# my new chickens!!!



## devilsofdarkness (Mar 26, 2006)

Yay!! i finally have got my own chickens.....ive wanted chickens for years but have never been in a position with a garden large enough to give them the ample space they need!! But now i am and i picked them up yesterday...hubby spent all day yesterday and today building thier house and run...

I got 2 hens...1 is an amber star and the other a breed of sussex (although im not positive which breed). they are both a little nervous still but will take food from hands and have been happily out in the garden today and then put themselves back in their house when they were ready...It was wicked to sit in the garden with them.

This is SAIGE the amber star..i will post some of ONION when i mange to take a good one!! :lol2:


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## commanderamanda (Apr 21, 2008)

aww how cute :flrt: 

I managed to tame our chicken by digging up worms for her to eat :lol2: after that she wouldnt leave us alone she used to sit on our laps it really annoyed my mother :lol:


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## devilsofdarkness (Mar 26, 2006)

ooohhh cool tip there ty lol now that would hbe hilarious as my mum is terrified of birds and i can just imagine her face if a chicken decided to sit in her lap!!! Pmsl


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## devilsofdarkness (Mar 26, 2006)

Just a thought...coz ive searched the net and cant really find a definate yes or no

CAN THE CHICKENS HAVE MEALWORMS??? see im in a quandry cos i would have thought that the chitlin? skin of a mealworm may impact??? and also cos chickens dont chew their food, they would swallow the mealie whole and then what? would the acid in the chickens stomach be able to dissolve the mealie ok??? or is it best to stick to earthworms??

I feed my parrots and rats and chipmunk on mealies every so often but of course they can all hold the mealies then they chew it up


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

if you buy yourself a book called 'starting with chickens' by Katie Thear, it'll tell you how to care for your chickens, including what you can and cannot feed them. Ideally you should have 3 chickens minimum in case one gets sick or dies so the other isn't left on it's own. I never sell either singles or just 2 because of preoblems which may occur. I'm also very careful never to sell to people who want to get some without first having done any research into how to look after them, how often to worm them, basic husbandry like checking for redmites (which can kill chickens) etc.The book will tell you all about this sort of thing.The amber star isn't a breed, it's a hybrid BTW.Bred to live short lives but lay lots of eggs.


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## *mogwai* (Feb 18, 2008)

oooooh chickens. i've wanted chickens for years but not in a protion to have them either. father in law has chickens at his allotment & my children love feeding worms to them. they're both nagging for chickens as well now.


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## devilsofdarkness (Mar 26, 2006)

Ty for your comments...as for the husbandry and caring for the chickens, I have done so much research (as I DO WITH ALL MY ANIMALS....BEFORE I BRING THEM HOME) THAT I WILL BE DREAMING ABOUT IT SOON!! LOL

I appreciate your advice FENWOMAN and will look out fot that book as too much information is sooo much better than not enough..wouldnt u agree....I do know about the mites and ive also met an aquaintance who has enlightenend me into DIATOM,,,which i now have a tub off ready in case......


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

Poultry are fantastic.
We have 70+ chickens and ducks, mostly chicks and ducklings at the mo in lots of breeds lol Love the rare breeds tho, have a right soft spot for them, but my faves out of all of mine are my Chamois Polish Frizzles lol they are so sweet and tame.


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

yes there can have mealworms there love them. my O/H loves polish but i have a soft spot for dutch game and OEG actually i like most types but there in my top 5 lol


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

If you haven't alreay done so you might want to join PekinBantams.com - Pekin Bantam Information, Poultry Articles, Poultry Health, Forums, Chat and more!, the forum is an excellent place for advice.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

devilsofdarkness said:


> Ty for your comments...as for the husbandry and caring for the chickens, I have done so much research (as I DO WITH ALL MY ANIMALS....BEFORE I BRING THEM HOME) THAT I WILL BE DREAMING ABOUT IT SOON!! LOL
> 
> I appreciate your advice FENWOMAN and will look out fot that book as too much information is sooo much better than not enough..wouldnt u agree....I do know about the mites and ive also met an aquaintance who has enlightenend me into DIATOM,,,which i now have a tub off ready in case......


