Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: mark on February 01, 2006, 19:25
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I keep chickens and muscovey ducks. Also i have 4 chinchillas, 1 rabbit, 3 pet pekin bantams and 1gerbil. At the moment i am looking for some turkeys but i want to do some research first before i get them.
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Ive got 6 sheep, 3 pigs, 20 hens, 4 geese, 11 ducks, 3 dogs and 3 cats!!
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Wow! That's a farm full.
I was thinking of 3 or 4 chickens on the site but am a little concerned about vandals and flu.
Can't keep chickens in the garden because my wife doesn't like birds (bit phobic about moths as well)
The 4 cats are terrified of large birds as well - the seaside seagulls scared the life out of them. One ran inside when a fat pigeon landed in the garden - but she is a very little cat.
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olde9856 what kind of duck do you have?
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Saxonies, Buff Orpington, Welsh Harlequin and Aylesburies, I only keep a trio of each over winter, but one of the Harlequins died this year leaving only a pair.
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I have a pond full of fish and 3 chickens - and if I get my way some bantams too.
I will need some advice from the experts re having the two 'groups' together. Over 30 years ago I kept chickens and bantams and don't remember any problems - but there seem to be mixed reactions about them being all together these days. I was hoping they would share a pen, and maybe the one house - but sounds like I might need a seperate house and run for them both - any opinions on this one.
No cockerells to keep them in place - don't want to upset the neighbours.
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We're not allowed to have any livestock up at our place, but I can do a good line in the occasional mole !!
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Latest update -
I have adopted three beautiful pekin bantams from a family in London. A lavendar, speckledy, and a buff.
If you take a look at my www below you will see how I am getting on with my little flock.
It is also an allotment site, but at this time of year there is not much of interest to write about, so the chickens are a nice distraction and people seem to really enjoy reading about them.
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I can't have any animals in a small flat in London but I did have small cat in Portsmouth who caught a seagull - it was hard to know who was the most shocked. They both survived the encounter. Later, she stalked a Navy helicopter - I did wonder what I would have told the Navy if she'd caught it. Anyway it was their fault for hovering so low.
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i have a breeding pair of flatmates a jack russle, chiauau cros and a bad attitude apparently.
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I can't have any animals in a small flat in London but I did have small cat in Portsmouth who caught a seagull - it was hard to know who was the most shocked. They both survived the encounter. Later, she stalked a Navy helicopter - I did wonder what I would have told the Navy if she'd caught it. Anyway it was their fault for hovering so low.
That is a totally surreal image - the cat dragging home a helicopter :)
Some years back, we'd moved house and next door's hen was in the garden. Our cat looked out of the window, went into hunt mode and out through the cat flap. As he got nearer he slowed.. stopped ... backed up .. turned and ran back inside.
'Where have we moved to?? Monster mutant sparrows prowl the land!!!'
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OH used to rear turkeys for Christmas and I used to sell them at work in London, took them in a wheeled suitcase wrapped up in newspaper and with one of those ice bags to keep them nice and cold!
Since we've been in Lincolnshire, we brought our 2 goats with us, but decided they deserved more room so gave them to a lady in Hampshire, then we had 75 chickens, but ate them all! and now I just have 1 dog, 1 cat and OH!!!!!
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So does OH look nervous when you get hungry?
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wondered why he looks at me strangely when I sharpen my big knife!!!!
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i have often wondered about keeping chickens as one bloke across from me has a few(seen him once) but the time it consumes always puts me off,may be when i retire i might have 1 or 2 ,you can keep rabbits acording to our council rules but i think my jackrussel might enjoy them.
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Chickens are not really time consuming Shaun, depends what you have to fit into your day. Brian was lucky, as I went to work and he did what he wanted, but you can't beat your own eggs. Its nearly 5 years since I was supplying my best friend and her Mum with eggs regularly, but her Mum still says, they haven't yet been beaten, not even by the supermarkets supposedly free range eggs. (Hey, been beaten get it???? lol)
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I don't think they take a huge amount of time but they do tie you down to having to check on them, preferably twice a day - although I.m assured you can set it up so you can go away for the weekend without worries.
