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chickflick

how messy are chickens?

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I am would love to join you chicken people but i am a bit concerned about coping with chicken poo on the lawn and having 2 small children running about and treading in it etc.

Now for some strange questions:

How much do chickens poo? How often????Am i right in remembering that it is not like rabbit poo(ie hard)?

Does anyone have any experience of dealing with chickens and small children in the same garden?

I am considering putting the eglu in one place over bark chippings as suggested on this web site.How does that work out in practice?Anyone do that?(But i would also like to let them free range at times.)

My other concern is my plants.Am i right in thinking that a couple of chickens won't be like a couple of rabbits and eating everything in sight?

thanks in advance for your chicken wisdom

fran

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You have come to the right place if you want to talk chicken poo :lol::lol: . Everyone's obsessed with the stuff (not me, of course, I've got more important things on my mind .... what will I give them for tea, will they be warm enough tonight, have they got enough to play with in their run, etc, etc :lol: ).

 

Chickens poo A LOT. EVERYWHERE. No getting away from it. Some will be firm, brown and white. Some will be squittery brown splats. Others will be mustard coloured and foamy. Some will be HUGE so you will see them and can avoid them, some will be small and will sneak onto the soles of your shoes and you won't notice till you've put your feet up on the pouffe (sp?!)

 

I have mine on a permanent run with soil and hemcore - the poo magically disappears and it doesn't smell at all if you feed them garlic powder. So the poo is only an issue when they freerange.

 

Having said that, it wouldn't stop anyone on here from keeping chickens. They are great fun and are brilliant pets, especially for small children (I would imagine, mine are teenagers).

 

You could fence a part of the garden off with Omlet netting then at least the children's play area won't get pooey.

 

I'm sure everyone will insist that you get chickens, you can easily live with the poo and it makes great compost :lol: .

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Owning both rabbits and chickens I would say that rabbits make less mess - they always go in the same place, they destroy less of the garden, they are more cuddly. But which are the best pet - chickens.

Everything they do makes you laugh, they have their own massive personalities, and nothing beats your children running out to collect an egg from "their" chicken to eat for lunch on a Saturday.

 

Go for chickens definitely. :D

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you know those 'clearout poos' that were discussed on the clinic thread- do they smell a bit burnt? I'm trying to decide if i can smell a clearout poo or if one of the neighbours is burning something smelly/toxic- I don't think it's the chicken poo but i can't (and don't want to) bend down to inspect it closer!

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some will be small and will sneak onto the soles of your shoes and you won't notice till you've put your feet up on the pouffe (sp?!)

 

.

 

or worse, the back of hand and as you sit, chin in hand, watching the chooks from the conservatory you'll wonder to yourself "how come I can still smell the chickens?" or is that just me? :oops:

 

I'm not a dirty mare like Vicki, I take my shoes off and put my slippers on when I come in from outside ;)

 

(just joking Vicki ;) )

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thanks-where do you get hemcore from? Is it expensive? How long does it last?How often do you have to change it?

thanks again

fran

 

Hemcore (or Aubiose which is virtually the same stuff) you can get from horsey shops and costs about £7.50 a bale which will last for ages. I change mine every 4-6 weeks and one bale is more than enough for my run which is 2m x 4m.

 

It's brilliant stuff :lol:

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Hi Chickflick, I've had my chickens for a month now and I can honestly say that I don't regret having them at all. Over the years when my children were growing up we have had all sorts of pets, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, gineau pigs but I think that chickens are the most interesting and enjoyable pets out of them all. They are so funny and affectionate. I have never had a rabbit run to meet me when I go into the garden. When they are free ranging, the chickens run from all corners of the garden to greet me as soon as I appear. If I am out in the garden they follow me around like little puppy dogs. Even my husband is totally captivated by them.

 

One of my girlies is now laying a lovely egg every day and I am sure that the other two will soon be presenting us with more.

 

I haven't found the poo to be a problem. I use hemcore in the run and it really is true that the poos seem to disappear.

 

Also I must add that my four year old grandaughter loves them.

 

Hope this helps with your decision.

 

Brenda

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p.s. chickens are ace but they do poo a lot, maybe you could have them in an enclosed run if you don't want them pooing in the garden? All pets poo but with chickens you get eggs in return and you can compost their poo along with the hemcore/aubiose.

 

As with ANY pet, think long and hard and weigh up the pros and cons, everyone here is bound to say how fabulous having chickens is and it is but they do require some maintenance and are harder work than we thought they would be, DH has to scoop the poop daily as there's a lot of it in the coop and he has to brush up spilt food and aubiose that they chuck everywhere on the patio and clean up their poos from the patio...but we don't regret a minute of it though! I put all the food away at night in the shed and close the coop door and lock up the run to prevent anything or anyone getting in...

 

**edit** and DH gets up in the morning to let them out and put fresh food and water out then he does the brushing up and the poop clearing.

 

If you want an easy pet, buy a goldfish or a hamster :)

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As with ANY pet, think long and hard and weigh up the pros and cons, everyone here is bound to say how fabulous having chickens is and it is but they do require some maintenance and are harder work than we thought they would be

 

I've got to agree with this. I've now added letting out and feeding chooks to my never ending list of things-to-do-before-the-school-run and then at the moment the closing up comes at right about the kids' melt down time just while I'm trying to cook dinner. There's also the countless times I pop up to the run to do odd jobs like empty the poo tray, check to eggs, give them treats. I also have to think of when is going to be the best time to let them out to stretch their legs and when they're out I don't like to be too far away so I can peep at them and check they're still all there!

 

I have two boys aged 5 1/2 and nearly 4 and despite their initial interest, the hens aren't really a pet to them! I will also have to make them wear shoes in the garden in the summer because of the poop issue.

 

That said, I've had my hens 4 weeks and am really enjoying them but they are just another thing for this full time mum to add to the chores list!

 

Jo

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Sorry, to get back to the original question - you also have to have a plan in place if you go away. Do you have friends/family who would come round every day to feed and water them? Or someone you could take the eglu & run round to?

 

I agree, they are great fun (and mine aren't even laying but I still enjoy having them) but it does add a number of chores (some small, some not so small) to your day and your week.

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I have hens and children aged between 4 and 9yrs. Hens are fab pets and so interesting. Like you I had concerns about poo all over the garden and children running about in it. They do poo and lots of it. I netted off an area of lawn with Omlet netting and poo picked every day. This kept them out of the children's play area and after a week or two I would move them onto a new patch and leave the grass to recover.

 

Now it's winter I have put them in a permanent run with wood chips. The poo seems to disappear and the children go into see them in wellies. I do add garlic to their food to stop them smelling. Go ahead and get hens, you won't regret it and if you do then there will always be someone on the forum to take them off your hands. :D

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I have an eleven year old and he loves his chickens. Every Saturday morning, he cleans out the eglu and I do the cube. We have a good old chat, listen to some music and sing a few songs. Poor neighbours.

 

The chickens do poo everywhere or at least they used to before they were put under house arrest due to bird flu.

 

They also broke into the fruit cage and scoffed half the veggies for Christmas.

 

We wouldn't swap them though ... best pets we have ever had.

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