Stevie Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I got my orange Eglu 3 weeks ago and originally wanted 3 chooks,but for some bizzare reason or moment of insanity perhaps-i ticked the boxes for 2. I have a Miss Pepperpot & Gingernut ranger called 'Sage & Onion' who are both wonderful friendly chooks and Sage the Pepperpot started laying Tuesday which was a bonus! Tommorrow,im going to Cambridge poultry at Bottisham to pick up a third.Originally,i wanted a Goldline,but i now have a hankering for an Amber star instead.The pure white feathers has drawn me in! Hopefully,Sage and Onion will be fine with the new addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Good luck, Stevie. And while you're there you could suggest that they do more with their website. Nothing comes up on the screen but Cambridge Poultry! Still, after Hugh and Jamie, they probably have their hands full supplying chickens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 Good luck, Stevie. And while you're there you could suggest that they do more with their website. Nothing comes up on the screen but Cambridge Poultry! Still, after Hugh and Jamie, they probably have their hands full supplying chickens! Thats odd-i dont have any trouble accessing their site. How about if you click this link? http://www.cambridgepoultry.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Tommorrow,im going to Cambridge poultry at Bottisham to pick up a third.Originally,i wanted a Goldline,but i now have a hankering for an Amber star instead.The pure white feathers has drawn me in! Hopefully,Sage and Onion will be fine with the new addition. Hi Stevie Amber Stars are lovely hens,but they usually have some ginger feathers too, in varying degrees. If you have a look in my gallery you will see some piccys of my girl,Bracken. A White Star is a lovley white hen that lasy pure white HUGE eggs. They can be a little flighty,but the eggs are so beautiful that its worth it Its good to have different coloured eggs too so you can tell who has laid what Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 You might want to consider getting 2 Stevie. One new girl might be subjected to a bit of argy bargy by the established pair. 2 might dilute it a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 Tommorrow,im going to Cambridge poultry at Bottisham to pick up a third.Originally,i wanted a Goldline,but i now have a hankering for an Amber star instead.The pure white feathers has drawn me in! Hopefully,Sage and Onion will be fine with the new addition. Hi Stevie Amber Stars are lovely hens,but they usually have some ginger feathers too, in varying degrees. If you have a look in my gallery you will see some piccys of my girl,Bracken. A White Star is a lovley white hen that lasy pure white HUGE eggs. They can be a little flighty,but the eggs are so beautiful that its worth it Its good to have different coloured eggs too so you can tell who has laid what I've been looking at the White Stars too and the pure white egg does seem really good! I might have to consider this one also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 dont say that in front of my son, he'll change his mind.. good luck tomorrow Stevie, they've just had a new lot of birds come in so I am sure they will have plenty to choose from.. we're collecting ours tomorrow too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Licken Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I got my 2 new girls from Cambridge Poultry 10 days ago. When I got them I wanted an Amber star and a speckledy and they had no amber stars left. I got a speckledy and a Bovans Nera. They are now 17 1/2 weeks old and both laying . Good luck with the chicken choosing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 You might want to consider getting 2 Stevie. One new girl might be subjected to a bit of argy bargy by the established pair. 2 might dilute it a bit. Four i think is probably too many for me,but i do know where you're comming from.What im gonna do is bring the chook home,let Sage and Onion out into the garden to freerange and then pop the new arrival into the run so they can all see each other,but cant do any harm.When im satisfied that all hell isnt gonna break loose-i'll let them all meet. I'll be honest here,but i cant tell which of Sage and Onion is the boss.Both to me appear to be on equal par with each other even though Sage the Pepperpot is the oldest and larger bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 dont say that in front of my son, he'll change his mind.. good luck tomorrow Stevie, they've just had a new lot of birds come in so I am sure they will have plenty to choose from.. we're collecting ours tomorrow too. Probably see you there!!! Im going about 10.00am or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Hi. I added an Amber Star to my 3 Omlet girls after I'd had them for only 4 weeks (it was to replace an Omlet one that died). Even after only 4 weeks, my Omlet girls put my Amber Star though 8 long days of pecking order nastiness. I had a childrens wendy house to put her in during the day when I was out (or you can separate the eglu run with canes down the middle). Anyway, I wanted to say my Amber Star is a lovely docile bird. From a distance, she looks white but she's not at all. Close up she looks like she needs a wash. But don't let that put you off getting one as they are a completely different personality to the Omlet girls. Here is Stella, my Amber Star the day she arrived 1 year ago (looking quite white actually in this photo.....!!!) And here she is last week 1 year on, with her bright red comb and wattles. So from this distance she looks white, but she's not close up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Licken Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 My new hens are tiny compared to Fenny. Barry pecked fenny to begin with and has since been left alone. Primrose is very submissive and runs away. If she runs she gets chased. I keep the new girls in the run when I'm at work and keep Fenny out but in the netting. I have succumbed and ordered a run extension and anotehr grub and glug so I won't feel so bad about containing all 3 of them safely in the run when