4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[seraphine]

From the posts I've so far read on here, lots of people seem to live in the countryside with tonnes of land etc. and I'm wondering how crazy my notion of keeping 3 chickens in a South London garden really is!

 

Anyone in a similar situation? Don't get me wrong, we have a decent size garden, but I'm wondering how common keeping chickens is in the suburbs!

[BeckyBoo]

Very very very! I don't live in London but I live in urban North Surrey, a few miles from the M3 on the Farnborough airport flight path and near one of the busiest roads in Surrey!

It's very feasable, three hens in an urban backgarden is exactly what the Eglu was designed for - for peeps like us that DON'T live in the countryside (even if we wished we did! )

 

BeckyBoo

[Aggienator]

In Sheffield here, definitely not rural but I dream of the day.......

 

Off out tomorrow to the friends with the big rural space where our new piggy is going to live

[Falkor]

I live in a town in Cambs. My house is one of seven in a cul de sac and my back garden has four gardens backing onto it.

 

I started with a and three orpingtons and upgraded to a and a walk-in run just recently. I now have four chooks

 

This was my eglu set up:

 

The cube and WIR fills the hole now

 

and this shows you how close my neighbours are:

[Tara.F]

I'm in SE London in a council house (shhh..don't tell 'em ) and a small garden.

I've had my hens for a few years now....two hybrids and two pure breed bantams. The garden remains reasonably in tact, the neighbours enjoy gifts of eggs from time to time and the hens take the odd trip to school with my daughter to be cuddled by her friends

 

I will concede that my neighbours think I'm a bit odd......but that may not be due to the chickens!

You'll be fine

[Olly]

Plenty of us living in suburbia, admittedly I've got quite a long garden but you can hear the Central Line tube and the M11 when you're out there (usually drowned out by the sound of chickens clucking!)

 

As Becky says, the Eglu was designed for suburban gardens. Not a crazy notion at all!

[Mrs Kettle]

Yup, deep in suburban Birmingham here - buses thundering down our street and Sainsbury 30 seconds away. And we're not alone - our next door neighbour has just got chickens and I can hear others further up the street. (Our girls can hear but not see the neighbours chickens, and have worn puzzled expressions ever since the newbies' arrival. Chickens: great but not very bright.)

[hanson]

Yep, from urban town in Kent me, not far from M2 with neighbours either side and behind the garden. Next door neighbours but one have chickens and have seen other chicken set-ups in a smaller garden than my own and mine isn't big just very very long! I definitely have cube envy so its certainly possible and though the chickens aren't very noisy, when they are its nothing more annoying than birds tweetering away or my next door neighbour's waterfall - it's nature and its great

[Kalu]

Hertfordshire here, but not the lovely village just up the road unfortunately! A typical 1950's 3 bed terraced house with bog standard garden (bog being the word after the last couple of days rain!).

 

We have enough room for eglu, run, rotating every couple of days and a trampoline that the chooks like to hide under. (Oh and some very inquisitive neighbours who I have spotted peeking over the fence!!)

 

Go for it! Chooks are great, be prepared to clear up a fair bit of poo but if you don't use it i am told people will grab it on freecycle, haven't filled up our first sack yet so haven't had enough to give away.

 

Blimey do I ramble sometimes!!

[Charlottechicken]

I am also very urban here. I'm in South Birmingham near Cadbury's but not leafy Bournville, in a small Victorian terrace with a narrow 100 foot garden. We have factories and builders merchants in the road so are more urban than suburban too. Plenty of neighbours but most don't even know I have chickens

 

The only problem I find is chicken related stuff is easier to buy on the internet, although a large pet shop (Kings Heath Pet Centre, for anyone else in south Birmingham) sells layers mash and pellets at a good price and also chick crumbs and corn. I have resorted to hatching eggs off ebay to expand my flock as there is nowhere within an hour who sells chickens, apart from Notcutts.

 

The Eglu is just perfect for a suburban set up

[spencerwood]

I’m in a terraced house in Chessington. The 3m by 2m run area takes up a third of the garden so its possible. We’ve had just two 5 week old hens for less than a week and all is well so far….

 

 

Spencer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Online Photo Retouching

[Toots]

We live in slough.. not exactly rural. the M4 is just a stones through away. 4 Chickens 2 cats and just set up my 2*2m veg garden.

 

if you garden isn't huge say good bye to grass in the winter but mine is coming back now we have some sun!

[Hugetortoise]

We live not from Morden station and we have a and a with 4 chickens ( ) in total. The eglus are fox-proof as we have visits from Mr Foxes every now and then (kep our fingers crossed).

