Single hen

[OwenLdn]

Hi everyone!

 

Firstly I want to thank everyone for their help over the past few weeks while i get myself ready for the big day today- it was the Reading and Newbury Annual Bantam Show.

 

It was my first chicken show and really didnt know what to expect- the queue to get into the Poultry Sale was about 50 people long! I knew which breeds of chicken i was looking for- but I couldnt see any individual birds for sale of these breeds- they all came with a Cock as a pair which was no good for me.

 

The sellers werent keen to sell just a single hen- I thought i was going to go home empty handed- however I met a lovely lady who agreed to take all 3 Cock birds if I didnt want them! She had a big farm with over 20 males and said she didnt mind a few more! I didnt catch her name- but she said she popped in here- so if you are reading this please get in contact- it was lovely meeting you!

 

So without further ado please meet my 3 girls! They are all Bantams.

 

I exactly the breeds and colours I was looking for- I was so lucky!

 

I got:

a Light Sussex

 

a Barred Rock

 

and a Blue-laced Wyandotte.

 

Their house:

 

And a group shot!

 

They have had a very exciting afternoon exploring their new home, met the cats, and discovered corn! Oh and the Blue lace is trying single handedly to kick out every piece of woodchip from their run!

 

Everyone is in bed now and cant wait to let them out tomorrow!

 

Ive got to start thinking of names!!

 

Did anyone else go to the Show- ive got photos of it if people want to see?

 

Owen

Edited February 22, 2009 by Guest

[Plum]

They are lovely, lucky you. Its a nice set up that you have.

 

I'd love to see the pictures of the show.

[atsw]

Wonderful - What a lovely trio of girls. Well done, an excellent choice of breeds.

 

Andrew

[Egluntyne]

How lovely they are....and how lucky you were to meet that lady.

[Seagazer]

Great photos and lovely looking girls

[shibby69]

Aww, what lovely pretty girls!

[Janty]

Lovely girls.

[Cooks]

lovely girls

[Falkor]

Gorgeous, I love the blue laced

[Chickvic]

Gorgeous girls!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Congratulations . They are all beautiful .

[Griffin]

Stunning, absolutely stunning ladies.

[BarbaraJ]

very nice

[BeckyBoo]

How lovely, and what a nice looking home! Your light sussex should give you lovely white eggs once she's settled!

 

Good luck choosing names

 

BeckyBoo

[OwenLdn]

Thanks everyone!

 

Well its day 2 of keeping chickens and all seems to be going ok so far- someone seems to have done a bit of a runny poo- I had ordered some Borashi Bran from Wiggly wigglers but it hasnt arrived yet- must follow that up.

 

Also the Blue laced certainly likes to talk alot! The other two are relly quiet but she chats all the time! The Light Sussex seems to dominating the other 2, and the Plymouth Rock seems to be trying to keep out of everyones way.

 

I need to fix the Omlet grub up off the floor as the Wyandotte keeps kicking woodchips into it! And also i need to lower the Super glug as the hens arent quite tall enough to reach it- so ive had to put in an extra water bowl for them for the time being!

 

 

Right onto the Bantam show!

 

Well i was certainly not expecting to see so many birds there! Obviously i was there firstly to see if I could buy some birds so we arrived at 10 when it opened and went straight through the show to where the poultry sale section was. I tried to talk to a few people waiting to go in (when i arrived we had 30 mins to wait while they priced up all the cages)- as i had no idea what the rules were- as each cage had a card on it with a price. I didnt know if this was per bird in the cage of for all of the birds in the cage as some had 1 bird others pairs and others 4 or 5! I learnt you go in and when you see the birds you want you take the card off the cage so it stops someone else being able to buy the bird so you can keep walking round.

 

Most people seemed friendly- although one woman i asked what she was hoping to get said "Im not gojng to say in case you want it too!" - which made me chuckle- some people obviously were taking this very seriously! However I met a nice girl called Lisa who was also buying chickens for the first time too- she was looking for Pekins- and i saw her a little while later and she had managed to buy all 3 birds she was hoping to get! The lovely lady who offered to take the cockerals for me was someone who I also was chatting to in the queue- she had entered some Favorolles into the show, and another type but ive fogotten which- but she came first second and third in that breed! She must have been very good at it! She asked what birds I was hoping to get and said she didnt think I would find any Blue laced but might find the other 2.

