Chicken advice

[fatchap]

After much arguing and begging and putting my point across my wife has relented and said I can keep a few chickens but being my wife their are conditions, the main one being they have to be liberated caged or battery hens.

Anyone on here keep chickens? I was after egg layers like Rhode Island Reds or similar. As much as I disagree with battery hens as a farming method are they not burned out egg laying wise? Now before I put my foot in it and upset someone on here can someone offer some advice on the subject. Are battery hens a good choice? have they got much life left in them? Will they lays eggs. Don't get me wrong the chickens I do get be it battery or from chicks from a chicken breeder, they will have the life of luxury, the coup I have planned makes the Ritz look like a mud hut. Full run of the garden. Fox proof accommodation etc.

Its just that being my wife this condition is not optional.

Any help greatly appreciated. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by fatchap

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, channel 5 series  build a new life in the country, where the family bought some X layers from a farm that took in X layers rather than they go for slaughter,  they fed them up check health and sold to people for a fiver each, they still layed a good amount of eggs per week

[bruno22rf]

Ex battery hens are brilliant - most likely still have 3 years left in them and will still lay maybe 5 eggs/week. The biggest pleasure, however, is seeing the transformation from the poor condition they arrive in to superb looking specimens in about a month - mine had never seen rain and just stood out in it at first not knowing what to do. They WILL eat your garden and dig up your lawn like a rotavator on steroids so be warned - gave my chucks away about 5 years ago and my lawn has just about recovered. Eggs will cost you twice shop bought prices as the feed is not cheap in small quantities but they taste sublime - you will also need to buy Diatomaceous earth to keep red mites at bay. As you eat the Eggs, crush the shells and put it in their food - cheap source of the calcium they need to lay decent eggs.Go for it cos they are fascinating birds to have around the garden but be sensible as to how many you keep - dont take the wife when you go to collect because she will want to rescue all of them. Contact the British Hen Welfare Trust for the best advice.

[blackbird]

Spare a thought if you have close neighbours, they draw rats, we never seen a single rat in our garden since next door started keeping chickens now we see them all the time.

Edited April 18, 2020 by blackbird

[old'un]

Well if she changes her mind they will be easier to remove than Sandtex.

[aga man]

Ex battery hens will give you all the eggs you need. Don't be put off by the poor appearance of them, as bruno22rf says they come back to condition pretty quickly.

[Eyefor]

Check out

https://freshstartforhens.co.uk/

Also, if you do get chickens then, as stated above, you will get rats. Just (please) don't take the tongue in cheek advice given in our village pub to a good life loving incomer, that he should put a "guard ferret"  in the chicken run.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Eyefor

[kennett]

Another vote for ex commercial hens, we always had interesting coloured chickens which were ok, but never hugely reliable layers. We picked some ex commercial free range hens up in the middle of one of our huge storms this winter, got them home and had an egg before teatime!  They are only a matter of months old, but as soon as they go to an egg every other day they aren't viable.

[davewh100]

34 minutes ago, old'un said:

Well if she changes her mind they will be easier to remove than Sandtex.

😂 true

[figgy]

I preferred blubelle and copper blacks, the more ornate egg layers with high output of eggs.

Cousin took ex battery hens and though it's a nice thing to do, it wasn't for me. As I only kept a small amount.

Edited April 18, 2020 by figgy

[loriusgarrulus]

Most commercial hens start laying at 5 months. They are got rid of at 15 months. They will still lay for years after that.

The brown dumpty Warren type hens lay nice size eggs and soon become very tame.

If you make a plastic garden store into a hen house you don't get red mite and they are easy to access and clean with the opening top and double doors.

[TRINITY]

A chicken will lay the most amount of eggs in its first year then they go into a moult and stop laying. Commercial farmers do not find it cost effective to keep them during this un economic part of their life cycle and therefore they are culled and replaced by a fresh young flock.

