[MickyB]

I have been allocated a little extra space and keeping a few chickens (6 ish) sounds like a good idea however I have no previous experience in keeping chickens, can anyone point me in the direction (or comprise) a really basic (idiots) guide into keeping chickens and what I would need for a basic set up.

[Yorkie]

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=19629.0

[MickyB]

Thanks 

[Stewart P]

Hi Micky B

(almost) totally new to chicken keeping ourselves.  Did some web-based research and found the following site VERY useful: http://keeping-chickens.me.uk/

Monday 28th Oct - ordered a chicken coop on-line (assembled in dining room during the next few days) contacted British Hen Welfare Trust (http://www.bhwt.org.uk/) to arrange collection of some ex-battery hens, ordered on-line or bought locally - feed, feed bin, grit, straw bedding and all other essential paraphernalia to get things going

Last saturday (2nd Nov) collected 4 ex-battery hens and put to bed in coop as it was dark when we got home

This Saturday, one week later and the little cuties have achieved the following: pecking order established and now all at ease with each other, night-time routine established (take themselves to bed at dusk), have free-ranged in the garden all today, getting more comfortable with human contact (ie catchable in the garden) and 14 very tasty eggs. 

I'm sure it may get more complicated but so far and for novice hen-keepers it's been very straightforward.  Additionally as ex-bats destined for slaughter it's been hugely satisfying watching them roam at ease and explore the garden and fascinating watching their behaviour and individual personalities start to show.  There's nothing better than taking a still-warm egg from the nesting box and having for breakfast, poached on a slice of buttered toast and a little ground pepper.

You can research forever but at the end of the day these are hardy little creatures that have been providing humans with meat and eggs for millennia in all sorts of conditions. It doesn't seem difficult (so far) but it is fascinating and very rewarding.
 
Good luck!

[MickyB]

Thank you for sharing your experience, I do like the idea of saving ex-battery hens from slaughter.

How long will ex-battery hens remain productive for?

What precautions should I take when making a run for them, some chickens have been killed by foxes on the plot would I have to sink the fencing into the ground to stop the foxes digging underneath? 

[Stewart P]

Just a novice so don't really know but I'll be happy if I get around 3 years of egg production.

As for a fox proof run I have no experience but I'd google "fox proof chicken run" and see what you find.  Our chicks are in the garden, we wouldn't be able to keep them on the allotment as we can only make it there at weekends

[Honey65]

If I were keeping them on the allotment I would have a sunken fence around the run.

[Yorkie]

Make sure you use weldmesh or similar, rather than chicken wire, which foxes can bite through.

[nerdle]

Omlet chicken course - brilliant!

[Sassy]

Just a novice so don't really know but I'll be happy if I get around 3 years of egg production.

There are no guarantees of egg production with any chook let alone how long for. With battery hens this is very much more hit and miss. Most go on to be productive but some just never lay again. As hybrids it is unlikely, although not impossible, that they would be productive for a further 3 years - most of their capacity will be spent after about another 18 months. Nothing is written in stone. Many on here do not recommend battery hens for beginners as they often need more care, especially to start with.