Want chooks, need advice!
Want chooks, need advice!Hi - after a chat with the mr, he's off to make sure we have no restrictive covenants stopping us having chooks in the garden and I'm
 researching how to keep chooks happy (and productive). However, I know s*d all about chicken keeping. I only want about 4-6 birds.
How do we go about getting ex-battery hens? Anyone know anywhere in north Herts I can get them? What's the best kind of moveable ark to get/build? What do I need to look out for in the first few days/weeks? Will they get used to handling? I'm about to be off work for 6 weeks so I can give them lots of attention if they need it.
hello!
right these are some of the coops/arks that other members of the site have! http://www.downthelane.net/forum-photo-page.html others have allsorts, so long as its secure and weather proof. wendy just bought a wheelie bin plastic storage shed thingy and another has used a plastic childs wendy house so it all depends on your imagination really 
www.thehenshouse.co.uk is the battery hen welfare trust! if you go onto this site and have a look around and then contact ur local co-ordinator (listed in the contacts section) they should be able to advise on when the next lot are coming out of the battery and help with any questions you may have about the hens but the site answered almost all questions i had about ex batts! the only thing with new ladies is getting them used to the coop/run and humans. theyre not used to any of it! watch them and love them! theyre irrisistable! best of luck kat x keeping hensI'm no expert, far from it, but I've recently taken some ex battery girls, I contacted the Battery hen welfare trust, who re-home thousands of them. I think of my girls as pets than egg producers, 4 out of the 5 lay most days, one we whisper about eggs in front of, as we don't think she knows what they are :wink:
They make wonderful pets & it's very rewarding to see the changes in their personalities after their rescue etc etc, I could waffle here! But.. exbatts are tired out, they suffer greatly, to put it mildly, as a result of the false conditions to gain the maximum output, for the minimum input. i.e very little food for the max egg production. They will & can go on to lay wonderful eggs for many years, I've had 2 small vet bills with mine, so you may need to consider that possibility, but please consider ex batts, they need all the help they can get & are the most rewarding. Chickens have to be one of the cheapest & most fun pets you could own, a sack of layer mash is about a £5.oo, mine lasts over a month, i also feed layer pellets, same price, they eat even less of these, straw; free, shredded paper for their nest; free, shavings for their nests; mine is free but cheap enough to buy, you;ll need some red mite dusting powder for the girls; i found omlet the cheapest even with postage, poultry guard to spray the hen house; e-bay's as about as cheap as anywhere, i put bark chipping in their run as it's on concrete, so they can scrat about in it. Now... a hen house; very expensive to buy as i found out, but easy enough to build yourself, I brought a brilliant book from amazon called The complete encyclopedia of chickens, that'll give you everything else you need to know about housing & welfare. Anything else your worried about, just keep in touch with forum people, they'll always put you straight, i've needed their help on many occasions when I've gone into flapping mode about my girls, you'll get very very attached to them. Best of luck, alot of people get them with "very" few problems, nothing that can't be ironed out, it's an instinct thing, they'll let you know when they are unwell, but it's not when they are all layed about in the garden sunbathing, mine look very dead then  they love it.
let us know how you get on. Mel Cheers
mel x
Ta!Thanks
I've emailed my nearest rescue coordinator. I've been looking at chicken coops online and the mr has expressed a preference for Jim Vyse Swiss chalet house & run. We do need something foxproof!
(I have an old 8x4 cat-run and considered putting a nest box and perch in it, but it has been earmarked as a fruit cage for next season). coups are easy to make
to me they are way to exspencive to buy fence pannels make good run pannels for the back £10 each how long do you go! mesh the front net the top! this is not what i did i just cleared out my sheds meshed the end added nest boxes and roosting bars my chickens free range the garden all day i feed mine layers pellets and mixed corn i also have two wormeries (free worms) after a chat with the local greengrocer i take all his old greens for free cost too keep fed about £5-10 a month that for 15 birds email your email address and i will send you some pics of what i have done if you fancy a chat give me a call 07779-237-536 if you do call i will ring you back(free calls) Dave ps i am in cheshunt if you want to come and see what i have done feel free "The trouble with quotes over the Internet is that you never know if they are genuine." -- Abraham Lincoln
Hiya
I live in Bushey, so again you can come and see my set up if you like as well. I feed mine layers pellets.I also know someone who runs a restaurant so I take all their cooked veg that they don't use. You will need the six weeks, as they are terrible timewasters
Wendy http://www.busheyk9.co.uk
If you can't be a good example........ you will just have to be a horrible warning
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