Chickens

MarkAnthony

So I've been doing a bit of research and think I've enough space for three chickens (not bantams) in the corner of my side garden.

I'm just wondering if anyone can suggest somewhere to get the chickens - are ex battery hens a thing here? Do you recommend getting them? Is there somewhere I can get good layers in North Dublin or relatively near?

Ideally I need them to be quiet - I've been looking and apparently certain breeds are good for this, any suggestions? If cleaned weekly is the small as bad as people suggest?

Thanks in advance!

Latatian

I have seen ads for ex battery hens, 3e apiece. They're not good layers- otherwise they wouldn't be being sold- and can have some odd problems, but the breeds are generally good-tempered and sociable and you'd be doing a good thing. Don't do it for the eggs, but if you want to give an animal that needs it a home, go for it.

The smell is pretty atrocious, cleaned weekly or more often, but you get used to it.

awanderer

A rescue posted recently that they will have more ex battery hens ready for adoption in May/July. I'll pm its name as soon as I remember it.

MarkAnthony

Latatian wrote: »

I have seen ads for ex battery hens, 3e apiece. They're not good layers- otherwise they wouldn't be being sold- and can have some odd problems, but the breeds are generally good-tempered and sociable and you'd be doing a good thing. Don't do it for the eggs, but if you want to give an animal that needs it a home, go for it.

The smell is pretty atrocious, cleaned weekly or more often, but you get used to it.

Ah I'm in a relatively confined area so I don't want t upset the neighbours. Their house would be around 20-30m away over a wall.

I might have to rethink this, I thought it might be kept under control with regular cleaning. I was hoping to use the straw and droppings for composting.

The Sidewards Man

I dont think you have sufficient space and suitable living area for chickens.

Latatian

Go and see someone who has a couple of hens. See what you think. Smell is a highly individual thing- could just be that I am more sensitive to it. I did find after I was around them for a bit the smell got much less distinct.

MarkAnthony

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

I dont think you have sufficient space and suitable living area for chickens.

Fair enough, I'm aware of quite a few people who keep them in smaller premises but thanks for your succinct input.

MarkAnthony

Latatian wrote: »

Go and see someone who has a couple of hens. See what you think. Smell is a highly individual thing- could just be that I am more sensitive to it. I did find after I was around them for a bit the smell got much less distinct.

To be honest I'm more worried about the neighbour's tolerance, it wouldn't be an issue for me as it's in the side garden that's used as an allotment. There's some smelly things there already such as the compost heap and manure bin!

I've been around a few people that have hens but I've never really notices a smell. That said I wasn't there daily or during a hot summer!

DBB

I clean my hen house out every morning, it takes 5-10 mins. I have them bedded on peat. I was only remarking yesterday how pleasant their house smells! And that's 15 hens in a standard 8 x 6 garden shed.
However, I would imagine it'd smell pretty rotten if I left it as long as a week between cleans. They produce a startling amount of poop!
As for ex-batts, they're generally just finished their first, and most productive year of laying when they become available for rescue. In their 2nd year, you wouldn't expect eggs every day, but there'd still be plenty. The egg production drops year on year. A girl I know has 4 ex-batts and gets 6 eggs from them per day regularly!
Otherwise, many people opt for point-of-lay hybrids if it's eggs they're after... Many hybrids are Rhode Island crosses of some sort and you're looking at around the €12-15 mark for a point-of-lay hybrid.
How much space have you got for them op? That is the major factor in whether to get hens at all, and if so, how many to get. What's the surface under them? Have you a foxproof shed for them? Indeed, is their run area capable of being made predator-proof?

Ps Whilst straw is fine for the nest boxes, I find it terrible for bedding. It is difficult to keep clean. Peat is great, as is sand, and sawdust, though be a little wary of the latter as pine shavings can cause allergies in hens... I learned this to my cost, which is why I switched to peat, which I'm delighted with.

_Brian

The smell from chicken manure is really only bad if their area gets sodden wet all the time.
We covered the area where our girls are and there is never any smell.

Chickens are only noisy if they are distressed. If they are happy and relaxed you'd hardly her them.

TopTec

Anyone leaving the cleaning of a coop for a week is asking for smells. Like others I remove, with a glove, any piles of pooh overnight and every few days sift through their nest boxes for any missed bits. The nest boxes are chopped straw and the rest is newspaper and sawdust from my workshop.