 Oh yes, diatom. I was given a massive drum of the stuff to trial. Was old "puff it about, edge of perches etc etc and in the morning, you'll find piles of dead redmites. I dutifully puffed and sprinkled in one house I knew had a bad problem (I can smell redmites). Woke the next morning all excited, opened the house to find..........................nothing.
Waited another night just in case it took a while to work and ...................nothing. I lifted the perches to check and there were healthy blod red, thriving and very much alive redmites so I puffed the diatom right onto them like puffing talc on a baby's bum. Next morning checked and .......nothing. All still alive. So I got out my trust duramitex, gave the house a spray and next morning.....................no redmites.
Organic stuff is great in theory. Sadly the practice falls a little short :hmm:


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

bosshogg said:


> yes there can have mealworms there love them. my O/H loves polish but i have a soft spot for dutch game and OEG actually i like most types but there in my top 5 lol


What are Dutch game like? I've never heard of those ones. I keep Dutch bantams (have one of the largest colour collections in the UK actually) and I also have a trio of oeg banties which live lose, roost in next door's lleylandii trees and one of the hens is sitting on a clutch of rare (very rare) rumpless araucana bantam eggs right now.
Used to keep Polish inc' frizzled ones.


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

sorry meant dutch bantams :blush: and Old English Game Bantams i have LF OEG in the incubator at the moment


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

bosshogg said:


> sorry meant dutch bantams :blush: and Old English Game Bantams i have LF OEG in the incubator at the moment


aww I thought there was a new breed combining both lol. Not into game much and was given my little 'Dempsey' and his 2 wives. I'm not going to breed them though. Got enough breeds. I know one of the top game judges. He has all sorts and has written a book about them. The only game fowl I'd ever consider keeping would be sumatran. They look like big black folded brollies.
My friend has one who has won top places at the national etc. I think he is one of the top winning sumatras. He is called 'the undertaker' which gives you a clue about his game nature.


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

Have you noticed how the prices for poultry (more chickens than others) has shot through the roof of late! It's astonding the prices some breeds are fetching now. We are calling it the Hugh and Jamie effect.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Pimperella said:


> Have you noticed how the prices for poultry (more chickens than others) has shot through the roof of late! It's astonding the prices some breeds are fetching now. We are calling it the Hugh and Jamie effect.


 Better off calling it 'wheat prices going through the roof' effect.
My poultry feed has almost doubled from last year when I was paying around £4.95 a sack for layers pellets which is now £6.95 wheat was £3.50 and is now £5.50. Poultry breeders like myself simply cannot afford to hold the price of birds down to what they were a couple of years ago and still hope to break even.


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

fenwoman said:


> Better off calling it 'wheat prices going through the roof' effect.
> My poultry feed has almost doubled from last year when I was paying around £4.95 a sack for layers pellets which is now £6.95 wheat was £3.50 and is now £5.50. Poultry breeders like myself simply cannot afford to hold the price of birds down to what they were a couple of years ago and still hope to break even.


 
i was talking along the lines of £200 for a trio of orpingtons. thats nothing to do with feed prices and to be honest I still think it's quiet cheap because layers was £4.95 a sack 15 years ago so it's increase is kinda in line with inflation. And what with the whooping prices hatching eggs are fetching on ebay then it more than pays to feed them all.


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

i was shocked when i went to auction and saw how much the prices had gone up i call it the Hugh effect ...we went to one local auction and a trio of normal Buff Oprs went for £185 the trio, light Sussex went for over £150! and then there was a stunning pair of OEG that went for £8!!!! all the nice fluffy friendly birds are going for stupid money. sometimes think i am in the wrong game lol
Clare

P.S does no one feed corn i feed all my chickens at the yard on corn and wheat and there all healthy and taste lovely and corn is much cheaper than layer pellets


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## pecks (Dec 29, 2007)

Chickens are brilliant! i have a female cochin. Loves mealworms and very freindly as long as you are not wearing the wrong shoes! had her a day old.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Pimperella said:


> i was talking along the lines of £200 for a trio of orpingtons. thats nothing to do with feed prices and to be honest I still think it's quiet cheap because layers was £4.95 a sack 15 years ago so it's increase is kinda in line with inflation. And what with the whooping prices hatching eggs are fetching on ebay then it more than pays to feed them all.


