Chicken Keeping for Beginners, Part 1: Space and Housing
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- Опубликовано: 2 сен 2019
- We breed Buff Orpington chickens and have kept them for a number of years.
You might be thinking that you'd like to have a few chickens of your own. In that case, this series of videos is just for you so that you can find all the information you need to start chicken keeping.
In this first video we'll look at space and housing for your chickens so that you can decide what will work for you by showing you what we considered when organising our enclosure and selecting our coops.
Music credits:
Artist = Earth Tree Healing
Composer = Claudine West
Website = claudinewestmusic.com/earth-t...
As so may of those leaving comments here, I too have fond memories of keeping chickens years ago, actually...Mom and Dad did, I just helped as a youngster to clean the yard and the house, gather eggs and run from our mean ol' rooster!!! Yikes, those were the days! Would love to have some of those lovely buffy Orpingtons, but alas, tis not to be for me these days. I've only just discovered the equally lovely Lavender Orpingtons! Aren't they a absolute gorgeous chicken!!! So your videos are just lovely to watch and dream on...thanks a million!!! ❤❤❤
Feel free to be a "virtual" chicken keeper. First hen is broody so chicks in 3 weeks 🐣
I don't even keep chickens, but i used to keep chickens for 5 years. I just watched all of your chicken's videos, thank you for bringing old memories of mine 😊
That is awesome! Enjoy the memory
@@EnglishCountryLife please your WhatsApp number
Brilliant stuff, as always.
Thank you! That's very kind of you
Great stuff, a poultry wonderland.
Thanks so much! I really hope you enjoy the series.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and tips
Glad it was useful 🙂
Hi there! I’ve only recently found your channel and I am absolutely loving it. Thanks for all the great information, videos and the honest and no nonsense approach from both of you!
That's so lovely, thanks Aisling!
Wonderful video thank you! So much great information I was looking for especially as a first time chicken owner. I’m very excited to join the chicken owners club and videos like this are exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful! I hope you love chicken keeping as much as I do :-)
I really love ur approach on how you documented the chicken life, new subscriber!
Thank you and welcome!
¡Exelente video! tener ese espacio para sus animales que bonito Felicitaciones desde BUENOS AIRES ARGENTINA
Thank you!
Hi thank you for this great video series - it has inspired us so much we are collecting our first 2 chickens today. We have built a coup but don’t have a huge amount of space. But here goes with our adventure !
How exciting - good luck!
Great video thanks
So glad that you enjoyed it!
Really good thanks
Glad you liked it
Brilliant thank you 😊
You are very welcome 🙂
its totaly amazing love it😍😍
Thank you
Thank you so much Fiona for all these wonderful videos. I'm learning so much 😁. My floofs are doing great! I wrote to you about having too many roosters vs. hens and we ended up getting 10 more baby presexed hens and we separated my one hen along with her hubby rooster and moved the other boys out to free range with the grown girls. My hen & her hubby just laid her first eggs (she laid number 3 yesterday and I don't think she's done) and I'm so excited 😄❤️❣️
Wonderful! Congratulations
@@EnglishCountryLife ❤️ TY
It’s so so cute seeing the chicken mama with the chicks
Thank you!
This is perfect. I feel like a dork. I requested a tour and you had it already in this series of videos. Sorry about that. Haha I just hadn't found them yet. This is awesome!
Lol! I'm so glad you like it!😁
Thank you great information 💁♀️.
You're very kind to say so. Thank you
Lovely video,I keep extending my chicken coop, even my shed i turned it part off it 😉,
I have know 25, chicken in the garden, and 1 inside the house liveing with me, who need extra attention, I do love them, and I belive strongly they are not just for anybody,
They are fascinating creatures!
Thank you for the such amazing video 🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥 Merry Christmas ! 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
And a Happy New Year to you Kristina
I like your chicken 🐔 you looks and talk so healthy.
Thank you
I'm thinking of getting some chickens so this playlist will be perfect for me, you said about grass, I was thinking of keeping them on a hard service with woodchip down but I take it they can have grass cuttings after mowing the lawn etc
Good questions. Let me give you some alternatives.
Its not recommended that either decorative garden bark or woodchip is added as a floor covering. It's because these are normally made using pine or cheap softwoods that are untreated. Pine naturally harbours fungus and mould spores which have the potential to cause some health issues.
