Keeping chickens

Have done a search and couldn’t find anything so…

Anyone got much experience with this? Dos and don’ts, beginners mistakes, the one weird trick the suburban homestead industry doesn’t want you to know?

Visited some friends who had hens and have now got myself into a position where I’ve kind of agreed with my youngest that we can get some chickens.

Ideally want:

1. Quiet hens that will not wake the neighbours or attack my kids
   
2. Birds that will eat leftovers and not expensive chicken feed
   
3. Some eggs on a not-too-irregular basis
   
4. Not to have to spend tons of money that I don’t have on these creatures.
   
   

Tell me what you know, folks.

Be prepared for them to be pets not egg machines. I had hens at my dads a few years ago. Not many eggs but it was fun and they do all the weeding. They’re a nice animal to have around and I actually quite like the noise. I wouldn’t have a cockerel again unless you’re desperate to breed them

Hasn't @6pt got chickens now or did I imagine that?

Really not worth it. Just buy eggs from neighbours who haven’t yet realised having chickens costs more than the value of free eggs and the ones they sell.

2: Leftovers will only ever be supplementary to expensive chicken feed.

4: There's quite an upfront cost on treatments and additives, but these last a long time. Worth having them before you need them, as awful waiting for the post when they're needed.

They're lovely pets, directly proportionally to the amount of time you spend with them. Look up breed characteristics and pick based on that. Some breeds are incompatible with others. They all need more space than you think.

I deliberately have a gentle mixed flock. Six hens give me 4-6 eggs most days, with periodic breaks for moulting, brooding etc.

They trust their keepers implicitly; you need to know how much of what food you can give them, and what minerals/supplements are needed to compensate e.g. certain veg makes them less able to process calcium.

Pick them up all the time. If you know how they normally feel, you'll spot a problem more readily.

We get foxes at night. I have a cage around their coop, buried into the ground, as a second layer of protection.

Those are the first things that came to mind - happy to answer any questions.

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/15167519/

Thanks for the comprehensive reply, Richard. Gives me plenty to consider.

I hve 4 chickens currently

2 are bantams approx 2 years old and have stopped laying now
2 are ex-battery rescue hens approx 18 months old and have stopped laying now

we really need to get a couple more bantams. I would recommend bantams they are quieter, less bossy and don't shit everywhere. The ex-batts do bigger shits than my dog.

they eat proper chicken food, it's not that expensive, we have a massive sack of the stuff that lives in the shed.

The ex-batts do bigger shits than my dog.

I've wanted chickens for ages, this is the reason my OH vetoes the idea... Thanks for the tip, I really love some of the fancy breeds so would go that way rather than ex-batt...

I do! Still don’t really know what we’re doing with them as all the setup was handled by the previous owners and Rosie’s doing most of the keeping.

4 Marains, giving us 3-4 eggs a day. Echo the previous pets and poo sentiments. We let them wander the whole garden and it’s lovely apart from when they take a liking to a specific plant and take it down. Not many foxes around here, thankfully. Nothing prepared me for just how much personality they have.

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I want chickens

Agree that bantam poo is far smaller and less objectionable. Their eggs are only smaller by a little.

Has anyone got a dog or cat as well? How do they get on with the chooks? I only ask cuz we'll be getting a pooch before too long, it'll be a puppy so we'll hopefully be able to teach it to not eat the chickens...

I have 2 dogs & 2 cats, initially we kept the dogs in when the chickens were free ranging, then they needed watching when together but soon enough they all got used to each other and now they all ignore each other

That's great to hear... 🙃

Next door’s Nova Scotia toller goes for their chickens so they keep them separated. Our cat knows she wouldn’t stand a chance if the chickens turned on her so she pretends they don’t exist. There’s a moody cat a few doors down who comes by every now and again and really freaks the chicks out though, but they let us know nice and clear when they’re not happy.

This is Hulk, one of our bantams

Lovely! Re: Bantams. Is there much difference in personality between them and hens? I'm not too fussed about tons of poop as we have an allotment so that's all going to get used. But I was thinking maybe a smaller bird might be better for the kids, easier to handle etc?

To be honest if anything the ex-batts are easier to handle, they will happily be stroked & picked up, the bantams are a little harder to catch. When the ex-batts arrived they were in a terrible state and 1 out of the 3 died within a couple of days, so perhaps not ideal introduction for kids

Cheers! Another question: Do bantams eat significantly less food than regular chooks?

In theory I suppose yes, I just fill the feeder up every few days so I don't monitor their intake. Recently the Labrador has started helping herself to the chicken food as well which is a pain in the arse

Finally got some chickens and a coop yesterday. Kids are deliriously happy. Bonus egg this morning, too.

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What scraps are good for chickens? I’ve given them some chopped up old lettuce which they seem to like. Bread? Rice?

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Was feeding some friends chickens not long ago: I was surprised by how keen they were on dandelion leaves from the garden because I didn't really think of them as salad eaters, but their enclosure was pretty muddy so maybe that was what they were missing.

Great shout. Got tons of dandelions at the allotment.