Never had any smells. The only nuisance is that the doorsteps and window sills and paths tend to get a few piles of unsightly mess which are scraped off as soon as found due to the possible discolouration of the sill from the pooh.

TT

MarkAnthony

Thank for all the input folks!

This is the coop I was thinking of. I'm thinking of getting maybe 4 ex bats. I was doing some reading up and they suggest that there is a real potential to lose one relatively quickly - might I ask thoughts there? Coops says four hens, I've read that really that means three.

I was going to double the run as I have 4mx2m for their coop and run. That's in the side garden which is 22' x 40', I've was then going to let them have a wander around that when I was gardening and try and usher them out the back and close the gate when I wasn't. That's an irregular space but probably slightly larger than the side garden. The front garden is the one that will be a bit more of a show garden so I was going to keep them out of there.

Sorry for the mix of metric and imperial it just depends on the measurements given. The raised beds etc. feet/inches. The chicken coop metric so I just work in which ever to save converting!

The ground under the coop site is just grass but I can dig it out and replace it hand enough.

I've no issue cleaning them out everyday/every other day. I actually want the crap for my compost!

Lo_La

Its <snip> that re home the ex battery hens have a look at their facebook page

MarkAnthony

Lo_La wrote: »

Its <snip> that re home the ex battery hens have a look at their facebook page

Many Thanks, a couple of PMs on that too, thanks to the senders of those too!

The softie in me is thinking of going the ex-bat route. If I can get an egg every other day from each chicken that'd be enough. Being 100% honest though I'm not sure I want to go the full 'pet' route they would be there for an element of utility that makes me think I might have to go breeder route.

Just musing out loud.

TopTec

MA. I have that same coop here. IMO it is not suitable for 3 hens. I initially started with 3 but quickly realised that the night hutch is not big enough for 3, especially as there are only 2 nest boxes. Hens being hens they all want to be in the boxes at night and don't often use the small roosting poles inside. The crush inside the boxes didn't help the bullying that went on with mine.

The run area is also far too small for a couple of hens, especially when you add food and water containers.Mine are free ranging during the day and put themselves to bed at night and I close the main wire door and the sliding hutch door, so it is only used as a night sleeping/laying unit.

You could easily cut a small access door through from the wire into a much bigger day run. Leave the grass as the hens will clear that away in a short time and it would be beneficial to move the coop from spot to spot.

Be warned though that the non--box end is very light and wind can easily get underneath the board roof and flip the coop. Mine is secured with bungies. Thre is not a lot of room for shelter from the rain either, just the bit under the night box.

Hope that help.

TT

MarkAnthony

Thanks TopTec! I'll keep searching for a decent coop. Good to know sizes - I'll chalk that one down to two at the most and work from there.

MarkAnthony

I take it they're not reversible? E.g. it goes the way it is in the picture only. Had an idea there of getting two and joining them together at the run.

DBB

You might be better off getting a lad who makes coops, kennels, sheds etc to order... They tend to be really good quality and you can get him to make it up as you want it. Try to go for a house on stilts so the hens have shelter during the day (also makes best use of space), and make sure your perches are higher than the nest boxes... It discourages them from sleeping (and therefore dirtying) the nest boxes.
I personally prefer using tree branches (1.5-2 inch diameter) as perches because they're more natural and the hens prefer them... I cannot abide perches that are any shape other than round... You see square ones in some proprietary coops and they're soooo unnatural for the birds.
I have perches grading from low to high, with plenty of room up high so the hens don't have to compete for their much-preferred high roosts. The low roosts are really only there so that the hens can ascend easily to the high ones!

angeldaisy

DBB any chance you could put up a picture of your set up? I'm thinking of something similar with my ladies.

pawrick

interested in seeing peoples set ups also if possible as it's something I am interested in doing too when i have the time

DBB

Sounds like a plan!
I'll get some pics of the inside of our hen house tomorrow, and a bit about the set-up generally. I'd LOVE to see other people's set-ups too

angeldaisy

I'll take some of mine too, it's still a work in progress and I'm still learning! But I'll put some up this evening.

sdp

would also be very interested in photo of hen house, at the moment , turning our 8x6 shed into one,
DBB, where do you get peat?
many thanks

Kash

I can't wait to see some pics - I'm waiting to have someone fix a fence for me before I get chickens, but I'm desperate to start!

