Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Chicken Chat => Topic started by: ANHBUC on December 12, 2012, 20:13
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I am planning to get Barred Plymouth Rock bantams and Rhode Island Red bantams. Very tempted by muscovy ducks as well.
What are you all planning?
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Had to rehome my hens in the summer due to ill health. I'm moving home on saturday and will be getting more when I build an enclosure for them. Not sure what breed to get at the moment but definately something that lays well most of the year.) Can't wait, I miss having chickens. :)
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Had to rehome my hens in the summer due to ill health. I'm moving home on saturday and will be getting more when I build an enclosure for them. Not sure what breed to get at the moment but definately something that lays well most of the year.) Can't wait, I miss having chickens. :)
Sorry to hear that, I hope you are feeling better now. Good luck with your move on Saturday Ice.
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Yes, much better thanks. I'll share the cake via the PM system. :D
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Good news all around, Ice.
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Good news all around, Ice.
Definately. :happy:
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Well I've only just got 3 new pekins, whom I'm hoping will start laying in the spring.
I'd like to get a couple more hybrids next summer to see me through the winter with eggs! I'm thinking a coral (I've always wanted a white chicken to lay white eggs) and something else not sure... will have to see though as I already have 5 hybrids and their run isn't really big enough for any more (although the coop is :blink:)
Hannah :)
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Well I was going to get a couple of pure breed hens next year but it is possible that may be brought forward to this weekend as the last hen from my 'starter pack' girls, Henrietta, unfortunately had to be put down on Tuesday (she had a tumour) :(.
So much for planning!
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Well I was going to get a couple of pure breed hens next year but it is possible that may be brought forward to this weekend as the last hen from my 'starter pack' girls, Henrietta, unfortunately had to be put down on Tuesday (she had a tumour) :(.
So much for planning!
So sorry about Henrietta. I bought my first girls in December and I think it made things easier with the shorter days. I am trying to intigrate some of my flock together in an eglu cube. It is great fun on a night trying to get the newbies down from the rafters in the walk in run. Then they all complain when I put them in the cube with the big girls. Hopefully they will decide it is best if they go in under their own steam soon. :unsure:
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Thanks for message re Henrietta, I have felt quite upset about it as it is the end of an era in a way, those first 2 hens gave me first insight into hen keeping and overall it has been great. I guess they will always be a bit special because of that.
At the moment I have a 20 something week old 'Ranger' (Sussex/Rhode cross) called Florence, who is practically scared of her own shadow. I am in contact with the place where she came from and they have some 12 week old pure breds (RIRs, Welsummer, Plymouth Rocks). These are bit younger than I was hoping for but they will all be about the same size and I think it might just work - particularly with the shorter days, as you say. The breeder feels they will be able to stand for themselves.
We'll see what happens tomorrow!
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I have found my young Welsummers that are also 12 weeks are very agile so they can easily get out of the way of my older girls. My little bantam that is 13 weeks old is like greased lightening.
I hope that your new flock integrate easily. Don't forget the photos. :D
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I am planning to get Barred Plymouth Rock bantams and Rhode Island Red bantams. Very tempted by muscovy ducks as well.
What are you all planning?
If you had a lovely little RIR cockerel to run with the Plymouths, you would get some lovely little auto-sexing black chicks which look like the Black rocks. We have 8 of our last hatch of the Shaver blacks, same cross and they are lovely! 18 months old now though!
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I am planning to get Barred Plymouth Rock bantams and Rhode Island Red bantams. Very tempted by muscovy ducks as well.
What are you all planning?
If you had a lovely little RIR cockerel to run with the Plymouths, you would get some lovely little auto-sexing black chicks which look like the Black rocks. We have 8 of our last hatch of the Shaver blacks, same cross and they are lovely! 18 months old now though!
That is the plan G A but I am wanting bantams as I haven't seen the cross anywhere and thought they might be popular like the Black Rock.
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A lot of people seem to favour bantams, is there any particular reason why, are they quieter or easier to handle. All mine are large breed fowl so I'm wondering if I'm missing something :wub:
Debbie
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They are smaller but can be just as noisy. Their eggs are smaller but the proportion of yolk to white is greater which I like. They don't need quite as much space. They are a nice size to handle and a lot less poo!!! :blink:
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I have to say the best advantage must be the last mentioned benefit :mad: :mad:. I do love my pure breeds, but I do poop scoop everyday to keep up with their production.
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My plan for 1013 is to change and extend the run (we had always planned this but couldn't afford to build it to the size we wanted). Get a new plastic coop in there too.
More importantly I MUST NOT HATCH A SINGLE CHICK, that will have to wait for another year when our little chicken world id more organised and a lot less flooded.
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My plan for 1013 is to change and extend the run (we had always planned this but couldn't afford to build it to the size we wanted). Get a new plastic coop in there too.
More importantly I MUST NOT HATCH A SINGLE CHICK, that will have to wait for another year when our little chicken world id more organised and a lot less flooded.
Time travelling chickens, now that is something!! :D
Sounds like you are going to do what we have done this year. Just starting to clear the mess in the garden and sell off my wooden coops. Hopefully we will be able to enjoy the garden more in 2013 with designated chicken areas and chicken NO GO areas! We can live in hope that it works. :closedeyes:
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What plastic coops do you have? I love my Eglu classic but due to their price I cannot afford a cube, even second hand.
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We were meant to be moving house which didn't happen so I have been really spoilt this year. I picked up 2 eglu classic rabbit and 1 classic chicken coop, all second hand. Then I have just managed to get a 4 month old cube for my joint Birthday and Christmas present. I don't really spend on anything else but I know I am really lucky. I will be using the eglu rabbit ones for broodies. The only down side of the cube is that my hens are wanting to sleep in the nest area with it being on the same level. I have to take the nest door off and stand it over the entrance so they can't get in. This means that they sometimes lay on the roost bars if they lay early in the morning. I am hoping they will get out of the habit of using the nest box to sleep in. :happy: