KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed

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muntjac

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« on: December 12, 2006, 23:11 »
ok folks this last few weeks i have been asked so many questions about keeping chickens that i am depressed .not for being asked about them i love  talking and helping folks out with thier birds ,what i am upset about is the total load of dodo that is being bandied about by so called experts .believe me after 40 odd years dealing with birds of all sorts I AM NO EXPERT  there is no such thing . just people who keep birds and do things thier way , i will not tell you how to do things ,why the hell should i ,your circumstances are different to mine , you live ina  different part of the country your subject to different weather conditions etc so what i am going to do over the next few ?/ how ever long it takes is to try and give you some idea of how i do things in relation to keeping birds .if you dont agree with anything , tuff as i said i am not telling you to do it my way


dispelling myths

chickens are special birds

dodo they are basically the same  as  pheasant and wild game birds

keeping chickens is hard work, it takes a lot of time to do

rubbish , how long does it take to care for a dogs needs a day well just think . do you have to take chickens for a walk every morning and evening?
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 chickens are only animals and cannot communicate with humans .

rubbish  if a chicken is happy its pecking around the yard is pleased to see you even if its because you mean food is around
if a chicken is ill its sat on the ground with its head layed down along side its body or infront of its chest  
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chickens need special food to make them healthy

rubbish . they are birds they eat seed and green stuff where ever they find it .they need grit to crush that seed to be able to digest it . they need calcium to be able to make eggshell, they need special care when breeding them . this is the biggest load of rubbish going . the blooming things have been managing for centuries without help from man

chickens need special  accomodation .
more misinformation . a blooming chicken will roost quiet happily in any old tree . to prove this point check out the feral chckens living on ditchingham roundabout ....suffolk /norwich border. also i remember when my families birds roosted in the tops of the barns on top of hay bales etc we had to go round searching for eggs among the straw . great days  :D  ok i digress a little . i have found chickens nesting in every concievable place . an upturned crate an old coal bucket ,stuck in the gaps of a bale

before the war and the time before  the battery farms etc they just roamed wherever they wanted .if you had a fox it was shot . nowadays they are cooped up in cages and pens and blooming battery farms . ok so times have changed i do the same  because i can say they help with keeping the birds more comfy ..and managable ( not the blooming battery farms i add ). so here is the starter . this is not a answer and questions thing . its the start i hope of an article for you folks unsure about keeping chickens .i have just touched on a few things here,and i wil put them more understandable as i go along  regs karl
still alive /............

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richyrich7

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2006, 11:45 »
WTG Karl
I agree with you 100%, I've been keeping hens for just over a year, I spend a little time with them every day, they are so easy to keep, my daughter of six will quite happily feed, collect eggs, let 'em out for a run round the garden etc . If my children are in the garden the hens roam free, dodge footballs, swings chase the cats! etc .
So glad I had them, they live in the back half of my shed with a 8' x 4' run at the side. and generally give me 2-3 eggs a day from 3 birds and provide me with plenty of manure for the garden and my lottie. :D
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

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becky

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2006, 13:29 »
Hooray! Some one who finally talks sense about chooks.
The price of some of the houses I have seen recently is shocking, we only have a converted shed, that works perfectly, I went in there last night, and nearly didn't come out, it was so warm.
Chooks are perfect pets, and it annoys me that the folks round here find it strange to keep them. Once upon a time, the majority of people would have had birds, and beautiful fresh eggs, and lovely meat. Now people see it as normal to buy it all from a damn shop. Grrrrrr.
Chooks are great with children, alot more friendly then an expensive rabbit bought from a pet shop, and cost alot less to keep.
They are brilliant at recyling, veg scraps, maybe a few food scraps, less to go into landfill.
And they are just plain entertaining, at the weekend one of mine had decided that it was her job to see off the naughty robin, trying to steal their grain. I thought she was going to eat him at one point, I reckon she plucked a few of his tail feathers out!
I dream of a world with no battery hens, and people enjoying hens, rather then mistreating the poor things, roll on when that happens.
Peas out!

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Ice

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2006, 13:43 »
Was thinking of keeping two or three Karl.  No foxes to worry about but we do have some feral cats, will the chickens see them off?  What you said is very good sense, dad kept all manner of feathered deliciousness in some very make-do houses when I was a child.  Eglu?  Bah humbug. :roll:
Denise
Cheese makes everything better.

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Huswyf

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2006, 13:53 »
We started keeping hens this year and I wish we'd done it years ago.  As long as you do some research beforehand (as you should with taking on any animal) it shouldn't be hard work.

As a comparison, I'd say keeping a few hens is about is difficult as keeping a pet rabbit - and look how many people have those!  As muntjac says, it's certainly easier than looking after cats or dogs (especially if you're daft enough to rescue a border collie :shock: ) and the eggs are better :lol: .

