Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => Miscellany => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: blackpuddinonnabike on 01 June, 2008, 09:51:58 am
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Not content with growing our own veg and fruit we decided to grow some eggs....
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2114/2539327764_b6e9f7c5d8.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3249/2538502383_0ba5dbe49f.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2224/2538348351_ed83ccbaa2.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2273/2539165818_203a114182.jpg?v=0)
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...but no cockerels I hope, otherwise your neighbours aren't going to like you!
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Welcome to the club. We've had six hens since the autumn. We get between 4 and 6 eggs each day, and happily give them away to friends, family and neighbours. Once they've eaten our eggs they never go back to the cruel range battery ones. The difference is amazing.
Hens are great fun to keep, but a word of caution, before you know it you'll have scaled up your operation to one like mine:-
(http://www.the-edens.org.uk/images/311207%20001.jpg)
There's a great forum that I use called 'Down the Lane'. I've got a somewhat large thread on there covering the whole process.
Clicky (http://www.downthelane.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=850&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=46b20bc37354dd786b4f1196e9b979ad)
Your garden looks great - don't be frightened to let them out - they'll keep the grass short for you. ;)
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They don't seem to have much space. My parents have about 8 hens (numbers dependent on foxes killing them - sometimes they even manage to jump the two electric fences) and they have about 100 sq yards to run round in.
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Mine have the run of a decent sized garden, but at night, or if we go out, they stay in the 12' x 8' caged area. It's a million times better than the battery cage that they spent 18 months confined to.
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Hens are hilarious. They have proper characters. We inherited three banties but are currently down to one as two dies last winter (no idea how old they are). The remaining one "henie" sleeps in her run and little hen house but gets let out to roam the garden when we are home. She is really tame and comes hurtling across to see us as soon as we go outside. I am planning a bigger hen house and the we will get some more to keep the old girl company.
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We've wondered about hens. Read several books and articles but none of them tell you the minimum amount of room you need per hen. Would be grateful for anyone's views on this. We weren't going to have any, just two or three but our bck garden isn't exactly massive.
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Aren't they lovely, Anth. Any names yet?
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The house and run are bigger than they look in the photos, they can really have a proper run about in there (as they did yesterday fighting over some blueberries). But they're definitely not going to be confined to there permanently. Once they are settled in and know it's 'home' (about five days apparently) they'll be out whenever we're around. The garden is probably around 100 sq yds (if not a bit bigger) with grass, veg patches for dust bathing and getting grit and bushes and trees for them to root around about.
We definitely wouldn't be keeping them in any conditions that had been shown to be 'inhumane'.
The personalities are already starting to come through, and they're definitely very different from each others.
So. Names. Mel and I each came up with two, and we went with one of each. Mel had the girls from the Good Life (Margot and Barbara) while I played the movie nerd with Princess Layer and Miss Hennypenny (Princess and Missy for short). We settled on Margot (who is bigger, lighter coloured and likes staying outside) and Miss Hennypenny (so called Missy by me, but Henny by Mel) who is smaller and darker, but produced our first egg yesterday, before clucking proudly to let us know....
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2542211128_ba7eb6d933.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2542203490_1702ebba31.jpg?v=0)
And yes, the grass needs cut, and the undergrowth cut back, but we were focussing on getting the fruit and veg all up and running properly before turning to the 'aesthetic'....
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How much daily 'attention' do they need? I might be interested in keeping some sometime, but I'm only at that home two, maybe three, nights a week. How long can you go away and leave them?
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So long as they have food and water you can leave them to themselves really. Daily we just check the water and food. Weekly I give them a quick clean out (shovel out the obviously pooiest sawdust) and monthly give them a proper clean out ie remove all sawdust and hay and sweep out thoroughly. I wood say if you have three hens its 5 minutes a day and 15 at weekend.
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So long as they have food and water you can leave them to themselves really.
That's pretty true. Fresh clean water is important - with a clove of garlic added as it keeps them healthy. They do tend to eat whatever food you put out, so if you left them two days food they'd eat it all at one sitting.
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The girls enjoyed free ranging almost the whole day today. Margot now comes running whenever she thinks you have something in your hand - which included close inspection of me screwing in hooks to the raised bed when creating a barrier to stop her getting in there.... Missy is still very very timid.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2558790477_45c1fbd9eb.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/2559608736_a374e2ec9d.jpg?v=0)
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On the food thing the feeders with the Eglu apparently hold food for four days - we haven't been finding them (so far) eating all the food put out for them at one sitting....
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Hens really are amusing creatures. My dad always had some, from a dozen or so when he was teaching, but expanding the empire to 200 when he retired, selling eggs at the door. He bought the hen-houses from the widow of the local farmer who had previously been the main-stay of the village egg supply.
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I have been trying to persuade Alan to have some chickens but he isn't keen, he seems to think our garden is not big enough (about 60' x 30'). How much room to they need, can I let them roam around the garden in the day.
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Definitely big enough. If you think chickens are too big get bantams (miniature 1/2 size chickens). You will need a shed/shack/coup of at least three feet by two feet for a couple of bantams. You can have a bigger coup if you want more or need them to be inside more but if its just for the night they huddle up together anyway. They need a perch about two inch square and long enough for the number of birds you have (to sleep on) and some nest boxes.
They don't need much outside area but its nice for them to have a bit of an outside run. When your at home you can let them wander round the whole garden but not otherwise or local dogs/foxes will have them. Keep them protected in a meshed run when your away and on a night,
Loads of info here (http://www.pekinbantams.com/housing.asp)
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Wot 'e sed!
You won't regret it, as Wow says, they're incredibly amusing to watch.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/2564862313_a9313b9008.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2565655624_a960dd113e.jpg?v=0)
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Oh yes I forgot as blackpuddinonabike's picture shows chicken can fly. Badly and without much directional control it is true but they can get airborne so just be aware of that when planning runs etc (put a roof on) or clip their wings. Clipping doesn't hurt you just cut some of the primary flight feather in half to stop them flying, its more like cutting your nails than anything else. You can do it home with a good pair of scissors but we don't bother. Our hens have always looked extremely surprised on the occasions that they have found themselves in mid air and have landed again very quickly.
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...Our hens have always looked extremely surprised on the occasions that they have found themselves in mid air and have landed again very quickly.
Shades of Chicken Run (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120630/). ;D
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We are seriously thinking chickens. The plan is to repurpose the kids playhouse (that they find too small) which is 6'x4', and to build a run for them.
So I am currently woking my way through plans for nesting boxes and thinking how best to modify the playhouse to accommodate a number of chickens. (I think we'll end up with 4-6 overall)
..d
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If you live in the sticks, don't underestimate the threat posed by foxes. They've jumped the electric fence and killed scores of my parents' chickens over the last decade. The neighbours' dog (a psychotic Jack Russell which also savaged one of my cats and should have been put down years ago - thankfully it's getting old now) has killed almost as many, along with all the geese in its own garden.
