lew Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Hi, I've been longing to keep chickens for longer than I care to remember but the time is approaching at last! The eglu is due to be delivered on 17th and I can finally get my longed for girls. I'm going to Lincolnshire Show on 25th to talk to the 'poultry people' there and look at the hens on my list of preferred girls to try and finally decide what would be the best for our garden. Most importantly I want to choose a breed that will be happy in a small garden with an eglu for a home! Unfortunately I've been reading poultry forums looking for information and all I've done is panic myself about the potential problems. Are the neighbours really going to complain? Will we be over run by the rat population? Are the hens going to leap over the 6 foot fences as soon as I let them out of the run? Will the smell be so appalling and the flies so abundant that a pall hangs over our house that can be detected from space?????? I'm just looking for a little reasurance from people who really know about keeping chickens in the garden. By the way, I'm thinking about Barnevelder - what do you think? Happy to be on board and looking forward to the arrival of the girls so I can really be part of the 'family'. Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Welcome to the forum , can you not sleep either? My neighbours haven't complained, we don't have rats (I hope ), you can clip their wings to limit flying and the smells can be minimised You'll be fine, its just a lot of info to take in to start off with. I've not had Barnevelders but I assume they should be ok. You could get a few different breeds for different coloured eggs. Maybe get 3 hens, or 4 if they have a bigger run or will be free-ranging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Welcome to the forum. Have moved your post to the chickens section where your questions will get more viewings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Most importantly I want to choose a breed that will be happy in a small garden with an eglu for a home! I have a Warren, an Amber Star and a Speckledy - all hybrids and all perfect for the garden Unfortunately I've been reading poultry forums looking for information and all I've done is panic myself about the potential problems. Thats normal, you see negative things and start to panic, its all pre-chook jitters! Are the neighbours really going to complain? My neighbours LOVE my girls Will we be over run by the rat population? She touches wood.... I'm not Are the hens going to leap over the 6 foot fences as soon as I let them out of the run? Clip their wings to be on the safe side, but I find that mine are so interested in ground level excitements, they never try Will the smell be so appalling and the flies so abundant that a pall hangs over our house that can be detected from space?????? No, especially if you give the girls garlic powder or bokashi bran I'm just looking for a little reasurance from people who really know about keeping chickens in the garden. It was the best decision I ever made! By the way, I'm thinking about Barnevelder - what do you think? Sounds fabulous, of those dark shelled eggs Happy to be on board and looking forward to the arrival of the girls so I can really be part of the 'family'. Welcome Lesley, and you are part of the family now Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Welcome to the forum . I have 3 hybrids in an eglu in a small garden and it works brilliantly . No rats, neighbours all onside or uninterested ( ), no smells (again, garlic & bokashi!) and no attempts to scale a 4 1/2 ft wall into my veg patch. It's very common to get the jitters but don't worry, the reality is a lot less scary . I get brown, cream & green eggs - lovely combination and easy to tell who laid what . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabeRuth Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Hi Lew We got our eglu and 2 hens at the end of March and I was as nervous as you are. But they have turned out to be very easy to look after and great fun. My neighbour brings her granddaughter to feed the hens and gives me left over bread and suchlike. I've reciprocated with eggs.... The eglu is on the lawn and the down side is that the droppings wreck the grass if you leave it in one place for more than a few days. I've been moving mine once a week but we've decided to move it more often now. Of course if you put it on bark chippings you don't have a problem. The other issue is with droppings on the path when they free range, so I have to poop-scoop when they go to bed, which is no more than a horse owner would do to a paddock so I'm not complaining, just pointing out what was not obvious to me before we had them. If you stand next to the eglu you can smell it even after I've cleaned and washed it, so I'm starting on the bokashi now, which may also help the lawn. All that said, we enjoy the chickens so much we're getting another 2 this week. This omlet forum is wonderful for info and inspiration (keep up the good work). Good luck with the