Ahh yes Orpingtons fetch a lot especially if they are quality birds or a rare colour. Bog standard buff from utility lines are cheaper.At Melton rare breeds this MArch I watched copper black marans and welsummer hens going for around £45 per bird. I think folks go a little crazy at these events as the same people would hesitate to pay me the £18 per bird I ask for.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

bosshogg said:


> i was shocked when i went to auction and saw how much the prices had gone up i call it the Hugh effect ...we went to one local auction and a trio of normal Buff Oprs went for £185 the trio, light Sussex went for over £150! and then there was a stunning pair of OEG that went for £8!!!! all the nice fluffy friendly birds are going for stupid money. sometimes think i am in the wrong game lol
> Clare
> 
> P.S does no one feed corn i feed all my chickens at the yard on corn and wheat and there all healthy and taste lovely and corn is much cheaper than layer pellets


I feed wheat as a morning scratch but it contains low protein. I can't expect my birds to lay well on just plain wheat. In spring I put mine onto a turkey breeder ration which is the highest protein of all. It certainly increases the amount of eggs I get and it helps put flesh on to young cockerels too. As with anything, you get out what you put in. Chickens will exist on straight wheat but they won't perform to their best.


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## *mogwai* (Feb 18, 2008)

buff orpingtons are my fave, i've wanted some for years. was hoping to get some this year (said that every year for the past 3 years) but the timing still isn't right. when i first starting looking i found them for £25 each.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

teshu said:


> buff orpingtons are my fave, i've wanted some for years. was hoping to get some this year (said that every year for the past 3 years) but the timing still isn't right. when i first starting looking i found them for £25 each.


You can still get them for that and cheaper if you are looking for utility birds and not top show quality exhibition strain ones.


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## *mogwai* (Feb 18, 2008)

no i don't want show birds, just pets. i've been thinking about this for a long time & want some buff orps & some ex bettery hens. (not necessarily at the same time)


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Same time is actually best so that both lots of birds integrate on new territory and there is no henpecking. I have loads of ex batteries too. I feel I get pleasure out of showing my purebred birds so want to put something back for chickens in general.


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## *mogwai* (Feb 18, 2008)

i've heard pros and cons of having ex battery hens & other hens in the same space. some say the chickens show the ex batteries how to be chickens seeing as they've spent thier life in a cage and some can't even stand properly when they're rescued. and some say that the ex batteries could get bullied so i wasn't sure what to do for the best.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

teshu said:


> i've heard pros and cons of having ex battery hens & other hens in the same space. some say the chickens show the ex batteries how to be chickens seeing as they've spent thier life in a cage and some can't even stand properly when they're rescued. and some say that the ex batteries could get bullied so i wasn't sure what to do for the best.


 Well in 30 years keeping poultry I have never experienced a problem. Currently my ex batteries live with a cochin cockerel and assorted bantams and large fowl.


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## *mogwai* (Feb 18, 2008)

really? well 2 of each it is then lol. so when the time is right & i have the money to buy them and the hen house & run i'll be having 2 buff orpingtons and 2 ex batteries.


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

We have a fair few chucks, lots of growers at the mo for pot and laying. But currently have 11 laying hens. 2 of them are Ex batts, 1 RIR Bantam, 1 Silkie, 3 welsummers, 1 silver sussex, 1 Trasyvanian Naked Neck and 3 Cross RIR's.
The ex Batts are so tame, even come into the house lol They love the freedom they now have and happily they have the beaks that are growing back! So happy for them.

I have a Chamois Polish Frizzle Bantam Cockeral for sale if anyone is interested, very very pet tame. He is like a baby bless, 8 week old. £10 to good pet or breed home, he is from show stock. Have his 2 sisters who I have a unrelated Cockeral for so he needs a lovely home.


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## *mogwai* (Feb 18, 2008)

ami right in thinking you have buff orpingtons? or am i getting you mixed up with someone else?


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

teshu said:


> ami right in thinking you have buff orpingtons? or am i getting you mixed up with someone else?


me? I have 3 chicks growing on, 2 partridge and a buff. 1 of the partrudge is a hen the other 2 are cocks. was thinking of keeping both cocks if i can and crossing one with my meat birds to give my own meat bird, give it a go and see what they taste like lol


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