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If you don't live in the sticks, foxes are still common.
We have them breeding at the end of our garden.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/2429315532_a9d80a4e92.jpg?v=0)
I have seen a fox in central London.
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I have seen a fox in central London.
Yep, stacks of Foxes around London. I'll often see them when I'm cycling home, and frequently they are quite blatant and not really phased by humans at all.
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I have seen a fox in central London.
Yep, stacks of Foxes around London. I'll often see them when I'm cycling home, and frequently they are quite blatant and not really phased by humans at all.
Hardly surprising when they leave them loads of food, either deliberately (man next door buys dog food for them) or by 'mistake' -something has to eat all the takeaway leftovers!
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Definitely don't need to be in the sticks for foxes.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2600448452_1b13916ef3.jpg?v=0)
We've had a few visits recently, gets the chooks going a bit mental - never let out to free range without us there.
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My daughter and I have now half constructed a nest box arrangement for the soon to be chicken coop..
We'll wait till after the nephews (3 and 6) have visited before the new chickens arrive. I have to construct a run as well. I'm looking at some galvanised wire mesh.
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Obviously foxes can be a threat to chickens, but would a domestic cat try it on? I've certainly seen domestic cats with pigeons in the past, but obviously that's still not quite as big as a chicken, I wonder if a large cat who was feeling a bit adventurous might have a go?
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IME no. Mr. Josh is nearly a stone and will take small rabbits, but just watches the chickens in a fairly uninterested manner.
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I'm inclined to agree regarding moggies & chickens. Ours never bothered and the chickens weren't alarmed by him.
The ferret, OTOH... he wandered past a chicken house once and they were all up in the rafters.
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How much actual noise do chickens make if you dont have a rooster? We'd really like to grow some chickens/eggs but our neighbours already make comments about noise from the dogs during the day (it's a pain having neighbours who don't work) and I dont want to antagonise them any further, really...
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Don't know. I can investigate from my colleagues in the Tayport Commune as to how much noise theirs make (two lots of chicken keepers.) Once ours are installed I'll let you know.
..d
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Most of the time hens are fairly quiet, but they do tend to cackle on a bit just after they have laid an egg. Also, first thing in the morning can be a bit noisy. When my dad kept hens, he would give them artificial light in the winter, because it seems that it is the length of day which fools them into thinking it's spring. I think the lights would come on around 4 a.m. in the depths of winter so they had at least 12 hours' feeding time. If I ever got up to go to the loo at that time, the whole back garden was bathed in fluorescent light and there was a right old din. From about 12 years from 1972 onwards, he had about 200 hens in houses in the garden. We lived in a rural area and the hen houses backed onto a slaughter house, so no-one noticed really.
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... We lived in a rural area and the hen houses backed onto a slaughter house, so no-one noticed really.
:o
I guess a bit of noise from the hens was the least of your problems!
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Yes, there was quite a bit of squealing, mooing and baaing.
It hasn't put me off meat though.
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We don't get loads of noise form our two. As Wow says they do announce eggs sometimes (one does it more than the other) and they go mental when a fox is near (speaking of the devil he visited again tonight, came back three times after being chased off). They're not noisier than the gulls we get here, although to be fair we've got great neighbours on either side and both have said they hadn't really noticed any noise, and they were both chuffed to get some free eggs yesterday.
On the cats thing we've found that our two give the chooks a pretty wide berth. Visiting cats are normally a bit inquisitive, but very unsure. But there was one big (and evil looking) tabby that went for one of the chooks after they'd eyeballed each other for a good 5 minutes. The chicken made a lot of noise and got big and scarpered. The cat seemed a bit taken aback and ran off himself.
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Having said that I was catching up on weeding early one latter-week morn and two blackbirds were tormenting a neighbouring cat of a temperament somewhere between Garfield and Bagpuss, cackling at it relentlessly and doing Stuka dive-bombing displays over it as soon as it put in a semi-dignified appearance into my garden (no doubt still in feline equivalent of dressing-gown and slippers and fumbling for the coffee pot). I can't imagine hens could be any noisier.
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We don't get loads of noise form our two. As Wow says they do announce eggs sometimes (one does it more than the other) and they go mental when a fox is near (speaking of the devil he visited again tonight, came back three times after being chased off). They're not noisier than the gulls we get here, although to be fair we've got great neighbours on either side and both have said they hadn't really noticed any noise, and they were both chuffed to get some free eggs yesterday.
Do you think there have been more seagulls about recently? I think there have been more, and they're noisier.
My grandad used to keep hens and our cat - which used to pick fights with anything it could find, including the local foxes - never bothered them.
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Well, the
playhouse coop has now been fitted with a nesting area and some perches for roosting. All I need to do now is add a small door to the door, and wire over the windows, build some small ladders/ramps to the perches, and build a wire run.
Shouldn't be too long then before we have new residents.
..d
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Our foxes seem to be getting a bit earlier - this was 9pm last night.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2761179688_8a8a32ca53.jpg?v=0)
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Time for an electric fence?
We have nearly finished building th ecoop. Just a doorway to make tonight, then the wire mesh to add.
And then to source some chickens. I've been thinking about getting some rescue chickens but at the moment finding any sort will wait till we have finished the run.
Don't think we have a fox problem locally.
..d
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Time for an electric fence?
We have nearly finished building th ecoop. Just a doorway to make tonight, then the wire mesh to add.
And then to source some chickens. I've been thinking about getting some rescue chickens but at the moment finding any sort will wait till we have finished the run.
Don't think we have a fox problem locally.
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With the new bigger run (to be built behind where the fox is sitting, just behind the bush, running off the shed up to a path which runs behind it) the chooks will have more space to be distanced from the fox, but we're also going to get FoxWatch and see if it works as a deterrent. Just not sure an electric fence around the top of the wall in an urban area is quite right.
Our neighbours are great, and like the chickens, but I think that might unnerve them a bit!
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... FoxWatch ...
I hadn't realised how much of a market there is for Fox deterrent products. At least this one appears to just be annoying to Foxes, presumably the Ultrasonics are way out of the hearing range of humans, but I wonder whether domestic pets are also likely to be affected? If you owned dogs I guess this could be a problem.
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... FoxWatch ...
I hadn't realised how much of a market there is for Fox deterrent products. At least this one appears to just be annoying to Foxes, presumably the Ultrasonics are way out of the hearing range of humans, but I wonder whether domestic pets are also likely to be affected? If you owned dogs I guess this could be a problem.
Apparently they're fine for cats, which given we have two, and loads come through the garden (causing the chickens no bother) we wanted to make sure of. But you're right, dogs might not get off so lightly.
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They get more cocky and bolshy by the day, coming running when called now, but quickly losing interest when you don't have food.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2784175576_5416243c84.jpg?v=1219325042)
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Is it just the angle the photo is taken or have those chucks had their beaks cut? If so I guess they are battery rescues (my nan used to keep battery rescue hens)
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Is it just the angle the photo is taken or have those chucks had their beaks cut? If so I guess they are battery rescues (my nan used to keep battery rescue hens)
Nah, must just be the angle (though one does have a pronounced underbite).
