Chicken bald back

[rainbow]

Hello. I have just ordered an Eglu classic for our London garden and I am starting to have second thoughts. My main concerns are that the garden will get ruined and that we might get rats. Our garden consists of a lawn with decent size shrub boarders. I was hoping when I let the chickens out of their run that they will head for the boarders and enjoy a forage in the undergrowth rather than digging up our lawn - am I being naive? Also how much poo would they produce if I let them out for an hour a day? I have two young children and I don't want them playing in a dirty garden (havning said that, all the neighbouring cats seem to like to poo in our garden anyway : ) ).

 

The Eglu is not being delivered until we get back from our summer hols in August.

 

I have never used an online forum before, so am new to all of this.

 

Thanks!

[ashjc]

Hi Rainbow, you are having the same worries I was having. I had decided that I was going to have 2 chickens but keep them perm in the classic run on wood chippings because I didnt want the lawn torn up. After about 4 days I started to let them out for the last hour in the evening..... no major problems.

 

I have a wide flowerpot that I put some soil in and as soon as I let them out they dive straight into that and have a bath in it, meaning they havent dug any holes in my lawn. They scratch about a bit but nothing major.

 

The poo however is another story. I probably let them free range for about 2 hours at night now and if I am about on a Sunday they probably get 4/5 hours. They do poo alot but if its firm I just get a dustpan and brush and clean it up. If it rains it washes away. Stepped in it twice but we dont have kids playing on a lawn. You may want to think about giving them access to just a bit of the lawn rather than all of it with some netting. If you have shrubs around your lawn be prepared to have these eaten!

 

Only other consideration is flies, I didnt consider this and you will see an increase. Some good fly traps about though or using tea tree oil etc to help. It depends on how big your garden is I guess.

 

If we had kids we would probably have to section off part of the lawn. Dont write it off though as they are really characterful and the kids would love em!

[chicken bark]

Hello Rainbow.

 

I think the best bet would be for you to have the eglu permanently positioned and put horse bedding inside the run with a cover over the top. When you want to let the chickens out into the garden just fence off the areas you don't want them to go in. Chicken's obviously poo but if you fence off areas then the children can play in a poo free garden.

 

Also chickens do not attract rats - food lying around attracts them so if you keep the run tidy there will be no problems.

[JoMonkey]

I agree with the others! We're in the process of laying a permanent run, like we used to have before we moved... otherwise they do destroy the lawn. They shouldn't destroy it while free ranging though, especially if it's just a few hours.

 

They are poo machines!! So there will be poo about. This is great for borders(!), but perhaps not so great on grass with the kids about, although it mows down etc... but they're such great pets for having with kids about, I'm sure you could create a workaround if you're worried about it.

 

Another thing is that they might dustbath in your borders and kick the dirt out / around etc.! Ours do this, but I don't mind it... My garden isn't all that neat to start with though Also, if you put a dustbath in their run, they're less likely to use the borders for it.

[poppy ben grace]

Hi, one thing to consider would be to get some pekin bantams. They are smaller than normal hens (so lay slightly smaller eggs) and have feathery feet so do far less damage to the garden. They also need less run space so a trio would be happy in a 2 meter run. They have lovely characters and are very friendly once they get to know you. I really hope you manage to get some hens, they are such fun. There is lots of advice here on the forum and there are ways of keeping them without them ruining your garden. I have young children so my hens are kept off the main lawn with omlet fencing. Good luck with it all, try not to worry too much.

[Mercedes55]

I had tons of doubts after we had arranged to take on some ex batts. We had our Eglu for about a week or so before the hens arrived and our garden looked very nice. Once the hens were out in the garden it all changed. I have to say our lawn has been fine though as they only eat a bit of grass and then dive for the borders. Over the last year we have rearranged our garden so that the hens have a huge WIR which is slabbed and covered with horse bedding. They also have a smaller run that used to be a flower border but is now just bare soil. There are some plants they don't eat, they have never touched our Mexican Orange or our Fatsia Japonica. They do seem to poo a lot and although we don't have small children we do have a granddaughter who is in our garden a lot, but so far never had any problems with her treading in any.

[jackian]

I have had the same worries as you ,I live in a terrace house in Bucks with a smallish garden.I have had my 3 girls now for 4 weeks and after having many doubts I must admit I have been very surprised.

Even after 4 weeks I can't imagine my life with out them. They are in a pen we built and get let out into out in the garden for an hour or so early evening. They do rake through the borders ,I have no grass just a patio .Poo I collect up every evening and take to our allotment or just dig it into your garden. I was also concerned about our neighbours but they don't seem to botherred...You will love them .

