keeping chickens

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tomtomgo44

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keeping chickens
« on: October 19, 2008, 22:44 »
hi everyone,

new to this website,

i really want to keep chickens, but just want a few questions answered, thanks.

1. positives of owning chickens and is it cheaper to just buy eggs from a store?
2. what are the basic essentials to keep chickens?
3. what do chickens eat and how many times a day should they be fed?

and any other information would be greatly appreciated

thanks
tom
one mans junk is another mans treasure

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richyrich7

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keeping chickens
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2008, 23:04 »
Hi Tom and welcome to the forums  :D  yes keeping hens does make it cheaper for eggs eventually, they need proper housing and feed in the way of layers mash/pellets.
Before you go any further we have some brilliant articles written by some very experiencd poultry keepers
Buying chickens

Keeping chickens

Are the first places to go  :D  

Please remember that a chicken is for life and not just for Christmas (unlike a turkey  :lol: )

What ever you do enjoy the forums  :D
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

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Vember

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keeping chickens
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2008, 23:04 »
Hi Tom Welcome to the Hen House :)

where to start...
I can't really help with the cost of eggs question, it's been a while since I bought any  :lol:
Essentials include :- A house, either a secure garden or run (twilweld/galvanised netting not chicken wire), food, water, grit & oyster shell  (bound to be something I've forgotton there  :oops:)

Feed wise mine have layers pellets in the morning and then mixed corn in the afternoon :)

There are in my opinion many positives to keeping hens, once you get some you'll want more  :lol:

If you have a read at this it gives you alot more info http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=19629

Any other questions just pop back and ask :D

Sarah

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kimT

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keeping chickens
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2008, 23:11 »
First of all welcome to the forum.


This was the first chicken book I bought and it's excellent.

Starting with Chickens  by Katie Thear (Author)

Ask lots of questions and read lots.

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tomtomgo44

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keeping chickens
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2008, 23:27 »
with the chicken houses if there is a chicken run attached e.g. eglu. do you have to let the chicken out in the garden?

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richyrich7

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keeping chickens
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2008, 09:37 »
Quote from: "tomtomgo44"
with the chicken houses if there is a chicken run attached e.g. eglu. do you have to let the chicken out in the garden?


If the run is big enough, and you can keep it clean and interesting then there's no need to let them out. But you will need to replace the top 4" of soil at least once a year to help slow down the build up of parasites.

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allstars_princess

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keeping chickens
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2008, 09:45 »
IMHO I think the Eglu run is not big enough and they do benefit from a run around at least every other day.  Also, consider where you are going to put the chickens whilst you clean the cage and beneath the run.  We never thought of this until a chicken had made a dash for it into our front garden and nearly the road.

So far we have had no issues other than having to fight them off our young plants when they are just coming out.  We now know they will do anything for some young tomato plant flesh and have sectioned off an area where they can roam away from our seedlings etc.  

Finally, although they cannot fly they can jump quite high and realised that by jumping on the compost bins they can get onto the shed roof and over into neighbours garden where there are lots of tender lovely young plants....it is worth having a word with all your neighbours and promising them a few eggs when they arrive.  

The eggs taste like nothing else and are worth the work.  Good luck.

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poultrygeist

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keeping chickens
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2008, 10:10 »
Hi Tom. Good to see you here. :)

One of the benefits is you get to chat about them on here :)

The longer you have them, the more you appreciate them. They're like any other animal companion (pet or livestock). Positives all the way as long as you are realistic about them.

Like most, we haven't bought eggs for a long time so don't even know the cost. We sell on our surplus so you can go for economy of scale if you have the space.

Rob 8)



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