# Anyone keep chickens?



## Karly (Aug 26, 2010)

Does anyone keep chickens for pets? (not snake food :lol
I'm in the process of building a chicken coop and will be getting some chooks soon, someone told me to put lime down on the ground to break down the poo.... Is this true? And where do you get lime from?
Any other tips or hints?


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## Ashrwee (Aug 26, 2010)

ive never herd the lime on the ground thing but i suppose you could give it a try.. chickens.. biggest waste of time.. we spend more money on certin foods for them so they lay eggs, then half the time we only get between 3-4 eggs per week so we still have to buy the eggs.. but i suppose that is your choice hopfully you have better luck then us..


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## PhilK (Aug 26, 2010)

Yeah I keep 5 chickens. Couldn't disagree more with Ashrwee.. we buy them a $10 bag of pellets (20kg) once every 4 weeks or so and throw them any leftovers/kitchen scraps and are getting 5 eggs a day!

We were lucky enough to rent a place with a huge chook yard and coop already on it, so all we needed to do was fill it.. the yard and coop can probably hold 20 chooks so our 5 our living it up like queens! We also have an old rooster who has a seperate yard.

I bought them as chicks and raised them inside in a cardboard box until they were too big and messy. They then went in the bathtub full of shavings.. when they outgrew that they went outside into the coop with the door closed for a few weeks then got supervised time in the yard for a week until they were ready to live out there for good. Occasionally we open the door to the yard and let them roam the 2.5 acres we have here, but only when we're home.

Not only do they provide free eggs, they are actually great fun to watch! If they bond with you as chicks you will have very cool pets that give you a feed, what could be better!

They're dead easy to look after.. how big is your coop? How many chooks are you planning on? Are you getting them as chicks or ready to lay hens? Do they have a big area to run around?


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## REPTILIAN-KMAN (Aug 26, 2010)

hey i know chickens taste great


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## Karly (Aug 26, 2010)

Thanks for the info, hopefully we do have better luck than that Ashrwee!! 
We just bought 1.5 acres and we're building them a huge coop, using an old garden shed for their roost. I think we might buy about 5 point of lay hens to start with until we get a bit more experience and then maybe start breeding our own. 
So you do put lime down Phil? Or do you think that's unnecessary? Also, is your coop fully enclosed or open at the top?


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## FAY (Aug 26, 2010)

Karly, chooks are great pets.
I am partial to bantams though..Pekin.
Make sure if you let them out that they are locked away every night incase of foxes or cats.
Also make sure they have perches.

They are pretty smart...they seem to know where they live.


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## Dipcdame (Aug 26, 2010)

Yeah, Fay, ours know where they live.... all over the blessed neighbourhood!!!!! Kakariki brought four around some time ago, and forgot to tell me their wings weren't clipped, we put them in a side yard to let them settle after their long trip here, and the rotten lot took off!!!!! We have spent the rest of the time (months and months)trying to catch the little blighters!!!!!!

We also now have a neighbourhood wondering if they're going doodle-alley, seeing chooks walking along the pavements!! And the worst thing? We chuck food out for them, which they know is there, they come and eat it, then nick off to parts unknown to lay their eggs elsewhere........... TRAITORS!!!!!!! There's either someone benefitting and getting free eggs, or somewhere in a kilometre radius, is a huge pile of eggs, stockpiling, waiting for some dog or someone to come step on them PHEWWWWW!! Stinky.


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## Karly (Aug 26, 2010)

That's classic, people are probably finding eggs in random places and wondering how on earth they go there! 

Fay I like Bantams too, I went and had a look at them at the show this year they have the most beautiful colours on them  Couldn't beleive how cheap some people were selling them for though... Some people were selling their first prize winning hens and roosters for $20! 

I'll be sure to "chicken proof" my yard, I haven't come accross any foxes yet, but I've seen a rather large carpet python crossing the road just up from my house.... He would probably consider a chicken a fairly tasty treat...


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## PhilK (Aug 26, 2010)

Karly said:


> So you do put lime down Phil? Or do you think that's unnecessary?


We don't have any lime down. It's just a dirt floor and every now and again we shovel out all the droppings and put them on the garden.



> Also, is your coop fully enclosed or open at the top?


Their roost is as yours, I assume.. It is like a shed with perches inside it as well as a feeder and nest box. It is fully enclosed (with a roof too) with the door leading out to a fenced yard (no top on the yard). They need a fully enclosed space to shelter from the rain etc.

When they were younger we used to close the shed door every night as well as the yard door but now we leave the shed door open as long as the yard is closed. They go in there to roost, eat and lay and then they are free to roam their yard.


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## Lovemyreptiles (Aug 26, 2010)

I have 3 chickens (Isa Browns) I let them out through the day and they scratch around the yard then they are locked up at night in their coop.I get 3 eggs a day from them.All 3 have a different personality ,one has a bit of an attitude and will shape up to new people lol.They are great pets and get along with my 2 dogs (a Rottweiler and a foxy mix). I rake and clean their coop every 3 weeks and put the droppings on the garden.Costs me $14 a month to feed them with pellets and I also give them any vege peelings and they also will eats any food scraps.


