[birdiegirl]

I am still researching hen houses - so am not quite at the stage of buying anything to put in one However, I am giving it some thought.

I'm looking for hens which are really good layers - I have a family of six,  but can only have two chickens I'm guessing that means hybrids?

I also need them to be friendly and tolerant - they will be sharing the garden with children. The kids are used to pets and to being kind to animals, but I would also like chickens who will be kind to the children, as it were, and be good company.

Finally, as an absolute novice, hardy breeds are a bit of a must. I wouldn't want anyone to suffer from my inexperience.

From my reading here and elsewhere, I have come up with Bovan Goldlines, Warrens, or Amber Lees ( are all the Amber hens - star, link, etc, basically   the same? Or is that my ignorance showing :oops: ?)

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Or particularly good websites with breed information?

When I am looking at actually buying  the birds, how far is it reasonable to expect a hen to travel in a car (it doesn't have to drive )?
Is there a particular time of year when I should not ( or cannot) buy POLs?

[mtoyne]

Hiya, i cant help with breeds but someone will im sure, weve got a pekin bantum, a hybrid of some sort, a light sussex and 3 ex battery hens and they are all great. Chickens tend to be quite robust so dont worry, also ive got 2 kids aged 3 and 10 and ive never had a problem. The chickens get on well with the kids and its made such a difference, we spend so much more time outside now, .

[pushrod]

why only two? some birds are large and some much smaller - surely you could have more smaller ones  

[GrannieAnnie]

Is it possible you could have 3 chooks?  They are flock birds, and usually 3 is the minimum so that if anything happens and one dies, you've not got a lone bird until you find another one.

Nearly all the hybrids I think are developed from the same sort of parents.  Like the Goldlines and mberlinks are both bred from Rhode Islands Reds and Lights Sussex, but the hens take their colouring from the cockerel, so a RIR cockerel x Light Sussex hen gives you the brown birds like the Goldlines, and the light sussex cockerel x with the RIR hen gives you the White of the Amberlinks.  but often you will get little bits of different colouring in them.  Our Amberlinks were white when they were younger, but as they grew they got varying degrees of brown in them.

It's all very interesting!

[Kate and her Ducks]

Not biased at all but thought of ducks?

They are hardy, easy to care for, depending on the breed lay like champions (well my campbells do), not at all aggressive - only ever been pecked when they are eating treats from my hand and it doesn't hurt with their round beaks. They also lay well through winter which I understand many chickens don't but not an expert. I'm obviously completely biased but I think my girls are fab and really glad I went the duck route. Had been thinking of getting chickens when a friend said "I'd always thought ducks would be more fun..." and haven't looked back

Know all the chicken huggers here feel tha same way about their girls too.

Hope you love it whatever you go for.

[birdiegirl]

Thank you everyone  

It's all very interesting!

It certainly is    

I didn't know that about the Goldlines and Amberlinks.

The reason for only two birds is that I have a teeny tiny garden - and have to keep a large chunk of it available as a footie-and-cricket pitch. Actually I am wondering about getting three bantams.....I do realise that hens  like company, so if I lost one, I would definitely get another ASAP

Is there generally a difference in laying between bantams and standard birds - other than egg-size, obviously?

Kate - I did consider ducks - I think they are adorable - but don't they need a decent amount of water to be happy? I do have a pond - but it is more of a deep puddle, really. Put two ducks on it and you wouldn't be able to see any water  

[Kate and her Ducks]

Some really like to swim but most happy to just splash about. My campbells like to have a splash once a day but not that fussed. They HAVE to have enought water to submerge their heads and clear their nostrils for health so can live without swimming water but for happiness wouldn't keep mine without a little pond to splash in.

Mine is pretty small but they love it.

[mtoyne]

im not an expert but i dont know of any differences between a bantam and a standard chicken, bantam eggs really are tiny tho so if you are after a decent amount of eggs then go for a standard sized chicken, if you are just after a cute looking pet tho then go for bantams, they are gorgeous. I wanted desperatly to rescue battery hens so we just have the one bantam.

[Charlwood1005]

We have 3 warrens in our flock, they are so friendly, like being stroked and run up to you.  They are lovely birds but the eggs are a bit on the small side.

[mumsy]

Black Rocks are friendly & lay soooooo many eggs, I see you are on the Essex coast, there is a lady in Barling Magna (Jo) at Barling Poutlry who could help you.  Bantam eggs are very small, 3 hybrids would be better if there is 6 of you.
Good Luck

[Oliveview]

We have RHR and they are really friendly now we don´t have Colin.  They like to ´sit´ we pat them on their back they ruffle their feathers and walk off   They think I am  a new sort of ´Colin´ I think
Pamela

[Ruby Red]

We bought some warrens yesterday and I cant believe how placid they are compared to our others. We have wyandotte bantams and a little Belgium thing. The warrens are pretty laid back about being picked up too., unlike the wyandottes. I would say go for them.