As an alternative woodshavings intended as horse bedding (compressed bales are normally very cheap) have both been treated and dust extracted as the horses that normally have these are allergic to straw or the dust in straw so the woodshavings are generally hypoallergenic. This week's video due for release at 5pm GMT tomorrow (1/1/21) is all about different floor coverings so you can see demonstrations of the different types that we use and cover.
For grass, adding grass clippings isn't recommended as chickens will eat larger strands which hVe the potential to bind within their digestive system causing blockages. Normally they would tear off tiny parts of the grass blades bit by bit.
As an an alternative you could give them whole green vegetables like cabbages, broccoli or sprout stalks. If you hang them up it side provides some entertainment.
I do know someone that plants and grows grass "slabs" in seed trays and gives them to the chickens for grazing.
I hope that helps.
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you, after I typed that comment I got to the point where you mentioned about woodchip not being good. I will give the whole playlist a watch and maybe ask some more questions along the way before I make a decision.
@@Rogue66669 if I can help I will 😊
My Mum looked after a neighbours chickens who don't get to free range so she thought they might enjoy some grass. The long clippings got stuck in a chickens crop and she had to take it to a vet to save it's life!
We are planning on keeping chickens & your lovely videos Fiona are so full of information, now looking into which breed of chicken would be best for us. 👣🐝safe🐝kind thank you
Good luck! Picking breeds is very exciting 👍
Hi thanks for the video. Lovely to see so many happy hens!
I have quite a large back garden and I’m thinking of taking in a few rescue hens from battery farms.
I have a spare wooden shed at the bottom of the garden and wondered if that would be ok for a home? I’ve never taken care of hens before so I have a lot of learning to do.
Also there is a pond in the garden which has a net covering it. Would this be a danger to the hens?
Thanks for any help
I know of quite a few people who have used wooden sheds as coops. There are two things I would advise and that's to fit perches for them plus some nest boxes. The nest boxes can be on the floor or raised up with a ladder fir the hens to get to them. Is just an enclosed, space that the chickens feel safe to lay eggs in.
At the moment, if you're in the UK you won't be able to let the chickens out until the current Avian Influenza restrictions are raised so the netted pond won't be a problem. From 14th December 2020 we are required to keep our hens indoors of in fully netted enclosures. It might be worth waiting until the restrictions are lifted. When you can let them out the netted pond will only be a problem if they are frightened, fly in that direction and are caught in the net. It would depend how flighty the birds are and if they are likely to be frightened by something like young children or other pets.
I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm putting you off, I'm really not I promise. Chickens are so rewarding to keep.
Any questions please just ask.
Excellent :)
Thank you so much. That's really kind of you to say 😁
@@EnglishCountryLife You are Very welcome, enjoyed that. Tweeted it too ;)
Brilliant! I'm going to start filming the next one when the winds here die down. The sound quality will be awful until that happens...
Hello there. Thank you for your information and knowledge, and your realistic videos. In that aspect: I miss the butchering part, and info for when you have a really small garden (my dutch urban garden is 3 × 3 meters for example with neighbours literally all around/above me).
Hi Esther, we have discussed showing the butchery process but as a new channel our wary of RUclips's "family friendly" policies & offending some of our viewers
@@EnglishCountryLife
It’s sad that real life things are ‘ inappropriate’ to share on RUclips, however, look at some of the filth that is allowed. We’re in the upside down world. Butchering is part of life that most people are far too disconnected from. People should know how to do it and know where their chicken sandwiches are truly coming from. The circle of life.
Super useful video thank you! I was wondering though how much space you would say you'd need as a minimum for 3 chickens? I would like to keep them in my future back garden but am not sure about how much space I would need outside of the main coop and run for grazing?
Good question but it's one of those questions "how long is a piece of string?". A lot of it depends on how you want your chickens to live. Lots of people keep 3 chickens in coops with 2m x 1m runs and many of the biggest and most respected coop makers sell these coops as their main product.
If space is limited think about these:
- go for long and thin runs rather than square. That way your chickens can run if they want to. For example instead of a space 3m x 3m try 9m x 1m. It's the same area but thye can run.
- give them natural shade (a tree or bush)
- they like to play and chase each other particularly before dusk so give them some obstacles. That might be plants, or it might be an old garden chair.
- no matter how much space you give chickens you will lose some grass to digging. We regularly repair grass and fence small areas off for seed to grow so it might be worth getting a flexible fence that you can move around. When the chickens look like they are digging up the grass, move them to another area before the cause too much damage.
