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Post by 4pygmies on Mar 25, 2007 13:49:49 GMT 1
Look what my lovely old ladies have left me for the past two days - you GOTTA get some more chooks! Aren't they beautiful?  I don't care about the rodent hordes - I'm going to buy some POL birds in April! |
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Post by plocket on Mar 25, 2007 18:08:37 GMT 1
I know this was for Mrs B but your eggs are DIVINE!!!! Were they still warm when you found them? How perfect is that - eggs that your own hens have produced? What are you going to do with the four little beauties?
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Post by debbiem on Mar 25, 2007 19:56:01 GMT 1
Aw, thanks 4P - the day is drawing ever nearer. Those lovely eggs, which ones laid those? We were discussing just this afternoon what kind of 'fluffy bums' we would be getting. Oooo Thanks!!!  |
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Post by 4pygmies on Mar 25, 2007 20:06:01 GMT 1
My wonderful but aged Marrans ladies. I only have two left but they are valient egg layers and slug bashers still! They have been enjoying my digging in the garden today chuckling away at me whenever I turned up something particularly juicy. Wonderful brown speckly eggs. And, yes Plocket, they were still warm.  I'm going to see if I can get a pair of Buff Orpingtons as they have such a nice character and maybe a pair of Rhode Island Reds as my "Beryl" RIR was a real personality. What about you Mrs B? |
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Post by debbiem on Mar 26, 2007 10:49:35 GMT 1
Curiouser and curiouser - that is so wierd 4P, as the chickens we were talking about getting were the very same, Buff Orpingtons. We want non-flighty, docile chooks who don't tend to go broody, I'm not sure about the broodiness of the Orpingtons. The intention was always to get Barnevelders, as they are very pretty and extremely docile, we've had them before, but lately we've also been mentioning the Orpingtons too.  Those eggs are lovely! I remember our Marans laying nice brown eggs, but quiet they weren't.  |
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Post by madonplants on Mar 26, 2007 11:27:09 GMT 1
I would love to have my own eggs, how easy is it to keep and care for chickens? What are the basics, that you need?
Keith
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Post by debbiem on Mar 26, 2007 13:52:56 GMT 1
The basics - a henhouse, or somewhere they can roost at night and lay their eggs. Shelter from FOXES so somewhere secure, foxes are very devious and extremely clever ay sussing out any chink or irregularity in a fence where they can get in. Plenty of fresh water and layers pellets and chicken corn and any scraps, they love scraps! Mine used to love spaghetti with a passion, I think I probably gave them far too much than is healthy for them, and they could savage a lettuce in seconds. They need sunshine too. There's quite a lot of cleaning out involved but the bedding makes great compost/manure. Different people choose different bedding but straw's up there as one of the favourites. If possible let them out to wander around the garden as they should have access to fresh grass but they can damage a garden quite severely if allowed too! Some people feed their chickens plenty of greenstuff in a run instead. But slugs? You won't have any problems, they scoff them like there's no tomorrow. |
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Post by madonplants on Mar 26, 2007 16:21:02 GMT 1
Thanks Mrs Beige. Might have to think about it. What would be the minimum size for a run and what happens when you go on holiday? Is it a case of someone having to come in to watch them?
Keith
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Post by 4pygmies on Mar 26, 2007 17:53:21 GMT 1
Chickens are VERY easy to keep in a garden Keith. You can buy all sorts of henhouses but the easiest in an urban garden environment are the "ark" types. Some come with wheels so you can shift them and give the chooks fresh grass. A reasonable size ark, moved up and down a lawn (or even a veggie patch in winter) can accommodate a pair of chickens at least. As Mrs B says, they are easy to feed. Mine love pasta too and rice, erm, anything really! In return they wonderful eggs for at least half the year, eat your garden greeblis and give you fine muck for your compost heap. The only slightly down side is that they can attract rats.........but then so can rabbits, guinea pigs and BBQ's. I don't think you'd have problems getting a neighbour to feed them - free eggs in return! And they really do taste a trillion times better than anything you can buy. And they are such nice animals too - full of personality, very pretty and, if you let them free range every so often, a real addition to your enjoyment of the garden. Here's the sort of thing you can buy these days: www.forshamcottagearks.com/poultry-housing/rye-run-chicken-ark.htmIt's quite pricy, I'm sure there are cheaper options - DIY? |
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Post by madonplants on Mar 26, 2007 18:06:11 GMT 1
Thanks 4P. Going to have to look into this, but I think our immediate future is priority. Then if OH's job is safe, you never know. We have been getting fed up with the quality of eggs from supermarkets recently and we often say wouldn't it be nice to have our own. You two may have set a seed or should I say egg!  Thanks again. Keith |
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Post by plocket on Mar 26, 2007 18:48:13 GMT 1
It would be fabulous to have chooks but don't domestic people have to get permission to have them? I'm sure when we bought this house we were told we couldn't have chooks or pigs!