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I am really tempted - the whole Omlet thing looks perfect, if expensive - even the ebay ones are not that much cheaper.
2 hens sounds a good start - with maybe buying a third from a battery operation as a friend has suggested.
Are they really that easy to keep?
Omlet says 3p a day and you can leave for up to 3 days at a time [not that we go away that often].
How much exercise do they need? I can't quite tell what they mean by "letting them out every day" - is that out into the run or out into the garden?
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I am really tempted - the whole Omlet thing looks perfect, if expensive - even the ebay ones are not that much cheaper.
2 hens sounds a good start - with maybe buying a third from a battery operation as a friend has suggested.
Are they really that easy to keep?
Omlet says 3p a day and you can leave for up to 3 days at a time [not that we go away that often].
How much exercise do they need? I can't quite tell what they mean by "letting them out every day" - is that out into the run or out into the garden?
The Omlet idea looks expensive, but a decent wood chicken house will cost not much less (if at all). Although it would obviously be much cheaper building yourself!
They are remarkably little work, and made even more so by the Eglu being so easy to clean.
We got our two at the very end of May, with two big bags of feed, of which about half has been eaten. And that's it. We try to let them out of the run for at elast half an hour a day, but longer if possible, and weekends they can end up out all day if we're in the garden as well.
I'm building a bigger permanent run at the back of the garden so it's not so much of an issue.
I really can't recommend it highly enough.
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I have just placed an order for 3x Black Rock pullets, currently 17 weeks old.
Now all I need is a handful of chicken feed and we are off..
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Where have you chaps been getting your chickens from?
I quite like the idea of battery rescue chickens, but don't really know where to start. (This is possibly next year's project.)
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I quite like the idea of battery rescue chickens, but don't really know where to start. (This is possibly next year's project.)
Ask Wafflycat. Hers are doing well, producing lots of eggs and catching lots of voles...
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(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2600448452_1b13916ef3.jpg?v=0)
Don't forget that foxes can dig under that mesh. Doesn't take them long either. Bastards.
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Where have you chaps been getting your chickens from?
I quite like the idea of battery rescue chickens, but don't really know where to start. (This is possibly next year's project.)
try downthelane.net. It lists local poultry suppliers (I'll be collecting my chooks from near Ingliston which would be a bit out of your way) and also links to rescue hens.
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The Omlet idea looks expensive, but a decent wood chicken house will cost not much less (if at all). Although it would obviously be much cheaper building yourself!
Bloody right! Our chicken house was all made from recycled and reused material, with the exception of the roofing felt.
(http://woofage.co.uk/pics_misc/chooks_1.jpg)
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I must get some pics of ours - mostly a recycled kids wendy house.
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I must get some pics of ours - mostly a recycled kids wendy house.
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It is now occupied. I collected three Black Rock pullets today and they seem to be settling into their new home just fine.
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They are still rather timid so it is hard to get any decent pics yet.
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(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2991427743_df15b77cb0.jpg?v=0)
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Cool! I must get some more pics of ours. They're so tame now that they'll chase us round the garden with the expectation of a treat.
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Cool! I must get some more pics of ours. They're so tame now that they'll chase us round the garden with the expectation of a treat.
Mine aren't there yet. But we have only had them a week. Amazing what they can do to a cabbage.
I wasn't prepared for quite how messy and smelly they are. It will be good when some of the throughput comes out as eggs.
..d
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Watch out for an increase in nettles - they thrive in chicken shit.
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... They're so tame now that they'll chase us round the garden with the expectation of a treat.
What is a treat for a Chicken?
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Sweetcorn, apple, cabbage, a worm ....
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..your mice...
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... porridge. My staple brekkie during winter, so the chooks are getting a treat to.
This weekend I've got to get back cracking on the big permanent run - get the base down soon then start building it off the side of the shed.
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Still two months before I'm allowed my chickens.
Thinking ahead interms of food - is this a reasonable price?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Farmgate-Layers-Mash-20kg-hen-chicken-feed-food_W0QQitemZ170276046040QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170276046040&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Farmgate-Layers-Mash-20kg-hen-chicken-feed-food_W0QQitemZ170276046040QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170276046040&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318)
£17 for 20kg? How long might it last roughly? Is it to big for just two chickens?
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Still two months before I'm allowed my chickens.
Thinking ahead interms of food - is this a reasonable price?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Farmgate-Layers-Mash-20kg-hen-chicken-feed-food_W0QQitemZ170276046040QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170276046040&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Farmgate-Layers-Mash-20kg-hen-chicken-feed-food_W0QQitemZ170276046040QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170276046040&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318)
£17 for 20kg? How long might it last roughly? Is it to big for just two chickens?
That is £17 with free P&P. Reasonable value if you don't live near a feed shop, but I'd normally pay less than half that price.
So far we have had three chickens for two weeks and are not halfway down a 20kg bag.
..d
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I don't think I can easily source chicken feed locally, but I will try. Omlet give you a starter pack so i'll be OK for a while but i was interested as to how long this might last. Less than 10kg between 3 for 2 weeks gives me a really good estimate of what to expect.
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That is £17 with free P&P. Reasonable value if you don't live near a feed shop, but I'd normally pay less than half that price.
So far we have had three chickens for two weeks and are not halfway down a 20kg bag.
So, say you've used up 9kg (which makes the arithmetic slightly easier), that's 3kg per chicken for two weeks, or 1.5 kg per chicken per week.
At that price, they've cost you £1.28 per chicken per week.
Purely out of interest, how many eggs do you get from a chicken in a week? I appreciate that this isn't just about eggs, but I'm curious to know what the cost per egg is.
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That is £17 with free P&P. Reasonable value if you don't live near a feed shop, but I'd normally pay less than half that price.
So far we have had three chickens for two weeks and are not halfway down a 20kg bag.
So, say you've used up 9kg (which makes the arithmetic slightly easier), that's 3kg per chicken for two weeks, or 1.5 kg per chicken per week.
At that price, they've cost you £1.28 per chicken per week.
Purely out of interest, how many eggs do you get from a chicken in a week? I appreciate that this isn't just about eggs, but I'm curious to know what the cost per egg is.
on the back of a metaphorical envelope, we determined that they cost about 20p/egg. However, we have as yet had no eggs (the lasses are not quite there yet) . This is predicated on 1/day per chicken per 8 months of the year and 1/2days for the rest of the year.
..d
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I have to say we've gone through a lot less feed than that. How often do yours get to free range David? I think that has an effect.
Tim, when they're firing regularly there's about an egg a day from each chicken. We've got one off the lay just now, but the other is giving us one each day.
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I have to say we've gone through a lot less feed than that. How often do yours get to free range David? I think that has an effect.
