The Poultry Keeper

misskiwi · Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 35 Location: BEDFORD

I have just got 4 ex battery hens and they are lovely. I all so have Black Rock hens, but I think I will full for the ex battery and they are laying eggs.

fenwoman · Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:06 am Post subject:

It's horses for courses though. SOme people want more than simple egg machines. Some of us actually like the diversity of different breeds with the range of sizes, shapes and colours. How glorious to have say a silver spangled hamburgh, a white bird with black spots, also nicknamed 'perpetual egg layer' because they are as prolific as any hybrid but prettier and hardier and longer lived. They lay a pure pearl white egg. Then a copper maran with slightly feathered legs, black body coppery neck laying dark chocolate brown eggs, and then perhaps an araucana, one of the most ancient and primitive breeds, in say a gentle lavender colour, laying greeny blue eggs, or perhaps the beauty of a silver laced wyandotte, a white bird which looks like someone has dropped a black net over it. Boring brown hybrid ex battery birds are ok if your prime interest is eggs and of course the sentiment is laudable too although I wonder how many would be as committed to the noble thought of rescue if the ex battery birds cost £18 each? But don't knock pure bred birds because they often lay just as well, you get different coloured and shaped eggs, they are generally hardier and live longer and of course they are attractive too. I personally like the thought that I am keeping breeds with some history about them. 100 years ago on my land, someone might just have kept wyandottes or leghorn or marans. I doubt they would have been wealthy enough to own exotic birds like cochins which were originally a gift to Queen Victoria and far too expensive for most normal households. But then I class myself as a chicken fancier, not an egg eater.My interest is the breed, the looks, the history and not how many eggs I have got in the fridge.

misskiwi · Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 35 Location: BEDFORD

I would all so like to have rare breeds but I don't know what to buy yet as I am new to this. And I am still building a new hen house.

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

I think the best thing you can do, is look onto the breeds forum on here and see what takes your eye and then visit some places where they have different breeds so that you can compare the actual birds. Then write out a list (which will be at least 4 times as long as it ought to be)...and then build another couple of houses to house them all!

CP · Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:03 pm Post subject:

There are lots of old & beautiful breeds to choose from. It's a difficult decision to make, but enjoyable!

Like summayah & fenwoman have said, the choice should come down to whatever you're in the market for really - purely egg production, or maybe the chance to help save some of the rarer breeds.

If you have the room, get some rare breeds & some ex-battery hens. You can have the best of both then! Wink

HelenP · Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 144 Location: GLOUCESTERSHIRE

today have got our girls - 2 black rocks, 1 bluebelle, 1 buttercup and 1 u/i white (hybrid cross??!!). All seemed to have settled in well and took themselves off to bed - although the white one and bluebelle emerged from house as I was about to lower pop hole so had to wait for them to disappear inside again. I particularly wanted to have a variety of types. Tomorrow, time permitting, hubbie is going to price up what it'll cost to build a fixed run with roof so we're prepared for keeping them 'inside' when the time comes. These birds have come from within about 15miles of where we live so hopefully shouldn't be any probs with weather variation. Helen.

fenwoman · Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:22 pm Post subject:

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

Well done getting the girls ~ I hoep they settle in well for you. Pictures would be nice, if you can. Make sure you give them acv in their water 20mls to 1 litre in a plastic drinker ~ that will help them to settle in better.

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7165 Location: isle of lewis

doesn't matter what they are, simply enjoy them ,the hybrids you have have been developed over several years ,to produce the birds you have ,we have some that 3 1/2 years old are still laying and healthy Very Happy

,i have both hybrids and pure breed and i enjoy them both the same
suz

fenwoman · Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:48 pm Post subject:

I agree enjoy them no matter what. I just thought that perhaps Helen didn't realise that producers of hybrids have now started calling them romantic sounding names so that newcomers to chickens think they are buying an actual breed. Bluebelle sounds much better than BL458 after all Smile

I have a cochin girl here who is about 8 years old now and she still lays eggs for me too.

HelenP · Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 144 Location: GLOUCESTERSHIRE

thanks all for your continued helpful comments. Yes I did know they were hybrids - it was a conscious decision to go for them rather than pure breeds because I'd understood they were probably 'easier' for a beginner. All gone in safely to bed again tonight but it looks like we may have a bully in the buttercup (bramble) because each time to black rocks are out she had a bit of a go at them - but she isn't doing it to the other two. I hope they'll settle down and she'll let them get to the feeder otherwise I may be on again asking what to do with her!!

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7165 Location: isle of lewis

you could always try putting another feeder in for them then they don't have to eat at the same one it might help Smile

,it'll give them some wing room, Wink

suz

HelenP · Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 144 Location: GLOUCESTERSHIRE

I did wonder whether another feeder might be the answer. I think snowy is 'top dog' because she's had a go at bramble a couple of times but it's these poor black rocks that come in for it - they're the two that aren't yet at pol. I have given them a few pellets when the others aren't looking - they've been out and had a drink and a scratch round this morning - then bramble chased them away so they retreated to the coop. I know it's still early days (got them on saturday) but I did want to see them all out doing stuff chickens do - and I suppose this is also what they do - at least no-one has signs of really nasty bulling which is good. Pity you can't reason with a chicken - I want to tell the br's to stick up for themselves and bramble to leave them alone!

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

When you first put chickens from different pens or places together there is always the pecking order to be established, and so long as there is nothing vicious happening, then it's OK to leave it. They'll soon form up into a happy flock doing their own thing

HelenP · Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 144 Location: GLOUCESTERSHIRE

thanks summayah - I guess it's just being a 'new mum' - you don't know what's normal behaviour and what's not. At one point this afternoon I was even thinking I might have to get another coop and put the br's in that on their own - leaving the 3 bigger girls by themselves. I'm hoping hubbie will cost up building a bigger run - I've realised the arc run at 2.2m by 1.2 isn't that great for 5 chickens despite the manufacturers blrb saying it's ok for 6-7 medium birds (actually maybe my bluebelle and buttercup aren't strictly speaking medium sized - they're certainly bigger than the br's). I'm hoping it would be possible to have a run of about 16-17ft by 7ft attached to a shed of about 7ft by 3ft. Ideally I'd like something I can physically get into because it's hard trying to make friends with chickens when they're in something shaped like a toblerone! If I had a bigger run I could also make it more interesting by putting things in it - perhaps like a tree stump. I tried hanging a mirror in the run yesterday but they really didn't like that!! By the way - had another 3 eggs today!