Our Plans

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Feeb

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Our Plans
« on: August 31, 2009, 18:21 »
Okies i have been trawling through the poultry forums, thinking more about foxes and how to keep them out.  here is what i have decided on so far

- we are converting a pre-existing shed of about 1m squared though it is slightly longer on one side.

- we will have two nesting boxes in the shed, a 1m long space for a perch which is out of the line of the door to prevent draughts whilst they are sleeping (though it is a shed in a corner so i very much doubt it will see much wind)

- we will have a catflap (is this okay) built into the shed for the chickens to get in and out of, this will have a catch which will be locked at night

- The run will be approx 6x2.5m

- the run will have chicken wire and tarpulin up to about 4ft and will be about 10cm deep into the ground with planks of wood nailed into the ground to prevent foxes from digging underneath

- the run will be approx 2m high and then will be covered with a chicken wire roof

We hope to keep three chickens in this area.

Do you think they have enough space?  do we keep their water inside the house or outside (we are going to use nipple feeders i think)

Do they need access to the run at night?

I hope to raise the chickens completely organically so it would be nice to know if others did the same and how they got on with it


Thanks for being such a useful forum  and i look forward to getting my chickens!

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Feeb

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2009, 18:22 »
p.s - having just discussed with a friend of ours who has lots of experience keeping chickens, he reckons that for the size we have got, 5 chickens will be happier as they will keep warmer in the winter

is this true?

also they can eat anything except chicken and we can give them all the scraps from the house

I am so excited i could burst!

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joyfull

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2009, 18:27 »
Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of chickens  :D. Your run is fine for three chickens as this gives you 15 sq mtr so each bird will have 3. Your perch length is fine. Not too sure about chickens using a cat flap though. Also on your run do you mean chicken wire or welded wire mesh? Foxes and dogs can chew through chicken wire. Joufullxx
Staffies are softer than you think.

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Feeb

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2009, 18:32 »
we were going to have 3ft of chicken wire and tarpulin and then just chicken wire above that, i will look at the prices of wire mesh though

why do they call it chicken wire if its not for chickens?


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joyfull

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2009, 18:43 »
try these people as they seem to be the best value and they do next day delivery -
http://www.hillsofdevon.co.uk/aviary-mesh.html
Get the lowest numbered guage you can - minimum 16 swg - the lower the number the thicker the wire. Get something like 1" x 1/2" holes.
It's called chicken wire as it will keep your chickens in an area  or even out of an area eg veg plots, flowers etc - but it will not keep foxes, mink, dogs etc out. Joyxx

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Ice

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #5 on: August 31, 2009, 19:00 »
I believe chicken wire was invented as a way to keep thatch on roofs and has nothing to do with chickens.
Cheese makes everything better.

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Feeb

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #6 on: August 31, 2009, 19:02 »
thank you thats  great link, i will be intouch with them tomorrow for some chicken wire! today we are planning out the space, working out how much wire we need to buy and building up their little nests :)

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poultrygeist

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #7 on: August 31, 2009, 19:30 »
Hi feeb.

Just to clarify. Make sure you buy welded mesh, NOT chicken wire  ;) :)

The minimum is 19g to keep foxes out. 16g is usually used for cat/dog runs I think but doesn't need to be for chickens. 19g will keep out foxes normally. It's the square or rectangular mesh rather than hexagonal.

Unless it's a robust cat flap, a fox will probably be able to chew and claw at it until the plastic breaks, allowing it to overcome any latches.
I would stick to the traditional material of timber (exterior ply or solid) or metal on a cord or rod.

Rob 8)

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Feeb

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #8 on: August 31, 2009, 19:39 »
we are incoperating the shed as part of the run, so we will have fox proofing around the whole thing rather than seperate to the shed.

i have decided anyway that i can just lock the chickens in at night with a bit of water and some food (their water will be kept in the chicken coop anyway)

that way i can make sure they are doubly protected against foxes at night and are nice and snug in their little worlds :)

Oh and i will definatly be using the mesh on the website kindly given to me earlier :) :)

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poultrygeist

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #9 on: August 31, 2009, 19:47 »
If you only lock them in after dusk and let them out before about 7 or 8, they won't need any food in there. Unless you're keeping it there permanently with the water ?
They only sleep after dark and won't eat. If you give them a handful of mixed corn about an hour before bedtime, it fills their crop and is slow to digest. It keeps their stomachs full most of the night.

Good luck with it all. :)

Rob 8)

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Feeb

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #10 on: August 31, 2009, 19:50 »
Thank you that all sounds great, we will not be keeping the food outside at all, i will definatly feed them before bedtime as they will get table scraps

in the winter, do i lock them in AS SOON as it gets dark or do i leave them for a bit as the night is longer?

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poultrygeist

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #11 on: August 31, 2009, 19:56 »
They'll normally go in for a poke around at dusk, maybe come out again for 10 minutes and then go in to settle down. At the moment, I'm shutting them in from about 8.30, but I could probably do it a bit sooner. Sometimes, you just want to get it done and dusted.

Are you going to feed them layer's pellets ?
Table scraps are a bit haphazard as far as nutrients and vitamins, etc go.
They need a lot of calcium for the eggshells or their bones start to suffer fairly quickly. ALso certain vitamins to keep them healthy.
The pellets have them all in the right proportions but scraps make them flabby and unhealthy.
Sorry, I'm banging on again  :D

Rob 8)

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Feeb

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #12 on: August 31, 2009, 19:59 »
I am happy to feed them corn and things aswell but i know plenty of people who have fed chickens on scraps and had no problems with them - i am happy for them to lay whenever they wish there will be no pressure for that

if i CAN feed them scraps then i will, if i need to suppliment their diets with other things i will certainly look into that, but i want to start using everything we have rather than buying new things,

we have an old shed as part of the conversion and we all we are buying to build is one board of MDF as a covering for the nests, some straw and some mesh

everything else is recycled

It would be interesting to know if there is something i can feed them to suppliement their diet rather than as a complete one

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poultrygeist

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #13 on: August 31, 2009, 20:05 »
I would say as a minimum, they'll need some poultry grit to get the grit for their gizzard and some extra calcium.

But beyond that, maybe poultry spice. Again, it's extras to buy but unless they're free-ranging a large area, they may not find enough in the run.
Hopefully someone with experience of scrap feeding will be able to offer more detailed advice. We've only ever fed pellets plus greens to supplement.

Rob 8)

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Feeb

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Re: Our Plans
« Reply #14 on: August 31, 2009, 20:09 »
yeah it would be nice to talk to someone doing a similar thing, i heard dog biscuits were quite good and very cheap for them too - which sounds like an okay idea

i will look into poultery grit too though :)



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