Show me your

[pavman]

Right then Mrs P would like to add free range eggs to the menu, I have an area about 15 feet X 8 that I can use to make a run so i need some advise plz as to what makes a good secure run and the best chickens to keep as layers, any pics most helpful

 

ta Pav

[Stealth Stalker]

Pav

 

I got my chooks from The Battery Hen Welfare trust, they were a bit scraggy & bald but they soon blossomed in to fine looking hens that lay every day, only cost me a quid each

 

I saved them from ending up on the menu in a Chinese take away.

 

Look up the trust, I think there is another release date near you soon.

 

SS

[firdom]

Try the poultry keeper it's got a good forum

[badshot]

Hi Pav,

That area will be big enough for a few birds, personally I wouldn't have more than 3 in that area, but you won't get the best eggs if restricted to that area. For the yellowest yolks they need access to greenery (grass, other plants), it is the greenery which gives the very yellow yolks. You can of course supply greenery for them and hang it up.

 

The ex battery hens are a cheap way to get some chickens, but will lay intensively for the first two years of their life and then tail off quickly, it is the way they are bred. Pure breeds like light sussex or rhode island red will lay less eggs each year but will go on for longer. Colour of egg depends on the breed, leghorn will give a white shell, whereas rhode island will give a brown shell. It makes absolutely no difference to the taste of the egg I might add, that comes from the access to a nice bit of greenery.

 

Some people use the security type fence panels for a run, and for a house a small shed with a little bit of conversion will be a much better bet than a purpose built hen house. My hens are in the corner of one of my fields with electric fence to keep charlie out. Only thing to watch for is every crack and join in the house will eventually become a haven for red mite which is the scourge of poultry keepers.

 

Rules wise you are no longer supposed to feed the hens the scraps from the kitchen as it could lead to an epidemic like the foot and mouth apparently, if you have more than 50 birds (not on that size of patch though) they have to be registered with defra, no washing of eggs for sale due to risk of contamination, etc, etc.

 

Oh and where you have poultry it seems the rodents follow.

 

Dont let me put you off the eggs are delicious and so are the birds I put in the freezer.

 

Badshot.

[Bagsy]

.....or you could be a 'townie' and get one of these

[Markio]

We have 2 chickens, French Grey and Bovans Goldline (Cost £15 & £9 fully inoculated). I bought a second hand £5 rabbit hutch, refurbed it (replaced floor and other bits, made roof hinged for easy egg access etc) and built a run leading off it, easy for a man of your calibre. It's not as large as your area but we are only sticking to two.

 

We bought them at point of lay from a local guy, eggs production was slow to start, then a bit hit and miss but now 4 months on we get an egg a day from each. My little one loves them. Pics below (the grey one is massive now, these pics are from day one!)

 

We feed them layers pellets, the nipper gives them a handful of corn as a thanks () and they get the veg scraps too.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2009 by Markio

[Greenhunter]

We got 3 just over a year ago now. They are the Warren type hybrid and have laid their socks off in that time.

They are slowing down now due to the very short days and I don't have a light on them so its to be expected.

We have supplied friends all year as well as eaten loads ourselves.

 

Greens help the yolk colour and the really eggy taste but I also give mixed corn with maize in as this helps too.

It also keeps them busy scratching for it.

 

This time of year is probably one of the best times to get hens as even the short days won't stop a hybrid laying.

 

 

 

GH

[pavman]

thanks chaps

[Axe]

I've moved this here as it seems a little out of place anywhere else.

[stubby]

so your an old essex man, we used 8x4 sheets of 2"x2" mesh, source from work :blink: (sell them also) to just section off the end of garden, an old 6x4 shed converted to a chicken house, and ex battery hens costing 50p each, they looked a bit like oven ready chickens when we got them, but feathers soon grew back, we had 8 hens in an area bout the same as you have, and we were getting 7 eggs per day,

we now have 5 chickens and a duck :blink:

[christy]

We have three Columbian Blacktails. They look like a normal red/orange chick with a few black feathers at the other end. Bought them point of lay for 9.00 each three months ago. They lay 3 a day everyday and sometimes 4! I would recommend Beginners Guide to Chickens by Lee Faber. (Abbeydale Press) All you need to know for 6.99. Got mine from the Countrywide store, they have a choice-worth a look.

 

Mrs cleans em out twice a week to keep em happy. If you build a hen house rem to build in a seperate nesting box. That needs to be lower than perches otherwise they will roost in the box! HTH

[pavman]

We have three Columbian Blacktails. They look like a normal red/orange chick with a few black feathers at the other end. Bought them point of lay for 9.00 each three months ago. They lay 3 a day everyday and sometimes 4! I would recommend Beginners Guide to Chickens by Lee Faber. (Abbeydale Press) All you need to know for 6.99. Got mine from the Countrywide store, they have a choice-worth a look.

 

Mrs cleans em out twice a week to keep em happy. If you build a hen house rem to build in a seperate nesting box. That needs to be lower than perches otherwise they will roost in the box! HTH

 

thanks

[badger.22cal]

Bought 3 bantams this summer more for the kids then anything else, mottled, buff and crele got 1 of each. Converted a new rabbit hutch that next door gave me and fenced off a half circle of 4ft chicken wire from the fence. I open up every morning and they have full run of the garden, crackin little eggs but you need 3 for the size of a normal egg. Cost me £20 for the 3, feed them on corn and crumb plus scraps of greens. Cant upload pictures for some reason !!!

