chicken

[mrphil]

by law, am i allowed to have a chicken.....

I want a chicken for the back garden, seriously....

does anyone know what chicken shit looks like and are they messy? things to look out for (apart from the local cats, wild animal)



Everyone has dogs, cats, fish..... but not a chicken..

no im not drunk

[TheFincher]

BM has chickens........... Their called Fred & Ginger!!

Dont really know much about them other than they lay eggs that him and his family ebjoy eating and that they feed them grit

[mrphil]

lmao
i only want one chicken...

BB had chickens.....

[BM]

Yes we have 2 fred and ginger. They are pretty messy, we did have them at the end of the garden but they promptly destroyed all the grass and it was very muddy. We have moved them round the side where the ground is a bit firmer and they have been ok. They live in an eglu


The eggs are excellent. Much better than you get in the shops. And yes you have to give them grit so they can make shell. Or you can just give them shell to eat.

[mrphil]

i hear there shit smells terrible and you need a cockaral too so the other doesnt get lonely.....

i dunno.....

are they cheap to run

[BM]

As far as I know you dont need a cock. Shit doesnt really smell, its a bit like seagull shit but bigger.

They dont cost much, all they eat is grain and any left over veg and some fruit .

We get about 2 eggs a day, ie one from each of them.

[blaggard]

i hear there shit smells terrible and you need a cockaral too so the other doesnt get lonely.....

i dunno.....

are they cheap to run

Get a cockerel and you're likely to be murdered in you sleep by your neighbours!

[mrphil]

thanks, where can i pick chickens up from?
Local cattle market? and how much normally?

And blaggard that made me laugh

[rmj2663]

2 eggs a day sounds cool.
Whats the running cost like?
Any vets fees etc, or is it cheaper to replace em?
Is an eglu fox proof as we got loads of em round here
Thanks

[Little John]

One of my mates is currently getting some chickens, he is getting 6 and is having a house and run built for them its going to be massive. we ordered the feeder and drinker for them last night, nearly £60 worth for them galvanised steel ones.

He is buying his chickens from a bloke down south. he also wants a huge barrel to store the food in. Im not sure how much food he thinks he needs for 6 chickens the feeder he has bought holds 10Kg and the drinker is 30 litres. but he is looking forward to the eggs. so am I

[BM]

I couldnt get over how much better the eggs are tbh. The shells are much browner and very specled and the yolkes are a much darker yellow colour and they have so much more flavour.

I cant remember where we got the chickens from. We have had them 2 years now and i cant recall haveing to take them to the vets, although we did get their wings clipped cos they kept flying over the fence.

The eglu is fox proof as the sides of the fence are burried under the ground and the chickens are locked inside the hutch part at night.

Here is a rundown of what we do to look after them.

In the morning, open the hutch to let them out and put their food feeders out. Check they have enough water.

In the afternoon, check for eggs.

Evening, once the chickens have gone in the hutch, lock the door and take in the food feeders.

Sometimes we would give them a treat such as a banana or apple and some shell/grit if they dont seem to be producing good shells.

[BM]

Actually I am pretty sure we got the chickens from Omlet, the place that sells the eglu and we just collected them from somewhere locally.

[mrphil]

if you not got the cock, how do they lay eggs, sorry to be blonde, but how do they do it - 2 females?

BLONDE!

[MercuryRises]

Chickens lay eggs anyway, the cock just fertilises them

[Over Carl]

Good point mr phil!

Also I'm sure I remember reading normally egg yolks were pretty pale, but the ones we get from the shop are only so coloured due to colour added to the chicked food. Although I haven't got a clue if the paleness would be anything to do with how the chickens are brought up or what type they are or anything.

Edit: Thanks Mercuryrises, as soon as i read that question it was bugging me.

[Mr.James]

the egs they produce are unfertilized... introduce a cock into the situation and that'll change...

my mum used to live on a farm when she was a kid an keep chickens.. said one year they all got infested with red flea things and when they took a bath all these dead red flea things rose to the surface... turned out the caught them of the chickens... dunno what they were like...

[callo]

didnt think you could keep chickens in a normal house /street because of the foxes and rats they would attract, id check with local council first

[MonkeySputum]

if you not got the cock, how do they lay eggs, sorry to be blonde, but how do they do it - 2 females?

BLONDE!

Eggs are bird periods

[blacksheep]

didnt think you could keep chickens in a normal house /street because of the foxes and rats they would attract, id check with local council first

My ex's famil y kept some in London. As long as they're locked away at night and the food kept secure it should be fine - unless you get a cock and then the neighbours will kill you.

[Little John]

Well the feeder and drinker turned up this morning, bought with my paypal account so they came here, bloody 7am a knock at the door.
he also bought some red mite stuff, I expect that is to stop the problem Mr.James had.