CHICKENS!

Re: CHICKENS!

Emily M — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:25:21 GMT

thanks,

I ve also just read the whole omlet guide to chickens, it was great!!

Re: CHICKENS!

shropshirelass_1987 — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:49:02 GMT

Yeah I've got to admit our ex-battery hens really came into their own & are really good layers which arent that old & are just replaced at around 1-2 years as egg production drops so before they tended to be culled yet I've found some of our older hens still tend to be great layers. If you've got a big garden then great you could possibly keep 8-12 instead of the latter theres loads of runs & arks on the market to choose from which can be pricey so its good to shop around. But as for keeping them in the garden during the day yeah thats fine so long as their watched & they'll often go to bed on their own too lol although if you are a keen gardener be warned they quite like this too and will often raid the veg garden

The ex batterys are normally what we call Warrens which I think are a type of hybrid but its really nice to give a few a 2nd chance & if you want a few birds that are nice to look at why not mix a few ex-batts with a few ornamental breeds & normally they soon all mix pretty well xxx

Re: CHICKENS!

Lindsay B — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:16:26 GMT

Hey. We keep ex battery hens and they are amazing! They've got such different personalities and are just hilarious to be around. They even chase next door's cat out of the garden. We went on one of the omlet courses before we got them and I would really recommend them! We had a lovely lady who was really passionate about the animals and taught you everything you need to know to start keeping ex-battery hens. And also what things to look out for when they may be ill and things that may worry you but are in fact completely normal. I've actually turned vegetarian since getting the chickens and realising that there is no way I can justify killing and eating such amazing little creatures! Go on the omlet site for all the best info and I'm sure if you get them you won't regret it :) Lindsay

Re: CHICKENS!

Emily M — Sun, 01 May 2011 23:46:49 GMT

Wow, thanks for the response from you all!!! It all looks very in depth and helpful so thankyou. I am only on my phone at the moment so I will look at all the links given tomorrow! I think I'd like to give some ex-battery hens a nice finish in life. I wouldn't want them solely for the egg purpose although that is a plus so it wouldn't bother me if the ladys weren't great lay-ers! I also think I definitely will stick to females only, although my garden is quite a size there are neighbours close enough to suffer from a male! Hehe. I think I will have them in a predator proof enclosure with a run etc but also have them out whilst myself and others are in the garden, Is this a good idea? Are ex-battery hens usually a particular breed?, sorry I really am quite clueless about this. Thank you all for such useful advice.

Re: CHICKENS!

Kim Buckley — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:22:47 GMT

I could probably fit some in if I didn't have the g-pigs and dogs. Never mind. When I finally move out of home I want a big enough garden for them all :)

Re: CHICKENS!

shropshirelass_1987 — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:12:25 GMT

They are nice & really rewarding pets & some people just have a few but they are addictive & I'd say in a small town / city garden you could easily keep 3-6 in a run I mean I'm lucky been a farm / country girl to have been able to keep some xxx

Re: CHICKENS!

Kim Buckley — Sun, 01 May 2011 21:06:50 GMT

My friend keeps and breeds chickens and when I saw her last week she had some frizzles which are so cool looking! I would love to have some chickens but not got enough space :(

Re: CHICKENS!

shropshirelass_1987 — Sun, 01 May 2011 21:01:38 GMT

Hi it honestly depends on what breeds you want & what you want them for & how much space you have? As you can get any size from bantam breeds the size of pigeons through to the giant breeds which can be around the size of small dogs. I tend to prefer your ornamental breeds which although their great to look at they often dont lay too much and also the giant breeds are more your meat breeds & therefore dont lay too much also.

Hybrids overall are often seen as the best sort of layers but I dont rate them myself & would much rather have purebreeds, my best advice is just dont get a cockeral unless you want an excess of them that you cant get rid & neighbours complaining about the noise. Also are you planning to let them out during the day or while your at home as you have to think about predators & other pets such as dogs & cats if so.

For a few good general laying breeds you may want to look at are:

Light sussex

Wyandottes

Vorwerks (very rare)

Cream legbars - (Lay beautiful blue eggs)

As for ornamental breeds try:

Silkies (Although I'm not keen on these)

Booted Bantams

Polands

Pekin Bantams (Poor layers but ever so freindly)

Frizzles

The birds will probably live around 4-8 years and if loose in the garden you may have to clip their wings to prevent them escaping - which is just cutting the feathers & is painless to them & the feathers will regrow - so it needs to be redone (Its like getting a hair cut), & I'd exspect you to pay around £10-£20 for a good laying bird thats around 6-10months old or a pullet or POL (point of lay)are other terms used meaning young females. If you want rescue birds then look online about battery hens as a lot of places rehome these either for free or for a small fee & are a little scruffy to start off with but make great layers & soon sort themselves out & its really rewarding to watch them work out how to work & live in a flock after never seeing grass before. I'm sure whatever you get you'll be pleased with & get lots of pleasure from watching them & having your own eggs to enjoy & they also love leftover food scraps too so enjoy your chooks & with plenty of regular handling they'll soon become really tame. I hope all this helps as for breeds & accessories try these 2 sites :

http://www.omlet.co.uk/breeds/breeds.php?breed_type=Chickens http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/index.html

Enjoy Ann xxx

Re: CHICKENS!

Dippy — Sun, 01 May 2011 19:52:33 GMT

This site is also really useful (obviously biased in favour of their own design of coop although they are good if you only want a few chucks). The info pages give useful details about basic care and there's also a link to courses around the country - most of them are £20-25 for a half day course for beginners and include refreshments. Well worth the money and also good to meet more experienced chicken keepers in your area. I went through all this a few years ago when I was seriously planning to get some but then we moved and the current garden isn't suitable in its present state but it's still something I've not ruled out if/when we get the garden redesigned.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/homepage/

Re: CHICKENS!

Louise B — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:47:50 GMT

Hi,

Really good book for those starting out. Any book by this author is helpful!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starting-Chickens-Katie-Thear/dp/0906137276/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304271936&sr=8-1

Also, check out the Battery Hen Welfare Trust website. http://www.bhwt.org.uk/ Useful even if it is not ex-bats you adopt.

Goodluck.

Louise