Keeping chickens (for eggs)

Kotek Besar

Hi folks,

Thinking of keeping chickens, for eggs, in the back garden using one of these.

Are there any bylaws or anything in Waterford, which I should be aware of, which may prevent me from keeping 3 - 4 hens?

seanybiker

Dunno bout any laws. There is a chap living across the green from me in hillview who has chickens. Used to have a cock (snigger) aswell. He left them run free. Was mad looking out the window and seeing a chicken in the front garden.

jayboi

Are you planning on getting a rooster as well because if you do id imagine there would be some noise issues that your neighbours might not be so happy about.
I was a chicken coop for sale out Jay-bees(The so called 'Amish Place') on the dunmore road the other day looked the job think it was nearer the 1000 euro mark but there were discounts on display items definatly worth a look tho.

Kotek Besar

jayboi wrote: »

Are you planning on getting a rooster as well because if you do id imagine there would be some noise issues that your neighbours might not be so happy about.

No, certainly not getting a rooster. No need, as far as I'm aware. The hens will still lay eggs without a rooster (I think - still learning!). I wouldn't want the cock-a-doodle-doing and I'm sure the neighbours wouldn't either!

seanybiker

Kotek Besar wrote: »

No, certainly not getting a rooster. No need, as far as I'm aware. The hens will still lay eggs without a rooster (I think - still learning!). I wouldn't want the cock-a-doodle-doing and I'm sure the neighbours wouldn't either!

I used to go mental sometimes with the cock-a-doodle-do at 7:30 in the morning. Was funny sometimes when I be drunk and leaving a little roar out the window at yer man screaming his beak off. Kinda miss the little shyte now.

deisemum

I'm in Viewmount and I've got 4 hens and wouldn't be without them. There is no comparison between the freshness, texture and colour of your own hens eggs and the majority of shop bought eggs. We don't have a rooster, I wouldn't inflict that on our neighbours or ourselves.

We've got Rhode Island Reds crossed with Light Suxxex and they can each produce up to 330 eggs in their first year, a bit less in subsequent years, they moult after about a year laying and may stop laying for about 6 to 8 weeks then when their feathers grow back they should start laying again. We bought them when they were near point of lay and had them 6 weeks before they started laying. They're great entertainment too;)

You're allowed keep poultry in urban areas, in fact Trevor Sargeant endorsed this while he was still Minister and notified all councils about this. I checked all of this out before getting my feathered ladies, with the council and Dept. of Agriculture.

The only paperwork that you must do even if it's only for one bird is download a form to register your flock with the Dept. of Agriculture, this is just in case there's an outbreak of bird flu or something like that and the Dept can contact registered bird owners. It's free and they don't come visiting.

My husband built a hen house within a shed and made a run out the back of it. As we weren't using our garden during the winter we let them out into the lawn but now that we're sowing seeds and planting vegetables he built a portable one out in the lawn area that can be moved around so they have access to grass.

They're very cheap to keep, a bag of layers pellets costs around €12 and lasts about 10 weeks for 4 hens, a bale of bedding straw lasts about 2 months and costs about €5 - €6. I mainly put it in their nesting boxes and a small sprinkling of it in the body of the hen house, I line the hen house and nest boxes with cardboard and newspaper. A bag of grit costs €2.50 and is essential for them to grind their food and for forming the egg shells, I'm still using the first bag that I got back in mid-September when we got the hens.

A drinker costs €4.40 and a feeder about €5. We got our hens from Keogh's Poultry just past New Ross and they were €8 each. We're getting 4 eggs a day so give some to neighbours and to the mindees to bring home.

They love scraps of food, things like potato skins, leftover veg, fruit, melon, sweetcorn, pears, apples etc. No meat or salty and processed foods. Avoid bread unless it's wet.

I clean out the hen house about once a week to 10 days. For small birds they produce plenty of sh1te but do at least 50% of it at night. I just clean out the paper, straw and sh1te and put it in a compost bin so will have great compost later in the year.

I did poultry husbandry as a subject in college back in the early 80's including incubating, rearing, killing, post mortums and cooking chickens, turkeys, geese as well as hens. My classmates and myself were known as cock chokers.;) We just used our hands and manually killed them, we didn't use an axe or knife. It's all in the technique but we had to use a broom handle for turkeys.

