Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.  (Read 8175 times)

SirDoolb

  • Joined Sep 2013
  • rock of ages
Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« on: October 23, 2014, 03:08:29 pm »
Free range chickens from a Brighton based free range farm.
Have thought about having a few chickens before, I don't want too many but would like to give some a home before they end up on some one elses dinner table.

Don't know a thing about there care, obviously I've read up on the legal aspects. I could keep them on my land or in my garden. I just need to know the low down of the physical aspects of housing and care.

I've found some fox proof runs but what about underground?
What do chickens like to walk on, if I moved them home they'd be on my veg patch which is very soft and fertile, would I need to dig this out and put a sand based floor down?

They chickens are due to be rescued in Dec so I have plenty of time to build a place for them to live.

If I have them on my land I'd need to enroll the services of a neighbour to help with their care. I'm not in the position to pay anyone but I know a couple of people who are interested.

Think that's it. I just need to spend a week or two mulling it over and making sure it's something I'm up for.

chrismahon

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • Gascony, France
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2014, 03:28:33 pm »
Think you will find all the answers in the best seller by Katie Thear 'Starting with Chickens' ISBN 0-906137-27-6.


It's only £6.95 so money well spent SirDoolb. We made the mistake of buying it AFTER the chickens arrived!

Castle Farm

  • Joined Nov 2008
  • Hereford/Powys Border. near Hay-on-Wye
    • castlefarmeggs
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2014, 03:40:36 pm »
My advice would be to leave getting chickens till the spring.


Keeping poultry over winter is not for new keepers in my opinion, but I'm sure other will disagree with that.
Traditional Utility Breed Hatching Eggs sent next day delivery. Pure bred Llyen Sheep.
www.castlefarmeggs.co.uk  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Utility-Poultry-Keepers/231571570247281

SirDoolb

  • Joined Sep 2013
  • rock of ages
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2014, 04:21:51 pm »
Problem with waiting until spring is that these will be available in Dec. They are local and rescue chooks. If I wait until spring there might not be any around. Obviously there will be chickens but not local rescued ones. I might find I'm waiting until winter again.

Maybe settles the question of where to house them though. Probably best to keep a few at home before getting any to keep away from home.
« Last Edit: October 23, 2014, 04:31:54 pm by SirDoolb »

in the hills

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2014, 05:11:01 pm »
Hi  :wave:

Yes, I think as a first time keeper that a few kept at home would be a good starting point. Rescued hens often need a little help anyway during the first week. They often have no idea about going in their coop at night or coming out in the morning so you'll need to be around to pop them 'in' and 'out'. They soon get the idea though.

We have the Katie Thear book about keeping quail and it is very good and competitively priced  so would think that Chrismahons suggestion is a good one.

Chickens are quite easy to keep and good fun. You can start small with a few over winter and will probably be hooked and ready for more come spring.  ;) ;D

To be fox proof you would need to sink wire below ground really to stop the blighters digging in. We have one pen like this but others that we move around the lawn so can't do that. We do lock everyone in the coop at night though.

Ours free range so don't have to worry too much about runs and most are moved to fresh ground constantly as the are in moveable arks. Others might have suggestions about this. Can you put a cover on some or all of the run? Helps prevent it getting too muddy and hens can come out and stay dry.

SirDoolb

  • Joined Sep 2013
  • rock of ages
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2014, 05:31:12 pm »
I'm just looking at housing and runs online now. Putting a cover on would be easy. I can't let them be free range in the garden, I'm by a footpath and one of the neighbours dogs had another of the neighbours chickens.

As I'll have to start from scratch, installing the wire into the ground won't be a problem. I'll measure the area that I have available.

3x4x2
« Last Edit: October 23, 2014, 06:02:49 pm by SirDoolb »

Steph Hen

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Angus Scotland.
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2014, 08:26:37 pm »
Think you will find all the answers in the best seller by Katie Thear 'Starting with Chickens' ISBN 0-906137-27-6.
It's only £6.95 so money well spent SirDoolb. We made the mistake of buying it AFTER the chickens arrived!
This.

For what they like to walk on, they will probably turn soil to mud quickly especially in winter. Which will Be bad. You say they are rescue from someone's table, are they hens? I wouldn't advice getting a cock till you decide you want one.

Chickens can be as hardy as anything for years with very little medical attention. But if old, or from unhealthy stock, or birds that are stressed or unhappy, or if you miss early signs of disease or don't keep up good regime of hygiene and general care can go down hill fast. very sad for birds and owners.

Are these birds that have been reared inside? If so they probably won't do well being moved outside in winter.

For the fox proof wire, you can bend it out 90 degrees by a foot or two rather than digging it down. The grass grows through it quite quickly. Is that 3x4m? I think that's quite small for a permenent pen. Not sure how well grass and parasite burden would cope - but I'm sure others can advise better. Could you make a mobile pen and move it onto fresh grass?

NicandChic

  • Joined Oct 2013
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2014, 08:44:15 pm »
Just a thought as I was reading...do the rescue know your planning on eating the birds!! I imagine they may not of had the best of life's so far!...Not sure I'd be happy eating a rescue!  :-\

SirDoolb

  • Joined Sep 2013
  • rock of ages
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #8 on: October 23, 2014, 09:59:19 pm »
um, I'm not planning on eating them, where did that idea come from?
They are free range so I presume from that, live out doors anyway.

