Keeping chickens in the suburbs

dozy doctor

bluecherry74 wrote: »

I read this tip on some other site (can't remember where now) - make a damp patch in the ground, add a handful of vegetable peelings/scraps and put a flagstone or a brick over it. Take it up after a week or so and there'll be a load of lice and other grubs for the chooks to hunt down and eat.

Did i hear something that you were not allowed to give them potato peelings as they are poisonous ?

sancerredave

apparently green potato peelings contain solanine which is toxic, as are avocado skins.

bluecherry74

Here's a list of things you can and can't feed chickens - it mentions green potato peel as being poisonous:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

Although I'd take the "can feed" list with a pinch of common sense. I don't think Cheerios are a good treat for a chicken...

aonb

dozy doctor wrote: »

Just a quick one folks.. I have read here that the chucks like a dust bath... What exactly is this....

I have a 3ft x3ft x 1ft deep wooden box and I was contemplating putting sand into it and sticking it in the run....

Our should I put in bark mulch....or can anyone else suggest anything I can put in to occupy them......

I do have a couple of perches in there already and will probably get a large branch for them to perch on as well..... And possibly a ladder of some description...

All ideas are very welcome as I only have them a week now....and still dont know what they like and dont like....

They LOVE a dustbath - they use the grit/dirt/dust to clean their feathers, and get ride of bugs/fleas etc. Fill the box with dirt/grit/sand (not bark mulch - actually cedar is poisonous to hens) but make sure to put it under cover so that it'll stay dry

Large branches = good - they love to perch. Anything they can hop up on. Mine wont touch raw cabbage/brocolli (not lettuce-runny poo!), but friends hens love it - tie it so that it swings down for them to peck at. If mine are in the run for some reason (rather than free ranging) I tie clumps of dandelion leaves together and tie them to the wire in the run - decimated! (and free!) I have a ride-on mower and dump the boxes of grass clippings in the run in huge mounds - they love scratching thru that, and it acts as mulch for the run too...

Qualitymark

dozy doctor wrote: »

Did i hear something that you were not allowed to give them potato peelings as they are poisonous ?

Mine never liked them raw, but they'd gollish them up when they were fried.

aonb

raw potato peels = poisonous. Also uncooked rice or any beans/peas etc that swell when wet (in their crops). SALT is really bad for hens - be careful of any human food that you give them isnt salty... Keep saying this but Layers Pellets are the perfect food for egg laying, anything else we give them can upset the system...

Qualitymark

Friend out walking in Kenilworth are of Dublin (the area around the five-way crossroads of Harold's Cross Road, Terenure Road North, Rathgar Avenue, Kenilworth Square and Kenilworth Park) saw a woman walking a smallish dog, and then as they got closer heard a clippety-clip - she was actually walking a miniature goat on a lead! Apparently she's keeping some hens too!

recedite

Been keeping about 10 hens for years. The best set-up IMO is to convert a standard wooden garden shed with some perches, nest boxes and a pophole door. Put up a fence outside it for a run, 1200mm (4ft) is sufficient for most breeds, without making the garden look like a gulag. If any fly over it, clip the primary wing feathers on one side to unbalance them.
Foxes will get into any run unless it is fully enclosed (inc. over the top) but this is impractical except for very tiny runs, which will quickly turn to mud. The solution is to buy a VSB auto pophole door and opener with timeswitch from www.axt-electronic.eu Fox attacks during the day are as rare as hens teeth. I've never wormed them, or seen the need to. I find modern hybrids are the best breed to keep, such as speckledy, bluebell, leghorn types, and black rock type. Its nice to have a few different colours of hens, and different colours of eggs too. Leghorn types are good layers and give white eggs. Copper maran is good for dark brown eggs. Araucana are a very poor layer, and the eggs are rarely anything like the blue or green they are supposed to be, just a pale greenish-white instead.

aonb

Recidite, would absolutely not agree with you on the issue of fox attacks being rare during daylight: Ive had hens taken through a sheepwire fence, while I was sitting in the garden! A friend was working in her garden when a fox came and took one, escaping with hen in its mouth - FLAPPING! - while she ran after it with her hoe waving!! :mad: A neighbour who had a decent coop made from an old shed came out 1 morning to find the fox had eaten the bottom of the door to get in to the hens, killed them all and took 1. so....

I guess it depends on where you are living and fox population.
I would say 6ft minimum height for fencing.

If you can afford an auto pop hole door opener, its a great idea - specially these mornings when its bright so early - the more daylight hours the hen is out, the better the egg laying!

Worms are an issue for every animal I think. Hens pick and scratch all day long. They peck at poo. If a hen has worms, you may not know it until the load is so heavy, she may not recover. If you can get the FLUBENVET, its only done twice/year. A E20 tub will last for years. I would suggest prevention is better than cure?

recedite

aonb wrote: »

I guess it depends on where you are living and fox population.
I would say 6ft minimum height for fencing.

