Backyard chickens- advice please UPDATE

[Bawnie]

Do you know what.... i think you should get your chickens.... just supervise at times to make sure the Boxer doesn't get a taste for them, but they've soft mouths & chickens can fly, and have nails... so it could be all is fair in love & war! :) The boxer will find them a novelty at times i'm sure but if you feel they'd all get along with some work, well then do what you feel.. Good luck!

[chucken1]

http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/1/April10Chickens

Check this out.Hope it helps.

[bullg]

hi reebok
hens are grate to have our kids love them.
if you havent got a closed pen and the fence is low they will fly out
but if you get one wing cliped it will stop them flying out.
i have 19 hens so all my nabours dont have to bother bying eggs.
i have no problim with my own dogs but a frend of mine
lost 3 hens to his nabours dog once they get the tast of blood
they will keep killing.so his nabour got rid of the dog.

[sue]

hi Im in Wexford have 5 girls and other then them turning the garden over they are great manure compost great, they wander around and the noise is not great just dont get a cockeral, also join on line the urban chicken group its free and so informative you will have no worries and the eggs are great any more info needed contact me susansandles_57@msn.com (i was a 1st timer last year when i got them but no hassle they live with cats (in fact they belt them if they get in the way) and dogs they dont worry as long as they are locked up at night........good luck sue

[reebok]

Well folks, I did promise an update ...
We got our first two hens about a month ago, and as predicted, LOVE them!
We got a coop and run from donedeal.ie, and fenced off a "free range" section of the garden for them. We got a couple of red hybrids, and they very quickly got tame. we can hold them and stroke them now and they follow us around. They lay six days out of seven and the fresh eggs are delicious.
They will eat a variety of kitchen scraps, so our brown bin collection fees are decreasing!
The cats soon got over being curious, and in fact one cat sleeps in the coop during the day, not a bother to anyone! We too have a dopey boxer dog, who would probably love a good sniff of them, but to be honest is just as interested in trying to pinch their scraps or worse, eat their poo - yuk.
Yesterday we got two more hens - that's the limit, honest - but as I had been warned, they are addictive!
I didn't realize how easy they could be to look after, and how relaxing it can be to watch them. Thanks for all the advice and tips everyone.

[sa14a1]

Hi
Congrats to you on your new family..I too only started last year with 4 'ladies' and a bantham cock (Charles),we then decided to expand and went to some poultry shows and bought some more..Please please be careful when buying from these shows as alot of the birds are very sick and some people are only out to make a quick buck!!!however the ones that i bought were sick and passed it to the others and we ended up buying 3 different antiboitics to get them well again..so please if you do decide to expand please buy from a reputable breeder (we buy ours from Avondale poultry in Cork)and make sure your hens are vacinated(which good breeders normally do) and stick with the same breeder..it is also a good idea to confine your hens in another area for a period of 10 days before introducing them to your flock.Also please cut down on the treats as this can interfer with laying as some scraps can leave them egg-bound, we get a bag of hen treats (corn mixed with oats and barley)from a pet store and it is E5.95 and the bag lasts around 2 months, just give them @1oz in the evening before the go to bed as it also helps to fill them up and keeps them warm for the night. Also do not forget to give them mixed grit as it helps to make the egg shells harder...and finally always thank your girls for the gifts (eggs) that they give you..i hope i havent overwhelmed you with information but we to had to learn the hard way and now we are blessed with happy hens. If you need any more info please ring me on 085 1354743 id be happy to help in any way...best of luck

[Grizelda]

Hi,
We had many chickens over the years on our farm. Also rescued some chickens from a nearby battery. They are not nice places....
There is lots of good advice here re feeders etc. Regarding dogs the next door neighbours dog came over a few times and killed one or two, so it depends on the dog. Advice just watch them.
Also chickens will fly so either keep them in a high enclosure or clip their wings. This does not hurt but ideally best to keep them safe in a high enclosure if you can. They also love places to scratch and dust bath. Helps their feathers. Also dont overcrowd them. They may peck eachother if stressed.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Gill

[bustler99]

Originally Posted by reebok

Hi,
We are currently seriously considering keeping two or three hens in our backgarden and are weighing up the pros and cons before we proceed. There are plenty of pros, but we are also interested in other jters experiences.
Are they noisy?
Do your neighbours mind?
Any problems with neighbours blaming you for rats, etc? (we have three cats, so aren't worried ourselves).
Any other wisdom to pass on?
We'd love to hear others experience, good and bad.

Btw we are in an end house in the centre of a largish town, not in a rural area.

Thanks!
Reebok

hens are noisy .u need to move them regurlarly if penned and they ****.
hens are great waste disposers ,theres eggs of course the neighbours dont hear them at all anymore go for it

[nishead]

i have 4 hens and i love them, i also have a "mental" boxer and find that she is just curious, but very gentle with them.
We also dont have any trouble with mr.fox because of the smell of our dog, its brilliant, highly recommend have backyard hens.

We got an old rabbit hutch from another j'towner and just built a run onto it, although if i had the money i would looove an eglu. i find housing them is the most expensive but there seems to be no shortage of rabbit hutches on the freebies sites and they are so easy to convert, i will update with photos when i get a chance