Allotment & chickens
Discussion
Our Allotment association is setting up a chicken club , we are looking to get 10 to start with , It all sounds pretty good with 7 or 8 of us getting involved , the penn & hutch have all been built & hopefully fully fox proof, I have no idea what is involved with keeping chickens, Is there anybody who keeps or is involved with chickens that can maybe shed some light into what it all entails ,How hard can keeping 10 chickens be ?
Matt172 & Miss Diane!!The most expensive eggs you can get outside of Harrods! 
As my brother has found this lark is basically having hens as pets which fertilise your garden and keep the grass short; don't do it if you're after cheap eggs! They do taste good though, especially the blue ones for some reason.
As my brother has found this lark is basically having hens as pets which fertilise your garden and keep the grass short; don't do it if you're after cheap eggs! They do taste good though, especially the blue ones for some reason.I have two chickens and they are great, although their house and run is in the garden they do come in the house and have been known too "watch" TV with me and the dog.
I find them very easy to keep, clean the hutch out once a week, have a spray round with disinfectant replace sawdust and straw. Clean water daily and top up food and a handful of corn every so often as a treat.
The eggs are lovely, I didn't really notice how much nicer they were when I changed from Waitrose organic eggs to the fresh ones but when they stopped laying for a short whle last winter and I had to buy eggs then I really noticed the difference.
Enjoy your ladies they are great fun
I find them very easy to keep, clean the hutch out once a week, have a spray round with disinfectant replace sawdust and straw. Clean water daily and top up food and a handful of corn every so often as a treat.
The eggs are lovely, I didn't really notice how much nicer they were when I changed from Waitrose organic eggs to the fresh ones but when they stopped laying for a short whle last winter and I had to buy eggs then I really noticed the difference.
Enjoy your ladies they are great fun
We have had chooks for around 5 years and cost wise they cost us nothing. I don't know how the other poster's brother treated his but no all expenses paid trips to Chamneys for ours.
Our 7 chickens live in a house built out of scrap wood and doors and are fed on corn meal or layers mash from The local Mole Valley farm store (and grass clipping and garden refuse). We get 5-6 eggs a day from the latest batch. Any excess eggs are either sold at work or the local firestation take them for £1 for 6. the excess alone pays for the bought in grain.
The point at which chickens 'cost' is when they stop laying and become only pets. Then they are no longer cost effective. Ours remain viable for 2 years.
One point of note. If a chicken looks sick it is SICK! They have a natural ability to avoid looking ill. Once noticably ill the rest of the flock will turn on them to reduce them to the bottom of the groups heirachy. At that point segregate and monitor or dispatch....or get your card out and have the vets rub his hands and laugh behind your back
Our 7 chickens live in a house built out of scrap wood and doors and are fed on corn meal or layers mash from The local Mole Valley farm store (and grass clipping and garden refuse). We get 5-6 eggs a day from the latest batch. Any excess eggs are either sold at work or the local firestation take them for £1 for 6. the excess alone pays for the bought in grain.
The point at which chickens 'cost' is when they stop laying and become only pets. Then they are no longer cost effective. Ours remain viable for 2 years.
One point of note. If a chicken looks sick it is SICK! They have a natural ability to avoid looking ill. Once noticably ill the rest of the flock will turn on them to reduce them to the bottom of the groups heirachy. At that point segregate and monitor or dispatch....or get your card out and have the vets rub his hands and laugh behind your back
Marlin45 said:
We have had chooks for around 5 years and cost wise they cost us nothing. I don't know how the other poster's brother treated his but no all expenses paid trips to Chamneys for ours.
Yup. Kept 3 for about 2 years now, sister has kept 6 or so for about 3 years. Our coop was a freebie from a friend, run was bodged together from all sorts of spare poles, wire etc.Few quid to buy a feeder, water holders can be made/modified from almost anything vaguely suitable really.
We were getting 3 eggs a day, almost without fail, for the first year or so. 20 odd eggs a week is worth about £3.50 to £4 and they are genuinely very nice eggs and better than anything I've had from supermarkets.
We use straw in the nest boxes, bit of shavings in the coop/sleeping bit and not a lot else. Feed them layers pellets, corn and almost anything suitable we have left-over from the kitchen. Buy pelletys, straw, shavings etc in bulk and it lasts forever.
