chickens

[Strawbs]

How would you feel living next door to someone who has a couple of chickens? Thinking for our next house we will get a backyard and I would love to get a couple of chickens.. Jaws thinks they would be too noisy but I think they would lovely!!!

x

[dulwichmum]

Lovely Strawbs,

My parents-in-law keep chickens and although they live on a rambling country estate (clearly) I can't see why anyone would want to object. Boy chickens can be incredibly noisey, but I can't see any problem at all.

We see the local fox in our garden so often, it is the only reason that I don't have any chickens myself.

[Strawbs]

Hey DM

Yes I would have to get girl chickens only and I didnt really think about the fox issue.. mmmmm I may have to give it some more thought or have a yard big enough for a chicken pen but dont want to keep the poor things in a cage really as that's just not cool..

Maybe I will just have to pop out to your folks-in-law's place and play with their chickens!!!

xx

[matthew123]

Well, obviously, if it included a Cockerel I'd not be best pleased getting woken up to the sound of Cock-a-doodle-do when the sun rises each morning.. but other that if they shared their organic eggs and the occasional bit of leg and breast then maybe it wouldn't be so bad..

[Mikecg]

Strawbs wrote,

Maybe I will just have to pop out to your folks-in-law's place and play with their chickens!!!

snip<

Oooh err missus!

[Strawbs]

Matthew

I would share the eggs but as a veggie I couldnt possibly do that to the poor things... You would have to continue to get your meat from the meat seller, free range of course!!

My dream would bed to rescue some battery hens but not sure the farmers who kept the poor things cooped up would give them to me!!

[Michael Palaeologus]

Leagle-eaglish had chickens but they got scoffed by a fox. Chickens attract rats and foxes and are chomped by both.

You are better off keeping a small pack of hounds. Hunting Foxy across Peckham Rye would be marvellous.

[Mikecg]

My neighbour kept chickens when we were growing up and I used to feed them, they also had a cockerel, he was loud and he reminded me of foghorn leghorn. They smell pretty bad so you have to keep their coop clean.

[Strawbs]

Mikecg Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Strawbs wrote,

> Maybe I will just have to pop out to your

> folks-in-law's place and play with their

> chickens!!!

> snip

> Oooh err missus!

ahem young man no beastiality here.. ha ha ha ha ha

[CamberwellOz]

We have had 6 chicken (no 's' in the country apparently) since December so if you decide to get some, drop me a line and I'll give you some tips.

[Strawbs]

Thanks COz I will thank you!!

right im off to enjoy some of this glorious sun and think about chickens and worms...

[poppylucky]

I'd love to get a couple of chickens and keep them as my source of protein, both for their eggs and themselves eventually...but i've only got a small patio and i think they need a bigger space to flap around. My mother-in-law had a whole coop of them in a shed and used to bring one out every sunday for lunch!.

I'n not sure if i could ever throttle one for my lunch, i'll leave that to the Hubby!

[dulwichmum]

Sweet Strawbs,

I wanted to buy one of those Eglu thingies last year, but decided against it at the last minute because of the fox issue. It would have destroyed the children if their chickens were taken by the fox. The Eglu house thingy is apparently fox proof, but my father-in-law felt that the run was not big enough to ensure a happy chicken, and his chickens are regularly spirited away by a fox, day or night!

[LegalEagle-ish]

I've had two sets of 4 chickens and they were all got by foxes.

My dog seems to stop them coming around in the daytime, but the stupid chickens didn't go in their coop at night, so weren't locked in and got mullered.

I'm in the process of building a bigger run that is hopefully fox-proof and will only free-range my next batch when we are in the garden to keep my little egg factory going a bit longer!

I was getting 4 eggs a day most days from each set of my 4 chickens and the food was not expensive so it was definately worth it. Main problem, tho is that they are shit machines - but it's all good for the compost heap.

[dulwichmum]

Oh LeagalEagle-ish,

couldn't you hire a serf to clean up the droppings? I could send my house-keeper over on her way home from work.

[legalbeagle]

Strawbs - I have had two chickens in my back garden in ED since November. They have a fox proof run which they stay in when I'm out and I let them run free around my garden whenever I'm at home (which is quite a lot). I always shut them in their house at night, and I haven't had any trouble with foxes. The chickens are really tame, they eat out of your hand and follow you around the garden, and the kids love them. None of my neighbours have complained, since they don't really make any noise (you don't need a cockerel to get eggs), and in fact all the neighbours children love looking after them whenever we go away - bonus! We gets lots of fresh eggs and I would highly recommend it. I'm sure you could get some battery hens, just get in touch with the Battery Hen Welfare Trust who have a website and will also be able to give you lots of tips. Feel free to PM me if you want any tips especially on how to keep the foxes at bay!

[Fuschia]

We had two chickens which got scoffed by a fox while they were in the garden, even though I was in the house. :-(

We won't replace them, so will be selling our chicken house which is basically a small sturdy shed with a little wooden walkway to get in, and a roof which lifts to take out the eggs. It needs to be placed in a pen built for the chickens to get out and peck. We also have a feeder and a water holder. If anyone is interested, let me know. IIRC it cost about ?90 new.

[boosboss]

A friend has had 6 chickens since september 08 in her garden at Peckham Rye. She has an Eglu from Omlet.co.uk, they supplied the chickens too and gave great advice.