can anyone help me out with this, im thinkning of getting some chickens and ive been told there are local bye laws regarding keeping them in residential areas
No...you can get some. I have three ex battery hens in my back garden. You don't need a cockerel, but if you want one it is a good idea to check that your neighbours won't mind the crowing in the mornings!
Happy to show you pics of my set up and contacts etc. Drop me a PM.
They grumble and cluck but nothing too bad. Never had any complaints. The noise is actually quite nice.
Shed sounds ideal. How many are you thinking of getting? Three hens gets me about 15-20 eggs a week which is too many for me! I sell them in work for £1 a box.
Are you buying new chickens or getting ex-battery hens?
My sister's chucks. This is Edwina and Maggie is in the hen house! Sorry to those who have already seen these pics but,Jabber was away when I posted them.
Up until a couple of years ago I kept hens. Just bog standard Isa Browns etc. Nothing fancy. They are great time-wasters ! Wonderful to watch them establish a pecking order (sorry). Easiest thing in the world to keep. Keep an eye out for Red Mites in the henhouse though. I got batches of 5 or six. In retrospect too many really. More eggs than I could sell from the house, or give away to friends.
Eggs straight from the nestbox are a hundred times better than even the best "organic free range" stuff from the shops. Dark, rich yolks. Yummy.
If you are having a fixed, fenced enclosure, it might start off as grass, but towards the winter it will end up like the Somme on a bad day. Amazingly it does recover though - until the next winter.
Keep the hen house as clean as you can. Plenty of sawdust etc. Clean straw for the nest boxes. Go for it ! They all become great characters. Plenty of good info on the net on how to get started.
I'm sure Bezzy (if she's still speaking to me. ha.ha) will agree that they are great things to have around the garden.
our neighbour has three, good sized ones too. Shes talked me into getting some, missus not too happy, oh well, bit of peace and quiet while im in the dog house (henhouse??) then!!
You need to check your deeds that there is no covenant about livestock (or landlord if rented). There is no need to register if you have less than 50 hens, I guess you won't want 12,500+ eggs a year.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