I have been considering getting a couple of chicks to rear for the table but my children and mindees would not fancy me killing something we reared.

We have 3 cats as well but they keep out from the hens, a couple of pecks and flapping of wings sorted that.

If there's anything you want to know just ask and I'll see if I can help. I fully recommend getting them.

Kotek Besar

Deisemum, you are a diamond. Really appreciate you posting that!!

Lots of great info. I just have to convince the missus now. Might be back with more questions soon though!

Ooh, what do you think of this, Deisemum?

Or what about an Eglu Go?

deisemum

Personally I'd prefer the wooden one over the eglu but that's personal choice especially when that's a very good price for the wooden one.

If you get the wooden one I'd strongly recommend getting a run with it to protect them from dogs, cats and foxes. Even if you're around and let them roam in the garden the run is still handy if you have to pop out. There are plenty of foxes roaming around the city at night and I'm not talking about what you'd see outside Ruby's . One night before we got the hens I opened the door to let a cat out into my back garden and there was a fox on the deck. My neighbour's have seen plenty of them at night.

Once you get hens you'll be surprised at how easy they are to look after. They don't like the dark and as soon as it's dusk they'll head straight for their coop, you just need to lock them in to keep them safe. They're supposed to sleep on their perch and crap while they sleep but 1 or 2 of ours likes to sleep in a nest box.

Keeping hens is the fastest growing hobby in the country at the moment so demand for hens is very high.

You're welcome to visit and see my set up.

Noffles

Why would people want a Cock if the hens lay anyway, there are now 2 clowns in my very small estate who have them and they are simply the noisiest bastards ever....

Kotek Besar

Thanks again, Deisemum - and that's very kind of you. Will be in touch (wife permitting!).

deisemum

Noffles wrote: »

Why would people want a Cock if the hens lay anyway, there are now 2 clowns in my very small estate who have them and they are simply the noisiest bastards ever....

I cannot understand why someone would willingly have cocks in an urban area. The only reason that I can think of is if someone got the chicks when they were very young before the sex can be determined which is around 8 or 9 weeks but even then if they had any consideration for their neighbours they should find a home for it in a rural area.

Kotek Besar

Deisemum, would I be able to buy hatchlings from anywhere, do you know? I have a two year old and I'm sure he'd love to have tiny baby chicks and watch them grow.

If any turn out to be male I assume I could give them away to a farm?

Or would you not recommend hatchlings (perhaps they require special food / care)?

deisemum

From memory (nearly 30 years ago) when we hatched out eggs in college you had them in an incubator then when they hatched we kept them in a box under an infra-red lamp and fed them crumb. More equipment so more cost.

I regularly see adverts selling the hatching eggs so yeah you can get them but I think starting off you might be better going for the easier option. It's a lot easier to bring your 2 year old to a farm and it will be excited with having hens anyway.

Here's a link where you can get more info.

http://www.giyireland.com/group.php?group_id=1

Black Dog

I have four hens and two ducks and keep them in a Eglu.

One word of warning about the Eglu - the basic model has a very small "run" and when we bought it we got two extra sections to give them a bit more room and, in my mind, it was a good decision as otherwise they would be very, very confined which appeared very unnatural to me. When I am out in the garden I leave them out to wander about. My neighbour has two dogs which can come into my garden with ease and so I cannot leave the birds outside unattended.

Otherwise, our experience with the Eglu has been very positive. It is very easy to assemble and, most importantly, very easy to clean out.

Kotek Besar

Thanks Black Dog.

Do you know of where to buy an Eglu in Ireland, or must they be imported from the UK?

Black Dog

Kotek Besar wrote: »

Thanks Black Dog.

Do you know of where to buy an Eglu in Ireland, or must they be imported from the UK?

Not available in Ireland to the best of my knowledge. We ordered from the UK.

deisemum

Kotek Besar wrote: »

Deisemum, would I be able to buy hatchlings from anywhere, do you know? I have a two year old and I'm sure he'd love to have tiny baby chicks and watch them grow.

If any turn out to be male I assume I could give them away to a farm?

Or would you not recommend hatchlings (perhaps they require special food / care)?

