Solitary chicken - need advice

[Vnam72]

Hi all,

 

I'm on the cusp of buying my first eglu go and venturing into the world of looking after chickens. I've done some research and am nearly there, but I still have some very specific questions which I can't seem to find definitive answers to, so hoped that you could help?

 

I live in a town with a decent-ish sized garden (10m wide, 20m long). I'm looking to take in 3 ex-battery chickens.

 

1. Noise - I assumed that there would be a bit of bokking but didn't think it would be too much of a problem as the noise issue doesn't appear on any of the chicken sites. But I stumbled upon a thread in this forum which indicated they could be _really_ loud and from 5am. Is this actually likely; how much noise could 3 ex-batts make?

 

2. The Eglus are promoted on nice pictures of nicely mowed lawn but everywhere I have read indicates that keeping them on lawn will result in destroyed lawn in a matter of days. Indeed, most of the pics from real life show chicken runs on either mud or chippings. So, bearing in mind I only want an eglu for 3 ex-batts (which they'll be in for 6 days of the week), is it futile to assume I can move it round every week to save the lawn? Or will I actually end up with no lawn and holes in the ground? If the latter, is it best to just leave the run in one place and allow the chickens to basically destroy it, i.e. live on soil/mud?

 

3. Following on from (2) how do you clean the soil/mud and how often should you do it? Everyone seems to talk about raking it over but isn't this just mixing in poo into the soil which will never go?

 

4. Are wood chippings a better alternative if you're just going to leave the run in one place? If so, is it ok to rake these over every week and replace the chippings every month?

 

5. Do the chicks need a dust bath (litter tray etc) in the run? Or will the soil/chippings suffice?

 

6. Finally - the lowest wall in my garden is 5ft. If I let the chickens out can they fly over it? The omlet netting that they sell on here only appears to be 1.25m high anyway, if they can get over that then what's the point? Easiest solution I suppose would be to get their wings clipped; guess I'll have to ask the charity if they can do this before I collect them.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!!

[Luvachicken]

Hello and welcome Vnam72

 

You are so going to love having chickens and it is very addictive.

 

I can answer some of your questions ....

 

With regards noise they can be up at 5am yelling their heads off but usually because something has frightened them.

Mine only did this twice last Summer and each time it was because they got scared of something.

I always check to make sure they are ok but never give them treats at this time because they will then learn if they make a noise they get treats.

 

I would keep the eglu in one place.

You can poo pick regularly and sprinkle StalosanF or similar on the ground every week.

They will be fine on the dirt if you do this - mine are on dirt.

 

I'm afraid I can't comment on wood chippings as I've never had them.

 

The chickens don't need a separate dust bath if they have soil to dig in but you can still give them a separate

container if you want to.

 

Mine don't come out at all so don't have their wings clipped.

I don't know how well ex batts can fly but you only clip one wing anyway to make them lopsided.

 

I hope I've helped.

Let us know when you get set up

[Lydia]

Hello and welcome.

 

1. Noise

While it's true that chicken can start clucking early, in my experiencce, the noise issues arise from the pure breeds and 'posh' hybrids, rather than the ex-commercial hens. I've rehomed well over 60 ex-commercial ladies in 10 years and any noise issues are minimal from them. It does depend on individual hens, though, and you may be unlucky and get a gobby one!

 

2. The Eglus are promoted on nice pictures of nicely mowed lawn ........ is it futile to assume I can move it round every week to save the lawn?

The Omlet photos are misleading, in my opinion. In the summer months moving the eglu around an average sized lawn is just about OK, but come the winter and you will have mud and no grass. The hens will scratch around the grass as that's their natural behaviour, and the grass will not recover during the colder times. They may also dig holes to make a dustbath (even if you provide one).

 

Your best bet is to permanently site your eglu. When I had an eglu I used Aubiose (available from horse shops) as flooring and installed kick boards around the run. Omlet sell plastic kick boards but we made our own out of wood. You will need to keep it covered, though, to keep the Aubiose dry - a clear shower curtain or clear tarp is good for this.

 

Wood chip can also be used, although I have less experience of that.

 

If you just leave your hens to scratch in mud, you may find that they have foot problems and damp, and the area may well smell rather bad!

 

3. Following on from (2) how do you clean the soil/mud and how often should you do it? Everyone seems to talk about raking it over but isn't this just mixing in poo into the soil which will never go?

If you use Aubiose the poo 'soaks' into it after a fashion. Someone people poo pick every day but, to be honest, we only did it when we remembered or more in the summer. When I used an eglu we used to rake out the Aubiose and change it completely about every month or so, weather dependant.

 

4. Are wood chippings a better alternative if you're just going to leave the run in one place? If so, is it ok to rake these over every week and replace the chippings every month?

Probably, yes.

 

5. Do the chicks need a dust bath (litter tray etc) in the run? Or will the soil/chippings suffice?

If there is space then it is good to provide it but you may find that the ex-commercial hens don't know what it is for and ignore it. To be honest, most of mine just dustbath in the Aubiose in the run, despite having a wheelbarrow of soil in the run.

 

6. Finally - the lowest wall in my garden is 5ft. If I let the chickens out can they fly over it?

That should be OK. In my experience most ex-commercial girls don't fly far and not high, although it does depend if the girls are ex-caged or ex-barn.

 

The final thing I would say is that run space is really important. You say that you intend to get 3 hens so that means you'll need at least 3 square metres of run space and more if you can. The standard eglu run is only 2 metres.

 

Well done for considering ex-commercial girls, you don't say where you are but I'm the regional co-ordinator for Berks BHWT rehoming so perhaps we'll see you later on to collect some girls.

[Vnam72]

Thanks for both responses, most useful and eased my concerns.

 

Lydia - yes I always intended to buy the 3m run. I've registered with BHWT and my closest pick-up point is Bristol as I live in Weston-s-Mare.

 

By the way, what's a kick board?! I googled it and nothing comes up, couldn't see anything in omlet's shop either!

[Ursula123]

Welcome to the forum.

 

A kick board is just a piece of wood that you put around the bottom of the run on the outside, just stops woodchip or whatever you use in the run being kicked out. On omlet site it is link -a- bord. Bit like a skirting board.

 

Just to add my girls are only noisy early if they see a cat or maybe a pigeon startles them.

My run is on woodchip and they have an omlet fenced area again with woodchip as the grass disappeared long ago. I try to rake over daily and never have aproblem with smell.

 

I don't provide a separate dust bath as they just tend to dig a hole, it is quite amusing to watch them.

 

All mine have their wings clipped which is something you can easily do, and doesn't hurt them. you only need to do one side just to unbalance them, but I am sure if you ask when you collect them they will do it for you.

 

Don't expect to get a lot done in the first few days as much of your time will be taken up watching them, you can lose hours.

 

Enjoy your new girls.