 

When the area was opened everyone eagerly went in and several people went straight to a particular cage they had been looking at form the queue and grabbed the ticket- it was actually quite exciting but very bewildering for a first time chicken keeper! They didnt even have the names of what type of bird they were on the cage- just a price- luckily I had my hen book with me!! I had seen a pair of Barred Rocks from where i had been standing in the queue and so I went over and took their ticket -they we asking £30 for the pair. I knew i couldnt take the male home with me though. I hadnt seen any Wyandottes but had seen a cage with a hen and cockeral of Light Sussex's in it- so I went and took their ticket off their cage - they were also £30 the pair. I was really happy that I had found 2 out of the 3 birds I was hoping for. I knew I wanted a Trio so continued to look round for my third bird- I almost decided on a Pekin but they had been sold already, and then I almost decided on a partridge Wyandotte as that was all i could see for Wyandottes- but suddenly my other half spotted on the top row a lovely pair of Blue-laced Wyandottes- how had I missed them! But they were £50 for the pair! I took the ticket anyway and went to speak to the sellers to see if i could get just the hens. They werent keen - until i said I was willing to pay the full price for just the hen- i know this may seem crazy but I really hoped to get the 3 hens on the same day and settle them in- and I guess I had been caught up in the excitment of it all! However the nice lady who i had been talking to in the queue came up and asked me if I had seen what i had been looking for and when i explained the situation how the seelers didnt want to split she said she would take the males so I could get the hens.

 

So i have probably paid much more than I should have for the individual hens, but I reasoned I had managed to get all 3 hens id wanted so I was very happy- i reasoned you only buy these birds once and should be around for a good number of years!!

 

I then went round the show and saw some great looking birds! My favourites were these- im not sure what they were but looked like crows!! What are they?

 

Here are the photos of the show- and one with the lovely ladies who helped me!

 

 

Silkie's for sale £50 the pair

 

 

 

Beautiful Japanese Bantams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So cute Belgian D'Anver's - so inquisitive on what was going on around them!

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed them! Id love to go back to a show nex year- however will have to be strong not to come home with a new chicken!

[Chickvic]

What fantastic pics, some really great looking birds

[Daphne]

you really have got the bug haven't you! I think your girls look wonderful, and your pictures of the show/sale really sum up what its like. Thank you for sharing them - and I hope you enjoy the rest of your chicken experiences as much as you're obviously enjoying it so far

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That was really interesting to read . I've never been to a show so it's nice to hear what it's like .

 

Some of those birds are incredible looking . Those "crow" ones are a bit wierd - they're so tall .

 

Congratulations on getting exactly what you wanted .

 

Edited 'cos I realised I'd seen photos of your lovely girls in their new home

Edited February 22, 2009 by Guest

[OwenLdn]

And ive just got my first egg!!!

 

It was the Bluelaced Wyandotte! I had been feeding her corn- and she went into the nest box and sat down facing away from me- i was looking at her bum as there seemed to be a bare patch where there werent any feathers (is this normal?) and then out popped an egg!!

 

Although the only downside is she then turned aroundlooked at it and pecked it hard twice.

 

I thought she might have broken it so quickly opened up the box and took out the egg.

 

Hens dont normally peck at eggs do they? Ive heard some do eat their eggs and think this might be the case here - luckily i was there at the time.

 

I bought a rubber egg at the show- should i put that in there to show her eggs arent edible?

 

Thanks

Owen

[Guest]

the light sussex peeping out of the upper floor window cracked me up Lovely girls, your set up looks like something out of a magazine!

[chelsea]

gorgeous girls. I particularly love the blue laced wyandotte.

 

Their home is very swish - lucky girls.

 

Nice to see the pics of the show - thanks! I love the photo of the bluebell in the cage, a very pretty hen.

[Valkyrie]

Great photos - lots of lovely birds there, including your girls. I think the odd birds might be some sort of game birds - they tend to be lanky, but as a novice myself I'm not too sure.

[LJ's Chooks]

oh i am so sure you will have lots more chooks by the time of the show next year... we started with 2 and now have 7... it's addictive... did "Ooops, word censored!"ody warn you????

[Plum]

Thanks for posting the pictures and congratulations on the egg. So soon.

I'm looking out for a poultry show near me but will probably have to wait until May. It was really interesting seeing the variety of chickens. Bet there was a noise in that hall.

[mad house]

We were there too!

 

It was fantastic!

 

Wish id had thought of paying the asking price for just the hens, like you only wanted those and not the cocks. Never mind you learn!

 

Will definatly go again next year or whenever it is on, the kids loved it!