Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[hobbit]

Hi All,

 

Firstly I'm new to the forum so hello everyone. I've been wanting chickens for some time & my husband has offered to get me some for my birthday. I've done lots of research and decided if we go ahead I would like 3 chickens in an eglu classic/go and a walk in run. Do any of you have experience keeping chickens with young children? I have a 6 month old baby & a 2 year old.

 

I have 2 main queries which I'm hoping some of you might be able to offer some advice. Will I have enough time when I go back to work? I know you can't answer that for me but can I ask how much time do you all spend daily looking after your chickens? I will be only working 3 days per week, but in the winter it'll be dark when I go / return so for those 3 days will have a lot less time. Summer & days off will be easier. We're allowing 2 m2 per chicken for the walk in run, do you think the chickens will be happy during the day's I'm at work?

 

My second concern is I've read so many of you have seen foxes durng the day, my toddler is always out playing, although I never leave him unattended I have to admit there are times when I have to pop into the house (for varius reasons) and I leave him playing but I can still see him through patio doors. I'm worried about attracting foxes to the garden as he's always rummaging in bushes for snails or lost balls! I know this is probably very silly as loads of children are brought up on farms but still I'm a mum & I worry!

 

The way our garden is set up we have a raised area which I plan to fence off to allow the chickens to free range when I'm about which will keep the rest of the lawn poo free for the kids to play & our veg patch safe. Is there anything else I need to think about to keep chickens & children in 1 garden in harmony?

 

Thank you!

[dance in the dark]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

As for daily care, really very little. I change the water daily, give them new food, but as for cleaning and everything (and if you only have one eglu that can be fully done in about ten minutes, you will come to realize that just depends how often you want to do it. Emptying the droppings tray every few days is good, but it certainly doesn't need a full on clean more than once a week.

 

Chickens are great with children as long as you get the right breeds. Hybrids are normally placid and good natured, and respond well to handling, and are the best to go for if you want good egg productions. Similarly most heavy breeds, orpingtons, wyandottes, sussex and faverolles etc. are friendly and normally lay reasonably well (also unlike light breeds they tend to lay a few winter). However they may not be ideal for children, not because they need special treatment but because they are quite large.

 

Since you have very young children it might be a good idea to go for bantams. Silkies and pekins and very popular and are known for having sweet natures and come in all sorts of colour variants. They do go broody a lot though, so that may be something to consider if you rely on them for eggs.

 

Of course, all the heavy breeds can normally be found with no problems in bantam form, and, although they lay less well than their large fowl counterparts (normally) they still mostly have the same gentle nature.

 

I know it's all a lot to consider, but I hope this helps.

 

I would always just try to get as bit a walk in run as you can, and they you don't need to worry about free ranging the girls. If you get bantams they are supposedly less destructive to gardens, but chicken poo could become an issue if you let the girls have free reign.

 

I wouldn't want to say about fox/child/chicken senario just because I have no experience with it, but there are things you can do to deter foxes, none of which are remotely fool proof, but they can help.

 

tim

[Kit06]

Hello! Sounds like you're doing some good research before jumping in which is great! Hope I can answer some of your questions...

 

Kids and chickens...I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old and have had chickens since the eldest was 2. They seem to like them being around but because they've pretty much always been there, they are a bit 'everyday' to them so they don't get very excited (they do like getting the eggs tho, but that has resulted in a few losses!). Having said that, I recently got two Pekin bantams which are much smaller than the hybrids I used to have and the kids seem much fonder of them to stroke etc. I think to a 2 year old a full grown hybrid must appear pretty large!

 

Time-wise, there should be no problem, day to day care doesn't require a vast amount of time but small amounts regularly. I would say the chucks take up much less time than my guinea pigs or rabbits

 

About the garden, definitely separate where the chucks roam and where the kids play, as toddlers smeared in chicken poo is not a good look!

 

Foxes - I have never had any experience of foxes sniffing around my chickens (which is not to say they don't, I've just never seen them). TBH I've never given a thought to them approaching one of the kids I'd say most would be terrified by the amount of noise my children make!

 

Hope that helps!

[hobbit]

Thank you both for your replies. I hadn't considered bantams, but it was interesting you both suggested them I was a little worried about broodiness with them? But they do look cute! Decisions decisions!

[dance in the dark]

Well Pekins and Silkies are very well known for their broodiness, but none true bantams (ones which are a miniature version of large fowl) are no more prone to broodiness than others.

[kentuckyfried]

I have an 18 month old and a 28 month old and they love the chooks. We have ex-batts, which have been wonderfully placid with quirky little characters.

 

I have to admit that we don't fence off- they free range the entire garden and we keep on top of the mess. My 2 little ones love to be out chasing them around the garden.

[hobbit]

Thanks again for the replies. It's good to hear they wont take up too much time on days when I don't have much. Some day's it seems mission impossible leaving the house & I didn't want to add too greatly to that. But sounds like the chickens will give the whole family joy on our days at home. It's been nice to have the reassurance from you.