[Chucky Mama]

I would think very carefully before taking the plunge. Remember you are talking to chicken fanatics here You may get rats if food is available but only as much as perhaps those with composts. They will kick up plants and soil from the borders. They will scratch the lawn to a degree damage depends how much you have and how much they can do in other areas of the garden. They are selective about what they eat from your borders - they tend to eat your favourite things and leave the rest Things may get muddy in the winter. There may be a few extra flies in the summer. They can be noisy and can upset neighbours. They produce a stupid amount of poo for small creatures so you will either have to keep them in an area away from the children, or poop a scoop. You also need to set aside a little in your budget for vets fees which many don't think about.

 

I don't mean to be negative, rather honest. We do get people on the forum that are very negative about their experience with chickens, thankfully it is rare but you do need to think about how they will fit into your lifestyle. On the plus side, they bring the garden alive, have great characters and produce (fingers crossed) delicious eggs on a regular basis. You also get to talk chicken to some hilarious Omlet folk

[hammy72]

It's good that you are thinking about these things now and can find ways around them. I have found that giving myself time to prepare has made me feel calmer and more excited about the girls arriving in 2 weeks time! I was given 25m netting in with the sale with my 2nd hand eglu so I am hoping to keep them off the veg patch but they can have some of the lawn. Other people use that scaffolding netting which you can get off e bay. I'm not concerned about poo as will just scoop it or wash it away but then we have 2 dogs so deal with that every day anyway. Keep asking questions tho' I've found everyone on here to be honest and helpful.

[rainbow]

Thank you for all the advice. I really appreciate everyone being honest. I would much rather be aware of everything now than get a nasty shock further down the line. I really like the idea of the Pekin Bantams - I will look into this. They may be a better option for our garden.

[Chortle Chook]

Other than pekins, you might like to think of Sabelpoots (Booted bantams) as they too have feathery feet, so would do less damage to your lawn than some other chickens might. They also have very pretty feathers. There is an article all about these in 'Practical Poultry' August issue. Or you might want to consider Silkies if you have children as these make lovely, fluffy pets.

 

In your borders you'll find there are some plants you can't keep as they will be eaten or scratched up e.g. many annuals and little green leafy things like pansies, but there are others that do really well with chickens rootling round them e.g. hemerocalis lillies and hostas as well as roses and any climbers. In fact the roses will really benefit from chook poo. 'Your Chickens' magazine has a super article by Charolotte Popescu about mixing chickens and gardens.

[fluffy chick]

I've discovered chickens won't eat nettles if that's any use Everything else is fair game. All my current flock have feathery feet and still are capable of doing damage if I confine them to a run for any length of time (25 meters). Having said that I agree that pekins or silkies would be a perfect breed to start with. I've found the more free range time the better all round. No damage to my garden (although it is pretty big) and less mucking out for me. I tend to sweep the paths but all the poo disappears into the grass or my (overgrown ) borders. The chickens do seem to prefer the borders to the grass though so you might be lucky in that respect.

[UKMARCH]

I agree with the other replies I am not a expert yet only having had ours for a couple of years but got loads of help from this forum and the advice sections. We decided to have a walk in run with the eglu on the outside on a table. The chickens did leave a lot of poo but we followed them round with a small bucket and spade (good job for the kiddies) or at least did collect it on regular intervals as we also have children who do like to walk on the lawn barefoot. Now they mostly stay in the run and when they come out its easier to clear up after them, you can buy an eglu without the run and get a separate run (or if your OH is handy get him to make one!) where they have more space that way and if you decide its too much they can stay in and not feel guilty about it. I painted ours green to match the fences and I think it blends quite well in the garden, I love them and we are getting some more soon!

[Stevie Adams]

There's absolutely no way you'll leave them confined to the run. No matter how strict you try and be on limiting their time in the garden you'll just watch them and be fascinated by half the things they do that you'll end up having them out permanently.

 

We got our Eglu about 3 weeks ago and had planned for them to stay in the run permanently, nevertheless within 2 days they were roaming the garden. The only bit they've dug up is in the bed of soil which we cleared anyway for the cat to use as a toilet. They dug a hole which is where they seem to like to have a dirt bath.

 

The poo in itself isn't much of a problem, it's easily picked up if you're bothered about your lawn, but you can always rake over it. I was told you can just mow over it and it gets picked up with the grass.

 

Needless to say, despite our worries and a few traumatic experiences (One ending in our Miss Pepperpot having to be put down) we're now up to 3 chickens. We went to collect 2 more yesterday. I would recommend them to anybody.

 

The positives far outweigh any negatives that I can think of. They're fun, they give you eggs and they're just the most fascinating animals to watch.

[Stevie Adams]

Actually, there is one negative I can think of, we feed patsy some pellets made into a porridgey mash. The vet suggested we could feed her this to help with her egg problem and she absolutely loves it. The only problem was she doesn't seem to like eating out of the bowl so she kicks it over and pecks it off the ground. She's a funny thing.

