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Keeping Chickens

Athos said:
Isn't 9 per m² the limit for barn hens, rather then free range?

You might be right; I've never had ex-battery. Though I understand that's been banned for many years, now.
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Nope, free range. Battery hens are banned, but they're are still a lot of barn hens, and the free range ones at the moment will have spent a lot of time as barn hens.

I've rehomed both and the difference between the hens was astounding - the free range hens were big healthy birds with full feathers and a normal chicken shape, the barn hens were tiny, virtually featherless, deformed claws that had rotted away from sitting in shit, and lengthened necks from stretching to get food and water that's intentionally kept too far away to reduce their consumption. One was egg-bound and hadn't been treated for it.

They were still surprisingly friendly and became healthy within a few weeks, and were much easier to look after than the free range hens, who were bolshy little brats. Eventually had to give them to the city farm because they kept going into my neighbours' gardens.
 
scifisam said:
Nope, free range. Battery hens are banned, but they're are still a lot of barn hens, and the free range ones at the moment will have spent a lot of time as barn hens.

I've rehomed both and the difference between the hens was astounding - the free range hens were big healthy birds with full feathers and a normal chicken shape, the barn hens were tiny, virtually featherless, deformed claws that had rotted away from sitting in shit, and lengthened necks from stretching to get food and water that's intentionally kept too far away to reduce their consumption. One was egg-bound and hadn't been treated for it.

They were still surprisingly friendly and became healthy within a few weeks, and were much easier to look after than the free range hens, who were bolshy little brats. Eventually had to give them to the city farm because they kept going into my neighbours' gardens.
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Aren't you conflating two different measures - housing density, and space to roam?
 
When I built Chickenopolis I used a meter high super tough weldmesh on the outside of the run with full-height chicken wire on the inside. Fox never got through it. The hen house was inside this enclosure so I could lure them in with corn if I was going to be out at bedtime.
I also made a day run out of chicken wire and bamboo poles, which while not easily portable, could be relocated with a bit of effort. It's very quick to train hens to come running to the sound of corn in a tin mug to move them around. Some hens can get over a 1.80 fence though.
 
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My plans for keeping chickens are advancing.

I am rearranging the garden. Will buy the house/run I posted up thread. Am going to get a treadle feeder for water and food.
Will design stuff to entertain the chooks. Hanging veg and regular lumps of wormy compost to mess about with.

I have my eye on a steam cleaner to keep it all clean and red mite at bay.

I’m probably not going to get rescue hens. The total cost thus far is fairly high and I need a decent return of eggs. Looking at some hybrid hens that do pretty eggs.

I’m not notifying the neighbours. They don’t have a veto. Next door will probably moan to fuck which is a great side benefit.

Ordering the stuff tomorrow. Get it all set up. Air rifle ready for rats. I want a terrier to guard them but can’t afford the type I want. Plus going to work etc.
 
TopCat said:
My plans for keeping chickens are advancing.

I am rearranging the garden. Will buy the house/run I posted up thread. Am going to get a treadle feeder for water and food.
Will design stuff to entertain the chooks. Hanging veg and regular lumps of wormy compost to mess about with.

I have my eye on a steam cleaner to keep it all clean and red mite at bay.

I’m probably not going to get rescue hens. The total cost thus far is fairly high and I need a decent return of eggs. Looking at some hybrid hens that do pretty eggs.

I’m not notifying the neighbours. They don’t have a veto. Next door will probably moan to fuck which is a great side benefit.

Ordering the stuff tomorrow. Get it all set up. Air rifle ready for rats. I want a terrier to guard them but can’t afford the type I want. Plus going to work etc.
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maybe get some sort of camera so you can watch them remotely?
 
TopCat said:
My plans for keeping chickens are advancing.

I am rearranging the garden. Will buy the house/run I posted up thread. Am going to get a treadle feeder for water and food.
Will design stuff to entertain the chooks. Hanging veg and regular lumps of wormy compost to mess about with.

I have my eye on a steam cleaner to keep it all clean and red mite at bay.

I’m probably not going to get rescue hens. The total cost thus far is fairly high and I need a decent return of eggs. Looking at some hybrid hens that do pretty eggs.

I’m not notifying the neighbours. They don’t have a veto. Next door will probably moan to fuck which is a great side benefit.

Ordering the stuff tomorrow. Get it all set up. Air rifle ready for rats. I want a terrier to guard them but can’t afford the type I want. Plus going to work etc.
Click to expand...

Rescue hens lay eggs every day same as other hens though. (Well, every 25 hours). There aren't any breeds that lay more often.
 
