[Andrew4613]

Hi everyone

Just bought a house for 6-8 birds and extremely excited!!! What kind of chickens should I get - I'm looking for good layers and good for children ie timid!!

Also is says 6-8 birds - but how many should I get? I don't want them crammed in!

Cheers

Andy

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site 

I'll move this across to the Hen House, which is where chickeny questions go.  Feel free to pop back into the Welcome forum to introduce yourself a bit more for a proper welcome, if you wish.

People will need to know the dimensions of the house in order to advise on numbers of chicken.  Also whether there is an associated run and, if so, its dimensions.

[NormandyMary]

Welcome to the wonderful world of chook keeping. I can well understand your excitement. Someone will recommend breeds of chooks to get, Im not very good at that as I only keep bog standard hens. Im a huge fan of Bluebelles and Light Sussex, but they can be quite big birds (a problem if space is an issue). Just to say though, I recently bought a new henhouse that was supposed to keep between 8 and 12 birds. I now have 9 hens and a cockerel, and the available space is unbelievable. They do tend to huddle togethter at night though, only a couple like to perch.
Wishing you well for the future with your birds when you get them.

Mary.

[Andrew4613]

Sorry I posted in the wrong place!! Will pop on later and introduce myself.
The house and run I ordered is the large size from this link.
The run is 2m2 which I think is tiny, but they will hav an outer run of around 6m2 although very scared of mr fox that I have seen on the embanking at the back!!

I have a lovely neighbour who has 4 chickens and he has lent me a couPle of books.  But if people could advise on what I need from day one when I buy the hens I'd be grateful! Do I get indoor and/or outdoor feeders??

Anyway many thanks

Andy
Hazel grove
Stockport

[bantam novice]

Hello and Welcome 
 Here are some suggestions for starting off
Feeder and drinker outside the house but sheltered from the weather so that the food doesn't get wet.  Chickens go fast asleep at night and don't need food or water in the house.  The water could also cause damp and condensation for the hens.
Feed layers pellets and remove feed at night so you don't encourage rats
Store feed where rats can't get it.  They can chew through thick plastic so use galvanised metal.
Separate pots of oyster shell and grit avaialable at all times outside.
purple spray spray red or raw areas to disguise the colour
Flubenvet wormer for internal parasites
Frontline kitten strength for external parasites
bedding for hen house - people here have used bedding such as bliss, hemcore or dust extracted wood shavings.
Diatomaceous Earth, Poultry shield etc for cleaning and protecting the house against redmite.  Redmite lives in  the house rather than on the chicken.  They are tiny but will crawl into any cracks or crevices they can find in the day and drop down onto the hens at night to drink their blood.
Identify a local chicken-friendly vet.  Not all vets are and some will even refuse to treat chickens.  I hope you will never need to use a vet but it is useful to identify one if you need a vet in a hurry.
Find a comfortable chair or bench to sit on while you watch your chickens.  They are a joy to watch and be prepared to want to increase your flock 

[Andrew4613]

Thanks bantam novice

I see you have two dogs, I have a retriever how do your dogs behave with your birds? Did you have to train them??

I'm blown away by the amount if things I need now!! I hope I haven't bitten off too much!

Andy

[sally10]

Hi Andy,
By finding this website you have hit gold, there is always someone on here that is happy to help.

I keep my 6 chickens on my allotment that is at the end of the street. They live in a full side shed which my brilliant dad has adapted into a hen house.

One of my top tips is that you use a red mite powder from the off set. I didn't and as many people on here will tell you its a nightmare when you get them.
You can stand up in mine so one way it is easier to clean so if you have a smaller coop then it may me harder to clean properly.
The powder you can buy from most pet shops or feed places you just dust some around the hen house mainly on the perch. It is def worth doing it from the off set, I wish I had !!!

The other thing is find a feed place to buy your layers pellets etc as its more economical to buy in large sacks.
You can also make a mash from the layers pellets they love it in winter as a treat, just put some in a bowl and add hot water, I also add some oats, or sometimes just make extra porridge when I have some !!! spoilt hens !!! and you WILL spoil them !!!
I see you live in Manchester so you should be able to find one nearby. I live in Ramsbottom and use the one at Rising Bridge going out towards the M65.
They will give you so much joy I have just built a second shed to get some more !!! excited !!!
enjoy and welcome to the world of chickens !!!

Sarah

[hillfooter]

It seems such a shame to stop to plan when you are making so much rapid progress but my tip would be to get a good book on chicken keeping and also do some research on this site before you make too many expensive mistakes.

My second tip would be not to spend your money on the useless Red Mite Powder you willl find in most pet shops unless you want to waste your hard earned cash. Do some research on Red Mite control on this site and plan a system to deal with them starting next March when you might expect to see some.

My third tip would be to post your questions in the light of your new found knowledge.

HF

[Helenaj]

If you buy Diatomaceous Earth (DE) online it's much cheaper and far more effective than the branded redmite powders that are out there. I've recently bought 10kg bag of DE for £18.99 compared to a 500g tin of branded redmite powder at £6.99! However, only buy the food grade DE as any other is not to be used domestically - it should say that when you buy it anyway.

The initial outlay for keeping chickens is always expensinve as you are having to buy things you would not need to get if you were getting a dog for instance, but always buy good quality feeders and drinkers and they will last you for the whole time you keep hens.
As hillfooter says, get a good book on chicken keeping (try your library before buying one, mine has loads), and you won't go wrong - and everyone is here to offer excellent help and advice!

As for dogs, I have two Jack Russell terriers and although they are fine with the chickens when we are there, I would not risk leaving them unattended with my girls. At the end of the day, a dog is a natural predator so don't put your girls at risk. Once you get your girls and they are settled, take your dogs out to meet them on a lead and see how they react. try this for a couple of days so that the dogs know there are new things in the garden that they are not allowed to play with!

[bantam novice]

Sparky, my JRT is fine with the hens if I'm around.  He ignored one that had flown over the electric fence into the vegetable patch.  Buster, the Springer, is still very boisterous and puppyish.  He has learned about the electric fence and leaves them alone.  I would not trust either, however, if I or my OH were not supervising.
If you introduce chooks and dogs to each other gradually they should end up ignoring each other.  I have read in this forum that some people have chickens that come into the kitchen and eat out of the dog's food bowl 
Good luck and keep us posted