 

You've made me consider bantams so thank you for that, perhaps once we are all set up (I collect a second hand eglu in a week) we go and look at some chickens and see what we come home with! Very excited now!

[sadietoo]

Hi, I don't have small children, but I do work, alongside keeping my girls, and I have had problems with foxes so thought I would add my experiences...

 

Firstly I really wish we had kept chickens when the children were small. They are more fun and interact with you much much more than most small furry animals...( we had a house rabbit and guinea pigs who were lovely, but they never followed me around much or tried to sit on my lap or were so easily bribed with treats and they certainly didn't provide me with delicious eggs)

 

I wouldn't recommend White Chickens for small children..I know this is a bizarre generalisation but in my experience the white ones I have kept have been much more flighty...by far the most friendly girls I have ever had are warrens/ goldlines/iso the typical small brown hen..They will also be reliable layers and are very unlikely to go broody , against this they don't have the longest of life spans. The Bantams I had were a bit stroppy and had a tendency to broodiness I have to say..but on the plus side they'll take up less room! I now have some LF and rescued girls (warrens). Of my LF my Brahma is absolutely gorgeous, friendly and calm, but is a bit on the bulky side to be picked up by someone small...my orpie is a headcase...(white) I love her to bits , but she needs a lot of patience....

 

My next suggestion may have other forum members hopping up and down...If you don't want Chicken poo in your garden ( and I probably wouldn't with small children) and can't partition your garden, then provided your girls have a generous enough sized run, they don't need to free range..... ever ( my Vet keeps his chickens in a large walk in run but doesn't free range them because they have a fox problem -- he is adamant that it's a luxury ,not a necessity ,for chooks to free range as long as they have enough room in their run. and access to a mixed food stuff (he has a compost area in his run which is regularly topped up so that they can dig for beetles etc and dustbath..) I kind of agree, but personally we like to see them around the garden, but since several fox attacks we don't free range unsupervised any more. So in the winter months they maybe get half an hour to an hour over the weekend, but nothing during the working week. They don't care as long as they have food water and mealworms...they'd sell their granny for those...I provide mine with an old tyre dustbath filled with dirt and D E and they like that very much and dose themselves with lice powder at the same time which is a bonus!

 

I keep my girls on aubiose (horse bedding) in a covered run and I don't poo pick..( More horror I am sure from other members) I empty the poo trays (which I also line with aubiose) once a week. Aubiose is designed to absorb the volume of "output" a horse can produce so it easily copes with the output from my small flock and will cost you under a tenner for a huge bag and depending on the size of your run, it will last you a while..in my case about four months! In the winter I probably spend about 10 minutes a day on a working day changing/checking water, topping up food and collecting eggs and chatting to the girls...I like to spend another 10 minutes or so most days watching from the window in the morning if possible to make sure that there is no one looking poorly...if you only work three days a week this should be easy to monitor. Once every six weeks I clean out the run, replace the aubiose put down ground sanitiser etc...It takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Hot drinks and hand warmers are essential in the winter, and it's my least favourite part of chicken keeping at that time of the year!

 

With regard to Foxes...if you have chickens you will have foxes even if you've never noticed them... I didn't see if you were urban or rural. If rural the foxes will be scared and are not likely to come into the garden whilst you or your children are out...Urban Foxes will be less phased but I would have thought the Children playing may keep them at their distance...if not a hose pipe is usually enough to scare them off in our garden..!

 

Sorry seem to have rambled on somewhat...

 

If you decide to go ahead I hope you find it as rewarding as I have...It's been a rollercoaster at times but I just can't imagine life without some chickens now....x

[hobbit]

Thank you all for taking the time to write and your honest advice. I was reassuraed and all ready to go...

 

Unfortunatley though I really underestimated the cost of it all, I have found a second hand eglu but we thought we would be able to make a WIR for relatively cheaply, but doing the maths it makes it all too expensive for now... so I'm going to have to get saving. But I will take on all your advice and use it when we finally can get some (sob sob!).

[hobbit]

Well... we got a second hand a few weeks ago and picked up 3 ladies on Sunday. After much deliberation we went for hybrids, my son loves them already. We've got the just in the run (with 1m extension) at the moment. We've cornered a section of the garden off, to let them have some space and plan to build a walk in run in the new year to spread the cost out a bit.

 

Can I ask how you all managed to 'tame' your girls? They have had no human contact up til now and obviously are wary of us. I'm wondering what is the best approach is to make them friendly girls. shall I just wait and hope overtime they will gain confidence, or is a pro-active approace more suited? How do you all treat your new girls? I think it would be difficult to approach them in the run, as they hide at the back. I've heard just after they have gone to bed is a good time to open the coop but I'm usually very busy with the boys bed time then?

 

Very excited for the days when the girls friendly and we have delicious eggs from them!

[Looney]

Great to hear you got chickens! My two children (age 4 and 20 months) love ours - although one of our chickens likes to chase the eldest!

