The Poultry Keeper

mick · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:34 am Post subject: Virgin....be gentle

OK then...some dopey bloke gets an idea which will make the time his kids visit even more special by having something they can all share....CHICKENS!!! I cook like a demon so even when..erm...I mean 'if'...the kids get bored with them I've always wanted chickens for the eggs for my home made pasta fetish Laughing

I've read up on various things and am convinced it'll be a good thing, but advice on various things would be appreciated!

So...the story so far...

I have a small yard approx. 20 foot by 15 foot (ish) (surrounded by a 6 foot fence). I think I could create a coop and enclose it within a 6 foot deep by 15 foot wide and 6 foot high fully enclosed run (covered in chicken wire and possibly roofed? to keep dry in winter) but is this be necessary or would an ark or smaller (movable) run suffice? what would be the minimum for 3 chickens (although already I'm thinking of 4...see! It's increasing already!!!) When I say minimum I still want happy chickens!

I'm still not sure what chickens to get? Bantams or 'full-sized'? I need them to be very friendly and not too active? I will be getting 1 of each different breed to start with so the kids can easily tell which one is theirs.

Where do I get them from!? I can get hold of chickens very easily from friends but they are hybrids and ideally I'd like full breeds. Is there anywhere local (Derbyshire)where I could take the kids out for the day visit and 'choose' their own friend?

OK...OK..I'll stop...good god I really don't know much do I!!??

Any help/advice you could give would be very much appreciated!

Ta XXXX

nigel · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:52 am Post subject:

The space you have is fine for 3-4 chickens. I'd go the covered run way personally and let then free range. One word of warning though chickens and show gardens do not mix, they can be destructive. If you want to protect your valuable collection of whatever or your perfect lawn use a moveable run with limited free range time.

As for large fowl or bantams. It depends on what they are for. If you're looking for children friendly cute things then bantams can be great. if they are meant to supply you with eggs then large fowl would probably be better as bantam eggs can be rather small.

BTW i grew up in Chesterfield Smile

mick · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:18 pm Post subject:

Small world eh!? Chesterfield lad! (I'm not a real Chesterfield boy...I'm a scouser) Thanks, think the larger bird would be the option then, seeing as the eggs are the main reason for them.

ideas so far...

Australthorp (black)
New Hampshire (chestnut red)
Orpington (Buff)
Maran (white) or Leghorn (white)

but this is just the start of my list...as you say...I keep looking and saying..ooh yeah...I want that one!

nigel · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:28 pm Post subject:

LOL i know exactly what you mean. We did exactly the same. We were only having 4. We now have 11. All different.

I think Poplar Poultry is close enough to you for a visit. It's quite new and not one I've visited, but I see from their webpage that they do have both pure breeds and hybrids.

Terry Beebe at Regency Poultry is also close to you. He is a fantastic poultryman and raises some of the more unusual breeds.

Deb_Moderator · Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 3661

Mick, just a word of advice. Leghorns can be flighty. I say can, because I have one that loves to cuddle and will tolerate being manhandled. But I raised this one from a chick with lots and lots of attention from the start.

The flightier the bird, the more apt they are of escaping your yard. A 6 foot fence will only deter them for a bit, then slow them down the first time or two, after that.....yup, not considered a hurdle even with one wing clipped.

You will want to research the nature of each breed before you get them, if you don't wish to be running around your neighbourhood chasing chooks like a mad person. Wink

mick · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 4:40 pm Post subject:

Leghorns..not for me then! Thanks Debs that's exactly the kind of 'heads up' I'm after Very Happy

shelly · Joined: 20 Nov 2005 Posts: 29 Location: Glastonbury

Hello,

I would go for a few bantams, free ranging in you garden. I have mine in a largish garden and they are already keeping everything down. I keep mine in an ark which I move around, but with hind-site I should have got got a coup in a stationary position.
I think with bantams you could have more characters, smaller eggs (but quite a few of them). The pekins and wyandottes are very handle-able and friendly and very pretty. I'm not sure how friendly handle-able large fowl would be for children ( I'm sure someone will tell you).
I would get a good chicken manual and some of the chicken bits you may need for when you get home. The whole moving, new home bit can be quite stressful and brings them out with sneezes and snuffles.

