Chickens

Anyone got any? Not frozen ones live ones


I am pondering with getting 3

how weird i was just reading on someones fb that theyre re'-homing ''a few screechy squawky cockerels''.... they were told they were chickens when they were smaller.... :san12: :san12: :san12:

my mums always wanted chickens theres a woman on fb who rescues battery hens, theres even a forum

Be nice to have your own free range eggs

if i had the space i wouldnt mind some chickens running about, not sure how long they would last though with fred :2431:

Would be nice to have chickens running about free range

Dont think they would last long in our garden Think Mickey would kill them he just cant help himself chasing small animals

Sandra wrote:

Anyone got any? Not frozen ones live ones


I am pondering with getting 3

Suze has got 3 chickens Sange,she can tell you all about them when she
comes on.

:san50:

SUMMER wrote:

Sandra wrote:

Anyone got any? Not frozen ones live ones


I am pondering with getting 3

Suze has got 3 chickens Sange,she can tell you all about them when she
comes on.

Thanks Jan will look forward to hearing from Suze point of view

i will too actually ...

Hello, Yes i have 3 chickens and its fab getting fresh eggs every morning. The only down side was i didn't give mine the freedom of the garden.. We have rats, foxes, cats and of course the dogs however my dogs dont really bother about them in fact i quite often find the dogs in the run with the chickens eating the chicken poo.. mingers that they are....

If the food doesnt get eaten it rotys quickly especially in the wet and since our garden is permanently water logged (another long story) it was stinking in the summer hence why we moved them to a run where we can clean up the poo and excess food. In the summer i put bark down for them to scratch around in and their kennel is full of sawdust so they love scratching about in there..

They are very cocky as well and will take on the dogs if they stick their noses too close...

The need wormed about once a month i have stuff i put in their food or you can do the liquid stuff in their water its so much easier..

You need to delouse them... i use delousing powder.. not really much different to the dogs.. they are not noisy as long as you dont get a cockerel.

If i have missed anything let me know...

They are quite friendly and wil llet you catch them and pet them... well mine do anyway...

Jings ive written a novel.. sorry..

They need a perch to sleep at night and a nest to lay their eggs...
You can buy a house for them online easy enough and out pets at home has started doing chicken stuff its great.

You can buy a pullet or POL.. (point of lay) they are about 18weeks and about to start laying.. price depends of breed.. mines are hybrids and cost me £10 each and a tenner a month to feed them and they lay one egg a day...

hi sandra i keep ex battery chickens,they make wonderful pets,a lot of mine have become very tame,most of them will come in the house if they spy the chance,they are very inquisitive creatures and each with there own different characters,i lost my tamest one a couple of months ago ,her name was mary,she loved to come in and sit on your knee on the sofa or in the dogs bed,i even found her once perched on my toaster,lol,i got all my dogs used to them within about 6months and now kai even lets them pinch his grub.They are very easy to keep and the eggs are a bonus they will also provide you with hrs of fun.I also re home ex batts,we empty the battery farms every couple of months,im sure there will be some 1 nr you who does this,it is a lot more rewarding taking on these birds,have a look on batteryhenwelfare,this will tell u where n when the closest battery is that they are emptying,once youve got them youll never be without them

http://exbatteryhens.com/index/ there is even a forum, join and I,m sure you will be pointed in the right direction!

no i'm allergic to them

Thanks Debbie... I looked for ex-battery hens but i gave up couldn't find anything now i know where to go...

Thanks girls for your input

Just wondering how often you clean them out? and does it get really eucky from their poop 3 shouldn't be to bad should it?

The house behind us has chickens and a cock their place looks a bit messy, but I would say they have about 8 or maybe more and rabbits running around the garden and a few ducks

All very helpful info you posted

I clean poop out every morning when i collect my eggs. Then once a week i give it a good gut and a clean with cleaner....

Great thing about chicken poop is its fab for compost heaps...

I use wood shavings and throw it all in my brown bin or my compost heap...

Once a week for a big clean is good and poop top and tail every morning sounds easy enough.

What cleaner do you use Suze?

this is all very interesting stuff :san50:

they can certainly turn your garden into a mess,but if you fence an area off its not so bad,if you clean them out every day they dont smell n its only a five minute job,but if you leave them there poop does smell,we clear out about every4months,depends on egg production?the next1 will be prob april or may because if you take them out in the winter months they will die coz not used to the cold,we have to buy them off the farmer, n we sell them for 2pounds each,they are usually 14months old and they are normally rhode island reds

I just use Zoflora and make sure i wash it well and let it completely dry before letting them back in to the run...

That or the animal health bubble gum stuff..................it smells good enough to drink... i ran out ages ago though and ive ot got around to replacing it...

sage and onion stuffing yummy i love chicken

We can't agree on which one to eat so they are all still here.. I want to eat blondie but erin wont let me. Its funny every time we have chicken the kids ask if its one of ours.... lol