finally, we have chickens

[red]

after building a massive run, and building a hen house (out of old shed and some pallets, sized down, adapted etc) - and lots and lots of hard work doing it all, we have finally been out and bought 4 POL chickens.

we have 2 copper- headed marans, a buff leghorn and a cream legbar
*bit* of a luxury getting breeds, but indulged. They are very nice!

Got them yesterday, and shut them in house overnight, then opened pop-hole this morning and... they stayed sat on their perches with their eyes firmly shut (if we cannot see world, world cannot see us)
However with a bt of encouragement,went out to explore run (chicken paradise IMO - 25x7m run with only 4 hens in it....so far...)
the cream legbar is already being picked on.. but i guess thats chicken life... hopefully they will sort themselves out...

just hoping for some eggs now....

[Martin]

not come across copper headed Marans - how do they compare to Cuckoo Marans (with the very dark brown eggs)?

[Shirley]

congrats on the new chooks!

[red]

not come across copper headed Marans - how do they compare to Cuckoo Marans (with the very dark brown eggs)?

cuckoo marans are speckedly.. copper heads are black with a greenish sheen, with redish feathers around the head. supposed to lay dark brown eggs (we shall see)

[Martin]

if they're anything like the cuckoo marans I had, they'll eat you out of house and home, but do lay the most beautiful eggs (hefty chooks!)

[Millymollymandy]

Well done Red! I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with your hens.

[fenwoman]

not come across copper headed Marans - how do they compare to Cuckoo Marans (with the very dark brown eggs)?

They are copper black marans and lay very dark brown eggs. My own strain laid so dark an egg it looked like chocolate almost.They should have slightly feathered legs if they are purebred ones. The commercial 'maran noire' do not have feathered legs and don't lay very dark eggs.
Nice to see someone getting breeds instead of those boring old hybrids. You will have a lovely lot of pretty eggs from brown to white to green.

[red]

Nice to see someone getting breeds instead of those boring old hybrids. You will have a lovely lot of pretty eggs from brown to white to green.

well that was the idea.. nothing doing yet. I guess, as I got them late in the year, there is a chance they wont lay until spring now.. but I'm still glad we have them..

They havesettled in nicely.. bullying has stopped - pecking order established. just want some eggs.....

[fenwoman]

Nice to see someone getting breeds instead of those boring old hybrids. You will have a lovely lot of pretty eggs from brown to white to green.

well that was the idea.. nothing doing yet. I guess, as I got them late in the year, there is a chance they wont lay until spring now.. but I'm still glad we have them..

They havesettled in nicely.. bullying has stopped - pecking order established. just want some eggs.....

POL will lay through the winter once they do start to lay. Do you know how old they are exactly?

[maggienetball]

My first set of hens were POL during the August and didn't lay until 1st January. I had a cream legbar in that group and she was one of the first to lay.

"Pedigrees" don't tend to lay all through the year (although there are always breed exceptions). They rest from sept to dec while they moult, their body recoups, and the days get shorter. You may get the odd egg but not that many.

Also some breeds become pol much later than others. Welsummers for example come to pol at about 20 weeks but cream legbars, polands and the lighter breeds may not reach pol unitil 35 weeks. And then may not lay if the time of year isn't right for them.

So don't be too concerned if you get nothing until new year. You'll know it when they lay. That Legbar will really sing out. And I'd place money on her becoming the boss too. They're very assertive.

Sadly I don't have my rare/traditional breed girls now as a fox killed them all in May after years of happy living. Instead I have given a home to some ex-batts which are a whole different kettle of fish. They lay every day and all year and very loving, grateful, brave and placid.

Don't get me wrong - I miss my beautiful, temperamental prima donnas. But having ex batts gives a different dimension to poultry keeping. Highly recommended.

Good luck with your chooks. Let us know when you get your first egg.

[fenwoman]

My first set of hens were POL during the August and didn't lay until 1st January. I had a cream legbar in that group and she was one of the first to lay.

"Pedigrees" don't tend to lay all through the year (although there are always breed exceptions). They rest from sept to dec while they moult, their body recoups, and the days get shorter. You may get the odd egg but not that many.

Also some breeds become pol much later than others. Welsummers for example come to pol at about 20 weeks but cream legbars, polands and the lighter breeds may not reach pol unitil 35 weeks. And then may not lay if the time of year isn't right for them.

So don't be too concerned if you get nothing until new year. You'll know it when they lay. That Legbar will really sing out. And I'd place money on her becoming the boss too. They're very assertive.

Sadly I don't have my rare/traditional breed girls now as a fox killed them all in May after years of happy living. Instead I have given a home to some ex-batts which are a whole different kettle of fish. They lay every day and all year and very loving, grateful, brave and placid.

