Chicken bald back

[topbird]

Hi there, we've got our eglu and three chooks coming tomorrow and are all getting very excited about them now. But we do seem to be going around in circles about where to put them. we could put them on concrete with lots of bark chippings near the house (we've got french windows and so would be able to see them much better, and of course it would save the grass) but that's also near the neighbour's house and we are worried about the noise and possibly smell. So, the other option is down the garden on the grass but this is further away from us all. Would really appreacite any suggestions/experiences?

[Helen&Lee]

Why don't you put them on the concrete to start with and see how it goes, you can always move them down the garden if the noise or smell becomes a problem....

Helen

[arowland17]

I agree, we moved ours about 3 times and now have settled having the eglu on a concrete base (left from an old shed we ripped out!) and hemcore on what was once the grass as we would of had to move ours daily to have any chance of saving our grass and they seemed to destroy it even after a day!

we much prefer them on the permanent site but they are slightly hidden from us by a small hedge and I do wish we could have put them the other side, althoguh then they wouldn't be on the concrete base - it is nice to be able to see them through the window, and ours barely smell, I don't think neighbours would be able to smell them, we do put garlic powder in their water though so I expect that keeps the smell down a bit

[rachel19]

Ours are at the bottom of our garden - they do make a bit of a racket if they are gonna lay an egg and this is sometimes early in the morning so this is the best place for ours. My mum hears them in the morning sometimes through double glazed windows and they are at the bottom of our 100ft garden Still, it's not as loud as the seagulls or most of the other wildbirds in the garden.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

We've only had our eglu and 3 hens for a week but so far we're very happy with the position:

 

I've put them very close to the house (v. small garden - no choice!) on an old flowerbed that has a small path up the side. We can see them very easily from the house and also don't have to cross grass/earth to get to the eglu or run door (so we can wear slippers & don't have to put shoes/wellies on!)

 

You can smell them if you get up close and personal but it's certainly not a problem (may up the garlic dose!) - we've laid hemcore which I'm happy with so far. The girls only make really quiet gentle clucking noises so far (they aren't laying yet though so that may change) so noise is not an issue.

 

I've added a picture (last in the album) of our eglu pre-chickens to let you see what I mean. (The house is right where the photo stops at the bottom so is very close.)

[Egluntyne]

Mine are nearly at the bottom of the garden, on paving slabs.

[Olly]

I've got mine about 60' away, but I've decided that for the winter I'm going to sacrifice the lawn, which isn't very good anyway, and move them about 25' away. It will be easier to go out to them in the morning, and I'll be able to see them from inside the house; I also figured that the neighbours won't be out in their garden, so if there is any smell/noise they won't notice it.

 

In the spring, I'm going to move them back up the garden and at that point I'll either get a Cube or a permanent run (my three new adoptee chickens are coming in a couple of weeks, so I'll have five then.) Hopefully I will be able to rake over the area where the Eglus have been, re-seed it, and according to what others on here have said, the grass will grow like crazy!

[Charlottechicken]

Hi topbird!

 

To be honest I would not put them near the house if you have close neighbours, unless you have no choice. If we have a hot summer you don't want the smell wafting into their house, or the sound of chickens either! You don't want them phoning the council and complaining about them

 

I have mine halfway down my 100ft garden, as there is a little row of cottages behind my house, and they only have a yard between them and me, so the chooks are equidistant from any property, including my own.

 

Don't put the Eglu in full sun either

[skye]

Hiya,

 

When our chooks first arrived we had them close to the house so we could keep an eye on them and check they were ok easily, then over the past month once we were sure they'd settled in we moved them to their permanent home at the bottom of the garden, which is much shadier and more peaceful.

 

Only thing we need to add now is a large permanent run instead of their Eglu one to keep them occupied

 

Skye

[chelsea]

I would put them at the bottom of the garden.

 

Having them close is nice for being able to watch them point of view. but for practicality I would put them down the bottom. Then if they are noisy you wont be up at 5am in the summer trying to hush them up!!!

 

Also in the winter when it tends to get wet and mucky - all your mess will be down the bottom of the garden - out of view.

[topbird]

Thanks, lots to think about. have realised that if I put them down garden I can put one side of their run against a little wall which might be a bit safer re foxes, but the garlic suggestions are definintely worth following up on. Can't believe how nervous i've suddenly got, it's like having a new baby in the family!

[Olly]

The other thing is, that if you have them close to the house then every time you go out of the back door they will be clamouring for attention!

 

I can conveniently 'ignore' mine if I don't want to let them out at that moment or if I'm too busy or something!

[Hen Watch]

Olly makes a good point. My girls can hear me press down on the door handle and (when they are free ranging) are over to the back door before it's even opened....so that's a good reason to put them at the end of your garden.

 

Eglus are easy to move around and so you may want to try out a few places. I move mine along a bit every few days (to give the grass a rest). My girls are actually near my house because my neighbours at the bottom of my garden are closer than those either side. So I think it is best I hear them rather than them.

[sal]

I've started with mine near the house so I can see them - this is as much for my well-being as theirs! I could hear them this morning all of a sudden but realised it was because a cat had crept up to the hedge. Apart from that, I haven't heard them, and the smell isn't noticeable until you're up close. Eventually they'll move down to the bottom half of the garden - I have a long narrow terraced-house style garden - then they'll be away from neighbours.

[Couperman]

Our Cube is right next to our house on slabs. We decided against putting it at the end of the garden as our boundary is very close to the bungalow that backs onto us and we thought that the noise might drive the neigbours nuts. Also I didn't like the idea of legging it down the far end of the garden through mud, wind rain and tempest to collect eggs in the winter ( or summer for that matter!)

 

If they start to pong a bit we know before the neighbours do and can do something about it before it gets too bad.

 

Kev.