 

I don't have kids, but our friends kids have come over and really find them fascinating. If you start them hands on from the beginning, they can learn an awful lot. They are a big responsibility and the vet bills are possibly going to be higher as you need to go to a specialist vet, well one that knows chickens anyway

[rainbow]

Well, it has been really interesting reading all these posts. I am 50:50 whether to get them or not at the moment. The problem is that I have already told my 5 year old that I have ordered the Eglu and she is so excited! Oh dear!! I have googled the Pekin Batams and think they look great. Definitely seem more garden friendly than the Pepper Pot and Gingernut Ranger that I have on order.

 

What I don't understand is that people seem to think that chickens will destroy everything in the garden. We don't have any delicate flowers. The majority of our plants are shrubs. How can a chicken destroy a photinia or euonymus? Am I underestimating them? I do have a few ornamental grasses that I would be upset if I lost.

[fluffy chick]

My pekins don't really eat that much in the way of shrubs etc, they prefer to poke around in the borders and follow us around, get in the shed, poke around in there, sit on top of the bench and chat to the neighbour's chickens and generally keep busy. Pekins are tiny. They will only eat what they can reach (they are rubbish flyers too ) so established shrubs should be ok.

 

IMO you won't regret getting a couple of pekins you'll hardly know you've got them. (Only slightly biased here!)

[squiffs]

Well, it has been really interesting reading all these posts. I am 50:50 whether to get them or not at the moment. The problem is that I have already told my 5 year old that I have ordered the Eglu and she is so excited! Oh dear!! I have googled the Pekin Batams and think they look great. Definitely seem more garden friendly than the Pepper Pot and Gingernut Ranger that I have on order.

 

What I don't understand is that people seem to think that chickens will destroy everything in the garden. We don't have any delicate flowers. The majority of our plants are shrubs. How can a chicken destroy a photinia or euonymus? Am I underestimating them? I do have a few ornamental grasses that I would be upset if I lost.

 

 

If you decide what area of the garden they can go on, then you don't have these problems. Though personally I would have done my research first before ordering and telling my 5 year old we were getting chickens - it's a big investment initially.

[Lavenders_Blue]

What I don't understand is that people seem to think that chickens will destroy everything in the garden. We don't have any delicate flowers. The majority of our plants are shrubs. How can a chicken destroy a photinia or euonymus? Am I underestimating them? I do have a few ornamental grasses that I would be upset if I lost.

 

I have one hebe that the chooks ignore, one that they ate (had to be pulled up and the remains thrown in the compost bin), a euonymus that is protected from them with chicken wire and a choisya that is now also dead - they used to pull the leaves off of that and spit them out, apparently not very tasty! So shrubs may not necessarily be safe.

[rainbow]

Well, it has been really interesting reading all these posts. I am 50:50 whether to get them or not at the moment. The problem is that I have already told my 5 year old that I have ordered the Eglu and she is so excited! Oh dear!! I have googled the Pekin Batams and think they look great. Definitely seem more garden friendly than the Pepper Pot and Gingernut Ranger that I have on order.

 

What I don't understand is that people seem to think that chickens will destroy everything in the garden. We don't have any delicate flowers. The majority of our plants are shrubs. How can a chicken destroy a photinia or euonymus? Am I underestimating them? I do have a few ornamental grasses that I would be upset if I lost.

 

 

If you decide what area of the garden they can go on, then you don't have these problems. Though personally I would have done my research first before ordering and telling my 5 year old we were getting chickens - it's a big investment initially.

 

I feel like I have done a fair amount of research (online anyway). Its just that there seems to be different advice from different people. I have read articles online where people seem to keep chickens and a garden. Some people say that they don't do too much damage, others say they do. I have been umming and ahhing for about 9 months now.....and thought if I don't try it now perhaps I never would.

 

My daughter would cope with a little disappointment.....she is very easy going.

[squiffs]

I'll also say I have a gingernut and a pepperpot, and they only destroy what I leave in their wake, they have taken a liking to my chives, so I don't let them near them, and I have a pen on the garden that they can free range in measuring 7.2m x 3.6m x 8.2m x 3.6m and they don't go outside that. They're in their run most of the time and only free range when I can supervise them, which is usually the evenings and weekends. You can make them fit around you within reason, there's no need to go excluding breeds and types due to scaremongering by people who aren't firm and practical with their chickens

 

But yes, they do poop a lot - and my compost heap loves it, - I also jet spray my patio and have latex gloves to pick up any big firm ones as and when I spot them.

 

AND if you clip one of their wings, they can't do a houdini

[Mercedes55]

 

I feel like I have done a fair amount of research (online anyway). Its just that there seems to be different advice from different people. I have read articles online where people seem to keep chickens and a garden. Some people say that they don't do too much damage, others say they do. I have been umming and ahhing for about 9 months now.....and thought if I don't try it now perhaps I never would.

