Selfsufficientish.com

hi i have now talked my oh into getting 4 chickens, but we know nothing about what chickens to get etc any advice welcome

I have kept chickens for 5 years. I still have 2 of my original 4 and both are very happy and laying regularly. The originals are a Maran & a Welsumer. I have had a few cross breeds but for some reason I enjoy keeping pure breeds more. I also have 2 Rhode Island Reds.

Many people will implore you to go and rescue some ex battery hens which may be a possibility if they are available in your area. The important thing is to give your chooks a good life and enjoy their eggs. You might also want to prepare yourself for any critter infestations that will probably occur. I have had Lice and Red Mites but have eventually beaten them by changing the nest box from wooden to aluminium and going after the critters on a regular basis with whatever I have found effective against them. Check for Red Mites at night wih a torch.

There are many coniderations, we chose heavy breeds so they would not routinely be able to fly out of their enclosure or fit through the pig netting.

Good luck & let us know how you get on.

what chickens to get... well depends if you want pretty ones, or not bothered.. you can go the rescue route, but be prepared for them to stop laying in a year or so, ( you might get more). if you get traditional breeds, then you are helping to keep those breeds going ( by creating a need etc) but they will be more pricey. If you want lots of eggs, you might be better going for a modern hybrid.

what do you fancy?

nothing fancy,just lots of eggs

Now I am raising more questions.

Over the past 5 years I have had about 5 pure breeds and about 5 cross breeds/hybrids. I still have 4 of the pure breeds which are really fit and healthy but a couple of the hybrids have become ill and died during this period. My understanding is that hybrids are bred for a purpose which is laying eggs fast and furious but only for a short period of maybe less than a year. In my very limited experience I have found pure breeds to be more robust and long lived. 2 of mine are 5 yrs old and still laying and I hope they will for a few years yet. Hybrids tend not to go broody whereas some pure breeds are broody on a regular basis.

There are plenty of sites dedicated to poultry - have a google.

With regard to which breed to recommend I suppose it really depends what is available locally to you.

My Maran lays a dark brown egg but some strains of Maran lay eggs the colour of dark chocolate. There are also breeds that lay blue & green eggs.

If you let your chooks free range you will not believe the colour of the yolks compared to the incipid looking bought ones.

If you can explain how I can put a photo on this site I will post a picture of my chooks.

Hi
I got my ex-battery girls just over a year ago. Before that I knew nothing about chickens. They really are very easy to look after but it does help if you can find a friend or neighbour that knows a thing or two. At my local college they run an evening class for chicken keepers.

Otherwise get a good book and keep reading the great advice on this forum.

Go for it. They are definitely great fun as well as providing eggs.

Zoe

hi thanks for the advice, as i live in the country and that my neighbour breeds shooting dogs and that we have plenty of foxes. i am thinking that i cant really let them roam around as their lifespan will be about a day.i am going to make an enclosure with a lid on it . how big does it need to be for 4 hens

Just make it as big as you can. The more access to green grass the better the quality of the eggs.

I'm new to this site and I too have been thinking about getting chickens to have fresh eggs. I have decided to look at the equipment I'll need to get a the chicken pens/runs seem ......... small! I'm not keen on the battery hen idea because I personally would feel that I was supporting battery farming. I'm not having a go at any one that has them and I know I could give some a good life it just doesnt sit right for me.

I'm also wondering how my neighbours will reack to chickens in the garden - unfortunately they would have to be penned chooks as I have 2 who are rather good at bird catching!

Does any one have any knowledge of chook pen design? What makes for a good home for them?

SploT wrote: I'm also wondering how my neighbours will react to chickens in the garden - unfortunately they would have to be penned chooks as I have 2 who are rather good at bird catching!

Does any one have any knowledge of chook pen design? What makes for a good home for them?

We've two cats too but they're afraid of the hens! They stalk wild birds , even ducks and pheasants but steer well clear of the hens!

For hen houses, you could adapt this http://www.pekinbantams.com/broody_coop_1.asp which mydreamlife posted on another thread

Scroll down the page a bit in this forum to see my posted question a while ago about hybrids vs pure breeds and various people's answers. The more I went into it, the more I felt I wanted pure breeds - especially for the reason other people give about supporting the continued existence of these breeds - in the interests of sustainability etc. Other people on our allotment site have ex-batts and it is certainly heart-warming seeing them become more confident and like 'proper' chickens as the weeks go by. However, I didn't want to go that route because for me too it feels like condoning the industry - though obviously not saying other people shouldn't do it.

I also have to say I am a sucker for nice-looking animals and am completely besotted with the beautiful hens we acquired just last week - 1 Rhode Island Red, 2 Cream Legbars and 2 which are crosses between Cream Legbars and Welsumers - which are a particularly beautiful goldeny colour, though have grey fluffy bottoms like the Legbars.

Have fun with it all anyway.