Chickens!

[Hollie the Wollie]

Ok, ok, I know they are not wildlife but my husband has finally agreed to us getting a pair of hens for eggs!!! Im so excited!

We want to ensure they are well looked after and having not had Chickens before we are going for an afternoon "Chicken Keeper Course" to make sure we know what to do. I really can't wait and it will be so smashing to have not only our own eggs, but own veg from the garden too!

We hope to get them in March.... in time for Easter!

[stupo74]

Hi Hollie,

Welcome back

"Good Timing" with the hens for easter,

However You will have to go some, to get them to lay
"Chocky 1's"
Perhaps a diet of cocoa powder and milk to start,

On a serious note, Good Luck, cheers stupo.

[allotmentlover]

chicken are brill, good luck with the hens i have 12 and wouldnt swop them for their weight in gold.

[bantiekeeper]

Hi there,
Good luck with your hens. May I suggest you buy a minimum of 3. They are flock animals and if you lose one you will have the two left to keep each other company. If you have foxes in your allotment area make sure your run is foxproof. There are foxes on the site where we keep 6 little Wyandotte bantams. Their run is 8' x 8' x 6'6" high. The roof is wired over and covered with clear corrugated pvc sheets. The roof helps to keep them dry and stops the floor becoming a mess. Damp is one thing they hate and it can lead to various health problems. The sides of the run have about 2' of boarding to keep out the drafts the remainder to the roof is chicken wire. To stop the fox digging under we have 18" square paving slabs all round the run. Inside the run is the coop which is just under 3' square and about the same height. This is where they roost at night on perches. The nest box is fitted to the side of the coop. Whenever we are on the allotment the banties are allowed to free range but one does need to keep an eye on them. If you decide to by pure breeds remember they are more likely to go broody than hybrids. We have had them for nearly 3 years and they are an absolute delight. I am sure you will feel the same when you get yours.

[bantiekeeper]

Sorry Hollie, Also meant to say that if in the future you decide to get more, and this is a distinct possibilty once you start that you add a minimum of 2. If you only add one it could be bullied by your existing birds. New birds take 2-3 weeks to settle in while they sort out their new pecking order and it can be a bit disconcerting watching it but they sort themselves out in the end.
Please contact me if I can be of any further help.

[JustGrowVeg]

I've got three ex-battery hens! (did have four, but one died of old age ).

When we got them they looked poor and sorry for themselves with hardly any feathers!! But now they've got all their feathers back and have been laying consistently since a day after we got them!

They're real characters and i'm sure you'll enjoy the pleaseure of their eggs and watching them, as they can be funny at times!

Good luck Hollie the Wollie

[golden14]

Is it possible to get any "Rescue hens" from anywhere on the Isle of Wight, as I would dearly like to have chickens as well.

[golden14]

any rescue hens available on the island?

[JustGrowVeg]

Originally Posted by golden14

any rescue hens available on the island?

This is where you need to look for rescue hens:
British Hen Welfare Trust

It tells you where you can get them from I know there is a place in Southampton, but they didn't have any ready when we wanted some so we ended up getting them from Dorset i think.
Below is a thread i started below and there are pictures of my rescue hens on there
My Kitchen Garden Story!

[Hollie the Wollie]

Thanks for all your lovely replies. Hope that you manged to find some rescue hens golden.

We have chosen our hens now. We're getting Orpingtons, two Bantams and one full-size. They are called Prudence, Philomena and Phoebe!!! They are fab. We go on our chicken keeper course next Sunday and then the following Saturday pick up the girls! yay! Will post pics.

[tomterm8]

That sounds really exciting. I quite like Orpingtons - I used to look after a neighbours bluff Orpingtons for a while. They had quite a good temperament. Our own chickens are Light Sussex, and they tend to go broody at the drop of a hat which is a bit of a pain

Anyway, you will really enjoy the taste of the eggs. It is much different than shop bought eggs. Much less fishy.

[golden14]

Originally Posted by JustGrowVeg

This is where you need to look for rescue hens:
British Hen Welfare Trust

It tells you where you can get them from I know there is a place in Southampton, but they didn't have any ready when we wanted some so we ended up getting them from Dorset i think.
Below is a thread i started below and there are pictures of my rescue hens on there
My Kitchen Garden Story!

Many thanks for this I am definitely going to look into it. Now I just need a big coat to smuggle them back on the fast ferry!