[bazh]

We're considering getting some chooks probably 4-6 purely for eggs and would like to give them full roam of the garden (apart from the raised beds) but have 3 young children how much mess would they produce on the lawn?

[symonep]

Lots!


It may be worth Fencing an area off so the kids can run on the grass without the fear of treading in somethng or do what we do and get 2 dogs who think chicken poo is the next best thing and they eat it all up for you when your back is turned  :blink:

[nic_28]

yes lots! we have wellies we wear even in summer, in the garden that get taken off at the door without fail as chicken bleep has become a huge part of our loves   We have 3 acres and they STILL dodo right outside the door :/   

[Jo57]

yes lots of poo and they scratch all the stones and stuff from borders and hedges and scatter it over the grass so grass cutting means loads clearing of debris first. And pots are tempting to climb in, on and to scratch up so raised beds would be lovely to forage in. I have divided garden in three. Very end has small veg plot and they can freerange in winter there, middle very scruffy bit is for them and then the grass (quite scruffy anyway ) is more restricted and for special occasions  But I love them pottering around more than the rest so scruffy it is !

[mum23kids]

I really think that if you have young children you will definitely want to limit where the chickens can go. Unless you have a massive garden the lawn will dissappear very quickly as the chickens favourite pastime is scratching it up. And yes, chickens do poop a lot. I poo pick every day but only some of the poops are solid enough for this - many just have to stay.

Also whilst your kids will get used to chicken poo very quickly, their friends and their mums may not be quite so keen when they come over to play!

Would suggest that you section off an area of garden for the chooks (or for the kids if that's easier!).

On the plus side the children will love the chickens. They make wonderful and rewarding "pets" and it will be a great thing for the kids to be involved in.

[ANHBUC]

If you are getting hybrids you will have around 36 eggs per week.  If you only need them for yourselves you might be better with less hens and less mess.

I started off with 6, then expanded to 8 and then hatched 11 chicks.  They have a great time in the garden but I have more what I call "chicken shoes" than normal ones!   

My first 6 are hybrids and the rest are Bantams which I find a lot easier to handle.  Their eggs are smaller but with a decent size yolk.  A bonus is their poos are smaller.

[tosca100]

I would definitely limit them if you can, they are rather incontinent beasties. We keep a long handled dustpan by the back door and rush out to do a scoop every time the dogs want to go out....they love the stuff, but seeing them eat it makes me heave! I have no weeds or slugs in the garden though, but only established herbaceous plants can cope with the scratching. Anything small or edible needs to be in a cage, and all the tubs and pots have a plastic mesh topping over the compost, and the plants grow through it. We only have three, and even though one is an errattic layer there are plenty of eggs for us two and a few to give to special friends (or tolerant neighbours!)

Wouldn't be without them though.

[helens-hens]

Yes, more seems to come out than goes in! Some people compost it which I am hoping to do at some stage. Ditto what everybody says about dogs, our little staffie loves it if she manages to get hold of it (glad it doesn't work the other way as well!).

Do seriously think about how many eggs you really want as you also have to bear in mind that with hybrids, after a couple of years, their egg production may drop considerably. If you treat them as pets like we do then you may have quite a few 'semi-retired' girls who may live on for several years. If when their egg production slows right down you want to get more POL then you could end up with quite a garden full of hens!

[bazh]

Thank you all so much for the replies sounds like the garden would need partitioning off then, 36 eggs would be far to much probably a dozen maybe 18 would be plenty, do hens and bantams get on is it feasable to have say 2 of each? What sort of return eggs wise would that be if they are average layers?

Thank you

[Hen 1-0 Fox]

Hybrid hens usually lay approx 250 eggs per year, that's roughly three every four days, so four hybrids would give you approx 21 eggs a week. If you have too many I think a fair price is one pound for half dozen box to your friends... Then they may pay for their own food? Many people keep hybrid large fuel with bantams without ill effects, try to introduce all your hens at once so they sort out their pecking order once, otherwise you may have a prolonged period of infighting!

[crowndale]

My first 6 are hybrids and the rest are Bantams which I find a lot easier to handle.  Their eggs are smaller but with a decent size yolk.  A bonus is their poos are smaller.

good grief, if the bantam poos are smaller i'd hate to see what a standard sized chick could produce!!  my three girlies are prolific poopers and with a toddler that (literally) will eat anything i have to keep them separate.  couldn't believe how much they produce overnight between them!!

[ANHBUC]

My first 6 are hybrids and the rest are Bantams which I find a lot easier to handle.  Their eggs are smaller but with a decent size yolk.  A bonus is their poos are smaller.

good grief, if the bantam poos are smaller i'd hate to see what a standard sized chick could produce!!  my three girlies are prolific poopers and with a toddler that (literally) will eat anything i have to keep them separate.  couldn't believe how much they produce overnight between them!!

   I didn't say there wasn't loads of it, just that it is smaller than normal size chooks.  Mine have taken to roosting on top of a hutch so I have had to put lining paper or newspaper on each night.  I think it just seems loads more due to how many chicks there are (11).   

If you think normal chick poo is big don't ever have a broody their poos are huge.   
Picture of broody bantam poo. 

[crazychickenlady]

Lots of poop and no matter how much space you have they still roost on your doormat. I used to let mine roam all over but have had to admit defeat and fence them off (they still have a far larger area than needed to be classed as free range) but 14 chucks makes a lots of poop

[mumbley joe]

We're considering getting some chooks probably 4-6 purely for eggs and would like to give them full roam of the garden (apart from the raised beds) but have 3 young children how much mess would they produce on the lawn?

if you let them have the run of the garden you won't have to worry about  the treading in the poo as the garden will be a wasteland, if the don't eat it they will dig it up. we made that mistake when we first got ours, flowers mullered grass started to disapear. make a run for them and keep most of your garden intact