Keeping Byocks (chickens)?

[Fat Tone]

Has anyone ever had experience of keeping chickens?

We are seriously considering getting a small number - say 2-4, to keep us in eggs and have a bit of family fun.

I'll probably build my own house/run, with the house inside the garden shed to minimize lawn-usage, and chicken-wire+frame run outside. There would be a hole in the shed wall between the two The garden is well protected with minimum 6ft fences all round, so should be safe if we decide to let them run around occasionally.

We have two cats - is that a problem? They are ~14yo.

Do they need huge amounts of attention? The sites I've read suggest a feed every couple of days and a clean once a week.

I do like the eglus at www.omlet.co.uk but I can't justify that sort of money.

Any particular breeds to go for? Ok to mix breed?

There is a rooster a few gardens away from us that crows any time it likes. Woud that upset/excite them?

Anything else I should know/consider?

[Mehen]

My buddy used to have a chicken that they kept in his garage, I'll ask him tonight if he knows anything.

edit: is this an April Fools joke?

[Fat Tone]

No, no joke

My 10yo wishes it was, but the rest of use are quite excited by the idea.

[cjolley]

...but the rest of us are quite excited by the idea.

Especially the cats.

[gt40]

My parents have about 20 or so.
They are very fond of Red Savina Habinero plants, apparantly - destroyed one I gave to them last year.

[ZokesPro]

I keep mine in the freezer.

[Brian Ellis]

Cleaning out once per week is optimistic; they are horribly dirty and smelly beasts, prone to all sorts of bad habits. Personally, I'd never dream of doing it: cheaper to buy eggs! When I was a callow youth, living in digs, my landlord/lady kept half a dozen of the brainless idiotic things (sorry, Byock) which just kept the 5 of thus in the house in eggs for all purposes for most of the year, but he spent 15-30 minutes/day feeding the buggers and trying to keep the nauseabond odours down to reasonable limits, often not very successfully. However, the occasional roast chicken was good.

[Fat Tone]

As the saying goes, I'm sure the smell in the house may be bad, but I'm sure the chickens will get used to it

Holiday tips for Byock: Learn to Speak Like a Chicken
When on holiday in Finland or France it is polite and fun to try to speak the language a little. This includes greeting the local chicken population in their own tongue, so Omlet has provided the translation for cock-a-doodle-doo in over twenty different languages.
Chinese: gue-gue ou gou-gou
Danish: kykliky
Finnish: kukkokeikuu
French: cocorico
German: kikeriki
Greek: kikiriki
Hebrew: coucouricou
Gaelic: cuc-a-dudal-du
Italian: chicchirichi
Japanese: kou-kou-kou-kou
Dutch: kukeleku
Norwegian: kukkeliky
Polish: kukuryky
Portuguese: cocorococo
Romanian: cucurigu
Russian: kou-ka-re-kou
Serbo-Croatian: kukuriky
Spanish: quiquiriqui
Swedish: kuckeliku


@GT40: what do they do with so many? How do they keep/care for them?

[Brian Ellis]

what do they do with so many?

They live on chilli-flavoured eggs, of course!

[Byock]

As the saying goes, I'm sure the smell in the house may be bad, but I'm sure the chickens will get used to it

Holiday tips for Byock: Learn to Speak Like a Chicken
When on holiday in Finland or France it is polite and fun to try to speak the language a little. This includes greeting the local chicken population in their own tongue, so Omlet has provided the translation for cock-a-doodle-doo in over twenty different languages.
Chinese: gue-gue ou gou-gou
Danish: kykliky
Finnish: kukkokeikuu
French: cocorico
German: kikeriki
Greek: kikiriki
Hebrew: coucouricou
Gaelic: cuc-a-dudal-du
Italian: chicchirichi
Japanese: kou-kou-kou-kou
Dutch: kukeleku
Norwegian: kukkeliky
Polish: kukuryky
Portuguese: cocorococo
Romanian: cucurigu
Russian: kou-ka-re-kou
Serbo-Croatian: kukuriky
Spanish: quiquiriqui
Swedish: kuckeliku


@GT40: what do they do with so many? How do they keep/care for them?

I was thinking about learning my native language.

Thanks!!

[gt40]

@GT40: what do they do with so many? How do they keep/care for them?

well, being fairly retired, they have a small (5 acre) hobby farm. Chickens, rabbits,sheep, goats, and a fairly large vegetable garden. It's the way they grew up in the old country, and they continue to do this into their old age. It keeps them busy and keeps the costs down in groceries. They sell eggs to locals ( they are in high demand - they taste much better than store bought), they make their own goat cheese, and buy very little in the way of meat or vegetables.
It helps the barn is set well back from the main house, there is no smell/mess to contend to close to the primary residence. It's all fenced-in well away, so you see very little of the animals unless you care to take a walk to the barn.