Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Katharine

Wherever they feel like, could be anywhere inside or out!

Please check the info on your layers pellets as many don't require extra calcium (oystershell) as it is all included in the pellets. If they have not yet laid overdose of calcium can cause liver damage, generally grower pellets are fed until they start to lay. You can get grit minus the oystershell or if small stones are available around then let them have those. Pellets can be permenantly supplied in a feeder.

Good luck with your chick lostinrates, that is very sad that she decided she liked eggs but not chicks.

I lent one of my broodies to a friend yesterday to hatch some light sussex eggs for him, she decided she didnt like the nest box and removed all the eggs, but is sitting well with an astounding 13 eggs under her (she is a bantam cross). If she does a good job I'm going to breed her to Lyall next year as my broody strain next, as his mother and sisters are all highly broody.

Frugaldom

Hi chicken fans

Natalie, why not just ask the person you bought your chicks from how old the birds are? Mine have been up since 5.30am this morning and don't go in until 10.30pm, so getting a lie in until 8 would be brilliant - Captain Beaky is getting too loud now! Went out this morning and one of the Araucana cockerels was running about the garden! I think my temporary runs need replacing asap. Like you, I measured up the little ones on that site, as they'd be ideal nighttime accommodation, but I'd need about 10 of them.

Hope chick is still OK, LIR

Katharine, bad news on the cockerels:hens ratio. I'm debating whether or not to make the trip to Lanark on 6th Aug but there's also a rare & minority breeds sale on the 20th, so I can't decide what to do! I need rid of some of mine but would like to see the rare breeds sale. Hmm..... the trouble with chickens is that there are far too many breeds I like. :rotfl:

Edmund, I do like those little henhouses with runs, very handy looking.

steady__eddie

If anyone has got half an hour to spare in between mucking out, pen building, feather clipping and egg collecting, there was an interesting programme on the wireless (Radio 4) this morning concerning an 11 year old girl who is into keeping chucks in a big way. I found it reminiscent of this forum with all the breeds mentioned. The only difference being that my ears had to do the work, listening rather than my eyes, reading which I can cope with on a Sunday.
It is the On your farm item in the following link if anyone is interested.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/programmes/genres/factual/scienceandnature

lostinrates

poor chickdidn't make it.:( We're all feeling very down. Although we love them as people we are very ''practical''about boys and their place here and as part of future self sufficiency plans.

Somehow, however things like this seem very, very harsh still: life is always miracle: even as a poultry eater I try nd give them a great, happy and loved life.

Wealso have an injured horse today: so everything seems pretty depressing. Thanks for the friendly earsthrough this sad little episode.

Katharine

Very sorry to hear that lostinrates wishing you better luck next year.

Yay, the new chooks laid in the nest box today! Just two, still managed to break an egg the clumsy fools, although no evidence of eating it this time.

Having problems with DH as he's saying he would love 24 hours without me mentioning chickens, says he doesn't need to know what each chicken has been upto today. Is there a cure? I will try not to mention them tomorrow but it's very hard!:o

Nykmedia what's a good age to sell cockrels as I'm going to have to sell four of my cockrel chicks? Lyall is already putting them in their place (and helping the hens), but I have to keep my brave friendly Dorking boy he is lovely, he's even made friends with my dog.:p Also is there any way of ageing unknown chickens, I cant help thinking my new ones are more than a year old?

edmund_blackadder

Hi,

Since we've been looking into this, someone has suggested to us a place where you can re-home battery chickens... So that of course leads me on to a few questions to you guys ...

Would re-homing battery chickens be a good idea for a first timer?

Are they any more difficult to look after than non-battery chickens (i.e. do they not like to be handled etc.)?

Is there a typical age that battery chickens are re-homed (i.e. could we end up with some old one's that don't have long left)?

Thanks

Frugaldom

Hi chicken fans

Lostinrates, sorry to hear about chick and I hope the horse isn't too badly injured (currently horseless horse fan trying hard not to fall off the wagon).

Katharine, I'm having trouble rehoming my spare cockerels, mainly because the person I houseshare with is very, very anti-anything concerning the foodchain and my chickens. However, there's a poultry sale scheduled for 6th August in lanark, so I'm planning on having a mini-break and travelling to that. There's also a rare/minority breeds sale on 20th August that I'd love to visit, but don't know if I should go away twice in one month. Maybe houseshare would accompany me to the rarebreeds sale - I've banned them from ordinary one and am going to that with another chicken-like-minded friend.

Thanks for interesting radio link, steady_eddie, I'll see if my sloooooooooow Internet connection can cope with audio. It's useless with video, that's for sure.

Edmund, the battery hens go in at about 18 weeks and by their second year egg production is dropping, so they normally get shipped out en mass to slaughter, probably for things like pet food, soup and stock cubes. The hens can be quite tatty by the time they leave, made worse by them moulting (a natural thing) heavily. A lot of them will have had their beaks clipped to prevent feather pecking / cannibalism and they'll never have perched, flown, eaten fresh food, grazed, nested, been outdoors. Debeaking is now illegal, as far as I'm aware, but beak trimming still goes on, as does the use of rings through their beaks. They can make really good garden hens for a few years but you also need to consider what you'll do with them if/when they stop laying, which will happen a year or 2 sooner than if you had bought point of lay pullets. I've never had any problems with ex-batts when I used to keep them. They moulted, strengthened their muscles, got used to freedom and were roosting and laying as well as any of the pure breeds. It makes you wonder what (if)they think about the new experience.

Katharine

As promised pictures of my chicks, will need to get some current ones now!





My new ones behave like exbats they dont know what to do with a raspberry and dont scratch. Lyall will teach them once they are out and about. They will need to learn if they want all the goodies to be found around the garden!

Frugaldom

Oooooooooooooooh babies! They are all gorgeous! Makes me want my hens to go all broody again LOL Your new hens sound like they've been caged all their days, I hope they start to explore soon and discover the joys of freerange chickenhood.

lostinrates

We used to hve ex batts ges ago. If I were to do that again I think I'd forget trying to make them free range and instead concentrate on providing good, big, runs. I don't regret the experience, but some really struggled with the transision.

Our legbars had been cage reared in a barn, I bought non how standard adults from a show exhibitor. We started them in asmaller fenced area, and gradually increased it and they really took to it much better than the ex batts ever did. Their personalities developed and they became much calmer.and more inquisitive. They are treuly free range now, but really like sneaking under the fence or gate under the garden and waiting on the back step for me.:)


What beautiful chicks Katherine!