DBB

sdp wrote: »

DBB, where do you get peat?

It's just the bog standard (pardon the pun ) peat or compost from garden centers/Lidl/Aldi... One bag is enough to cover the floor of our shed, leaving an uncovered bit in the middle for us to walk on without dragging it back out on our boots. I top it up once or twice a week with a bucket of peat.

aonb

I have 3 small coops - one a plastic dog kennel, modified, one made by my husband and another custom bought with the slide out aluminum tray and exterior nest boxes. Each coop is for a 'seperate' group of hens! Elderly non-layers/retired, new/incoming point of lay, and the laying girls.

All of the coops I line with a very thick 'pad' of newspaper. Every morning I whip out the top few layers of newspaper, wet & poo bundled up and dumped into the compost bin.

Ive never had a problem with smells in hen runs/coops
Ive never had a problem with noisy hens - gentle clucking, with the regular "IVE LAID AN EGG" shrieking which only lasts a minute!

Advise I would recommend for any new hen keeper:

Keep your run as dry as possible - cover it preferably, this would have the very important advantage of keeping wild birds (crows/jackdaws/magpies) out of your run, spreading pests and eating your hens food. Take in your hens hoppers/dishes every night, to keep rats/mice away. Make a compost heap/buy a compost bin. Maintenance/Hygiene will keep smells down and your hens healthy. Buy DIATOMACEOUS EARTH - sprinkle very liberally around edges/cracks/crevices of your coop (and dust bath) to keep redmite/lice etc away

Provide a dust bath!
Provide roosts/perches in the run - as DBB mentioned, tree branches are brilliant - also in the coop if you have a shed size...
Have more than one feed and water station
Give any neighbours a few eggs now and then to keep them onside!

Oh and make sure the breeder you buy your point of lay hens from knows what s/he is at, and you actually get HENS not COCKERALS - if noise is a concern

murphf

We have 8 ex batts from <snip> in Kildare . 4 from their last rescue and 4 the year before. I clean their coop a couple of times a week, they never learnt to roost and sleep on the floor and nest boxes and poop a lot! The coop we have has a built in run but it wouldn't be enough space for them, we have fenced off more and more of the garden as time goes by! They can be noisy when laying (we have one who crows loudly on a weekend morning !) but mostly it's just soft chucking. Eggs for the neighbours helps! They are very entertaining and the eggs are yum, they don't lay between Oct to march for us. And we get 4-6 eggs a day from the 8 at the mo but the new ones are regrowing feathers so that is to be expected , love them!

DBB

Oh! Aonb has reminded me to post that I have the shed floor lined with lino which overlaps at the edges, rising up along the shed walls... Your only man! Keeps everything dry and clean, and easy to keep clean.
Peat on top of that then.

DBB

Okay... piccie pics... but I'm only posting these if others post theirs too

First up, the front of the 6 x 8 shed. We bought it 2nd-hand for reasonable money.. it'll get a lick of paint during the summer, I'm thinking lovely bright colours. As you can see, we have it raised on stilts, giving the hens a fab shelter underneath... not only do they use it for shelter and shade, they run and hide under there when something scary happens (like a helicopter flying overhead ). We cut a hatch in the bottom door to keep it snug inside, and it's closed up at night.
The crosses in the window are masking tape... one of our younger hens (a bluebell) is... ummm... special, and keeps trying to get out through the window in the mornings


This is the back of the shed. We got a fella to make us the nest box, which we attached to the shed, cutting holes through the walls (see below). We originally had nest boxes inside (fish boxes filled with straw!), which was all very well until our flock grew. getting the nest boxes outside the shed saves serious space. I posted earlier about getting a fella to make a coop... this particular fella made the nest box cheaper than we could have bought the materials for it. He's based in Kinnitty in Offaly, for the record, and I have his contact details if anyone wants!