Just found out today that someone I know got 14 hatching eggs, 7 didn't take but the other 7 are due to hatch out any day. I'll ask her about them when I see her but she's used to hens so maybe a bit of experience helps.

next

saw this add in the local paper Henhouse's for sale! Only €250 for henhouse, 2 hens, bale of feed, bale of sawdust, water feeder and pellet feeder.

Trotter

If you go away for a few days, can you feed them before you go and leave them there? If so, how long can they stay 'home alone'?

I don't fancy seatbelting Henrietta into the back seat and taking her to the mother in laws.

deisemum

Trotter wrote: »

If you go away for a few days, can you feed them before you go and leave them there? If so, how long can they stay 'home alone'?

I don't fancy seatbelting Henrietta into the back seat and taking her to the mother in laws.

One of my friends knows a woman just outside Waterford city who takes her 3 hens with her and the children when she visits her home place in Galway.:D

Personally I'd prefer to get my neighbour to pop in and let them out of the hen house into the run and just to top up their water and feed and just lock them in again at night especially if the weather is bad.

If it's mild weather then if the hen house door is open they can go in and out of the hen house into the run at their leisure so I might chance it overnight. They get through a fair amount of water on warm and hot days.

I've a few neighbours who would do it, collecting free eggs is a great incentive.

Trotter

deisemum wrote: »

I've a few neighbours who would do it, collecting free eggs is a great incentive.

Hmm... I don't know if I'd be able to check in on the girls every day.. I was hoping I'd get 3 or 4 days of 'independence' out of them

deisemum

You wouldn't want to leave their eggs in the nesting boxes for too long because they may peck at them and once they get the taste of the yolk they'll waste no time pecking through future eggs. They know a good thing when they get it. It hasn't happened to us yet but if it does some people recommend replacing the yolk with mustard and it should put them off it.

baronflyguy

jayboi wrote: »

I was a chicken coop for sale out Jay-bees(The so called 'Amish Place') on the dunmore road the other day looked the job think it was nearer the 1000 euro mark but there were discounts on display items definatly worth a look tho.

Here's a link to their website.
http://www.ideal-woodcrafts.ie/

deadman walking

i have hit a brick wall with my own attempts to build a chicken run.have house built since before christmas and decided two weeks ago to get moving on the whole chicken family.trouble is i can,t get a bloody roll of chicken wire as no store seems to stock it in rolls higher than 3ft and longer than 10mtrs:( i want the sixft high stuff,about 25 metres of it should do.it is really expensive too with a 25metre roll coming in at 70euro:eek:call me stubborn but i am just not willing to pay that kind of money for chicken wire:)the cockrel would be the only problem i could see, i am not getting one as i only want layers and broilers:)aside from that the neighbours should have no objections to you getting chickens:D

deisemum

Deadman Walking have your tried one of the co-ops, Gaultier or Kilmeaden, I think I've seen it in all sorts of sizes in Gaultier.

As long as you don't have a rooster then I don't see you having any problem from your neighbours re the hens.

deadman walking

not planning on getting a rooster as i am only keeping chickens for eggs until next year anyway.need to build a bigger house and run for that so not at the moment.tried co-op in dvan and it is 85euro per roll there:eek:

deisemum

We paid €60 per roll and it was 5' high, got it in Morris's.

dayshah

deisemum wrote: »

You wouldn't want to leave their eggs in the nesting boxes for too long because they may peck at them and once they get the taste of the yolk they'll waste no time pecking through future eggs. They know a good thing when they get it. It hasn't happened to us yet but if it does some people recommend replacing the yolk with mustard and it should put them off it.

The cannibals!!!

They would eat their own young?

molby

Do the hens attract rats? Could not handle those gits.

deisemum

molby wrote: »

Do the hens attract rats? Could not handle those gits.

No they don't but if food is just left lying around then yes that could attract vermin.

I cannot look at a mouse let alone a rat, not even a dead one, they freak me right out of my tree and if they suddenly appear on tv I'm a blubbering wreck much to the amusement of my family so believe me if I thought hens would attract rats I wouldn't have them.

I've got 3 cats who thankfully haven't deposited any presents on my doorstep yet, I just hope my fiesty kitten doesn't start that carry on.

I reckon my hens would chase away any vermin that crossed their path, they chase wood pigeons if they come near.

molby

Thanks.Might look into some feathered friends.

longshanks

deisemum do the cats not bother the hens?

deisemum

longshanks wrote: »

deisemum do the cats not bother the hens?

