Chickens?

[Ben Pinnick]

Honestly, I'd not bother right now. With us bouncing in and out of flu regs, the chickens are stuck inside and it doesn't make me happy to see them that way. They're laying way less and moulting this year was by far the worst Ive seen it, presumably because they're just not as happy at the moment.

That said... If you're willing to build them a big enough run (Ours is 5*4m and tall enough to walk around and still feels undersized for our 7 when they're stuck in it 24/7) then you're at least not having to keep them in too small of an area, but its still not the same as having them roam about the place messing it up 🤣.

Edited January 4, 2022 by Ben Pinnick

[Commando]

Personal opinion but those Eglu  things look bloody horrible, like cheap plastic kids garden toys..and have you seen the price of them £6-700?  As Alec said you can pick up a decent wooden coop for a lot less money than you can buy the timber. Plenty of diatomaceous earth dusted about will keep the red mites at bay.

[benedmonds]

We used to let ours roam the garden, but they try to get in the house and crap everywhere. They now have a run that extends under the trampoline.. They keep the weeds down and have plenty of space to scratch around. 

 

Don't get them as a cheap source of eggs..

Edited January 4, 2022 by benedmonds

[Ben Pinnick]

26 minutes ago, benedmonds said:

Don't get them as a cheap source of eggs..

 

Ha, this! In fact you're going to give away most of them if you're anything like us. At full tilt even a handful produce more than you can eat but still need feeding...

More importantly though I may have to steal that idea for the trampoline run.... Could be a nice 'extension' for my lot.

[Stere]

Quote

Don't get them as a cheap source of eggs..

 

Yeah chicken food isn't cheap think prices of everything has gone up recently i think ( bedding and mixed corn /layers pellets... etc)  more than the price shop bought free range eggs which probably hasn't changed much for decades?

 

Sold eggs outside house  for £1.30 half dozen  probably isn't enough to cover cost of inputs....

 

Anyone ever done any rough calcs?

Edited January 4, 2022 by Stere

[Commando]

Ha, this! In fact you're going to give away most of them if you're anything like us. At full tilt even a handful produce more than you can eat but still need feeding...

More importantly though I may have to steal that idea for the trampoline run.... Could be a nice 'extension' for my lot.

But nothing tastes like home laid chicken eggs[emoji106][emoji16]

[headgroundsman]

1 minute ago, Commando said:

But nothing tastes like home laid chicken eggs

Like home grow veg and venison from deer you have shot yourself

[agg221]

I like the trampoline run. It does remind me - outdoor space with a roof is a good idea, and also a bit of wind shelter. I modified the coop we bought by putting it up on legs and boarding in two sides, the egg box extending out over the third. When the weather is cold and wet they huddle up under the coop, or wander around the other bit of run I built a roof over.

 

We bed them on hemp shiv which desiccates the droppings so they can be picked up in clumps every morning. The coop has a pull-out tray. That keeps the coop itself clean and stops the smell being so bad.

 

Between my previous post and this one, the first chicken has just come back into lay.

 

Alec

Edited January 4, 2022 by agg221

[Will C]

That’s a cracking colour egg 👍

[Dan Maynard]

Don't get them as a cheap source of eggs..

 
Yeah chicken food isn't cheap think prices of everything has gone up recently i think ( bedding and mixed corn /layers pellets... etc)  more than the price shop bought free range eggs which probably hasn't changed much for decades?
 
Sold eggs outside house  for £1.30 half dozen  probably isn't enough to cover cost of inputs....
 
Anyone ever done any rough calcs?
We found a local animal food business that delivers sacks of food to the door for half the price of pet places. Think it's £10 or £12 a 20kg bag now, haven't calculated but ours would lay 65p a day at full speed so pay off the bag in under 3 weeks.

Biggest cost not accounted in that is the winters and then the years after they slow down then stop laying, which is where they turn into pets I guess.