The Chicken thread

[bramley]

Awesome, thanks for all the info. I'll have a read through and work out a plan, some great suggestions there.

[netherfield]

http://www.hinchliffes.com/Hen%20Keeping%20Fact%20...

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

[y2blade]

Mine here (have a read):
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

They are brilliant, great characters that follow us around the garden and chase the dog too!
The eggs are a world apart from the crap you buy believe me.

[Broomsticklady]

Lots of good info above. We have 4 Black Rock ladies - Tikka, Dopiaza, Korma and Jalfrezi. They have a large run and a nesting shed, and initially gave us 4 eggs a day. Slowed down a bit last month or so, but generally recognised as being good layers. We're quite rural and have 'local' rats foxes and badgers (and roe deer, but they just go for the trees) but have had no bother so far - a year touch wood. They have a tunnel arrangement from the main run into the nesting shed - great seeing them use it as a runway! - and as it's all enclosed they put themselves to bed and get themselves up. Vermin control may be aided by presence of 4 hunting large Norwegian Forest cats... we were overrun with rabbits when we first built the house - they now moved on!

Lots of websites- I like http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/ but I buy layers pellets etc - the big items - from local farm stores - I spose not everyone's got them. Best buy for me was water heater to save water getting frozen, and I must admit to succumbing to the Jungle Gym for my girls.

Nina

[mattdaniels]

We have four rescue hens in a couple of runs - one we bought, one we built. We average about 3 eggs a day and they are definitely nicer than shop-bought. Echo all the above advice. They are not that onerus to look after, they are good fun, and they keep the garden in check.

[anonymous-user]

Wondered where you were Matt! How's the house coming on? Am I the only one who's going to be keeping chickens with a view to eating them. Obviously, I'll have one pen with the named ones, and ones for the eaters. Having had chickens in the past (and knowing how delicious the eggs were), I can only assume that one roasted is the finest thing I'll probably ever eat

[thinfourth2]

Oh and one of the best chicken books is actually the one that haynes publish

[Ffuxake]

I've always wanted chickens and took the plunge last June. No regrets whatsoever! I bought three ready to lay (16 weeks old), 2 Light Sussex and a White Leghorn, £15 each from www.heswallhillshenporium.co.uk
I bought a £300 nearly new coop on ebay for £85 and spent £100 on timber and mesh to build a closed andopen run.
I gave them free run of the garden and yes, they've eaten the lawn and anything other kind of vegetation!. Last week I've built a new fence to give them the bottom third of the garden including a greenhouse which is their conservatory!
Pretty much three huge and delicious eggs a day from them and have spent the princely amount of about £30 on feed and shavings for the coop.
Fresh water is a must and they will happily scoff any food scraps you throw out to them, as treats they love sweetcorn and dried mealworms!.
My advice definately do it!! Really therapeutic to sit in the garden and just watch them scratch and forage in soil.
DON'T whatever you do of falling into the Mumsnet trap of calling them chooks, girls or ladies!!

[schmalex]

We added 5 geese to our chickens a couple of years ago. Bought them as chicks in May, fattened them up and then killed them for Christmas. They tasted like nothing before. Just sublime.

[Mr Jenks]

All these posh houses for your birds, ours roost in the tree in their run. They have two houses to choose from but only go in if its really cold. Only problem was that a Silkie got spooked one night and fell from the tree, landed in the duck pond below.

[Gretchen]

Glad you've bumped this thread - I was wondering how your hens were with all your snow y2blade.

We added three White Campbell ducks to our flock in July





They started laying at the beginning of December, 2 eggs a day (we have a Drake - Wiggins, and 2 ducks - Pendleton & Cavendish). Duck eggs are just divine. So much that I now prefer them when baking and poaching and feel I'm neglecting to use my hens eggs.

Hens have taken well to the ducks and they all play nicely. Out of the five hens I think three are laying at the moment and have most of the winter. So no shortage of eggs (or home baked cake) here.




4 delicious duck eggs, and 2 hen eggs.

