[matilda duck]

Chickens chickens chickens arn't they good fun!!!!  
Wood bark is great in the summer as they scrat about in it and it doesn't matter. BUT in the winter it is a nightmare. It gets all wet and soggy then smells.....maybe if you are only having 3 it might not be too bad!!  

We have a set up and have changed it 3 times so far we only had the chickens in september. Ours are in a shed with an enclosed run at the side, then they go out  in the garden when we are there at home or only out for a short while.  The garden gets decimated though!!!!!  

Oh we do have 9 chickens and 4 ducks so that could be why??

[matilda duck]

How rude of me !!    Welcome to the mad house where you will find all the info you will ever need, and some you will laugh about all day? :blink:  It pays to be mad here.......pic'is are a rule here by the way!!!!!

Just because we helpfull  we are all nosey really !!!!

[milan]

thanks for the welcome :-)

our garden is mainly on clay so if we put them just on the grass then i suspect in the winter it will turn into a giant mush! (unless we keep moving them) so bark chippings wouldnt be that much different (apart from the possible smell but with 2 chickens do you think that would be a problem?)

i dont think fencing the borders off is much of an option because it would make them look kind of wierd so we will have to shoo them away! ive just ordered a mass of lily of the valley.... it sounds like i wont have them for very long!

[milan]

been looking at penkin bantams as suggested by foxy

i believe they are good because they can cause less damage and lay less eggs, are there any other breeds like that?

also how do i go about finding some? the suppliers in my local area dont seem to have a huge range....

[WhatCameFirst]

thanks for the welcome :-)

our garden is mainly on clay so if we put them just on the grass then i suspect in the winter it will turn into a giant mush! (unless we keep moving them) so bark chippings wouldnt be that much different (apart from the possible smell but with 2 chickens do you think that would be a problem?)

i dont think fencing the borders off is much of an option because it would make them look kind of wierd so we will have to shoo them away! ive just ordered a mass of lily of the valley.... it sounds like i wont have them for very long!

Hello! and welcome.  We are on the same clay.. and mush is the word for it.  We put down bark chippings and there is no smell and the neighbours haven't complained! So long as you poo pick regularly it'll be fine.

If you don't fence your borders you will have no borders or Lily of the Valley! 

I cannot recommend Southmead Poultry enough for when you get your girls. I don' think they do feathery feet girls though.     They are at Fetcham/Bookham.

[Foxy]

have a real good look around at chickens, there are loads around. Maybe visit a local show to see what takes your fancy. Personally the bantam versions of pure breeds are gorgeous. While hybrids are fine for egg laying -if you only have a smallish space and a nice garden have a look first at some of the smaller sized birds.

[milan]

thanks everyone 

are they really that destructive?

would it be so bad if they were only out at weekends etc? as opposed to permanent free range?

[WhatCameFirst]

are they really that destructive?

would it be so bad if they were only out at weekends etc? as opposed to permanent free range?

Not on the scale of a category 5 tornado... well, not quite.  But they scratch and dig and then stamp on what they scratched up and then move on and dig and look lovely and talk to you nicely while they're doing it.  Letting them out all day every day would probably result in the loss of your garden over a few months! 

Weekends only is better if you want a veg plot and borders!

[milan]

such a deicision!

ive always wanted to be a decent gardener who can make it look pretty with beautiful flowers etc

but at the same time the idea of chickens is really good fun

oh dear!

what about veggies? some people seem to say they are good for a plot because they eat all the grubs/snails but some say dont even think it - is it a case of they will eat the grubs first then move onto the veggies?

(its hard to be green & sustainable! i want flowers to help the bees, i want chickens to be more sustainable - and veggies for the same reason - seems like the 3 things dont quite match)

[andreadon]

our garden is mainly on clay so if we put them just on the grass then i suspect in the winter it will turn into a giant mush! (unless we keep moving them) so bark chippings wouldnt be that much different (apart from the possible smell but with 2 chickens do you think that would be a problem?)

Our soil's the same and I have noticed that our chickens have been sporting rather nice huge black shoes this winter to keep the mud off!
  oh wait:  that was the mud all overtheir feet!! 

i dont think fencing the borders off is much of an option because it would make them look kind of wierd so we will have to shoo them away! ive just ordered a mass of lily of the valley.... it sounds like i wont have them for very long!

Yeeaah.... it will look kind of weird, but believe me, it will be days, if not minutes, before you start thinking it's the best idea you've ever had!  there're only so many tiems you can put those bulbs back in the ground after the b@@@@@rs have dug them up...
They're wonderfully cute if you fence off the borders (i just use chicken wirer and you can hardly see that from the house)!

such a decision!

i've always wanted to be a decent gardener who can make it look pretty with beautiful flowers etc

but at the same time the idea of chickens is really good fun

oh dear!

what about veggies? some people seem to say they are good for a plot because they eat all the grubs/snails but some say dont even think it - is it a case of they will eat the grubs first then move onto the veggies?

(its hard to be green & sustainable! i want flowers to help the bees, i want chickens to be more sustainable - and veggies for the same reason - seems like the 3 things dont quite match)

Ducks eat the slugs - chickens just eat the worms! 
and it does all match: you've just got to control were they go - chickens on your veg beds before you put any seeds down are brilliant!
and even if you don't have them in there, their poo can go straight onto the compost heap.

[shiatsusu]

I love my flowers but I have given them up in the rest of the garden because I've found my girls mean more to me...I am lucky though and have pinched some space in HTB's veg patch for a colourful border. You can find a way to do both, just have to think sideways  !

[foxy_boxer]

i have alot of gravel paths which the girls love wrecking! my lawn is sparce nowdays and the flower borders arn`t flowery or borders anymore! my garden goes straight into woods and they love routing around there during the day which gives the garden some respite. my 4 cats are usually around the girls and seem to watch over them-and have seen off foxes and badgers when they come around.  experience has made me replace juicy annuals with more shrubs, and hanging baskets and wall pots are out of reach. difficult to have a lovely garden AND chooks i think. 

[milan]

im not sure if im less or more confused LOL

ok this is what it comes down to, we would love chickens and can put them on the grass (be it on chips or not) we would let them out for a bit at weekends and probably some evenings in the summer when getting home from work, in that time how much havoc could they cause? they wouldnt be out that much and we would either be in the garden or not far away....

i think we have already concluded we will have to fence off the veggie patch but we have lots of pigeons anyway so probably just as well

(our garden is a proper family garden (no kids - not yet anyway!) roughly 30mx10m, lawn area, brick pathway, pretty wendyhouse and shed and im not sure we would be prepared to hand all that over to 2 chickens :/ - we have already turned a chunk of the flower border to a veggie patch stuck right in the middle of the garden!)

so being out to free range that much what chance would our garden stand?

[HENrietta]

Hiya , just thought i would mention that if you are getting just a couple of hens and then going to add  more, i would really think about getting more than just two as introducing more hens to your duo or trio is such hard work! We are new to henkeeping too and are just in the process of introducing two new hens to our older girls (we have had our two girls for just under a year) It is so upsetting to see the pecking order take place. Also which i am sure you are aware, dont get just one, as they are very social and can get depressed by being alone.(Aaahh ) You will be hooked as they are fascinating to watch, our girls are in a run all day then let out when we get in from work. And when they hear the back door open they get so excited. It's great fun. Enjoy your new friends!

HENrietta

[raeburg]

I saw a fantastic site today - 3 huge fields full of chickens!  Obviously a free range farm but just an astonishing number of chickens pootling about doing chickeny things.  Wish I could have stopped to get a picture.