I'm sorry that's not definitive as an answer but it's not an easy one to answer (sorry)
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Nice
Thank you
this is WhatsApp number
I've learned so much from your videos. Thank you for such detailed and instructive content! I would love to know how you separate your flock during the year. For example, how long can/do your roosters stay with your laying hens? How many enclosures do you have during different stages of the year and who goes where? Thanks again ☺️👏
Hi Mishka,
We only keep Buff Orpington cockerels and they stay with the hens all year round. The other breeds that we have lay different coloured eggs so, whilst fertile, we don't set those to hatch. We therefore only use one very large enclosure. When a hen is hatching eggs she gets her own coop with a small run just to ensure that other hens don't bother her, but that's the only separation that we do.
Do you harvest your fall hatched cockerels in spring before your orpingtons go broody? I know you have a breeding cockerel, so I'm just trying to understand how you ensure he's the only one fertilizing eggs. I think your set up is ideal and I'd love to replicate it in our own back yard.
The chicken farm is so nice and big .
Thank you, we like to give our chickens as good a life as we can - Hugh
@@EnglishCountryLife wonderful
This is great idea.
Thank ypu
Nov/22 - I live in Canada and I'm in the process of fencing off a large outside run area. I'm concerned about Aerial predators. How do you deal with that? I can secure the ground fence but not sure about what to do for covering the run, it's a large area. Do you use poly tunnels for shelter from Hawks etc. Love your channel. Thanks for all the info.
Hi Sharon, whilst we do have hawks, owls and other birds of prey, none threaten our birds. That is in part because our hawks generally attack smaller prey and partly because a 10 pound cockerel with spurs is a pretty good deterrent 🙂
Very informative video 👍
I am trying to build a run for my chickens, do you know any self supporting Galvanised wire netting or panel ? I am trying to use wood for the frame of the run and frame of the door .
The partner , who I have seen the video from, are living in America, over there they call this material "Galvanised cuttle panel " , which I can not find it even in Amazon , Do you know anything similar to this? thanks 😊
Did you find our answer on the other video?
Another great video! With regards auto closures how do you know the chickens have put themselves to bed?
Chickens have a high awareness of light levels. They sleep in time with circadian rhythms so at dusk will always go to roost. If they have fully adopted the coop as theirs, they will all troupe in at dusk.
The Chickenguard units are very clever and you can adjust the light sensor to close during, near the end of dusk or in total darkness so that if you have a chicken that won't go in until after all of the others have settled, they can still get in.
Does that help?.
English Country Life It does indeed Fiona!! Thank you :-)
Anytime
Great videos, very helpful and informative - are you able to recommend coop makes/retailers?
There are so many with different pros and cons and it depends on the number of chickens you want to keep and of course, your budget.
I would highly recommend as the best on the market Smiths Sectional Buidlings www.smithssectionalbuildings.co.uk/ They are the best quality timber coops you can buy.
If you only have a few chickens and want easy care, plastic is a good way to go and the best are Eglu from Omlet www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chicken_keeping/
For a budget buy for a few chickens, we use this coop for our broody hens and it's very good for the money. It will only take a maximum of 3 Orpingtons at adult size (don't belive the listing!!!!) www.amazon.co.uk/Pets-Imperial%C2%AE-Suitable-Depending-Double/dp/B00GUJ7OM2/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=savoy+large+chicken+coop&qid=1587802026&s=outdoors&sr=1-1
Does that help?
That’s great, really appreciate all the information, thanks so much 👍
@@AJ-qx8fq Anytime. Just drop a comment with any questions and I'll do my best to help😀
Hi, loving these videos! Could I ask how many hens you would keep in one of your coops?
Hi! It clearly depends on breed and age but the very largest coop will hold 10 mature Buff Orpingtons. They are social birds and like to cuddle up at night. That said they have rain and wind shelters outside so only use the coops to roost and lay. Hope that helps
Thank you Fiona for your videos! Very enjoyable and helpful. My buff Orphingtons are 6 weeks old, but I have to collect them by hand to put them safely inside their coop every night after it gets dark. Their coop is very nice, fresh water, and pine shavings on the floor so I don't know why they do not go inside on their own. They have a nice little ladder that I made for them to help them inside, though they fly on their own while in the inner pen which we built between the coop and the outer pen. We hoped that they would learn to roost at night inside the coop on their own before we released them to the larger outer pen. But I'm wondering if they are too young to want to roost on the round dowels we built for them? Can you advise if maybe it is too early for them agewise to want to sleep in the coop and on the roosts? Thank you!