Here's one of the red ladies inspecting work on attaching the new nest box to the shed. She was a great help :rolleyes:


Next, the inside. Floor lined with lino, peat underneath the perches. Openings to the nest boxes at the back, with stepping blocks to help the girls hop into them!
There are three perches on both sides (can only see 2 on the left of this pic) made from tree branches, positioned low, medium and high. The original 6 reds only ever used the low and middle perches, but since we got a scatter of agile youngsters, most birds roost high. Some have a marked preference for roosting near the windows. I think it's so that they can yell at the rest of the girls at dawn that breakfast is coming :pac:


Finally, gotta show ye some of the girlz
Some of the reds (my favourite one is the cheeky mare up front, she's hilarious!) and one of our young leghorns...


And some of our latest arrivals sunbathing, taken a few weeks ago... A bluebell pullet up front, another one back to the right having a preen (I swear her head's not actually missing), a cluster of black stars, and I think there's a pb Wellsummer tucked in amongst them too! Both bluebells are laying now, as are the Wellsummers.. the black stars are not far off at all


The run itself is huge, the guts of a quarter acre. We put a LOT of effort into fox-proofing the run. We inherited 5 foot-high sheep-wire fencing which we chicken-proofed with the green windbreak, but we also have 3 to 5 strands of electrified wire on all boundaries, one near the ground, one at fox nose-height, and one at the very top in case foxy tries to jump in. If you look closely at the shed photos, you'll spot that we also ran a strand of electrified wire around the bottom of the shed in case a predator thinks about having a chew.
We also have a couple of mink cage traps set about the place, because electric wire ain't gonna stop those fellas (or pine martens).

Hopefully this will help to inspire some ideas.. I'm looking forward to being inspired by other hen-fans too

sdp

Thank you so much for photos! you have given me some great information about shed, I was thinking about lino, great to know it will work,:) old shed as well, I'm insulating it with aeroboard as lots of gapes between slates. will take pictures as soon as its finished .
I had googled peat, and only found peatmoss bedding for cattle!, glad to know its the ahem.. bog standard stuff

sdp

thanks Anob , great information to have

DBB

sdp wrote: »

thanks Anob , great information to have

Aonb is my boards go-to hen lady

Choc Chip

This thread has made me want hens - that coop looks amazing DBB!

tk123

Wow I never knew hens took up so much space! My friend's sister got a few ex-battery ones and loved them! My friend hated them though because she was afraid Rebel would kill one/all of them and they'd be thrown out of the family! :pac:

aonb

Im green with envy - what a lovely set-up DBB, and LOVE the variety of girlz!

I'll take some photos of my pathetic-in-comparison set-up today, and see if I can get them off my phone and onto here

angeldaisy

My set up is no where near DBB's but here goes





When we got the ladies (ex-batt hens)


Enjoying the dust / stones


Now confident enough to eat out of my hand



They let themselves out into the enclosed run in the morning and then I let them out of that when we get up and they free range all day until bedtime!

aonb

Angeldaisy, I like your 'enclosed run' with the perch in front (do they use it?) I like how you have half of it enclosed with black plastic - keeps them dry - does the whole thing roll forward then to the coop?

angeldaisy

aonb wrote: »

Angeldaisy, I like your 'enclosed run' with the perch in front (do they use it?) I like how you have half of it enclosed with black plastic - keeps them dry - does the whole thing roll forward then to the coop?

Thanks AONB. There are wheels on each corner so we can put it against the coop at night. We leave the big door open, but close the sliding door. The little door on the side is left unlocked but closed. So in a morning they push open the little door and into the run. They can also access food and water. They do use the perches, I need to put more in though as they always squabble over them.

They still give out in a morning though until we leave them out in the garden!!

DBB

Thanks everyone for the nice words

tk123 wrote: »

Wow I never knew hens took up so much space!

