[drmoonshine]

have i got this right

ill do it in steps

1.ask landowner (my partners grandad if its ok)
2. ask council if its ok
3. ask neighbors if its ok
4. build hen house plus make secure around hen house + buy food ect
5. find a good selling of chickens
6. enjoy fresh eggs


also alittle info on the side would be good to have
if one has a limited budget to get this venture off the ground whats the least amount of money one can spend for henhouse build +security

also how much per month in food ect would it cost to keep 2 chickens happy?

thank you

[joyfull]

first of all take a look at this:-

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=70229.msg802900#new

Then if you don't own your own house (check the deeds if you do) check with the owner and your contract. Don't buy just a couple of chickens always buy at least 3, chickens are sociable creatures and should anything happen to one the other will be on her own. As for feeding costs I have 40+ free ranging and I get through a 20kg of feed a week, this feed I buy in from Grannie Annie and it costs me £6.50 a sack. I give them mixed corn or wheat but a sack lasts me about 4 weeks as this is only a treat so they don't get a lot.
A sack of feed should last you a long time (as mine free range they suppliment their own feed by what they find in the hedgerows and the fields). You may not get any eggs for a few weeks but when you do get them they are well worth the wait 

[drmoonshine]

thank you for your reply the feed is very cheap then i hope grannie annie supplys to lots of people and not just a handfull?

is it ok to just feed them this? of course they will have there own area to walk around on and do what ever else they want to do but will they also find food here? warms?

3 is a cool number for me if its best for them to be in 3's then i will get 3 thats not a problem at all

thanks again

[joyfull]

if you look at the link about what you need it mentions that they need layers, grit and oyster shell (the grit helps them grind their feed and the oyster shell is to help them have strong shells), you can buy mixed corn as a treat (again about £6 a sack) and if you have any cabbage, cauli leaves etc they like these. The greens will also help them get lovely golden yolks although the layers will also have plant extracts for this as well  . They will also eat any worms, insects, mice and frogs that they manage to catch 

[drmoonshine]

i will 100% read up all info from the link once my daughter has gone to bed 

im suprised that they will eat mice and frogs.

thank you once again for all of the info you have given me

[joyfull]

if one catches a mouse the others chase them like mad (think of a rugby scrum and thats what it looks like  ), they love them and the same goes for frogs 

[drmoonshine]

would these be classed as a ''treat'' for them or could it be included as part of there normal died... like could i buy mice and feed them..............

[orchardlady]

I'd stick to the mice they find. there are lot's of other things you can offer as treats. Most green salad and veg, a bit of left over spaghetti, rice, pasta, cooked potato peelings, left over potatoes. If you think of their layers pellets as their majority of food and anything else is like chocolate you will be fine.

OL

[hillfooter]

have i got this right

ill do it in steps

1.ask landowner (my partners grandad if its ok)
2. ask council if its ok
3. ask neighbors if its ok
4. build hen house plus make secure around hen house + buy food ect
5. find a good selling of chickens
6. enjoy fresh eggs

No number 1 is buy a good book and learn about chickens first.  Try Katie Thears "Starting with Chickens".
Number 2 is read up in the posts on this site about the basics.
Number 3 then ask about the things you don't understand from what you have read.
Number 4 is have a realistic plan.

Then you can start to do the implementation.
Best of luck
HF

[rachelr]

You can also get coops on freecycle sometimes or ebay. I got a 2nd hand one for 4 hens for £30.

I did go and see it first and make sure it was ok. check for wear and tear and be careful of spider mites these little sh~t are a pain to get rid of.

So another point would be to ensure the coop is situated away from leilandi and conifer trees.

[SusieB]

Why away from Leylandi?  My neighbours have planted a Leylandi hedge the other side of the fence where my hens are. 

[rachelr]

Sorry susie but my coops got spider mite from the leylandii.

If your neighbours leylandi are young it might not happen for a while but if it gets too dry then they will come.

Red spider mite are the worst to get rid of and  can harm the chooks

[orchardlady]

I think what rachelr means are Red Mite. Just type that into the search box at the top right of the page and you will see what she means. They are the one thing that could put me off keeping hens. They are present in conifer and leylandi because wild birds roost in them. This mite live in the habitat of the birds rather than on them. So when a wild bird roosts the mite climb on at night drink the blood of the bird then make a sharp exit at dawn. I suppose if your hen house is close to these sorts of trees the chances of these little vampires getting to your hens is heightened. Don't be too put off. There are ways of treating and preventing them but they need to be watched out for and controlled.

OL

[hillfooter]

Red Mite are a fact of life with chx and you need to have a regime to control them no matter where your coop is located.  Pesticides provide a long residual control and designing the house right and using diatom helps in discouraging them from colonising the house.  There's reams written on this topic as OL says and you can't ignore them particularly if you are designing your own house.

HF