hens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgies Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Welcome to the forum! Nope, you won't have loads of problems! I had my girls for three years and a month. In all that time I had one neighbour comment that they had been noisy one particular morning - her husband worked nights and was trying to sleep in the morning, and both my girls wanted the nesting box at the same time!! We had a fox visit the first night and a mouse appear the first day but never again saw any vermin - and the fox is always and was always a regular visitor to our garden - even having a dog didn't deter it. If you do keep the run somewhere permanent after a while of realising how much it trashes your grass to keep moving it, don't put it on bark, put it on wood chips or horse bedding like aubiose. Bark can contain fungus spores that can be very harmful. As long as you replace that regularly and rake it daily, you shouldn't have problems. That's the downsides dealt with! Let me tell you how great it is when your ladies come running, thinking you've got treats! When they follow you round the garden with their cute gait, hoping you'll dig up a worm for them. When they scrabble in your compost, or peer through your back door at you! When they lay you your first egg!! When they get so tame they'll hop up onto your lap for a cuddle. When they eat out of your hand, or dust bath right next to you! I've ordered three pure breeds from Wernlas and one is a Barnie - they're meant to be quite placid and friendly. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmamakeup Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I was totally worried about the same things you were. My neighbours think the chickens are brilliant and love the Eglu. I just use bokashi and now garlic powder to prevent the smell and am so pleased at what the chicken poo is doing for my compost. I had my girls' wings clipped and they only do leaps on to the run. Chickens are great and bring any garden to life and Olivia (my 2 year old) just loves them. Wouldn't do without chickens now. They are sooooo easy to look after. On here everyone's so helpful and if you have any problems there's always somebody who has the answer. Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*mummy_hen* Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Hi, I've been longing to keep chickens for longer than I care to remember but the time is approaching at last! The eglu is due to be delivered on 17th and I can finally get my longed for girls. I'm going to Lincolnshire Show on 25th to talk to the 'poultry people' there and look at the hens on my list of preferred girls to try and finally decide what would be the best for our garden. Most importantly I want to choose a breed that will be happy in a small garden with an eglu for a home! Firstly congratualtions on ordering your eglu and for the iminent arrival os your new chooks Unfortunately I've been reading poultry forums looking for information and all I've done is panic myself about the potential problems. Are the neighbours really going to complain? Our neighbours have never raised any concerns....nor have the chickens done anything to make them raise them (if that makes sense). A regular of lovely free range eggs will be sure to keep them sweet anyway Will we be over run by the rat population? We always keep our girls clean and take their food in at night and have never seen any sign of any rodent. Our next door neighbours garden is completely overgrown out the back and he would be more likely to attract rats then we ever would! Are the hens going to leap over the 6 foot fences as soon as I let them out of the run? I think the breed you chose can effect how flighty and mischieveous they will be...we have a2 foot gate in our garden and they have never taken any notice of that. We have 6 ft fences round our garden and we have never had any problems Will the smell be so appalling and the flies so abundant that a pall hangs over our house that can be detected from space?????? I haven't noticed an increase in flies in our garden at all...infact we rarely have any!! As long as you keep your girls house clean there will be nothing there to attract them!! I'm just looking for a little reasurance from people who really know about keeping chickens in the garden. By the way, I'm thinking about Barnevelder - what do you think? Happy to be on board and looking forward to the arrival of the girls so I can really be part of the 'family'. And finally....welcome to the forum Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 Thank you all so much for your reassurance, I feeling positive again. You are all so welcoming it's fantastic. I'm planning to move the eglu around the garden, I'll make sure I do it every few days. They will be able to free range the garden when I'm at home, I work during the day so it will be evenings and weekends but I don't want to leave them out without anyone at home. I've added Bokashi and garlic powder to my shopping list! I'm sure I read that they would enjoy a treat of marmite on toast, it seems so bizarre I could have dreamt it!! Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