Hi Kitty!
Our Orpingtons are all taken in to roost at night by the broody hen so it becomes a "learned behaviour". If yours weren't hatched by a broody then you may need to be the teacher. As for roosting on dowels, none of our Orpingtons perch, they sleep on the coop floor (big heavy birds). They can be taught to roost, but we never have.
thanks for the info! Ok, I guess I will be their broody hen! Do their nest boxes need to be on the floor or at least lower than average height of nest boxes too?
@@EnglishCountryLife By the way, Fiona--I took your advice and became the "broody hen" last night and positioned them in a spot near and on a low perch away from an undesirable area. They were so sleepy that most of them stayed there! All but one noisy youngster who gets confused real easily.
I really love my Buffs and in the morning 3 jump on my shoulders to perch or to peck my head, and I'm trying to teach them not to do that. Have a wonderful day!
@@kittylynn7753 Hi Kitty, they generally seem to manage okay with standard nest boxes
@@kittylynn7753 Oh how lovely - so glad it seems to be working for you. Have a wonderful day!
Do you see an advantage to building coops with a raised nest box area? Some people say that chickens don't like to lay on the same level as they roost, but I've not found that to be true.
We have coops both at floor level and raised. None of the chickens seem to care what the level is. All of the chickens change between floor level and higher level boxes on a regular basis so for me, I don't think a higher level nest box matters.
They do seem to care about seclusion though and prefer dark nest boxes.
I’m watching this series all over again as hoping to get Buff Orpingtons in September/October. ❤
Are there any garden plants that are poisonous to chickens? I’m redesigning my garden and was considering growing a clematis on a trellis which will be next to their run 🤔
There are quite a few plants that are toxic. BHWT have a good list
www.bhwt.org.uk/hen-health/poisonous-plants-for-chickens/
all day my three, year old hens have been strutting around the yard making a nervous bach bach then drawn out sort of squack noise i've never heard them make before. they'll be quiet for twenty minutes or so and then start up again. their diet hasn't changed, and there's no predators that i know of, but the best way i can describe it is they sound agitated like they do if a stray dog wanders too close. I can't find any helpful information online. any ideas on what it could be or what to try or where to look for info?
If you could film the sound and behaviour and send it to us on Twitter or Instagram we would be happy to take a look 🙂
What brand of hen saddle do you use? I like the short length.
Hi these are the ones that we use
chickenbreeder.co.uk/
Thank you for these very interesting videos. Do you have Buff Orpington pullets for sale?
Hi! We do sell pullets but they sell out really fast so all those bred last year are long gone- sorry. The broodies will sit again in the Spring 🙂
Excellent information. Thanks. I am still curious how much space per hen do we need in the coop? How many sq feet do we need per chicken?
It depends on a number of factors. We are planning to do a video on selecting a coop. This will cover size, layout & design. If you need a rough guide, our large Orpington coop is 1.5m x 1m and comfortably holds 10 large fowl
Thanks for the reply :) we are buying a house with a mini yard. Would like to learn about space saver when gardening and chickens.. how to organize 😀
Hi, How do you make the chickens go back inside the coop themselves?
The chickens have great circadian rhythms so are in tune with dawn and dusk. They wake at dawn and go back into the coop themselves at dusk to sleep. It doesn't matter how many daylight hours there are they will go in by themselves at dusk 😁👍
great video - excellent - living here in Greater London area, not having a backyard that is properly enclosed - what might be a next possible good option for a piece of land where to actually keep chicken - just guessing at this time that the local small gardening allotments might not allow you to keep animals
The issue that you'll have will be security. Theft of chickens is unfortunately quite common. Allotments would be your best bet if you can talk to your local council and find out which allotments allow a few chickens. It will be dependent on where they are, how close residential properties are and of course, the council themselves. Your council may be able to advise of any community organisations that may have garden projects that allow chickens too.
