Thinking of starting....

[JimmerG]

So here we go - I'm toying with the idea of keeping chickens.... I suggested the idea to Mrs. G, and she suggested two things that annoyed me.

She reckons they need feeding EVERYDAY - and should we stay away for a weekend, we'll have drag the poor neighbours in to feed them.... Is this true, or can you leave enough food out for two days? We've got cats, they cope if we're away for a night - can chickens?

The other problem is she wants to hand over half the flippin' garden to them. What is the recommended size for a run for 2 chooks? I'm thinking 8' x 4', plus a coop - maybe one of those clever coops that sits above the run. Our garden is entirely enclosed so they could be let out for run around so long as we're around to keep an eye on them.

We've got friends with an eglu - which Mrs G. reckons is FAR too small for 2... are they too small? I don't reckon I'll go down the Eglu route, they seem like a trendy one stop shop for those with too much money.

So what do we think? How much space? How much attention?

[Nicos]

Mine free range and need letting out and locking away at night- BUT ...nope- if they are in a run with a timed hatch on it I's sure you can leave them for a few days ( 2-3) so long as there is plenty of food and water left for them.
It's just a problem if there is bulling going on I suppose in case there is an injury to tend to- and you may be encouraging egg eating- or broodyness if the eggs are left in too long.

Neighbours are always happy for a few fresh eggs in exchange for helping you out- esp those with kiddies who get a chance to have contact with chooks and egg collecting!

Just go for it...get something bigger than you think you need - cos it's very addictive!

[Nicos]

Oh - and 'the books' reckon you should have a minimum of 3 so if one dies one is not left on it's own ( they're pack minidinosaurs!!!)

[OverWyreGrower]

We feed our chickens every day and collect the eggs every day too...

You could leave enough food out for two days, but you'd need to be aware that:
a) the chickens may eat it all in one day (if they are greedy)
b) it's in a weatherproof feeder, so if it rains, it doesn't get wet or ruined
c) you don't have any vermin (rats, mice etc) who will steal the food

You've also got to think about locking them away for the night. Several Grapes have (very recently) had their flocks decimated by foxes - at least one in broad daylight, with the Grape mere metres away.

I rope in my mum or sister to house sit - the novelty of letting the chickens out and collecting eggs still hasn't worn off (despite the fact we've now got 7 chickens and 6 ducks to look after!).

I'm not a great Eglu fan - our birds live in a converted �99 shed from B&Q! We've managed to make a 100sqm run for ours, but previous to that, we had them in a moveable ark/run set up; but they had to be moved every day, as they would decimate the grass in one spot.

They are very addictive (hence why we've gone from 4 birds to 13!)

[JimmerG]

A timed hatch - this sounds clever. Its also made me wonder - do chickens need to be shut away at night and released in the morning?

Is one not able to leave a door open so they can move from coop to run as they wish? Or would they get cold at night with an open door?

[OverWyreGrower]

A timed hatch - this sounds clever. Its also made me wonder - do chickens need to be shut away at night and released in the morning?

Is one not able to leave a door open so they can move from coop to run as they wish? Or would they get cold at night with an open door?

I would say yes, they need to be locked up.

They tend to go straight to bed when it gets dark, so won't bother going out at night. A timed hatch would be an excellent idea.

It's mostly safety from predators etc - foxes, stray dogs, cats etc. Around this time of year, there are fox cubs around, so the foxes are quite active. They'll jump (can jump over 5ft), bite and dig under runs/fences to get at chooks, so a securely locked coop is your best best. We've never even seen any foxes near us (and we live in the middle of nowhere) and I suspect with the scent of 2 large dogs on the land, they'd not come visiting; but we still lock all the birds up at night.

[janeyo]

Our neighbour is happy to check the chickens are ok if we are away for a night or a week - and he feeds them etc. The deal is he gets to keep any eggs! I don't ask him to clean them out but he does everything else.

[Birdie Wife]

I would agree they need to be locked up - even with a run that you think is 100% secure, predators somehow find their way in Find a neighbour who can be bribed with fresh eggs to let them out if you want to go away. Automatic door openers are great but pricey, and you can also get treadle feeders which hold either a whole bag or half bag of pellets so the chicken can take as much or little as it wants and there's no waste. The treadle is set to be triggered at a certain weight so chickens can feed but rats can't.

As for run size, for three hens a moveable run of about 3 x 1 metres is more than ample. They will eat the grass in the run - it's good for them and makes the yolks go a beautiful deep orange colour - but you'll need to be able to move it about otherwise theyll soon get down to bare earth and then it'll be muddy when it rains. The alternative is a large fixed run, which you still might need to partition at times to allow the grass to recover.