I had some in Stockport all fenced in but came home to find something had killed all three . I thought it was a fox then thought it was a stoat type thing as there was a hole I found only small ie half a fist size but deep. Whatever it was took their heads off and left the bodies. Went to the pub for a drink and some contemplation that night , mentioned it to a mate and half an hour later people kept bringing me packets of Foxes Glacier mints from the Co-op and asking if I wanted one.
 
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The39thStep said:
I had some in Stockport all fenced in but came home to find something had killed all three . I thought it was a fox then thought it was a stoat type thing as there was a hole I found only small ie half a fist size but deep. Whatever it was took their heads off and left the bodies. Went to the pub for a drink and some contemplation that night , mentioned it to a mate and half an hour later people kept bringing me packets of Foxes Glacier mints from the Co-op and asking if I wanted one.
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I’m going proper South London with the fox proof. Won’t be getting the hens until I’m satisfied. :)
 
scifisam said:
Rescue hens lay eggs every day same as other hens though. (Well, every 25 hours). There aren't any breeds that lay more often.
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The rate of laying depends on lots of factors - age, breed, condition, etc. At most, from the right breed, you'll get one egg every 25 hours or so. But, that'll drop right off when they're past their peak. Typically, rescue hens are just approaching that drop-off point (which is why they've been discarded). If you want maximum egg production you should buy 'point of lay' hens from an especially productive breed, look after them well, and cull any that are insufficiently productive.
 
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TopCat said:
My plans for keeping chickens are advancing.

I am rearranging the garden. Will buy the house/run I posted up thread. Am going to get a treadle feeder for water and food.
Will design stuff to entertain the chooks. Hanging veg and regular lumps of wormy compost to mess about with.

I have my eye on a steam cleaner to keep it all clean and red mite at bay.

I’m probably not going to get rescue hens. The total cost thus far is fairly high and I need a decent return of eggs. Looking at some hybrid hens that do pretty eggs.

I’m not notifying the neighbours. They don’t have a veto. Next door will probably moan to fuck which is a great side benefit.

Ordering the stuff tomorrow. Get it all set up. Air rifle ready for rats. I want a terrier to guard them but can’t afford the type I want. Plus going to work etc.
Click to expand...
I had some pretty egg hybrids - blueish eggs - and found they were not very robust, neither of them lasted 12 months. The first year is always going to be the most productive because the hens probably won't moult for a year, or have a mini-moult instead. When full on moulting they'll probably not lay, or very seldom, which takes the productivity down for year two and obscures the fact that they will lay every day after that. There will be a few eggs in year 3 and I've never had one that lived longer than that.
 
Athos said:
The rate of laying depends on lots of factors - age, breed, condition, etc. At most, from the right breed, you'll get one egg every 25 hours or so. But, that'll drop right off when they're past their peak. Typically, rescue hens are just approaching that drop-off point (which is why they've been discarded). If you want maximum egg production you should buy 'point of lay' hens from an especially productive breed, look after them well, and cull any that are insufficiently productive.
Click to expand...

I've had multiple rescue hens and they have continued laying for years. I know the theory, but it doesn't match up with experience. If you raise them from a chick you also lose several months where they're not old enough to lay, plus they might turn out to be roosters.

In any case, not having enough eggs is never a problem. There were three adults in my house and we all like eggs and we still couldn't get through all the ones my three laid. And we definitely didn't make our money back!
 
scifisam said:
I've had multiple rescue hens and they have continued laying for years. I know the theory, but it doesn't match up with experience. If you raise them from a chick you also lose several months where they're not old enough to lay, plus they might turn out to be roosters.

In any case, not having enough eggs is never a problem. There were three adults in my house and we all like eggs and we still couldn't get through all the ones my three laid. And we definitely didn't make our money back!
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Fair enough, I've never had rescue hens my knowledge of that is from books/the net.

You definitely wouldn't want chicks though; point-of-lay is ideal i.e. just as they reach egg laying age.
 
one of my (former workplace) colleagues had a few chickens - a box of eggs from his flock would be a mix of white, brown and blue eggs

:)
 
Getting a new compost bin for the chicken shit and am really making it rat and fox proof. Wire mesh around the side which will be buried.
 
My next door neighbour has never been nice. Now shows clear signs of early dementia and is deeply unpleasant.

I worry she will kick off about chickens. So my plan is (if she does kick off) to tell her I have pigs coming soon. Then compromise and cut back to four hens and offer a few eggs.
 
I have found that if you have chickens sooner or later you will have rats.If the rats get in the poor chickens crowd together in terror and some will suffocate.Rats are a scourge whatever farmerbarleymow might tell us.
 
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