UA-12921627-3 Jump to content

The Chicken Thread.


phoebejo

Recommended Posts

Somebody suggested having a chicken thread just like the horse update one, so here it is :biggrin:

 

Introduce your chickens and tell us a bit about them :pinkie:

 

I am now the proud owner of 11 hybrids :wub: I can honestly say my ladies are one of the best things to ever happen to me :wub: I had wanted to keep chickens like forever! Mr Hazell finally relented and our first five arrived in August, followed by six more last week. New chook house is big enough for about twenty so we hope to have some rescue ones soon too. There are no negatives to chook keeping at all. They're cheap to feed, all their bedding gets composted so there is no waste that way, they eat all the evil slugs and snails from the garden and produce yummy eggs. What more could you want?

 

Pancake, Bovans Goldline, top chook. Always the first at the back door to see what yummy things I might be carrying. Thieves shamelessly from the children.

SANY0126.jpg

 

Tallulah, Amber Lee, second in command. Pancakes best mate & partner in crime. Likes being man-handled by Georgia :laugh:

DSC01429.jpg

 

Valerie, Black Star. Doesn't have a single brain cell. Not one.

DSC00937.jpg

 

Mrs Pants, Speckledy. Has a gorgeous floppy comb and lay eggs with dark brown freckles. She loves me and likes to sit on my chair with me.

DSC00939.jpg

 

Maisie, Pied Suffolk. Was top chook until Pancake took over. Seems happier not being in charge. Soooooo noisy though. She sqwarks until she's let out in the mornings but only starts once she can hear I'm up. She has super sonic hearing :laugh:

DSC01430.jpg

 

I took some new pics of the new girls today. It was the first time they'd free ranged with the big girls and went surprisingly well.

 

Juliet, Sussex Star. She's going to be big like Maisie. Huge head!

DSC01420.jpg

 

Primrose, Red Ranger. Very brave little chicken. Wanted to take on the big girls.

DSC01421.jpg

 

Freya, Columbine. Should lay blue or green eggs :pinkie: Sounds like a pheasant :wacko:

DSC01425.jpg

 

Eliza, White Star. Will lay white eggs. Fearless. Sounds like a cat :wacko:

DSC01414.jpg

 

Violet, Bluebelle. Doesn't seem to be the brightest chook.

DSC01409.jpg

 

Catherine, another Columbine. The newest love of my life :wub: She didn't like the violence shown by Pancake & Tallulah so hid in the house. At the first sign of trouble she runs straight to her bed, she really hates it. She adores cuddles, chats away in her cute voice constantly to me and there is just something very special about her :wub:

DSC01418.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 995
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I have been trying to find out what the life expectancy is for a chook, but can't seem to find the answer so its over to the fugees- does anyone know?

 

I have 2 sulmtaler bantams- Derek and Doris, they were hatched in either 2003 or 2004 (i can't find the diary i wrote it in) and Doris hasnt laid a single egg this year and as they are both in excellent condition and health i am assuming its due to her age and it got me wondering how long they actually live for :wacko:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pure breeds live for longer, I read that some go on for ten years! Around five or six seemed to be the average. Hybrids last about four years.

 

When I went out to shut their doors I thought I'd double check that everyone was in the right houses. Good job I checked because I found Catherine asleep with the big girls! She might've been ok but then again they might've turned on her in the morning so I plucked her out and put her in her house. It's nice that she felt brave enough but I'd like them all to move in at the same time, safety in numbers and all that :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a couple of chookie questions, I'm now at the stage where I think I'll be able to get chooks, but a few things are holding me back, I sometimes am away visiting all day, not getting home till 10 at night, would the chooks be ok ?, they would be in a secure enclosure with access to their house.

I'm thinking of this house P&T is it any good ?, I like the look of the one in the photo's :)

I would like to get big birds, less chance ( I hope) of being blootered by the dogs, I'd also like them to be pretty friendly as I plan to have them mainly as pets, but eggs will be a factor too, what breeds should I be looking at ?

I'm worried about them at night in the winter, how do you keep chooks cosy ? I have read that the hen house needs to be airy to stop respiritory problems, how do you keep them warm and airy :unsure: I have visions of them all having their own little hot water bottles :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The house is fine, very similar to mine and dead easy to clean.

 

Being away isn't a problem if they're in a secure run. They take themselves off to bed when it gets dark anyway. All I need to do with my lot is close their door. They'll be plenty warm enough in that house, they're well insulated against the cold with all those feathers! It's lovely on a cold day to pick up one of mine and warm my hands on them :laugh:

 

Hybrids like mine will lay all the year round. Mine rarely miss a day. Pure breeds will not lay through the winter, but as they're using less resources they live longer, so in affect probably lay just as many eggs but over a longer period.

