[lizf68]

Hi, we have been thinking about getting a coop with 4 or 5 chickens but have a few of questions:
1. how do we protect against the local cats and the odd fox?
2. can you keep them in the coop all the time?
3. one of the things stopping us is if we go on holiday we don't really have anyone around to chicken-sit - so are there any places that would take them during holidays?

Thanks!

[amj]

Why don't you get a goldfish instead ?

[joyfull]

If you want to keep them in a coop perminantly then you will need to provide at least 3 square metres of clear run space per bird (this does not include room for their feeders and drinkers and coop. If you bury the weldmesh sides in the ground by at least 12 inches and have a roof on the run this will go a long way to making it fox/cat proof. Also another thing you can do to help with fox proofing is to have a skirt of wire at right angles to the sides so that it prevents the fox digging (make it at least 12 inches).
There are very few chicken holiday places and personally I wouldn't like to put my birds through the stress of going to another place.

[bantam novice]

Hello Lizf68 and welcome to the forum  

I am not an expert, however I will try to answer your questions and I'm sure someone more experienced will be along to advise you shortly.

1) To protect against foxes you need to use weldmesh rather than chicken wire.  You can either make a "skirt" of wire around the run or dig the weldmesh in. You can use an electric net fencing and you can make sure that the coop is secure and that the hens are shut up each evening.   From what I have read so far on this forum a hen will usually see off a cat.  If you to into the Chicken Chat section you will see a thread about coop and run set ups.

2) Hens need at least 3 sq metre of run space, so for 5 chickens the ideal run space would be at least 15 sq metres  and this does not include space for feeders, drinkers and coop unless the coop is raised so that the hens can range underneath it.  You cannot keep them in the coop the whole time. They need room to scratch and range and behave like a chicken otherwise they get bored and develop behaviour problems such as pulling out feathers.

3)  I have heard of places that will take care of hens or alternatively you can cultivate your neigbours and offer free eggs in return for hen sitting while you are away.

I hope this helps.  In the meantime good luck with your project and keep us posted  

Joyfull, your fast fingers beat me to it again!

[joyfull]

 

[OpiumEater]

Why don't you get a goldfish instead ?

Probably because they tend not to lay eggs 

[JaK]

The run attached to the coop will also need to be covered by weld mesh or some other roofing to prevent things like foxes and wild birds entering the run.

[Raven81]

How much space do you have that they can use?

[Lindeggs]

Welcome Liz, Chickens are so much more entertaining than goldfish! 

I think your first question about protecting from predators has been answered well so I won't add to it.

Question 2 about keeping them in the coop all the time probably needs a bit more explaining.  The 'coop' is the fully enclosed, usually dark, place where the chickens go to sleep at night.  In addition to the coop they will also need a 'run' which is the outdoor space where they get fresh air and sunshine, dig in the dirt and run around for exercise.  The suggestions about covering it in weld mesh etc. relate to the run rather than the coop.

And the simple answer is that you can keep the chickens in the run all the time, as long as they have plenty of room so they don't get bored and start picking on each other.

Your third question is about what to do with them when you go on holiday.  I have recently invested in a treadle feeder.  I am in NZ so the brands will be different to the UK, but I got one of these: http://www.grandpasfeeders.com/  It holds enough to feed my six chickens for 10 days, and is weather-proof and wild-bird-proof. 

In addition to the feeder, I also have several water containers around the place, so if they knock one over or soil the water they still have plenty of fresh water to drink. 

I will be going away next week, so I simply asked my neighbour to come and collect the eggs, which of course she can keep.  Easy peasy! 

[lizf68]

Thanks for all the replies which have given us plenty of food for thought, although I don't know what amj is doing on this forum if that's the type of advice they want to give, but for the info we have an indoor pet already thanks.

We have an average size garden, plenty of run room but a lot of local cats around.

Lindeggs thanks for the Grandpas Feeders link, this looks like an excellent holiday feeder.

Thanks!

[henamoured]

Welcome to the forum Liz.

With regard to cats, once the chickens are getting to near full grown (about 16-18 weeks) they are more than capable of seeing off any cats! In fact my cat, which is (he likes to think) a big, macho tom cat is very wary of my hens. Sometimes, when I let them out of their run (fenced off area at bottom of garden) and into my garden, the cat pretends to stalk them, but they've only got to so much as look directly at him and he runs off - a real scaredy cat in practise! Other neighbourhood cats don'y even come into the garden anymore.

Hope this reassures you. I'd encourage you to go ahead and try getting 3 to begin with - but plan your coop and run for more because once you start keeping them... you'll want more!   

[Raven81]

Our run is fully covered and they are sometimes in it for most of the day but we always let them out to free range in the garden a couple of times a day (tho the "garden" now includes the kitchen since they discovered the cat flap  :blink: ). 
They are always supervised when in the garden just in case, but like Henamoured said the cats (and in fact the dog too) are terrified of them!!  And of course to play on the safe side, by dusk they should be in their run as this is when foxes usually start to come out, I read somewhere that urban foxes are in fact more of a problem than rural ones as they have become more crafty.
If you do let them free range, be aware of the height of your fences as obviously hens can fly, I guess you knew that but thought I'd mention it in case!

[sneezer]

Hi and welcome! as far as cats go my neighbour has at least 9! she likes to rescue them and my girls free range all day, since having the girls i hardly ever see a cat in the garden! I watched Hetty who was the smallest actually chase a cat out of her way   When we first got ours we sent them to a chicken holiday place for 3 days and when they came back they were a bit traumatised by it all, so now my parents come and chicken sit.  Let us know your decision!

[Fisherman]

Hi Liz
I use a treadle feeder the same as Lindeggs which is able to provide feed for 2 weeks or so. Its also worth investing in an automatic drinker with a backup standard drinker but be mindful that both will freeze up in cold weather. When you go away just ask someone to collect the eggs and check everything is OK including checking the drinkers are full.

Review the products on the Wells Poultry web site. The automatic pop hole closers are also worth investing in.

http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/

[Abacus]

Why don't you get a goldfish instead ?

Probably because they tend not to lay eggs 

Actually they do lay eggs - its just that you need about 5000 for a decent omelette I suspect