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Hens for a working couple - many questions

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We've getting very close to getting chickens for the first time but still have some questions we've not found easy answers to.

 

1. We both work. What's a sensible daily routine, especially in winter when it's likely to be dark before we get home. Can the hens be left to put themselves to bed as it gets dark and us closing them up later when we get home - some nights we have to shop (or we don't eat) so it could be past 6:30pm and the sun sets by 3:45pm in December. What do other working couples do? We are in the middle of a rural village but will foxes still be a major problem for us in the early evening?

 

2. Do we need a large-ish run considering they will be in the run most of the day, if not all day, during the winter months when we are at work. Is an Eglu Go a little too small for us?

 

3. We've seen comments suggesting two hens is too few. How accurate is this? Is two enough or just okay as a starter but ought to plan for more (Morehen Disease not withstanding).

 

4. Is this the wrong time of the year to start? Or a good time because if we can cope in this weather (I sure the hens can) then we're well prepared for the long term

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1. We both work. What's a sensible daily routine, especially in winter when it's likely to be dark before we get home. Can the hens be left to put themselves to bed as it gets dark and us closing them up later when we get home - some nights we have to shop (or we don't eat) so it could be past 6:30pm and the sun sets by 3:45pm in December. What do other working couples do? We are in the middle of a rural village but will foxes still be a major problem for us in the early evening?

 

Provided your hens are in a secure run then yes, they will put themselves to bed in the Eglu and you can close the door later. Many of us don't bother to close the door at all. Your daily routine need consist of no more than collecting eggs and filling up the feeder/drinker - I leave all cleaning till the weekend. Foxes are a problem all year round, everywhere, but if your run (Omlet or otherwise) is secure, then you can leave them without worrying. I sometimes fill up/collect eggs by torchlight, but try to see the hens in daylight at least once a day just to check they are ok.

 

2. Do we need a large-ish run considering they will be in the run most of the day, if not all day, during the winter months when we are at work. Is an Eglu Go a little too small for us? The Eglu Go run is adequate, but I would recommend getting the largest run you can afford. Firstly, you are very likely to want more hens! Secondly, a walk-in run, if you can manage it, makes the whole chicken-keeping experience much easier and more enjoyable for you as an owner. However, my first hens lived in an Omlet run (extended) for the first couple of years on a routine similar to the one you describe, and they were fine.

 

3. We've seen comments suggesting two hens is too few. How accurate is this? Is two enough or just okay as a starter but ought to plan for more (Morehen Disease not withstanding). If you can, I would get three. Hens are sadly not the most robust of birds - if you lose one, then you face the problem of introducing a single hen to another. With three, if one departs for the big Eglu in the sky the other two will keep each other company, and then in due course you can do a 2:1 intro - the newbies will have each other for support during the tricky introduction period. Morehens Disease is, unfortunately, very contagious and almost incurable! :lol:

 

4. Is this the wrong time of the year to start? Or a good time because if we can cope in this weather (I sure the hens can) then we're well prepared for the long term

 

Next week will see the fifth anniversary of my first ever Eglu being delivered! I'd say that this is a perfect time of year - the days are getting longer, and the weather will improve and then by next winter you'll have an established routine. Working full time really is no bar to keeping hens, you will find yourself cursing on dark winter mornings, but the benefits really outweigh the small inconveniences.

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I couldn't have put it better than Olly :D .

 

I'd agree about the WIR. The biggest you can afford/fit in your garden would be a good idea (and future proofs you against Morehens, as Olly says!)

 

Now you just have to decide on the type of WIR - Omlet/wooden/DIY? shape/size/position? - have fun, it'll take over your life temporarily :lol: . Have you looked at the Eglus, Cubes and Runs thread?

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Olly, Thank you for such a comprehensive reply. You've certainly gone along way to put many our worries to rest.

 

I'll have a think about all this when I should no doubt be doing other things at work today. At least three small hens sound like a must. And a run extension. Not sure we or the garden are yet quite ready for a WIR. I'd like a wooden run but they don't come off the shelf as fox poof as the Eglus

 

Must dash now or I'll be late....

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Hi Cloud

as one half of a working couple I completely agree with what Olly said. My main suggestion to you would be get a decent sized WIR as soon as you can as this makes life so much easier - I cannot imagine life without ours now. The biggest bane of a working life is that in the Winter you get up on a morning when it is dark and get home on an evening in the dark and will barely get to see your girls. At least with a WIR you know they are safe and have had plenty of fun whilst you are at work earning the mealworms. :D

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My husband and I both work full time, my tips are

 

Buy the easiest to clean, best designed coop you can afford

Dont overcrowd the chooks, if you only have room for two only get two

As long as they are fed and watered dont panic about routine

Invest in a fox resistant run so the chooks can put themselves to bed safely and you arent panicking if you have to work late

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I started last year with a !goyellow! and a 3m run, (standard run with 1m ext.) and 2 girls, the next weekend I got another 1m ext. and another 2 girls :wink:

 

Obviously I enjoyed my chicken keeping, but I enjoy it now so much more with the WIR and the (cube purple)

 

Once you extend your !goyellow! run, it becomes quite difficult to move, so it is harder to get in and give it a good rake over, I added an extra door panel and would try and rake as far as I could reach but it isnt ideal.

In the heat of summer, the ground gets hard and compacted, in the wet of early winter it becomes a mud bath.

 

If I was starting again with the !goyellow! I really like some of the runs that have been put onto marine ply and on wheels. See the Eglus cubes and runs thread.

 

The problem with starting off is you dont really know if you are going to like it, so it is a lot of money to spend out, my cube and run probably came to around £1k.

I am doing intros at the mo and getting up in the dark, to get the new girls out of the (cube purple) and put them into their wired off section of the WIR, then I am traipsing through the garden to take out the fresh water, have to do a couple of runs or it ends up all over me, all in pj's a fleece and old trainers :wink: before I get showered and ready for work. I think that is why I like those ones on wheels, I could just bring them round to the back door in the winter.

At the weekend though, it is great, I am now out in all weathers cleaning them out, chatting to them, it gets you out of the house and in the fresh air and gives you a real peaceful time out from the world.

I was talking to a friend who has a bad case of SAD at the weekend, she can sleep for 16 hours at a time, we were talking about the chickens and how they get you outdoors all year round and she may well be a convert :wink:

 

My dad collects the eggs for me during the day, and the girls put themselves to bed.

 

The !goyellow! & (cube purple) hold their value pretty well, so if you don't take to it you will get a lot of your money back.

Hubby thought that we wuold be selling the !goyellow! to pay towards the (cube purple) but after we had done everything I am keeping the !goyellow! for intros. (still might put it on wheels though).

 

Good Luck :)

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My OH works 8-5 every day and I work shifts which put me all over the place. Between us we manage just fine (that is I look after the chooks and ask him every now and then to bring them in when I'm on evenings!), they only take up the amount of time that you want them to, admittedly this is every spare moment you will have but in the same breath, this needn't be the case.

 

Just a thought for you though...

I've looked a couple of times at automatic doors for my coop, you can have them set to open at dawn and close at dusk, or at specific times. They can be pricey but they do look quite good for once your chooks have learnt to put themselves in at night!

 

Good luck when you get your chooks, you wont regret it!

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