Topic: Chickens

[keejaay]

I have finally succumbed and have now got 6 chickens on my allotment - never had any before but my hand was forced by my wife and youngest son after another allotment holder was giving his up and as they are only 16 week old hybrids i took them on - getting lots of ideas and advice on here by reading other peoples postings - thanks

[Mikeakabigman]

Great stuff, hope you enjoy them. I've just obtained permission from the council to keep hens on my plots. Only planning to have a trio at the moment, probably going to have Light Sussex.

[keejaay]

A new hobby for both of us - good luck

[cestrian]

I'm thinking of getting some chickens too. How do you decide which breed or variety to go for?

[Fork]

Great stuff, hope you enjoy them. I've just obtained permission from the council to keep hens on my plots. Only planning to have a trio at the moment, probably going to have Light Sussex.

Keeping chickens on your plot is allowed via an act of parliament........you don't need the councils permission.You can also keep rabbits too 

[goodlife]

I'm thinking of getting some chickens too. How do you decide which breed or variety to go for?

Well..first you need to think of 'what do I  want  chickens for?'...and 'how am I going to keep them?'
Some breed are better for meat and others for laying. Then you have some breeds that although they lay some eggs, they are better as more 'decorative' birds and often have VERY strong maternal instincts..so good for raising chicks if you are thinking getting involved with that.
The amount of eggs one chicken can lay in a year can vary a lot between different breeds so that is one thing to think too....
There is some breeds are better suited keeping in 'pens' and other for more larger areas (they may become bit too feisty if not allowed to roam around). Some breeds are more docile and suit better into family situation.
Huh...there must be breed for every situation
I started by...what looked nice  ...and ended up with Welsummers...lay VERY dark brown eggs..BUT...I did have trouble with them...they REALLY REALLY didn't like kept in restricted space...and did let me know about it too. They needed continuous entertaining and supply of variety of food or they would 'scream' their heads off. So it was me who ended up running like headless chicken to keep them happy....and that lasted 9 loooooong years
After that I learned to look into things and have had more docile types and they've been soooooo easy going.
Have a look at some British poultry breeds sites and see what you fancy and what is available near you...

[Mikeakabigman]

Great stuff, hope you enjoy them. I've just obtained permission from the council to keep hens on my plots. Only planning to have a trio at the moment, probably going to have Light Sussex.

Keeping chickens on your plot is allowed via an act of parliament........you don't need the councils permission.You can also keep rabbits too 

Cheers for that, I thought that was probably the case, but it doesn't hurt to keep in with the local council.

[cestrian]

I'm thinking of getting some chickens too. How do you decide which breed or variety to go for?

Well..first you need to think of 'what do I  want  chickens for?'...and 'how am I going to keep them?'
Some breed are better for meat and others for laying. Then you have some breeds that although they lay some eggs, they are better as more 'decorative' birds and often have VERY strong maternal instincts..so good for raising chicks if you are thinking getting involved with that.
The amount of eggs one chicken can lay in a year can vary a lot between different breeds so that is one thing to think too....
There is some breeds are better suited keeping in 'pens' and other for more larger areas (they may become bit too feisty if not allowed to roam around). Some breeds are more docile and suit better into family situation.
Huh...there must be breed for every situation
I started by...what looked nice  ...and ended up with Welsummers...lay VERY dark brown eggs..BUT...I did have trouble with them...they REALLY REALLY didn't like kept in restricted space...and did let me know about it too. They needed continuous entertaining and supply of variety of food or they would 'scream' their heads off. So it was me who ended up running like headless chicken to keep them happy....and that lasted 9 loooooong years
After that I learned to look into things and have had more docile types and they've been soooooo easy going.
Have a look at some British poultry breeds sites and see what you fancy and what is available near you...

Thanks  for the info goodlife. A more docile breed, family oriented and just for laying would be good. I don't need hundreds of eggs, just a steady layer and easy going. It will be a mix of penned and free range depending on time of year and other things. Below are a list of varieties from local suppliers near to me. Any recommendations would be appreciated:

Gold Laced Orpingtons, Lavender Orpingtons, Blue Orpingtons, Silver Partridge Pekins, Polish, Silkies, Speckled Sussex, French Copper Marans. Hybrid point of lay pullets. Large Fowl Orpingtons in Lavender, Black, Buff, Blue and Gold Laced. Bantam Orpingtons in Blue, Black and Buff. Silkies in White, Blue, Lavender, Red and Gold. Pekins in Lemon, Lemon Cuckoo, Silver Partridge, Blue, Black, Millefleur. French Copper Marans in Blue, Black and Splash. Sablepoots (Booted Bantams) in Lavender and Lemon Millefleur. Light Sussex in Large and Bantams.Vorwerks.Point of Lay Warrens.Silkie Cross Broodies.

I don't know where to start!

[goodlife]

That is quite a list of breeds and I can highly recommend Marans. Sussex  and Hybrid layers.
All suitable for free range situation as well as in pens. They make good size birds and are well behaved breeds ....though individual personalites do occur that may prove me wrong

Silkies and bantam breeds are excellent as broodies and don't lay many eggs...you'll find they will want to raise young ones and will go 'baby mode' almost all the time.

