Chickens?

[topchippyles]

5 minutes ago, scbk said:

 with a nice big opening roof for easy access.

Is that so they can sun bathe 🤭

[Bob_z_l]

I'd be looking at en Eggloo or something similar. The house and run are integral and in a smaller garden give you the ability to move it around. The chickens will tear up a little "yard" and turn it into  a quagmire.   Moving the run ease the burden on the ground and also self fertilises the grass. Win , Win.

 

Echo all other statements re- Avian flu and rodents.  Don't leave lots of feed around and it'll be easier to manage.

Fresh eggs.....winner!

[Commando]

Couple of strands of electric fence like on a pheasant pen will keep Charlie and Brock away. Treadle feeder will help with rodent issues, as will an air rifle or tunnel fen trap[emoji16]

[Stere]

 

 

 

Keep hens atm in a shed

 

 

Not impresses with the design of the mobile houses iv'e seen  with regards to ease of mucking out but like the idea.

 

Think something with a whole floor  that slides out or roof that hinges off up so could be cleaned easily would be a good design....

[scraggs]

We have kept them on and off for years.
Currently have 6 laying
I would recommend looking at plastic coupes as you will get less trouble with mites.
Yes they can be messy but well worth it, the eggs are so much nicer.
We have also kept ducks for their eggs, but they really are bloody messy things.

[peds]

I save my wood ash from the fireplace in the winter and scatter it about inside the coop in spring and summer months, it helps to keep the parasites and flies down. A good bit of ash goes into their dust bath too. I have a dust bath in an old wheelbarrow in their shed so they can still bathe in bad weather.

[DanHorrich87]

1 hour ago, peds said:

I save my wood ash from the fireplace in the winter and scatter it about inside the coop in spring and summer months, it helps to keep the parasites and flies down. A good bit of ash goes into their dust bath too. I have a dust bath in an old wheelbarrow in their shed so they can still bathe in bad weather.

Good substitute for diatomacsous earth!  👍A fine sandy powder like for minimizing red mites.

[Dan Maynard]

I'd be looking at en Eggloo or something similar. The house and run are integral and in a smaller garden give you the ability to move it around. The chickens will tear up a little "yard" and turn it into  a quagmire.   Moving the run ease the burden on the ground and also self fertilises the grass. Win , Win.
 
Echo all other statements re- Avian flu and rodents.  Don't leave lots of feed around and it'll be easier to manage.

Fresh eggs.....winner!

Secret to not having a quagmire is plenty of wood chip. Working for us.

[agg221]

We have six large fowl of different breeds. They were chosen for a laid back temperament and we got them when they were just off the heat lamps from a place near Stowmarket (except one which came a few weeks later from a different supplier as it was a breed my wife wanted). Large fowl still aren't that big - even a Brahma is only around the size of a cat .

 

I bought a self-assembly coop as I couldn't buy the timber for less. I then built it in to an integral short run, with other bits of run that move separately and extend it. That way it was fairly easy to move around the garden every couple of months. At this time of year we have to throw down straw in the run but otherwise it's not too muddy.

 

Ours are currently off lay, but they are productive spring/summer. They probably sit halfway between pet and livestock, in that they aren't really friendly but they accept being picked up by the daughters, and they won't end up in the pot when they stop laying. When regulations permit they get let out for a supervised run around the garden for an hour or so a day. They seem quite happy, don't try and escape (they could easily do so if they wanted to). They are not clipped, so  they can fly but it's too much effort (definitely lazy breeds). In a small flock like this they are all identifiable by their unique characters.

 

If at all possible, get them all from the same place at the same time. If not, get them in groups. The flock mentality excludes outsiders and introducing a single chicken is extremely hard work, even to a very laid back flock like ours.

 

Alec

[peds]

24 minutes ago, agg221 said:

 

If at all possible, get them all from the same place at the same time. If not, get them in groups. The flock mentality excludes outsiders and introducing a single chicken is extremely hard work, even to a very laid back flock like ours.

 

Yep. Replacements or new recruits should come as a 2 or 3, minimum.