They are cheap to feed and great at recycling scraps and weeds into something for the compost.

Our hens are quite cheeky, when they see us they run to the side of their pen and cluck for food.  They certainly aren't as dumb as some people would have you believe.

Sadly our situation doesn't allow us to keep more than a few for eggs, I'd love to breed and raise for the table.

Wassail

Karen

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muntjac

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2006, 15:05 »
ok so now we talking accomodation for ya chooks ... got some money? go buy one them ready made jobs  make sure its big enough for you to get into to clean it properly without ricking ya back and a chicken needs company but not more than space allows  most sheds go from 4 to 10 hens so if you have anyything like that number then look to get that size coop. get it with a base to lift it off the floor by a foot or 2 . why ? cos the ground under one them on the floor is wasted space ,get a run as well make sure you can get inside to clean it up .. every now and again go in and turn the soil over the chooks will love hunting out the worms etc / water drinkers 2 of dont care how many birds ya got a dry bird is a dead bird and dont give no eggs./ food containers .got an old baking tray use it . grit is a priority so make sure you get some .ask for chicken grade grit  dont be taking blooming budgie stuff . oh and get a sack of OESTRA.  oyster shell for turning into egg covers .yeh they are 2 different things .right now feeding greens ,greens = dark yellow yolks  feed anything you can identify as safe ,if ya cant id it then use cabbage etc that you would eat ,ask someone to show you chickweed dont rely on a book half the time it dont look the same when ya see it growing , remember if you can eat it and its green feed it as a treat . except oily fish or uncooked fish . and remember this what you put into a chicken is what you get out ,feed it proper , water it and give it a decent bed like any man its gonna be happy. here endeth the lesson on part 2


we gotta look at getting some chooks now so we sort that out with breeds and no i am not going into all the breeds avaialble if you wants eggs  we talk egg birds or meat birds after that is  egg laying and getting something for nowt  :wink: which i may add I AM AN EXPERT AT  :wink:

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Zak the Rabbit

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2006, 15:11 »
ok, so im good for the housing,


keep em coming mate :D
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")
the rabbit of caerbannogg

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Aunt Sally

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2006, 15:47 »
OK I'm one of your yuppy chook keepers and my two girls are kept in an Eglu.

There really is now way I could have kept hens in a conventional chook coop in my minute garden so its invention was a godsend to me after years of craving for some hens.  yes, Eglus are expensive !  but I don't go on fancy holidays, have posh cars, don't smoke or drink or dress in the latest fashion.

My two started laying last Jan/Feb and have layed almost 600 eggs between them.  The have had no illnesses, no lice or even red mite,  all my neighbours love them too.  So I must be doing something right  :D

Keep the info coming muntjac.  It's always good to hear from people with the experience of years  :!:

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muntjac

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2006, 15:54 »
i have nothing agin eglus . the eskimo's might but not me . if you keep a couple chooks in one all well and good,  they are happy cos they laying eggs .happy chickens lay eggs /happy wifes cook hubbies dinners  :wink:  i dont have any dealings with them all i know is they are fine for a max of 4 chooks .sounds to me as if if they have everything they need   :lol:

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John

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2006, 20:59 »
I'm looking forward to chooks next year - I put it off because of the flu scare this year. Not that I was worried but the hysteria of others worried me. Oh no, don't bring chickens on the plot, the Sun says we'll all die. <sigh>

I've got a chicken keeper who's going to show me the ropes as well - books are fine, people much better :)

Someone mentioned cats and chickens - in my experience most cats are a bit scared of them BUT some cats break the rules.
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muntjac

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2006, 21:01 »
ya need a biggg cockerel to sort out cats mate  :wink:

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shaun

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2006, 21:04 »
its the time thing with me i just couldnt fit them in to my hectic schedule
feed the soil not the plants
organicish
you learn gardening by making mistakes

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Ice

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2006, 22:00 »
Aunt Sally, wasn't having a go at Eglu owners, probably should have put a smiley after it instead.  If someone gave me one for Christmas I would be well chuffed.
John, I am a little worried about the feral cats as they are very agressive.  It seems some cats are more equal than others so I will err on the side of caution and protect them from the feline fiends.
Havn't told the neighbours yet about my plans :wink:

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muntjac

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2006, 22:16 »
i didnt think sally was mate id have to chase her round the brussel sprouts if she was  :wink:

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Aunt Sally

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KEEPING CHICKENS , just the facts no sentiment allowed
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2006, 23:04 »
Quote from: "Ice hockey mad"
Aunt Sally, wasn't having a go at Eglu owners, probably should have put a smiley after it instead.  If someone gave me one for Christmas I would be well chuffed.

I didn't think you were having a go IHM but some think they are a waste of money and bad for chooks, but I know otherwise.  :D

If you want to chase me round the sprouts muntjac, I can run fast...  before I get caught  :lol:  :lol:



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