Safe plant ???

[Anonymous]

Hi.
Were just embarking in to chickens. In fact I'm still building thier coop and house
We intend to keep 6 for egg laying.

But here comes the questions..
1. In the area i intend to let them run contains a Gunnera plant.. Is this safe in their areas as it will take some moving( plus i like it )?
2. Is there any other plants i need to move/avoid?

Hope to not annoy you over the next few months as i have loads more questions......

Thanks
Martin

 

[Davidd]

Hello, i don't know if it's safe but i know they don't normally eat things that kill them :shock:
If they leave it be then it will be fine, I never romve any plants and some they eat (and live!) and some they dont ( and still live) So, i would just see how they go- if they have plenty of pellets then they will probably ignore anything not good to eat.
regards, David

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Martin,
Have only had chickens for a few weeks myself but I agree with David, they don't seem to eat any thing that isn't good for them and I think a gunnera would be a bit tough and spiky for them even if they wanted to eat it. Mine free range around our garden in the afternoon and I haven't moved anything, my sweet peas have taken a hammering though :lol:
Don't worry about questions,I've found that everyone is very friendly and helpful here! A few questions of my own though:-
What hens are you getting?
When are you having them?
Can we get some pics when you've got them?
Did you know keeping chickens is addictive?

I never said anything about not being nosey

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.
Right ...next set of questions...


Having never kept chooks before i need lots of help.

I'm keeping them on my allotment, the outside area i thought would be 3m x 3m x2m high.
The hut is 1.3x 1mx 1m high.

I'm allowed up to 8 hens and no cockerals.
so....

1. is this size reasonable for this amount of chooks? if not how many or what should i up it to?
2. was thinking of hybrid hens as i want them for eggs, thoughts?
3. was thinkings of P.O.L hens. Does this sound OK?

More to follow....

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi again,
David is your man for size of pen and stuff, there is something about it on the forum if you search too.
I've got 4 hybrids and they were POL pullets. They have settled in very well and two began laying within a week. All of them lay now and they a pretty easy going birds. I'm new to chickens myself and they are supposed to be good for newbies like us :lol:
I would point out that the Bluebelle/blue ranger is not as sociable as the others and I know other's on this site have said similar. Other than that, go for it and have fun.

 

[Davidd]

Hi, i would think up to 6 hens max- unless you can increase the run or let them "free range" for a while each day- the more space the better- too little space and that's when the problems start. Hydrids are the way to go if you only want eggs and POL is good too- more expensive to buy but you don't have the hassle of raising them and the expense of feeding them up to egg laying age.
regards, David