I'm out. It's been less than 2 weeks and the pecking order is settling down now. Good luck Stevie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Probably see you there!!! Im going about 10.00am or so. I am not getting my birds there, although I have no problem with doing so, it's just that the lady on the phone said they didn't have any bluebelles and I have my ickle heart lingering along those lines, she said people didn't like them because they have a black eye I felt it best to get all three birds at same time so opted for the farm where they have all three. Plus people have suggested my son is better off with the coral rather than the white star he originally wanted as it is less flighty for him and they do not stock the coral at bottisham. Its very hard choosing chickens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 My new hens are tiny compared to Fenny. Barry pecked fenny to begin with and has since been left alone. Primrose is very submissive and runs away. If she runs she gets chased. I keep the new girls in the run when I'm at work and keep Fenny out but in the netting. I have succumbed and ordered a run extension and anotehr grub and glug so I won't feel so bad about containing all 3 of them safely in the run when I'm out. It's been less than 2 weeks and the pecking order is settling down now.Good luck Stevie. Im nervous about getting another now.Im a 37 year old bloke and not excally a shrinking violet,but i wouldnt want a chook of mine to be bullied relentlessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Im nervous about getting another now.Im a 37 year old bloke and not excally a shrinking violet,but i wouldnt want a chook of mine to be bullied relentlessly. It's just a case of forewarned is forearmed really. The pecking order thing will probably happen (in my case all 3 pinned her down, pecked her and ate her feathers) but after 8 days it stopped. She is definately bottom of the flock, but they all get along absolutely fine. But knowing that may (or may not happen) means you can think about how you will introduce them and there are Stickys on this on the forum - putting them in to sleep together, canes in runs, 2 feeding stations etc etc. Don't be nervous, it will be fun choosing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisastyal Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 not all addition stories sre bad! We added two silkies to our brood of two bantam cockerels and a hen and thought the original 3 might bully the new ones but it was the other way round! The two new ones were so inquisitive and just wanted to make friends so much that they spent a day chasing our original 3 around. We did have to seperate them for about an hour when they started ganging up on the little hen but when they all went to bed together they were fine. A little bit of pecking the next day but since then they've become great friends!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 In that case-i think what i may do then is just let them all out in the garden so they can get on with it.I already knew about chooks being notorious bullies so i guess i'll just have to bite the bullet and go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Hope all goes well for you and your new amber star. They are the most docile of birds and big! My girlie is only 20 weeks and is much bigger than all the others already. Such a softie. I had problems introducing mine to two Omlet girls (my had died and I like three chooks) Lolli is so docile she just took the battering from the other two. We ended up getting a fourth to share the pecking. It is a question of space as much as anything. We resorted to a naughty step (rabbit hutch) for the main bully which she slept in at night to give the newbies some space. Lots of free ranging during the day and building a 9 x 9 ft run has solved the problem completely and we now have a very happy crowd. Have fun today ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 I actually had most luck adding 1 chicken to 2. Megan ended up being bullied by all 3 chickens her companion pulled out her tail feathers. It is a natural process they want to do, to be happier overall. It is a lot easier if the first 2 aren't laying. We loved our Amber stars to bits and they had a lot of character. One went broody and had mud baths, and kept escaping under the fence. The other was really friendly and kept perching on the fence and looking down at us. They were fairly flighty when little, but laid normal brownish eggs. http://sarah.blog.urbanchicken.org.uk/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=68&blogId=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 26, 2008 Author Share Posted April 26, 2008 Bad news im afraid. I decided in end not to get a third at the moment,but to wait until i order a run extension for Eglu.I wasnt comfortable with the newvbie being confined and not having enough space to run away atleast from relentless bullying.I know it probably sounds like a cop out,but i honestly thought long & hard about this all last night/morning and i have to do whats best for prospective chook. Atleast i have something else to look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 well you've got to feel happy haven't you, it's good you give it so much thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Hi Stevie I think your decision is not a 'cop out' but a very sensible one. I have learnt alot over the past few weeks, and although I know there will always be some pecking in order to determine 'top dog' I do believe that space is a real issue which should not be ignored in our haste to get more chooks. Alot of my probelms could have possibly been avoided if my chooks had had more space - to escape if nothing else. I have such a happy bunch now but there were times when I wished I had left the pair alone. Once we had given them their new run however, they settled down so quickly I do realise that this is not always the case, but in this instance i do feel that it helped a great deal. Good luck when you do introduce a new girl - are you still considering an amber star? I do not think you will regret it they are so soppy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...