Tim, when they're firing regularly there's about an egg a day from each chicken. We've got one off the lay just now, but the other is giving us one each day.
The 'nowhere near half' has been inflated by internet rumours. I think we have maybe fed them about 400g feed per day for three chickens. That works out as 25 days for 10kgs. Looks like we are just a quarter of the way through the bag.
As to free range, they have a run (about 6ft square) and lots of greens along with their food. We haven't let them loose in the garden yet.
..d
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You might want to try pellets instead.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20Kg-Sack-of-Farmgate-Layers-Pellets-Hen-Chicken-Feed_W0QQitemZ220297924987QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220297924987&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1468|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20Kg-Sack-of-Farmgate-Layers-Pellets-Hen-Chicken-Feed_W0QQitemZ220297924987QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220297924987&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1468|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318)
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Now I think I've got the main feed sorted what to do with the other end?
It's still another 2 months before my chickens arrive but I'm keen to know how much chicken shit a chicken shits. I was in Homebase today and saw 10kg for £8. Granted it was compressed and dried and probably smelled lovely, but what sort of output suitable for the garden are we talking about here?
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Now I think I've got the main feed sorted what to do with the other end?
It's still another 2 months before my chickens arrive but I'm keen to know how much chicken shit a chicken shits. I was in Homebase today and saw 10kg for £8. Granted it was compressed and dried and probably smelled lovely, but what sort of output suitable for the garden are we talking about here?
Look at the size of a bag of pellets. Subtract from that about 60 eggs (though much of that will be water). The rest is dried and compressed chicken poo. Then add in the wood shavings/straw. A few worms, grass etc.
IME a non-trivial amount.
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Betty:
(http://www.woofage.co.uk/animals/chooks_betty_09nov08.jpg)
Gloria:
(http://www.woofage.co.uk/animals/chooks_gloria_09nov08.jpg)
Henny Penny:
(http://www.woofage.co.uk/animals/chooks_penny_09nov08.jpg)
The girls together, picking at the veg plot:
(http://www.woofage.co.uk/animals/chooks_3_09nov08.jpg)
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With the base of the permanent run now laid work can start proper on the run itself. Hoping to have all of the frame in place by the end of this coming weekend, then the table for the chicken house, perches and the roof on by the end of the following weekend. Getting them in in time for Christmas.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/3096687184_40c7cf26f3.jpg?v=0)
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We're in the process of making a fully enclosed run for ours so they're safe when we're away. Mrs W bought an automatic pop-hole opening device which I have to say is marvellous! The only slight problem was that the first day it was operational I was delayed in getting home. It was already dark upon my return, the device had not been adjusted for the correct light level and the chooks got locked out! Two had roosted in a tree (good job I'm not afraid of heights) and the other looked sort of lost... We're all sorted now :thumbsup:
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Gloria is lovely!
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Cool, sounds good Woofage. We'll still be using the Eglu for their house, so no such fancy dan electronics. They're getting frustrated in their small run during the day during the week when we're working - have taken to ripping out the newspaper from the poop tray and scattering it about.
The new run has at least 4 times the floorspace and height, a bush to root about under, it'll have a dustbath, and a few perches, so they should be happy with it!
We've got a Hennypenny as well (Miss Hennypenny - for the Bond Reference. Princess Layer was vetoed in favour of Margot). Just a couple of red-brown mongrels - Mel's already decided that next time we get some speciality breeds.
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We have just put a load of bark chippings down now they have removed all the grass from the run. They seem quite happy. I built a climbing frame for them and will add more bits like that soon.
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A pal of mine has a hen named Sylvia.
He's always tickled pink when he asks visitors if they would like to meet Sylvia and they give the perplexed reply "Who is Sylvia?" ::-)
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That's a bit obscure. I bet not many of his guests work out the joke.
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That's a bit obscure. I bet not many of his guests work out the joke.
I haven't worked it out either.
???
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Could have called it Alice I s'pose.
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I have it's Shakespeare unless it's even more obscure. Knowing WoW she is probably the first Lithuanian Grand Master of the 20th century and terribly famous in Chess circles.
Who Is Silvia?
Who is Silvia? what is she,
That all our swains commend her?
Holy, fair, and wise is she;
The heaven such grace did lend her,
That she might admirèd be.
Is she kind as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness.
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness,
And, being helped, inhabits there.
Then to Silvia let us sing,
That Silvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing
Upon the dull earth dwelling:
To her let us garlands bring.
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And also very famously arranged by Schubert.
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One of my chickens is sneezing. Should I be worried?
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One of my chickens is sneezing. Should I be worried?
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Should be okay. We had one who started sneezing but was fine after a day or two. Now if they start 'gaping' as if to gasp air, it's possible they've got gapeworm and need a course of Flubenvet (cleared ours up beautifully).
The run is coming on, should have them in by the end of next Sunday.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/3107194913_beaa0e0809.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/3107194913/)
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Wow! It might sound silly but it never occured to me that a chicken run could be anything but wood coloured. That's so funky I fancy moving in myself.
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That's just given me a Really Good Idea.
*reaches for hot pink paint*
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That's so funky I fancy moving in myself.
But if you don't lay at least one egg a week, he'll make you into soup. :o
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Wow! It might sound silly but it never occured to me that a chicken run could be anything but wood coloured. That's so funky I fancy moving in myself.
Did you not see mine? Nice nordic coloured little house..
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Ah yes! Just looked back and seen it.
BUT, note that your outside fencing bit is still plain wood - i think you need to get the red paint out!
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Ah yes! Just looked back and seen it.
BUT, note that your outside fencing bit is still plain wood - i think you need to get the red paint out!
Did you not see the door? :D
One chicken still sneezing. Might be vet time..
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Poor chicken, I know how it feels. I decided I had gapeworm, yesterday, as I coughed and gasped for air.
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Our little Bantam keeps getting a problem with one of her eyes. I think she gets stuff trapped behind her eyelid and it gets yucky. We clean it up with warm salt water but it reoccurs every few months. She seems happy enough otherwise though. Lovely red comb etc. I may be a bit harsh but I don't know anyone who would take a chicken to a vet (know too many farmers I guess).
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When I were a lad, we always had chickens, as did my grandparents.
The housing was totally traditional: a portable (by two people) wooden chicken house. Last one was made from old pallets,discarded because broken - like my old compost bin (recycled when it got too rotten). A few (three, I think - it was a long time ago) laying boxes on the sides with hinged roofs, angled down to shed rain, hooks & eyes to hold them down - to stop foxes & cats. Bar along the side, immediately above the laying boxes, which both kept rain off the hinges, & provided a handy grip for lifting the house. Each side of the roof hinged up for access to the interior for cleaning. Tarpaper covered roof & laying box roofs. House door was a bit of wood that slid vertically in grooves, held up by string looped round a nail. They could be shooed inside & the door shut at night, for their own protection. The house didn't have a floor, but plenty of perches inside, & was moved fairly often - sometimes with the chickens inside - a bit of indignant clucking ensued. To stop the chickens from roaming everywhere when there was nobody to keep an eye on them, there was a separate wire run which could be loosely attached.
