Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Chicken Chat => Topic started by: 1st time veg grower on April 29, 2010, 14:28
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Ok, so I've done a bit of research and found a place nearby(ish) who sell poultry - rather than the market or garden centre options - I've just spoken to a lady on the phone who says I can go and visit and see the birds so I'm hoping to go on saturday. Not to buy any yet as I haven't built my hen house or run yet, but just to have a look and to handle some of the birds.
So, she says they have 7 different sorts of Hybrids!! :blink: Seeing as I only want 3 birds max, I'm going to be a little spoilt for choice. I want the hens primarily for their eggs but they need to be quite laid back as I have a year old springer collie x who I know will be hyper to begin with, and I have a young nephew who visits frequently. I don't know the specific breeds they have there yet, but the more I read the more confused I'm getting anyway - and may be once I go and see them I will have more of an idea anyway but I just wondered about people's personal experiences... any recommendations to go for eventually?
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My 3 most layed back hybrids must be 1) Sussex Star, 2) Blackrock and 3) Bluebelle, or blue ranger as some breeders call them.
Most hybrids are pretty layed back i think really.
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Great, that's useful to know! Obviously with not knowing what she has its a bit difficult to comment but just getting familiar with the names of some of the chickens is useful - there seems to be so many! The Sussex star lay white eggs, don't they? Didn't think about egg colour but since I've been reading I like the idea of different coloured eggs - think my nephew would love that too!
Have ordered some stuff off the internet today - medicine, grit, anti red mite stuff... feel like I am getting there slowly!
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Ive just got some girlies, out of the 3 of them im so impressed by the Amber Star and the Speckledy, very, very laid back girlies, ive got a border collie whos only a pup and runs riot round the garden, they dont seem spooked by him atall and i have 2 youngsters at 6 and 3 and there fine with them. Good luck i just hope you have the strength to walk away with 3, its like being in a sweet shop. nickyxx
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My Amber star is really lovely and not easily scared! She is very bouncy and by that I mean bouncy!
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My Amber star is really lovely and not easily scared! She is very bouncy and by that I mean bouncy!
Ooh I just looked at some google images of 'Amber stars' and they look gorgeous!
Good luck i just hope you have the strength to walk away with 3, its like being in a sweet shop. nickyxx
Ha ha - so do I! Think it helps that I will have some thinking space between my visit and deciding which ones to go for. There is only me, so I can't justify needing the eggs!
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This is my one, May
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here she is!
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Out of my 6 hybrids, the two most friendly (and the ones my 3 yr old carries around-one under each arm) are the Amberlink and the warren type (little red hen).
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My Amber star is really lovely and not easily scared! She is very bouncy and by that I mean bouncy!
Ooh I just looked at some google images of 'Amber stars' and they look gorgeous!
Good luck i just hope you have the strength to walk away with 3, its like being in a sweet shop. nickyxx
Ha ha - so do I! Think it helps that I will have some thinking space between my visit and deciding which ones to go for. There is only me, so I can't justify needing the eggs!
you could take up cake making :D :D :D :D
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Ribbit - May looks lovely!
Ooh, now, nicky d, I actually do like to bake... but no, must be strong and resist! :unsure: 3 seems a nice number - was only going to be two originally, but I think 3 seems nicer.
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3 is better as they are flock birds. Of all the hybrids I've raised, the white amberlink (same thing as Amber star) are the flightiest or bouncy as Ribbit says. But they are all friendly. I think the most laid back I've ever raised are the B380 Babcocks, but the prettiest apart from the ambers are the Bluebelles, the CouCou (darker brown eggs) black rocks and we had a black pearl, but she died recently.
Then there is the one that is part legbar which lays blue eggs.
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and not forgetting.....
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My skyline is a hybrid that lays blue eggs.
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Attached is a picture of my 2 hybrids.
When we got them they were basically classed by colour (IE: White hybrid, black hybrid, blue hybrid, amber hybrid)
'At the time' I was not aware the different mixes had there own seperate names.
My memory is not that great but I think I recall the breeder saying they were:
White: RIR / Light Sussex
Black: RIR / Barred rock
BUt looking at the Bluebelle picture above I think my 'black'one may be a blue one? :blink:
Anyway, the black one is great, very friendly, loves being handled and very placid. The white one is a bit more nervious and a bit more reluctant to be petted and is a bit noisey! Grrrrh
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UrbanG, Your black girl is the same (apart from more gold feathers around her neck) as 1 of my bluebelle's, Or blue ranger as my breeder calls them
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Well they are all beautiful - no idea how I'm going to choose! ::) Looking forward to tomorrow so I can at least she what she has!