I hope that helps
@@EnglishCountryLife thanks, that was a very fast reply - wondering what exactly made you think there is a high potential for theft - it's probably living in a crowded area and not having the chickens close by my home - but say in an average enclosed backyard I would be able and allowed to keep chickens ? possibly best avoiding roosters
@@SAMBUT Unfortunately my thoughts on theft wasn't just around crowded areas. We've had chickens stolen in the past and we are in a very rural area. It was just that you were looking at keeping chickens away from your home and security is more difficult if the site isn't part of your property. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
In terms of keeping chickens on the property you'd need to check with the local council to see if there are local restrictions. You'll also need to have a look at your deeds if you own your home to see if there are any restrictive covenants or check your rental agreement if you're renting.
I hope that helps.
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you - btw this was my first video here - already so clear how dedicated you are - making the world a better place most definitely for these fluffy animals
@@SAMBUT Thank you 🙂
Hello, I’m new to having chickens as pets, I am just wondering do you need a rooster for chicks
Hi Kye!
Hens will lay eggs without a cockerel, but they will not be fertilised. For eggs to hatch fertilised eggs must be incubated for 21 days by either an incubator or a broody hen. If you have hens but no cockerel and one of your hens goes broody, you can buy in fertilised eggs from a breeder who keeps cockerels and your hen will happily incubate them. Of course half of those that hatch will be cockerels.
Hope that helps?
Hugh
Hi Feona, my banton hen went broody last year and manage to hatch 2 baby chicks. I've put some fertlized eggs in a nest box and gave her food and water but she doesn't seem to be interested in them. Please advise me on what to do. We are in begining of April. Many Thanks Sam 🙂
Hi Sam, broodiness is driven by hormones so they go broody when the hormones make them, you just can't persuade them to it. The hormones are triggered by warmth, day length and breed. Many breeds just don't go broody ever, but since your bantam has brooded before, she may well do so again as the days warm up.
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you for your advice. Im watching a u-tube video now as it happens 😁. This is the first time ive message a u-tube person and wasn't sure if you would get my message, im not very good with technology. Thank you once again. We love our hens and ducks like you love yours 😁
@@dansamgrowney9619 I think it varies by the RUclipsr, but we try to answer all questions 🙂
Hi English countrylife do you know where I would be able to get Icelandic chickens
I'm sorry, I don't know any breeders of Icelandic chickens. Sorry Samer
what kind of grass do you seed with?
Generally a high wear utility mix. Hugh
How do you deal with cats?? Are electric fences effective at keeping them away??? The neighbourhood cat has attacked our hens a couple of times when they were free ranging.. sadly, one them passed away..
Hi! Two ways, an electric fence definitely helps so long as there are no walls etc. to help the cat jump it. A massive cockerel with spurs is the other thing 😉
@@EnglishCountryLife thanks for the tips.. sadly, its a garden and the neighbour's shed is her favourite access point.. and living in London, a Cockerel is a no no.. I might try covering the area between the enclosure and the shed with a net to stop her jumping straight into the garden.. they're safe for now in their enclosure..
May I ask, why do your hens not destroy your beautiful green lawn? I’d love to free range my future hens on my 1 acre lot in Illinois, but I’m afraid I won’t have any more grass left!
Hi Kathryn, ours free range on much less than an acre and we have up to 80 birds when the grass is growing and 12 over Winter. They do make dome dust baths that we have to reseed but provided that there aren't too many chickens it's fine
Do you have a suggestion on keeping a puppy from eating chicken poo. I have 5 chickens in a shed and 2 runs. I like to let them out to free range. Thank you!
I'm sorry but we don't have dogs so I am far from being an expert. I am told that the only way to train puppies is persistence, calm correction and reward.
I'm sorry that I can't really help.
Well thank you very much! I love your channel. My puppys name is Marmalade and her brother, who lives with my daughter's family is named Toast! Best wishes always!
@@maryfuller8598 They're wonderful names 😊
Can you tell me how many chickens I can keep in a coop the size of the one like you have at the beginning of the film with nesting boxes each side please
Hi! You've given me an idea for a video there so thanks! The coop that appears at the start of the video is quite small but it depends on the size of your chickens. The main coop area is 1m x 1m extended by the nest boxes which overall makes it 1.5m x 1m. It's a commercially available coop and many manufacturers make this design. Most will advertise it as being suitable for up to 10 large chickens but beware of this. Our Orpingtons are large fowl and I would not put more than 4 adults in this coop or 6 hybrid egg layers. To get 10, I would want them to be bantams. Does that help?
@@EnglishCountryLife mine has 6 nesting boxes but I am only getting 4 chickens my run is 18ft x 7ft will this be big enough please thanks for your help
@@carolmatthews962 @carol matthews That's a good amount of space for 4 chickens. Unfortunately it's not enough to retain grass but for your chickens it's a great environment so congratulations!