Good luck and have fun. Also be determined about how many you are getting as it can all get a bit out of hand as you may want to take the lot home with you.

From shelly

CP · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:26 pm Post subject:

I would go for bantams also, but I'm biased! Very Happy

Remember that depending on the breed, you can get teeny-tiny ones & some that are verging on full size in the bantam range. And some of ours lay a large egg for the size of bird too. Wink

There is so much to choose from, you'll get sooooo confused & want one of each! Rolling Eyes

Good luck. Very Happy

(let us know what you decide on & we will all want to see pics, of course)

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7424 Location: isle of lewis

asked my children out of all the hens ,which do you find the most cuddly ,they reacon the light sussex (lf),or the turkeys Rolling Eyes

they lay well as well .
suz

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

Not much to add to all of that. I would cover the run, just so the girls can be in the dry if the weather is bad ~mine never learned to stay indoors when it rained! I would also try to protect some of the sides from strong winds ~ maybe have one side against a wall if possible. Also it's nice if they can face south or west so that they get as much of the sun as possible, and probably less of the wind.
I had both large fowl and bantams ~ the pekins might be small girls but they have a huge yolk in their eggs ~ comparing to many of the larger girls' eggs. Cuddliest, sorry I can't help on that one, as I said elsewhere I ended up with 22 all different and I loved them all ~ 14 bantams (8 of which were pekins of varous colorurs) and 8 big girls.
As Deb says, stay away from the leghorn varieties as they can be flighty ~ on the other hand if you're covering the run they can't fly anywhere! I don't know how they handle though, sorry.
Please keep us up to date on your progress ~ pics of the house, run, girls ~ we don't mind, honest!

bird_babe · Joined: 20 Apr 2005 Posts: 473 Location: wales

Hi mick
OK I'm going to get a right ear full off a few people, but hear goes any way.
the birds you have chosen are all easy on the eye , and not very prolific egg layers.
except the marans which are first class, but I only keep the common black and white ones, but they are very good layers.
light Sussex are very good layers and produce a nice big egg in there second year they also lay for longer,
road island reds you can`t go wrong
if you wan`t something similar to a buff orpington. id go for a buff Rock they lay very well . look very similar, but are not so fluffy and big
don`t be put off by hybrids they lay very well .and a large egg
but only well for about 3 years then the egg production drops off. but they still will lay you a good number after that
bantams are my favorite but they do have a small egg and go broody quite a lot
leghorns are very nervy and boy can they go fast when your after them if they get out. welsummers are good layers to Cool

Good luck any way. be warned chickens do need quite a lot of work to look after them properly. they need ,food , water
a dry house . they need worming. mite and flea control for them and there house . mixed grit. they do not just eat a few scraps as people think they need a proper balanced diet . get a book out of the library and read up on them so you are prepared.

mick · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:11 pm Post subject: Thanks!

Thanks all! I think I'm gonna go for the fully covered run which in itself will be covered on 3 sides by the surrounding fence - so wind shouldn't be a problem. The covered roof should keep it dry.

I've got a friends copy of 'The complete encyclopedia of Chickens' and will be avidly reading that! I always go into things prepared and as I'm learning more about chooks then the likelier it is that I'll get some!

Think I'm almost there with the housing idea...maybe I'll leave the breed till later? I'm gonna go with the large run and a coop large enough for about 5/6 birds which can be moved around the run (for cleaning etc.) The house will be self built. Not using felt on the roof! with accessible nest box on the side and I was thinking of having a slide out floor to the house to make cleaning easier?? Is it OK to paint the house? or is the paint harmful to the chooks?