.
Ach, they don't need anywhere near as much as they have here... In theory you can pack quite a few hens into a remarkably small space, but me being me, I really wanted them to have much more space than they theoretically need. I've also got the real luxury that we've lots of room here for them, which gives us a lot more options. That doesn't take away at all from hen-keepers with limited space, as long as there's enough room that the hens don't end up having to live in a mud-bath, or are squabbling a lot. Like any other animal, they should only be kept if conditions are right for them to have a decent quality of life. That's perfectly achievable with limited space, if it's done right!
Aonb, I have you to thank for a lot of the things we took into consideration when putting this together! You are a mine of chickeny information
We will be getting more hens... we've booked some Australorp chicks to take when they're a bit older As a dual purpose breed, the theory is that it won't be just eggs we eat from them... but we'll have to see how that particular plan pans out closer to the day :(

aonb wrote: »

Angeldaisy, I like your 'enclosed run' with the perch in front (do they use it?) I like how you have half of it enclosed with black plastic - keeps them dry

I do too! I really like that they can let themselves out in the mornings having been safely inside all night... Once I half wake up at dawn, I can't drop back to sleep knowing that all the girls are in the shed clamouring to get out and get fed!
I think it's brilliant, if hens are kept in a small run, to get free-ranging time every day. It reduces mud, it reduces behavioural problems, and it keeps them happy!
Also, how cool is it to see the ex-batts learning to enjoy life, and looking so well!

Siipina

I got last year six ex free range farm hens, build coop and run myself and bought a small one later. By now I have 14 hens and one rooster, turned out for me keeping chickens is highly addictive. I have 5 ex battery hens as well from the last run from the rescue in Kildare. Only three of them are roosting and I must say I am glad that I did start with ex free range farm ones as they are very tame and still have a normal chicken behaviour so me and now the ex battery girls could learn from them.
I keep them on shavings and no problem at all with the smell. I clean them out around once a week or whenever I think it's time and I through the shavings from the coop into the run and clean the run out every two weeks, works best for me. I used a dropping board for the first few month but I prefer it now without. The nestboxes where first under the roost but they didn't like it so moved them there and they are fine.
They are outside most of the time during the day which keeps the food cost and the slugs down and they are only in the run when I m not home. There is no roof over the run yet but it's on the cards for next winter as well as a bigger coop.
They have old bed linen like curtains in front of the nestboxes and since then I have no problem with eggs being laid somewhere else which I had before they certainly like their privacy.
I got a big plastic tray for their sandbox it's under the coop so it stays dry and I fill it up with peat,sand and DE and they love it.
I even made a FB page about them😂 The chicken world.
I might become the mad chicken lady one day.😂😂😂

aonb

My hens DONT eat slugs :mad: they LOVE earwigs and woodlice though - I used to move flowerpots etc for them to get the wrigglies underneath - the girls would come running from far and wide when they heard the scraping noise!

Siipina, nice set up there - how do you change/clean/manage the shavings in the big coop? Do you clear the lot every now and then, or just poop-pick?

Putting DIATOM EARTH in the dustbath is a great idea. I swear by the stuff - sprinkle it under perch ends/around the edges and corner all through the coops - havent had any redmite/lice since (its supposed to be good to put in their/the dogs food too for internal parasites)

The dandelions are coming up fast now - pick lots and lots and tie them in big bunches with twine or elastics and hang them in the runs - the hens LOVE them - and they're free. Great for the eggs, and for hens who dont free range

DBB

aonb wrote: »

My hens DONT eat slugs :mad:

Well, Im kinda glad to hear that, because although I'd a pal who kept hens who'd eat anything that moved that could possibly fit down their necks, mine don't eat slugs either. Oh no. Slugs are wayyyyy below their station :rolleyes:

sdp

Sipina, lovely set up, thank you, Great to see all different houses,
what about perch sizes, is there a standard size? as I see some tree branches?
finished insulating shed after work yesterday, this thread gave me the spur I needed to get moving on it
had an old dog door, belonging to Toby, and fitted that, it will be opened from inside, as front of shed is facing back door, and gravel up to it, thinking of covering aeroboard on roof with black plastic, and sides with corriboard, ( esay to clean)
we had hens when I was a child, 40 years plus ago , but don't remember a lot about them, so any and all tip welcome,

sdp

Angeldaisy, must be so rewarding to see the girls come on so well, love the idea of your enclosed run,
thank you,

Siipina

Thanks guys i am happy with the design in general. It is easy to keep clean this way. I had lino in the coop first but had mould under it as it was raining a bit through the pop door. Took it out and its great since then.
I clean the run around every three weeks all out in one go. It's not my favourite but I don't have this slime anymore from too much **** in combination rain so I am happy. I had first bark which was the worst then gravel which looked great for a while but turned awful and now that's the best for me at the moment. I am sure a roof would be beneficial. A good thing from the practical side is the door to the run is split. I did it because of the roof of the coop but in hindsight it's so much more practical.
My roost are 2x4 inch with the 4 side to sit on. It's nicer in the winter for them as they cover their whole feet while roosting. I was a bit scared of frostbite even if I don't think it will be ever cold enough. You never know.
I feed a lot of fresh herbs against parasites and so far no problem at all. They get a bowl of porridge with Oregano, garlic basil and some other herbs, whatever I just have and it works great. The end bits of the garlic from cooking we would through away, I put in the drinking water for their intestines as well as I feed fermented corn every now and then.