Many thanks you have put my mind at rest that I am doing it right
Any questions, just drop me a note
how many hens do you have because my son is intreasted
We do operate a waiting list for hens. If your son wishes to be added, please email us
Can you get some more footage of these birds? 7:52
I’m guessing they are your Old English Pheasant Fowl, as adults?.
Hi! The ones in the sand bath at 7:52 are Crested Cream Legbars. They lay blue eggs!
@@EnglishCountryLife I’m looking for information on the Pheasant Fowl.
I have acquired some in its US, and can’t find any other breeders
ruclips.net/video/K5d0_KFlg8c/видео.html
These are my birds.
All that remains…
@@LolliPop_Farm_VT They are very rare even in the UK. www.rbst.org.uk/old-english-pheasant-fowl#:~:text=The%20Old%20English%20Pheasant%20Fowl,live%20for%20a%20long%20time.
Is there particular information you need?
@@EnglishCountryLife is there a confirmation standard I should be selecting and breeding towards, if I can get this pair mated?
how many hens do you have my son is intreasted
None are available until late next year I'm afraid
I’ve really enjoyed your videos, and they have inspired an initial question - did you have a punk phase? I’m sensing a real punk phase…
Have you been looking at my photo albums???? 🤣🤣🤣
if the automated door closes at dusk, how is it guaranteed that all the chickens are inside??
We check them to start with. Normally they all roost earlier. If one liked to stay out later, the unit can be adjusted for the light level it closes at.
I have 2 pullets and 2 chicks. I keep one pullet with the chicks and they are fine, but the other pullet is aggressive with all the others so I have her by herself. I try putting the two pullets together but I fear the oldest is just going to injure the other. I keep trying but she just won't stop. I'm thinking about giving her away but she is very sweet to my dog and cat. She's very well behaved all around the yard.🙂 What can I do to help her not be so mean????
Dominance behaviour is natural in chickens but can be upsetting to watch. Your choices are to put them together & let it play out, only intervening if blood is drawn or to give her away. Chickens can be encouraged to certain things through treats, but ultimately they can't be trained to behave as we might wish.
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you so much for answering. I will put her with the other one near her age and leave them overnight and hope for the best🙂
@@EnglishCountryLife I put them together and all survived, she is still standoffish with the rest and crows a little like a rooster, thanks again for your advice.
@@lauraoneil6408 Any time Laura, so glad that you managed to integrate them!
What land area do you need per Hen ?
(to stop grass from dying)
It is "time of year" dependent (obviously grass grows faster in Summer). Our fence is around 250m long. Our grass easily supports 20 birds in Winter when grass is hardly growing and up to 70 in Summer. The enclosed area is about 400 square metres
how much for a hen i am intreasted i live in ellis town ireland can you send me one if possibale
I'm sorry to say that we have a very long waiting list & no availability of hens until September next year
How do you deal with predators
Hi Donnacha, we have a video on just that topic.
ruclips.net/video/OLjadgiRoDs/видео.html
@@EnglishCountryLife thanks
How long do chickens live ?
Our oldest was Gannet who managed over 8 years
@@EnglishCountryLife oh wow that's great 👍 thanks
I feel so confused about what to do with a pullet that has been hanging out in our yard, during the day, for two weeks. Tonight, at dusk, I watched her go down the sidewalk (we live in a city), and she wouldn't come back when I called her. She stopped 3 houses away, and flew up into a tall tree to roost for the night. We've been trying to figure out where she was sleeping and now we know. Our yard really cannot accommodate a hen house with perch and nest box. We took an old wooden chair with a wide wooden seat and back and built that up into a sort of house. We put a ramp up to it, and put a plastic box of course sand in it. So far, she wants nothing to do with it, and she is completely free range, 24/7. We have no enclosure fence for her. I'm not sure what to do. I wish there was a chicken rescue I could send her to that would make her part of a no-kill flock. We're in S. Florida, and there just aren't too many of those kind of rescues around, if at all. If I send her to a farm, it is likely she'll be someone's dinner at some point. It's difficult to decide what is best for her. Will she survive if we just feed her, provide water and grit? We've been trying to train her to get used to our hands. She is a little aggressive, yet. She also was crowing this morning, and I read that she is trying to be the rooster and have dominance when they crow. We don't want that because she is a little scary when she comes running for your feet and ankles. I tried to reach and pick her up, but she is faster than I am.