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 26, 2010)

Can't wait to get some chickens and ducks... although, not sure how the mastiff will go with chicks - he took a distinct liking to bush turkey chicks in his diet some time back :shock: Still, can't wait.


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## byron_moses (Aug 26, 2010)

yeah the lime does work and u can get it from most stockfeed places and hardware stores i feed mine wheat in winter and they will lay eggs nearly all year round the wheat warms them up so they keep laying


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## Karly (Aug 26, 2010)

Yeah Phil that sounds pretty similar to the one we're building, the shed is old but its still fully enclosed and water tight and has a door on it and everything. We were just thinking about putting wire over the top of the yard to stop the snakes getting in.... But I suppose if a snake really wants to get in it will find a way regardless!

I also read somewhere you shouldn't feed them potato skins.... Anyone else heard of this?


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## byron_moses (Aug 26, 2010)

yeah u will want to put mesh on the floor as rats will bury under and then leave holes for snakes etc


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## ShepQLD (Aug 26, 2010)

at the moment I have five normal hens, two gay silky roosters (truely! they wont go near any of the other chooks they just hang by themselves, always together, kinda cute lol) and two bantam hens. The bantams have a seperate enclosure to the bigger hens although they all free range all over the yard together. Weve had chooks for over ten years and never used lime, nor had any problems with mites, but we might just be lucky, I have heard of people using lime under houses to keep fleas away aswell. If your thinking of getting bantams for eggs... my advice would be.. dont lol. they only lay about 60 or so eggs a year, although one of ours is crossed with a normal hen and she lays about three times a week. our other hens however are fabulous. we havent bought eggs for years and years. they are also our garbage disposals and create fabulous feed for the garden as well as for us! our orchard gets all of thier 'waste' and the trees are magnificent because of it!! side note - point of lay are the best type to get and if your after eggs go for the red hens, they are the best layers  ours lay all year round without fail (though we have also lost about 18 chooks over the years to a local fox that I waged war with. havent seen him for over a year now though so I think I won lol)


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## ShepQLD (Aug 26, 2010)

and yes, Ive heard you shouldnt give them potato skins aswell, but not sure why lol, and if you give them egg shells (which you should) be sure to crunch them up first otherwise it can encourage them to eat thier own eggs


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## Karly (Aug 26, 2010)

> byron_moses
> yeah u will want to put mesh on the floor as rats will bury under and then leave holes for snakes etc​


 
Really? Bugger! The snakes should just eat the rats then the rats won't burrow into the chook coop and the snakes won't be hungry and eat my chooks :lol: Now I just have to train the snakes and rats to do what I want them to.....:?


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## ShepQLD (Aug 26, 2010)

lol rats are a huge issue here, we have had a 7 foot carpet python visit every now and then and I think he wipes some out, he certainly has never bothered with the chooks! (YET!) our chook pen is open as we have huge trees in it, but because of that I have found that whenever our local possums get sick we find them curled up in the hen house. handy really though because they are easy to catch and get treated lol.


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## Karly (Aug 26, 2010)

ShepQLD said:


> (though we have also lost about 18 chooks over the years to a local fox that I waged war with. havent seen him for over a year now though so I think I won lol)


 
lol how do you win a fight against a fox!?!?!? :shock:

So the red hens lay more... is that like the red cars go faster? :lol:


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## Jay84 (Aug 26, 2010)

What a great choice to get your own chooks! I think every household should have a few hens! They teach kids alot about reproduction, animal care and responsibility. My family have kept chooks for over 15 years now. Started off with me getting 3 little chicks at the local stockfeed store.

If you are looking for pets, then you can't go past the gorgeous Pekin Bantams! This is what i started with and mum still breeds them. With their big fluffy bloomers, feathered feet and pom pom tails they are just adorable, such sweet natured too. We had 45 adults at one stage (not including chicks!). As stated before they lay poorly, but their mothering instincts are strong. Usually laying a clutch and then going broody.

If you are looking for an all rounder bird for meat and eggs then you can't go past the Australorp! Beautiful eggs and big beefy birds for meat. 

If you are wanting layers, then isa browns or leghorns are the best, almost laying an egg every day of the year.

As people have already warned of foxes, you can never be too careful. With foxes sometimes cocky enough to hunt in daylight! We are lucky in having 3 dogs who have alerted us whenever the fox has come to make a steal.


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## No-two (Aug 26, 2010)

I have some plymoth rock ones. They'er pretty cool, I just feed them a range of stuff, they really like spiders and small mice though, and roaches, they're like there favourites.


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## ShepQLD (Aug 26, 2010)

lol by enlisting the local council to lend us a trap, having a write up in the local paper to inform neighbours to keep an eye out so we could track down its den, cutting off all entry points and any acsess to free ranging chooks in its territory and last but not least (and I suspect the winning action) by making sure they are locked up everynight lol.

as for the red hens being like red cars..... LOL... if that were the case they might also be the prettiest, but alas, to look at they really arent that special poor girls lol. All I know is that they are the hardiest and most producing breed that we have kept.