Confused? Yes, so am I!
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it seems that acording to the rules of my allotment i am not allowed to keep any livestock what so ever. is this unusual as it seems most places allow it if not encourage it. i would like to keep a few chucks and i would quite like a couple of ferrets.
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Which brings us to the Revolutionary Party for the Keeping of Chooks on the Allotment (Provisional Wing)
Is it in the rules that you can't keep chooks? Who said no?
First, ask the bureaucrat for the basis of the decision. That scares the pants off them.
Next - get on the council web site and find out which committee is responsible for allotments, Get your local councillor too. Then write them a letter - not email, half of them don't know how to open one!
Ask why and quote the office of the deputy prime minister - see government links on this site.
Don't forget your MP and the Off. Dep Prime Minister
I guarantee they will cave before you get round to phase 3, which is writing letters ot local papers, radio etc. If you know anyone in the BBC you're home and dry.
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Some people say that chickens are noisy, but the only noisy ones we had were the cockerels. the chickens just clucked, and I think that's a lovely sound! And if all you want is eggs, then you don't need a cockerel.
Also some people complain that chickens smell, well that truck load of horse manure, smells far worse than a few chooks, so I don't know why they won't allow keeping of livestock. Pehaps they think you'll encourage rats? But the rats will only come in search of food, then they'll go back to wherever they are living. Not that I'm an expert on chooks, but we have kept poultry for the past 10 years, and yes, we have been away over night, but not wanted to leave them any longer. Be okay if you had automatic drinkers and feeders, but then we are getting into money!!
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WOW cheers john i didn't realise that the odds were stacked in my favour. that is brilliant i shall get on to it tomorrow. i have just checked my tenancy agreement and point r) says.
r) the tenant must not keep any animals or livestock of any kind on the plot.
this did seem strange to me as surely keeping chickens and rabbits and growing vegetables all go merrilly hand in hand.
the funniest part of this though is i am allowed to have a bonfire if i like so long as it isn't windy enough to blow smoke into the surrounding houses.
now i would have thought keeping chickens would have scored a lot less on the councils risk assesments than being able to light fires at will.
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Hi
I've dropped you an email with a letter attached - should help your cause :)
Good luck and keep us informed!
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many thanks. :D
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yes its the once or twice a day that puts me off as work as to come 1st :(
i will have to put up with eggs from the spar and keep my eyes on you guys.my sister has 4 chickens and they keep her in eggs nearly all year round apart from when the weather getsrealy cold and they stop laying,we work on allotments from time to time for various councils and this one site in St helens is just for chickens alone .if i'm ever that way again i will take some pics as its quite impressive it was just a mass of home made sheds chain link fencing and a lot of mud.
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we have 2 cats & 4 hens - used to be more but the boys had to go in the pot... we had fertile eggs which we hatched in an incubator - the kids loved it and our house was very popular with all their friends! when the flu threat isn't hanging over us i hope to restock. they aren't time consuming but they aren't economical either
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I did some calculations on the economics of poultry keeping - well laying hens - and I think it's a bit like vegetable growing.
If you cost in your labour, it isn't economic but you do need to consider that you are comparing additive free and cruelty free shop eggs with your own. It's absolutely firghtening the residue levels being found in eggs and chicken meat.
I eat a lot of eggs (unless you're my doctor, in which case I don't) and like most people in the UK we eat a fair amount of chicken. Now we have been buying free-range thinking it was safe and good animal welfare standards. The facts may well be a lot different as the commercial suppliers obey letters of the law and use every loophole they can find.
I'm not concerned about avian flu but I'm concerned about peoples hysterical reactions to chickens at the moment. Our government plans seem crazy to me - exclusion and culling in areas for a disease that is in the wild just can not make sense. Unless they want to kill off all the wild birds? I don't think they'd dare to even try.
