cork city).
Thanks in advance for any advice!

puheen

Hi you will have no problem they will love scratching around in the gravel.
Just give them some leafy greens as part of their diet. They will do great, best of luck with them.

babychuckles

As said by puheen, and you could grow grass in pots for them. They also like pasta, rice, nuts, bird seed, cake and most anything that is put in front of them. They will let you know what is acceptable!! They do love their food. You might find that some of them will eat their own eggs but thats a hangover from being battery hens. Good luck with them and they will certainly make life entertaining.

Graces7

Wonderful and you will enjoy them.

Also it depends on now large the coop is and if you wil be able to move it around to a fresh patch of gravel as they will make a great mess else.

They will love the gravel and will soon relearn the lost art of scratching for food.

heidimax

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply and for the advice. I was thinking after of getting one of those planter squares and seeding grass in it but i never thought of just getting some pots....somebody told me though they need to be able to root for slugs and worms etc in grass?.....it's just i would rather not get them if i cannot give them a good quality of life....i am veggie so they will really just be treated as pets and if they provide eggs every now and again, then all the better!
Also somebody told me they smell quite bad?....is this true and would the neighbours complain of the smell? - i can't imagine there would be much smell from three chickens?!
Thanks again, i appreciate the advice

babychuckles

dear heidimax
Dont worry about pots as when i said pots i was generalizing as everything from small pots to giant planters is a pot to me. They will hop into whatever you put the grass into so balance is what i would go for and as for size, the hens will help you learn fast enough what they like.
When i got mine first i forgot to give them a roost so i was embarrased to say the least!!
With three hens you will be fine re the smell. Hens do like to poop everywhere and you will have to shovel out the coop every now and again but with three it should be fine smell wise.
just dont get a cockrel or the neighbours will go nuts. we have one and he crows both night and day but here in the county we have neighbours who either have their own cockrel or dont mind the crowing thankfully. The hens make wonderful sounds themselves but quietly.
Re nest boxes i keep puting straw into the ones i have but the hens scratch it all out and just lay on the bottom of the boxes, it might be a hangover from when mine were battery hens and didnt have many comforts.

Sigma Force

Gravel might be hard on their feet if their whole area is covered in it perhaps make some empty beds of bark mulch for them to scratch around in, bugs love bark mulch and you can top it up as it rots and rake it a bit when it's pooped on. Planting a few things in the beds that are safe for hens, not sure what herbs and plants are ok for them but there's bound to be some shrubbery that they'll like to pick on.

It sounds like they'll have a great life esp. compared to where they came from they'll be very happy with all the space.
They look a bit rough at first but with a few weeks of good food and sunlight and lovely fresh rain they'll be looking fantastic.

Post some pics if you can, when you get them. Good on you for taking on battery hens they can be really good layers. I transported some yonks ago (small car lots of hens..very smelly lol) and they layed a number of eggs on the way.

Lenghts of timber put together, or nailed together into a rectangle and then filled with bark mulch or soil and grass seed would work as well.

I don't think there'd be much smell from 3 chickens, although do make sure you have a few compost bins for the soiled bedding. Since the garden is a good size 3 hens will spread their poop around.

heidimax

Hi everyone, thanks so much for the replies. I think bark mulch and some grass pots may be the way to go for me. Crashed my car on wednesday so unfortunately the poor chucks have been put on the long finger for a small while. I'm looking forward to getting them though as soon as i can organise the yard/garden, get a coop etc. (oh, and as rightly pointed out, i probably need some compost bins!). Fingers crossed my two dogs and two cats (all rescue animals) will like them and not view them as "meat on legs!".....i think they'll all be fine together though...i'll just have to supervise quite a bit when i get the chickens first i guess:D. Thanks again to ye all for taking the time to reply and for all the great advice

Curled Feather

heidimax wrote: »

Hi everyone,
Just looking for some info on keeping chickens. I'd like to get some ex-battery chickens but my problem is my "garden space" which is quite large but isn't seeded (with grass!)...i.e. it's just all small stone/gravel finish. Would they be happy walking around on these stones or is it necessary for them to have access to grass? I would like them to have a good quality of life. (I live in cork city).
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Dusting is important to chickens as it helps them get rid of lice and keeps them clean - it might be a good idea to provide an area where they can have their dust baths. They can make a sizable hole in the earth over the summer as they roll and scratch.

Good luck with them when you get round to it.:)

heidimax

Hi Curled Feather - thanks for your reply - i got your other one too. I'm actually not sure how this site works as it's my first time on it so i'm not sure how to contact anyone directly. I think i'm ok for the moment though....it's still a work in progress - i'm waiting on the coop and the topsoil to finish off the raised bed and then i plan on getting "grass turf" (not sure what it's called - but basically the ready made grass you can roll out) - it's quite cheap in b&q at present and then i should be almost set to go! I had almost forgotten about the dust bath again but someone told me a large cat-litter tray filled with earth would do the job?. I'll let ye all know how it goes!