 

Pancake & Tallulah are my friendliest birds (not so friendly with the others, have enjoyed teasing the newbies). They'd be described as medium sized I guess. Lizzie was the one terribly interested in the chickens for all the wrong reasons. She had learnt to ignore them now though, they weren't new and exciting. Until the newbies came :rolleyes: Now she wants to run around with them again but is still ignoring the 'old' ones. I expect in time they'll be boring to her again but for now she's not allowed in the garden unsupervised :rolleyes: I don't think their size has anything to do with it, she's a gundog and was just excited by them.

 

Go for it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply :flowers:

 

I'd really like to do it, but I'm such a pernickity git I need to make absolutly certain I'm not making a mistake :rolleyes:

 

I think since mine would be pets I would go for pure bred ones, much as I'd like to get some ex battery's I know from experience that they're survival rate isn't great, neither are they that friendly.

I'd like them to be able to forage free range in the garden at least a couple of times a week, so obviously the dogs would need to be closely supervised, I think Spud would eventually be ok with them but I wouldn't trust Daisy as far as I could throw her :wacko:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have chooks and 3 quacks. My chooks are approaching 5/6years old and we have lost some of them. Like has been said I think that the average age is about 6 years of course commercially most dont make anywhere near this age and are lucky to see 1 year old!!.

If anyone wants hens why not think rescue contact the Battery Hen Welfare Trust and rehome some ex bats. Its very rewarding these poor hens have never done real henny things, never dust bathed, never seen the sun or felt it on their bodies, they come out of the battery with pale large combs, some have few feathers and they look pitiful. After a few weeks they soon find their feet they still lay eggs and have a real zest for life.

 

Think rescue.

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I went out to shut their doors I thought I'd double check that everyone was in the right houses. Good job I checked because I found Catherine asleep with the big girls! She might've been ok but then again they might've turned on her in the morning so I plucked her out and put her in her house. It's nice that she felt brave enough but I'd like them all to move in at the same time, safety in numbers and all that :rolleyes:

:blush02: Grey chooks are hard to spot in the dark :blush02: This morning I opened the big girls door and out trotted Maisy, Valerie, Tallulah, Pancake, Mrs Pants.......... and Violet :rolleyes: Violet seems very pleased with herself and there's not a mark on her. Ironically Maisy was quiet this morning. I didn't hear her making a noise before I went outside so Violet obviously gave her something else to think about :laugh: I think I'll be a bit more relaxed about sleeping arrangements and let them decide where to sleep tonight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They'll be plenty warm enough in that house, they're well insulated against the cold with all those feathers! It's lovely on a cold day to pick up one of mine and warm my hands on them :laugh:

 

 

....or you could always knit them coats :wub: 21.jpg

 

(nicked from the bhwt website)

 

 

If anyone wants hens why not think rescue contact the Battery Hen Welfare Trust and rehome some ex bats. Its very rewarding these poor hens have never done real henny things, never dust bathed, never seen the sun or felt it on their bodies, they come out of the battery with pale large combs, some have few feathers and they look pitiful. After a few weeks they soon find their feet they still lay eggs and have a real zest for life.

 

Think rescue.

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/

 

 

It was BHWT that I collected chooks from a few weeks ago.

They were such lovely people, and the sight of those poor chooks broke my heart (not something I thought I'd be saying about a chicken).

I was sooo touched at the way they chatted to me on the way home (yes, I know) :rolleyes: and if you take a look at the photo gallery on the bhwt website, a lot of those look pretty friendly.

I guess they may take a little while to 'come round', but who / what wouldn't after being shut away and treated badly for the first year of their life?

 

It's true that not all of them survive. but the majority do.

They have been money making machines, and it's just too much for some of them to cope with freedom. For others, they are just in such poor condition, they don't stand a chance. :(

 

On the day I collected the chooks, I saw some ex -bats which had been rehomed a couple of months previously - the difference was amazing, both in their health, and their behaviour.

It brought a tear to my eye!

 

I am so loving seeing and reading about everyone's chooks, but I agree with 'Reb'.

If you're thinking of keeeping them (or getting some more), consider the ex-bats too. :wink:

Edited by Kaos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have ex-bats alongside my flock and I have to admit that they are my favourites. They each have fantastic personalities and react to you in a way non of my other chickens do.

We hatched chicks for the first time this year too which was fantastic.

I also have to admit to knitting jumpers for my ex-bats, luckily they all had enough feathers not to need them :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites


×
×
  • Create New...