We got our first eggs!

I don't let mine free-range full time because they are a bit too friendly. They come into the house and hang around on the patio which can be a bit messy. The dogs thinks she is a chook so she digs into their pen and shares their food and then they go out through her tunnel and free range for a few hours until I move their coop again. The theory is that they are allowed to free range for a while each day and whenever the grass under their coop is scratched out the coop is moved. Thanks to the dog's efforts the coop is moved a bit most days.
They're very keen on mulch so I spend lots of time putting my mulch back where it belongs. Chickens and perfectly manicured gardnens don't really mix so if you want them to free range you will need to set part of your garden aside that you're ok with having some mess and poo.

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Are you still getting eggies?

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Yep, she's only missed one day a week since! And I actually 'caught' her in the act of laying today, so I know which hen to thank now. ;)

Well I'm a bit inspired to get chooks again now, we have the room, we've got two poodle type dogs that think they're farm dogs :rolleyes: and I was worried they'd chase the chooks and that's one thing that put me off getting chooks years ago. But I think I can keep them under control, I'd have to be sure to get them locked up at night because of the foxes so that might be a pain.

I'll talk to the husband, I've always wanted chooks.

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People who have chickens do you let them out around the garden?

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I let mine out every day when I'm home (so they miss out on most of the three days per week that I work). I usually wait until after we've picked up the morning egg.

We only have the two and a fairly big front yard, so there's really no mess. Although they do kick all of the leaves I've raked onto the garden beds back onto the lawn/path. They are also very friendly and will follow me around or sit on my feet/lap if I go outside to read a book and have a cup of tea. It drives the dogs insane when they wander past the front screen door ever so casually. Our dogs are not so friendly with chickens, so they're strictly in the back yard!

We got a swish hen house I screwed together myself new on eBay. It was half the price of the same type in the shops. And the local pet shop makes up a few different varieties of chook feed (which is in high demand atm, so bron, it looks like the revolution might have come!).

We have one dog, for now he seems ok with the chickens. We do keep them in an encloser and the dog is only in there when we are as we are training him to not touch them. So far so good. The chooks now have him worked out and will gang up on him if he gets too close. So once we get some fencing back around the veggie patch we will let the girls out.

Wow jennifer,
That is so cool! We have 2 chooks, too. We love them. They are on egg strike at the moment LOL! Enjoy those beautiful eggs :) Great fun for DD too.
Our dog is scared of them hehe!

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People who have chickens do you let them out around the garden?

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Mine have a very large area that they free range in, fenced off from the garden because they will scratch everything! So no, not in the garden part I don't.

Well I know my neighbour if she puts the lambs up near the house the foxes don't come near. My husband says we would have to put the chicken wire under the ground a fair bit so the foxes can't burrow under. I want to go look at chicken coops today!

Update: Chicken number two gave us her first egg today! So now we're expecting two eggs most days.

Woo Hoo how many chickens do you have? I'm thinking of getting only 2 or 3.

Oopse sorry just read the OP - you have 2 :)

http://forums.bellybelly.com.au/foru...90&postcount=4

Hens are doing well - still laying regularly! Had my ABA group meeting come to my place last week and the hens were a big hit with the kids. The girls didn't mind it at all when four noisy toddlers stood at the coop window shoving in grass/dirt/straw - they kept poking their heads out hoping someone would open the door.