hens??

[dbooth82]

hi does any1 keep hens in there garden for fresh eggs? :)

[suzy]

yep I've got 4 but only two are laying, we get 2 eggs everyday

[dbooth82]

yep I've got 4 but only two are laying, we get 2 eggs everyday cool so they roughly lay one egg a day? was thinkin about gettin some as love fresh eggs! :) wats the maintanence like for keepin them?

[billmoseley]

we have 7 of the little darlings. depends on the weather and time of year how many eggs you get and also breed. they dig up a lot of plants, even your best flowers and they love your veg patch. having said that they are very funny animals and cause us much amusement. feeding is cheap and easy so give them a try

[dbooth82]

we have 7 of the little darlings. depends on the weather and time of year how many eggs you get and also breed. they dig up a lot of plants, even your best flowers and they love your veg patch. having said that they are very funny animals and cause us much amusement. feeding is cheap and easy so give them a try mite just do that! what age do they start layin eggs? they sound quite funny.lol.. love eggs so we do! :)

[billmoseley]

they start about 18 weeks old i think. how much garden do you have and are you going to let them run free and yes they are very funny

[dbooth82]

25ft ish by 27ft roughly! how much would u recommend for that space? any advice is welcome to help make my decision. yea lettin them roam the garden is better,stretch there legs. :)

[billmoseley]

2 or 3 maybe i have just under an acre and mine seems to patrol it all in a single day. i'm new to it too only kept them since aug last year but you soon get the hang of it. http://www.downthelane.net/newchicken.php this guy seem to make a lot of sense

[dbooth82]

thanks for that! very useful!

[Green_not_greed]

I've got four and as already said they cover a whole acre easily. They will destroy your flowerbeds and also any veg/seeds/potatoes that you plant. I keep the bits of garden I want left alone netted off. The hens are locked in a run every night to keep Mr Fox away - lost a dozen hens and ducks in 2 nights a few years ago. My 4 hens are about 4 years old and lay 18 eggs a week between them, though that only lasts from mid March to about September. I feed them all the scraps from the table plus Layers Pellets from CLB. A bag is about £7 and that lasts about 2 weeks. Hope you find some of that useful.

GNG

[Alice in Blunderland]

My ten year old loves her hens. We have an acre and she has ten hens and one cockerel and they are great fun. She is very attached to them. 13390


Best pets ever....apart from the poop they don't care where they poop ungrateful sods.

[donnick]

Hi i have 19 in ma field great lovely fresh eggs but remember one hen can poop up to 50 times a day:lol:

[essex boy]

I keep my few hens in a roofed run with house on deep woodchip in the summer to keep the garden safe! But let them out in the winter when there's nothing for them to destroy. All I'd say is don't get to many.