# Should i get chickens?



## evileye (Nov 3, 2009)

I have ALWAYS wanted chickens....and now i think that it may be possible. (as always, i'm doing my homework on them first, and seeing if i should wait longer)

1. I have a medium garden, fenced in, walls are 6 foot, no little escape routes

2. I have a dog. But she isn't normal. She is just silly...she was off lead in the park (this has happened many times) and then she sees a wild rabbit. instead of running over to it and mangling it, she started eating rosehips and watching it quietly. she also enjoys birdwatching with me....and there is a fence between her and the garden anyway.

3. I have a cat. Again, she isn't normal. She will ander off for days at a time, and come back when the mood is on her - and she is literally scared of her own shadow. Something moves, she goes over the fence. Don't blame me - she was like that since she was a kitten,early experience or something, and HATES feliway. she is very small and would be frightened of a chicken. and she's getting old, anyway.

4. i have alot of time on my hands. And enough money for a decent coup/hen house. And i will go out to feed them whatever the weather.


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Another thing to take into consideration is neighbours.
Chickens can be noisy birds, can be messy and may bring with them a bit of a smell. Whilst you may not mind this, what about your neighbours? The last thing you need is people banging on your door accusing you of noise pollution! 
What about other people's cats? Do you have any things in place to stop strange cats coming over your fence and playing/attacking the hens?


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## Disgruntled (Dec 5, 2010)

Yes, go for it, I have had chooks for about six years, they are very addictive though! Your garden sounds fine, I have cats and they totally ignore the poultry, even the chicks. If you are a keen gardener though, you might find they uproot your flowers or eat them..
Get a poultry book and decide what breeds you like, the heavier breeds don't fly, such as orpingtons, but some lighter breeds might get over a six foot wall. We keep orpingtons, light sussex and a few ex batterys - these girls are great and full of character, I would certainly reccomend them, if you are interested just google ex bats, there will be a rescue centre near you. Any advice you need, just yell - we've seen most things in our time with chickens, we had 50 of the things once! We are down to a dozen now though... :blush:


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## evileye (Nov 3, 2009)

i plan to only get hens, and one naighbor is a :censor:, and we hope the noise bothers her....
No, not a keen gardener - the dog took care of the flowers long ago!
thanks everyone!


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

evileye said:


> i plan to only get hens, and one naighbor is a :censor:, and we hope the noise bothers her....
> the others are a bit further away, but very sweet, are hens loud? headache - y loud?


Depends. Some can be more vocal than others, and have you heard the 'egg song'? There was a post by Marinam yesterday I think about it 
My neighbour kept just 3 chickens (she called them The Three Degrees!) but they were never a bother, and were lovely birds... they just destroyed the section of garden she cordoned them off in! :lol2:
Also...free eggs!  
I had to chook-sit numerous times for her before she sadly rehomed the birds, but they were lovely to watch and look after.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

my girls make far more noise than my two boys do!
if your neighbour is a :censor: like mine get ready for the repeated visits from the council noise pollution man, lol.

you could always get bantams, they are a bit quieter....

chooks with feathered feet arnt so destructive too


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## Mrs Webmuppet (Jan 17, 2011)

We have 6 chickens and have had chickens for the last 3 or so years. They aren't that noisy - they only do the 'egg song' and make a noise when they hear an unfamiliar noise. May I suggest checking out another forum - there's one on the Omlet website, tons of info on there ( I can recommend their Cube chicken house too)

