I'm thinking of getting a couple of hens for my garden. does anyone keep hens and could give me any advice?

Question

like are they any trouble, ie noisy and will a vet check them out for me or do i have to go to a "poltrey vet" any help would be good....thanx

Answer 1

My chickens eat all my flowers and my bushes. i would get them for eggs only. i free range my chickens and they eat everything in my garden.

Answer 2

The only time you'd want a chicken in your garden is after you've harvested everything you want and before you re-plant.

They are little rototillers! They dig up one plant while they're burying another one. However, they are great at eating snails, snail eggs, earwigs, and just about any other insect that comes along.

I almost always have a small flock of chickens. I have a coop where they're protected from predators & weather. I offer them a fenced run outside the coop where they can go during the day. They'll put themselves to bed at night in the coop, on the perch you've provided for them, but you have to lock the door or you'll have varmints visiting and eating your girls. Make sure the perch is away from the edge of the coop. Coons will reach right through the wire and kill them if they can.

I fill their large feed dispenser around once a week and check their water every few days. I get plenty of eggs from 3 hens so most of my neighbors get fresh eggs every now and then too.

We have a rooster because I raise one fancy breed to sell, but you don't need a rooster for eggs. Hens lay no matter what.

Chickens can be noisy in the morning when they 'celebrate' laying an egg. I don't know why but they all have to sing about it. If it gets out of hand, I go out and give them a treat to take their minds out of party mode.

Chickens get stinky! You'll have to clean out their coop every now and then with a flat shovel and add it to your compost pile. Their menure is hot but it's worth saving and mixing in. Great after it's set a while.

As far as a vet, your local cooperative extension will have a lot of information for you on how to keep chickens. They may even have some local enthusiasts of backyard chicken flocks who can offer you some tips.

Also, check local ordinances. Some towns and most cities have very strict rules about livestock and poultry. Where I live, you have to have one acre in order to have chickens. If your neighbors are ok with it like ours are, you may be able to keep them even if you have a smaller parcel.

Answer 3

I have owned chickens for years.

First never let them in your garden while it is growing, they will do a lot of damage from eating fruits and scratching in the soil looking for bugs.

You do not need a vet check, as a matter of fact few vets see chickens since most people will kill a sick hen rather than spend $75 on a vet visit for an animal that costs so little and lives such a short time (4 to 7 years tops, in most cases). If you need to see a vet I would try a livestock vet over a small animal vet.

You do need to fence the garden off from the hens

Hens do not make much noise

Be sure to have housing that is predator proof, every dog in your neighborhood will want to eat your biddies as well as raccoons, opossums, owls. etc.. Anything made from chicken wire will not be strong enough to keep a predator out.

The hens are a great source of eggs and they are fun to feed bugs and caterpillers to. they also will eat up any produce you don't want (except eggplant and potatoes and a few other things) and if the fall you can let them loose in your garden to clean up and fertilize it.

Answer 4

FIND OUT IF YOUR AREA ALLOWS THEM  GOOD FOR GETTIN BUGS OUT  AND WORMS  LOT OF CARE TO EM

BUT YOU'LL DO WITH FRESH EGGS

Answer 5

I keep bantoms there less mucky and you won`t ruin your garden if you let them range free. the eggs are great and they can be very entertaining to watch.

Answer 6

i kept chickens for about 2 years there are a few huge points to consider

are there any foxes or mink near to you if there are then you will have problems  there is nothing as depressing as coming home to find half dead animals and you have to finish the job. it is heart breaking and not good for children.

you will have to set up a way of leting them out shortly after sunrise every day. rain snow or whatever. a freind helped me with mine we hooked up a solar panel to open the door so when it was light the door opened and when it was dark it closed.you have to check them regualarly .

they do not mix well with gardens but are a brilliant tool if used properly. if you need to clear a area for a crop you put up a pen for them and they will clear almost everything and scrat the ground to about 1 or 2 inches. very usful if you have pest plants they also love scraps from the house and most clippings. try to keep them away from the compost heap tho. messy. they are not to noisy if you have no cockrel but if you get one can be heards on a quiet day about a mile away and will communicate with other local cockerels vets was a problem for me. our local was a duck enthusast but when it comes to saving a animal it is a stick them up and hope kinda thing. hope this helps ps the eggs are lovely. the best you will ever taste.

one last thing build your coupe of the ground otherwise you will get rats which eat feed and eggs and well they are rats!

Answer 7

I think there's some confusion over the word "garden" in north America we consider that a place where we cultivate veg or flowers... not like  Europe where it is the yard or lawn.  Chickens are not difficult.  Lots of excellent sources have been quoted in  theses answers.  Be aware that the birds do need protection from all predators.. including larger birds of prey.  They are quiet until riled  like the expression madder than a wet hen...A vet would check them but  you can get a good over all picture of  their health just by looking at them.  They are a daily commitment and  they will require care even when you want to go on vacation.  It has been my experience that they are not good pets, they do respond to some training...if you say the same thing every time you feed them  they will start to come  every time they hear it.  They are great little bio-composters... a chicken will eat ANYTHING

have fun

Answer 8

Ignore what has been said so far they don't have chickens. Chickens are a bind for you to your home, in such that they need daily contact, you will have to let them out of their coup every day and put them back in at dusk (mostly they do this themselves). They need access to clean water and food the latter can be kept in a hopper which dispenses much like bird seed. Contrary to opinion they do not take up much room to sleep, hense the name coup, they like to be couped up. Most first timers take on about three birds, there are varieties specific for eggs or for meat, dependant on your preference, or you can choose to take on some ex battery hens (check out www.bhwt.org.uk), there will be a holder/distributor within your locality. Expect to pay between £2 and £20 for a bird dependant on its speciality. You may need a vet, at some point in time, but there are very good forums which can help with the more obvious questions you may have in the UK.

