hen bathing

[wafflycat]

I was thinking something along the lines of the encosure in the 2nd photo.

Any recommended reading??

the second one, to buy now, you're probably looking at at least a couple of hundred pounds.

Here's some links to various web sites on poultry

Battery Hen Welfare Trust
Stuff for looking after hens
keeping poultry information
very posh housing for hens
even more posh stuff
light-hearted stuff on keeping hens

 

[philipbh]

I was thinking something along the lines of the encosure in the 2nd photo.

Any recommended reading??

Many books here...

http://tinyurl.com/yjykero


We built a 12' x 9' enclosure for our chickens from Aviary Panels - having dug a trench 1' deep and half filled with bricks and topped with paving slabs to prevent "predator ingress"

Corrugated plastic roof (with guttering & water butt) to keep the weather out.

 

[thomas]

Are the Omlett cages worth it compared to a wooden ark?

They are probably no better, however our one did keep its value quite well so you probably won't do too bad when selling it second hand.

A wooden cage is probably just as good, if not better though.

 

[GrahamNR17]

Nice to see some fellow hen keepers

I ended up building my own hen house to occupy the available space behind the garage. Someone asked about websites for hen keeping, and I learned a lot from the "Down the Lane" forums located here http://www.downthelane.net/forum/

My "Hen Hilton" built last summer:

Pop hole in main door to let hens out and stop dogs going in!

"Play platform" doubles as shelter. They spend a lot of time up there for some reason.

And with lighting for the dark winter evenings

One day it may become a bike shed

 

[wafflycat]

Is that a couple of ex-batts I spy there?

 

[GrahamNR17]

Is that a couple of ex-batts I spy there?

Certainly is and an ex-stray dog!

There were three, but one had been "collected" rather violently and the poor love was smashed to bits. Got them from the local slaughterhouse, couldn't bear to buy 'new' chickens knowing what goes on due our demand for cheap meat

Still, they're happy here, they love the dogs, and they make me laugh daily

 

[wafflycat]

Got my ex-batts courtesy of the Battery Hen Welfare Trust locally. There's something naturally comedic about chickens. They're not the brightest creatures on the planet but they are certainly up there for the animal comedy awards, especially when it involves hen/spaghetti/sweetcorn/mealworm combination. No dogs at Chateau Wafflycat, but of the three cats, two were rescues too.

 

[Aperitif]

To Graham and Waffly, - apart from Happy N.Y. - there is an associated article in the Grauniad today.

 

[wafflycat]

Saw that one this morning as part of my normal paid-up, tree-hugging, left-wing, liberal reading matter

The two things I would point out, though, is that you really don't need an overpriced Eglu to avoid mitey-things getting in. Simple good husbandry does that - attending to basic daily cleanliness which takes very few minutes. And if you take on ex-batts you take them on as pets and the kill to eat is a definite no-no.

Apart from the fact that chickens reared for eggs & those reared for meat are basically entirely different birds. Hens reared as egg-layers do not make for good eating anyway, as they are much, much too tough (consider that a hen can live up to eight years or so, laying for most of that time, and the average hen reared for meat is killed off at a matter of *weeks* old otherwise the meat is too tough for anything other than stock cubes/low-grade meat products.

 

[Arch]

And with lighting for the dark winter evenings

One day it may become a bike shed

Blimey Graham, I'd live in that!

I have occasionally mentioned to my sister about keeping chickens - I'm not sure she's convinced, but they have a nice garden and she'll be a stay at home Mum once the second is born - she'll have tonnes of spare time....

Anyway, before Christmas they all went to a daytime party at the house of friends who have some hens, and Oli looked at them, then looked at his Dad and said very seriously, "Oli get a chicken for Christmas...." Which he sort of got, but not quite in the way he meant. Actually, he claimed not to like chicken on the day and would only eat the sausage and ham, although he'll eat chicken pie at home....

 

[GrahamNR17]

Blimey Graham, I'd live in that!

Be my guest - I made it big enough for four birds

 

[Arch]

Actually, I once had a bedroom which was probably about the same total area, in a shared house. I had a loft bed - bed above, desk below, and just room for a chair and bookcase!

Luckily, I could annex the landing for wardrobe and chest of drawers...

 

[longers]

It is a great set up you've got there Graham, good work.

Not sure my mum will have chickens again but we hope she does, If I put a roof on the henhouse and mention about ex battery hens then she might go for it.