 

My daughter would cope with a little disappointment.....she is very easy going.

 

I think until you take the plunge and experience them you won't really know how it will all pan out. I also did some research before getting ours and had some friends tell me that hens would totally ruin my garden and others who said it would be fine. I guess we all have different ideas of what constitutes a wrecked garden. If you get them and after some time you find out keeping hens isn't for you then you can always sell the Eglu on as they do tend to keep their value and as long as you rehomed your hens together I'm sure they would be fine too. I love my hens now, but honestly at first there were many times when it all got me down and I wondered what I had taken on.

[johnandkymberley]

me and h2b had no experience in keeping hens - AT ALL, i wanted them to be frank so i could have a pink cube! seriously. We read up on them, mainly on omlet, i wouldnt know how i would have done it if it wasnt for this site! and decided we were going to go with a cube, as on here people said you will get addicted etc and they were easier to clean. So we went on ebay (and im not ashamed of that!), we were going to buy new but thought if we didnt like keeping hens we could put it back on and not loose so much money. we bought it in may 2010 and i have only see 2 other pink cubes come up so i think we were lucky really. h2b was understanding, i am a pink girl. i suggested the green cube, He said i would never be satisfied if i didnt have pink - he knows me so well and just to enthuse how pink i am my wedding dress is pink however thats another story... so anyway we won the cube and then the woman emailed us saying she had 6 hybrid hens that i could have aswell, so we said okay. we got there it was quite disgusting really (hens kept in horrible condition) but we freaked out totally when we saw the hens, and we didnt realise they would be so big! the cube was in the back of the car and the hens were on my knee. h2b turned round and said what the *bleep* have we done?! i said just get home- we were petrified. one of them had there head poked out the box, must of been a sight for anyone passing us on the motorway! We got them home into the cube asap and started on the run, by night it was up and the next day we named them and put the cube in a permanent position, we got it up asap as it was getting dark so decided the next day to sort it out properly. So we woke up and had 4 i was thrilled! we moved it position put more slabs down as it was partially done anyway and then started to handle them etc, they werent really tame but got used to us quickly, the rest they say is history. Sadly one of the original 6 - Cherry - died and we got 2 white stars from my friend who built a run (and took the mick out of us for getting an eglu) basically hated the hens she got, 2 white stars, 2 gingernut rangers and 2 bluebelles. She had spent £760 on a wooden coop that they had built, badly built i must add, it didnt have roosting bars or a poo tray (my arguement was omlet designed an eglu and tested it and improved it, they didnt have any idea what hens need!) anyway she wanted me to have them all, i said i would have the white stars as i so wanted white hens and the ! when we got willow and lily,they were wrecks, all she did all day with them was spray them with the hosepipe to shut them up, i wont go into our feelings on that "friend" now (just to prove a point though i asked her if she was to do it again would she buy an eglu and she said yes). So we have had 7 since sept. then this year h2b turns round and says he wants 2 black rocks, we looked into this and a place to get them from etc and ended up with a daisybelle,light sussex and a black rock. so now we are up to 10 and ya no what, i love it! i love my hennies pennies, i look forward to seeing them in the morning and although im not a perfect chicken keeper and i still have so much to learn, i have learnt so much along the way, i knew nothing about hens and now i could talk about them all day. As other people have said you never actually know how you feel about them until you have got them, which is the risk you take but maybe start with a couple and see how you go, we went straight in at the deep end with 6 really, we were offered less but i didnt want to leave any behind, they were already a flock of 6. im sure you will get bitten by the bug, i would love to have more hens but anymore than 10 is not do-able with the run we have etc. i hope this gives you some food for thought xxx

[johnandkymberley]

and btw with garden wrecking! mine are okay, h2b does a little sweep at night but only because he turned the soil and they flick it all out now, he was having some bonding time with them looking for worms, i must admit all 10 girls had a ball! but its his fault! h2b also does a poo spray with the hosepipe, but this is only on the path. My girls scratch yes but mainly they sunbathe, they love sunbathing over searching for food! it also depends what garden you have, i have lots of borders around my 3 lawns, but to be fair i have a gardener who will tidy it anyway so im not really too fussed. i always have comments on how lovely my garden is though, even if i think it looks like a bombs hit it!

[johnandkymberley]

Sorry to post again but forgot the bit about kids playing on the lawn. We dont have any children but we (in the future) want them, if i found out i was pregnant today the first thing i would do is buy the omlet netting and section an area off. I would do this as in the 9 months it would give the grass enough time to recover, remember i have got 10 hens who are out from 9am - 8pm, also something to consider when buying netting which length would be suitable the 25m or the 50m and as long as it fits in with your garden there is no need to worry about poo etc