Advice on getting hens please

Liccle trinity

Hi Folks,

I would like to get my mother (who lives in the countryside with plenty of space) some hens. She is moving towards being a vegitarian and would use the eggs.
Would like to buy her a couple of hens for her upcoming birthday but havent the first clue about purchasing, types of breed, conditions required, maintenance etc. Any advice would be greatly appreicated.

Many thanks.

getz

Liccle trinity wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I would like to get my mother (who lives in the countryside with plenty of space) some hens. She is moving towards being a vegitarian and would use the eggs.
Would like to buy her a couple of hens for her upcoming birthday but havent the first clue about purchasing, types of breed, conditions required, maintenance etc. Any advice would be greatly appreicated.

Many thanks.

in the UK the hens eggs that are very much loved are blue ones,they come from a breed of hen called aracarnas,the hen comes in a array of colours,the eggs are very tasty and can be only be bought from the likes of sainsburys,never see them in Ireland,they are expensive to buy, but could be a good investment.

Liccle trinity

getz wrote: »

in the UK the hens eggs that are very much loved are blue ones,they come from a breed of hen called aracarnas,the hen comes in a array of colours,the eggs are very tasty and can be only be bought from the likes of sainsburys,never see them in Ireland,they are expensive to buy, but could be a good investment.

Ooo that sounds good. Thanks for that. I will look into it!

sadie06

I would recommend you get her Light Sussex as we found them to be a good hardy breed, and great layers, but also with a bit more longevity than the common brown/red hen. The light sussex should live for 4-5 years, whereas the common brown/red hen lives a much shorter life, which can be distressing if you are a novice.

I would steer clear of fancy breeds. We dabbled with some beautiful looking hens, but they were not hardy and did not do well in the Irish winter.

Good luck.


Oh also, I would recommend at least three hens, as if you only have two, one can be very traumatised if the other pops off to the big chicken coop in the sky!

bluecherry74

I agree with what sadie wrote above. I'm new to keeping hens and I have four - a Light Sussex who is a great layer and very friendly, a Bluebell, a Blackrock and a Plymouth Rock. They're all hardy breeds/hybrids and all are good layers. They've been laying a few weeks now and I'm getting on average 20 eggs a week.

I did think about getting some fancier breeds for different egg shell colours, but they're harder to source. The breeds I mentioned are easy to come by. Your best bet is to look for poultry sales in your area or online advertising sites.

You'll be looking for "point of lay" hens, which are 18-22 weeks old, and they should be vaccinated and wormed by the seller. You'll need to worm them every 6 months or so after that.

They eat layers pellets which you can get in any agri store, and you can also feel them kitchen scraps such as leftover veggies, rice etc. Layers pellets should make up most of the food though. If you want to tame them, buy some dried mealworms. They go nuts for them and there's a mini stampede inside the run whenever I go outside with the mealworm box!

You'll need a hen house for them to sleep in and provide shelter, and a secure run with plenty of space for them to wander around.

I started this thread over on the Smallholding form and got loads of help and advice there so have a read through that if you can:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056918492

This is my set up and 3 of my hens:

Liccle trinity

Thats great info thanks! Cheers for the photos too.

We have a enclosed dog run to repurpose and little dog shed that im sure will do the job.
All in all would you say they are more expensive to maintain with all the worming & feeding than what they produce in eggs?

Might start with a couple of local sorts and then work our way up to Geese & Peacocks eventually

Thanks for the info & link very helpful!

bluecherry74

They're really not expensive to maintain. For me, getting the run and house was a lot of money but it sounds like you're most of the way there. Layers pellets cost around €12 for a 20kg bag, which will last 3 hens around 2 months at a guess, so that's not expensive at all. The wormer is pricey, I think my vet quoted me €27, but it's only twice a year and I think there are quite a few doses in one bottle.

You're not going to save much, if any, money by having your own hens, but you'll have amazing tasting eggs and endless hours of entertainment!

Liccle trinity

Are cats fond of eating them?

bluecherry74

Nope, my cats stay well away from them. Hens look surprisingly big compared to a cat and they're not afraid to flap their wings and let out a good old screech! My run is covered on top with chicken wire so you might want to consider doing that just to be on the safe side. It'll help keep out other predators as well.

Liccle trinity

Yeah its covered but slight space between sides and roofing and those cats can squeeze into tidy places. My mams cat is fat and lazy and probably wouldnt be bothered. Its a farmer across the way that has a load of ferrals that are just plain nasty at best. Must check if they are still around.

missmyler

You could always get some ex battery hens from a rescue. If your mother is planning on going vegetarian this might appeal to her

They are not always the prettiest hens and sometimes not the best layers but I'm sure they would thank you for it if they could!

aonb

definately get minimum of 3 to start. If one dies you wont be leaving a lonely hen. Introducting new hens later, when your hens get old, or you find that 2-3 eggs/day on average is not enough, is a pain - bullying etc is a real issue introducing new hens.
If you are using a dog house for the coop, you will find that cleaning it out, retreiving the eggs (have to kneel down to get at the eggs - not nice in the wet!) may be a problem. There is also a problem with lice/red mite etc if you dont keep the coop properly clean.
If you buy a tub of FLUBENVET worming powder (about E20) it will last for a couple of years at least if you have 3 hens. Feed them LAYERS PELLETS which is the perfect food for hens. Laying will be maintained on a diet of pellets. If they are not free ranging, you will need to buy some oyster shell or grit. They need access to clean water at all times. Thats about the total of the expenditure for what will be the best flavour/quality eggs possible.
If your mother is in the country, foxes could be an issue, so make sure that the run and coop are as secure as you can make them.
Keeping hens is addictive and compulsive, your mother will hen-addicted before she knows it!!

sadie06

I agree, once you get into it, it is addictive. My favourite description of hens is 'garden art'.

Shelli2

I have often thought of getting some hens, and I have a large unused area of garden that I would like to build a pen and house in. However, the area is very shady and has a canopy from some very tall overhanging trees, and it's not an option to remove them. Would hens be ok in this environment or would they suffer from lack of direct sunshine?

Do you have to keep a cockerel with the hens? The crowing would be a problem for my neighbours i think.

Quality

A little bit off topic here, but chicken poo!
I don't think people realise how big and messy it is. Hope ur mam is well and fit enough to manage the cleaning of it.

That and keeping them safe from foxes and rats.


The positives though are great.

Fresh eggs and interesting pets!

aonb

Shelli2 wrote: »

I have often thought of getting some hens, and I have a large unused area of garden that I would like to build a pen and house in. However, the area is very shady and has a canopy from some very tall overhanging trees, and it's not an option to remove them. Would hens be ok in this environment or would they suffer from lack of direct sunshine?

Do you have to keep a cockerel with the hens? The crowing would be a problem for my neighbours i think.

No you do not need a cockerel with hens. The only reason for a cockeral is to breed your own chicks.

Is it VERY SHADY under the trees? DAYLIGHT is a major contributor to the egg laying business (this is why hens go off lay in the winter) - they need a min of 7-8 hours daylight a day, does not need to be direct sunlight - their feathers make shade a necessity to them. The advantage to the overhanging trees would be that it would protect them a bit from rain/very warm sun (in this country?!?) But if its very very dark, hmnnnnn. If its large enough an area, I would consider that to be a better environment for them than worry about the shade I think. My neighbours run is pretty shaded, and shes gets good egg production, so you should be ok...


QUALITY, I agree with you on the POO issue! If your hens are free ranging, they will poo outside back doors especially :mad:

sadie06

I have to agree....nothing can prepare you how much they poo.

Shelli2

Do they smell quite badly? If the run was very large, how often would you have to clean out the coop, and how would you clean the enclosure?

As regards the shade area, I could make the run larger so that part of it is in the very shady area and part is in the sunlight. Would that help?

sadie06

The coop itself will smell, especially in warm weather, but I don't get a smell outside. We clean the coop once a week to ten days. The enclosure we rake through every now and then.

aonb

I line the coop floor with lots of sheets of newspaper, then whip it out (covered with poo!) once a week and into the compost bin. Cant say the coop ever smells really. I line the nest boxes with sheets of newspaper covered with a bit of straw. Every morning I lift newspaper/straw up and tip any poos off, then replace it - keeps the eggs clean. Hens will sleep in the nestboxes (rather than on their perches) sometimes.

Shelli2, Cant emphasise enough that the bigger run space you can possibly have the better for the health of the hens, egg production will be higher because they wont be stressed by lack of space & all the problems that can go with boredom (bullying and feather pulling etc) If theres light as well as shade you will be fine. If the run is a decent size you wont have to worry about cleaning it - the poo will mulch down. Go for it - its fantastic having lovely home grown eggs, and the hens will become pets and provide lots of entertainment/amusement!

bluecherry74

I really don't notice much of a smell either. Occasionally on a warm day, the run will have a faint farmyard smell, but it's not strong and not repulsive. It's gravel on dirt and the only cleaning it gets is an occasionally rake, but there's no build up of poo at all. I may get some of this at some point though:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Net-Tex-Ground-Sanitising-Powder/dp/B005P7ERPM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=FW7BMEEY23CG&coliid=I1V6SBSUKUBYV

My coop is quite small so I make sure to give it a quick clean out one or twice a week. This involves putting on gloves and just picking out the bits of poo and then mixing up their bedding. Any soiled bedding in the nest boxes gets removed and replaced. Every once in a while I clean it out completely and disinfect it (with an animal safe disinfectant!) and leave the side open so it can air out and dry.