Steph Hen

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Angus Scotland.
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #9 on: October 23, 2014, 10:05:27 pm »
They are free range so I presume from that, live out doors anyway.

 :thumbsup:

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
  • Qui? Moi?
    • ABERDON GUNDOGS for work and show
    • Facebook
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #10 on: October 23, 2014, 11:42:26 pm »
um, I'm not planning on eating them, where did that idea come from?
They are free range so I presume from that, live out doors anyway.
Free range to you and I as to what the commercial people think are two entirely different things. A large barn with a door at one end is what they call free range; or sometimes large cages with a good few in it and the cage door open with the barn door open for a few hours a day.

Good for you for giving them a chance in life.  Overwintering will be difficult as they may not have many feathers - mine were 'oven ready' about a month ago when i got them and are still pretty sparse,

I give them porridge with honey and poultry spice to build them up, they have a dry brick garage indoor house and covered run, with a bedding box to sleep (and poop in, the dirty beggars  :innocent:); with a pop hole to a similar outside run.  If the weather is cold or really wet I leave them inside.. Wet, cold and draughts are what kill them quicker than anything.  Keep 'em dry, well fed, draught free until they have feathered up.
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

in the hills

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2014, 08:10:06 am »
We had some ex batts from the BHWT a couple of years ago. Think it was the January. I explained to them that we were up in the Welsh hills and asked if their threadbear hens would manage in the winter outdoors. They said that they would be absolutely fine and not to worry. No problems at all .... chickens are quite hardy usually.

NicandChic

  • Joined Oct 2013
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2014, 09:31:55 am »
um, I'm not planning on eating them, where did that idea come from?
They are free range so I presume from that, live out doors anyway.
Apologies, thought you wanted them for your table.

Clansman

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Ayrshire
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #13 on: October 24, 2014, 01:35:39 pm »
um, I'm not planning on eating them, where did that idea come from?
They are free range so I presume from that, live out doors anyway.
Free range to you and I as to what the commercial people think are two entirely different things. A large barn with a door at one end is what they call free range; or sometimes large cages with a good few in it and the cage door open with the barn door open for a few hours a day.

Thats a VERY biased, ill informed and anti-commercial view there doganjo

I appreciate quite a few in the smallholder/private community are predjudiced towards commercial poultry farming but I believe this is formed from seeing a few instances of bad practice in the media and a lack of knowledge about what really happens on the commercial farms.

I'm sure everyone knows of a horror story from a commercial farm but i've seen far more poorly treated birds kept by individuals than i've ever seen on a commercial farm.

I invited many people onto commercial farms when I was working on them and the great majority were genuinely surprised at how nicely the birds were kept compared to what they had imagined it would be like.

So to get back to free range systems here in the UK...

There have never been and never will be any sort of cages used in UK free range commercial poultry production.

Free range birds MUST have continuous daytime access to their outside areas, not just a "few hours a day"

ie when its dark the doors are closed, when its light they are open, chickens just don't get any better outdoor access than that

The housing set up is the same as the barn system, there is not just one door at one end of it, there are multiple pop holes along the length of the house to allow all the birds nearby access to the outside.

Barn system

The barn system has a series of perches and feeders at different levels. The maximum stocking density is 9 birds per square metre and there must be at least 250cm square of litter area/bird. Perches for the birds must be installed to allow 15 cm of perch per hen. There must be at least 10cm of feeder/bird and at least one drinker/10 birds. There must be one nest for every 7 birds or 1 square metre of nest space for every 120 birds. Water and feeding troughs are raised so that the food is not scattered

Free range

In free-range systems, the birds are housed as described in the barn system above. In addition birds must have continuous daytime access to open runs which are mainly covered with vegetation and with a maximum stocking density of 2,500 birds per hectare.

What I would like to mention is that having worked on free range systems and being involved in many trials with them that normally only around 20% of the birds ever go outside despite having access readily available.

These birds if placed outside manually will often head straight back inside, they just don't seem to like going outside by choice even in good weather, maybe they are just quite happy having everything they need inside, who knows.

it is very much the case of you can lead a horse to water but you can't make a chicken go outside  ;D

I'm quite sure if people had large enough sheds at home with everything available inside they would see the same results.

So SirDoolb in answer to your question I would reckon that even coming from a free range farm there is every chance your birds have never actually been outside

I hope that gives you a bit more impartial view of commercial free range farms.

More reading here.

http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/industry/sectors/eggspoultry/faq/marketing.htm

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69366/pb6490-hens-020130.pdf




« Last Edit: October 24, 2014, 01:39:39 pm by Clansman »

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
  • Qui? Moi?
    • ABERDON GUNDOGS for work and show
    • Facebook
Re: Thinking about rehoming some chickens.
« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2014, 04:41:58 pm »
Quote
So SirDoolb in answer to your question I would reckon that even coming from a free range farm there is every chance your birds have never actually been outside
Exactly what I said, biased or not!
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS