Solitary chicken - need advice

[amyc]

Hello, thought I'd introduce myself. I've wanted chickens for years and am just about to take the plunge. Bought a second hand 'Eglu Go Up' this week and am rescuing three ex battery hens on the 16th. Done so much research I'm cross eyed.

However, am now starting to worry about noise. It's hardly ever mentioned on the various forums but by specifically searching for noise posts I've become a bit alarmed and worried about my neighbour's and my sleep patterns. Is it really bad?

Also there seems to be so much that can go wrong with chickens and it can happen really fast it seems. They aren't always ill are they? Hopefully I'm just freaking out because all I've done is read ill chicken threads to try and gen up on it all.

Lastly, just how fox resistant is the omlet run? I've not seen a fox in the year I've lived in my village and I'm up at all hours working shifts. Because of my job I'll have to leave the coop open at night I think so they have the run while I'm on very early and late shifts.

Thanks for any help and advice to settle my nerves!

 

P.S I've also got a tortoise....they wouldn't attack her would they?

[Princess Leia]

Others who know more will be along to answer most of those, but I can reassure you on the last comment. We have a tortoise and the hens take no notice whatsoever of him. Even though he can be quite quick when charged up (he's not called Enzo for nothing), I think they just look on him as a rock that moves occasionally. There's a separate thread on here relating to tortoises as well, if you're interested.

[Olly]

Welcome to the forum, and to the wonderful world of chickens. Firstly, noise - this really varies from hen to hen. If they are spooked by something they can kick up a real racket, but most of the time they're fairly quiet. If they get the idea that making a lot of noise can bring you rushing for treats then they may do it more often ... the noise sounds worse to a nervous new hen- keeper than it really is, and if you think about the noise that magpies, geese flying overhead, dogs barking etc can make it's not too bad.

 

Yes, hens can get ill and it's hard to treat them sometimes and ex-batts can have particular health problems. However do bear in mind that people post on here when they have problems- people whose hens are fit and healthy don't tend to talk about it. Reading posts on here could give you an unrepresentative idea of how often hens get sick.

 

Lots of useful advice in the FAQs and stickies, and don't hesitate to ask questions, you'll get lots of friendly advice.

[Luvachicken]

Welcome from me too

You will love having chickens.

Olly has said exactly what's been needed to say.

Make sure you put photos up when you have made 5 posts

[emmalou]

Welcome from me too. I am on day 6 of my new hens and they are wonderful. They are just starting to trust us a little and are creating such great characters. The only noise we get is just before and more so after they have laid an egg. It is quite funny to listen to them. We have no neighbours to annoy and those that are nearby have chickens too. We did ask our neighbour before getting them. He was even happy us having a cockerel although drew the line being a beginner. Seeing them progress is fantastic. I was worried about getting them in each night and yes it was a problem initially but getting easier. Enjoy all the eggs and their wonderful temprement.

[chooksRCute]

Welcome amyc

 

Just to add, the go-up & run are both pretty sturdy, & will stand up to even a persistent Fox. I'm tempted to say most successful Fox attacks are down to human error.......forgetting to lock the run door or freeranging unattended.

 

I leave my coop door open all the time on the go-up & the Cube & trust they are safe in their respective runs.

 

& just so you know once your hens are settled they're quite good at raising the alarm if a predator comes into the garden

 

Enjoy

[mullethunter]

Welcome along. Agree with all the bits everyone else has said

 

Noise - yes they'll almost certainly do what we call egg shouting for a minute or two after laying an egg, but other than that it totally depends on the individuals.

 

Illness - bear in mind that ex-batts have had a hard life so far, but on the other hand they've been bred to be healthy (as well as lay loads of eggs obviously). Also keep in mind that people post on here most often when their hens are poorly, not when they're well, so things appear MUCH worse than they actually are.

 

Eglu run security - I don't think (and I could be wrong) that I've heard of a fox getting hens who are correctly shut inside a correctly constructed and secured Omlet run.

 

Be excited not worried - they'll waste loads of time and you'll love them! Looking forward to the photos

[amyc]

Thank you, you lovely lot. My mind is a little less flustered now. I don't mind egg related noise but if it was all the time that would be a problem.

Thank you once again for your help....I'm am sue it won't be the last time I come a'knocking.

[kinsk]

Welcome to the wonderful world of hen keeping!

 

I first started out with ex bats, they are fantastic to have but don't expect too much from them to begin with, they have had a tough start to life! They are also the most rewarding.

 

Noise is certainly not an all day thing!! There might be a bit of egg calling but that depends on the hen and there might be a bit of bed time tussle noise. You can always appease neighbours with free eggs!!

 

Like anything they are a bit of a rollercoaster ride but they do become adicitve. You muddle through and there are loads of people on here to give advice.

 

Like others have said people only tend to post when they have a problem so problems seem more common. 1000's of my hens are fine today posts would get boring!!!

 

I've gone from stating out with 3 ex bats to 24 hens + 1 cockerel at the moment, then there are the others I've bred over the last 6 years.

 

Good luck and enjoy xxx

[kopperdrake]

You've got the answers!

 

Noise is nothing to worry about - I particularly like the low burbles you get when they're happy and snuffling around your feet for dropped treats

 

We started with ex-batts, like so many, and they were definitely the most rewarding - watching them pull through, their feathers growing back, getting the chance to just be chickens and wallow in a dust bath. It's such a great feeling to know you've given them a life they may never have experience - thumbs up to you.

 

Problems? Chickens are relatively short lived compared to other pets, and their lives do seem all to short often, but the things you're most likley to encounter, plenty of people here will have encountered already. You'll even surprise yourself as to how much you pick up on the way! And for the majority of the time, they're like any other pet - happy and healthy! I remember having the same panic when I was bought a book on keeping chickens, just before we got our four ex-batts. I made the mistake of opening the large section on 'disease and illness', and almost called the whole thing off - you must remember that if your chicken had anywhere near a handful of those problems, then it's a very unlucky chicken indeed.

 

And also remember, that a chicken's metabolism is so fast that they also heal very quickly too! I've seen injuries on a chicken that you think would kill it, and a month later it's as if nothing had happened!

 

Also from experience, the Omlet runs are *very* fox proof - we've had two attacks on the runs before we installed electric fencing (they free range out of sight of the house), and the fox could not figure out how to get in.

 

Have fun!