This is a plan i had for keeping more chickens!

[Aaronblackman]

I live in the countryside, about 4 miles away from a local town. my garden is fairly big, we have a swimming pool, sheds at the back and a huge workshop, I keep my hens and ducks at the back of our garden fenced in a nice run and house, Problem is I can either have lots of hens running around, breeding and mating with who they wish, or have 4 hens to a cock of a specific breed. I would really like to have a couple of runs, and keep a couple more breeds to breed chicks and get hatching eggs from. Iv'e though about all the possibilities and tbh I havent come up with much.

My only idea is this. I have found a local farm shop, its a family run business and they have run it for years, they sel fresh produce to the local towns and have barns with hens and ducks running round freely, a field with a cow or two, and lots of barns for storing hey and straw. Apparently lots of youngsters like myself have applied for jobs there, but they got turned away and so the story goes, the owners are not very friendly, although ive never had any trouble when buying produce there. I was thinking about getting friendly with them and asking if i could keep maybe 3/4 ark,s and have a few runs on there land, to keep some chickens and ducks on, and in return i would do a certain amount of voluntary work each week. Problem is, I dont know how to approach them. I can really just spring from the blue and say "hi il work for free if you let me keep my animals on your land". But keeping chickens and ducks is something I really want to do, and farming is also something I am really considering.

Has anyone else experienced this or have any other suggestions? I live in the south east of the UK.

Aaron

 

[hoppy]

I don't know what the laws are over there but here, people here are always worried about getting sued. your animals on their land might work for you, but it might not for them.
why can't you put up more runs at your house?

 

[Aaronblackman]

ahh i dont think there would be any trouble of that over here, and as it's a family run business, they are self relient on there own stock, so I am pretty sure they wouldn't mind me keeping a couple of runs on their mini fields at the back

 

[hoppy]

if it was me and I say this in the kindest way, you are the competetion, even f you are selling hatching eggs, some of those eggs may be eating eggs if that hatching market dries up putting you in direct competition with them.
good luck and I hope it works out for you.