No the cats give them a wide berth. When we initially got the hens one hen just flapped her wings and both cats shot off in all directions but once they got over the shock they crept up for a nosey, hiding behind a head of cabbage. The hens were in their run so were safe. When we did let the hens have the run of the garden the cats got the odd peck and keep well back from them. The cats are very wary of the hens and I reckon the hens would win if it came to it.

If the hens feel threatened they start clucking like mad and they keep together.

ToxicPaddy

I am absolutely fascinated by all of this to be honest, would never even have considered the whole keeping hens thing, but fresh eggs everyday definitely would be a serious consideration if I was living somewhere I could have hens..

Deisemum, you seem to be a fairly decent setup there, cats cabbages and hens..

Something I may consider in the future..

deisemum

ToxicPaddy wrote: »

I am absolutely fascinated by all of this to be honest, would never even have considered the whole keeping hens thing, but fresh eggs everyday definitely would be a serious consideration if I was living somewhere I could have hens..

Deisemum, you seem to be a fairly decent setup there, cats cabbages and hens..

Something I may consider in the future..

Ah once you start eating your own home produce you're hooked. I only started growing things this time last year after I attended the Beer making talk at the local GIY (www.giyireland.com). DH now makes home brew

This year I'm planning on growing more varieties, hopefully we'll be eating our first lot of new potatoes in the next few weeks, salad stuff is coming along, I've got lots of different things on windowsills waiting to be hardened off and planted out but it's still cold especially at night.

I'm going to grow extra of somethings so I can add variety to the hens diet. If I'm cooking potatoes, rice, pasta, or veg I just cook a bit extra and give it to the hens, also left over fruit such as apples, melon, grapes go down a treat, they love all that sort of stuff. The colour of the yolks is striking compared to the majority of battery and even free range eggs that you get in shops and often food dye is in the hen food to give that bit of colour to start with.

Also free range doesn't mean that hens ever step outside the shed they're kept in, it just means they have access to going outside and that's usually a very small opening into a small area and the majority of hens cannot get out due to crowding and also to a few hens blocking the exit.

Sam Kade

deisemum wrote: »

They're very cheap to keep, a bag of layers pellets costs around €12 and lasts about 10 weeks

€12 is a rip off I am paying €7.5 for a 25kg bag of layers pellets.

deadman walking

where are you getting the 25kg bag for that price? what else do you feed them? i am trying to get some chicken wire at the moment to build the run befpre i get the chickens.i was looking at some cuckoo marans the other day thatb are just up the road from me, theyb seem like good birds,six weeks old and six euro each:D

dazed+confused

Black Dog wrote: »

I have four hens and two ducks and keep them in a Eglu.

One word of warning about the Eglu - the basic model has a very small "run" and when we bought it we got two extra sections to give them a bit more room and, in my mind, it was a good decision as otherwise they would be very, very confined which appeared very unnatural to me. When I am out in the garden I leave them out to wander about. My neighbour has two dogs which can come into my garden with ease and so I cannot leave the birds outside unattended.

Otherwise, our experience with the Eglu has been very positive. It is very easy to assemble and, most importantly, very easy to clean out.

Black Dog, Do the hens and ducks get on ok together in the same coop? I have 5 hens at the minute and would love to get a couple of ducks.

Black Dog

They get on perfectly well though at the moment one of the hens, a bantham, is broody and is always in a really foul mood and picks on the ducks, just makes a run at them and they run out of the way. No damage done. Otherwise, no bother whatsoever.

dazed+confused

Deadly, I'm definitely going to get a few ducks then. I think my pen would be more suited to them anyway as the ground has very poor drainage and is a bit boggy.

Do you have anywhere for the ducks to have a bit of a paddle? I've seen plenty of ducks that are kept without a pond, but it seems a bit mean.

deisemum

I know some people use old baby baths or paddling pools for their ducks.

dazed+confused

deisemum wrote: »

I know some people use old baby baths or paddling pools for their ducks.

I was just reading on a site there that things like this are ideal because you can change the water easily. I know from experience that ducks are way smellier than hens so this is important.


