Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Honey65 on September 15, 2016, 20:32
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Hi
After having many different hen breeds / hybrids in the past we currently have 4 very happy and content Light Sussex chickens. We keep them in a run which is approx 12ft x 6ft. One has recently gone broody and nothing is deterring her ::)
We'd happily have a couple more so I'm planning on getting hatching eggs but need to decide on a breed. Any opinion on how cream legbars would do in a run of our size? Love coloured eggs....
Otherwise I will get Sussex hatching eggs.
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I've had legbars in a run, still have one but she is a terrible layer and I think I've had 3 from her in a year now (she's not that old really) unfortunately the one that went to chicken heaven was the better layer... Anyway being in a run should be fine just make sure each chicken has enough space each :)
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legbars are not great layers,4 of mine which hatched last year are moulting at the mo and very slowly.
The copper maran I have is a better layer with bigger eggs. They are also autosex.
Please remember you might get cockerels and what to do with them. Separate broody area is a must
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Personally I wouldn't keep more than 4 chickens in a run that size, but that is just my opinion. I am lucky in that ours had large runs.
I've not kept legbars myself, but I have also been told they are not the best of layers, and you also get the problem with pure breeds that they don't usually lay in the winter at all, whereas most of our hybrids kept on laying through their first 2 winters.
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I agree with Grannie Annie re size of coop. You would also need to separate her to allow her to sit and hatch. This is really not a good time of year for hatching and raising chicks early spring is best and research shows that chicks bred now do not do so well. What will you do with any boys. Sorry to sound so negative. Research on here ways to cure broodiness. :)