They are fun and no noiser than kids across the road. My OH would stare at them for hours when he is home.

[Egluntyne]

Another suburbanite here too.....about 5 miles from the city centre.

[tidygirlsuk]

I am also very urban here. I'm in South Birmingham near Cadbury's but not leafy Bournville, in a small Victorian terrace with a narrow 100 foot garden. We have factories and builders merchants in the road so are more urban than suburban too. Plenty of neighbours but most don't even know I have chickens

 

The only problem I find is chicken related stuff is easier to buy on the internet, although a large pet shop (Kings Heath Pet Centre, for anyone else in south Birmingham) sells layers mash and pellets at a good price and also chick crumbs and corn. I have resorted to hatching eggs off ebay to expand my flock as there is nowhere within an hour who sells chickens, apart from Notcutts.

 

The Eglu is just perfect for a suburban set up

 

 

There are loads of breeders, within 1 hour. it's just a case of hunting them down. let me know if you need and contacts.

[Richard T]

When we started keeping chickens we lived in Charlton in SE London where our garden was about 40' by 20'. The eglu and run took up about a quarter of it but the two chickens seemed happy enough.

 

When The Wife came up with the idea of getting chickens I was a bit reluctant at first but after looking at the forum and going an awful lot, I realised that it wasn't such a ridiculous idea. Luckily, I prefer chickens to a tidy garden.

 

A film student made a short film about urban chickens and a couple of eglu owners, including my OH, were in it. There was a link to the film on the Omlet website but I can't find it now. Can anyone find it and post a link?

 

But I'd better warn you. Once you start you will want more and more chickens, a bigger garden, more land ..... and you might end up moving to the country like we did.

[seraphine]

Thanks so much for the reassurance everyone, makes me feel more normal being a surburban chicken keeper!

 

I wonder how common it is to keep chickens these days, I'd be amazed if anyone had any around here but you never know!

[seraphine]

When we started keeping chickens we lived in Charlton in SE London where our garden was about 40' by 20'. The eglu and run took up about a quarter of it but the two chickens seemed happy enough.

 

When The Wife came up with the idea of getting chickens I was a bit reluctant at first but after looking at the forum and going an awful lot, I realised that it wasn't such a ridiculous idea. Luckily, I prefer chickens to a tidy garden.

 

A film student made a short film about urban chickens and a couple of eglu owners, including my OH, were in it. There was a link to the film on the Omlet website but I can't find it now. Can anyone find it and post a link?

 

But I'd better warn you. Once you start you will want more and more chickens, a bigger garden, more land ..... and you might end up moving to the country like we did.

 

I can totally see this happening to us!!! It's always been on our minds to get out of London but we've never had that push. Since having our girls (real ones, not chooks!) we've been seriously considering it, I nearly bought 'Smallholder' magazine at a local garden centre today On another note, we're fairly near to Charlton now.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm in a housing estate in the Edinburgh surburbs with neighbours within clucking distance .

[badgerbluebadger]

I live in a flat Bexleyheath Kent/ SE London.

 

I have a very small garden and my run takes up 1/4 of the garden and the girls have the whole garden to free range in.

 

It's great and I now couldn't imagine my life without chickens

[seraphine]

I live in a flat Bexleyheath Kent/ SE London.

 

I have a very small garden and my run takes up 1/4 of the garden and the girls have the whole garden to free range in.

 

It's great and I now couldn't imagine my life without chickens

 

I'm interested to know what your neighbours think, this is my main concern! We have an old boy one side (we're in a semi) who is nice, keeps himself to himself but seems to like wildlife, feeds the birds etc. And the other (non-attached) side is a lovely family with 2 children and a dog. It just seems like such a crazy notion to keep chickens living in the height of suburbia in a 3 bed semi

[Ain't Nobody Here]

May be crazy, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it .

 

You can see how close my neighbours are in my signature! There are neighbours just as close on the other side .

[badgerbluebadger]

I checked with my neighbours and e-mailed the council before we got the girls. The council said no problems as long as we didn't have a cockerel and all our neighbours are fine with the idea - they are even happy to look after them when we go away. Giving them all eggs of course helped!

[BeckyBoo]

You might find that there are more chickens near you than you think! Although you will be acutely aware of every sound yours make your neighbours might not realise for months! I'm in an end of terrace and the house next door but one didn't know I had chickens for 6 months. You will LOVE them I'm sure and you will probably end up getting to know your neighbours better too!

 

BeckyBoo