Costs far less than £3.50 a week to keep and they make surprisingly entertaining pets so you get enjoyment from that anyway.
We don't exactely make money from them but they certainly don't cost much to keep, at least when they're still laying
They need checking for water everyday, they need to be let out and put away everyday (even if you get an automatic door) but really only take a minute or two to sort each day and then a good clean out once a week or so. Poo etc makes great fertiliser.
Do make sure the chucks are treated for mites and spray every surface/crevice of the hen house (inside and out) with a product called ardap http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Ardap_250....
this will kill any mites that take up home in the coop, reapply every 3-4 months,
if not treated the mites will come out at night and feast on your birds blood and if they get infested with them it can lead to death.
this will kill any mites that take up home in the coop, reapply every 3-4 months,
if not treated the mites will come out at night and feast on your birds blood and if they get infested with them it can lead to death.
snowmuncher said:
Let them roam around established veg patches and they'll gobble up all the bugs and in the process be quite effective weeders.
But don't let them roam for too long on the same patch. They will dig up EVERYthing eventually.OP - I've had a pair for over two years now. What specific questions do you have? Other than just how awesome they are?
Sorry to jump on the back of this, I have just bought a house with a nice large garden and my partner and I would like some chickens. Can someone run me through what I will need to start? How many is a 'good' number to have etc and what is needed from us as far as looking after them is concerned. Sorry again for the hijack.
VRSAndy and partner, I started with a huge hen house in a traditional style and five Ladies, they desimated the garden and as I have a huge spider phobia I found cleaning out the hen house a nightmare.
I now have an eggloo which is so very easy to clean and my two Ladies are very much pets, eggs are a bonus.
If you want to let them in the house, as I do, give them 30 mins after opening their coup; they do their morning business and then they are pretty much house trained.
I adore my ladies and the cats and the dog get on fine with them. However be wary if you let another dog into your garden, twice I've had to save my girls from unruly dogs.
I now have an eggloo which is so very easy to clean and my two Ladies are very much pets, eggs are a bonus.
If you want to let them in the house, as I do, give them 30 mins after opening their coup; they do their morning business and then they are pretty much house trained.
I adore my ladies and the cats and the dog get on fine with them. However be wary if you let another dog into your garden, twice I've had to save my girls from unruly dogs.
VRSAndy said:
Sorry to jump on the back of this, I have just bought a house with a nice large garden and my partner and I would like some chickens. Can someone run me through what I will need to start? How many is a 'good' number to have etc and what is needed from us as far as looking after them is concerned. Sorry again for the hijack.
Coop,Run,
Feeder,
Drinker,
Feed, (growers\layers depending on age, "Garvo" do some excellent feeds)
Mealworms, (the ultimate bribe for poultry)
Mite powder,
Disinfectant (get something safe for poultry use)
Wood shavings, (pacakged dustfree ones)
Auto door opener (VSB make one, get that one even though it's expensive. It. Just. Works.)
And,
Chickens. Plural. Never get a single bird, never introduce a single bird to an existing flock - you will quickly learn where the phrase "pecking order" originates.
They are social flock birds, I would say 3-4 is a good number for a beginner. Consider hybrids, or some of the trad. breeds like Barnevelders or New Hampshire Red or Rhode Island Red as easy to look after ones. If you can put up with a bit more work, Belgian Bantams or Sabelpoots are possibly the most entertainment possible - friendly, bold little critters.
Bantams are often easier to deal with, especially for kids, being much smaller.
Some general advice,
Predators - Foxes will check a coop EVERY night, and are agile, clever creatures. Leave nothing to chance - lock them away at night, and make sure the run cannot be jumped over or dug into. Stoats can also be a problem, so use small mesh on the run (I use 1/2" square mesh)
Illness - Chickens will do their damndest to hide any signs of being ill, as they will be bullied out of the flock if obviously ill. When a chicken looks ill, it's REALLY ill. Watch out for respiratory problems in particular. While cold doesn't bother them, a dusty\mouldy\damp atmosphere can kill chickens.
Buy the best coop you can afford, from a UK builder. Most of the cheap imported coops will last a year, are too thin to provide proper insulation, don't have enough ventilation, and leak like a sieve. (We learned the hard way on that)
Many people think you can ignore them from one week to the next - wrong. They need to be checked daily, night and morning.
