Keeping chickens?

eeme

I just moved into a new house with a big garden.

I would love to keep two or three maybe four chickens.

Thing is, I'm living with three other people. They all have veggie patches and flowers and will go mad if the chickens dig up their garden.

They said I can build a long mesh run and get a house.

This probably sounds daft but if I let them out of the run, I think it's cruel to have them in all day.

Will they run away?
Do they stray far?

Will they dig up the vegetables?

I know these questions sound daft, I'm a city girl with zero knowledge!!

Also how many hens would I need for eggs for five people who eat a lot of them?!

And last but not least, how do you keep a rooster?

Thanks a zillion

sh1tstirrer

No they won't run away once they know where their feed and house is. You need to keep them inside for a few days after getting them. When they are outside they will go back into their house at dusk (first few days after leaving them out you need put them in at night to get them into the routine).

They will dig loose earth to make a dust bath for themselves so that rules leaving them out where there are vegetables. Best solution would be a movable coop with a run so that you can keep them inside but also move them onto fresh grass when they need it.

3 hens should be more than enough for five people.

If you keep a rooster with the hens he will fertilize the eggs, they should be alright to eat but don't eat any eggs from a broody hen.

CJhaughey

Don't bother with a rooster, they don't serve any purpose in a flock that size unless you want fertilized eggs and a non-laying hen.
They also make a lot of noise at very early hours, and this can be a source of friction.
I would stick with hybrids for eggs, they lay prolifically and reliably, lots of people like other breeds but in my experience they don't lay reliably.
You sound like you need a chicken tractor, I am getting one made to my design by a friend at the moment.
3 metres long x 1.2 wide triangular with 2m having mesh that the chickens can sit in and scratch away.
If you let them out they will wreck the garden guaranteed.

ronman

dont let them run free anyway,
i learned the hard way from this when a fox or dog came in the middle of the day last yr and took 6, we had only 1 survivor,
we got 5 new ones with the other "survivor" and i built a good size run for them behind their house, approx 30m * 3 m. the grass did not last long in there but i throw them in fresh grass and a few worms and stuff every day along with their feed and their happy out, they wil eat most stuff like potato peels, dinner leftovers even tho i dont giver them meat it dosent seem right. throw them in the cuttings of the lawn too, they love grass. Also they wil need fresh water few times a week,
cleaning their pen should be done at least twice a month, put straw bedding on the ground below where they roost(and ****) and also in the perches where they lay eggs. a straw bale should nearly last u the year.
they take very little looking after really and if you gone away just get some1 to feed them once a day.
a bag of feed wil cost about 10euro and lasts about a month for 6 hens, depending on how much scraps they get. also try not to leave too much food out for them that they dont eat as it attracts dirty rats and other birds who will eat it all.
best of luck.

eeme

CJhaughey wrote: »

Don't bother with a rooster, they don't serve any purpose in a flock that size unless you want fertilized eggs and a non-laying hen.
They also make a lot of noise at very early hours, and this can be a source of friction.
I would stick with hybrids for eggs, they lay prolifically and reliably, lots of people like other breeds but in my experience they don't lay reliably.
You sound like you need a chicken tractor, I am getting one made to my design by a friend at the moment.
3 metres long x 1.2 wide triangular with 2m having mesh that the chickens can sit in and scratch away.
If you let them out they will wreck the garden guaranteed.

Where abouts does your friend make them?

I'm half thinking of making one myself, though no doubt it will look horrendous!!

If I make a run, what should I put down in the run.
Should I put down dirt?

CJhaughey

My mate makes them in Cork.
You should make one yourself, it doesn't have to be flash, just predator proof.
I would be inclined to make a box with 4 entrances, one on each side.
All lockable. Then you make a run to your dimensions maybe 6x6ft and cover it in chicken wire.
You can leave the box in place and move the run around so that they get fresh grass. Once they eat the grass down, move the run to the next side.
However you make the house have it raised off the ground or rats will take up residence under it.
regarding meat, most birds are omnivorous, they eat anything they can.
I feed mine all kinds of cooked meat and fish except chicken.
You need a high protein diet to get chickens to lay reliably, eggs are protein and they need to have a ready source of it to keep laying.

thelord

1 Provide a dust bath for your hens keeps them happy.

2 Get a Bag of Egg layers pellets to give them the minerals they need for egg production. (25kg sack is between 11 and 14 euro)

ronman

i bought 2 new blackrock hens yesterday to introduce to my flock of 5 rhode islanders, they are fully grown laying age but just seem so thick compared to hens i introduced before. they are staying in the one spot and not really eating at all. thinking of bringin them bak and getting rhode island instead. they have there own space and not really bothered by the other ones but stil not really movin. has any one experience mixing different breeds. i no they wil prob get on grand in a few days, just concerned with them not eating the meal.

whelan1

when we get new hens we keep them seperate from the rest for a few days and then let them mix, we have loads of different breeds...

Jelly2

ronman wrote: »

i bought 2 new blackrock hens yesterday to introduce to my flock of 5 rhode islanders, they are fully grown laying age but just seem so thick compared to hens i introduced before. they are staying in the one spot and not really eating at all. thinking of bringin them bak and getting rhode island instead. they have there own space and not really bothered by the other ones but stil not really movin. has any one experience mixing different breeds. i no they wil prob get on grand in a few days, just concerned with them not eating the meal.

I wouldn't be worried at this stage, to be honest. The settling in period can be quite complicated, and may involve 'submission' to already-resident birds through not approaching the feeding area. Are they drinking? That's more important for now.
We have a mixed flock, which includes two Black Rocks, and they get along just as confidently as the others when it comes to knowing what hens should do and doing it! They are not an aggressive bird with other hens at all though, unlike some of the other breeds.

polod

you should be grand as long as there is no pet dogs around to chase them away :D.......they are prob safer in the cage 2 .......no fox attacks

monkeynuz

eeme,

Theoretically, how much space do you have available?

When that is established you can find the best way of going about it.

It is always best to give your hens as much space as possible.

M.

ronman

have them fenced into an area approx 40sqm, it has to be dog and fox proff as we used to have them out all around the garden during the day but after a year of totally free range hens we lost 4 in one day to 2 foxes
about 18 mths ago. they stil have a good size area, they are starting to mix a bit better now but the new hens keep to themselves and we feed them separate for now. think they wil be ok as every day they are gettin a bit braver. they are drinking water anyway have 2 separate water bowls.