4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[narlacat]

Hello everyone

 

I would love to have some chickens in my garden. I live in the Isle of Man and we don't have any foxes so the birds would always be pretty safe. I would like to choose a very friendly good egg-laying breed - does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Also, does anyone recommend a good chicken-keeping guide book?

 

Thank you!

 

Aly

[Egluntyne]

Welcome to the forum.

 

How about **this book** Available in the Omlet shop, written by two of the Eglu designers and perfect for the beginner.

 

Also, the FAQ section of the forum is bursting with the answers that any new chicken keeper might ask.

 

How lucky you are not to have foxes!

 

Warrens, Bluebelles, black rocks....all lovely and good layers.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Hello Aly, welcome to the forum . You'll be making all the Omleteers green with envy that you have no foxes - that's the main thing that makes chicken keeping a worry .

[Seagazer]

Hello and welcome.

 

I bought the book from Omlet and its very good and has lovely photos of lots of different chickens.

[Chickaboo]

The Isle of Man is chicken heaven

[beebee]

The Ginger nut rangers lay good eggs but are quite small and the Miss pepperpot lays alot of double yolks. Both consistent layers

[Hen Watch]

I second what Egluntine says "Keeping Pet Chickens" (see Omlet shop) is very good. Choice of housing and type of hen are important decisions.

 

I also have "Choosing and Keeping Chickens" by Chris Graham which is really good to for getting started and caring for chickens. It has a huge section on most of the pure breeds with lovely photos.

 

Take a look at this Omlet guide to buying hens. It explains hybrid hens, pure breed hens and bantams.

 

www.omlet.co.uk/files/public/omlet_guid ... ickens.pdf

[narlacat]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. I have to try and convince my husband now....he thinks that we have to live on a farm to have chickens!

[Scramble]

I really fell that the "keeping pet chickens" is indeed an excellent book, though I bought a great one called "choosing and keeping pet chickens" like Hen Watch sugested, which is like 200 pages long though 100 pages is dedicated just to breeds, a double page spread of many breeds, what colours thay come in, how many eggs they lay a year and also their personalities!

Happy Choosing!

And Welcome to the forum