Chickens

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Comment by Arlene J Harris on May 11, 2012 at 9:05

Many thanks!

Comment by Paul Scott-Bates on May 11, 2012 at 7:29

Hi Arlene

There really is nothing to it - if you have someone that can call round and make sure their water and feed is topped up then they will be fine.  I tend to clean our coop out every weekend so if you're only away for a week they will be ok.

We also let ours run free on a patch in the garden.  They put themselves to bed at dusk - again if a neighbour can lock them up then that's all that's needed.

Come and have a look at ours sometime if you like!

See you soon

Paul

 

Comment by Arlene J Harris on May 10, 2012 at 22:46

Hi there!  I realise this is now an old post but I have a query.  I've wanted to keep hens for some time and the only thing putting me off is their upkeep if I'm away.  What do other people do when they go on holiday?

Comment by Paul Scott-Bates on March 21, 2012 at 14:19

Hi Pete

I'll email you directly.

Paul

Comment by IrwellPete on March 21, 2012 at 14:17

Hiya, I'm interested in keeping hens, I done it before. Could I arrange a visit by one of your members, preferable one who already knows me, to advice me on how I could go about it please?

Comment by Paul Scott-Bates on March 20, 2012 at 9:15

Hi Liz

We originally had four hens (2 Blackrock and 2 Speckeldy), but, had to have one of the Blackrocks removed as she was pecking the other and eating their feathers.  They were a real mess!

We replaced Amelia with Gingerbelle, a Warren Brown.  She was immediately bullied and it was very upsetting to see how the other three reacted to her.  Gingerbelle spent every day on top of the coop where the others couldn’t reach her.  Soon after, one of her eyes developed a residue – the Vet gave us some drops and we wondered if she had an infection through being pecked in the eye.  After a few weeks, the eye went completely white and we were resigned to the fact that she was blind in it.  Within a week, the ‘white’ disappeared one night and she has been back to normal ever since!

Earlier this year, we got four ex-battery hens from a farm near Rising Bridge which was helping to re-house one thousand on behalf of the British Hen Welfare Trust - http://www.bhwt.org.uk/cms/re-home-some-hens/.  They were all ISA Warrens.

We got an old rabbit hutch from a neighbour and put the existing hens outside of the Chicken Run in an enclosed part of our garden, leaving the ex-batts to acclimatise and grow stronger.  The ex-batts were quite a mess when they started to moult, but, they grew stonger within a couple of weeks.  After about three months apart, we allowed them to start mixing a week or so ago.  There was quite a stand-off between Scarlet and Adela, but, since then there has been nothing more than a scuffle or two.

On Sunday, we finally mixed them all and they slept happily together.  Seperating them was a really good idea, particularly moving the ‘old girls’ out and putting them somewhere they weren’t familiar with.  We have been getting between 3-4 eggs per day for the last few months, but, have had 6 (out of 8) for the last two days so, they are clearly happy!

If you want any more hens, I believe that the BHWT are re-housing again.

If anyone reading this would like to start keeping hens, they really are very easy to keep and the BHWT are really helpful. 

Comment by Liz Hyatt on March 19, 2012 at 17:24

Lovely pictures of your hen's Paul. I'm glad that they settled well in the new coop. Our two seem to be waking up much earlier and going to bed sooner these last few days. They also are roaming all over the garden much more than they have been. 

How many hens did you get when you first started? We are thinking about a couple more but have read that it's sometimes not that straightforward to introduce them to the established hens.

Comment by Rosalind Cunliffe on March 19, 2012 at 14:00

Aw how lovely. Makes me want to keep hens again. I used to have half a dozen many years ago and they were lovely birds, each with their own personality.

Comment by Paul Scott-Bates on March 19, 2012 at 12:44

The girls would seem fully appreciative of the Spring hours as we had 6 eggs yesterday!

Comment by Paul Scott-Bates on March 19, 2012 at 12:41

Yesterday was a big day for our girls as we removed the temporary coop that our older hens had been sleeping in, and, allowed them to make their way to the big coop in the run at bed time.  As it got dark outside, I went to check how they were and was delighted to find them all huddled together without any trouble at all.

Here are a few up-to-date photos I took yesterday:

Above: Scarlet and Gingerbelle (don't tell the others, but, she is my favourite!)

Above: Oreo and Gladys.  Gladys is top of the pecking order, and, can be distinguished by her 'hairy' legs!

Above: Sylvia, Christabel, Adela and Emmeline.  Our ex-batts, named after four of the Pankhurst family

Comment by Sarah-Jayne Evans on March 12, 2012 at 18:22

iv kept chickens for a couple of years now and they do make pretty good pets, untill they keep trying to come into the kitchen, much better eggs and they love to follow you around. 

Comment by Paul Scott-Bates on March 12, 2012 at 12:47

HI Liz

What beautiful girls!

We too adopted some ex-batts earlier this year and now have 8 hens.  The ex-batts have recently moulted, so we're not getting eggs from all of them everyday, but, our 'old girls' do lay regularly.  We're currently getting 4-5 eggs per day - as you know they taste stunning and come in varying sizes!

Comment by Paul Scott-Bates on March 12, 2012 at 12:42

Hi Joe

We would maybe like a cockerel one day, but, not a good idea in surburbia!

Comment by Joe Beardsworth on March 12, 2012 at 12:00

My neighbour keeps chickens. I wasn't amused though when he first got them and one turned out to be a cockerel. Thankfully he returned that to where he got it.

Comment by Liz Hyatt on March 12, 2012 at 11:52

We have two ex battery chickens who within a matter of weeks have become very special to us. From day one Sadie and Gertie have both given us a gift of an egg a day. Here's a picture of the pair of them in our garden. I would recommend chickens to anyone who has the space to keep them in particular rescued birds. 

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