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Oh wow, that sounds amazing. Chickens will be a great addition. Low maintenance and a regular supply of great tasting eggs. Are you moving in soon, or have you moved in already?

I'm glad I was able to help.

Thanks, it’s good to be back in the garden and filming again.

Thank you. It’s been frustrating but I’m far more mobile than I was. Hope you are doing ok.

Thank you for your comment. I love being able to see where my eggs come from and happy chickens.

I think some of the regulations will apply in Wales but worth a check. I’m glad the videos are helpful. Have you got your hens yet? Norfolk Greys are lovely birds!

Hi, hens love a dust bath. It helps keep them clean and prevents mites. Our chickens has a dry patch of ground they use but you can put sand in a tub (large enough for them to get in) for them to use. I use bird sand for my quail which I picked up from a feed store, I expect it would work well for chickens too.

I hope things are going ok with your 5 hens!

I hope your move goes well and you get settled with some chickens soon!

Hi, I’ve found chickens to be very self sufficient and are not often taken ill. The only illness we have had to treat was coccidiosis in our chicks. A couple of days of antibiotics and they were good. We joined a local small holder training group and have had loads of help and there are a number of vets near us who provide care for poultry. I’ve personally found that, if they get to adulthood and are kept in good conditions, they tend to do well. That’s not to say things could happen but we have a good network of people to give us advice. Other than the antibiotics, we have not had to pay for any vet bills over the last 4 years. I built our coop from old fence panels, so it did not cost too much. The run cost around £200 here’s a link to a similar one (amzn.eu/d/54dipZT) it is not secure, the wire is held on by tie wraps which can become brittle and snap in the sun (I check and replace them regularly) and animals can dig under the bottom, to secure this I would need to dig wire into the ground and connect it to the run. The door is also unsecured, I had a fox pull it open. If I could do it again I would create the run out of a wood frame, a wire base and make the walls and roof out of stronger mesh. After a couple of fox attacks at night we focused on securing the coop which is covered by chicken wire. I can see the foxes have tried to get in but the chicken wire has done its job. Yes, I add wood chips to the run. I tend to do this once a year or if they are still ok, every two years. It helps keep it relatively dry and reduce their smell.

They are easy to keep. For Food, water and security they will give you lots of company and eggs. The biggest issue we have had is security and keeping the foxes out. Thanks for the advice on the leaf grabber, I’ll give it a go this year. Thanks for subscribing. Got a new video in the making and hope to get it out soon.

Thanks, glad I could help.

It is interesting you don’t have foxes, we have quite a lot near us and it’s a constant fight to keep them from our chickens. I can see scratch marks where they keep trying to get in to the coop. I wonder if it is because we are on the outskirts of a city. We have quite a bit of open areas and they have access to food from restaurants and shops.

I can see the challenge, they are easy enough to shape but you’d have to either have to make the shape the right size to fit the number of pieces or find a way of securing the ends. I found the company to be helpful. I hope they are helpful for you too.

Glad to be able to help. We got set up 4 years ago and love having them. I hope your set up goes ok.

I’ve found the peat free compost is very dense and needs lightening up. Germination rates have been far better since adding it. Can’t beat home grown sweetcorn!

I also add a little extra sand.

@@kaypies488 I’ve not seen that before, I’ll have to give it a go.

😂 so many seeds to sow!!! It is definitely“may”hem.

Just been out to get some more seeds. Going to run out of room soon!

@@mygardeningjourney3554 🤭🤭 never enough to,satisfy our seedaholic needs

Thank you, I really appreciate the comment and glad I could help.

Thank you for your comment, I really appreciate it. Smaller breeds like bantams can be ok in smaller gardens. This is a good site for calculating space, I hope it helps: chickenpets.com/chicken-coop-run-size-calculator?darkschemeovr=1

@@mygardeningjourney3554 Thanks so much, I will have a look at the link.

Thanks, it’s great to have some sun finally.

Thanks for this. I’m about to refresh their bedding. I’ll take a look at hemp and give it a go.

I love my cyclamen they add colour when it is most needed in the garden. I hope yours do well and come back again next year.

I’ll keep an ear out for that. I hope they keep things proportionate and, if they do make everyone register, people are not put off keeping chickens.

