[FRUITFULL]

Hi Everyone
Finally i am allowed Chickens the council said so and Hubby did too!! But have some questions and advise needed please!
I would like to get 3 Buff Orpingtons as they look lovely is this a good idea as although we would like eggs from them they are also going to be very much family pets.
We have bought a kiddies wooden Wendy house from the garden center which i assume needs some nest boxes and a perch put in there.How high should the perch be and how wide for their little feet?
This is so exciting!
Should we wait until next spring to get the Chickens now as the home wont be ready till the end of the month?
Iam open to any advise please as i dont want to make mistakes.
Many thanks.

[Roughlee Handled]

Welcome to the mad house.

As I am presently gleaming info as I am going to make my next coop i have this info to hand. I found in here on this forum

Nest box Size = 14 x 14 for normal birds, 12x 12 for bantam
They would need 9inches of perch space each at about 1 to 2 foot off the ground - lower for big heavy breeds and higher for lighter breeds.


Oh and PHOTOS ARE THE LAW

[Vember]

& Welcome

Roughlee u calling us Mad for the second time today ?

We're not Mad, you'll be giving out the wrong impression, we are all normal....


It's everyone Else that's Mad



Sarah

[Roughlee Handled]

......
Roughlee u calling us Mad for the second time today ?

We're not Mad, you'll be giving out the wrong impression, we are all normal....

I refer Vember to an earlier post
http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=20916&highlight=mad
Where I asked the question "If you keep poultry does this mean you are mad?"
Yes    21%    
It helps     57%     
No     21%

I think you will find that the consensus is we is mad.

He he he he

[Vember]

   

[FRUITFULL]

Okay so its confirmed i must be bonkers too!!!
Iwas thinking maybe things wernt right when i made a scarecrow for the veggie patch and got my 2nd composter.
Then the Chicken bug hit me,,hope it doesnt get worse!!!
Thank you for the reply on the nest boxes and perch,so do i get the girls this year or wait till spring and are Buff Orpingtons good to get?If not what is?
Iwll definatly put piccies on here but at the moment we only have garden ones.

[Vember]

I've got Buff Orps and they are great, love cuddles and lay nice eggies.

As to when you get them, well once their house is ready and the run or garden is fox proof I 'd go for it

Why put off till tomorrow what you can do today

And sorry but chickens are very addictive it wont stop at 3



Sarah

[poultrygeist]

Hi Fruitfull. Welcome in.

I'm not mad. I'm normal.  :geek:

We got our hens in early January and they endured the usual frosts, rain, wind and heavy snow before Spring, so why not get them as soon as and you'll be able to buy them Christmas presents too.  

Are you letting them have the run of your garden or will they be in a run ??

And do you need advice on making the run fox-proof ??

Rob

[FRUITFULL]

Hi
We will have them in a big run with thier house in there as well.Hubby is well on the fox proofing bit as we do have foxes around.
When we are in the garden we plan to let them out as we have high fences.The house and run are going outside the kitchen door and window so we can see them all the time.
I will have to ask you all alot of questions nearer the time though please!!
I have some pics on my computer of the work we have done so far on the garden but i think they are too big to post on here and i keep getting booted out of the photo bucket thing which is a shame coz the pics are fun.

[poultrygeist]

Sounds like you have most of it under control.

When you're ready, feel free to ask anything. Menatime, just stick around and join in the silliness. There's plenty of that :roll:

Looking forward to the photos. If you can get them down to about 640 wide for the page size, is ideal.

Rob

[chickenlady]

And sorry but chickens are very addictive it wont stop at 3



Sarah

[/QUOTE]

I agree with that, 6 weeks ago we had just 3 chooks! now we have 7!!!!!!

[raeburg]

Absolutley agree that they are addictive creatures.  I planned for 4, then decided 8 (and had to redesign run and house), and now have 10 and 2 houses.  Oh yes the latest addition, an incubator and hopefully 6 fertile buff orpington eggs!

[FRUITFULL]

I am laughing here reading this as i am so sure we are having 3 chickens,but i really dont think it will stop at that.
If the incubators wernt so expensive i would love to get into that.
How much fun.
Good luck with the buff orpingtons!

[Vember]

I am laughing here reading this as i am so sure we are having 3 chickens,but i really dont think it will stop at that.
If the incubators wernt so expensive i would love to get into that.
How much fun.
Good luck with the buff orpingtons!

Buff Orps make good broody hens & will raise chicks for you



Sarah

[mumsy]

Then the Chicken bug hit me,,hope it doesnt get worse!!!

Oh it will, don't worry........................
you say 3, well by this time next year it will be 6 if not more    

Welcome by the way