[ben1974]

as above really,i can travel 30 miles from durham for laying hens or chicks,need 10,thanks
ben

[poultrygeist]

Hi ben and welcome.

Do you want to tell us a bit about yourself ?

What's your setup and have you kept chickens before ?

Rob

[AndyRVTR]

Hi Ben.. try this place, Ouston Farms Ltd, in Ouston, Chester-le-Street, His name is Jim, his number is 0191 4102662.
He does POL from about £4 a bird.

[ben1974]

hi,im 34,got an allotment,and took on the allotment net door,so am turning it into a huge chicken run,got all the gear new,automatic pop hole solar thing everything,just need some hens,layers better.some near me,that just says brown hens £1.50 18 months old??
ben

[ben1974]

cheers for the contact,i will give hime a call when i have done the run for them,too cold at the moment,but should be a few weeks
cant wait for some eggs
ben

[poultrygeist]

Sounds like a nice setup. At £1.50 and 18 months old, they sound like possible ex-batts.
Are you after them purely for egg production (ie. selling?) or more of a hobby ? ex-batts should give you a fair few eggs in the future but are obviously fairly worn out.

Andy's suggestion sounds like a bargain but you have to know what you're buying. If they come with a reccomendation, all the better.

ROb

[Kate and her Ducks]

Welcome to the forums.

Sounds like you are getting everything set up.

I think the 18 month hens for £1.50 will be Ex battery hens being rehomed. It's a lovely thing to do to give these poor animals a bit of a proper chicken life after all they have suffered but they will not be in great shape when you get them so can be a bit much for a beginner. There have been lots of debates on here about ex batts for beginners and probably an even divide on whether it is a good idea

[ben1974]

the £1.50 ones are from a farm in middlestone bishop auckland advertised on adtrader,but i wasnt sure what breed they were,just wanted some good layers
thanks
ben

[loam ranger]

Hi Ben and welcome,I have heard some poor reports from some friends regarding pullets Ouston. I got my hybrids from Potters near Thirsk, 01765 640213 around 40 miles from Horden where I live, I paid £3.10 for 13 week old pullets with no probs to date.  There is also someone from Bishop Auckland who advertises in the add trader.
 Geoff

[Alby]

Hi Ben, got a good contact in Ashington Northumberland if its not to far for you

 Alby

[SnooziSuzi]

Hi Ben and welcome,I have heard some poor reports from some friends regarding pullets Ouston. I got my hybrids from Potters near Thirsk, 01765 640213 around 40 miles from Horden where I live, I paid £3.10 for 13 week old pullets with no probs to date.  There is also someone from Bishop Auckland who advertises in the add trader.
 Geoff

I got my Light sussex from her (11 weeks old and £9 per bird!!!  :shock: )

whereabouts in Durham are you Ben and welcome to the forums  

[poultrygeist]

You'll have to set up the Durham Light Henfantry between you  

Sorry  :oops:  :roll:

Rob

[ben1974]

hi,will just get the £1.50 ones,spent hundreds already.these are gonna be epensive eggs eh?
im in crook
£9 a bird? i want 10,not paying that much,its supposed to be saving me money ha ha
ben

[SnooziSuzi]

if you're in crook why not try the Harperley Hall WW2 camp museum just along from Harperley Hall.  (drive as if you were going from Crook towards the roundabout where you can turn left for Fir tree / Right for the Helm Park hotel but go straight on).

When I worked at the NPIA site the WW2 museum had different varieties of hens running around the courtyard and they might possibly know someone more local than BA to source from.

It's hard to get ex batts from this area and you're likely to only find proper breeders, however there's a battery egg farm near to me (Near to Pity Me recycling centre) and they might have some 1 year olds that they want rid of before spring starts so might be worthwhile trying to find their details, although I've never seen them advertise and I've also never heard of them selling their old stock off.

if you are new to chicken keeping why do you need 10 straight off the belt?

Good luck

[ben1974]

thanks for the great advice,i will look into those leads.
i just thought 10 was a good number.i have a huge plot of land,may get 12,but thats the amount the chicken house can sleep is 12,need to feed 2 families for eggs.already grow my own veg,and love cooking,so eggs will make allsorts of things,need more than 6 eggs a day for 2 families,so thought 10.
ben