www.omlet.co.uk


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

Whilst I can't recommend the 'battery egg toilet', cube or not, you should have a look through the breed section on Omlet.
As for books I'd recommend Choosing and Keeping Chickens by Chris Graham (the editor of Practical Poultry magazine) as the best book I've ever found for beginners and I have 2 dozen books now.
As for cats they simply do not bother chickens. There is a big ginger Tom nearby who likes to watch my bantams but he wouldn't mess with them after being chased from the garden.
Most dogs also lose interest in the poultry.
There are other considerations, hens are noisy after laying, chickens can smell but I've never had a problem with mine as I use straw in the runs which is forked up and composted regularly so a smell doesn't get to build up.
There is the problem of rodents too, where there is poultry there will be rats eating any leftover food or chicken poo. I have poison out but I'm yet to catch any as I'm extra careful with feed and poo. I have however got mice which are controlled very effectively by my 2 ex-stray very wild cats. Also the chickens themselves will kill any mouse which is unlucky enough to be caught. I also have to shoot squirrels as they cause no end of problems.
Otherwise chickens are great. They get ill like any other animal so you need to be willing to worm and flea them and should really as a responsible owner be willing to cull one of your birds in an emergency. Illness or old age can be dealt with by a vet if you wish, but if a chicken is seriously injured or in pain it needs to be killed quickly to avoid suffering.


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## Lozza.Bella (Apr 24, 2010)

Hiya,
We have 9 hens, 7 banties and 2 hybrids and could never be without our girls............. and we keep the neighbours sweet with a dozen free eggs every now and again. 
I will always keep hens now, they have wonderful personalities and keep waifs and stray cats out the garden too. 
Our plants have been quite safe but anything new that we plant they will have a go at, they are fickle animals who don't like change.......... But totally love em.:flrt:


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## tonkaz0 (Apr 25, 2008)

We have three exbats and two bantoms a golden silkie and a white frizzle! and as much as they do cluck a fair bit and have quite a few nutty ten minute madness what I call loony time! around the garden! my neighbours have never said anything about them disturbing them! in fact one of them is always watching them out of the window laughing when they are out of their run! they are great to watch when their out! and they all have different characters! also cats dont come anywhere near them! the same with seagulls which are more of a pain in the bum! make sure they have a proper sized roosting area and a good sized run! let them out at least once a day if you can and you`ll be chuffed to bits with them! coupled with the fact your gonna be getting more eggs than you need! well we do anyway! I would say go to your nearest exbat rehoming group and put your name down for some! they arrive a bit worse for wear and scruffy but thats because of the obvious but after a few months with the proper food and care you wouldnt know they were exbats!:2thumb:


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## Lozza.Bella (Apr 24, 2010)

tonkaz0 said:


> I would say go to your nearest exbat rehoming group and put your name down for some! _they arrive a bit worse for wear and scruffy but thats because of the obvious_ but after a few months with the proper food and care you wouldnt know they were exbats!:2thumb:



It's amazing watching them bloom!!! :flrt:


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Eveyone who can do should keep chickens!

They're so rewarding for relatively little effort.


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## Kat91 (Sep 19, 2008)

Chickens come from T-Rex! :2thumb:


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

I have around 100 poultry. Will soon be a lot more once hatching is fully underway.

Things to consider as I am not gonna go over what has already been said.

If you are rented, check with landlord.

If you are not freehold, then check the leasehold on your house. If you do get complaints from the nasty neighbour, then the council will use this to make you get rid.

1 thing I will say. Yup, SOME orpingtons and heavier breeds may not get over a 6ft wall or fence but I know many who can. They can't fly any distance but they can be very good at flying upwards with a good leg thrust and get up into the willow tree lol

You may be better as first hens to get ex batts. They are easy going, extremly friendly considering. And yes they still lay plenty of eggs. And the knowledge you have saved them from the mincer.

Neighbours can be the biggest worry of any poultry keeper. 
I'm lucky, but at last house with only a couple of pet chucks, we had a nightmare! 
Now we run a poultry shelter aswell as breeding some lovely bantams and large fowl. Plus ducks and quails. Soon to be breeding Turkeys and Geese again now we have another smallholding secured.

I wouldn't in anyway say that your eggs are free! Total misconception. Once you have bought your coop. The feed and bedding costs etc, they don't work out as cheap as people think. But if you are keeping for the passion of having chickens. Then thats different.

Hens can be far more noisey than cockerals can be. Not all bantams are quieter, some are louder and higher pitched. 

And yes, you NEED to know that Chickens will still need to see a vet when ill (as is the law with ALL animals) but you should learn how to correctly cull birds unless you are willing to drive straight to a vets and have them do it.


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