DBB

sdp wrote: »

what about perch sizes, is there a standard size? as I see some tree branches?

This is where the zoological nerd comes out in me, the reason why square perches aren't what the birds are looking for (sorry siipina! ). Same goes for perches that are very thin, or very wide.
For a perching species to properly roost, they must be able to wrap their feet around their perch. The action of wrapping their feet around a perch, coupled with them bending their legs in the resting position, engages a ligament that runs down the back of the leg which causes the feet to tighten around the perch, even whilst the bird sleeps, to stop the bird falling off whilst they sleep.
Battery hens often don't know how to roost, and for those that don't, a flat-edged roost is better than none, but I'd be inclined to offer them a circular perch so that they can learn to use it.
Tree branches offer them a gradient of diameter so that they can choose what suits them best, our branches range from a diameter of about 1 inch to 2 inches along their length.

Siipina

For the next coop I am planning to use some branches as well. I have mostly rescues, ex free range and ex battery and two I thought "normal". Hens but it turned out they didn't know what to do with a perch either, so I am happy that the majority of them is now actually using the perches. I had smaller ones and roundier ones in before but I just got a bit annoyed to put each one of them up by hand so I thought I make them bigger ones and since then they are happy with it. 😠the battery girls prefer to sleep huddled together on top of each other, only two are going up now after nearly three month . Even if I put them up myself they just would not stay there. I made them a corner now with shavings and Stroh so if they prefer that they can slepp there nice and cosy 😉

Dial Hard

I have to say, I'm really enjoying this thread. I'm not in a position to keep hens (completely cobblelocked back garden) but am living vicariously through all of you guys

aonb

sdp wrote: »

Sipina, lovely set up, thank you, Great to see all different houses,
what about perch sizes, is there a standard size? as I see some tree branches?
finished insulating shed after work yesterday, this thread gave me the spur I needed to get moving on it
had an old dog door, belonging to Toby, and fitted that, it will be opened from inside, as front of shed is facing back door, and gravel up to it, thinking of covering aeroboard on roof with black plastic, and sides with corriboard, ( esay to clean)
we had hens when I was a child, 40 years plus ago , but don't remember a lot about them, so any and all tip welcome,

^^^ would CONDENSATION collect under the plastic and cause mould/rot etc on the aeroboard?

Im a bit fanatical about covering/sealing anything around the coops as its a haven for the dreaded Red Mite :mad:

The most important thing in a coop is DRAUGHT free (obviously dry too) - hens feathers are like duvets - they cope much better with cold than with heat, so in our temperate climate its never going to be too cold.

The other thing new-hen keepers might consider are guinea fowl - the prettiest little creatures, and they live happily with hens (Im dying to get some!) For people with very small spaces you might consider Bantams.

Pretzill

Loving this thread. I used to keep ducks and hens - ducks first I do miss their ability to deslug the garden (but I don't miss their pooping power) We also got ex bat hens and it was a joy to see them restore to health and feathers.
A couple of bad winters, hungry foxes, devious mink and a seriously destructive pine Marten put me off keeping them - too sad to lose them but don't necessarily blame their prey (it was a seriously Arctic winter) - we kept them as free range as possible an they had 3 acres of free roam, outside their run on safe days.

Our last duck died of natural causes age circa 12 years! And that was it. I am jealous of all your delicious eggs but mostly of being guardians to these unique, characterful creatures!

angeldaisy

Went to make sure my ladies were in bed before locking the coop, only no sign of them!!

Had a good look round and found them all in the old dog kennel. They obviously fancied a change. So they are now locked into the kennel instead.

Never will be able to figure out Hens!!!