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Post by 4pygmies on Mar 26, 2007 20:31:54 GMT 1
I think you'd have to check on your deeds or something. I think some developements state that you can't keep livestock.
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Post by madonplants on Mar 26, 2007 20:42:31 GMT 1
I will look into. Thanks
Keith
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Post by The witch on Mar 26, 2007 21:17:48 GMT 1
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Post by debbiem on Mar 27, 2007 5:41:20 GMT 1
Our council told us that we were as just as entitled to keep chickens around here as other people are dogs so we are lucky. We found that out when our ex neighbours(before we moved) were trying to use our chickens as the reason why their dog barked so much(it barked chickens there or not)and we were so incensed that we rang the council and asked - after the person on the other end of the phone had stopped laughing several minutes later she told us that. People have kept chickens around this area for yonks, it's the people who object to them that arrived later.  It's always worth checking whether you can keep them or not, you'll never know until then.. |
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Post by debbiem on Mar 27, 2007 5:48:14 GMT 1
Keith, when we first got chooks we lived out in the country surrounded by fields, no neighbours and knew nobody well enough to ask to feed them when we were on holiday. We were stuck as to who was going to feed them and to our surprise a local employment agency agreed to do it, using the normal rate, and they came out every day, twice, and fed cats and chickens. We used them for years and they loved doing it. It cost a bit but we could go away knowing everyone was taken good care of. |
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Post by debbiem on Mar 27, 2007 5:50:35 GMT 1
Good grief it's not that early is it?!!!!I had to do a double take there - my alarm's just gone off thinking it was an hour later.  |
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Post by 4pygmies on Mar 27, 2007 6:58:52 GMT 1
You silly billy! I should have a nice nap sometime this afternoon...... I've been up since 5.30 myself trying to renew my car insurance on line. There's a gremlin somewhere as it won't accept where I live. Sooo annoying. I hate modern methods - bring back the old fashioned shop front with the friendly insurance man in a pinstripe suit and the little old lady on reception. I believe you even got a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake in those days....
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Post by The witch on Mar 27, 2007 8:51:28 GMT 1
There are, or used to be some weird laws about escapee chickens too - I can't find any reference to them on line at the moment though. : A couple of my neighbours keep chickens - but it's the cockerels which cause the most complaints with their early crowing!! IMO it's part of country life, but I'm sure many townies wouldn't agree! |
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Post by Sleepy on Mar 27, 2007 9:01:46 GMT 1
There are, or used to be some weird laws about escapee chickens too - I can't find any reference to them on line at the moment though. : A couple of my neighbours keep chickens - but it's the cockerels which cause the most complaints with their early crowing!! IMO it's part of country life, but I'm sure many townies wouldn't agree! Not at all The witch. I'm a townie, and I agree that the early sound of a cockerel crowing is part of country life - and a charming one too. |
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Post by The witch on Mar 27, 2007 9:03:36 GMT 1
But not all townies are like you Sleepy  |
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Post by 4pygmies on Mar 27, 2007 9:04:27 GMT 1
It's a well known fact (to us bumpkins anyway) that the amount of noise you urban dwellers have to live with is astonishing! Last time I stayed in a city (at Cheery's) it was so quiet I couldn't sleep........
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Post by Sleepy on Mar 27, 2007 9:13:04 GMT 1
It's a well known fact (to us bumpkins anyway) that the amount of noise you urban dwellers have to live with is astonishing! Last time I stayed in a city (at Cheery's) it was so quiet I couldn't sleep........ You are right. It's deathly quiet in the area of Birmingham that I live in. The silence is only occasionally interrupted by the faint sound of a choral group departing a hostelry, or he delicate tinkle of a bus shelter window being adjusted, or the musical charm of a police car as it rushes to someones aid... I am very lucky to live in the city. |
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Post by debbiem on Mar 27, 2007 9:19:04 GMT 1
We love the sound of cockerels crowing too, but unfortunately, even if you get a cockerel with the agreement of everyone around you, it only takes one of those people to move and non-likers to move in and then you're in trouble. You also hear of townies moving to the country and objecting to the noise and smell - why the bleep are these complaints taken seriously like they so often are? |
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Post by debbiem on Mar 27, 2007 9:24:50 GMT 1
This is an excellent example - hubby used to work at a country store. He was at someone's newly bought holiday home, which was close by, putting up some fencing listening to the new owners telling him about the noise of the cows in the farm which was next door, and that after complaining to the farmer, who had lived there forever, who had told them to *******, how they weren't speaking to him.  |
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