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180-day guarantee Rosie’s Chicken Keeping Adventure
Social Media Executive Rosie has been at Omlet for a year, and when she was asked by her managers if she was interested in broadening her chicken knowledge (and to create fun content for Omlet’s social media platforms) with her very own flock, she said yes straight away.
“My partner Max has always wanted chickens – he was so excited when I got this job as he thought it would make me more keen to keep hens. So when they asked me I knew he would be over the moon, and I was right. But I’m of course also really excited!”
How much research have you done so far?
“I read ‘What the Cluck’, Omlet’s chicken keeping book, which was really helpful. I have obviously picked up some knowledge when working with pet content and seeing the chickens at the office. I also manage Omlet’s Facebook Group for chicken keepers, that’s where you get to hear what it’s really like.”
Rosie and Max decided to go for the top notch backyard chicken setup. They have got an Eglu Cube Chicken Coop with a 6 ft. run connected to a 9 ftx9 ft Walk in Chicken Run, an Automatic Chicken Coop Door and a PoleTree Chicken Perch, plus some covers and other Omlet hentertainment accessories.
“We set it up a few weekends ago, and we didn’t fight once! To be fair, Max did most of it by himself while I painted the fence, and it was really nice and sunny, but despite being quite a lot of products it was pretty fun actually.
Although ‘flockdown’ is now over in the UK and the chickens are allowed to free range we will probably keep them on the run for a bit to get them used to the space and each other.”
Have you decided what chickens you’re getting?
“There’s been a lot of discussion about this, we didn’t completely agree to begin with. But in the end we decided we wanted good layers, and quite big hens rather than bantams, so we went to see someone that breeds Buff Orpingtons, and I think that might be the breed we’ll go for.”
Rosie and Max are not the only ones in the family; they also live with Evie the Sprocker.
“I’m really not sure how she will react, but she’s been very interested in the coop going up. We will slowly try to introduce her to the chickens and hopefully she’ll be alright. She’s quite small, so maybe a big chicken will scare her a bit? We’ll see, but to start with she won’t be allowed into the garden if the chickens are out free ranging.”
What are you most looking forward to about becoming a chicken keeper?
“I really like the thought of having them around in the garden, pottering about. Of course the fresh eggs. My mum is a keen baker, so I’m sure she’ll be happy to have a few! And then I’m just looking forward to seeing Max with them, hopefully it’ll be just like he’s imagined it”.
And is there anything you’re scared of?
“I guess I’m a bit worried they are going to get ill or get some kind of parasites, it’s not nice to see your animals feel bad. But I also know that once you have a pet, making sure they are happy and healthy is not something you see as a problem or a hassle, you just do what you can to look after them in the best possible way.”
We’ll catch up with Rosie again next month when she’s picked up her chickens to hear how they are all getting on!
This entry was posted in Chickens
3 replies on “Rosie’s Chicken Keeping Adventure”
I trained my dog in 1 afternoon with a squirt gun to leave my chickens alone! I squirted her & said “leave it” each time she approached a hen. I also gave her a treat when she obeyed.
Please tell Rosie to keep Evie apart from the chickens. Have separate yards for Evie and the chickens. I have a Brittany Spaniel and chickens and have fenced areas for them both. One of my chickens is an escape artist and got out. Millie, my Brittany, at first just watched her, but her hunting bird dog instincts were too strong and she attacked the chicken. I managed to call her off and my hen escaped minus lots of feathers and with several puncture wounds and the flesh of her tail and one wing pulled off. Millie got a scolding and after several weeks of doctoring my hen is back with the rest of the flock and healing nicely. But it was a traumatic experience for all of us. I hope my story can prevent Rosie, Evie and her hens from a similar experience. The chickens are just too tempting of a “squeaker toy” for a bird dog to be expected to resist. Best Wishes!
Maybe a bird dog is the exception,. but I agree with Linda, be the alpha dog and make them learn. I had a collie that would try to kill any cat that came across our property, but he left our cat alone. Also trained him not to chase our ducks – with a good scolding. He did however practice herding them and then dispersing them (at a walk) over and over and over.