Poached duck egg on Boxing Day



And plenty of cakes baked to see us through the snow



I still love them and am in such fascination amazement every time I find an egg.

[y2blade]

Those ducks are cool
Great pictures, yeah the girls weren't bothered at all by the snow, plenty of fresh water and we put their feed under cover.

[mattdaniels]

skintemma said:

Wondered where you were Matt! How's the house coming on? Am I the only one who's going to be keeping chickens with a view to eating them. Obviously, I'll have one pen with the named ones, and ones for the eaters. Having had chickens in the past (and knowing how delicious the eggs were), I can only assume that one roasted is the finest thing I'll probably ever eat

Not worked on the house since before Christmas. Nose to the grindstone earning some pennies rather than spending them.

Since our hens are rescues they are not for eating, though they have come close to ending up in the oven a couple of times.

[Caractacus]

schmalex said:

We added 5 geese to our chickens a couple of years ago. Bought them as chicks in May, fattened them up and then killed them for Christmas. They tasted like nothing before. Just sublime.

Christms??

You ate FIVE geese at Christmas?

[schmalex]

Caractacus said:

hristms??

You ate FIVE geese at Christmas?

No!!!!

We ate one for Christmas lunch, gave three away to friends and then ate another one on New Years Day.

[Ffuxake]

How noisy are the ducks Gretchen?
My chickens are in my urban garden but would love a couple of ducks!

[Caractacus]

Gretchen said:

Glad you've bumped this thread - I was wondering how your hens were with all your snow y2blade.

We added three White Campbell ducks to our flock in July

Hi G,

Not sure if you're aware, or care, but just so you know (I'm not telling you how to suck eggs, btw!) there are some do's & do not's wrt keeping chickens & ducks in the same enclosure.

http://poultrykeeper.com/keeping-ducks-faq/can-you...

All the best,

C.

PS- great looking grub!!!

[mattdaniels]

If you are thinking of keeping chickens to fetch tennis balls, then don't bother. Border collies are better. (sample size = 2)

[Gretchen]

Ffuxake said:

How noisy are the ducks Gretchen?
My chickens are in my urban garden but would love a couple of ducks!

We specifically chose White Campbells as they are quiet, as well as having been bred for their egg laying capability (top egg laying duck at 1 a day).

They're no noisier than the hens, in fact probably quieter unless disturbed - like Geese I've found they 'guard' making a very quiet quack type noise if they hear anyone or anything approaching the house or their garden. But even then it's quiet. Almost describable as a Bevis & Buthead type laugh. Drakes don't make any quack sound, just a gentle hiss, but Wiggins has never even done that.

They are messy though! Mine don't need water for swimming, though have a bath in which I put wheat so the hens don't eat it, They also have to be able to put their heads under water completely to clear their nostrils, and hence tend to make their bath water filthy and in turn the area surrounding it.

They've got plenty of room to waddle about in and love burying their beaks in search of grubs & worms. The only annoyance is, unlike hens, they never seem to lay their eggs in the same place for very long. I have to search under bushes, Behind coops, in coops, in nest boxes, under nest boxes... I know they're there somewhere it's just a matter of finding them.

[Gretchen]

Caractacus said:

Hi G,

Not sure if you're aware, or care, but just so you know (I'm not telling you how to suck eggs, btw!) there are some do's & do not's wrt keeping chickens & ducks in the same enclosure.

http://poultrykeeper.com/keeping-ducks-faq/can-you...

All the best,

C.

PS- great looking grub!!!

No problem. It's all good. Ducks were raised seperately until POL. They're now fed wheat under water and non medicated pellets. I don't have a cockerel & my hens are all dainty bantams none of whom have been in any way aggressive to the ducks. We did a lot of research before deciding on breed and living arrangements etc.

They have a decent sized 'paddock' mucked out regularly and covered in fresh straw, which is enclosed within an enclosed fox proof garden - in fact it's also now dog proof since I lost a few hens to my Border Collie - Mat you are a lucky man! There are two large coops and lots of hiding places and toys. They really are very spoilt!

But when they give such bountiful fruit in the deep golden yolk tasty eggs then they're worth it.