Chickens

godtabh

I’ve moved house and now in a rural setting with c. 1 acre of land.

Thinking of getting chickens.

Where do I start? What do I need (besides chickens!)

amytomjerry

I have chickens and the one thing needed is a fox proof run considering you are in a rural location...the best way to keep the little hens safe is to run electric wire around their enclosure.

Hens are very easy to keep, all they desire is fresh water, pellets and some grass...they love to roam and have dust baths..

I keep mine in a garden shed adapted for them...have 3 roosts and a couple of plastic drums as nest boxes...I use shavings or straw as bedding..

Cape Clear

in expensive to keep and a laying hen will pay back your investment of time etc. in spades. Great also if you have young children it helps to teach them important skills.

godtabh

Any recommendations on coops/runs?

amytomjerry

godtabh wrote: »

Any recommendations on coops/runs?

Electric Poultry netting is the way to go..you are free to move it around and it simply connects to a battery..

aonb

A securely fenced in hen run, with a secure house.
The house should have perches, and nest boxes
DONT get two hens - if one dies you will be left with a lonely single hen. Always good to go with a decent number - eg 6 hens, which will give you enough eggs for your family and for friends if surplus - if you have the space
Important to be able to ENCLOSE them safely (ie netting that is dug into the ground) for when you close them into their coop at night, and also for when you are away from home.
Feeders can be made DIY or get some actual hen feeders - at very least two to prevent bullying - preferably with 'hats' on to keep the grain dry
Water drinkers - again you can use old dishes or whatever, or buy specific water drinkers. Make sure they are easy to wash/keep clean. They need to be topped up or kept full every day.
Find a local supplier/farmers coop or whatever for LAYERS PELLETS or LAYERS MASH - these are complete food for hens. After that anything you give them (scraps from the kitchen etc) is just icing on the cake.
Put some quality Apple Cider VInegar on the list, to add a little to their water
Some straw or bedding for their nest boxes
Purple spray (Gentian) in your Hen First Aid kit - you will be very glad when there is a need for it - also some hibiscrub or sudocrem
Cleaning materials you will find out about as you go along - their coop if a small
one will need to be cleaned very regularly
Make an compost bin area for the dirty straw/whatever bedding
Collect eggs every morning, to prevent issues
Decide if you are going to let them free range around your property. They will be far happier, but the issues of fox or neighbours (your?) dogs etc will need to be considered
Make the BIGGEST run you can manage - if they are not freeranging, this is critical - but even if they are going to free range its good to consider keeping them in the run until they have laid their eggs (to save you hunting for the stash of eggs hidden elsewhere on your acre!)
Get your hens from a REPUTABLE source - its critical that you do this or you could be fobbed off with anything - including cockerals! Point of Lay is what you want - good time of year to be getting them now too
Good luck - keeping hens can be addictive, the quality of the eggs is far superior to anything in shops (or maybe we hen keepers tell ourselves that, to keep us sane!) - hens can be very tame and great fun too

angelic123

hi, we are also thinking of getting chickens and were considering 2. are they very dirty i.e. how much do they soil in comparison to any other animal and if you have a small dog , will the dog be a threat to the hens or should they be ok?

aonb

angelic123 wrote: »

hi, we are also thinking of getting chickens and were considering 2. are they very dirty i.e. how much do they soil in comparison to any other animal and if you have a small dog , will the dog be a threat to the hens or should they be ok?

DONT get 2 hens - if one dies you will be left with one hen, and hens are flock creatures - go for 3 absolute minimum. They poo :cool: If they freerange they will poo on your patio/outside your back door. If you have a decent sized garden, and only 3 hens, you wont notice their poo particularly (except on the patio/back door!) If the dog is the aggressive type, he could easily kill them. You can train a small dog to let the hens be, but you will have to monitor that situation until you are confident the hens are safe while you dog is there.

MRTULES

Sorry to hijack but just wondering if anyone here knows if there are any restrictions or licenses required to keep a few chickens?
Based in South Dublin.

DBB

Yes, if you keep poultry, no matter how many, you are supposed to register your flock with the Department of Agriculture.

I've 8 birds and built my own run/coop.
Remember that when it rains, the run will be muddy unless covered.

I've enough eggs for ourselves and we sell the rest at the gate.it covers the feed costs.

I'm not sentimental. They are livestock. When they get sick or stop laying. I end their lives and get new ones. Price is anywhere from 9-15e depending on breed.
You may want pets and not mind paying a vet for medication which may not work. What you will do with them in such cases is an important thing to consider. It's part of keeping them.

godtabh

Is the traditional way of killing them still a thing?

godtabh

Any recommendations of fencing? Lots out there.

DBB

What's your set-up like, and what do you want it to be like? Electric poultry netting is worth its weight in gold, in my opinion! It creates a very effective deterrent to predators, it keeps the chucks in, it's movable, it's relatively cheap... we have loads of it containing a large area here after faffing about with other alternatives for a couple of years. Wouldn't be without it now!

godtabh

I have no set up at the moment. I am just setting up and want to get it right at the start. Have an acre of land to work with

aonb

godtabh wrote: »

Any recommendations of fencing? Lots out there.

