Foxandsotiris Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Hello Never posted on here but am an avid lurker!! Having gone on about getting chickens for a year or so, my OH has seen the light and thinks it will be a great idea. So I have quite a few questions, I apologise if they have been asked a million times before! Firstly, is our garden suitable. The chickens would not be able to free range around the garden as we have foxes who visit and also the garden is very mature (read overgrown!) and fear I would never find the chickens again! We also have a yorkshire terrier who I am sure would be fine with chickens once she got used to them but you never know. Area one is at the bottom of the garden and is in quite dense shade (underneath oak tree and fir trees where the only thing that seems to grow is ivy (lots of it) and weeds). approx measurements are 230cm x over 600cm Area two is a raised bed that goes along the back of the garden that is in part shade and measures around 230cm x 210 Area three is a bit off the wall! We have a approx 23ft x 13ft pond that we discovered was leaking once we moved in!! All the lovely koi carp had to be rehomed and we've drained it down, still full of all the sludge though unfortunately!. It is concrete and set in the ground. It is in the middle of the garden so it may possibly look a bit of any eyesore with mesh panels all around it, so maybe not my best idea! Also, we have aquired 2 bunnies that at the moment have a hutch with inbuilt run and I let them out daily into another smallish run on the grass. I anticipated making 'bunny world' for them but before I go ahead and do that, wondered if the bunnies and chickens could live together? I know someone who has done that in the past but they did have a rather large WIR. Apologies for the huge amount of questions! I was thinking that we would get 4 ex battery hens. Your comments and opinions would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewitall Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Others, more experienced than me, will be along shortly to answer your other questions but I just wanted to mention about the Yorkshire Terrier. I have one and I won't be letting her near my chickens without being on a lead and going through a long period of introductions. Yorkshire Terriers are ratters by nature and my terrier chases pigeons but never catches them because they get away. I don't think Hens would be so lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Is the garden suitable: sounds like it, yes! The problem is that the bigest area for a run would be in deep shade: chickens are OK with that, but like anything else appreicate a bit of sunshine occasionally, esp in cooler weather. The raised bed area would be an OK size but not overly generous - maybe a trio of bantams? The pond sounds good size-wise, and perhaps you could grow the odd climber around the run, or otherwise "pretty it up" a bit? I am assuming that it won't become a muddy puddle and that you will be able to remove the worst of the wet sludge first. As to the rabits: my own feeling is that becuase chickens like to peck at things (out of curiousity if nothing else) and bunnies are pretty defenceless, it would only work if the run was really pretty big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickyhazel Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 If you are getting an eglu, an area big enough for a run is fine wherever it is. For 4 chickens, a 4m run should be sufficent (standard with 2 extensions) even if they don't get much FR. We net off a "chicken garden" in our garden - you could do the same to allow you chickens to FR a little bit. Chickens should have some sun really so permanent shade isn't the best. Note overgrown gardens can become bare with the influece of chickens... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckingmad Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Oooh go for it!! Chooks are wonderful, but then I'm renowned as a bit of a bad influence As long as the girls have their eglu and run they'll be fine, as the run is fox proof, however I'd probably clear the area a little so nothing can lurk in the long grass (other cats/foxes/weasles/etc).. As for the terrier, each animal is different but I wouldn't leave the dog unsupervised with the chooks - we have two cats who are soft as anything with the girls, but when friends pop over with their dogs the girls go inside their run - even though the dog (Louis) wouldn't hurt a fly, he bounds up the the girls and scares them silly, so we pop them safely into their run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxandsotiris Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 Hi Thanks for the responses. Not too sure about getting an Eglu, would love one but they are a bit pricey for us. Have had another thought about where they could live. We could build them a run/house thing on the back smaller raised bed (the one that gets some sun and is 230 x 210). This bed goes around in an L shape but was only anticipating using part of it as there is a tree in the way (more than enough room for the chickens to get past). But having looked at what others on here have done, think that we could use the omlet netting stuff to carry on from where the run will finish and carry on around the rest of the bed. They could then free range in this bit when we are around to keep an eye on the foxes and the dog wouldn't be able to get at them at all. Only concern about this is that we have a colony of stag beetles living somewhere in this bed. Would I have to get in the free range bit to clean it? I'm absolutely petrified of the beetles! M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 If you use the old pond, make sure you clean it out thoroughly as pond sediment will probably contain botulism toxins. ...The toxin is produced in decaying animal (usually carcases) and plant waste, and toxin-containing material (pond-mud,... http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/19/botulism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckingmad Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 If my girls are anything to go by, the beetles won't stand a chance..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxandsotiris Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 Yes if we were to go down the pond route, we would definately clean the pond! It's disgusting! Apparently, Stag beetles are endangered! Maybe not such a good spot to put the chickens! M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckingmad Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 ok eep! Best get my girls to start watching what they eat, heaven only knows what species they're gobbling up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 What about buying moveable housing and run and trying out all 3 areas in your garden. Eglu's are great (I have one) but equally it could be one of those arks with runs that you lift up and move around. Then fence off an area with netting. Reason I suggest this is that I move my chickens around my garden according to the seasons. They live in an eglu + run. But have Omlet netting all around to contain their free range area. Winter/Spring = eglu on patio, right outside back door, easy distance on cold days, no need to trudge over soggy grass. The winter free range area has raised beds which they can poop on and fertilize to their hearts content. Summer / Autum = eglu under shade of beech tree on other side of garden with half shade, half sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
