Is Chicken Keeping for You?

One of my Speckled Ligh Sussex trio eyes something up

As a keeper of seven wonderfully feathered hens, I am obviously totally biast when it comes to the pro’s of keeping chickens. It is difficult to see any kind of disadvantage when a daily supply of fresh eggs rolls onto the table, when your natural predators keep the garden snail free and when even poultry poo can be put to fantastic use in the garden. These prehistoric looking beasts (take a look at a chicken’s head as it looks around, peering through grass stems and foliage – you’ll see what I mean) are a wonderful addition to any household, whether it’s a large family unit or a single person, and I fail to see why in this day, when animal welfare is such an issue, more households don’t keep their own poultry rather than relying on supermarket farmed stock. Thankfully, free range eggs are becoming more the norm than a rarity, yet still, keeping your own birds is such an enjoyable experience I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to do it.

- Money Matters

Whilst keeping hens is certainly not going to save you a fortune, it will save the odd penny spent on eggs every week. Whether you’re a baker, love your fried morning egg, or are partial to some egg mayonaisse sandwiches, you’ll be buying a large quantity of eggs. My hens normally supply me with about 5 eggs a day (less than one each due to four of them being more specialised bantam varieties), and even keeping a pair will supply approximately 12 – 15 eggs a week. At £1.50 – £2 for half a dozen it doesn’t sound much, but if you use 12eggs a week costing you £4, that’s over £200 a year that you could save.

And hens are not very expensive to look after. Obviously there’s an initial set up cost but once that’s achieved I probably spend £20 every six weeks, if that, on grain feed for seven hens! My four bantams cost me £10 each, and the further three Speckled Light Sussex I bought from Ebay as eggs for £6 which I then hatched and reared. Four hatched, so that was £1.50 a chicken!

In terms of other set up you can go as extravagent, or not, as you wish. Hen’s don’t really care if they’re living in a £400 ultra tech and chic coop, or one patched together from reclaimed wood and old nails. It’s not going to make their eggs any different, and they’ll sure as hell mess any expensive home up just as quickly as they would a DIY run. If money is what you’re worrying about, my advice is – Don’t.

Charlotte, A Buff Nankin, lays me another egg

- Getting Your Hands Dirty

Obviously, along with any kind of animal or pet, there is a certain amount of cleaning up to do. Anyone who’s trained a puppy or kept a cat with a litter tray know’s what I’m talking about. Your eggs are not going to arrive shiny and new with a red stamp on the top either. Each week the little chore of changing the bedding and nesting material, in addition to cleaning out the chicken poo, is going to take a few minutes out of your day…and I mean a few. Regular cleaning and hygiene will make the job quick and easy to do. Get a compost bin and throw the straw in. Bag up the poo for your garden manure, or give to allotment friends or gardeners who will bend over backwards to recieve this little bag of gold. There is no reason for any of your chicken’s dirt to harbour diseases and pests as long as you stick to a cleaning regime, the same as you would do for any pet.

- Noise & Neighbours

With chickens comes a certain amount of noise. If you think that because your chickens are not cockerels and therefore won’t make a noise, think again. A gaggle of chickens breaking the dawn with happy “I’ve laid an egg” calls, is enough to annoy even the most laid back. For this reason take some precautions. At night, shut the coop up, preferable hiding the hens away from the daylight when they’ve retired to roost. If there’s no light, there’s no noise but remember to let them out again in the morning!

Warn your neighbours too. A sudden onslaught of clucking, whatever time of day, can cause worry in the unsuspecting neighbour. I had one in particular who seemed very nervy as my feathered friends start to cluck merrily away. She very quickly got used to them, especially when passed little gifts of eggs over the fence. Calm their fears, answer any questions, and invite them around to take a look for themselves, you never know, you may even inspire a new chicken keeper to emerge!

Some say that the species of chicken you get will affect noise. Whilst this may be true, I have generally found that when a hen wants the world to know her name, she will make it known, no matter how small, fluffy or feeble she appears. My Silkies and Buff Nankins have proved to be far louder than the Light Sussex and I’m often seen, at the their midday squawks, hurrying down the garden with a bag of greens, or a pot of snails to shut them up. Feeding = quiet hens!

I’ve racked my brains for more disadvantages but simply can’t think of any, the pro’s far out weigh them. Buckle up, get ready for a little bit of shit shovelling, and enjoy the chicken keeping ride!!