Produce > Kept Animals

Keeping chooks

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lezelle:
Hi, I am considering keeping some chooks (3) as a plot holder on our site is giving it up. I had a look at some chooks over the week end and they were £13 each, is that a fair price for a 23 week pol bird. That is a hybrid. I have been doing research and did not realize how many different breed of chooks there was. Any tips would be welcome as I am only looking at keeping 3 and more for fun than as a financial gain. I have heard you can get quite up close and friendly with some breeds and as I want them more for the grandkids (no really) I would like friendly ones. 

pumkinlover:
Ex- battery or even ex- barn or free range chickens are cheaper and lay well for a couple of years.
They are bred for docility in commercial situation.

That said  chickens do use the beak to investigate everything!

Obelixx:
I'm thinking about getting some hens too but, like our cats and dogs, they'll be rescues.   The local free range egg farm sells off its birds at 2€ or so a bird every 12 to 14 months so I have till next spring to find a good hen house and coop and decide where to put it for a permanent residence as well as build movable coops so I can put the hens on veggie beds as they're cleared of crops.

I do use quite a few eggs but will also be checking with the neighbours to see if they'll take any excess.

BarriedaleNick:
I have a couple of chickens and they are great but..
They will eat everything they can reach - my fault but i have lost several trays of swede and lettuce this year as I turned my back on them.  They have also eaten cabbage seedlings, leaves of pepper plants, thai basil, chervil - if I ate the chicks I bet they would taste nice!
They even run into the house and nick the cat food when they can.
They are also destructive to a garden if left to run loose so make sure they have a good run or keep an eye on what they are doing and be prepared to chase them! 
That price for a hybrid is okwe have a couple. One is a West Sussex White and the other is a Chalk Hill Blue/  The latter lays nice blue green eggs which is fun.
We started off with ex battery birds and they were great and they were cheap so good for beginners.

Obelixx:
I think Lezelle is planning on having them at the lottie so they'll need to be confined and ours will be confined because I've seen what they can do in a garden when left unchecked, plus we have 2 dogs and 2 cats and next door there is a greyhound/Retriever cross with a strong prey instinct and there are foxes about.

Not fussed about fancy breeds yet.  More interested in giving a life to unwanted birds.

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