Lynseynichol Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Hello!! Just a newbie wanting to say hi and ask for tips we currently have four gorgeous 1 week old chicks, I don't know if they are hens or cockerels but we hope to end up with 3 or 4 hens eventually. We have an eglu go and are planning to extend the run and keep them in there but allow them to free range each day, I'm a stay at home mammy so I'm thinking a few hours a day, which leads to my question-we haven't been in our home long and plan to redo the garden next summer, we have two small children so we want grass for them to play on and it's currently mainly paved. So if I'm letting them roam for a few hours each day do you think I should be able to keep on top of picking up poop or are we going to b knee deep in the stuff? Also at a rough estimate I'd say the grass patch might b 15ft by 20ftish, do you think given them access to it a couple of hours a day will have it bald?? I'm trying to figure out if its feasible to let them have access to the whole garden which is what I'd prefer, or if I'm going to have to section of a piece of grass for the children to play. Thanks in advance for any replays to my question or any general chicken keeping tips so exciting!!! Lynsey xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daxigirl Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Regretably chooks will poop and destroy plants for England . If you give them the whole area they'll trash the lot with no regard. Believe me you'll soon tire of picking up poo. Best bet is to give them a fenced in free range area if you can spare it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottyJ1 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Yep i'm afraid they poop a lot! I would fence off a FR area so you have a nice bit of poop free lawn for your kids to play on And wood chip for the run is good and stops it getting very muddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynseynichol Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 Aw bang goes me thinking we can mingle in harmony in one big space thank you for your replies!! X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken deficient Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Have you thought about getting bantams? Having had Pekins, Wyandotte bantams and a few large hybrids, I was shocked at the amount more poo per egg you get from a hybrid! Having said that, a Pekin is about 1/2 kg and my big hybrids were nearly 4kg each, which kind of explains it! Feathery footed bantams do much less damage to grass than hybrids. They lay less and the eggs are obviously smaller, but they are friendly with small children and very cute. My three year old can walk up to our Pekins and they stand there to be stroked. You would still notice the droppings in the grass, even with little bantams, (and dogs to hoover up the poop), so having a chicken free zone is a good idea if you don't want your children to roll in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynseynichol Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 I've already got chicks though, we haven't a clue what they are cos we bought the eggs at an honesty box where we knew they had a cockerel. We will have to see if they turn out to be hens or cockerels I suppose maybe if they're cockerels I'd consider bantams, though to be honest I'm totally fine with a fair amount of poop, I used to work at a dog n cat shelter n happily picked up poop all day! Can u mix hybrids with bantams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken deficient Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Sorry I didn't read you original post properly and didn't realise you had chicks. What a really exciting way of getting hatching eggs - not knowing exactly what is going to come out of them! I hope you keep us posted with photos. I've kept bantams with hybrids and had no problems, though they did look a bit odd together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Mine did have the run of the whole garden although eventually the veggie patch was sealed off during the growing season. Surprisingly, feathered feet still do plenty of damage - particularly Mini the Pekin! And silkies can dig for the Universe! Orpies wait for everyone else to turn up interesting things and then muscle in. Plants that some hens ignore in other people's gardens doesn't mean your own chooks have heard about it and will happily scoff something you thought was safe. For the surviving plant - if you are lucky then make that plural - orpies never bother going round the outside - they'll barge through the centre and everyone will trample on the remaining branches. We were always hosing down our patio and paths so we fenced a large part of that off plus the top borders - much to their disgust. They still have access to the greenhouse when it snows or rains just for an extra shelter and stop them getting bored. We will be getting a new patio and paths soon so they will be relegated to the bottom of the garden - I don't think they will be amused. I can foresee a long session of whining from the orpie coming up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynseynichol Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Sorry I haven't been back on for awhile so have just read the last two replies. Thanks for yr tips. How do I add an image? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottyJ1 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 There is a post on adding images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynseynichol Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 looks complicated, ill defo check it out when I get a min though x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
