Chicken bald back

[Beckschickens]

Hello

 

I am thinking about buying two chickens next week but wanted to ask some questions first....

 

Firstly

 

Is my garden ok for 2 chickens?

 

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/rebeccabailey_photos/Facebook/Garden/258_31870510816_1600_n.jpg

 

I hope the link works... The plants now have about 4 years growth on them. I intend for the chickens to be free range.

 

I have a green frog duck house, can I use this?

 

Do they smell? people keep telling me they smell??

 

What are the best breeds for laying and pets for first timers / children?

 

Do they poo a lot?? and is there poo safe? Im not about to let my children play with it, but you get what I mean lol.

 

TIA.

 

Becks

Edited June 22, 2013 by Guest

[Olly]

Firstly, welcome to the forum! It's hard to get an idea of the size of your garden, so I'm not sure I can answer the first question.

 

I'm not familiar with green frog but as long as it's predator proof, dry and has somewhere for them to lay eggs it should be ok; does it have roosting bars?

 

Free ranging is lovely fun for hens and owners, but personally I only allow it if I'm there to supervise - the risk of a fox getting them is high, I'd suggest that you have a secure enclosure as well as the coop.

 

Yes, hens poo a lot! That's another reason in my view not to let them free range all the time, they poo anywhere and if you have children then they're likely to step in it. It's poo - I'd institute a strict hand-washing regime, like any excrement it contains bacteria, I'm not sure that any sort of animal waste product is 'safe'. Hens don't smell, but the coop and run will if you let muck build up. If you clean your hens out regularly there shouldn't be a problem, you'll get lots of lovely garden compost.

 

Most hybrid hens are suitable for beginners, and if you feed them from your hand and get them used to being handled (pick them up at night at first, when they are sleepy) they will be very friendly.

[gavclojak]

Good morning

I am new too and got my 5 ex batts 3 weeks ago, so he goes.

I can't see where you would keep them in your garden, maybe you have an area you would dedicate to them and the idea of them free ranging is great but e worry of foxes may mean that this isn't possible unless you are out there with them all day. They will dig Jo the dirt you have down and peck at the plants.

Apparently hybrids are the best for calm egg laying birds

Apparently it is not a good idea to get just 2, maybe 3-4 as they are flock animals and if you loose one the other will be one unhappy chook.

Do they poo a lot??? Oh yea....they do poo seemingly constantly, I go in once/twice a day armed with baby wipes and rubber gloves and do a pick up.

Do they smell....well I have 5 and they don't smell so far, I do a tray clean daily and a massive wash/disinfect weekly and my dogs has eaten the poo, I know rank....and he is ok but couldn't say re the children but as long as basic hygiene is used I don't see any reason why they would be.

It all sounds rather negative, it really isn't, they are the most interesting ladies ever, so relaxing just to watch them potter and it had been so rewarding watching them grow in confidence over the last three weeks going from pale trembling wrecks into majestic proud girlies.

What I found was a god send as I had never really even been in contact with chickens until I decided to get them was to book myself on to a chicken keeping course, it really does give you an insight into what is involved. So maybe check out the omlet courses in your area.

I hope this helps

And good luck

Xx

[Beckschickens]

Hi

 

The garden is about 20ft by 12ft.

 

I have a duck house right at the bottom of the garden near the small deck, all the decking is raised, so they can wonder around under it.

 

I had ducks in the garden which is why i have a duck house. it has no roosts, but im sure i could adapt it.

 

Is there a massive difference in keeping chickens to ducks?

 

I am hoping the chickens will learn to stay off the decking it worked with the ducks....

 

do chickens need their wings clipping?

[sjp]

Hi

 

The garden is about 20ft by 12ft.

 

I have a duck house right at the bottom of the garden near the small deck, all the decking is raised, so they can wonder around under it.

 

I had ducks in the garden which is why i have a duck house. it has no roosts, but im sure i could adapt it.

 

Is there a massive difference in keeping chickens to ducks?

 

I am hoping the chickens will learn to stay off the decking it worked with the ducks.... chickens go were they want not were you want them to go unless the area is fenced off

do chickens need their wings clipping? not always most hybrids are to lazy to fly white stars and the blue egg layers are the most likely to try but that's not a given they can all jump up quite a way especially if there's a nice food source at the end of the jump

there are more pro's than con's to keeping chickens through and if you've kept ducks your half way there

[Beckschickens]

Is there a cheap way to make a run? with netting? Not very good with making things...... lol

 

What are the pros to chickens?

 

Can they jump a regular garden fence?

 

Sorry for all the questions, I just wanna get it right

[PoachedPlease]

About flying.my hybrids aren't clipped and they FR in a small area with omelette fencing. But they can't be bothered to fly out, which is weird because they are able to fly if they are scared. I have seen them flap over the fence to escape a scary red towel! So I would leave their feathers intact so they can escape Mr Fox if necessary.

 

Mind you a friend of mine has a maran that roosts up in the tree all day and night. She even woke up in the morning in january, with snow on her feathers!

 

Xx

[Egluntyne]

I am hoping the chickens will learn to stay off the decking it worked with the ducks....

No chance I'm afraid unless you fence it off.

[Egghead68]

Chickens will not stay off anything. The more out of bounds something is, the more tempting, it seems.

[Beckschickens]

So I have spent the day thinking about fencing off an area around the decking.

 

I'm still undecided about chickens, mainly I'm worried about them smelling? Are 2 chickens going to smell so bad?

[Olly]

Chickens don't smell but if you allow their housing or run to get dirty it can smell - regular cleaning will prevent this. How smelly were the ducks?

[merlina]

The only time I've noticed any smell at all from my hens is on a hot day when I've slacked on cleaning the house.

 

The birds themselves don't smell at all, but poo is poo and will smell if you leave it around

 

How much hens fly seems to depend on the individuals. My last group seemed to love to fly and saw the garden boundaries as, well, something that just wasn't an issue. This lot show no interest in leaving the garden (touch wood), but they do have a large space

 

You can buy runs to add to the house, certainly to start with, you'll want to keep them confined to a definite space