Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Chicken Chat => Topic started by: Chrysalis on January 21, 2014, 22:19
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Our ladies, Beryl and Brenda, have surprised us this week.....they are warrens and nearly four years old. Eggs are like hen's teeth these days. A big moult in November/December and no eggs since Nov 9th.
Imagine the delight - four eggs in the last four days! :) :) :) It's Beryl, she's decided to pay for her keep at last.
Just wanted to share the love.... :D
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Good for Beryl and even nicer at this time of year. Our first hens which were warrens were laying when they were nearly five so you never know. We have 11 hens and are only getting the odd egg at present so enjoy Beryl' s little gifts. :)
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That's wonderful! It just goes to show that one can never tell!
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I had a bantam hen called baby when I was 12 , they were an easter present
( my sisters choose fluffy yellow chicks but I choose the scruffy black chick )
she lived till I was 24 years old :ohmy: that made her 12 :ohmy:
she layed on and off right till the end - I still have her last egg and a feather in a silver egg cup - I am now 50 !!
I cryed like a baby myself when I lost her
Beryl & Brenda sound fab :tongue2:
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They are fab.!
My first banty, Clara (her mate was called Schumann :nowink:), lived for seven years, which I thought was good going. 12 is amazing! Clara was always broody, so not many eggs. She finally gave up the very day we moved house, as if she knew we were moving and she'd have a new owner. I was heartbroken and it was another thirty years till I had hens again!
We're looking for some banties and new big girls in the next few weeks, but the Brown's (Beryl and Brenda) will stay in genteel retirement.....
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Wow, 12 years old - that's amazing Barley! Do bantams normally live longer than regular size hens?
Out of interest - how old on average does a normal (hybrid) hen live? (I'm quite new to this) I have 1 Speckledy and 1 Colombian blacktail, both just over a year old.
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Hybrids are bred for specific tasks - mainly eggs. So when they've had a couple of seasons the laying trails off. Ours are about 4years old now, but some have given up the ghost after about 18 months-2 years. Generally, our hybrids have lived between 2 and 4 years, but some folks will testify to longer.
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Wow, 12 years old - that's amazing Barley! Do bantams normally live longer than regular size hens?
Out of interest - how old on average does a normal (hybrid) hen live? (I'm quite new to this) I have 1 Speckledy and 1 Colombian blacktail, both just over a year old.
I must admit I have found my bantams tend to live up to 7 years on average , I think my 12 year old one was exceptional and rare
I lost a bantam newhampshire red 2 years ago :(and she was 8