[bexs13]

Hi

Im new to keeping chickens and hope to get our first ones this weekend. Was after a bit of advice on how many I can keep. We have a 5ft x 3ft house and a 12ft x 15ft run, I am planning on getting bantams, any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Jacinta]

Hello, your run works out at about 17 square meters and it is a general rule to allow 2 square meters at least per bird.  This gives you room for 8 chooks to be happy and have space, especially if you're getting bantams.  The house size seems fine, provided it has enough roosting space at around 10'' per bird, so if you had 8 birds you'd need 80'' or around 7'.  So maybe your house would need 2 roosting bars the length of the house. 

Hope this helps.

[bexs13]

Hi

Thanks for the quick reply. The house has eight perches four either side, which run the short side of the house, this seems ok by what you quoted. I was thinking of between 8 - 10 chooks, so not a bad estimate, thanks again. Just another quick question. Should I treat the house with some kind of mite powder before I house the chooks?

[orchardlady]

Yes to treating the house with mite deterrent as the red mite although don't live on the birds could be introduce by a stray one or two on your new birds.

Mix a slurry of diatomaceous earth, water or a good animal disinfectant and a good slug of washing up liquid. It will go very lumpy at first but keep going with the mixing until it becomes a smooth mixture about the consistency of gloss paint or pouring custard.

'Paint' this mixture onto the entire interior of the hen house including the perches, the perch ends, nest boxes and the interior of the roof. Stand back and admire the wreck of your lovely new hen house, it will look terrible I'm afraid but it really does help. Allow to dry, it will dry a light cream colour fairly quickly and as the forecast is mostly good for the next few days it will probably be mostly dry by the time you have finished. The girls will not mind and this way it helps keep the dust levels down for them.

You mention up to ten birds. I would advise that you go for three to five at first and then if you find you love them add a few more in September. Remember that chicken keeping if a fun and relaxing pass time in the warm summer months but your birds WILL destroy the ground they are on and you must be prepared to face a muddy poo clad environment (a whole other topic) once the winter comes.

Best of luck you will fall in love with your ladies very quickly.

Orchadlady.

[Dominic]

2 sqms is a minimum, they'll be much happier with 4m each

Will they be able to free range ever?

[bantam novice]

Don't forget that pics of your new hens are a statutory requirement of this forum 

[Jacinta]

The Diatom slurry is excellent stuff, just paint it on with a big paint brush and be sure to thoroughly coat any gaps in the woodwork.  It lasts a few months on the house but the perches need doing every week or so, the hens scratch it off shuffling about in their sleep.  As orchard lady say's, it's much better for their respatory systems not breathing dusty air which happens when sprinkling Diatom on the bedding. 

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions, i have found this site extremely helpful and friendly.

[themagicaltoad1]

If you start off with less than you actually have room for you might want to try hatching some at a later date.