AussieJen
Songster
Hi Folks,
I'm new to this site, but find forums like this to be a fabulous resource for learning from the experience of others, so to anyone one who takes the time to answer any questions I might have, thanks in advance!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
We had chooks on the farm growing up. Then I had a few hens in a suburban backyard about 10 years ago, but I didn't have much cash to spend on a decent set-up and when I lost all but one (dog attack, and ignorant feeding of too much corn) I decided to give up for the time being and revisit when I could afford to do it properly. Which is now!
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I currently have 8 nine week olds (I suspect mainly roos) raised without contact with adult chickens
(3) What breeds do you have?
3 barnevelders
1 light sussex bantam
1 patridge rock bantam
3 mottled d'Uccles
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Composting, personalities, and eggs as a bonus
(5) Current set-up
I have a 4 metre by 2 metre (a little over 85 square feet) covered open-air run made of weldmesh and square section steel tubing, attached to an approx foot-deep timber base (like a raised garden bed). I intend to keep about 5-6 hens and use the deep litter method, only letting them out occasionally when I'm gardening with them. In the pen they'll receive new material every day to scratch around - leaves, pea straw, finely shredded paper, chipped prunings from my garden, weeds and kitchen scraps. I'll also grow greens and ferment seeds for them, in addition to commercial feed (and of course grit). Any advice from anyone with this kind of setup would be greatly appreciated!
My current concern is whether I can used chipped prunings from plants known to be toxic (eg wisteria), and whether I should avoid compostibles such as coffee grounds. There seems to be two schools of thought on here - give them everything/anything and they will only eat what is good for them, or never give them access to anything which may be toxic cos you just shouldn't risk it. Has anyone personally lost a chicken (or know someone who has) because of toxic plant matter placed in the run?
Thanks!
I'm new to this site, but find forums like this to be a fabulous resource for learning from the experience of others, so to anyone one who takes the time to answer any questions I might have, thanks in advance!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
We had chooks on the farm growing up. Then I had a few hens in a suburban backyard about 10 years ago, but I didn't have much cash to spend on a decent set-up and when I lost all but one (dog attack, and ignorant feeding of too much corn) I decided to give up for the time being and revisit when I could afford to do it properly. Which is now!
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I currently have 8 nine week olds (I suspect mainly roos) raised without contact with adult chickens
(3) What breeds do you have?
3 barnevelders
1 light sussex bantam
1 patridge rock bantam
3 mottled d'Uccles
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Composting, personalities, and eggs as a bonus
(5) Current set-up
I have a 4 metre by 2 metre (a little over 85 square feet) covered open-air run made of weldmesh and square section steel tubing, attached to an approx foot-deep timber base (like a raised garden bed). I intend to keep about 5-6 hens and use the deep litter method, only letting them out occasionally when I'm gardening with them. In the pen they'll receive new material every day to scratch around - leaves, pea straw, finely shredded paper, chipped prunings from my garden, weeds and kitchen scraps. I'll also grow greens and ferment seeds for them, in addition to commercial feed (and of course grit). Any advice from anyone with this kind of setup would be greatly appreciated!
My current concern is whether I can used chipped prunings from plants known to be toxic (eg wisteria), and whether I should avoid compostibles such as coffee grounds. There seems to be two schools of thought on here - give them everything/anything and they will only eat what is good for them, or never give them access to anything which may be toxic cos you just shouldn't risk it. Has anyone personally lost a chicken (or know someone who has) because of toxic plant matter placed in the run?
Thanks!
We are glad you joined the flock! BYC is a helpful site providing all of the information you need to know about poultry! There is always space for more members on the BYC roost!
It's great to have you back into the wonderful world of chickens! Hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do!
Glad you joined.
)
