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Keeping Byocks (chickens)?

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  • Keeping Byocks (chickens)?

    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?
    FT.

  • #2
    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?
    Last edited by Mehen; 1 April 2008, 14:27.
    Q9450 + TRUE, G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2, GTX 560, ASUS X48, 1TB WD Black, Windows 7 64-bit, LG M2762D-PM 27" + 17" LG 1752TX, Corsair HX620, Antec P182, Logitech G5 (Blue)
    Laptop: MSI Wind - Black

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    • #3
      No, no joke

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

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Fat Tone View Post
        ...but the rest of us are quite excited by the idea.
        Especially the cats.
        Chuck
        秋音的爸爸

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        • #5
          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.
          Yeah, well I'm gonna build my own lunar space lander! With blackjack aaaaannd Hookers! Actually, forget the space lander, and the blackjack. Ahhhh forget the whole thing!

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          • #6
            I keep mine in the freezer.
            Titanium is the new bling!
            (you heard from me first!)

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            • #7
              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.
              Brian (the devil incarnate)

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              • #8
                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?
                FT.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Fat Tone View Post
                  what do they do with so many?
                  They live on chilli-flavoured eggs, of course!
                  Brian (the devil incarnate)

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Fat Tone View Post
                    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!!
                    "I dream of a better world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned."

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Fat Tone View Post
                      @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.
                      Yeah, well I'm gonna build my own lunar space lander! With blackjack aaaaannd Hookers! Actually, forget the space lander, and the blackjack. Ahhhh forget the whole thing!

                      Comment

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