Solitary chicken - need advice

[Gael]

Hello, another newbie message.

Have been avidly reading all your posts for the last 2 months, getting ready and very impatient to get hubby his 10th wedding anniversary present next Tuesday: a cube with extension, and 5 chooks!

 

Well, it has been long and hard trying to keep the secret from him with the kids (9, 7, 5 and 2 at 2), so the deal is he is getting the cube and extension and each child is getting a chicken! They are all overexcited...even though my 2 yr old twin boys don't have a clue what is going to hit them next week!

 

I am in the Warrington area, and I have noticed lately a few posts coming from chicken lovers in the region.

I thought I had found a great shop (Pet Pantry in Stockton Heath) to get ALL I needed for the chickens, but by reading your posts, £12 a bale of Aubiose seems really OTT!!

Everything else, from grit to mealworms, limeflour to garlic powder, red mite powder to corn, is the same or cheaper than most websites I have checked. The plus side is that they do home delivery if the order is over £20.

So my question is: does anyone know of an alternative place?

Sorry it is a very regional question!

And...yes I will post photos as soon as we are organised!

 

Thanks

[Egluntyne]

Welcome to the forum.

 

Sorry I can't help.

[Karen & co.]

Hello and welcome from another Cheshire chook keeper

 

I get most of my things from Taylor Organics, but the Countrywide stores are quite widespread although I'm not sure if there is one in Warrington

 

Karen x

[Nicola H]

Hi Gael, I am not too far from you and use W & T Gibsons Ltd in Kingsley near frodsham they sell everything you need at a reasonable price, I tried Pets pantry in Stockton heath but they had difficulty getting me Organic layers mash. Kingsley mill sells everything they have Organic feed plus ther own feed which is cheaper........They have a web site but I can't get the link to work, just google W & T Gibson Ltd and it should come up.

 

The prices on the site are steep because they include postage I paid about £9 for 25kg of organic layers meal last week....... I think they have added £10 postage to the price on the site..

 

Good luck i hope you manage to find everything you need.......

Edited April 30, 2008 by Guest

[Jules.]

Hi.

I get my layers pellets, garlic, grit, tubtrug, aubiose (£8 ish) from Blue Sky horse feeds in Golborne.

[Guest]

Hi Gael, I am not too far from you and use W & T Gibsons Ltd in Kingsley near frodsham .......

 

 

ditto, they don't have everything on their web site but the shop is extremely well stocked, we get everything there.

 

oh, p.s. sign up for their loyalty card, it costs £5 but you get a fiver back for every £100 you spend, believe me it mounts up so it's worth it.

 

p.p.s I love stockton heath, used to drive thru it every day when i worked in manchester, to get to the m56.

[Gael]

Thanks for all your replies.

I will certainly investigate all the other places, Frodsham and Golborne and find a countrywide store.

To be fair to the Pet Pantry, I think it is very competitve for everything but aubiose. They even ordered things for me that they usually don't stock.

Organic pellets or corn (25kg) are £10, non organic £5.60

And they deliver free of charge to all warrington post codes for orders above £20.

So my guess is that I will probably carry on using them as it might not be worth the travelling to Frodsham and back with little children in tow...what I would save on the Aubiose, I would probably spend on petrol

 

The next 5 days are going to be the longest ones of my live

[poachedegg]

Hi Gael

 

I am in Warrington too - nr to IKEA.

 

I didn't have much look sourcing things locally so ordered on the internet.

 

We have only had our chickens 2 weeks, so I was ordering everthing at once, so as things run out I may have to think differently as the P&P on things soon adds up!

 

Sounds like Pets Pantry could be the way to go and take a hit on the Auboise?

 

PS Is Pets Pantry on the main road through Stockton Heath?

[Gael]

Hi Poachedegg,

 

Yes, their shop is on the main road, but there is also a warehouse at the back for all the bulky items. It is a bit of a maze of back streets to get to the warehouse by car. You can even reverse your car to the warehouse door and they will load your boot.

The website is: http://www.pets-pantry.com/

but it is very poor compared to what there is in stock. Have a look at the "Bulk prices" list. They are also very helpful sourcing anything you might want, as they said they have more lines than products they stock. They certainly did for me and got me loads of equimins product (apple cider vinegar, limeflour, garlic powder...) as well as stocking the Verm-X products (much cheaper than Omlet too!).

I went there and cancelled my chicken health and food items with Omlet. (must have changed the order 5 times...I think Hayley must hate me with a passion )

It is well worth going to have a look and a chat (Karen will help you source your poultry items)...as it makes it a one stop shop.

 

Maybe if we ganged up on them about the Aubiose, could they drop the price a bit?

As I said, everything but Aubiose is reasonnably priced, and with free delivery, I guess it is going to be worth it. My only concern is how much aubiose I am going to go through. If it is a bale every 4-6 weeks, 50% more expensive there could make a difference.

Gael.

[Jules.]

oh bother, I don't have a

Warrington postcode

however.... my friend does

[Guest]

oh bother, I don't have a

Warrington postcode

however.... my friend does

 

I do, groovy but i do enjoy the drive out to frodsham