Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

RacyRed

Gigervamp wrote: »

Oh, and as for personality, there are some more friendly than others. The legbars run around like pantomine dames if you so much as look at them, but a lot of the other girls friendly and often get underfoot!

Or overfoot, mine love parking themselves on the toes of my wellies :rotfl:

LOADS of ex batts are in need of homes right now.

See THIS news item

Whatever breeds you fancy getting, please, please see if you can find some space for a few ex batts, you won't regret it, promise!

British Hen Welfare Trust re homing info is HERE

Kazipoo

ionahenor2 wrote: »

I live over the top from you in West Yorkshire.

My first three (Black rock, Bluebelle and a Daisybelle) came from Storrs Poultry. I only have Daisy left thanks to a fox.

http://www.storrspoultry.co.uk/index.php

My replacement two (Black rock and speckled rock) came from Hinchliffes in Huddersfield

http://www.hinchliffes.com/breeds.php

I would highly recomend Jody at Raw Green Cottages. She breeds her own as well as getting some of the hybrids from Hinchliffes. She was very good with my little Blackrock when she was ill. I rang her to ask if she knew of a vet close by and she offered to look at Digger for me even though I hadn't bought her there. I will buy from her next time. She has some lovely girls and boys :rotfl:

http://www.rawgreencottages.co.uk/index.html

I can't think of any more but I have a feeling that the Omlet website might have a few listed in Cheshire or someone on the forum may be able to help.

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/


Have you decided which breed you are going to have?

I second Hinchcliffes. We got our girls (Henrietta, Matilda and Gertrude) from them in June and haven't had any problems.

ionahenor2

How is the site at Hinchliffes after the big fire?

Which breeds did you get Kazipoo?

Kazipoo

ionahenor2 wrote: »

How is the site at Hinchliffes after the big fire?

Which breeds did you get Kazipoo?

They are brown hylines I think, can't remember because they had 3 different types of hybrid in at the time.

I didn't know they had a fire Hope everything is ok.

ionahenor2

Kazipoo wrote: »

They are brown hylines I think, can't remember because they had 3 different types of hybrid in at the time.

I didn't know they had a fire Hope everything is ok.

I called up there today only because the feed merchanst at Honley was closed and I needed layer pellets. They now have 2 huge marquees which house the shop and restaurant. I was surprised they hadn't started to rebuild.

I felt really sorry for the girls in the large pen with the pond as they were just paddling about in the mud. There wasn't a scrap of green for them to scratch in. They looked so miserable.......but it is better than being stuck in a cage I suppose.

I very nearly came away with 2 new hens with the feed but they only had bantams or commercial (battery breed stock).:rotfl:

3v3

picklepick wrote: »

Haha it sounds like you've got your hands full!
Do they differ greatly personality wise? Do some breeds lay more eggs than others?
A high egg yield would be pretty high on DH's list of priorities but not so much on mine!

Different breeds lay differing numbers of eggs.

If you are interested in bantams, the two best egg producers, in my experience, are pekins and silkies; but, they do go broody every so often (which means 3 weeks without eggs ) Some people break them out of broodiness; others use it as an opportunity to hatch eggs - I did that last Spring when one of my Silkies went broody - and its a fun thing to do.

Not only do the breeds differ in personalities, individuals differ in personalities :rotfl: Over time, I have had 4 pekins and each was a different personality.

My chicken keeping began with ex-batts, then moved to bantams and now have a mix of bantams and large fowl (10 different breeds all mixed together).

Mojisola

3v3 wrote: »

Some people break them out of broodiness; others use it as an opportunity to hatch eggs - I did that last Spring when one of my Silkies went broody - and its a fun thing to do.

Just to point out to any newbies thinking about this - you do need to have fertile eggs from hens who have been with a cockerel and you have to be prepared to deal with the young cockerels you're bound to get. Can you rehome them, fatten them up and eat them or PTS before they start crowing and disturbing the neighbours?

beautiful_ravens

I have some grown cockerels which I err..dont need. Theyre in a run and house at the moment, but..they need to go. Too much !!!!-a-doodle-do-ing if nothing else. Any suggestions? Ive known since they were chicks that this time would come, and still cannot really decide what to do, or how.

edit - bantam cockerels.

Mojisola

If you advertise them, be careful who asks for them. People who train birds for !!!!-fighting will try to get these unwanted cockerels. They use them as canon-fodder for their birds to train on.

3v3

Mojisola wrote: »

Just to point out to any newbies thinking about this - you do need to have fertile eggs from hens who have been with a cockerel and you have to be prepared to deal with the young cockerels you're bound to get. Can you rehome them, fatten them up and eat them or PTS before they start crowing and disturbing the neighbours?

Yes, good points.

I was very fortunate in that I got my fertile eggs from the farm I buy my chickens and any cockerels she was happy to take back.