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We have a dozen chickens - mostly sussex - a pair of light sussex, 2 reds and 2 browns, 3 cream legbars for their blue eggs and then 3 others 1 is white the other 2 look like marans and lay rich red-brown eggs.
We also have an extremely spoilt maine coon cat called Bilbo - who will turn his nose up at expensive cat food to go and catch a rabbit to disembowel and eat on the cream mat if he can manage it. He's learnt not to parade anything he catches past the chickens though - they mu him for mice!
I also have an "extra cockerel" - we agreed last year that if we hatched eggs any males would be for the put - well Slerms McKenzie is ready for the pot - but the entire family have revolted and as we are still free ranging the chooks in the garden, have agreed that as long as we don't have to confine I won't neck him - but if bird 'flu hits - it wouldn't be fare to keep 2 males cooped together in the run...
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That's a backyard zoo you've got there :)
Cats.. wonderful creatures. I caught on of ours eating my seedling peppers last night. As if I haven't enough troubles with the slugs, snails and the weather!!!
We can't keep chickens in our back garden as the cats (3 now) are getting on a bit and pretty paranoid about large birds after their seaside adventures with the seagulls. Since they've slowed down even the pigeons just laugh at them now so the hunt down tins of Felix.
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john you're right re the economics, i don't sell excess eggs, in fact at the mo. egg output is so slow it's barely sufficient for us. probably time to get new, younger hens
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i have often wondered about keeping chickens as one bloke across from me has a few(seen him once) but the time it consumes always puts me off,may be when i retire i might have 1 or 2 ,you can keep rabbits acording to our council rules but i think my jackrussel might enjoy them.
They don't actually take a lot of time - I happen to spend a lot of time with mine in the winter as they are such fun.
But you can let them out and provide feed and water to last the day. The go to roost at dusk and need locking up safely at night. Cleaning out once a week. Job done
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One of the biggest problems for new poultry keepers isn't the economics or the time involved in keeping them, it is the extremely thorny issue of how to think of them. If you think of them as pets, if you have a couple in your garden as productive, pretty ornaments, it can be difficult to find a vet that is able to treat a pet hen. Most vets see chickens as flock animals and will advise culling for most illnesses to protect the flock. Because of this, treatments for poultry are few as the research necessary to find treatments hasn't been financially viable. It is cheaper to cull than to treat. Pet owners find this difficult to deal with and many give up because of it.
If you think of them as livestock, you must eventually have to cull yourself. If a hen is sick and threatens the wellbeing of the rest of the flock, a decision must be made whether to try to treat or not and if you breed your own chicks, half are likely to be male and will need to be delt with. Neither scenario is anything unusual to come across when you keep hens but it can come as a shock to novice poultry keepers and an inability to deal with such situations can lead to suffering for the birds.
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hi hepsibah
i think i have seen you post on downsizer? you're right about livestock/pets - mine are half and half - funnily the 2 i grew from egg are livestock and the 2 i was given when i started (cochins) are the pets. of course it's the newer marans who are laying and the other two are not paying for board and lodgings... what to do?!
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or perhaps rc?
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Did you know that if you add a garlic clove to the chickens water and a little bit of garlic powder to their food, they do not smell. The eggs do not taste of garlic not does their run.
There is also a new product out called Bokashi - a natural product and is even better.