Consider investing in an automatic feeder, especially if free ranging away from home, this will keep vermin from feasting on the chicken's food etc. and hence keep food cost down via loss prevention. I also keep all my supplies outside in lidded dustbins for the same reason. Chickens will love your left overs, particularly potatoes and veg, but not meat so much. Free ranging is great as they'll pick up the grubs and other insects and eat through weeds. Though they will destroy grass fairly rapidly in a confined area.
Second hand stuff is usually adequate, most poultry equipment can be sold on recovering costs too - it's a popular hobby.
It's addictive. Prepare to want them at home, and to lose garden space and lawn.
Since I lost some to one of my dogs they are now in their own hedged in garden, within a fenced 'paddock' all of which is surrounded by eight foot fencing with concrete base - Living in the countryside bizarrely the only foxes I've seen locally have been road kill.
That used to be lawn.
Have plenty of composters to put the poo and soiled bedding in (I pick out the poo from the coop daily) it'll be fantastic for the allotments.
I've raised all of mine from a day old, having been given them by my farming neighbour. First under a brooding lamp on chick crumb, gradually reducing heat, then eventually outside at around eight weeks old. On growers pellets and then on to layers pellets at around 16 weeks. I use non medicated. But give mine Apple Cider Vinegar in their drinking water (it's a health tonic/wormer for them) I also worm them with VermX in their food.
I give mine mixed corn as a treat too, and mainly to tempt them in to bed!
POL (point of lay) is the term used when they reach the stage at which they are viable to start laying, from 16 weeks to 21 weeks usually. Some hens can be autosexed by their colour, you can therefore buy these very young and be guaranteed hens.
If you're keeping them cooped you'll need to provide them with grit. I buy a bag of mixed grit (oyster shell for calcium), it helps with digestion, grinding up food. Though I have roasted empty egg shells and crushed them up for them in the past to save money. If they're free ranging they tend not to need it. Though I still throw a few handfuls of grit down every now and then.
Also if keeping them cooped I'd suggested giving them some hanging treat cages, put cabbage or other veg in. It will relieve boredom, keep them entertained and should encourage anti-pecking and cannibalism! You can buy beak guards and sprays to discourage pecking too should it occur.
Mine are spoilt and have treat balls with bells, hanging feeders, mirrors, an old Tonka truck...
After trying various bedding I now use a brand of natural bedding called Rapport, Made from hemp it's very absorbent and can be composted. I add Diatom powder to prevent red mite.
Collect the eggs daily (make sure you clean away any broken ones) to discourage the chickens from eating them. Make sure they have fresh water daily & food. Is very easy once you get in to the routine.
Chickens are friendly, Valentino and Rhino are very inquisitive
Bantams are great. They are prone to broodiness, especially my Rubens
who recently disappeared only to be discovered sitting on a nest she had made in a flower bed!
The Bantams eggs slightly smaller, but equally delicious.
This is Guy Martin
she free ranges but shouldn't really as she gets footballs. Balls of mud encrusted on her feathered feet.
I have to pick them off, but she's so gentle she doesn't mind
Heiki is the world's smallest breed of chicken, a Malaysian Serama. She doesn't like going to bed
Mealworms are great, you'll have them eating out of your hand, literally.
These are our White Campbell Ducks, Pendleton, Wiggins and Cav.
They all live together. The ducks are much shyer than the chickens. And they do like to chase the chickens sometimes. Though occasionally there's a good Mexican stand off.
Hours of entertainment. I watched a duck recently pick up a dried up slug and drop it in her bath, only to return to it ten minutes later, dive under the water and devour the now juicy hydrated slug. Was wonderful to watch.
And the eggs are such a fantastic bonus. So rich and delicious. I'm still in amazement when I open the nest box and find fresh eggs every day. It's just so wonderfully rewarding.
I write the date laid on mine in pencil, not that they hang around for long. Breakfasts, lunches
and many cakes
Did I say it's addictive?
Second hand stuff is usually adequate, most poultry equipment can be sold on recovering costs too - it's a popular hobby.
It's addictive. Prepare to want them at home, and to lose garden space and lawn.