I've seen almost identical houses in photos from before my granddad was born. Well, if it works, don't fix it.
Chickens which are enclosed, but moved whenever they've de-vegetated the area inside the run, seem quite happy. They get a bit grumpy if left on bare ground, but perk up as soon as they're moved onto a fresh patch, especially if it's nicely overgrown with assorted weeds. Love it! Recently vacated patches are well fertilised - simply dig over and plant, then stand back so as not to be struck in the face by the plants shooting up.
I spent much of my childhood collecting eggs, feeding chickens (they love kitchen scraps), & replacing the straw in laying boxes (compostable, when used). As I remember, I quite enjoyed it, & with that experience, I realise that small numbers of chickens are easy to care for.
I must admit, my grandfathers idea of what to do with a sick or old chicken was to turn it into dogfood. A vets bill was a lot more than a new chicken. My mother turned the ill & old into food for a neighbours ferrets. She got hers ex-battery - industrial chicken farmers top 'em young, with years of laying left in 'em albeit at a reduced rate. Their spacious new home & varied diet seemed to give them a new lease of life. They were a bit wary of the outdoors at first, & had to be started off in the less scary wire run, with the house to retreat into, but soon decided they liked it.
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There's a big snagging list for the weekend, but the girls will be moving in tomorrow morning before we go to work....
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/3128615963_99b36b22bc.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/3128615963/)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/3128606727_9bba5f9c4d.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/3128606727/)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3249/3128594551_c6ba646955.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/3128594551/)
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Looks very nice. Mine are now happier after a few days of flubovent or whatever the expensive pot is.
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And with added chickens (Flubenvet really does seem to clear everything up!)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/3129814623_4396a7d187.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/3129814623/)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/3129814133_1f9650ac46.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/3129814133/)
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I think we may officially have the 'Hardest Chicken on the Block' in our garden. Mel was off yesterday and emailed to say the fox was prowling, later than usual, about 10am. I'm pretty confident about the new run holding up, but it would be the first test (after all, we can't be around all the time to scare the fox off, so best to let him test it while one of us is there).
He had a wee dig by the door, and was quickly defeated by the concrete base, so obviously went off for a little think. Came back about 11, paws up on the weldmesh to see if he could push it in, circled round, then pressed his nose up to the weldmesh having a sniff at the two chickens. Missy, mental case that she is, definitely the more stroppy and pushy despite being smaller, wanders up to him and pecks him on the nose...
Fox moves off, sits in the middle of the lawn and stares malevolently at the run.
He'll doubtless be back, so really time to finish all the snagging on it this weekend.
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Is Missy a Geordie? ;D
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Ours arrive in less 7 days. Very excited.
I notice your Eglu is inside the cage - I didn't spot that the building behind the cage is actually still a shed. That is a rather slick set-up.
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Ours arrive in less 7 days. Very excited.
I notice your Eglu is inside the cage - I didn't spot that the building behind the cage is actually still a shed. That is a rather slick set-up.
I still need to build a wee table to get the Eglu off the ground (Mainly because it just means they have the whole floorspace for their run, but I'm also going to be making up a wee turntable for it to make accessing the droppings tray and everything easier, AND they'll be cute wandering up and down the little ladder they'll need to use).
The area beside the shed was really just going to waste, so it made sense to build it off the side of that, and meant it was likely to be a little more sturdy as well.
Is Missy a Geordie? ;D
Almost certainly. She started moulting when the weather first started getting cold so that pretty much proves it...
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They've arrived. Already spotted the stronger of the two but we'll see.
Just had a cat in the garden that has rather upset them, but that will be nothing compared to the foxes they'll have to face!
(http://www.ealingcycling.org.uk/SiteImages/PeoplePics/HPIM3800.JPG)
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Hurrah! They'll get used to the cats and not bother a while. But yes, the foxes are a different matter altogether!
Our two are getting territorial over their new run - the whingeing when we go in to let them out of the Eglu or to change the water or whatever is remarkable.
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And now they've gone to bed all on their own. Just as the manual says so.
We tried to tempt them but they were not having it, so we left for another 30 mins and realised they had done it all on their own.
Chickens rock.
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First eggs today..
Two therof.
woo hoo..
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Show-off.
My youngest was expecting some yesterday and more today. Alas nothing so far except poop in the coop.
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Show-off.
My youngest was expecting some yesterday and more today. Alas nothing so far except poop in the coop.
There is a lot of conversion of feed to poop.
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i hope! it's the secondary reason for getting the hens- a supply of nitrogeon rich stuff for the allotment.
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First eggs today..
Two therof.
woo hoo..
Woo hoo indeed :thumbsup:.
We're getting 3 a day now. We thought Henny Penny (the youngest of our 3) would wait until the spring. However, just the other day she started "bopping" (bracing herself for Mr Cockerel) when approached which indicated sexual maturity. I had fried eggs for lunch (Mrs Woofage was out and she doesn't like the smell :().
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They've arrived. Already spotted the stronger of the two but we'll see.
Just had a cat in the garden that has rather upset them, but that will be nothing compared to the foxes they'll have to face!
(http://www.ealingcycling.org.uk/SiteImages/PeoplePics/HPIM3800.JPG)
That's some hat!
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Well, since they started laying we have had 1 day with 1, many days with 2 and yesterday with 3 eggs from three chooks..
So production is in full swing.
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(http://www.ealingcycling.org.uk/SiteImages/PeoplePics/HPIM38244.JPG)
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Helping out with the bike fettling...
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3429/3278330227_87ce953568.jpg?v=0)
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I will have a moss free lawn this year. Unfortunately I may also have a grass free one if the chickens get their way. Yours looks in fine fettle despite the attentions of the hens.
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I will have a moss free lawn this year. Unfortunately I may also have a grass free one if the chickens get their way. Yours looks in fine fettle despite the attentions of the hens.
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Same here - I had plans to move the coop every week and rotate the thing up and down the lawn, hoping it will have recovered within a cycle. No chance! I'm now looking at a better solution for the summer.
What breed are yours boudinnoirsurvélo?
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I will have a moss free lawn this year. Unfortunately I may also have a grass free one if the chickens get their way. Yours looks in fine fettle despite the attentions of the hens.
..d
Same here - I had plans to move the coop every week and rotate the thing up and down the lawn, hoping it will have recovered within a cycle. No chance! I'm now looking at a better solution for the summer.
What breed are yours boudinnoirsurvélo?
I can obviously never remember the breed - it's a hybrid of something or other. Mel's keen on getting some more distincitve breeds 'next time' or when we finally move to the countryside - these two will always be more special for being the first though.
During the summer our grass coped admirably, and in fact probably grew through even stronger. But come winter and those bare patches you can see are just where it failed to grow back in between moves of the Eglu. Now they're in the permanent run the lawn should get a chance to regrow over the summer.
