[country_bumpkin]

Firstly I would just like to introduce myself to everyone and say...yes I am a newbie here and just wondered if I could ask some advice if that is all possible.

When I was younger and at high school we got given a  fertilzed (don't know if thats the right wording) duck egg and so borrowed a incubator of a friend and to our suprise we got a lovely male malard out of it called "daffy" and not long after got a friend for him, a female indian runner, called "lady" they were lovely to keep and had such an amazing time with them and the duck eggs were, well, out of this world. However, when some family problems arose we had to unfortunately give them away and had kept birds since.

After seeing the program on channel for a couple of years back now I think called Hugh's Chicken Run, allowed me to remember all the great times I had and thought I would love to either keep ducks again or have some chickens.  After alittle thought, I thought I would like to keep some chickens. However, I dont know the first place to start with getting poultry houses, runs, food or the girls themselves.

A couple of things I have noted though, we do have foxes regulary come onto our land and eat the rasians and berries we put out for the pheasant that comes. We also have a badger that comes and goes for peanuts. I thought it best to also speak to the local parish council about their views on keeping poultry on private land. They said " as it is on a large property, about 1 acre, but is part of a housing developent/estate the 'accomodation' will have to be self contained including runs and other equipment." Which with a railway line next door I can also see the point.

I would only be looking to keep around 7 or 8 birds in a self contained run and house, but I was wondering if any of you could give me any search tips or places to look. I have looked on the articles of this site and found many useful, but it is always good to have opinions from other experienced keepers like yourselves.

Thank you for reading my thread and I know it probably was alittle long and not the best wording.

Any help and advice is much appriciated.

Thanks again.

Mark
(Country Bumpkin)

[joyfull]

Hi Mark, first of all welcome. Before you decide what to do I would take a look at some of the setups on here, many on here have fixed coups and runs. the cheapest way is to convert a shed if you can't make a coup yourself - remember to allow 12" per bird for roosting plus space for nest boxes. Make your run out of panels using galvanised welded steel mesh and either have a skirt of mesh along the base siting outwards for about 8 inches or have it dug down into the ground for about 12 inches. this will help prevent rats, foxes and badgers getting in. also make the roof of the run secure  either with corrugated plastic or onduline (if clear make sure there is a shady area for the hens otherwise they will overheat). We recommend a minimum run space of 2 sq metres per hen but as this is a permanent run more would be better. Raise the coup of the ground which will help keep it rat proof and if it is inside the run would provide an ideal place for a dust bathing area.
I don't think the voting button part of your question is necessary as non of us can say whether you should or shouldn't have birds.

[country_bumpkin]

Thanks joyfull, the information is much appricated. When I went to create the post I think I might have clicked the wrong button as it said I must put a question and two answers...sorry...

I love the idea of keeping poultry and getting the bonus of eggs... the only thing holding me back is the initial setup cost but after that I think maintainance costs are fairly reasonable, food etc...

Heres fingers crossed

Mark
(Country Bumpkin)

[lisa80]

It might take you a little longer to gather things up for your setup if you do it cheaply (likeus)but that gives you time to read up and gather info before you start :)a shed is how we started we managed to get most things on freecycle and free ads etc mean while i was reading up on what bedding to use etc and lice treatment and worming.It can be a bit daunting but what money you save from making your own housing and pens can be used to start you off with a decent first aid kit (as we call it) and some of the more expensive items which are handy to have around .If you have all the necessary items to start with ,you have them to hand if problems arise and dont face too much expense for instance if you have an outbreak of lice.the best advice i can give is do plenty of reasearch and keep asking questions  its always good to look at other peoples set ups you can get some good ideas that way

[ehs284]

Hi Mark, Good for you, but beware it is addictive! If you want, say, 8 then get everything for the 8 and get the 8 all at the same time from the same place. Introducing new chooks can be problematic and if you're just starting then the problems of adding one or two at a time are best avoided. Reading between the lines, it seems you want eggs rather than table birds, so look for the best breeds. Some, such as ISA Warrens are lovely birds and very productive, but also lay very big eggs and many people (actually the birds!) have trouble with prolapses. I suspect that birds which lay smaller and perhaps fewer eggs are less prone. Unless you want to be a commercial producer then  this should be a part of your SWOT analysis. Do also beware that it takes the average chook all of 15 minutes to sus-out a male human's weaknesses and after that you will do as you are told!
Best of Luck

[tamnwill]

(Hi Mark, I've just started with 8 myself and the previous reply is a correct one.............that being that it is addictive and they suss you within 10 minutes for a girl lol. Read up on possible health issues too, just so you are  more aware of what to look out for and can catch any possible cough or cold quickly. I love mine now, a strong emotion but they are so funny to watch and interact with. I agree about getting them from the same place too, i tried to introduce one only a few weeks after I got the others and she thought she was the bees knees and bossed everyone around! Mind you she was called Peggy (after Eastenders Peggy) so I may have clinched it with the name!!! lol. So back she went! I've had anilmals and still do, and all of them get on, cats/dogs/chickens/rabbits..........no chasing etc, just everyone happy to share open space and chill out. Good luck  From a fellow newbie too