Depends on what you can afford, and how big you want it to be.
Ive got approx 6" posts, with chicken wire type wire all around. Its dug into the ground all the way around the run too. Ive got paving slabs all the way around the run (to prevent digging) Ive got a 'roof' of strong plastic netting on top (mostly to keep out wild birds - but also to deter others)
Ive got several cats and dogs, so have not had an issue with foxes, and dont think there are any mink or pine martins etc in this area. Electric Fencing is certainly worth considering if you have any animals that will try to get into your hens.

If I had the option when building our set up, I would have gone for those metal fence panels with posts that click together - dont know what they're called

godtabh

I’ve rabbits outside in a big run and no issues so far.

ABitofsense

aonb wrote: »

Get your hens from a REPUTABLE source - its critical that you do this or you could be fobbed off with anything - including cockerals! Point of Lay is what you want - good time of year to be getting them

How do you know a reputable source for hens? I plan on picking up 10 or 12 next month once my hen area is finished.

DBB

ABitofsense wrote: »

How do you know a reputable source for hens? I plan on picking up 10 or 12 next month once my hen area is finished.

Personally, I prefer to buy pullets from small-scale keepers who specialise in a small number of breeds, and takes a bit of pride in what they do! I'm not particularly interested in buying from people who have lines of small breeding pens, just churning out fertile eggs at the cost of a decent free range life for the hens and roosters.
Personal recommendations from other hen owners may be useful, or if buying from online sources, you might try to get a feel for the sellers, call them and talk to them about what they do.
Having said that, many first-time owners buy from the main dealers... you'll get decent enough birds from them, but you need to be aware they're going to have been mass-produced.
If it's little red hybrid hens you're after, the ones everyone called Rhode Island Reds but they're not , you won't get them from anything other than mass-produced sources.
Or perhaps you're thinking of rescuing ex-commercials?

Cape Clear

ABitofsense wrote: »

How do you know a reputable source for hens? I plan on picking up 10 or 12 next month once my hen area is finished.

No harm in asking locally.

ABitofsense

Thanks I'll ask around. Just when i saw the reputable source, i was worried on some of the done-deal adds. I don't want to be starting with trouble as they will be for the kids

aonb

ABitofsense wrote: »

Thanks I'll ask around. Just when i saw the reputable source, i was worried on some of the done-deal adds. I don't want to be starting with trouble as they will be for the kids

When I said reputable source OP, I meant from someone who KNOWS what they are doing. I know someone who bought 6 pretty point of lay hens from a local teenager, who advertised them for sale. Turns out FIVE of them were cockerels!
I also know a few people who bought pullets that were NOT healthy, and brought all sorts of trouble into their flocks.

So basically, buy from someone who looks like they know what they are doing - who has a 'nice' set up (if you are picking up the pullets) - a clean set up - nice bright birds, preferably free ranging. Tricky when you are buying your first hens, but have a look at their eyes, their nares, their legs. Their combs and wattles wont be very big if they're young, but alert and perky and clean looking! Find out if they're sexed, and if you get cockerels, can you bring them back :rolleyes:

godtabh

So I have a large coop with 3m run ordered.

I have also got an area of c. 40sq.m that I will be fencing off soon. The base will be a chicken wire, covered with weed barrier and bark mulch.

I was thinking of using this netting as a fence. Any one every use it?

https://www.glanbiaconnect.com/shop/product/Windbreak-Netting/B9003852

FileNotFound

Had Hens for years, never fenced them in during the day, in the countryside we have never had foxes come after them in day time hours.
A good hen house that can be secured when they can come in for the night is all you need.
Bit of training required at the start - like herding silly cattle haha.
But once routine is in they are pretty easy to work with.
Make sure the hen house has a few perch levels - helps sort the pecking order out.


As for who to buy from - most local marts will have people who call and sell (Ours always has anyway) - get a few pullets (pre lay) and give them a few weeks to get going.

One thing to watch is that they don't start trying to lay in the ditch somewhere - you'll here them laying so you should be able to notice it.

Springwell

godtabh wrote: »

So I have a large coop with 3m run ordered.

I have also got an area of c. 40sq.m that I will be fencing off soon. The base will be a chicken wire, covered with weed barrier and bark mulch.

I was thinking of using this netting as a fence. Any one every use it?

https://www.glanbiaconnect.com/shop/product/Windbreak-Netting/B9003852

That netting is very easily ripped. Either use chicken wire or gameflex netting (I much prefer the later)

godtabh

Any recommendations on where to source hen equipment and hens themselfves?

I have the area set up and looking to stock it in the coming weeks.

FileNotFound

godtabh wrote: »

Any recommendations on where to source hen equipment and hens themselfves?

I have the area set up and looking to stock it in the coming weeks.

Local Coop store for any bits and feed.