Can anyone tell me if domestic ducks are excessively noisy? I live in a housing estate, my neighbours don't mind the odd bit of clucking from my hens (and they love when I drop over some free range eggs) but I don't want to push my luck by getting anything louder.
I'd love to get a breeding pair of khaki campbells, are drakes any louder than ducks?

deisemum

Here's an unusual egg story in today's newspaper, an egg within an egg

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/its-no-yolk-as-shellshocked-farmer-finds-egg-inside-egg-2176149.html?from=dailynews

Sam Kade

deadman walking wrote: »

where are you getting the 25kg bag for that price? what else do you feed them? i am trying to get some chicken wire at the moment to build the run befpre i get the chickens.i was looking at some cuckoo marans the other day thatb are just up the road from me, theyb seem like good birds,six weeks old and six euro each:D

I get the pellets from Dairygold co-op. I used to let them roam free to eat grass worms etc but that came to an end about a week ago when a fox killed a hen in the yard. They have been housed since and are getting cabbage leaves and pellets until I have time to build a run for them. Hybrids is what I have, they can lay more than pure breeds. I paid €8 each for them as point of lay pullets.

Black Dog

Dazed and Confused,

Apologies for delay in replying but I have been without broadband since yesterday.

Re ducks and pond: I have a child's sandpit in the run and have it full of water. When I leave them out they make a bulletline for the garden pond and spend most of their time in there.

Ducks are not noisy at all; obviously a bit of quacking but certainly nothing to annoy the neighbours.

I'm not sure if keeping the ducks on a boggy area is the best - I have no particular information on which to base this but imagine having them on ground which is permanently wet might not be the best. On the other hand, they may enjoy it greatly and will certainly make plenty of holes in the ground.

deisemum

Sam Kade wrote: »

I get the pellets from Dairygold co-op. I used to let them roam free to eat grass worms etc but that came to an end about a week ago when a fox killed a hen in the yard. They have been housed since and are getting cabbage leaves and pellets until I have time to build a run for them. Hybrids is what I have, they can lay more than pure breeds. I paid €8 each for them as point of lay pullets.

Where's the Dairygold co-op?

dazed+confused

I've had simliar advice already actually. Although wild ducks thrive in swampy conditions domesticated breeds will suffer from the same foot infections that hens get if kept on wet ground. I dug the pen right down when I was building it and put in plenty of sand and gravel to help with drainage but it still gets boggy so I went down to the local builders merchants and bought corrugated perpex sheeting to cover the whole pen, it was a great solution.

Cabaal

Just curious, I know you can just put down woodchip and the like and keep the hen house in the one position but I note other hen houses can be moved around.

If you say moved it around on a lawn or just left chickens out of the run and around your garden from time to time what type of damage are they likely to do to the lawn?

Cabaal

deisemum wrote: »

Where's the Dairygold co-op?

Nearest one to Waterford appears to be Cahir or in Macroom Cork

Black Dog

Cabaal,

I move our hen house and run every week. It has a "footprint" of about 6feet X 24feet. All over the winter I put down a layer of straw to help protect the grass under the run but at the end of each week the grass would be eaten bare where the run had been. It is about 8 weeks before the run comes back onto the same place so this give the ground some time to recover though, obviously, it doesn't recover over the winter period when there is no/very little grass growth.

When left out about the garden they do little or no damage - rooting about in the beds, making dust baths etc. The ducks will munch their way through vast amounts of lettuce and spinach. I grow two beds of "cut and come again" lettuce which recovers from their munching to provide more leaves for them to munch. Netting keeps them out of veg beds which I want to protect.

Cabaal

Black Dog wrote: »

Cabaal,

I move our hen house and run every week. It has a "footprint" of about 6feet X 24feet. All over the winter I put down a layer of straw to help protect the grass under the run but at the end of each week the grass would be eaten bare where the run had been. It is about 8 weeks before the run comes back onto the same place so this give the ground some time to recover though, obviously, it doesn't recover over the winter period when there is no/very little grass growth.

When left out about the garden they do little or no damage - rooting about in the beds, making dust baths etc. The ducks will munch their way through vast amounts of lettuce and spinach. I grow two beds of "cut and come again" lettuce which recovers from their munching to provide more leaves for them to munch. Netting keeps them out of veg beds which I want to protect.

Thanks for the helpful response, I was thinking they'd remove alot of grass if you had a hen house on the spot.

I guess having the hen house in the one place is the best situation and then leave them out now and then around the whole garden.