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Would also like to keep hens at the woods. But we don't live there, so it might be difficult to protect them against the foxes and badgers, and they'd have to be kept in at night, so I don't think it would be an option unless we were resident there.
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One of my hens is in prolapse. :( She made it through the night and seems perky enough. I'm bathing her vent regularly and giving her a good fingering to get it all back in, followed by generous helpings of honey the get the swelling down. I bet she's not looking forward to laying today.
If she doesn't recover soon I'll have to end it for her, which is never nice.
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If she doesn't recover soon I'll have to end it for her, which is never nice.
RIP. Infection had set in. Poor Rachel. :(
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If she doesn't recover soon I'll have to end it for her, which is never nice.
RIP. Infection had set in. Poor Rachel. :(
I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I think you made a mistake giving a name to food. It conditions your attitudes. None of the many chickens we had when I was growing up ever had a name, & it made it much easier to wring their necks when it was time to turn them into stew or pet food, whether due to age lowering their laying rate, or an illness or injury which made it no longer worth keeping them. How much time did you spend treating that chicken? How many eggs were those hours worth? And even from the chickens point of view, did you do the best thing? Would it not have been kinder to have finished her off quickly, & as painlessly as possible, at the start?
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Good points, but they just ended up with names. We always said that we'd never eat them as they are pets; I'm sure some will see this as waste. Said hen didn't seem too distressed as her behaviour seemed normal, but research suggested she'd not recover - hence the chop before it started to get too bad for her, and before I wasted much time on her.
She was only a hen after all - but she gave us a regular supply of very tasty eggs, and loads of entertainment!
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Fair enough.
BTW, I don't want to give the impression our chickens were mistreated at all. They had pretty good lives, & it did the heart good to see their pleasure every time their run was moved onto a nice fresh weed patch.
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The new arrivals (compounded with the departures - one RIP and one AWOL) mean we now have four, easily distinguishable.
The original Black rock, a Speckled cuckoo, a Light Sussex, and a Northern Blue. We can monitor eggs per chicken as they should all lay different coloured eggs. light brown, dark brown, cream and blue in that order.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2624/3868667012_f948f61311.jpg)(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2631/3867896287_c3d7057d9b.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3514/3868672418_f46d49c97e.jpg)(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2483/3867886731_a6fdc5d508.jpg)
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Very lovely looking ladies :)
I am seriously thinking of getting some chickens for the woods - just maybe 2 or 3 to start with. They would have to be kept in a run because of the foxes. I was thinking of the larger Eglu because it is easily mobile and we could bring them back home if we are away for a couple of weeks (so the neighbour can feed them).
Couple of questions: Is it possible to leave them for a couple of days so that you can go away for a long weekend if you stock them up with food and drink? Is the Eglu a good thing or is it better to get a proper hen house? How fox-proof is an Eglu? (OK that's three questions).
Cheers!
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The Eglus are fox proof - the cage actually has a skirt that deters foxes from digging under it.
You should be fine leaving them alone for a few days, certainly with a large Eglu.
They are expensive compared to building your own, but they look lovely and are rock solid - and mobile as you say.
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You can leave hens for a few days no problem so long as you fill the feeder and water before you go and the run is secure.
There are loads of plans and ideas on the Internet for building your own hen house. I am currently thinking of building this one
City Bidy Hen House (http://www.ubuilderplans.com/node/37)
to replace the rotten one we inherited.
Also look here for ideas.
Backyard Chickens (http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html)
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Shiny.
I'm doing some upgrades to our chicken house at the w/e. We're also getting 2 more chooks :). I'll post pics soon.
We've actually started selling our eggs with a little honesty box attached to the side of the garage. A chap knocked on the door on Sunday with some returned egg boxes. He said that ours were the best eggs he's ever had 8).
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My mum's just got herself half a dozen hens and phones me every so often to regale me with tales of how amusing they are. She says they follow her round the garden and it's really hard to dig the veg bed when there are hens standing on the garden fork. She's spoiling them, feeding them on porridge in the morning, and she says they love sweetcorn but they're not keen on grapes.
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Ours hate grapes too. They love chips or cooked potatoes of any kind though.
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The cattery that I've taken Talisker to recently has free roaming chickens. When I went to pick him up on Friday, the chap had to chase a couple out of their office.
I'm sure it drives most of the occupants up the wall, so much free roaming food, just out of reach! ;D
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Mr DS says I can have some at the woods, so I think I'll be ordering an Eglu Cube with some chickens this week. I'm going for the Eglu because it is much more secure than wooden hen houses and we do have both badgers and foxes at the woods.
I'm so excited!
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Woo hoo! Ordered one Eglu cube, extended run and three chickens to live at the woods. Arriving 23rd October. I'm so excited. I know the Eglu is expensive but it is very well built and very predator proof and I wouldn't be happy leaving them in a wooden hen house knowing that foxes and badgers can gnaw through these.
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We've recently had another 5 from the BHWT; three very poorly, missing eyes and wings. I've got more details on my blog at http://russelleden.wordpress.com/category/chickens/
Some of the poorly ones are back at laying, which I didn't expect.
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Russell, that's great! We are getting a set-up suitable for up to 10 chickens, but only starting with 3 point-of-lay. When we are used to them and a bit more confident, we'll definitely get some ex-battery chickens (Stephen calls them re-chargeable chickens because they were batteries...oh dear!). We aim to get a total of 6 eventually. We didn't want to start with chickens that have "issues", either physical or psychological, but our aim is definitely to help poor little re-chargeables.
Stephen was so negative, but now he's getting quite into the idea of chickens and I've only just ordered them!
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I volunteered to take the poorly hens, but it's usual for the ex-batts to be in very good health and only in need of a bit of fuss. They're really great to have and I can recommend them. Spead to Ian at the BHWT and he'll sort you some out Battery Hen Welfare Trust (http://www.bhwt.org.uk)
I guarantee that Stephen will fall in love with them all. You won't get a look in!
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Ours hate grapes too. They love chips or cooked potatoes of any kind though.
She only tried them with grapes because my dad said his dad's hens used to love them. The hens turned their beaks up at them so she offered them to a neighbour with "I got these for the hens but they don't want them so you can have them if you like." :D
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My Eglu Cube and three lovely chickens arrived today from Omlet. They are happily clucking around in their run, being stared at by Ozzy, our youngest cat, who thinks they are dinner on the wing but is frustrated by their large size and the big cage.
Doc Sarah's Domain (http://www.docsquid.com/chickens.htm)
I'm really taken by them. Their feathers are so soft and beautiful. And they have their own personalities, that is clear even in a very short while.
Happy Happy :) :) :)
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Enjoy them!
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We are getting some lovely Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds in the spring from some friends here who are breeding them... they'll be getting a large permanent run including a couple of trees, but we'll also be operating a chicken tractor in the new orchard (which we'll be putting in at the same time). The problem here is not just foxes but also coyotes, which don't bother waiting until night!