Local Mart for our hens.

DBB

godtabh wrote: »

Any recommendations on where to source hen equipment and hens themselfves?

I have the area set up and looking to stock it in the coming weeks.

MacEoin Poultry are very good, very quick delivery with online orders.
Look up the poultry section of the advertising websites and suss out the different people selling birds. You should start to figure out that some breeders produce a small number of breeds or hybrids, and do it well. They know their breeds and know what will suit you.

Demonique

If you allow them to free range they may come into your house. The last two we had used to come in the back door any chance they could. One died and I remember the remaining hen coming in the back door to get at the dog's dry food, used to hear her pecking from two rooms over

FileNotFound

Demonique wrote: »

If you allow them to free range they may come into your house. The last two we had used to come in the back door any chance they could. One died and I remember the remaining hen coming in the back door to get at the dog's dry food, used to hear her pecking from two rooms over

If they came into the house they got a free flying lesson around our house.
They literally sh1t everywhere haha.

Ours have always been true free range and the sheepdogs keep an eye on them.

They tend not to go far these days - just luck that the older ones we introduced the current crop to were very settled and stuck to our areas.


Hens are great in how dim they are - if you always lead them left when they exit the hen house they will never bother going right. Bit of early training makes them easy to work with.

Cape Clear

Looking to expand the flock of 3 to 12 or so. Has anyone used these cages? I'd be grateful of a steer. Thanks.

4M x 3M Hen Run | Heavy Duty Metal Enclosure Cage for Birds (inthemarket.ie)

Chicken Pen - 4m x 3m | Pets.ie | Ireland

@FileNotFound

We have an eight foot wire mesh fence with a net over the top and the hen house inside. The wire is also a foot under the ground. We let the hens out of the run in the day (after 11 am usually) and shut them in the run at night (when they’ve roosted before dark). It’s really if we go away for a weekend or a couple days that the run comes in handy as you can set up an autofeeder and make sure there is water and they’ll be alright while you’re away.

The only thing I’d worry about is that a fox can dig under so you might need to do something to combat that.

The cover on top is great. A fox got in our enclosure before we got the net on top. F*cker climbed up a pallet that had been left against the fence for a day and got out by using the roof of the hen house.

Agree with @FileNotFound a dog outside with the hens seems to work well if free ranging. I always feed them once a day with a call ‘ chook chook’. That way they’ll come to you looking for food if you call them and you’ll get them into the run if you need to whenever. I only use the auto feeder if I’m away,

Maxxx17

The electric bird net is just what you need. You can move it freely and it simply plugs into the battery. Food is needed for all your animals of course. And a large room.

@godtabh

@godtabh You can kill chickens or livestock for your own consumption and that of your immediate family. As we had a cockerel until this spring we had chickens that hatched last spring and we raised the hens to keep as layers and killled the males for meat. We had eggs in the winter from the hens that hatched too. In my opinion it’s better than buying chicken at the shop but the plucking is the killer. They were delicious though and had a damn good life scratching about free to roam eating organic feed from Robins Glen. No food miles or plastic wrapping.

Hopefully we’ll be able to do the same again next year. ☺️ The OH has some plan for a plucking machine. 🤔

Springwell

No but seen them called flimsy by a few who have. You'd be better getting a handy man to build a few poultry panels and use a top net, handy to move around if needed

Naos

So I have three hens and unfortunately, we're doing a renovation on the house and need to be out for 2.5-3 months with no / very, very limited access (no side entrance)

Being practical about it, this means we have to give the little guys up. About 2 years old, still laying (2-3 eggs per day).

Anyone know of how I can get these to a good home?

godtabh

Where are you based?

Naos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117874094#Comment_117874094

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117874094#Comment_117874094

I sent you a PM Godtabh - unsure if it works on this new boards so let me know!

havana21

When you get your chicken coop make sure it’s not to hard to move bcz they mess up the ground and need fresh ground to graze so moveable coup a must

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117873808#Comment_117873808

What part of the country are you in?

Igotadose

Watch out for minks. Foxes are one problem, but if you're near water... Minks can be a disaster.

Naos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117875569#Comment_117875569

Kildare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117877466#Comment_117877466

Too far. Thanks

n1st

Can chickens manage for 5-6 days without care?

We have access to land but it's a distance away which means we only get to it at weekends.

Do chickens require feed even if in a 1 acre field?

I would have an electric fence and coop with automatic door.

You would need to be checking them more often than every week. They won't eat or drink the same amount every day.

They can also get injured and need attention.

Eggs also need to be collected

DBB

I think all livestock should be checked at least once daily, including chucks. Their lodgings need to be cleaned, and as already noted, eggs need to be collected, the perimeter needs to be checked and the general welfare of the birds needs to be monitored.... hens tend to go downhill very quickly when things go wrong. They can get through water and food astonishingly quickly too.

So, no matter what species you have, they need to be checked much more regularly than just at weekends. Have you someone reliable who could look in on them for you?