When you register anything in law you are giving control of whatever you register to the state. They will use this to kill your flock for the future bird flu pandemics. Do not register your chickens and remember as long as you do not give them your legal name they can't do anything. They don't want us have control of our food supply so do not entertain this over reach of power by our mental world they are creating. Moderna create a vaccine last year and their shares have spiked since MSM are creating the expectation of what they know is coming.

Thank you for the comment! It does seem like things are always getting a little bit harder.

Thank you for the comment and subscribing. I started keeping chickens in 2000 and not looked back, I love having them for their fresh eggs, company and characters. I’m giving quail a go. Hope to have some video about them soon but still got lots to learn!

I’ve used wood chip so far and it’s been good but it is expensive. It controls the smell well but my chickens love to kick it around. I may look into trying something else this year as I need to replace what they have. I had one issue with a rat getting in but since digging in some wire mess around the run it’s not been a problem. I’ll take a look at hardware cloth, not considered that before.

Sorry for the delay responding, been a busy couple of weeks at work! We started with bantams but moved to Rhode Island Reds. We only free range when we are in the garden but mainly to stop them from destroying my flowers. Foxes are an issue here, lost two flocks to them so far 🙁

Glad to help. Would love to hear how things go when your flock arrives. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer in the comments or make a video about it for you.

Thanks for your support and for commenting.

Hi, no, it doesn’t hurt them, they don’t have nerve endings in their feathers. I have read it can cause irritation but I’ve not seen my chicken sow any sign of irritation. Only clip the flight feathers on one wing. The aim of clipping them is to prevent them from flying, clipping one wing means they will be off balance and unable to get much height.

I can’t wait for it to get warmer!! It bet it felt good to get sowing. I hope your weather gets better soon!

Feels like it’s been a long time coming!! Can’t wait for the weather to improve and have the evenings to head down the allotment!

Glad it helped

Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for your comment!

I know people with it in the restrictive covenants on homes built in 50’s. I suspect it is in to try and avoid it becoming a problem for people living nearby.

I’ve not used a treadle feeder. I had a rat problem for a bit but digging in some wire stopped them getting in and they left. Also, having a cat has kept the rodents at bay. Do they cost more than a standard feeder?

Rescue hens are so wonderful. Where did you get yours from? I’ve found eggs from our chickens taste so much better than shop bought ones and the chickens are just great company.

@@mygardeningjourney3554 British Hen Welfare Trust - wonderful volunteer group who link with the farmers to collect the 18 month old hens that would otherwise be sent for slaughter. Yes, because the hens don’t know that the cruelty and suffering that they endured was at the hand of humans, they are super friendly. And as you say, the eggs taste better because I know the hens have eaten well and because there’s no guilt involved.

I’m glad the video was helpful.

I’ve never grown those varieties. I’m going to have to try some different ones. Are you in the UK? Do they do ok outside or are they better in a greenhouse? I tend to have problems with blight when I grow outside. Leggy seedlings is a problem sowing early. I’m using grow lights to help.

Totally agree. I still grow money maker for the same reasons commercial growers do; low cost and reliable high yield. I use them in soups and ketchup. I always grow other varieties and grown heirlooms in the past. What varieties do you recommend? I’ve still got time to sow some more.

I’m holding off tidying away leaves, etc, as long as I can for the same reason. It’s a great reason to buy more seeds and spend time sowing!! Thanks for the comment and happy gardening too!

I need to get some parsnip and spouts started too. Do you sow your parsnip where they will grow to maturity? So far I’ve focused on what I can sow under glass, the allotment has been drowned with rain recently.

@@mygardeningjourney3554 it’s my first year I have taken over my grandads allotment after he passed so fingers crossed I remember some Bits he taught me when I helped him out down there I have sown them directly into the raised bed so fingers crossed

I hope your sowing goes well and you get good germination. My tomatoes will need protection when sown this time of year. I’m using a heated propagation bed to help germinate them and then beeping them under cover in my greenhouse. I’ve found I don’t get a great harvest if I sow later, late summer early autumn can be quite damp here and my tomatoes are prone to blight.

Definitely worth a go! I plan to put a lot of marigolds in my home plot and allotment. Try and keep those slugs off my veg!!

Hi, I'm in hardiness zone H4 (RHS rating)/8b-9a USDA (temp range -10°C to -5°C/14°F - 23°F). In terms of last Frost Zone I'm in Zone 10 (last frost around Apr 11 to Apr 20th).