Who keeps hens?

minkersmum

Active Member
Aug 4, 2009
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Scotland
In my quest to find my son a small rodent pet i have come across some hens available nearby.

How easy are they to keep?

I had hoped i could just have them roaming the garden (quite big and not landscaped type more like a bit of field) and just provide some sort of safe house for them at night and to lay in.

Obvioulsy feeding them etc too:tongue:

Is there much more to it?

Not many foxes around here but maybe a few pine martins. That is my main worry although have only seen them in the woods never in the garden or nearby.
 
I have 5. Really easy to look after, they are free roaming in the day and shut in there house at night (they put themselves to bed, just have to close them in). I would defo recommend keeping chickens, they lay 1 egg each a day so always plenty of fresh eggs.
 
Easy peasy to keep. Make sure you shut them in a few days so they know where to roost (some of mine roost in the trees and the turkeys roost on the fence) and make sure its secure in case of Pine Marten attack as they can be very vicious.
 
We've kept hens for years, first started keeping them as a pet for our son to look after - kids love hens!!

Very easy to look after, agree with what has already been said about keeping them safe, houses etc
 
Really lovely pets to have(am missing mine that got killed on christmas eve :( )
very easy to keep and quite entertaining! really yummy eggs too :)

edited to say- killed by a pinemartin, not killed by us for christmas dinner!!

so remember to shut them in at night!
 
It depends upon how much you love your garden, if it's mature shrubs and stuff they will scratch under them and do the weeding for you. If you have lots of bedding plants and small things they will scratch them up.

Otherwise I think a garden full of colourful hens id beter than flowers. I get them from Wenlas Collection, go and buy a handful of assorted day olds, not sexed or separated for breed, it's interesting to see what they grow up into.
 
We have 5 chickens. They are very easy to keep. Ours have a secure coop about 5m square with their house in it, so when they emerge in the morning (we have an automatic door opener for them) they are safe until we are up. We have loads of foxes. Then they have the back of the garden to roam in.

We don't give them full free range in spring and summer because they are so destructive. Those big scratchy feet really do the job on your flower beds! In the winter I let them into the greenhouse and the veg patch and they turn it over for me. They also turn over our compost heap brilliantly.

They are entertaining, nosy creatures and easy to tame. Ours lay blue as well as brown eggs, and if you get the blue egg layers (Cream Legbars) you can buy them young as you can tell cocks from hens at birth.

They take no more than 10 minutes a day to keep clean - and we clean their house EVERY day, have done for 2 years, and have never had a louse or mite.
 
Just been to the rescue centre and met some hens and rabbits and rodents...... i'm thinking a few hens and a guinea pig!!!

I feel like an excited child!
 
I don't have any pics on the computer, what I have had is Speckled sussex, (barnyard spangled) Light and Buff Sussex, Exchequer leghorns, Sliver Seabrights, Silkies (all colours), White Wyandottes. Rhode Island Red. Buff Orpington. Shetland hens (they lay blue eggs) Indian game and Jubilee Indian game.

http://www.wernlas.com/heavy_breeds.html
 
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Wow Wally, that sounds like quite a spectacular collection. I would love to see some pics if you can get them on the computer.

MM, Aunty A has Black Rock chickens (if I remember correctly), she loves them, fascinating wee things and all have great personalities...you should see what they do to her garden though! She turned her old vegetable patch into their new home and with all their scratching to get down to any leftovers it looks like the surface of the moon! Very odd!

We would have them in a flash if our garden was big enough and my dad wasn't so garden proud.

I have heard somewhere that there is a huge waiting list for rescued battery hens?! I think they have become somewhat fashionable these days.
 
Oh, I love the Exchequer Leghorns and the little tiny beautiful Sebrights.

Come the Surrey County Show you will find me in the poultry tent drooling :nerd::wub:
 
Just google images any of the named breeds and you'll see pics of them.


This is an exchequer leghorn cross warren, after having a bath when she managed to get covered in oil.

chicken2.jpg


She's all fluffy again and popping about outside now.
 
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