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i breed rabbits for show and pets i have giants and belgian hares
i have taken on this new plot i have to drive to it 2miles away
so i take my big british giant rabbit with me he has a pen that i made
he eats the grass down quite nicely (he cant escape or i,m sure i wont be popular ) i would like some chickens up there when the bird flu has passed
i pass the plot on the way home from work so can lock em up at night
my plot is mainly twitch and weeds i have covered half of it with black plastic and have managed to dig 3 8x8 squares with grass paths it looks nice but got rained off today tho
lets hope thurs is better
sandra
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i have 2dogs
6 rabbits
3 ferrets
24 chickens
3 budgies
1 pony
4 kids
and not forgetting my hubby :D
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some ex-battery hens, (5 at the mo but the numbers go up and down!!) 1 pony and 4 cats :D :D
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I have 3 dogs, a stumpy tailed cat and 5 rehoused guinea-pigs (great for keeping the grass down and the bedding etc goes on the compost heap). Used to have bantams too.
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No clucks so far (or blackholemoles, for those of you who remember astrofarm)
1 laid back guineapig, Dylan (actually Bob Dylan)
1 gorgeous fluffy 8week old bunny, Freddy
2 canaries, Marlon & Emma
1 monster, Sam (my son)
me
Recently lost a bunny, Katie, and our lovelly grandma guineapig molly, Dylans mum. My user name is that of our first rabbit, Zak, a reincarnated buddhist civil engineer, i think, he used to watch me as i built barriers and defences to keep him in, then look them over, before breaching them in minutes! he was rescued by Artis sancuary before we got him.
Unfortunately, at the moment the living areas of the garden are less populated than the cemetary under the apple tree.
Martin
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We have two girlie guinea pigs - Patches who at 5.5 is very much an old lady and Honey (aka Little One despite the fact that she has long since outgrown Patches) who must be coming up to being 3.5. (see personal gallery)
This week we are also looking after the guinea pig from next door - Alan who is very jumpy and talkative and keen to make friends with our girls who are altogether non-plussed by his presence!
As Sumo says, GPs are very good for keeping the grass down, their bedding is a useful addition to the compost heap and its great trying different veg out on them. Our girls' all time favourite is tomato, and at the moment they are enjoying sweetcorn husks, tops & tails of beans, carrot tops, windfall apples, outdoor cucumbers and leaf beet/chard stalks. Sadly I don't think they will ever eat courgettes!
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they are great little creatures. Molly's favourite was beatroot, quite comical as she was mostly white so ended up looking like a canibal. Dylan is usually very 'get off, im busy' and avoids being handled, but seems to be happy looking after little freddy, they are always next to each other at the bowl.
Freddy is on his own today though, as Dylan has lots of celery to eat and freddy isnt allowed it yet. Hes very friendly and inquisitive though, so will enjoy spending the day exploring the downstairs part of the piggy house.
Martin
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yeah they are lovely and very entertaining at times. our garden is small enough and reasonably secure to be able to let them roam at will during the day and its great watching them pootling about exploring under the bushes munching on this'n'that, checking under the apple tree for any overnight windfalls, then dozing off under the various pots and pods we have about the place - we call it Guinea Pig television!
there is a bit of a risk that Mr/Mrs Sparrowhawk will make a visit (we are pretty sure that was how Honey's predecessor Scruffy managed to disappear into thin air) - OH sees one en-route to/from our shop a few minutes round the corner every now and again, and earlier in the year Alan's "parents" called us over to watch Mrs Sparrowhawk dismembering a starling on their patio. Yesterday we had a 6-buzzard-high-altitude-fly-pass at about 11am so had to keep a closer eye on them than usual!
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our monsties (as the wife calls them) cant roam free as the garden is too open. We have a run about 15ft square. Its one of my own design that divides into three 5x15 runs using removable wire panels, and has three independant roofs. That way boars and sows could be segregated, and the big bunnies in the third. Now dylan can use the whole run, but spends most of his time in the box asleep. Each section has a 1ft cubed plywood box where they can hide.
Freddy hasn't been on the grass yet, but we let him explore the lounge when we got him.
I like to just listen to them when we have a few pigies. Dylan, like his mum molly was, is very talkative, especially when theres fresh food about. I often walk past the houses with veg from the plot, and he starts shouting at me!
Im pulling up 6 goosegog bushes (dont like gooseberries!) which is where the clucks will go, next to the plot.
