ajm200 Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 (edited) Hi, I'm hoping that you can all help me convince my OH that free-range chickens and toddlers can mix. My husband was fine about getting the chickens a month ago but since then my relatives have started to sow seed of doubt in his mind and I'm struggling to convince him that it will be ok. I don't know why they are being negative as some of them have kept bantams in the past and I've heard that they might be getting more. We are getting 5 chickens and have a reasonable size urban garden about 18m x 35m. They have told him that there will be loads of chicken poo everywhere and that it is not possible to manage it by daily 'poo picking'. Is this true? He's also worried about the hens pecking at our son's face. I don't let my son into the garden unsupervised (as he likes to eat mud, worms and slugs when no-one is looking ) so I can't see how this could happen. I've fenced off a section of my veg patch but it is at the far end of the garden and isn't visible from the house. I know that there are foxes in the area as we found on asleep one the compost heap at that end of the garden a couple of years ago. I really want to let the girls roam over the whole garden and keep them near the house if I can't be in the garden with them so that I can keep an eye on them I've read the forum and see that other peoples children manage to share their gardens with chickens but I wonder how many of the hens are kept in permanent runs and how many actually share the children's play area. Can you help me? Amanda Edited March 4, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Our children happily shared a back garden with 5 chickens in our last house. The chickens spent all day, very day out of the run, and the children (at that point 3, 5 and spent all summer playing in the garden with them. When they (the chickens, I mean! ) have access to the whole garden, we found that poo is less of a problem - they tended to stick to the outskirts of the garden mostly (the flowerbeds and under the hedges! ), and it all tended to disappear into the soil when it rained. The only place we bothered about was the patio, because it obviously sat there, rather than disappating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alih Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Yes the poo does just get absorbed into the ground apart from the patio but it's veyr easy and quick to clear up. The chickens will avoid the toddler probably as they don't like being handled too much, and he will love watching them and playing with them as he gets a bit older. I don't have afox problem so I can't comment on that though I know a lot of folk here who will help on that one. But we have 4 children, aged 4 - 13, a dog and we both work full-time - our 2 girls are happy as anything in the run until we get home and they free-range at weekends and when we happen to be about in the week. They are super easy to look after and wonderful to watch. And then of course there are the eggs....your OH will be a convert within days I am sure. Mine was dead against it but then relented and is now nearly as loving of the chickens as I am! Go on.... you will never regret it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 The poo isn't unpleasant, it's basically like horse poo in that it's bits of seed and vegetation etc so it dries up pretty quickly. The caecal poos are pretty unpleasant but they're not very frequent and they smell so bad you can avoid them! My boys spent most of the weekend rolling around the grass playing rugby and although they had plenty of grass stains, they didn't have any chicken poo stuck to them! In the summer, so the boys can run about barefoot and I can maybe have a few flowers blooming, we're planning to net the hens into an area off the lawn to avoid the poo problem. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I have four kids, and have had the chickens for over a year, and though they don't freerange often because of foxes, in summer when we are out we tend to let them come out, and haven't had any problem... As someone else said, the chooks tend to play on the sides and under bushes, looking for tasty worms and things, rather than in the middle of the lawn or by the kids' swings and trampoline. My kids have never been pecked, if the chooks are bothered by them following them around, they just flap a bit and bok-bok and move away... the only pecks they ever give is when they are over eager at feeding time, mistaking our hands for a treat, but no one ever got pecked in the face or in any other circumstances. Even when we first picked them up, they never tried to peck. My guess is that if a child gets pecked, it would be because of a chook trying to have a taste of something that child is holding, rather than an attack in the face... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Even my brand new chooks that haven't been handled don't peck. They sometimes go for shiny things (rivets on jeans, jewellery) but only because they think it might be something to eat. My four year old loves the chooks, picks them up, cuddles them, etc. and has never been pecked. My friend's guinea pig on the other hand...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucky1 Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 My OH and I had 'many' an argument when I first said that we should get chooks. HE is now HOOKED ! - You could try getting an egg from someone whom has chickens already. Once he tastes it - this may help to change his mind I also have a 4 and a 7 yr old whos lives have been greatly effected in a very positive way by our feathered friends. Re. the poo - my daughters have garden wellies which helps and the poo is easy to collect or sweep up. They do however 'produce' alot - but it is great for the 'compost'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Thanks for all the great replies. Hopefully when my OH reads this he'll stop worrying so much and start lookiing forward to Easter when the chickens arrive. I'm like a kid waiting for santa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucky1 Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 You wait till the night before . I couldn't sleep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I have a 2 and 4 year old and my husband does get a sense of humour failure about the poo and thinks the children will get it all over them . Yes the chickens do produce a lot of poo so I did compromise with him and fenced a bit of garden off for the chickens so the children have a poo free bit of garden. The poo doesn't bother me so much as others have said it's easily absorbed and disapears with a spray of the hose but OH always managed to see a bit I missed! Could you fence a bit of garden off and you could move the fence around the garden so it doesn't get so trashed?? Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 It does work, if you can't pick all the poo up just go round the garden in the evening and hose it in. It's mostly veggie stuff anyway, it's nothing like dog or cat poo and doesn't smell (well not that we've ever noticed.) We got ours when smallest boy was 1 1/2 and he's never had his face pecked nor have the others (they're all now 2 5 and 7) they love the hens, love feeding them, picking them up (when they can catch them) and collecting the eggs. They even like helping at cleaning time. They're a great introduction to animal keeping and you'll find their popularity at school ie; can we come round for tea, increases as all their friends love them too. Here's smallest boy with middle daughter - he was nearly 2 she was 4 Smallest boy being a hen.... and middle daughter with egg... Mrs Bertie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luthien Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Awww love the Pics Mrs Bertie! Lovely Garden too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Hi Mrs Bertie, I love your photos! You have very cute children and your son looks so sweet in with the chickens Amanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I posted this a while back when he had just turned two. My youngest is now 18 months and is completely enraptured by our girls http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=194309&highlight=friends#194309 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Fantastic Bron! They're fearless at that age, and what a cutie! I'd just like to add that our garden is NOTHING like that now - no grass, none, not a blade. Have fenced it ALL off so dog and chickens are banned. They've got an area at the bottom with bark and wood chip on that's theirs, I'm recovering the grass for me and the kids. Mrs B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 All the above posts should put his mind at rest! i didn't have chickens when my children were small so can't comment, but I agree about the poo. It either hoses away, gets washed by the rain, or you can use one of those springy leaf collecting rakes to gather it up. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Lovely photos Bron. I hope our chickens turn out to be as tolerant as yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 (edited) My OH claims to hate the chickens. He was against me getting them in the first place, but after I'd worn him down with chicken talk, he said the magic words, "Do what you like!" He built me a walk-in run last weekend for them. This was our conversation after he'd finished: OH: I suppose you'll be going chicken shopping next week then? ME: Not really, I don't think I can fit any more in the eglu. OH: But you've got that other house?! ME: That's just an old hutch off freecycle to separate the new ones so they didn't get beaten up. I can't use it permanently, it's not suitable for chickens. OH: Oh! See? He loves them really! He also made them a perch and was chuffed to see them using it this morning. Oh, and he used up all 6 of last week's eggs making egg and bacon sandwiches for us at the weekend (made himself 2 of course!) Edited March 9, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Our 3 year old loves them. They chase him round the garden and vice versa. Hilarious to watch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 The only problem I have with poo is that the girls like to hang around outside the conservatory door in the hope that I'll emerge with treats, so the worst area is just where you step outside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Thanks to everyone who responded to my plea for help My OH has read your replies and has agreed to let the chickens free-range for a month or so before deciding if they need to be penned. As our garden is a reasonable size I'm hoping that after a month he'll forget about his concerns and love having the chickens around. Thanks again Amanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 He'll be won over when they arrive. My children are older and love the chooks but everyone knows they are MY chooks really.... My nephew is 2 yrs old. He was 1 when they arrived and the first week they did once peck at his fingers through the bars, and he was a bit put off. But now .......well...... my nephew is the one to watch not the chooks. He terrorizes the chooks and tries to ram into them with his toy mower. They have learned how to flap off quickly when they see him coming now. Please tell your hubbie, my lot were only "pecky" in first few weeks until they worked out what was food. Now they don't bother. As for poo. My 4 had the whole garden last Summer and it wasn't a problem but you get into a daily routine. Now they have their own corner fenced off - this was down to hubbie's veg patch being eaten rather than the poo. And you may think this is odd, but treading in chicken poo is OK with me. They eat mostly cereal feed and so the poop isn't like cat or dog poo (which I can't deal with at all). Hard to describe in words, but you'll see what I mean when your lot arrive. Enjoy them on the 19th (that's my birthday by the way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woffle Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 We bought an eglu with 3 chucks from a forum member back in August/September. We penned off what will be the vegetable patch and they've done a grand job of clearing it of weeds - they have free-range over an area roughly 6mx8m and occasionally over the rest of the garden - esp. as Pippin has learnt to hop onto the top of the eglu and launch herself over the wire. Our 3 year old and 18 month old girls think they're fantastic - so much so that we were instructed (as only a 3 year old girl can do ) to get some more and introduced 2 light sussex bantams last night. All our chucks have appropriately girly names - Cinderella (Cindy), Tinkerbell (Bella), Tallulah (Lula - now sadly deceased ), Pippin and Mabel. Some pics, pre-bantams: They do the feeding of treats and egg collection. We've no worries about the poo as it tends to disappear into the lawn and the process also encourages good behaviour with hand washing after every feeding+petting session. I'm also a big believer that a little muck isn't a bad thing - I used to roll around in all sorts as a kid and come home caked. Not an anti-bacterial wipe in site and I'm ok! As far as pecking goes - Mabel can get enthusiastic and jump up at hands (not faces) if they're carrying bread or corn but the kids have soon learnt to hold their own and then tell her off for doing so (again, not a bad thing). Oh - if you're planning on free ranging over all your garden be prepared to lose some plants and get used to s"Ooops, word censored!"es in the grass. Ours have a habit of creating dust baths right in the middle of the lawn. There is nothing nicer though than being followed round the garden by an inquisitive hen. And the eggs are wonderful. You won't regret it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