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We've spent an awfully large amount of time watching chickens in the last couple of days. They are very amusing indeed, particularly with their bedtime ritual, as they have had to manage the little ladder thing on the Eglu Cube that doesn't reach right to the ground.
One of the chickens (Gwennie) is much better than the other two - she goes up first to show them the way. Then Megan follows her. The only problem is that Gwennie then tries to get down before Megan is right up, so they have to pass on the ladder that is really only wide enough for one chicken. Then Gwennie shows Blodwyn how to get up and there is more passing on the ladder, turning round, changing her mind, flapping and wobbling. Finally all three get in, and then Gwennie comes out again to show off how she can fly down from the top rung, jump back up to the fourth run, do pirouettes on the ladder and so forth. It is absolutely mad!
I'm very impressed with the Cube. It is very sturdy, as is the weld-mesh run and extension. They have upgraded the door so you can get into the run and walk around (slightly crouched) with relative ease. It is a doddle to empty the poo trays, which I have lined with Hemcore horse bedding, and is easy to move around when you put the wheels down. It is expensive, but the convenience of not having to scrub out a wooden hen house, which would have put me off owning chickens otherwise, is worth the money.
Just waiting for my first egg now - they are a bit young still, particularly Gwennie who hasn't got any wattles yet. The other two are bigger and therefore more likely to lay soon.
Mr DS was very sceptical but he talks to them and takes them out little chicky treats, so I think he's sold on the idea!
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Mr DS was very sceptical but he talks to them and takes them out little chicky treats, so I think he's sold on the idea!
It is very common for males to become completely engrossed in the hen experience. I'll wager that you won't get a look in later on.
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Gratuitous chicken pictures from their first free range experience today:-
(http://www.docsquid.com/blodwyn-fuchsias.jpg)
Blodwyn admiring the fuchsias
(http://www.docsquid.com/gwennie-oneglu.jpg)
Gwennie seems pretty good at flying - here she is on the roof of the Eglu
(http://www.docsquid.com/gwennie-megan-dustbin.jpg)
Gwennie and Megan are being nosey - they are on the dustbin looking in at the kitchen
(http://www.docsquid.com/steve-gwennie.jpg)
A reluctant Gwennie is returned to the run - it is nearly dark by this stage but she doesn't want to go to bed!
We spent the next hour by torchlight plugging all the visible gaps in below the fence. I suspect they'll find the invisible gaps :(
I think wing clipping might be essential, as Gwennie really likes flying and keeps eyeing up the fence...
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We only had to clip the wing once of our flighty girl, since then she seems quite happy remaining in our garden. It's a decent size with plenty of undergrowth, and borders to dustbath in - god only knows what they'd make of a forest!
Lovely looking girls though.
We had one went broody for a couple of months earlier in the year. We tried absolutely everything you're supposed to try to stop it, but nowt worked. She snapped out of it herself, which was a relief cos it was putting the other one off laying and we ended up haivng to buy eggs! You really do get used to your own supply...
Now a year and a half old (their Eglu lives inside a large run I built off the side of the shed).
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Mr DS was very sceptical but he talks to them and takes them out little chicky treats, so I think he's sold on the idea!
It is very common for males to become completely engrossed in the hen experience. I'll wager that you won't get a look in later on.
Ah! That's why Nikki was saying "Does she need to get tarred and feathered or something ..." ;)
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I don't think any chicken has a right to look this comfortable! Gwennie has pinched the place the cats usually use to sunbathe and is showing us how it is done.
(http://www.docsquid.com/gwennie-sunbathing2.jpg)
(http://www.docsquid.com/gwennie-sunbathing1.jpg)
Still no eggs though *sigh*
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It's the wrong time of year for eggs. Egg laying in chickens is controlled by the length of the day. In general once the days get short they stop laying, exactly when varies from chicken to chicken. If you want them to lay right through the winter then you need to provide artificial light for an hour or so to make the day seem a bit longer. You may still get the occasional egg through winter without doing so.
Apparently some people manage to get their chucks to keep laying just by having the run reasonably close to the house and leaving the curtains open on the nearest window fo an hour or so on an evening.
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3 chickens available, free to a good home
Login (http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=26.0)
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It's the wrong time of year for eggs. Egg laying in chickens is controlled by the length of the day. In general once the days get short they stop laying, exactly when varies from chicken to chicken. If you want them to lay right through the winter then you need to provide artificial light for an hour or so to make the day seem a bit longer. You may still get the occasional egg through winter without doing so.
Apparently some people manage to get their chucks to keep laying just by having the run reasonably close to the house and leaving the curtains open on the nearest window fo an hour or so on an evening.
I think it depends on the chickens. One of ours through last winter laid about 5 eggs per week - the other went down to 3-4 a week. Maybe it's because they're hybrids, I'm not sure, but their run is at the back of the garden, a reasonable distance form any light from the house...
They definitely slow down in the egg production though!
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We're not really expecting any eggs until after Christmas although Blodwyn is showing signs of coming into lay i.e larger comb, red face and crouching. So maybe she'll oblige. I'm not worried as it will give them time to grow up and get strong before starting to lay in the Spring.
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It's the wrong time of year for eggs. Egg laying in chickens is controlled by the length of the day. In general once the days get short they stop laying, exactly when varies from chicken to chicken. If you want them to lay right through the winter then you need to provide artificial light for an hour or so to make the day seem a bit longer. You may still get the occasional egg through winter without doing so.
Apparently some people manage to get their chucks to keep laying just by having the run reasonably close to the house and leaving the curtains open on the nearest window fo an hour or so on an evening.
When my dad kept hens in the 1980s (we had 200 or so in houses at the bottom of the garden) he used to have flourescent lights come on at about 4 a.m. in the winter so that the birds weren't suddenly left in darkness at roosting time. I think it made some difference to the numbers they laid but I was never convinced it was money well spent.
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Well, Blodwyn has defied all expectations and given us a lovely, perfect egg every day starting last Saturday. They are gradually increasing in size - the first one was 46 grammes and today's is 70 grammes. Megan and Gwennie are both crouching and Megan is going into the hen house for a while in the mornings, although nothing so far in the way of eggs, but this is what Blodwyn did a few days before she started laying for real. It is very exciting to have your own eggies every day!
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Our speckledy is clearly not long for this world :'(. She became ill a few weeks ago but perked up after being kept alone and fed well. She seemed to integrate back with the others OK but in the past week or so she's looked very weak and hardly does anything. We've kept her isolated in an unused guinea pig hutch but she seems to be getting weaker and weaker.
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Speckledy is no more - found her dead this morning. She's at peace now.
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Poor Speckledy :( Sorry she passed away, but I guess it was meant to be.
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Chicken nunber is looking a bit scruffy - some loss of feathers on her undercarriage. I'll consult the Omlet forum at some point but is this anything to worry about? The bald patch if probably the size of a 50p. She's eating and laying fine, but I've been told that chickens are very good at hiding problems so they don't fall down the pecking order.
