Chicken Advice
Over the past few years there has been an increase in the number
of residents enquiring about keeping chickens in their
gardens. Sometimes people want to raise the birds from
chicks, but increasingly, residents are taking on ex battery hens,
that can provide a few eggs for their family whilst at the same
time enriching the life of both the chickens and the owner.
If you are thinking about getting chickens, there are a few
things that you should consider:
- Check your property deeds or check with your landlord that you
are allowed to keep chickens on the property, some deeds or tenancy
agreements forbid the owning of such animals.
- Let your neighbours know that you are going to keep chickens.
As they are not the most common of pets, people do get alarmed when
they see chickens in neighbouring gardens and they often
contact the Council to check that this is ok.
- Check whether or not you will require planning permission to
erect suitable housing for your animals, usually, no planning
permission is required but it is always wise to check.
- Make sure that your birds are not going to cause a nuisance to
your neighbours due to noise, odour or pests. These can be
controlled by:
- Noise - Only get hens do not get a cockerel. If you do want a
cockerel, minimise crowing, by keeping him away from the hens so
that he cannot see or hear them. Cockerels should be housed
overnight in hen houses with low ceilings to prevent the cockerel
from extending his neck to crow.
- Odour - Make sure that the chicken enclosures are kept clean
and dispose of any waste promptly and appropriately.
- Pests - Make sure that all animal food is kept in sealed
containers and any excess food cleared and disposed of. All animal
bedding should be appropriately stored and once used disposed of
appropriately.
Check the DEFRA website for their advice and information
regarding Avian Flu.
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