I have a fair size patch of lawn (filled with moss and buttercups...lol) and I have decided to cut it in half with a fence and have some chickens.... I am going to have a coop with a run for when I have to pop out and double fence with chicken wire over the stock fencing that is hidden in the hedges either side and along the bottom.....
Now do you think I should go wooden coop...
or plastic eglu ?now I know the price of the eglu cube and no I have not won the lottery...lol
but if in the long run it will last longer and be kinder to the girls then I am willing to forgo all Birthday and Christmas presents this year to pay for it! lol
do any of you lovely chook keeping ladies and gents have any hands on knowledge of either?
I am in a quandary!
I thought having some chickens would give me some company for when Daniel eventually starts school in September plus the idea of the odd freshly laid egg is so very appealing... lol
any advice greatly appreciated...
also I think I will re home battery hens rather than buy new... I know that they can be shorter living but I would like to think that I am giving her a new chance and however long she may live a better life...
looking forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts
take care
Alex
x
12 comments:
I know the Eglu is really good, but somehow it just looks wrong! Give me the wooden one any day!
Jille x
Well personally I love the look of the wooden coops, so cosy and farmlike! Countryfied I suppose! I have an empty coop, as we are thinking of moving and am not sure yet! I would definitely adopt some battery hens. My friend has got about 15 chucks altogether, 3 of which are ex- battery ones. When they arrived they had feathers missing and quite frankly were scrawny. But now they are such happy chickens enjoying a must deserved freedom and good food. They have filled out and look happy and well. Most satisfying to see that! I have a book on rearing chickens which I don't need, so if you would like it just email me
suzie@itch2stitch.com
Have a lovely weekend! Suzie xxxx
I am with the others - the wooden wooden one just looks the part!! We kept hens for a few years some while ago and I'd love to do it again but they are such a tie as it is easy to get someone to pop round and feed the cat but not so easy to find anyone willing to help with the chickens! Good luck with your venture.
Jane
If you think you can afford it, I'd go for the eglu personally- the thought of being able to clean it thoroughly so easily appeals to me- you can just hose it down. I know a few people who have them and think they're the bees knees.
I'm jealous.. I wish we had some space for chooks x
I like them both, the wooden one certainly looks country-fied but the ease of cleaning of the Eglu appeals to me. I think its lovely that you want to give those battery chickens a new home. Hugs x
Hiya hunni
Just a short message because were off on a camping trip in about 5 minutes. But Just wanted to say if you need any advice or want to come and take a look at our little setup then You are more than welcome ( wellies are optional hehehe)to pop over You've got my email and phone number. Also I've got 3 or 4 books on chicken keeping, again You are more than welcome to borrow them.
Do you Have any particular breed of hen in mind?
Good luck
karen
Ps Will be back monday night if you wanna take me up on that.
I have no idea about chickens so wouldn't like to give an opinion on that but Lucy at vanillaivy.blogspot.com keeps chickens so you could always ask her advice. She's very lovely and won't mind at all.
How many chickens do you think you'll get and have you thought of names yet?
X X
My backside falls both sides of the fence (trust me, it's big enough). We have wooden static sheds and a big fenced in area to stop the chickens destroying the garden generally. However, although I am not too keen on the look of the plastic eglu, as others have said, the cleaning would be a breeze in terms of hosing down/out, and also if you find the lawn being destroyed (they can be very destructive depending on how many you put in the run), you can at least wheel the eglu elsewhere.....
You will really enjoy having fresh eggs..... :O)))))
Do not know much about keeping chooks but are the coops the same size or could you keep more in one or the other,could be a deciding factor,good luck either way.
Hugs Pat
How many chickens are you going to get? You also want to be able to walk inside the runs as well, this is so you don't have to bend down to feed them and also clean the coops. You need to have enough room for them to roam feely in the runs as well. The problem I see with these two coops, is they don't look very predator proof. I know you will never be able to keep all predators out but it would be easy for a racoon, possum or fox to get in, these animals are very clever. You also want to make sure they have clean food and water as to not get sick. Just giving you a few pointers since I live on a poultry farm. I took a class at NC State University on the basics of chicken keeping and it was the best money I ever spent! Also you want to feed them a good protein based feed and only give scratch an hour before they go up to roost so they will be warm at night. Hope this helps!!
~Molly P
WOW! Prefab chicken coops! That is so cool. Aesthetically, I like the first one best. I think the chickens might like the second one better because it looks roomier. How fun that you are going to have chickens! jan
I like the looks of the wooden one..but have seen the eglu in a different color that I liked. Don't know much, but here is a link to someone who has been raising them and has the eglu http://diaryofatinyholder.blogspot.com/ and I think the idea of the battery hens is wonderful even if they don't live as long. Good luck!!!!!
Post a Comment