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The Omlet forum will have some suggestions. A lot of folks on there have chickens in moult at present, so this might be the cause. However I am only a beginner in the chicken-keeping department!
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Anyone in Yorkshire want a cockerel? Three of my mum's 5 hens have turned out to be male, and they're getting nasty and aggressive. They'll have to be separated and she can't keep any of them because the neighbours aren't happy about the crowing. She'd much rather give them away than have them destroyed.
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This (http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/poultry-and-game/chicken/coq-au-vin.html) may sort your mums problems out.
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She's pescatarian.
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Text from mum today saying "three eggs today!" She's far too old to be egging, so I assume she means the hens. ;D
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A momentous day! Both our hens laid eggs today for the first time since we got them a couple of weeks ago. One is now laying humungous eggs which barely fit in an egg box :o
The other one could frankly try a bit harder and her eggs are so diddy that they slip down into the bowels of any normal sized egg cup. Still, she's only young so hopefully they'll get bigger in time.
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hopefully they'll get bigger in time.
They will.
Our 5 chooks have been paying for their upkeep for some time now. On most days we get a full complement of 5 eggs and we sell them for 80p per half dozen (still half the price of supermarket eggs). An added bonus is that one of our chickens lays blue eggs.
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Our three lay an egg each day. Gwennie's eggs are more bantam sized than chicken sized, but still lovely. The other two (Blodwyn and Megan) lay woppers.
I'm still hoping to add three more chooks in the spring - hopefully a couple of skylines and a speckledy.
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Text from mum today saying "three eggs today!" She's far too old to be egging, so I assume she means the hens. ;D
Must have been the hens. Two eggs arrived here today, carefully packaged and padded with bubblewrap. It's been years since I last saw such a muddy egg. ;D
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Text from mum today saying "three eggs today!" She's far too old to be egging, so I assume she means the hens. ;D
Must have been the hens. Two eggs arrived here today, carefully packaged and padded with bubblewrap. It's been years since I last saw such a muddy egg. ;D
Are you sure it's mud?
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Yes. ;D
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Wildlife scorecard chez Quisling: Fox 2: Chickens 0 :(
Guess who built the "fox proof" chicken run? :facepalm:
Upgrade required before re-stocking.
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We are on Fox 1 children 0. Guess which teenage daughter was mortified when she realised she hadn't done what she was asked to do, namely close up the chicken coop.
..d
[1] Fortunately I double checked and closed it. It was the other night it had been accidentally left open and we went -1 on the chicken front.
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Text from my mum
Am standing in the kitchen, ironing, with the back door open, Rod Stewart CD playing and 4 hens sitting on the kitchen floor clucking quietly and listening.
;D
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We've finally re-stocked :thumbsup:. Introducing Miranda, Livingstone and Gillan....
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p115/quisling_photos/2011-02-27Miranda_LivingstoneandGillan.jpg)
Alas, our old cat was put down t'other week though. Yes, the one I ran over a few years ago ::-)
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We lost Gloria last week. She became ill and just went downhill from there.
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Oh dear, poor Gloria.
On a happier note, we are with egg! 2 to be eggsact. Actually, the girls all laid one but decided to eat one... Conveniently leaving one each for me and MiniQ for breakfast :-)
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We're up to four chooks after getting Skye and Ruby about 7-8 months ago
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5095/5458696255_bcf696b9b5.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/5458696255/)
Which also meant an extension to the permanent run being built as the old girls got VERY territorial and it was either this or have the neighbours calling environmental health on us!
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/5373218599_9ab0d938e3.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/5373218599/)
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Oh dear, poor Gloria.
On a happier note, we are with egg! 2 to be eggsact. Actually, the girls all laid one but decided to eat one... Conveniently leaving one each for me and MiniQ for breakfast :-)
That can be very annoying when they get a taste for their own eggs. Hard to break them of that.
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I don't seem to have had a repeat of the hen-eats-egg scenario which is good. I removed the broken egg rapidly so they don't get a taste for it, put more straw down so they're less likely to break one and make sure I'm only putting cooked and crushed egg shells back in their run for them to peck at.
This seems to have done the trick. Also, I'm checking more regularly for new eggs.
I baked my first sponge cake from the hens output last night :thumbsup:
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I've got a chicken poo question please. The allotment that I've not long had has had 10 years of chicken manure dug into it and am wondering how "clean" it is? I've used horse muck in the past and am happy working with it barehanded with cuts and scrapes, but am not sure I should be with this stuff.
There'll be the occasional toddlers knocking about too and wonder if we need to keep them away from the bits that I haven't managed to dig over yet?
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Good question - I've never taken any special care when dealing with the stuff - just the usual wash hands after use and immediately if you think there's an open wound that it could get into. Wearing gloves is shrewd when working on the plot anyhow, and is always recommended for people who suffer from lymphatic drainage issues - e.g. those who've had mastectomy etc.
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I think chicken shit is very strong and likely to damage plants if put on neat. My dad, an inveterate chicken keeper and gardner, use to mix it with lots of weeds, grass clippings and straw and allow it to rot for a good 2 years before using it a a mulch.
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Makes sense as birds don't have a separate opening for poo and pee so chicken droppings will have a high urea (-> ammonia) content.
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That'll account for the smell then. Not being familiar with the stuff I think it's well rotted and looks like it's been mixed with plant material beforehand. The thinking behind my "worries" was that they're omnivorous and if that might make it more likely to pose a risk.
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Here's a tip for increasing chicken happiness and getting some free protein in their diet. Leave bits of broken tile on the ground for long enough for the grass underneath to die. Worms will sit under the tiles. They like it there, I don't know why. Pick up the tile when a chicken is nearby and hey presto, a free meal and huge excitement. Pretty soon they will follow you everywhere in case tile-lifting is imminent.
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My mum's eight year old hens have started laying again after the winter, much to her surprise.
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We have one that's about 14 and it laid an egg last week. It does so intermittently during the spring and summer. She's a rum old girl, a tiny white pekin bantam with only one eye, incredibly tame and friendly but she rules the roost (well the other hen she lives with). She has outlived about six other hens we have had over the years and is one of the original trio we were given to look after "for a few weeks" about twelve years ago.
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We're up to four chooks after getting Skye and Ruby about 7-8 months ago
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5095/5458696255_bcf696b9b5.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/5458696255/)
Which also meant an extension to the permanent run being built as the old girls got VERY territorial and it was either this or have the neighbours calling environmental health on us!
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/5373218599_9ab0d938e3.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/5373218599/)
Put your new chucks in the hut with the old ones when its dark. They dont fight as much then and by morning its pretty much sorted out. An old farmer who breeds fancy chickens and ducks told me this and its worked for us.
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Those of you who keep hens need to check the news today and, er, let them live in your kitchens for a month.
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Keeping chooks is not all its cracked up to be.