The stuff I ordered off the internet yesterday has already arrived (v impressed) - wasn't expecting it, with the bank hol, until tuesday. So, if it stops raining long enough for me to sort the run and fox proofing I might be able to go get them by the middle of next week! :D
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Get an Amber star! -hint hint nudge nudge-
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So, I've been! :D
Think I've made my choices already...!
Really liked the Black rock/star - really beautiful, she got one out for me to hold and its feathers were almost green in the light! Then for pure cheekiness I actually liked the warrens - they were the most entertaining to watch....and the Amber link/star! So think they will be my three.
They had Bluebelles and Speckled hens but they were a big bigger and more stand-offish.
She was really nice and the hens seem really well looked after. So I go get them on Tuesday! :D
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blackrocks are lovely, the first hen I got was one :D
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arh its very exciting, they sound a lovely trio, looking forward to piccys of them when you get them settled. nickyx
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AS hybrids aren't standardised they can vary a lot by breeder and the names breeders give them maybe just specific to those breeders. Commercial breeders probably produce the most standardised birds as they maintain consistent breeders birds so if you get a ISA, Hyline, Lohmann, Babcock or Meadowsweet (these are the names of large breeders) bird for example with a given name it is likely to have a well defined genetic makeup and be produced from breeder stock supplied by the original breeder. They are therefore likely to be a consistent strain. Commecial birds are breed for max egg yield with maximum thrift.
Smaller breeder's birds may just be nice looking birds or produce unusual colour eggs for the hobbist or speciallity producer. The names they use are intended to make them marketable and are applied to broadly similar crosses and aren't necessarily reproducable or consistent between breeders.
Hybrids are like Mongrel dogs whereas Pure breeds are like pedigree breed dogs (ie the type is standardised and they breed to type, hybrids are crosses of pure breeds or standardised breeder stock and are created at each generation This means there's no such bird as a Speckledy cock for example as the male bird maybe a pure breed Maran (not actually sure of the crosses which are used). Black Rocks are I believe RIR Plymouth Rock crosses etc. Sussex Stars will be Light Sussex crosses and so on.
Your best bet is to talk to the breeder about the stock, their characteristics and how they breed them and maintain the characteristics of that particular strain.
I currently have some chicks which are meant to be Vorwerks but I'm begining to think there maybe some VW X BS or SS crosses in with them as they aren't all looking like VW chicks. Maybe I'll dream up a fancy name for them such as Speckled Vorks. Or maybe I'll wait and see what they look like first!
HF
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just to put my twopennyworth in. My little red hen is the friendliest. my breeder said everyone should have one! :) :)
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Out of my 6 hybrids, the two most friendly (and the ones my 3 yr old carries around-one under each arm) are the Amberlink and the warren type (little red hen).
my grace (just had her 4th birthday) carries her little red hen (selina) around all the time!! she is so easy going and mischevious :nowink:
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I go and collect them tomorrow afternoon - am v excited but bizarrely nervous - think I have been spending too long reading about fox attacks and illnesses and strangely shaped eggs! :blink:
Still haven't changed my mind over the 3 I want... yet, anyway! :lol:
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Have got my girls! They are safely installed in their coop for 24 hours and then, if it doesn't freak them out too much will try to get some pics! :D
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arh congratulations, wot did you get in the end then, looking forward to some piccys. When i got my girls, i left them in the coup for a couple of hrs and then let them out about 5ish for a few hrs, even being in the coup for a couple of hrs they knew to put themselves to bed. Looking forward to the piccys. nicky
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I did get what I planned - a warren, Black Rock/star and an amber link/star (although she isn't very 'amber', almost all white).
I was just going on what the lady told me - she said put them in the coop for 24 hours and keep them in the pen for a week. I may let them out in the pen in morning though and see how they go. Can't wait to see them out and about! :)
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arh fantastic, they sound lovely, i would let them out first thing in the morning, they will be fine, its all very exciting for you, im sure you wont sleep tonite and if you do you will be awake really early, i know i was. nickyx
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We have several different breeds (two of each) but the friendliest by far are the two Warrens - Betty and Kitty. They love being picked up and cuddled and always come and stand next to me when I'm in the garden. The most skittish are the White Leghorns. I can't get near them at all but they do lay pure white eggs every day.