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30-05-2008, 05:38 PM
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poultry (help please)
think this is the right section....
after finaly moving into our own place... me and the girlfriend feel we now have enough reptiles (untill we can afford the higher morphs) and lack of space indoors... HOWEVER... being only 19/20 we dont spend all that much time running about in the garden... and it being so small.. have no room for a trampolene etc... (damn knows shes tried to get one :P) so im convincing her to let me have some chickens of some sort  HOWEVER ... i dont know what to get... or how to keep them yet... a run/coup is no problem.. my dad can build anything and we have a shed wich can be sectioned so they have a place to sleep at night what are the best to keep (would want from small so can be handled so to speak) for laying eggs.. and being quiet .. as in not crowing at silly oclock in the night plus any care tips etc would be appreciated would possibly contemplate ducks if could be done the same (can build them a bath in the garden for them to swim in... but obviously space is an issue) the main factor is noise... we cant have a dog because of the noise... but hopefully if i can get "quiet" ones i can have them was told about poulets (brown hen things) on preloved at about £8 from a farm... wich are quiet... but id like from fairly young so i get the most time with them peace James
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30-05-2008, 05:48 PM
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Don't get ducks unless you have oodles of space as they are messy and noisy. I have 10 ducks on a large pond so they are not too bad.
Chickens are different. Depends what you like really. I have 10 Maran hens which lay beautiful dark brown eggs that taste divine and 4 ISA hens which lay paler eggs. They are not at all noisy and follow me everywhere. My chicks free range over 15acres during the day and live in a railway carriage at night. They are not hard to care for, they eat layers pellets, veg scraps etc and are rarely sick or sorry.  
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Kathryn....... 1.0.0 tiger retic...2.5. bci... 0.0.1 gtp...1.1. jcp...1.0.0 fwc... 10.15.13 corns...0.0.1 BRB... 1.0.0 hoggie...1.0beardie... 1.1 Crested geckos... 0.1 grammostola rosea... 0.1.0 avicularia avicularia...0.0.1 Grammostola Aureostriata...2.1horses... 7.2cats...0.1dog...10chickens...1.0 long suffering husband  
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30-05-2008, 05:59 PM
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depending on the size some of the smaller banties might be suitable have a nosey around on the internet see what takes your fancy, Pekins are great first time birds.
Clare
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 snakes- 0:1 Macklotts water Python, 10 Royal Pythons 18 Corns, 21 boas various hets and morphs, 1 diadem rat snake, 3 baird rat snakes, 2 hoggies, 4 sand boas, 2 tai beauty snakes, 1 albino burmese....
Lizards- 2 Bearded dragons, 4 yellow throated plated lizards, 5 Birbon geckos, 16 leos, 4 fat tails, 3 tokay geckos, 1 curly tailed lizard, 2 dwarf sungazers Other animals- 7 Labrador, 3 ferrets, 10 degus, 3 chins, 1 chipmunks, 100mice n rats, 20 odd gerbils, , 7 hamsters, 13 spiny mice, 2 stripey mice, 4 guniea fowl, 2 old english game chickens, 2:2 cream legbars, 6 silver applyard ducks, 1:3 Gold Dutch Chickens, 1:2 Black Turkeys, 4 Bourbon red turkeys, 5 Bronze Turkey
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30-05-2008, 06:13 PM
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Regarding breeds, as others have said just have a look around on the 'net and find some you like, ones with feathery feet are great! We have mostly Black Rocks, have had others such as Rhode Island Reds and Scot's Greys. We also have some mongrels which are mixes of the above + Buff Orphington. The only breed I would advise against are Buff Orphington (sp?), they seem to have a genetic disorder whereb after a few years they go blind and stop eating, resulting in their death
 If you want to make sure they're quiet, get them when they're old enough for you to tell the difference between cockrels and hens, and get the hens! As for keeping them, we live in the middle of nowhere so they roam free around our garden (1.5 acres ish). If you have a small garden, make sure you have a high fence around your garden (all the way from one wall to another) with no gaps at the bottom! Don't worry too much about them escaping though, after a week or two they'll know your garden as home and always come back! Feeding wise all you need to do is kepp a dustbin full of Layers' Pellets (and grain if you want, but thats more of a treat), and a covered feeding trough to put them in to eat (make sure it's covered or the pellets will melt!). They love scraps of any sort from the kitchen, so don't throw it away! Good luck whatever you get!  PS there's a couple of pics of ours on my flickr page, which is linked in my sig 
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30-05-2008, 07:01 PM
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they will be kept in a back garden with a run around 20ft x 10ft .. is this enough for them.. dont realy want them fluttering about :P if i can help it...
the shed is roughly 6x4 wich will be used for them at night so no foxes etc get at them... the noise is the factor... plus the cost.. im not looking for anything in particular.. just something to occupy some time.. and give a few eggs not fussed about breeds etc peace James
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30-05-2008, 07:45 PM
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Depending on how many birds you are looking for, a garden shed is ideal to keep them, being dry, spacious and secure. However, if you have noise issues, you may find chickens are no good. There are no really quiet ones and even hens will cackle loudly and they make a very loud noise when they lay an egg. As loud as any cockerel crowing. If you have never kept fowl before, I suggest you get yourself a copy of 'Starting with chickens' by Katie Thear which explains how to look after them properly, what to feed, diseases, how often to worm them, how to kill the redmites which live int he house, rat control etc. If you get chickens, rats will come. If you have only a small garden, I would not advise ducks as not only are they noisy but they do lots of really squirty liquid stinky poops, then paddle it well in. Your garden will attract flies and smell bad. Chickens can live up to 15 years, so you don't have to get pullets. I always advice novices to get some ex battery birds which will only be a year old and still lay lots of eggs. The added advantage is that they come already tame and cost only around £1 each. You also need to find a poultry vet as they need veterinary treatment if sick just like any other animals and layers may suffer from prolapses, egg binding etc. Keeping chickens isn't difficult, but it requires more than a small space to sleep in and a handful of corn chucked at them once a day as you will find out if you get the book.
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30-05-2008, 07:46 PM
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30-05-2008, 07:48 PM
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30-05-2008, 07:50 PM
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30-05-2008, 08:12 PM
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my dad is amazing at making anything from nothing so a few pieces of wood and some rolls of chicken wire.. he could make a detachable run... wich i could get in to clean... localy there are over 4000 ex battery hens free to good homes... but cant seem to find them (were on free cycle) but thats now.. and this will be in a few months.. so no idea where to obtain.. they would be fed proper chicken feed.. (if available:P) and will be given whatever they need a vet is no problem... lots of vets round here.. one with a pic of a big chicken on the front.. so im guessing they do chickens :Prats can come we have 5 in the house... .. and ill be sure to dig the fence underground a little bit to prevent easily digging under (rats and foxes) but like i say.. they will be locked in the shed overnight...im only looks for 2 ... (would be 1.. but dont want it getting lonely) i want them as pets.. but if they lay eggs... thats a bonus.. not a necessity any1 know a good local supplier of both the livestock and possibly a semi large ammount of the chicken feed/grit etc ??(im from nottingham/derby in the midlands) peace James
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