Since I lost some to one of my dogs they are now in their own hedged in garden, within a fenced 'paddock' all of which is surrounded by eight foot fencing with concrete base - Living in the countryside bizarrely the only foxes I've seen locally have been road kill.
That used to be lawn.
Have plenty of composters to put the poo and soiled bedding in (I pick out the poo from the coop daily) it'll be fantastic for the allotments.
I've raised all of mine from a day old, having been given them by my farming neighbour. First under a brooding lamp on chick crumb, gradually reducing heat, then eventually outside at around eight weeks old. On growers pellets and then on to layers pellets at around 16 weeks. I use non medicated. But give mine Apple Cider Vinegar in their drinking water (it's a health tonic/wormer for them) I also worm them with VermX in their food.
I give mine mixed corn as a treat too, and mainly to tempt them in to bed!
POL (point of lay) is the term used when they reach the stage at which they are viable to start laying, from 16 weeks to 21 weeks usually. Some hens can be autosexed by their colour, you can therefore buy these very young and be guaranteed hens.
If you're keeping them cooped you'll need to provide them with grit. I buy a bag of mixed grit (oyster shell for calcium), it helps with digestion, grinding up food. Though I have roasted empty egg shells and crushed them up for them in the past to save money. If they're free ranging they tend not to need it. Though I still throw a few handfuls of grit down every now and then.
Also if keeping them cooped I'd suggested giving them some hanging treat cages, put cabbage or other veg in. It will relieve boredom, keep them entertained and should encourage anti-pecking and cannibalism! You can buy beak guards and sprays to discourage pecking too should it occur.
Mine are spoilt and have treat balls with bells, hanging feeders, mirrors, an old Tonka truck...
After trying various bedding I now use a brand of natural bedding called Rapport, Made from hemp it's very absorbent and can be composted. I add Diatom powder to prevent red mite.
Collect the eggs daily (make sure you clean away any broken ones) to discourage the chickens from eating them. Make sure they have fresh water daily & food. Is very easy once you get in to the routine.
Chickens are friendly, Valentino and Rhino are very inquisitive
Bantams are great. They are prone to broodiness, especially my Rubens
who recently disappeared only to be discovered sitting on a nest she had made in a flower bed!
The Bantams eggs slightly smaller, but equally delicious.
This is Guy Martin
she free ranges but shouldn't really as she gets footballs. Balls of mud encrusted on her feathered feet.
I have to pick them off, but she's so gentle she doesn't mind
Heiki is the world's smallest breed of chicken, a Malaysian Serama. She doesn't like going to bed
Mealworms are great, you'll have them eating out of your hand, literally.
These are our White Campbell Ducks, Pendleton, Wiggins and Cav.
They all live together. The ducks are much shyer than the chickens. And they do like to chase the chickens sometimes. Though occasionally there's a good Mexican stand off.
Hours of entertainment. I watched a duck recently pick up a dried up slug and drop it in her bath, only to return to it ten minutes later, dive under the water and devour the now juicy hydrated slug. Was wonderful to watch.
And the eggs are such a fantastic bonus. So rich and delicious. I'm still in amazement when I open the nest box and find fresh eggs every day. It's just so wonderfully rewarding.
I write the date laid on mine in pencil, not that they hang around for long. Breakfasts, lunches
and many cakes
Did I say it's addictive?
y2blade said:
Great Post Gretchen.
We have three Chickens ...they are such great characters, real fun to keep.
Thank you. I could go on...We have three Chickens ...they are such great characters, real fun to keep.
Having been upstairs singing the praises of my poultry, I've just popped downstairs to discover my Labrador has just devoured a dozen fresh eggs (and most of the box) that I'd left on the kitchen worktop to take on our camping trip to Skye tomorrow.
Chickens. They are the most well behaved, funny, interesting, entertaining and rewarding animal I've ever owned.
I bloody hate dogs.
HereBeMonsters said:
Here are my two:
Daria and Jane.
Sometimes they like to come inside to stare at their reflections in their food bin.
Daria and Jane.
Sometimes they like to come inside to stare at their reflections in their food bin.
I love this. I'd let mine in the house if it weren't for the dogs. Since the dogs would certainly eat them.
Johnny bought me a Summerhouse for my birthday a few weeks ago. It's awaiting build, but once it's up I might sneak a chicken in to keep me company over afternoon tea.
Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff