Anybody keep chickens?

I'm ordering some from www.omlet.com

I love the funky houses! My colleague has 3 from them, and raves about them

Wow, thank you Quincy! Those houses are fabulous, I love them!

Do you mean keep chickens at the allotment or at your home? If you mean at the allotment then I'd stay away from the Omlet - it will get nicked (also check you are allowed livestock at the allotment, different associations have different rules). Personally I find the Omlets over priced and not all that chicken friendly - you can build or buy a traditional cophouse for a lot less money and it will prove more suitable for the chickens in the long run.

Thanks for the advice Viva Suzi, it would be at the allotment. We are allowed to keep chickens (hens not cockerals) and rabbits. I'm going to start off with just 2 or 3 chickens and go from there. I'm going to leave it a wee while before I get them, I want to settle into my plot first, and get a feel for the whole site, see if anyone else has chickens there etc etc.

We have chickens and pekin bantams. it's advised to keep 3 as if you have 2 and one dies it's awful introducing a new one (speaking from experience)

ref eglus i think the house is well designed but run is too small, you can buy extenders but our girls like to roam free (foxes can be a challenge to this)the eglu is really simple to keep clean and plastic means no red mites (love wood and bad news for chickens) you just pull out the poop tray, empty it, take out the roosting bars, scrape off, and change the bedding. we use hemcore which we also put in the bottom tray to soak up wee.

the banties have separate accommodation and a covered run (they like to fly at roosting time..) and are gorgeous, produce small eggs but less than the the big girls. the little ones also go broody at the drop of a hat.

we'll be making a new enclosure at the bottom of the garden soon, with a covered run for each lot of girls (and an automated pop hole in their house (which will be a converted summerhouse) which will mean they can get themselves up without us padding round the garden v. early in the morning as they like to be up with the lark

if they'll be at an allotment are you able to let them out in the morning/ put to bed? very exciting getting chooks!

any questions just shout

We've got 3. I recommend getting 3 not 2 as if the2 you have don't get on then there's trouble. With 3, there's better 'group dynamics'!

They are really easy but you'll need to let them out in the morning & put them in at night. Most important is that pen is fox proof. I don't like the omlet as I think that wood 'breaths' better. I certainly wouldn't like to be in a plastic house in summer.

we got ours from here www.goldenvalleypoultry.co.uk We got the pen from them too (The Aughton - big enough for 3 chickens to live in happily). I was really impressed. The chickens were in great, big pens surrounded by electric fencing to keep Mr. Fox out. They had loads of space and were obviously really well cared for. The birds for sale are kept in old stables, again, plenty of space & very clean. Our 3 ladies were hand tame when we got them. There were places closer to us but I am glad I took the trouble to drive out to Golden Valley as the welfare standards there were so high.

You can also rescue ex-battery hens but their egg production might not be so high.

I will try upload some pics of our girls & post a link.

Those little chicken runs are way too small for chickens. I used to keep them and ideally they need more space to scratch around, have sand baths and roost.

Thanks all, lots for me to think about there!

Once we have sorted out the plot that ajoins our garden we want chickens and they will have free reighn around the plot, free to scracth wherever they like! We want to rescue some ex battery hens though and theres lots of info here about it all

https://www.bhwt.org.uk/caring-for-battery-hens.php

might be worth a read!

Thanks WT, I've already got that site bookmarked! I'm ridiculously excited!

Id be the same as you if I knew we were getting some girls to scratch around imminently! Must take some pics of their arrival for us to see them!

Sorry Ruth G for jumping on your thread,but I too would like to keep chickens .I have a reasonably large garden which I love,lots of nice flowers and shrubs and lovely lawn.I would like to keep them roaming free during the day and penned at night.Will my garden be ruined if I have 3 chickens(I have taken on board the minimum quantity you guys recommend)

TIA

Kate x

I am in the process of learnng to look after chickens, my mate has some and she is letting me help her, it is great until ya leave the coop undone and they escape and you have to chase them around the garden.....i did look very silly doing the chicken run today.

we hope to have our own happy girls soon.....we are getting six it is going to be fun.....as long as they keep of the new veggie patch we are creating.

Lots of good points on here. Some other things to think about...

In the summer, you could end up with an egg per chicken per day - I'd advise against getting more than 3 unless you've got a large family or lots of willing egg-eaters to take them off your hands: 36 eggs in a week is a substantial amount!

We've had problems with foxes - all but one of our original flock were eaten by a fox while they were out pecking round the garden. They now live in the run and only come out to play when we're in the garden and able to keep an eye on them. This will be particularly relevent if you're keeping them at an allotment, where there may not be people around.

Chickens are a lot more of a bind than cats and dogs in that you have to see them twice a day, which limits the opportunties to go away - at least most other pets can be taken to a cattery/kennels! Make sure you've got a neighbour you can call on to look after the chooks.

Those points aside, having chickens is great, but you must make sure you research your options carefully and - like any pet - go into it with your eyes open.

Thanks for the advice everyone, still busy thinking it over!