I finally get my chickens

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Permalink Reply by Paul Wyman on October 17, 2008 at 9:00am

Congrats Sue,
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do? What type are you getting? How old are they?

One tip I found very useful was to use Layers Pellets and not Mash, as the girls will select the best bits from mash and leave the rest on the ground. Also I have a bag of mixed corn for sprinkling down when they are looking bored with grass.

Love to see some pics when you get them.

Paul

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Permalink Reply by SueH on October 19, 2008 at 9:16am

Hi Paul

Thanks for the tip, after reading we made sure we bought Pellets and not Mash. Yesterday we got our 4 ISA Browns that were part of a cancelled order destined for a battery farm and they're 18 weeks old. We bought them from a fantastic lady who we'd already been to for a beginners course & she taught us to clip wings etc & she advised us that they're very good for beginners. We still have a lot to learn but we're really going to enjoy it all. I'll definitely get some photos sorted.
How long have you kept hens and what type and how many do you have?

Sue

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Permalink Reply by Paul Wyman on October 20, 2008 at 10:00am

We have had them almost a year now, and we have 4 light sussex, 4 blue marans, 4 aracana crosses (chicks) and 1 possible light sussex cock chick. Originally we where only going to get 3-4, but my partner got carried away bidding for some pullets, and she ended up bringing home 8. Then when one of the light sussex went broody, we sat here on 12 fertilised eggs from a friend accross the road. She pecked 2 of them as they where white, and clearly not hers. 3 were unfertile, 2 did not hatch, and the rest are now running aound a brood coup.

We will keep any hens, and I am hoping the 1 light sussex chick is a cock, but I have not confirmed yet.

If you need any equipment or supplies I have just found www.ascott.biz. They have a great catalogue, and the prices are similar or less than my local farm supplier

Paul

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Permalink Reply by Wingy on January 9, 2009 at 3:11am

Don't you start talking chicks now Paul or I'm going to have to retrieve my incubators and heat lamps from the attic! :P

14yrs ago we started off with 5 breeding pairs of Blue Phase Snow Geese. Then along came 6 ISA Browns, then a year later some Black Rocks joined them, then I discovered traditional and rare breeds! Then there was no hope and no escape. Along came Appenzellers, Araucanas, Dorkings, New Hampshire Reds, Sussex, Ixworth, Marans, Cochins, Friesians, Frizzles, Pekins, Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Scots Banty, Barnevelders and the list goes on and on and on... to ducks, geese, guineas, turkeys, and peafowl. And then I stopped. (Insert huge sigh of relief from hubby's cheque book.) One year we had over 200 birds, that was just before Bird Flu hit Fife. I rehomed a lot of birds that year. We are just one mile from what was the outer zone... don't want to deal with that again, I can tell you. I have since curtailed my umm... collecting and hatching addiction, so we now have around 20 hens (maybe) and one Scots Dumpy rooster called Montgomerie, plus all the ducks, geese etc. Still too many. The Snow Geese were rehomed to a friend's farm in Peat Inn when we planted our native Scottish hedgerows, as the geese were stripping all the new young growth.

Paul, I used to use Interhatch until I discovered Solway Feeders. I don't know if Interhatch have since gone online but Solway are. Highly recommend both for prices, range and customer care.

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