Martin
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This is becoming a guinea-pig thread!
Good idea about dividing the run up, Zak, I am looking after a neighbour`s (male) pig and would like to put him out on the lawn. My pigs are all female however and there have been guinea-pig `mistakes` before!
My pigs like lots of vegetables, but not tomatoes or courgettes. Also plenty of plants from the hedges etc., lots of alexanders here which they seem to eat eagerly, and blackberry and strawberry leaves.
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Hens take time?
When I had some they were watered and fed once a week, and eggs collected twice a week. 10 minutes a week? Five more like. And 40+ eggs a week... couldn't get rid of them. Fox got em during a big freeze, but that was thousands of eggs later..
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we've got 2 cats, 8 hens, 1 cockerel, 2 ferrets (pets not workoing!), 1 snake, 1 lizard, and 3 fish, and we're getting our pup in exactly 13 days time (not that I'm counting!), anyway, that's the people in the house, on the animal side, there's 4 teenage boys and my hubby! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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4 dogs 2 cats 3 ferrets numerous straight eared rabbits .. 180 odd chucks . approx 300 pheasants michringneck , silver, gold , amhursts ducks geese n a couple turks .
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3 dogs, 3 cats, 1 ferret (pet), 1 snake, 1 spider, 3 terrapins, 2 degu's. Looking for land so that I can have chooks etc.
hubby and 2 teenage boys on the animal side
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One daft cat - extraordinarily hairy but sadly not worth money. 150,000 composting worms - oops 149999, blooming blackbirds.
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newcomer, need help to purches 3 bantams and a good cheep coop in the manchester area can travel, but as near as poss, thanxs,colin. :?
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I keep chickens and muscovey ducks. Also i have 4 chinchillas, 1 rabbit, 3 pet pekin bantams and 1gerbil. At the moment i am looking for some turkeys but i want to do some research first before i get them.
If you ever have a couple of muskovy's for sale mark, let me know please :)
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we got 2 stupid whippets ,1 screeching green conure parrot ,12 chicks 1 cockerel 3 ducks 1 drake had a pet rat now dead :(
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sorry to hear about your pet rat.....
I have 2 rabbits, 3 gerbils and 3 chickens (atm lol) with any luck the next couple of days will see me with another couple of pullets
Had a dog but my baby is allergic to her, so she lives with relatives :cry: :cry:
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good luck with chickens,we tried to put ducks in with ours blooming chickens were hanging off ducks backs lasted bout 5 mins thats how long it took us to get them out lol
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newcomer, need help to purches 3 bantams and a good cheep coop in the manchester area can travel, but as near as poss, thanxs,colin. :?
i'm ripping this off from barry j scott who posted this on poultry chat website:
http://www.bitsforpets.com/product_info.php?cPath=3_273&products_id=2&osCsid=5f94e5e6af8ab7b40156f13f50cdc243
I thought it was a damn good offer as a starter coup and cheap without the travelling.
Thanks, barry. I know you use this site too. great find!
maybe this is useful for you, colin? good luck with it all.
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LOL flatcap
I dont think the rabbits would stand any chance with the chickens, and the gerbils would probably end up as lunch, but I am hoping that with other chickens it will just be a case of working out who is boss and a couple of days should do it.
Have put new birds into an established flock before, but they were older birds....dont know what difference that makes.
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thanxs monty, will give it a look today. any one know where to get chickens near manchester??
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One boxer, five hens one ferret, two dwarf hamsters and one goldfish
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4 chickens, (one that thinks its a dog), 3 baby chickens, 1 pygmy goat, 2 cats and a horse. and i wouldnt change a single one of them
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a dog, a parrot, 4 goldfish, 4 guineapigs, 4 hens, 2 bantys, 3 kids, and a husband...enough to keep me oppupied i think
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occupied even
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5 chickens (soon to be 7), quite a few fish and a horse.
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Some unauthorised mice