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## LadyJ (Aug 26, 2010)

They're amazing animals - I haven't eaten chicken (and only eat free-range eggs) for roughly 7 years... they're lovable! Hehe, never heard of the lime, I'd just rake out their coop once a week and enjoy the manure.

On a side note, they're great little companion animals... we had chooks that would tap on the door we were closest to until we'd interact with them, I'd often sit outside with my book and some nice food totally surrounded by my chooks... bizzare, but eh, I put time into the dumb little things. :lol:


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## Karly (Aug 26, 2010)

> I'd often sit outside with my book and some nice food totally surrounded by my chooks... bizzare, but eh, I put time into the dumb little things. :lol:


That's not dumb! Every morning I bring a plate of meat scraps out on my patio and eat my breakfast while feeding the magpies and butcher birds Best start to the day I reckon... surrounded by birds and lizards and barras 

We don't have a problem with foxes in north QLD as far as I know, but I imagine the Dingos would be pretty similar.

I really can't wait to get my chooks now! They sound like they're the most awesome little pets


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## wiz-fiz (Aug 26, 2010)

chooks are pretty sick, got some week olds about 2 weeks ago, isa browns. Apparently they lay 95%95 eggs in 100 days) so happy with that, but they aren't good for meat .
congrars on deciding 2 get chikens XD


Will


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## LadyJ (Aug 26, 2010)

Karly said:


> That's not dumb! Every morning I bring a plate of meat scraps out on my patio and eat my breakfast while feeding the magpies and butcher birds Best start to the day I reckon... surrounded by birds and lizards and barras
> 
> We don't have a problem with foxes in north QLD as far as I know, but I imagine the Dingos would be pretty similar.
> 
> I really can't wait to get my chooks now! They sound like they're the most awesome little pets



Hehe, aww, sounds like me in a nutshell! But if you do put time into them, you'll see just how gorgeous they are... when we had many acres the chooks would free-roam of a day and I swear, you couldn't step outside without being greeted! We'd even go for horse rides down the road (country dirt road) followed by a head of 6 or so chickens... random sight! One in particular was an amazing little lady, she'd sit on my lap and enjoying being petting and sharing whatever morsel I had... she was more of a dog than a chook! :lol:


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## AllThingsReptile (Aug 26, 2010)

dad keeps chickens  he kinda has a passion for it, dirt floor, scraps and pellets, they'll be fine


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 26, 2010)

Karly said:


> Every morning I bring a plate of meat scraps out on my patio and eat my breakfast while feeding the magpies and butcher birds...



No raw mince, I hope!


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## Karly (Aug 27, 2010)

Kristy_07 said:


> No raw mince, I hope!


 
Noooo!!! If we have any leftover steak or roast (cooked) I chop it all up into small bits and put it in little containers so that I can just grab a handful when I need it lol... My fiance reckons I put more effort into the bird food than his dinner 

Thanks guys for all your help and info, I knew I could count on you all!


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## LadyJ (Aug 27, 2010)

Karly said:


> Noooo!!! If we have any leftover steak or roast (cooked) I chop it all up into small bits and put it in little containers so that I can just grab a handful when I need it lol... My fiance reckons I put more effort into the bird food than his dinner
> 
> Thanks guys for all your help and info, I knew I could count on you all!


 
Hehe, little hint... they go nuts for wheat! We always kept a little as a treat for when we lock them up of a night, we just yelled, "chook chook chook!" and scattered wheat in their coop and they'd be in there within seconds! :lol:


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## redbellybite (Aug 27, 2010)

chickens free ranging ..compost heap in far right corner ..eventually this will be fenced off and be a productive orchard and the chooks will only be able to run in there ..as they get into our vegies down the front grrrr ..anyway more of our setup ..the only thing now is ,we actually throw straw down on the concrete floor so to mix with the poop as it makes it easier to rake it out and place upon our compost heap ..








food is in the blue bin with the brick on the lid ..




with just these two girls sitting ,we ended up with 24 hatched babies !












now most of our girls are sitting and at last count we have now got over (well had, as I culled some for snake food) we have hatched over 70 babies ,and we started off with 3 hens and a rooster ..was given three silkies and a naked neck by a friend at a later stage ..sold 1 silkie rooster and hen ,still have 1 silkie rooster and a naked neck hen ..and the rest are all bantam chickens ..they make the best egg sitters ..down the track we are getting some big meat chickens ..which we will get the bantam hens to sit on there eggs ..and we will start to eat our own chookies too ..instead of just snake food


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## Karly (Aug 27, 2010)

Nice setup RBB... I have to say those nesting boxes are GENIUS!!! :lol:


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## byron_moses (Aug 27, 2010)

great setupp rbb


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## redbellybite (Aug 27, 2010)

Chickens are great to keep and raise ...they arent that hard to look after either and baby chicks are very soft and cute and of course snakes luuuuuuurve them as well 

Oh we dont allow the mothers to look after the chicks ,,,cause the death ratio was higher then my snake cull  we take the bubs away and put them in a hot box with a light setup and raise them to either perfect snake size or grow the hens up for our own use now ..


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