[Hilary B]

If you use an enclosed run, with a fox-proof base (chainlink is cheaper than weldmesh, and either will keep foxy out while still allowing the grass to appear through it), you can get away with not shutting them in at night, but it isn't ideal.
Unless you have very few, or very unhelpful, neighbours, getting the routine stuff done while you are away a couple of days should not be difficult. For the rest, I agree with the comments about feeders (drinkers too) which can hold more than one day's supply, and small-but-moveable run.
Just how DO your cats manage when you are away? Have you got one of those dishes which opens one 'meal' at a time, or are they left to steal/hunt?

[Moony Moon]

I am coming to the end of week one with my girls and i can only say go for it!! I built my own house and run (all part of the fun...planning etc) and am so enjoying it.
It's strange how standing in the rain, with the head torch on in the garden giving the girls a cuddle is fun, but it is.

I was probably a bit thorough....started planning and building last August, but read the books/forums, go steel ideas from the gardens centres and get involved. Work is all doom and gloom at the mo, with the current climate etc....come home have a cuddle and you'll be so relaxed!

[MaureenHall]

While I agree with everything all the others have said, I've still got concerns about leaving the chooks on their own for up to 2 days.

1. Foxes: The run HAS to be completely fox proof even if you're in the middle of a city
2. Food: It HAS to be kept in a container where it can't be contaminated by the chickens, the weather, vermin
3. Water: HAS to be fresh, uncontaminated and in plentiful supply
4. Eggs: If not collected daily can encourage egg-eating, broodiness, and they will get poo-ed on

I go away quite often for overnight stays with friends and family and I arrange with my daughters to come in and get the girls up and put them to bed. The daughter who doesn't keep chickens herself is rewarded with all the eggs the girls produce while I'm away, the other one gets a bag of chicken feed. If I didn't have my daughters to do this for me, then I'm fairly sure a neighbour would in exchange for eggs. I also have a cat who comes and goes as she pleases through a magnetic cat-flap and she does only eat dried cat food (won't touch tinned stuff unless it's tuna!) and my daughters check on her too though they very rarely have to top up her dish and her water.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding negative, but I do think that if you're keeping pets of any sort you do have to take responsibility for their care 24 hours a day. If you can't give that level of commitment just now, then perhaps it'd be better to wait and get chickens at a time when you can do all these things.

[kirsty b]

A timed hatch - this sounds clever. Its also made me wonder - do chickens need to be shut away at night and released in the morning?

Is one not able to leave a door open so they can move from coop to run as they wish? Or would they get cold at night with an open door?

Mine have a shed against the side of their run. Due to shift work I can't get down there at the same time every day, so the pop hole is always open, facing into the run, and away from the prevailing wind so they are sheltered. They put themselves in at dusk, and come out when it gets light. It provides a bit of ventilation, and the nest boxes are angled away so they are not draughty. I have been in the shed after dark when they are roosting and they huddled tgether and fluff up their feathers so they are all warm.

I had foxy visits last year, and while it saddened me I have come to accept that foxes are as much part of chook keeping as the chooks themselves. I just protect them as best I can. Have seen fox footprints at the top of my plot but so far nothing round the run, but I don't take it for granted that they will be ok all the time.
When we went on holiday last year, my neighbour went down the allotment to let them out etc, in exchange for all the eggs they laid and keeping the money from any surplus sold.
Anyways, I'd best go, from the smell coming from the kitchen, their hot mash made of veg peeling etc is done so I'd best get it down there and feed them.

[Suechooks]

Maureen has said all I was thinking and so eloquently! All animals are a responsibility and there are times in our lives when we just can't make that level of commitment. I've been there myself and had to do without pets due to other commitments but times change and it all happens again at the right time.

[Eyren]

8' x 4' should be plenty - the minimum for free-range hens is one sq metre (9 sq ft) per bird, assuming you let them out to stretch their legs regularly.

Really, the rest depends on your circumstances. Mine are in an eglu and I rarely shut the door unless the weather is very cold (below minus 2). Mind you we don't have fox trouble (plenty of bunnies and game birds on nearby farms to keep them busy!), though we have had rats over the winter. Mice I don't worry about - they should be the ones worrying, since I've seen my girls kill a mouse who was raiding their spilt food!

I've left mine overnight when I knew there were no predators around and no problems or illness within the flock, but that would be the same with any pet

[Eyren]

While I agree with everything all the others have said, I've still got concerns about leaving the chooks on their own for up to 2 days.

1. Foxes: The run HAS to be completely fox proof even if you're in the middle of a city

If anything, foxes are a lot more of a problem in cities because they are used to people. I have friends in the centre of Cambridge who have lost entire flocks to foxes more than once, whereas out here on the rural fringes I have yet to see a fox within a mile of my house!