Most who get a few go on to get a dozen or more because they are very entertaining to have in the garden, and good fun for the children.

By the way you do not need a cockeral to get eggs, the birds will lay them anyway, some will lay upto 300 eggs a year.

Good luck, and do plenty of research first, find someone in your area that keeps chickens and ask them lots of questions before going into it, as you are completely responsible for their well being, and it is very much like taking on a few extra unruly kids.

Answer 9

Lessen te me sonny, ye'll keep yer dirty hands oof ma hen or ayel come doon there and plant one on ya.

Ye fekin filthy anglish bastart

Answer 10

Are you talking about a garden, where you plan on growing fruits, vegtables, herbs, ect you plan on eating.

Then my advice is do NOT get chicken hens.  Chickens are omnivores.  They will eat the bugs, but they will also take a bite or two out of every vegtable...if they do not just eat the whole darn thing.

Turning chickens into a garden that has already been harvested for the year however is a wonderful idea.  They will eat any vegtables you missed, turn over and eat bugs, larva and eggs, as well as leaving their manure behind.  

Chickens in a producing garden do not mix.

If you are talking about hens in a garden that is flowers, you may be a bit disapointed.  Chickens are wonderful little scratchers, and can turn up tremendous amounts of stuff, from dead leaves, to entire flower beds in nothing flat.  Your flowers will not look so pretty if trying to mix with chickens.

If you really want a bird for bug control, then skip the chickens.

Instead get Guinea hens.

Here's a link to a good book on the subject:

http://www.guineafowl.com/

Guinea hens (AKA Guinea Fowl) eat insects and seeds.  They will leave the vegtables alone.

Female chickens (hens) are pretty quiet, unless they have just laid an egg.

Male chickens (roosters) are very noisey and crow frequently and loudly...not just in the morning as some people think.

Guinea fowl are only noisey when alarmed....Guinea fowl are in a CONSTANT state of alarm.  I'm not kidding, or being cute.  They constantly make alarm noises (which are MUCH quieter than a rooster crow).

Guinea hens will also scratch up area, but not as much as chickens.  They are much better fliers than chickens, and like to roost very high up (trees, or rafters in a barn).

Chickens and guinea hens are very hardy birds.  Given proper food, water, and shelter, they should never need to see a Vet.  Vetrinary care for a chicken is usually not ever done, because it is cost prohibative.  You can replace a chicken for just a few dollars, but it will cost much more than that to take it to a Vetrinarian.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 11

Hens will eat some bugs, but overall, they are not beneficial to a garden. They'll scratch it up, peck holes in your tomatoes, and eat your peas and beans.

Flower gardens are no better.. they'll eat  the seeds you planted and very few plants will grow.

Yuk... nothing nastier than a bunch of chickens. They also attract predators like coons, coyotes, and other critters that want to prey on the chickens.

Chickens are stupid. You have to provide shelter for them.  A place to roost at night, and feed them daily.

You'll get some eggs probably, ift there is a rooster around. But that also attracts snakes that eat the eggs.

Answer 12

I just started raising chickens myself in November.  I don't suppose they're much good for a garden.  They'll eat the plants, the seeds, the worms (which are good for the garden) and their manure while very nutritious for a garden if properly composted will burn your plants if it's not.  I wouldn't get them for or let them in the garden.  They do provide eggs and meat which is a plus.  They are also a lot of fun to watch.  Some of your answers suggest people just trying to get a few points by spouting off.  They are living things.  How well they do will depend on how well they're taken care of.  You should feed them (how much, how often, what food depends on the breed of chicken)  They always need fresh water.  You should clean their coop out frequently.  I do it about 3 times a week.  I have 5 hens and a rooster in a 4'x4' dog box converted by puting a perch and two nesting boxes in it.  They've never complained and I get 3 to 5 eggs a day.  They'll go in on their own at night.  You should lock them up because predators will eat them.  Someone said you need a rooster to get eggs.  That is absolutely not true and demonstrates that "hurry and answer for points" thing I mentioned earlier.  Most commercial egg farms keep their chickens in tiny cages their whole life.  They never see a rooster.  If you want your chickens to hatch fertilized eggs and have chicks run around you'll need .a rooster but not just for eggs to eat.  Fertilized eggs can be eaten by the way.  You won't know the difference if you collect your eggs every day.

Google "raising chickens" "building a chicken coop"  that'll get you started.  I'm having a blast.  I went to check my chickens the day after I got my first two eggs.  I opened the coop just in time to see my third egg drop from the hen.  Too cool.  (Small things fascinate small minds!)  I'd get em.

Check these out:

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/c...

http://www.the-coop.org/redsquare/rir.ht...

http://backyardchickens.com/

http://www.buildeazy.com/chicken_coop_1....

Answer 13

Mellisa and ohiorganismic have a good handle on it. Listen to them, they know what they are talking about. One thing you might try is starting with a few mail order day old chicks, or you can get them through your local feed store. A very good cheap way to get started. About the vet, best to just forget about it, a chicken is not worth it, just remember that they are not pets (don't fall in love with them), just enjoy them.

Answer 14

I have three hens, they are in a fenced area so they don't destroy everything in the garden (fencing goes 1 foot underground as fox proofing), they have a hen house (converted shed) with nest boxes and a perch for roosting. Hens make very little noise and if properly fed will give a good supply of eggs (I get 2 or 3 every day), they can also be given a lot of the weeds that you dig up from the garden. Any vet should be able to help if you need that sort of advice.

Search the internet for Smallholding or Poultry keeping advice available in your area.

(Cleaning out the hen house is not for anyone with a sensitive nose, but the droppings can go straight into the compost bin and is good for the garden)