Yes, you are probably right on the foxes, they vary a lot. Whether they are rural type, or urbanized, even the scent of a dog around the area will make them a lot more cautious. Round here they stay well away until nightfall, but then they go on patrol, and the one night the door is left open they will have a feast. If the hens have more space, they will not bother flying over 4 ft fence, nor peck at poo. But if confined in a small space they will do these things, and even peck each others feathers off.

aonb

yes, I think the biggest mistake new hen-keepers can make is having their hens in a the tiny spaces that these new coop makers/sellers are producing. Can you imagine been 'cooped' up in such a limited space all day long - feather pecking is a real symptom of boredom

bluecherry74

Just thought I'd update things...

My two problems - one hen laying outside and another sleeping in the nest boxes - seem to have resolved. I left fake eggs in the nest boxes and eventually the hen that was laying outside started to lay where she was supposed to be laying. After a week I removed the fake eggs and, lo and behold, the other hen has stopped sleeping in the nest boxes! I'm thinking she might have been trying to keep the fake eggs warm at night.

So I no longer have to go on an egg hunt every evening or wash chicken s**t off eggs. :cool: I'm getting 3 eggs a day from 4 hens, so I'm delighted with things.

livinsane

Thought I'd jump into this thread instead of starting a new one. I've read most of the posts and the information given here is super. I've been thinking about keeping 3 or 4 hens for a while now and since Im going on maternity leave in two months, no better time to get started.

Just looking for thoughts on the plan Im forming for the housing/run. Was thinking of converting my wooden garden shed into a nest/roost space for night, and building a moveable chicken run for daytime (I'll gladly leave them free range around the garden at times). Im no carpenter but from looking at photos of runs, they seem like something that would be easy to put together yourself.

Is it okay to have these two spaces unconnected or should the hens be able to move between them all day?

Would it be sufficient to have a simple shelter built inside the run to allow them to get shade during the day?

Should I put a nest box in the run or the shed, or both? I would be planning to move the hens outside to the run by 10am each morning, and put them back into the shed when it starts getting dark.

Thanks for any advice.

aonb

livinsane wrote: »

Thought I'd jump into this thread instead of starting a new one. I've read most of the posts and the information given here is super. I've been thinking about keeping 3 or 4 hens for a while now and since Im going on maternity leave in two months, no better time to get started.

Just looking for thoughts on the plan Im forming for the housing/run. Was thinking of converting my wooden garden shed into a nest/roost space for night, and building a moveable chicken run for daytime (I'll gladly leave them free range around the garden at times). Im no carpenter but from looking at photos of runs, they seem like something that would be easy to put together yourself.

Is it okay to have these two spaces unconnected or should the hens be able to move between them all day?

Would it be sufficient to have a simple shelter built inside the run to allow them to get shade during the day?

Should I put a nest box in the run or the shed, or both? I would be planning to move the hens outside to the run by 10am each morning, and put them back into the shed when it starts getting dark.

Thanks for any advice.

Converting your garden shed is a good idea. they will have plenty of space there. You could put up some tree branches etc as roosts. Think about cleaning it from the point of putting something on the floor - they will poop in there. An old sheet of lino covered with newspapers or straw or something. Hygiene is really imporatant - read my recent entries on the dreaded red-mite battle :mad:
I would put nest boxes in the shed - they will go there to lay. Line an old (two nest boxes would be better) veg box or similar with some newspaper and straw. You could put a shop bought (!) egg into the nest boxes so that the hens will 'get' the idea. Prob a good idea not to let them free range until after they have laid in their nest boxes - otherwise they could get into (prob will!) the habit of laying out!

If your coop is not connected to the run, how will you get them into the run?? They will certainly NOT want to go into a run when they can free range! The bigger the space you can allocate to the run the better. Cant emphasise this enough as an experienced hen-keeper :rolleyes: If you can cover the run with a net or some sort to keep wild birds out of the run - they will eat more food than the hens and bring disease/pests

Buy 4 rather than 3 - introducing new hens to an existing flock can be a pain. Hens are great - lovely healthy eggs, and the hens are great company when they get used to you Good Luck!

recedite

livinsane wrote: »

Should I put a nest box in the run or the shed, or both? I would be planning to move the hens outside to the run by 10am each morning..
.

You can't be guaranteed they will lay the eggs before 10 am. at a guess I'd say 50% or less by then.

Moving the hens between the shed and the run twice a day will be a pain. I'd suggest a permanent run attached to the shed, as big as space permits, and then another simple moveable ark that you can put them into later in the afternoon, weather permitting and if you get round to it.

livinsane

Thanks for the replies, I'll take your advice and build the run onto the existing shed. I have plenty space for a nice big run.

Now to find a new home for the lawnmower...

Qualitymark

@livinsane, a tip when you're building the run: bring the wire down a foot or 18" below the ground, and out the same amount, so that any foxes that may try to burrow underneath get frustrated and give up.