 

Chickens are cupboard lovers! As soon as they learn that you are the provider of the treats (corn, veg etc) they'll be your friend forever!

[Chicken Licken]

They will start to associate you with treats, and they are usually greedy and inquisitive. Also as they come into lay they will begin to squat submissively, this gives you the chance to pick them up and get them used to being handled. Good luck wiht your girls.

[BadGardener]

Once they come into lay they should (I say 'should' because not all do) start crouching down when you approach them and then it's very easy to pick them up.

When they get used to you being the source of treats they come running when you appear, but you have to be a bit careful with small children at that stage because kids can get very easily freaked out by the chickens being overenthusiastic!

[zakjon-98]

They will soon get to know you after being fed treats. Glad you are enjoying them

[hobbit]

Funny you all say they will like us for food! Easily bribed!

 

Sounds like I have a few weeks of being patient, will they be ok until then? I feel like I should be checking them over? I haven't used mite powder or wormed them yet... on my to do list this week now they are settling in.

[BadGardener]

You will need to do health checks soonish - new birds can easily bring in minor infestations of lice and things which you would want to catch before they become serious.

 

It is annoying when the best time to do it is just after they've roosted but that coincides with kids' bedtime!

[CheekyPekins]

Glad you're enjoying your hens - I've got a 5 year old and a 3 year old and they both love my hens - we have 2 Pekins (one of which lets my youngest carry her around the garden) and a bantam Orpington. They love food - we made sure we fed them a tiny bit of corn every evening when we first got them and they soon graduated to eating from our hands to being stroked and then being picked up... It takes a bit of time, but they'll get used to you! Just to reassure you, I've got a hubby, 2 boys, 3 hens and 2 cats to look after, alongside a full-time job - and the hens are the least demanding of the lot! (even if they do stage the odd kitchen invasion if I leave the back door open when they're free ranging..)

[hobbit]

Thanks- badgardner- I will try to get out check them tonight, once they are calm after roosting.

 

The reassurance is nice cheekypekins. I will keep you all posted as to how we all get on.

 

Thank you all for your replies, it's so nice to have such friendly advice from people, makes you feel like part of a community even though I've never met any of you!

[LottyJ1]

Meal worms to bribe them! All my chooks haven't been able to resist them!

 

They also calm down a bit once they start laying. Good luck

[groovydad]

I work full time but between the wife and I we find that there's always somebody to let them out first thing and make sure they're tucked in at dusk. Other than that, keep them well fed and watered and they should be ok. You'll have to spend your day off cleaning though . Spot cleans only take a minute and can be worked into your day.

 

My kids were 1 and 3 when i first got chickens and they loved it. The youngest kid (now 3) is the boss and walks around the garden with a chicken tucked under each of his little arms. The chickens seem very content with this. Personally I think it's good for kids to know were eggs come from etc and they are always happy to go collect the eggs. They love to tell their classmates about their chickens and so the best behaved hens have taken many a trip with me to pre-school and big school for 'show and tell' (the teachers love it too).

 

The kids are also very good about washing their hands after being with the chickens so i'd not be worried about that either. Just impress it on them from the very begining.

 

Go or it. I'd just say to be prepared for this to spin out into other 'ventures'. As most on here will tell you, 'More hens disease' is a real problem and this year the kids and I really enjoyed hatching and raising our own chicks

 

Good luck

 

Adam

[UKMARCH]

Hi, food is definitely the way to go left over spaghetti usually works well too its amazing how we never grow out of feeding the ducks or other animals. The only thing to watch out for is any sharp beaks with the children as some of mine seem to peck really hard and it's only my OH who will hand feed them although that one is a pure breed so hasn't had her beak trimmed. My two love the hens and it's good for them to learn about the circle of life, my youngest queued up at the end of her music group this weekend to tell her teacher that one of ours had died when we went out that morning, she was fine with it but he didn't quite know what to say!

[Purplemaniacs]

Someone on here suggested feeding treats from a dish rather than the hand if there were young children in the houseshold to reduce the chance of little ones being pecked by chooks who thought little hands were treats

 

I use a dish and they recognise the dish and get very excited even if it is empty

 

Enjoy your girls.

 

Chrissie

[LottyJ1]

I use a dish and they recognise the dish and get very excited even if it is empty

 

mine do that too - they even look in through the patio doors and if we have a plate with our food on in the house they get excited!

 

Bless them!

[Sammiboo]

Congrats on your new family members

 

My girls started to become more tame once they came in to lay and started crouching. They all come running over when called and all bar one who is a bit flighty can be handled.

It will come in time, my girls just see me and associate me with food, which has its down sides when they get under your feet and they harrass you LOL!

[hobbit]

Thanks again for all the messages. Girls are really settling in and are already much calmer now they can get out of the run for a few hours each day. We've been pickied them up a few times & they are already getting used to us. One has showed the first signs that eggs might be soon, she's been crouching as we approach

 

My 2 year old has been great too, we've adopted the reeding treats in a bowl, ge loves that job!

 

I'm already addicted!