Home grown chicken eggs in a micro space?

[dibley]

We do not have a lot of space in the yard, yet have considered the idea of keeping some chickens.

so what is the minimum space for a chicken and still get Eggs would a rabbit hutch be inhumane?
Not wanting to fall foul of the chicken police but can they live outdoors in a multi level run like a space hamster cage? would four rabbit hutches stacked on each other with a spiral run on the side to connect them be OK?

what about cleaning do you need to? where would the muck go? can you eat them or is it illegal to feed of your own livestock.

lots of questions but the web has not really given any answers I wonder if anyone has advice?

[preppingsu]

This is a pretty good site:

http://keeping-chickens.me.uk/

plus buy a couple of poultry keeping magazines from WHSmiths, they have useful info in.
There are some good books available too...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicken-Manual- ... 637&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Success-Chicken ... 33&sr=1-36

[TeeDee]

We do not have a lot of space in the yard, yet have considered the idea of keeping some chickens.

so what is the minimum space for a chicken and still get Eggs would a rabbit hutch be inhumane?
Not wanting to fall foul of the chicken police but can they live outdoors in a multi level run like a space hamster cage? would four rabbit hutches stacked on each other with a spiral run on the side to connect them be OK?

what about cleaning do you need to? where would the muck go? can you eat them or is it illegal to feed of your own livestock.

lots of questions but the web has not really given any answers I wonder if anyone has advice?

Nearly word for word i posted this exact same question some time ago on a different forum with the same self imposed concerns ,ie was it humane. I'm still thinking about it and considering giving it a go but just with two chicken in a double tiered covered hutch out in the garden. Again it ould depend on where you are getting your chickens from , if they are ex-battery house hens beyond normal productivity who would normally be culled , then its saving them from going for the chop.
If they are free range chickens who have always been able to wander then it seems slightly different.

Again , its not an easy question to answer if you have a Conscious and empathy towards animal welfare.
On the other side a chicken or two kept in a hutch in the garden would benefit from a great diet of veg off cuts normally destined for the waste recycling. < Laws be damned! >



As a comparison , have a look here and see if you think that its not enough space , just right , or too much.

http://www.omlet.us/shop/shop.php?produ ... 10.0063%29

[diamond lil]

I have two chickens in a smallish (12x12) pen. They dig and scratch and potter and when they get bored they jump up and sit on the roof of the coop and watch the sheep in the back field. But I wouldn't think you could keep them in anything smaller, thats battery farming really. I found this site, with loads of pics of the coops and runs, very helpful -
http://www.downthelane.net/forum/viewto ... f=8&t=5920
they are easy to clean out and you pile the muck onto the garden and it will grow good veg.

[the-gnole]

The minimum legal requirement of space for one bird is just under three quarters the size of an A4 sheet of paper.

Anything bigger than that (to a battery hen) is spacious. I now have two hens (used to be three) with 64sq ft of floor space to live in, plus their coop which is up off the ground, hardly "battery" farming though a lot less than 144sq ft.

[Rayman]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHICKEN-COOP- ... 3a6729c87a

Bought that off the bay for £46, i'm in the same position, small back yard, 20ft by 15ft approx, would love to keep 2 chucks, but dunno if the size of my yard would give the chucks a full crack at life, could take on 2 ex battery hens, yeah it would be paradise for them, but they would not have much egg laying left in them by the time you get them, pretty much no egg laying left at all, thats why they are either despatched or moved on by the cruel inhumans that farm battery hens.

[Rayman]

I believe that, you cant keep the chucks in a coop with a small run without letting them out to free range daily, the coop and run is for safety only, when you can supervise the chickens they should be allowed out of the run.

If you look at peoples pics of their coops/runs, they always seem to have the space to let the girls free range outside the protection of the run.

I would in the blink of an eye take on two ex battery hens, but there is little to no egg production left in them.

[the-gnole]

I would in the blink of an eye take on two ex battery hens, but there is little to no egg production left in them

We had three non-battery chooks (£7 each to buy) and we were getting three eggs a day, which was way too much for our needs, so we sold a few, gave a few away to people we know, and kept what we wanted for ourselves, a couple of ex-batts (usually free to collector) will start laying again when they have settled in to a new life, if they only lay one egg each every other day that is half a dozen eggs or more a week and as an egg costs only 5p in food to produce then it is worth a try if you aren't a big egg consumer.

Some useful info can be found by reading posts by folks who have "been there, done that"

http://www.thegreenlivingforum.net/foru ... m.php?f=14

[diamond lil]

Ex batts will lay every day for a couple of years and you're doing a worthwhile thing giving them a happy life. I'd go for it - if all they've ever known is a cage under lights in a hot shed, then even a couple of sq ft will seem like heaven to the wee souls.

[preppingsu]

We have now had 8 ex-batts in all (lost 2 to the fox last winter and one to old age a few weeks ago). Although we think 1 or 2 have never laid we have always had enough eggs for ourselves and some to 'sell' to neighbours for donations towards their food. They have laid well and done us proud. We are currently getting 3 eggs most days which is brilliant for the winter.
Don't discount them - they'll work hard for you.