Six Chicken House and integrated run

[NorthernRaider]

Elm Lodge 6 chicken capacity chicken house and run £169 from £255
at The Original Factory Shop http://www.the originalfactoryshop.co.uk

Branches appears to be right across northern England and Scotland

[BDG]

I think I saw that in the shop in Prudhoe a couple of weeks ago, I would use it for two hens perhaps or an isolation pen for a hen sitting on eggs or with chicks, but it is pricey for what it is, but then look at the price of an eglu, I think those things are about £400.

[MaryN]

Make one yourself - far cheaper and quite easy to do. Got a few spare pallets?

[Prepper1]

oh my god we had six chickens.... to many eggs too use... too much crap in the garden... too many holes dug in the borders..... too much grass scratched up..... too smelly..... definitely a shame you cant bank them for withdrawal in an emergency situation.
Absolutely a farm yard type animal unless you want your garden converted to one free by the chucks..... cant leave your doors open if you have them free range as we did because they're in the house trying to eat everything in sight.....I'd say for a family of four or five, two chucks max, unless you LOVE eggs or have a use for sh*t loads, with a concrete floor hard standing pen that can be jet washed or hosed off after collecting the poo for fertilizer, on the plus side their poo attracts loads of flies, which attracts lovely birds that eat them to your garden.

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NOT for a person that likes their garden to stay looking like a garden..........

[BDG]

You have to eat more eggs - make cakes, Spanish tortilla, omelettes, Yorkshire puddings and so on. I keep mine in a large run, directly on the earth. After the horse manure and bedding I bring in along with neighbours green waste has gone through its first heat, it gets put in the run. Chickens mix it and forage in it for weed seeds, red worms, insect larvae and the like.

Means the chickens need much less bought in food, are happy and strong and I get top quality compost in a little over 6 weeks in summer.

[Prepper1]

If i didn't let mine out they'd make that loud chuuuuuuuuuuuuck chuuuuuuuuuckk huuurrrru hurrrr till I did....soon as it was light they'd be at it in their house.....apparently you can keep them quiet by making their house light proof so you tell them when to wake up.... I dont know how youd go on in a survival situation with them because of the noise they make. everybody for at least half a mile would know about them.

I did read that during the great depression they kept them inside because of theft....chicken wire around the kitchen table legs..... very smelly if you ask me... and unhygienic.

[RoadWarrior]

Hey P1, those two posts are very appreciated mate......I thought they wud only be noisy with a cockrel !? , showed Mrs RW the posts too .... I was all fired up bout getting them up till yesterday ...appreciate your views....now im "sitting on the fence" ...at the moment

[Prepper1]

Well from my experience and other stuff I've read, after a while a pecking order reveals itself ... ha ha I made a funny...

No really it does, then the dominant female take over the cockerels role if there's not one about.
She gets first dibs on the food etc...

They're not as noisy as cockerels but not far off in my experience.
The smell is very farmyardy after a while....
unless you get rid of the poo.
We composted the poo in the compost heap but after 3 months or so the smell was .... aromatic.....

It was an experience having them, and one I'm glad I had.

BUT If i did it again I'd start off with one or two on a hardstanding or flagged pen maybe 12 foot by 12 foot with a shed as a coop with sawdust on the floor (cheap from sawmills) integrated laying boxes inside, (wooden fruit boxes)the large shed eases cleaning as the still poop inside heir coop sometimes. and wooden broom handle perches.

I actually found a small but thick branched tree the parks dept had cut down and left, so I appropriated it and lay it down flat and secure, and they loved perching on that, they are birds after all.

As mine were free range, they ragged the garden ceselessly digging for worms and grubs and such.

You cant have tasty plants growing because they eat everything in sight and dont underestimate them, they're part of the raptor family and very clever.

If they can figure ut a way into your lettuce bed, and they will, they're gonners....

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AND if you leave your door open and they're free ranging they'll be in.....
they get over that initial shyness after a week or so....

They used to chase the cats for there food...

And you cant walk anywhere near the with food, they can jump quite high so say goodbye to your kids happy meal......

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All in all an experience worth having, BUT dont underestimate the amount of poo, and cleaning you do in exchange for the eggs.

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One last thing, unless their coop in totaly and I mean totaly light proof, not even a crack of light, they'll make so much noise at dawn to get out........

BUT maybe I just got a rowdy bunch?

[RoadWarrior]

Cheers P1, fascinating insight .....might just get another rabbit....and another....and another etc

[bigpaul]

talking about chickens The Hen Welfare Trust are not far from me-they rehouse battery chickens, I think its either free or a small donation.