blackthorn Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 remember growing up with me dad keeping chickens, from collecting the chicks, to the eggs, to walking round the back of the house, and there would be one hanging up, good old days. thought about an allotment with chucks on, an a bit of grow your own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 not always in a garden though depends how quiet your moderated .410 is :yp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 On a lighter not I well remember when me and my sister was little our dad took us to see a friend of his we all trooped in the gate and down there front path only to run out as fast as our little legs would take us followed by a great big goose we did not expect that it always makes me laugh when I think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what rabbit Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 get some ive had 4 in my garden for a couple of years, eggs are great, manure goes to next door for her allotment, & they can be bloody hilarious to watch some times ive seen & shot 2 rats in the time ive had the chickens so no rat problem your as likly to get rats round a bird feeder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy dog Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 I cant see the problem mate. My father kept chickens in a rented terraced house for years. And now with the price of free range chicken going sky high in the super markets, he's suggested to me he wants to get some more in for eggs and meat. I got on to the his housing officer an asked her how we stand with having chickens in the garden. And is there any change of rule or law since we last had them. I told her exactly the plan an what we wanted them for. And about the possiblility of vermin ( RATS ) coming in to the garden looking for a free bee food wise. I also suggested what action would be taken to control them, with traps and even an air rifle. To which she replied, if the neighbours don't have any objections and the vermin problem if any is kept under control and the place doesn't have rodents running all over the place. Then she can't see a problem. But if any thing did arise like a complaint concerning our chickens, then she would be forced to investigate. So i ask the neighbours and told them what our plan was and what could could happen concerning rats. And all said they had now problem and if we had any eggs, could we sell them a few lol. So hopefully in the near future the smell of free range eggs and chicken cooking could be wafting from my kitchen. We are hoping to get about 20 birds and one good stud Cockerel for reproduction purposes. Give the birds about a year or so. Then leave the cockerel loose and hopefully get a broody hen to sit on some fertile eggs. What ever number of new chickens we get then. We will kill that many older birds as to keep numbers in check and healthy. Hope you sort your little problem out mate and get your chickens. ATB DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holly Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 heres a picture of my two stood on the garden bench this morning they make great pets full of character Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpoonlouis Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 They make great pies too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunderbuss Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 They make great pies too! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprackles Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 THE allotment act specificlly allows the keeping of rabbits and chickens so dont listen to the naysayers. Visit the poultry chat forums and in particular this thread HERE The thread starts as follows, I've sought advice from a barrister who confirmed to me that..... wait for it...... it's quite good.... no, really, it's quite good: Any Act of Parliament will override all other sources of law apart from European Directives. and therefore: The Allotment Act 1950 does allow anyone to keep chooks on any land, so long as they're not a nuisance or a threat to health, irrespective. So off ya go....get ya chooks and wait for the eggs. I have chooks in my garden and its a normal town terraced house. No complaints from the neighbours...a few rats easily dealt with and a visit from a fox which cost me a few chickens but eventually cost mr fox his life...(tricky that one though....needed to be done quietly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Covanents don't expire of the original builder has gone bust and you can't ignore them. If a neighbour complained about your poultry and the council investigated you would beout on a limb financially if your covanent specifically ruled against livestock. Covanents are designed to avoid problems caused to others. That's what they ae there for. Contact the solicitor you used when you bought the house and ask them for a ruling on whether poultry are included. I suspect they will be. I have never known a covenant enforced and as such they are a waste of time, I think it would cost too much in solicitors fees for the builder as the council DO NOT enforce them on private houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 I have never known a covenant enforced and as such they are a waste of time, I think it would cost too much in solicitors fees for the builder as the council DO NOT enforce them on private houses. Yes they do. The guy opposite me has built a house in his grounds and cannot sell it due to a restrictive covanent on the number of properties that can use the common drive. Several people nearby have had to demolish newly built walls due to council enforced covanents regards open plan, and twenty years ago I knew a guy who had to