Another good reason to keep your own chooks

[NorthernRaider]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21573158

[Straight Shooter]

yup, you can,t beat fresh eggs....chickens are dead easy to keep,if you have a bit of room.....well worth the simple effort and picking them up every morning....dippy egg and toast .....yum

[bigpaul]

i expect this report is about "commercial" egg production, we buy ours from local small scale producers, back garden style set ups, never had a problem.

[Luci_ferson]

chicken poop makes great fertilizer too, and they poop a lot

[I-K-E]

(5 March 2013, 10:54)Luci_ferson Wrote: chicken poop makes great fertilizer too, and they poop a lot

make sure that it is well rotted though .... chicken poop will burn your plants if not rotted enough

[Luci_ferson]

(5 March 2013, 10:56)I-K-E Wrote:

(5 March 2013, 10:54)Luci_ferson Wrote: chicken poop makes great fertilizer too, and they poop a lot

make sure that it is well rotted though .... chicken poop will burn your plants if not rotted enough

good point,

it can also be compressed into fuel logs, although it smells when burnt, no good for cooking.

[MaryN]

I don't know why more people don't keep chickens. They don't take much room; you get splendid eggs and meat (if you pick the right breeds); and it is a way of ensuring you can put some food on the table. You don't need to live out in the country - some of my friends keep them in town gardens (just so long as the Council and the neighbours don't object). Win, win all round really.

[Highlander]

(7 March 2013, 21:55)MaryN Wrote: I don't know why more people don't keep chickens. They don't take much room; you get splendid eggs and meat (if you pick the right breeds); and it is a way of ensuring you can put some food on the table. You don't need to live out in the country - some of my friends keep them in town gardens (just so long as the Council and the neighbours don't object). Win, win all round really.

I would keep chickens in a flash, we used to,.. but we have a problem in that we have to have them inside at night, so of course we have to let them out in the morning,... if we left them out, either the Scottish Wildcat, or the Mink would have them for sure,... and that is a little binding, its the reason we stopped keeping them about three years ago

[MaryN]

Yes, I know what you mean. We have Mr. Fox to contend with here. Luckily my gals are in a well fenced large pen, but I have seen the fox lurking - little bu**er! It cost quite a lot to get the right fencing too - had to go to France to get the right stuff at the right price. Would you believe that!

Scottish wildcat, eh. Sad for the chickens, but how great to have such wildlife around. Do they have those tufty ears?

[Highlander]

No, not many do in reality,... sadly we have a problem with them here, we have just had a team from some university up here catching and checking them, [ only went away two days ago ] and it seems they are infected with a strain of `Aids virus`, they are coming back after the breeding season to treat them with something.

Considering that there is only about 400 left, I have had one sitting on my kitchen window sill, and a pair with kittens only about 200 yards from where I now sit,..so we have to look out for them if possible