Hi Syrena. From what you have described you're dealing with a wild chicken who has probably been feral for a long time, potentially all it's life. I'm saying "it" as the crowing would more likely mean it's male and has just matured. It's unusual for a hen to start to crow although it does happen in flocks without a rooster but that is normally a dominant hen exerting their dominance over other hens. In this case as there are no other hens it would be even more unusual for the chicken to be a hen although not impossible.
The chicken clearly feels safer in the tree and to be fair it most likely is safer than closer to ground level on the adapted chair. I can see you really care and want it to be safe but it's survived this way for a while for the sounds of it.
If you want to domestic this essentially wild chicken you'll have to be patient, very patient. The best advice I can give if there are no suitable shelters is to take a lead from this chickens behaviour to provide things which make it feel safe. For example, if roosting up high in a tree makes it feel safe but you would be happier if it slept in the adapted crate, can you life the crate much higher up, to a height equivalent to where it does feel safe? Watch how it gathers food too and when it visits. I hope that helps.
@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you. Yes, that is helpful. She seems to be a French Black-tailed Buff Maran, and is likely a pullet, since she has a very small comb and no wattle, yet. Her feathers around the neck and head are rounded instead of pointed. So, just from my RUclips chicken education, I assume it is a female. So, if we just let her go to the trees, she will be ok there? If we build a coop with a perch in it, we would probably go the extra step and put a run and fence enclosure. Not sure how long it will take my husband to do that. She comes running to me when I call her, (Petunia), and she is now eating out of my hand. I put my left hand flat on the ground and feed out of the right hand so she has to step on the left hand to get to the food. It seems to have made her a little less afraid of my hands, but I still cannot reach up to pet her. Maybe someday? She is here in our small yard, all day. She scratches and is eating whatever it is she finds there. But I have bought pellets, wheat berries, millet and shelled sunflower seeds to give as treats. I have a cut up grape I am going to offer her, in a few minutes. Thank you so much for your reply. I love your videos, and they are all so helpful.
@@EnglishCountryLife Fiona, this morning a rooster was chasing her home from her tree. I've seen that rooster two blocks away, but now he knows where she is. I managed to chase him back to his neighborhood, (twice), and now Petunia is walking around peacefully in our yard. What happens if he gets her and mates with her? She is a pullet, so probably too young to lay eggs. But, will she then follow him to his territory? Will he keep coming back here? Zoning here in our city forbids roosters. Maybe I can trap him and take him to animal control? I have no idea what to do. What can I expect from this behavior? I'm hoping that my challenging him will make him give up.
Either behaviour is possible but it's probably more likely before she matures that he will follow her. Once your pullet starts laying it's more likely that she will follow him but in all honesty all chickens are different and given neither is fenced in either behaviour is possible.
Roosters do what roosters do and normally in a large flock roosters will only tread the mature hens but if mature hens are not available they still have a natural need to tread and will tread the available non-mature pullets.
Is it possible that the rooster belongs to the same person who owns the pullet? It might be worth finding out.
@@EnglishCountryLife He is a wild rooster, too. I saw him out on the street, two blocks away, and asked a neighbor. He said that the rooster sleeps in his tree at night and he just wanders the streets all day. Where they came from, no one seems to know. I am hoping we can get a coop and enclosure for her, but we don't have one yet. Thank you for the replies!
Is that a Scottish twang in there?
It certainly is, good ear!
@@EnglishCountryLife Being Scottish helps when identifying others! Great video thanks for making it, very helpful
Do u have a rooster.
We do keep Buff Orpington cockerels for breeding. You can see one in this video. Hugh
ruclips.net/video/JDaMa8FawvM/видео.html
What about foxes
We cover that in the next episode 🙂
ruclips.net/video/OLjadgiRoDs/видео.html
Never put marbles in the chicken water dish. My chick ate the marbles and died. I saw this on some youtube, not sure which one, I watched a million. It was recommended to put marbles in the water dish to keep the chicks out. My 10 week chick ate some marbles and died. You would not think they could swallow a marble but they can. sad, I am an idiot. Don't be like me. :-(
How sad 🙁. We have never had problems with chicks and purpose made poultry drinkers - and we have many chicks!
did you vaccinate your chicken?
We don't no, it's never been necessary.