Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Folio

I would so love some chickens and the only thing that stops me is what to do when we go away (2 weeks every summer and a week in either autumn or spring if we are lucky). We don't know the neighbours well enough to ask them unfortunately and have no family living close enough to help out.
carry on wishing I suppose

Athome1

I have to agree with everyone about the cost of the eggs. I worked out that our hens would have to lay 2500 eggs to break even. My OH has no sense of small, our coup has been nicknamed Cluckingham Palace due to its size, number of nesting boxes and perches, lighting and heating (in case we get a winter like last year). The run is approx 10ft wide by 30ft long and used to be a prime bit of the garden! They will also be allowed to range in the garden once the veg beds are fenced off. The coup and run are fox, rat and mouse proof - all wire is concreted into/onto the ground and the coup has a concrete base.And all this from a bloke who was brought up on a farm!

I don't mind at all, the girls are happy and healthy and are a delight and thoroughly enjoy every treat that I give them. It does make me smile though when people tell me they're going to get some hens and will use the greenhouse as a coup and the hens will get all they need to eat from foraging in the garden!

Kimitatsu

For me its not just about the cost of the eggs though - its the other added benefits! Our chooks are really free range so eat all of the slugs and snails (thats any nasty pesticide not used or paid for) and they provide fertilizer for the garden.

The eggs are higher in Omega 3 as we feed wild bird seed and corn in the winter, so its not just free eggs, its comparing the cost of the posh Omega 3 eggs!

We have a large flock so its not even just about the eggs that we consume, we get a lot of goodwill from the eggs that we pass on - that on its own is priceless

Gloomendoom

What's the difference between a chicken and a hen?

Athome1

Gloomendoom wrote: »

What's the difference between a chicken and a hen?

I've no idea and I call my girls both chickens and hens (hens is qucker to type though!):o

Someone who does know will be along shortly I'm sure.:)

Gloomendoom

Athome1 wrote: »

I've no idea and I call my girls both chickens and hens (hens is qucker to type though!):o

Someone who does know will be along shortly I'm sure.:)

I always thought it was something to do with chickens are for eating and hens are for eggs.

Maybe a hen becomes a chicken when it stops laying.

rachbc

ah now I think chickens can be hens or cockerels....but am probably wrong lol!

Money_maker

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I always thought it was something to do with chickens are for eating and hens are for eggs.

Maybe a hen becomes a chicken when it stops laying.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Chickens are a generic name for hens and cockerals (and pullets etc.) but hen and cockeral refer to the sex of the chicken.

Sorry but I found this bit funny ^^^^^^^^

As to the lady refused permission to keep some, if she were of a certain age she could say 'I know you don't want any hens, how about we have a baby...' :rotfl::rotfl: (apologies if not age appropriate).

Gigervamp

A chicken is the species (like a cat or a dog). A hen is a female chicken, a cockerel is a male. A pullet is a hen just coming to POL (point of lay).

Also, I think a c0ck is an older male, whereas a cockerel is a younger male.

That's my understanding, anyway!

RebekahR

Yea mine is chicken generic and coooock for man and hen for lady