[cestrian]

Thanks for the recommendation. I want layers for eating eggs, not breeding, so silkies and bantams are off the list. I did a bit of reading online and someone said that Marans much prefer free ranging. Is that right?

Also if I got 4 or 5 birds can I mix and match a few different breeds or is it best to go with one type?

Sussex look like good layers and good temperament. What about Orpingtons? They sound pretty good from what I read.

Do you know anything about Vorwerks? Wikipedia says they are hardy, adaptable birds with economical appetites. 170 eggs/yr. Sounds perfect!

[goodlife]

I keep Marans and I haven't had any problems with them keeping them in pen..they are behaving though are VERY keen to sneak out when given chance. The eggs are nice and brown and they lay reasonably good amount of eggs..though those individuals who lay the darker sort of eggs are said to lay slightly less than the paler egg layers.
I've had Orpingtons once and only for a year...they weren't very successful lot so cannot say much about them. I originally thought they would have been good dual use birds..but I suspect there was inherited problems with them to start with, so I couldn't nurture them into their best. If you are interested Orpingtons...make sure they have been bred to be utility bird rather than for show bench. That was our problem for start with.

Breed that lay around 170 eggs per yr are not laying all year round...they will usually have long break from late autumn until late winter, so you are going to have several months 'no eggs' time.
There is no reason why you couldn't mix different breeds..as long as they are about same size when you buy them and the mature adult sizes similar too. If they were not, there could be some bullying issues from larger ones...particularly if they are kept in pen situation. Free ranging the size is not that much of a issue.
I don't know about Vorwerks other wise. You could have some hybrids mixed into flock..they will lay almost all year round so you can keep the egg suppliers going on when others are having the 'holidays' 
 

[Melbourne12]

If you can contain your impatience, it's worth a a day at he National Poultry Show which this year will be on 16/17th November http://www.poultryclub.org/the-national-poultry-show/

There you can see and ask advice about every conceivable breed.

[cestrian]

Thanks for the link Mel. Not sure I can wait that long but sounds like a good day out anyway!

GL - I read that Volwerks can fly quite high so I might struggle to keep them on my patch.. the more I read about Marans though, the more I think they might be the birds for me. Those chocolate eggs look great. Beautiful birds too. What colour have you got cuckoo, blue, black or splash? Is there any difference in character or temperament between the four or is it just colour? Are the eggs more brown from one variety to another?

Do marans lay all year round?

[goodlife]

Code: [Select]

GL - I read that Volwerks can fly quite high so I might struggle to keep them on my patch.. the more I read about Marans though, the more I think they might be the birds for me. Those chocolate eggs look great. Beautiful birds too. What colour have you got cuckoo, blue, black or splash? Is there any difference in character or temperament between the four or is it just colour? Are the eggs more brown from one variety to another?

Do marans lay all year round?
Oh..all chickens can get quite high up when they are young and light..mine certainly haven't had no problems clearing 6ft barriers.
But now when they are older and heavier even  2-3 ft is quite enough to bother..most often they don't...
But, for their own good and against predators their outdoor pen is covered..from ground to the top..even if the fox were to grow wings, there is no opening..chicken wire all way round.
My maran's are cuckoo...and as for difference..I suspect there is only the looks. The brownness of the eggs vary from each girl and time of the year. Early on the year, as they are fresh from their winter break, they tend to lay the darkerst shells and this will start 'wear out' as the season progress. Mine don't lay that dark anyway..just bit darker than you can get from shops.
But generally the colour of the eggs depends of the breed...Maran's are genetically capable to lay some of the darkest ones that chickens do..but it matter of selective breeding to achieve the colour.
Maran's don't lay all year round...most of the chicken don't and have their annual break when they get through moult and chance their feathers to various degrees. As I don't 'force' my girls to lay but allow them 'to do their thing'...if it is mild autumn..they might lay for while after getting over the moult and before the winter sets in..but in cold autumn (like last one) once they stop laying, they didn't start again until end of February again and even then very sparsely...but..again..they are getting on and are not laying that much anymore anyway. We certainly got more we could cope with when they were younger and couple of month break from eggs was very welcome. When they are allowed to do it 'naturally' without artificial lighting and heating, they do tend to be physically better condition and don't 'run out of steam'..my girls are as much pets as they are productive animals and I prefer keeping them around for long time.
There is many lists on net of 'how many eggs per chicken' with different varieties..it is worth of checking those out too. Chickens don't lay 7 days a week, they need about 25-27 hrs (if I remember right) to complete the 'egg cycle' , each day little later,but when it gets too late on the day for laying...they skip that day and do it until following day..so you get about 6 eggs per week, per bird when they are in 'full swing' of the season (that depends of the breed as well).
Their general health and weather has lot to do with their capability and willingness for laying too...

[cestrian]

Thanks GL - lots of good info - can't wait to get started