Our little chicken coop has arrived and the husband, aka 'Hubster', spent an afternoon setting it up and building a sturdy platform for it to sit on off the ground. It's quite exciting to see it sitting out in the garden, waiting patiently for some chickens to come live in it. It will still be about a month or so until we bring the birds in but until then we've got plenty to do.
First off, we're building a sizable run and seeding over the ground so that there will be grass growing by the time the birds arrive. The seed has been spread and raked over the area and the Hubster has been keeping a close eye on it over the last week, watering it on dry days and looking every day to see if any seed has sprouted yet. Watching water come to a boil springs to mind ;)
The idea is that we're dividing the run into two areas - one the chickens will be able to roam around in and one which is recovering. This way we hope to keep the chickens in regular grass and for the eggs to be as delicious and orange as they can be. If a run is kept open all the time there's no chance for any greens or grass to begin sprouting since the chickens will be scratching it up on a regular basis.
If you haven't noticed so far, our chicken house is small - tiny actually. It's more of a hobbit-sized hen house than something fit for full sized birds, no matter what the advert says. Considering this as well as advice from several sources we've decided to go for Bantams rather than conventional hens. Their eggs will be smaller and they can apparently be the devil to catch if they get out of their pen but they should suit us better at this point.
And in my search for hens on the island I came across a young boy about eight or nine years old who breeds Bantams as a hobby with his family. He made me a deal to sell four hens to me for £20 plus he's holding them for me for the next month. I didn't realise what a great deal this was until I spoke to a few people and so I think I'll put in an extra something for him as well. What a cool kid though - how many kids his age have such a productive hobby?
I love bantams and had a trio of Pekins for some years - they were a delight. What an enterprising lad to breed and sell bantams - he deserves your custom.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the lip balm, which arrived this morning and has already been put to use. It is very cold and wet here, so it is really needed.
Keep warm. Look forward to seeing those bantams in their little house.
Seriously what happened to the warm spring weather? We don't have the six inches of snow that appeared over Scotland but it's cold and the wind is fierce. Brrrrrr
DeletePekins look so soft and fluffy - do you have any pictures of your own up?
And you're most welcome to the lip balm Pat - it's good timing for its arrival isn't it?
I can't wait to keep up with your chicken adventures. It sounds like you've got everything planned out, it's now just putting it all in to practice.
ReplyDeleteYou can plan and plan and plan and then it all goes up in the air when they arrive ;) Haha
DeleteOh I would dearly love to have chickens but my hubby keeps on saying no! SO I will follow your new adventure with interest.
ReplyDeleteThree or four years ago my own hubby would have thought I was nuts to want to have chickens. I'm so glad that he's changed his perspective on all things 'country'. Maybe yours will do one day too!
DeleteMy youngest son keeps bantams and although the eggs are small, they are full of yolk. Love the 'des res' for the chickens, I am sure they will feel quite at home there xxx
ReplyDeleteBig yolks - that's wonderful to hear Fran. And the coop is cute isn't it? It's a good 'starter home' but I hope the Hubster will build me a larger one in a couple of years or so.
DeleteWhat a sweet little home for your hens. I used to have several bantams a few years ago perfect little miniatures. I read what you are saying about the grass situation, but I think you will be disappointed, hens quickly destroy every available blade of grass. Hope it all works out for you though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elaine - it's certainly a cute little coop for some cute little chickens :)
DeleteAnd you're probably right about the run but we've got to give it a try. We had chickens growing up and I remember their pens as being perfect squares of dirt at all times. The thing is that we don't plan on letting ours out of the run generally so we want them to enjoy a bit of green grass. We'll have to think of something else if the run-sectioning doesn't work in practice!
It looks good and will be so neat to see hens making a home there, it would probably be fine for large birds as they don't stay in the building much other than to lay eggs or roost so as long as there is room for that it is large enough. The first thing that my birds do when in a fenced area is to eat and dig up all of the grass so I collect grass clippings with my reel mower which don't have exhaust fumes on the grass and throw that over the fence. I am thinking of maybe putting a compost bin in the chicken area so that they can dig and keep that torn up. Don't forget to give them an area to take dust baths!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Sunnybrook - We're already planning on putting the compost pile along side the wall inside the run (so I can dump material over the fence) but the idea of dumping lawn clippings specifically for the hens is brilliant. We have an electric mower so the grass will be perfectly fine for the girls to rummage around in.
DeleteThe Hubster is going to build a low table for the run when he puts up the enclosure. We're hoping it will give some shade and that they'll be able to use the dry soil underneath for a dust-bath.
I have kept a flock of bantams for many years - and I love them. I used to have standard size hens too years ago, but they are not practical really in a smallish garden to let free range as they do dig holes in lawns etc - you made the perfect choice. Mine free range around the garden - and have a run which you can see here if you would like to look
ReplyDeletehttp://kooringa.blogspot.co.uk/ It you look in the side bar you can click on the links to my bantams/chickens.
To prevent them from flying up on top of your chicken house, or onto your white wall - you just need to clip one wing - that way you won't have to worry about them flying off. Mine can fly the length of our garden - about 60ft or more, and can fly high up into trees if they wanted too. In fact last year my neighbour's fence panel fell down at the side of our home and they didn't tell me, and one of them toddled into her garden, walked through a hole in their fence, and I got a knock on the door from a garden behind ours up the road, saying they had a funny looking bird in the garden as was it mine. Long story short - couldn't catch her, kindly gent went rushing after her, so she flew across two gardens, then high up into the sky and over into the fields. There was a happy ending - she turned up a couple of days later demanding food!
You'll be hooked - wishing many hours of happiness with them
What a funny story Lottie and I've gone on to have a look at your chooks - what cute little birds they are :)
DeleteThanks for the tip on clipping the single wing - we definitely don't need ours to be flying off across the neighbourhood!
It's all sounding great...can't wait to see the grass sprouting and to meet your hens in person!!
ReplyDeleteThe countdown is on :)
Deletegreat little chicken house, can't wait to see the bantams! And good idea having the two runs. You could also plant lots of edible greens as well as grass.
ReplyDeleteGood idea! Maybe a kitty litter box filled with other greens?
DeleteA lovely little henhouse, we have two very similar (only larger ones) as we used to have 50 birds. Currently down to a small flock of 10, six large and 4 bantams (Lavender Pekins).
ReplyDeleteA tip to get your Bantams friendly and handlable, simply go and sit with them each day for a while and take them some corn and some tasty nibbles )they loved crumbed up bread and squashed overripe tomatoes). When you go in call them to you with a little 'chook chook' noise (it's what the cockerels do to call the hens over to tasty foods!!). When they are within reach for the first few days simply stroke their backs or chests, and then when you can, take it in turn to pick each one up, over the course of a couple of weeks they will see you as a giant friend and run to you each time you arrive.
You have exactly the right idea re the grass as Bantams can't live well without eating grass everyday.
You'll have lots of fun with them, and the eggs are delicious, ours are just back into lay after their winter break and I get four eggs most days.
Sue xx
Thanks for the tip Sue and we'll be sure to try to befriend our Bantams that way. And I've just had a look at Lavender Bantams...they're beautiful!
DeleteOooh lovely chicken coop! Mine's not pretty as yours, we currently have 6 hens and a cockrel. We has just had it done a month ago, can't wait for the hens to lay us some eggs! Good luck on your chicken adventure...
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get a cockerel but I don't think the neighbours would approve ;) I've heard that hens are far more happy with one around though - would you agree?
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