Edited November 25, 2009 by badger.22cal

[rimfire4969]

Give them as much room as possible, they will turn it into mud quite quickly, if you can once its all brown fence some off to let the grass recover, then move them to that bit, even better let them out to eat the bugs in the rest of the garden when you can. Plenty of greens and good quality feed. I would go for a Maran, Orpington or sussex something like that. Very nice birds and not bad layers, you should get an egg a day or every other day. I alway pay a bit more and get an old rare breed when i can.

 

Enjoy them your own eggs are always the best eggs in the world, nothing like collecting your own eggs and having them for breakfast. :blink: :blink:

[Imperfection]

.....or you could be a 'townie' and get one of these

 

lol-i've got an Eglu!

Despite its critics-its dead easy to keep clean and looks damn cool in orange.

 

However,i gave them more space and meshed off a section of garden which attaches to the Eglu's run so they have lots more room complete with shrubs etc and can scratch away to their hearts content.

 

I have two types of hen.Ones a blackrock and other two are standard red hens which are both excellent layers.On average i get 5-6 eggs each per week during summer (they slow down in winter-lack of daylight hours).All three are very tame by the way.

 

Blackrock.

 

One of the red hens with my dog.

Edited November 26, 2009 by Imperfection

[pegasus bridge]

here are mine; the main coup is made from weldmesh, the whole thing was designed to be low maintenance, using a bit of land in the garden that was really wasted. they have a big enough bit of ground to run around in, and they get let out 3/4 times a week. - although i also had to fence off half the garden because i very quickly learnt that my dogs kill chickens. the chickens are RIR x but they lay (or did for 2 years) an egg a day for most of the year, i have two left from a batch three years ago and they lay once a week now... time for them to move onto the big hen house in the sky i think.

 

[pegasus bridge]

another one ;

 

Edited November 27, 2009 by pegasus bridge

[starlight32]

Right then Mrs P would like to add free range eggs to the menu, I have an area about 15 feet X 8 that I can use to make a run so i need some advise plz as to what makes a good secure run and the best chickens to keep as layers, any pics most helpful

 

ta Pav

 

I've heard it all now....... I wish you are her ladyship would stop keep trying to act outthe 'Good Life'

 

I've moved this here as it seems a little out of place anywhere else.

 

I feel the whole idea is a little out of place for the poster too...........

[harrycatcat1]

edited to say these are my three Lohmans (hybrids) and my black terrier.

 

 

Edited November 28, 2009 by harrycatcat1

[lowlander]

an area of that size will be fine for about 3 or 4 hens to live in very well, but they will really benefit from being let out into your garden (as long as its secure). if you want some hens just for eggs i would definetley go down the hybrid route, ive had black rocks, warrens, sussex stars, blue belles and speckeldys, the best layer of these would have to be the warren in my opinion. but ive also had loads of pure breeds that layed very well, ive had light sussex, welsummers, marans, appenzellers, hamburgs and loads more, all of these also layed very well (enough to keep you in eggs, but not as many as the hybrids), but whatever you choose as long as you look after them well, keep them fed and watered etc and make sure they have clean housing they will all lay perfectly well. good luck

 

lowlander

[lewis]

I started with 6 bantum's 5 year's ago..

5 Year's of inbreeding later there is close to about 50 out there

 

If you have good amount of tree's and land you dont need run's. The chicken's just fly up at night and roam for food during the day.

[Ferretertom]

lol-i've got an Eglu!

Despite its critics-its dead easy to keep clean and looks damn cool in orange.

 

However,i gave them more space and meshed off a section of garden which attaches to the Eglu's run so they have lots more room complete with shrubs etc and can scratch away to their hearts content.

 

I have two types of hen.Ones a blackrock and other two are standard red hens which are both excellent layers.On average i get 5-6 eggs each per week during summer (they slow down in winter-lack of daylight hours).All three are very tame by the way.

 

Blackrock.

 

One of the red hens with my dog.

 

Brought one 2nd hand this year with 3 silkies hens its insulated and they even layed in the winter months because of the insilation my other flock havent layed since aug/sept

 

Ive been keeping chickens for 11 years i think the most reliable laying breeds are the rhode island reds (battery hens and comercial layers are these) then theres light sussex,warrens,blk rocks wellsumers.

Allough i mostly have a group of bantams some old engish game,modern game oegxmodern game,pekins lavender blk /millefler/ grey /lemon cucoo,frizzles, then theres some larger aracanas that lay blue/green eggs and a few other random ones! there fed scraps nd corn and are on woodshaveings. I hatch some yearly off the soft feathered bantams they go broody so i dont recomend them for a new comer(silkies and pekins are the most broody).

[Dan73]

4 Rhode/Sussex crosses - no pics at the moment.

 

about 14 months old now, and we are getting 1/2 eggs per day in the current climate - guaranteed 4 per day in the warmer months.

 

 

One thing I noted from an earlier reply, was about feeding them kitchen scraps - I do this almost daily - I have two boys who never eat everything on their plates so it all goes to the chickens, rather than bin it - though no poultry goes in to the scraps for the chickens.

On top of this, they have water, layers pellets and greenery from around the garden - all in all the eggs are amazing and they seem happy enough.

 

 

Rats - thats the only problem, but then they are the main reason for adding the BSA Lightening XL to the gun cabinet