Things won't be happening for a few months yet but when it does I'll defiantly post a few piccies of my progress! Very Happy

CP · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:14 pm Post subject:

You're not going to get an earful bird babe! We're all entitled to our own opinions after all. If everyone on here had the same breed, wouldn't that be boring? Rolling Eyes

I agree with you that mick should read all he can & if eggs are the main reason for getting hens, then he should go with the better egg laying breeds. Wink

Mick you should also be aware that the hens will have times when they aren't laying at all (when moulting & in the Winter possibly Embarassed

)

LisaLou · Joined: 10 Sep 2005 Posts: 109 Location: Herts

Hi Mick,

Welcome! I'm fairly new to chicken keeping as I only got my first two girls in September and then a further two in November (I adopted two of Summayah's chickens).

I've got a white star (pure white) who is, I'm told, related to a leghorn. She is quite flighty and clipping a wing didn't stop her at first, she is a lot better now though and out of the four of them, she is by far the best layer. I get a pure white egg from her practically every day.

I also have a meadowsweet starlight (black with a russet neck). She's the largest of the girls and was pretty late coming into lay. She was about 5 months old when she layed her first egg which is tan coloured with dark brown speckles. She lays the largest egg.

Summayah's girls are a Rhode Island Red (russet with a bit of white) and a Meadowsweet Bluebelle (grey with a blueish tinge... surprisingly!). The RIR is the friendliest and is an excellent layer. I get eggs at least 5 days out of seven with her, they are the tastiest eggs and a good size too.

The Bluebelle is the least friendliest, she doesn't like to be handled at all but I am pretty sure this is simply because I haven't handled her much since she arrived.

I feed the girls on layers pellets and add kitchen scraps 3 or 4 times a week (veggies and fruit only, no meat or fish product).

It might sound like a mad thing to say but you need to think about where you will get rid of the soiled bedding when you clean the coop out. I put the dirty straw in the council green compost bin which is collected every two weeks. (I checked with the council that this is ok first though) also my neighbour has an allotment and has asked in he can have the dirty straw when the weather gets a bit brighter to put on his veggie patch!

It's worth thinking about as not everyone has a compost heap or a green bin. You'll be left with quite a pile of soiled bedding if you are planning on getting 4 birds and it sounds like you have a fairly modest sized garden (like me!) You might like to refresh the straw in the coop daily. I take off the dirty top layer and put some fresh straw in and then replace all the straw and the newspaper which I put on the bottom of the coop once a week.

Monthly, I wash the coop out with a mild disinfectant solution. I wait for a bright sunny day first though so it has plenty of time to dry out completely before letting the girls back in.

Other things to think about that not everyone mentions are:

1. Who will look after the girls if you go away for a week or two on holiday?
2. Are you able to be at home to let the girls out in the morning and shut them away at night?
3. Are you able to collect the eggs daily?
4. Will you neighbours have a problem with you keeping chickens?
5. Do your neighbours have cats or dogs, in other words, can your chickens come to any harm from possible predators if they get over the fence? (6 feet isn't a problem for some girls!)
6. Will it be a problem if your kids can't handle the girls? I get the feeling that no one chicken breed is cuddlier than another, none of them will like being handled unless they are regularly picked up and cuddled!
7. If one of the girls gets ill, do you have a sympathetic and knowledgeable vet nearby? Not all vets are experienced in chicken complaints unless you live in a rural-ish area.

I know it looks like I am trying to put you off, I'm really not. Its only that, being new to keeping chickens myself, these are the things that I have discovered in the last few months that I hadn't considered before.

I would like to say though, keeping chickens is fantastic fun, as someone else on this forum said, 'they are a perfect waste of time'!

By the way, I am married to a scouser! Way-hey, up the reds!!

LL xx

NannyP · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:50 pm Post subject:

Calm down, calm down Rolling Eyes