[gowing238]

Right, have read a few books, done a bit of research and have decided this is whats happening!! Gonna persuade the allotment officer that i AM ALLOWED to keep chickens on the lottie. Found a nice size coop with run, have decided where its going on the plot. And am going to fence the area in they will be able to free range.

Then i found a local chook supplier where i can get myself 4Blackrock chooks, 16 weeks old. £12.5 each. Is this good. I gather they are hardy. Do you think this will be a good starter chook?

ANy tips from you all would be more than welcome!! What would you have liked to have been told when you started out??

[bantam novice]

Go for it 

Black Rocks at point of lay sound like a good starting point to me.  £12.50 sounds reasonable for point of lay but check the supplier out and don't be afraid to walk away if you don't like the conditions the chickens are kept in or their state of health. 

Be prepared to want to increase your flock so get a good size coop and enclose a good sized area.  As a rule of thumb I would allow three square metres per chicken.  That does not include the coop or feeders etc.

Mr fox can be very persistant.  make sure you have your precautions in place.  Chicken wire will keep chickens in but will not keep foxes out.  They can chew through it.  You will need to use weld mesh.  I use an electric mesh around my enclosure that is powered by a car battery.

Find a local chicken-friendly vet.  Not all of them are and some will even refuse to treat chickens.  You may never need one but it is as well to have a number you can call in an emergency just in case.

Have your remedies for
Internal parasites (many people on here use Flubenvet)
External parasites (Many people on here use Frontline kitten strength)
Redmite - a constant source of irritation for chicken owners.  Type redmite into the search box in the top right-hand corner and you will find lots of good info.  Read up and prepare your coop in advance.

Allow yourself time to enjoy watching your hens.  They are fascinating and you can find yourself spending a great deal of time doing this.  Have a comfortable bench or chair to hand!

Good luck and keep us posted.  We love pictures on this site so if you can post some pics of your hens when they arrive that would be great.   

[gowing238]

Thanks for the reply. I think its roughly 20sq metres for free ranging. I had planned on getting the welded mesh to keep foxes out. The breeder looks professional. take a look!!

http://blackrocklayers.co.uk/default.aspx

My biggest hastle is going to be telling the council that the law states i can have chickens and so well as their are well cared for and not cockerels theres no way they can stop me!!

[ANHBUC]

Your breeder is on the approved growers list for genuine Black Rocks so that is a good thing.  I got 4 Black Rocks last December and they are a lovely bird.  I found it hard to get genuine Black Rocks so I ended up waiting months before I finally got them.  They were 12 weeks old and were fine despite the heavy snow we had when they arrived.  They did not start to lay until they were 26 weeks old so you will have to be patient for your first eggs.

If you are going to tackle the council you are probably better treating them with respect and not going in all guns blazing.  I am sure other members will help you with how to approach them for the best result. 

[kensington chicks]

Hi,

The thing I wish we had known is space,space,space, the more the better!

Aslo the need for shelter from the rain.  We had built a small shelter thinking this would be nice for them to cuddle into, but had not thought of the days on end it can rain.  The girls still want to scrat and move around so we now have quite a bit of the run undercover.

Good luck with the plan! 
KC

[featherhead]

Where can I find out about this 'approved growers list'? I've not heard of this before and really wish I had when I was buying mine! Unfortunately I didn't know about this website either.

[ANHBUC]

Where can I find out about this 'approved growers list'? I've not heard of this before and really wish I had when I was buying mine! Unfortunately I didn't know about this website either.

www.blackrockhens.co.uk/

The list only applies to Black Rocks as it is the original  breeder Peter Siddons (now taken over by Eddie Lovett) hens that are genuine Black Rocks.  Others are the same cross breed (Rhode Island Red and Barred Plymouth Rock) but have not been selected over years of breeding.