In their second year they will lay less eggs but of a larger size. When I say less instead of something like 300 on the first year ,it could be 260/270. Also the second year hens may look in poor condition after a year in the cages and this is partly due to the moult.

So my advice is yes, if healthy and cheap,battery hens in their second year will give you another 2 good years of laying before they need to go. However its all down to price. I dont know what your are paying but personally I would want to pay very little for them. You ought to shop around and look for some good point of lay pullets. 

If you want out and out laying machines get hybrids, if you want something less efficient then some of the traditional breeds are ok. 

I have a great deal of experience in poultry and all commercial livestock so if you need to ask please give me a PM

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Do NOT buy a cockerel to increase the egg production, your neighbors will plot to kill it or YOU!

[The Heron]

1 hour ago, blackbird said:

Spare a thought if you have close neighbours, they draw rats, we never seen a single rat in our garden since next door started keeping chickens now we see them all the time.

Yes and foxes as well also don't make the mistake of giving them names and turning them into pets my daughter rang up one day all upset to tell me that she had seen a fox running off with henrieta in its mouth. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, nothing like a fresh chicken egg for breakfast, memories go back to my early years and collecting a few from Uncles chicken shed

[old'un]

5 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Do NOT buy a cockerel to increase the egg production, your neighbors will plot to kill it or YOU!

Unless you don’t like your neighbors.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Or have a deathwish!

[blackbird]

Local farmer delivers our free range  eggs every Thursday 1/2 dozen for £1.20, is it worth the bother ?

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Just now, blackbird said:

Local farmer delivers our free range  eggs every Thursday 1/2 dozen for £1.20, is it worth the bother ?

Absolutely not and always fresh and very little clearing up to do.!

[peck]

Several years ago i had the same idea, all went well for a couple of months and then i started to notice they had been scratching around as they do but all of a sudden the garden started to look like a bomb had hit it, they were scratching everywhere with everything slowly being destroyed. My advice is, build them a large run that can be moved around so that when the ground becomes bare you can move it to give them fresh ground. You can then use the ground they have just been on for growing veg as it will be nicely fertilised.

 

[washerboy]

Large run, enclosed in with a hen house so you can lock them away. Buy point of lay hens. Feed them on meal, if you feed them **** they will slowly one by one stop laying. Laying pellets is the best feed. 

[Muddy Funker]

Ex batts are fine and will continue laying. 

They can die within a couple of days of being rehomed, it's clearly massively stressful. 

But most make it and you can get years out of them. I'd get a few ex batts and a couple of fancy ones. Cream leg bar are a favourite of mine, they look good and lay blue eggs. 

Oh be prepared for them to utterly destroy the ground you put them on. If you have a small garden and let them free range there won't be a single living thing in it after a few months 😂

[old man]

Practically speaking ordinary breeds will eventually destroy a garden whereas bantams with feathery feet won't as they scratch much less?

[tonker]

You'll find you get no eggs in winter unless you light their coup, my mate has a free range unit and says a chicken needs something like 16hrs of light a day to lay eggs (something of that ilk). I know when I kept them I used to think the first egg I had in the spring used to cost me about  £110 lol, for all the food I had fed them during the winter.

[Benthejockey]

We often found that we'd get double yolkers off battery hens if they live to be 3 or older. Marans will lay very dark shelled eggs, sussex ranger will lay white eggs and I can't remeber I think its aracouna hens will lay blue eggs... They all taste like eggs but people like my wife get obsessed with the bloody shell colour 🙄😂 the hen rescues will usually want a donation of £1/bird. Any more and tell them to send them to the pie factory, point of lay hybrids are about £12 and you don't have to knit them jumpers. Rat proof everything. You will get rats but those steel rat proof feeders are a good investment but you'll have to teach them how to use it... The hens not the rats. Same with foxes, Fort knox couldn't keep out a determined vixen and a badger will rip his way into a hen house, all you can do is make it secure and hope they leave you alone.