another chicken question

[urn]

I am thinking of getting some chickens, but reading through some of the earlier questions, a lot advise grass in the run, the area I have set aside currenty has no grass but is covered with bark chipping, bark and leaf (old wood pile) an area of sand and some soil the area is approx 150ft long by 7ft wide. I was advised that having different materials on the ground would give the birds something to scratch through and look for bugs, can you advise me if this will be bad for the birds and I will need grass or good for the birds.

Also could I have some advice on breed of chickens, I will be looking at some for eggs and some for the pot, I was told I would have to keep them seperate becauce of the different food types, or if there a breed that is a good layer and also a good pot bird

Thanks Ian

[Smooth Hound]

I,d go for a rhode islandredhen or hens with a plymouth rock cock

Te bark andthat sounds great, tjhas he ort of thing they enjoy

[Smooth Hound]

By god i never saw the spelling of the last post, shockng

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Chickens are forest birds (or at least descended from such) so I would have thought that the patch you descrbe would be ideal for them, certainly from the point of view of keeping them stimulated and amused. Green stuff can always be popped over the fence.

I like Sussexes myself.

[marshlander]

I'll pretend I didn't see the bit about birds for the table

Mine are black rocks and scots grey - have to hardy here as we're a bit windswept. They all have names and would never end up in the pot!

They will adore scratching through the bark chips. Ideally, they could do with some greens, hang up a cabbage for them to peck at for example.

If you have a bit of a search (at the top of the page) for chickens in the livestock forum there's oodles of info there.

There's also this;- http://www.rivercottage.net/EdibleProje ... ckens.aspx by HFWhatsit which has loads od advice on dual purpose birds etc.

[red]

chickens need greens. ours eat a lot of grass.
if they dont have access to grass, you will need to make sure they are getting lots of other greens.
your set up would allow then to scatch about and have dush baths etc.. so thats good.. i don't like the runs that have mesh floors.. as they dont allow chickens to do these things

[theabsinthefairy]

The ground surface will be great for them, lots of scratching, dust areas and bugs for them. Yes they do like greens but are quite happy for grass to be substituted with added greens, I grow additional parlsey and they share vegetable tops with the rabbits, ducks and geese. They will strip any bushes that they can reach also.

I keep Rhode island red crosses with black orpington crosses for eggs, and any that do not lay will be for the pot.
I also keep ross table birds.

All my chickens live together, whatever their purpose may be.

This is fine if you are happy to feed all of them layers pellets and don't mind that the table birds are being fed on this also, it certainly does them no harm but is a little more expensive in the long run, its not too bad for me as they get pellets in the morning and then free range across the garden for the day, and just have a bit of grain for the evening.

I cull the cockerels pretty early on, and have ended up keeping a bird originally designated for the table as she turned out to be a happy little layer.

Good luck and enjoy your chicken keeping - it is surprisingly rewarding, and entertaining too.

[Birdie Wife]

Your setup sounds ideal to me, greens can be provided in the form of cabbages hung from strings (great fun for chooks) and a bit of lettuce from time to time - not too much, it's just a treat really. All my chickens are dual/triple purpose (lay eggs, meat birds, brood chicks) - I've got a mixture of Marans, Silver Grey Dorking, Plymouth Barred Rock, Wyandotte (bantam) and Scots Dumpy. THere are others too - I would advise you to go for something you like the look of and read up on different breeds and temperaments.

If you breed pure bred chickens you'll probably find the time to table weight is quite slow, as they mature a lot later than birds specifically bred for the table. I've taken the line of crossing pure breeds as there is a biological thing called "hybrid vigour" which occurs with first crosses between pure breeds, the young of these crosses are generally more vigourous and grow faster than either parent.

Hope this helps.

[Wotta Wally]

Don't worry too much about not giving the girls ready access to grass - they would only churn it up anyway. Think my girls managed to completely de-grass their run in two weeks flat! Provided you are giving them purchased pellets or mash, they do not need grass as the pellets have the relevant minerals and vitamins in them. However, it is good to add greenstuff to their diet and cabbage, lettuce, grass etc all make great additions to the diet (as does cat food actually!) and better yet if they can free range (I don't let my girls out during the day when I am at work but as soon as I get home, I let them out to forage on my lawn and - much to my irritation - the veg bed!!!). Make sure you only give treats to them in the afternoon though - it is better for them to get the balanced pellets in the morning before stuffing themselves silly with treats.

As for breeds, if you want a dual purpose, Rhode Islands are a good bet. Alternatively, you get a second table breed if you specifically want more meat on your bird (and this from a confirmed vegetarian! )

Good luck.

[maggienetball]

I think your chook area sounds great for the birds BUT I have to strongly agree with Red who says that chickens need greens. They really do need them for a healthy balanced diet. If they can't get it from grass, then they should be able to get it from scraps you've put over the fence.

Layers pellets are a good balanced feed, and I use them myself. But there is no substitute for a natural diet. As humans we would not flourish as well if all we ate was dried and reconstituted food. We could survive, sure.

I know of people who grow grass in pots and put in with their chooks. But really the cabbage, lettuce thing that others have mentioned are great.