I've been trying to convince my parents to get some chickens as they have a two tier garden and the top tier is hardly ever used - perfect for some chickens, but sadly I've yet to convince them! The only thing that would put me off is cleaning them out, I've heard they can be pretty whiffy!

I like the idea of having some chickens, mmmmm fresh eggs, sadly though I am scared of them Silly I know but I just am, I am even worse with geese and turkeys

They can be but that can be controlled by feeding the minted garlic granuels it takes the wiff off cleaning is very easy takes me 15 minutes a day to clean out and sort 4 arks it can take up to an hour when the weather is pretty bad but so long as you choose a run wisely and dont get an eglu it shouldnt take as long mine :>

heres two of my girls Ester is the black one and norma is the white

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...gon/Norma2.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...agon/Norma.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...gon/ester2.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...gon/Ester1.jpg

How much space do you need for a couple of hens? I'd love some but assumed they would need quite a large run.

7ft length 3 ft wid would be more then enough if you wanted a run plus you could let them out with supervission I dont recomend free range on their own because of fox's though cats arnt a problem.

Oooh now I am really getting fired up......what sort of house would be best? we have been looking at some on Ebay, but my hubs is quite handy and is considering making his own, personally though I think they are cheap enough to buy new - I have enough work for him to do in the house without taking on YET another project. How many would be best to get initially,if say I had 4 what size run would I want do you think? I know I could google all this stuff but if any of you professionals on here would care to advise me I would prefer that.

My little pointers about chickens


The best quality runs are those from Flyte so fancy their customer service is incredible and they are really helpfull these runs are quite pricey but the quality is well worth it and I have only ever people singing praizes for flytesss.

I don't recomend cheap runs my experience isnt that great with them especially avoid Eglu by omlet three days after I had the run I lost a hen to a fox from the most secure part of the run! The sight i was met with was not pleasent. If you make a run insure its made with the best quality materials you can afford as this will help secure the run

Hybrids are good to start with but as people have mentioned they are short lived the averege life expentency of a chicken is 5 years but they can live a lot longer

You don't need/shouldnt get a cockeral if you live in a well built up area its an urban myth about hens needing cockerals, a hen can cope quite well without a cockeral and will still lay plenty of eggs and will lay no more if you have one. The noise can be rather upsetting to those living nearby.

2 hens will live happily! if you have two hybrids you will get 2 eggs a day or one every other day with purebreeds more hens will destroy your garden quicker if your not carefull at managing them. Certain types can be very destructive like the Polish which are very busy littel hens which love flowerbeds.

The size of your run depends on the number of hens you wish to keep if you look on Flytes so fancy the run sizes tell you how many hens per run so you can get an idea of size to build if you go down that route.

Consider the vet bills! Vet bills for chickens can be astronomical and it can be very hard to find a propper avian vet depending were you are. Bills can easily reach in their hundreds.

Excellent info from Pippam!

Gill, if you are thinking about making your own run, the name is misleading but do not use chicken wire!! That won't stop a fox and certainly won't stop a badger, young rats could squeeze through and I am told that stoats can get through a gap 1 inch by 1 inch Use a heavy duty weldmesh, the one on our run is 1 inch by 1/2 inch. One bolt in the middle of a human sized door of a walk in run will not stop a predator pushing through at the bottom. Ideally use 3 bolts on a human sized door. Foxes can work catches out, a padlock is a good deterrent and animals aren't the only predators, I know a few cases where people who have had chickens let out by people

Predators can tunnel underneath, this can be solved by putting a wire skirt around the base of the run. Probably the safest is paving slabs under the run, which is an ideal surface for cleaning and disinfecting the run. Chooks love scratching around so if you are using paving slabs then they need shavings or similar. Naked paving slabs will be very dull for them and cold on their feet in winter.

Ex batts don't live very long, see my post above . However, they are amazing characters, will happily live in a run most of the time if you are out because it will be a huge improvement on what they are used to. That road does lead to heartache, I'll be entirely honest but it is a wonderful thing to do for them and they will touch your hearts for ever. Google BHWT rescue for more info on rehoming ex batts.

I second what Pippam has said about vets. You tend to find avian vets that don't think chickens belong outside a farm and doesn't want much to do with them, or you will find a vet that thinks your chickens are wonderful but hasn't got a clue about treating them. If you are very lucky you will find one who is knowlegable and who likes chickens!

Pippam, I don't have an eglu, I know they pride themselves on being fox proof but I have heard a few people have problems now. Do you mind me asking did the fox tunnel or did it get in through one of the doors? So sorry for your loss

I think my hen must have been sleeping right at the back as it was pulled half way through the tray which I all ways double check as I notticed it was quite loose ive notticed some other security flaws with eglu and cant stand that they still advertise fox proof runs -.-

I have since added a clip at the back and this has lifted the tray so their no longer any gaps.

second issue -

Never had a problem with vermin but something chewed around the drainege hole making it spikey but when I requested a new base they told me I would have to pay £72 for a replacement I was so cross had the hole not all ready existed nothing would have been able to get chew the nest area. The staff are completely useless and very unhelpfull didnt even get a refund when they said they would let me have something the value of the hen I lost. They couldnt send me a replacement as I lived to far away.

They only did one good thing and that was replace the door which had broken after three years which just goes to show you the rubbish quality. Ive got home made aviarys which have stood for at least 15 years never had a problem with vermin or found any damege to them.

Their a big trap for first time owners I would certainly recomend staying clear of them and shop around to avoid dissapoint. If you buy a run make sure its the best quality not the most cheap.

That's interesting. As I say, I don't have an eglu but I am on the omlet forum and I've read a few fox threads. You are not the first person who has said that an attack has happened that way. Your poor girl and how horrible for you as well. Sorry to hear about the problems with the customer service, that's not good.

I've got an ark from Forsham Arks. It is really well made, there are a few design flaws with it that bug me but it is good quality. I love some of the flytes so fancy coops, sadly we'd already got ours before we saw their products.