fork out £36K to his neighbour after he had converted his large house into an old folk's home in contravention of an unknown covanent owned by the neighbour's property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liamp79 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Hi, We've been keeping chooks now for 3 years and it is one of the best things we have ever done. We have an assortment of different breeds. If you want them for there eggs get some of the more commercial breeds, Goldlines are bullet proof, so are light sussex. They're also really friendly and become quite tame, Brilliant for the kids to learn to handle. If you do get them, make sure you have a fox proof pen or house. Ours free range in the day but get locked away at night, Charlie will come at some point! You will end up with rats at some point or another, but as someone else said, it's just as much fun getting rid of them as having the hens is!Buy traps and a garden air gun! Prepare to spend wasting a lot of time, just watching them! They do some of the funniest things! It seems to be quite relaxing just watching them. ENJOY the eggs, nothing better than your first fried egg sandwich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprackles Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) I have Light Sussex, Cream Legbar, Barnevelder and Exchequor Leghorn. I get light cream coloured eggs, chocolate, white and blue. The Light Sussex is the layer of the largest eggs, the Barnevelder, the best tasting. Legbar lays a beautifull blue shelled egg and the leghorn lays good old fashioned white eggs. Hours of fun watching them, eat out of your hand and as said, the pleasure of eating your first eggs is great. Edited March 6, 2011 by Sprackles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 so if you wanted to put them in an enclosed pen , how big would it need to be for say 5 hens. thanks ps any one got pics of there set up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 so if you wanted to put them in an enclosed pen , how big would it need to be for say 5 hens. thanks ps any one got pics of there set up They don't need very much room, as seen in battery farming operations, but the more space you can give them the better. If they are kept too close together then hen-pecking and aggression can become a problem. We have 5 and our run is roughly 9 ft x 16 ft with 2 small apple trees in it, these give them a bit of shade when it's hot and something more to peck at when the apples drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markm Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 As I have already suggested, you need one of these - https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Eglu&sub=Eglu+Classic Why - its easy and the secondhand market is ace, you will only lose £50 on your outlay if you sell it years later on ebay (in the summer). Wood will either make your garden look like a farm yard (to do it properly) or will only last 5 minutes or will only end up in a skip cos your that sick of all the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 so if you wanted to put them in an enclosed pen , how big would it need to be for say 5 hens. thanks ps any one got pics of there set up Although you're only required to give each hen an A4 sheet of paper sized amount of space-you really need to allow 1m each to prevent bullying and boredom.Chickens can be terrible bullies and will often pick on the most submissive hen until she's dead so always allow the most amount of space you can afford.Also,give them something to do like put branches at different levels,turn over the soil so they can scratch around in it and let them freerange for a while if you can. Marks suggestion with the Eglu is superb-i have one too also in orange! Although some see them as expensive they are fantastic pieces of kit and dead easy to maintain.Cleaning is simple with soapy water and the Eglu itself is fox proof.Mine is attached to a run down one side of garden so my 5 hens have approximately 15m to themselves with shrubs etc to perch in also. My Eglu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debaser Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) so if you wanted to put them in an enclosed pen , how big would it need to be for say 5 hens. thanks ps any one got pics of there set up Legally you could go as small as you like, after all battery hens have about a tiny cage to live in and it's not considered cruel. However a good start guide is about a metre square per hen. However of course that's just my opinion, others will say half a metre others more. If your thinking about a permanent enclosure your biggest problem will be the ground, it will get well ripped up and have a fair amount of poo. Some people use wood chips or bark as a floor. A good solution is horse bedding as its very cheap and absorbent, you can replace it put fresh stuff down and through the old stuff in the compest and let it decompose. regards, BTW I'm another Omlet fan here, currently have a eglu, looking to upgrade to a cube soonish. Edited March 7, 2011 by debaser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprackles Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) This is a pic of my setup, you cant see the roof though. I made panels up, 3' x 6' and bolted them together to give me a 9' x 6' run. Coop as you can see is inside and what you cant see is a corrugated steel sheet for the roof, scrounged from some friendly scaffolders. I built the coop raised so the chooks have room to scrat around underneath. There is also a ramp not shown in the pic. Since this was taken, I have tacked on an egg box on the side of the coop. Edited March 7, 2011 by Sprackles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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