Don't get me wrong - I miss my beautiful, temperamental prima donnas. But having ex batts gives a different dimension to poultry keeping. Highly recommended.

Good luck with your chooks. Let us know when you get your first egg.

I would like to object most vehemently to your description of purebred fowls as "beautiful, temperamental prima donnas".
I have no idea what breeds you kept but I can assure you that not any of my breeds could be described as temperamental or prima donnas.
In fact I would say that my cochins and Plymouth rocks and docile, easy going and benign. My bantams are not as you described either and all of the purebred POL will lay through the winter. My older Barbu d'Anvers hens will lay egg for egg with any hybrid too. It isn't a caseof 'either/or when it comes to chickens. I keep, breed and show my beautiful purebred fowls and enjoy their diferent sizes, shapes, colours and temperaments as much as the different size, shape and colour of their eggs, however, just like I did when I showed and bred dogs, I give a thought to those less fortunate and Try to take as many battery hens every year as I am able and slowly rehome them through the year where I can. I personally find them trusting and docile but oh they bore me. Each the same size and shape laying the same size and shape of egg.
It's 'horses for courses'. If all you want is a source of fresh eggs and have no real interest in fowl, then ex battery birds are great. If however you are a poultry afficionado who is happy for some eggs then purebreds may be the way to go. Personally I would still keep chickens even if they didn't lay eggs as I would still enjoy keeping them and watching them and breeding and showing them. That's the difference. I like chickens, I don't simply want 'egg producing creatures'. Heck I don't even like eggs and give most of them to the dogs, cats and ferrets to eat after taking just what I need for pancakes and baking.

[maggienetball]

I believe I described "my birds" as tempermental beautiful prima donnas. Hence "I miss my beautiful tempermental prima donnas"

Thought it was clear, but obviously not to everyone. So for anyone who feels that I have insulted them with my description of my own birds, which I knew very well, showed and loved dearly, and was devastated when I had to clear up their headless bodies after the fox senselessly butchered them all and took only 1 for food..... very sorry.

[fenwoman]

I believe I described "my birds" as tempermental beautiful prima donnas. Hence "I miss my beautiful tempermental prima donnas"

Thought it was clear, but obviously not to everyone. So for anyone who feels that I have insulted them with my description of my own birds, which I knew very well, showed and loved dearly, and was devastated when I had to clear up their headless bodies after the fox senselessly butchered them all and took only 1 for food..... very sorry.

Ahh I took it as I would have meant it had I been talking about the Boxer dogs I used to keep and show. I would have said, "Oh I miss my handsome hyperactive lunatics" meaning the breed and not just my particular dogs. Generally speaking, certain breeds have certain traits. I would be most surprised to hear that you had kept cochins or Plymouth rocks as in 30 years keeping the latter beautiful they certainly are but I don't know anyone who could say they had a temperamental strain. In fact I don't know of any breed off the top of my head, where the word 'temperamental' could be used to describe them. Just out of interest, where you anthropomorphising or did they actually display temperament? In what way did this manifest itself?

[red]

it is generally thought, as well, that hybrids dont last as long as breeds, and they come into lay later on average.. but give you more eggs in thet end. we shall see.

I fully intend to get some hybrids - maybe ex batt, maybe incubate.. not decided. - certainly a lot cheaper - to add to my 4 chickens I have already - but want to space them out. It is often recommended to get some more POL hens at this time of year so you get eggs when the others stop laying. in my experience, ALL hens lay less in the winter.

ex-batt wont lay for as long, of course, and I am afraid I am not running a home for geriatric chickens. I am definitely doing this for the eggs (and possibly the meat later on)
getting the breeds was pure indulgence.. we always had chickens, when I was growing up, and these will be the first that are mine, and i just fancied them

the cream legbar is a noisy girl yes! - blimey she made the most noise when we bought her! - but no.. I doubt she will be the boss.. she is right at the bottom of the pecking order now.

my girls were sold as POL - 18 weeks old.. however, I'm not sure they how accurate this is... the buff leghorn looks young to me, the cream legbar older.. we have had them two weeks... so still early days yet.

the legbar and one of the marans have redder combs.. the other two have pale combs at the mo.

The downside to a massive run is I feel obliged to look it over for a laying away nest.. now and then

I do want my eggs... afterall we put a lot of effort into this run etc.. want some rewards! however shall wait, I am not concerned - as i said alreayd, we might nto get eggs until spring.. and glad we went and got them.. rather in the spring with everyone else..

[Millymollymandy]

Well I have a 'market' hen (black and gold unspecified breed) who is definitely a Prima Donna! I shouldn't have called her 'Lady'!