Snowy Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 What gorgeous pics! And what lovely girls you came away with! I wonder if the lady who took your cockerels was Nicki? She breeds Faverolles and is very successful at showing. Those that looked like crows were, I think, Modern Game birds (Dilly has one - Scrabble) It is quite common for them to peck at their eggs when laid, and ofen they try to manouvre the egg underneath them so they can sit on it. It only becomes a problem when they lay a soft egg and discover that they can break the shell and eat the contents. It wouldn't do any harm to put the rubber egg in, although it may have the opposite effect and encourage broodiness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Oh a local show and I didn't realise would have been way more fun than OS Sunday match followed by yet more cleaning & sorting. Although my run has only got as far as buying the mesh so I could have ended up in major trouble as new birds would have been impossible to resist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwenLdn Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) The sounds in the hall were unbelievable! Lots of crowing males! And there were also lots of Call Ducks there which also were very loud! If there was one suggestion I would have liked the hens to have had labels as to what breed they were- both in the for sale section and in the main show- I know most people going know what breed of chicken is which but as a first timer it would have been really useful to know- especially when you get all the different colour varieties and feather types of the same breed. My flock has grown by 1 since I last spoke to you! My friend who came to the show with us was also looking to buy hens- but was only looking for Silkie Bantam hens and could only see 1 for sale and wanted to get a group- so my other half went with her on Sunday to pick up some hens from a breeder in Milton Keynes- and ended up bringing home a White Silkie hen for us (this was how we ended up with our Tabby kitten- we went to help a friend pick a kitten for herself and fell in love!)- we have called the new girl Flo- I was worried she might be bullied by the others but I think it was so early for them too that they didn't seem to mind a new addition. That's all the hens I am going to keep in the run- it says it is designed for 6-7 Bantams but I think even 4 is enough. Im going to be letting the hens out when im around to supervise so they will all get the chance to stretch their legs and wings! My Foxwatch arrived and set up- though im a little concerned as my Siamese cat seemed to jump when she walked into the beam and set it off- but I wondered if actually it was the clicking noise that sounds to show it is come on that made her jump? Also having to sort out extra chicken wire around the base of the run as Hermione (the Wyandotte) keeps kicking it out! The grub and glug are also now fixed on the walls so should also reduce the amount of wood chips in them! Owen Edited February 23, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Owen, Only just seen the post. Your girls are absolutely lovely, a very good choice... very interesting insight into the workings of a show... I will remember that for when we enlarge the flock... Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Flo looks lovely - we have a Flo too, her sister is called Snow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Gorgeous hens. This is EXACTLY why I avoid the Reading bantam show of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwenLdn Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 There were some beautiful hens for sale at the show- I reckon there were about 150 cages with hens in for sale– and with in each cage there were either single birds or pairs or trios or groups for sale with prices ranging from £10 for a single hen up to £80 for a group I think. I loved the idea you could buy a ready made flock if you wanted! There was a beautiful group of Bantam Game birds that were so pretty! There were Pekins, Brahmas, Belgian D’Anvers, Wyandottes, Silkies, Sussex loads of smaller Game birds types, plus loads I hadn’t a clue what they were or even if they were boys or girls! It was a little overwhelming to be honest- im so glad I had an idea of what I wanted as it helped me be decisive and take the cards from the cages as I would suggest half the birds were sold within 10 minutes! Right im leaving work now- I want to get home while its still light and see how everyone is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Flo is beautiful!, there are a lot of people naming their hens Flo this month :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge77 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Hi - and congrats on your lovely little brood. The house set up you have is (i think) the one i am planning to get off ebay. Where did you get yours if you don't mind me asking? I notice you have extra lengths of wood along the base - is this to raise it up a little or to stop them kicking the chippings out so much (or another reason!) ? Is it posible that you can let me know the size of the actual footprint of this house and run as i want to lay slab for the base of mine to make cleaning out easier but all the dimensions on ebay list from the edges of the roof and include the nest box etc - all i need to know is how many slabs do i need to lay ! Many many thanks and sorry to be a pain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwenLdn Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 Gosh I thought i was being original with the name Flo! I must have subconciously seen the name on here tho! Never mind! Hi Dodge- i got mine from Ebay too- however there seem to be several people selling the same coop on there- I will PM you details as some have not been as helpful as others. Because my run is on concrete- i decided to raise the coop up 3" to give me some space to put some wood chip down. I have found however the bars on the run are exactly woodchip size so im spending each night this week attaching smaller guage chicken wire around the base to prevent all the woodchip being kicked out of the run by Hermione! I painted the inside of the house with Cuprinol paint in a cream colour to help with cleaning and close any cracks in the wood which might harbour red mite. I think i will paint the rest of the house ont he outside at somepoint but it takes about 4 coats to get a good covering and didnt have time or the patience to do this in the week between g3etting the run and getting the hens! Will get the tape measure out this evening and get the measurements for you. All in all im very pleased with the build of the run- it was very easy to put the house together, I am going to add some more bolts onto the doors of the houses as i havent got 100% faith in the fact they cant come undone with hens pecking or a foxes nose! Also the sliding door between the run and the house is a little stiff but ive waxed the runners to help. I also have got a thin piece of mdf which slots into the door of the house to make it totally dark inside at night- which stops the hens waking up too early as I live in a very urban area! The people I bought the house from also had a metal sliding door arm which you could buy extra which means i can close the door from outside the hen house without going inside. It was £12 extra- but definately worth it- i did have to add an extra piece of wood to the door to ensure it was long enough but this was fairly easy to do. Good luck! Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 What great show pictures and congratulations on your new arrivals. I have to say you are much braver than I would be. I've never been to a show and was very interested in your excellent write up. So where was the Reading & Newbury show?? I'm in Wokingham so Reading is an easy trip but Newbury a bit far out for me. Might be tempted to go next year for a look-see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 What great show pictures and congratulations on your new arrivals. I have to say you are much braver than I would be. I've never been to a show and was very interested in your excellent write up. So where was the Reading & Newbury show?? I'm in Wokingham so Reading is an easy trip but Newbury a bit far out for me. Might be tempted to go next year for a look-see. I also am very interested in going to a show. I dug around and found this link which may be useful... http://www.poultryclub.org/SHStructure.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwenLdn Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 The next show nearest to me is the one in Colchester. Colchester Poultry Club Spring Open Show Saturday 7th March 2009 Great Bromley Village Hall Parsons Hill Great Bromley Colchester Essex CO7 7JA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I wish I'd known the show was on... I would have loved to have gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koo2cat Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Gosh, thank you for posting that! What beautiful birds! Chicken Heaven!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebird Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Your girls look lovely. Your Light Sussex looks so clean. My LS hybrids have spent the winter mud bathing and are now a not so delicate shade of beige. More like Buff Sussex. Thank you for all your lovely pictures of chickens at the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwenLdn Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Aw thanks everyone! Im really glad you like the girls! Im trying to make friends with them at the moment so I keep telling that all the time! 2 out the 4 girls will feed rice/corn from my hands- the Plymouth and the Silkie seem a little more reserved- but its early days still. And today they had normal porridge when i let them out- however i think it was a bit sticky for them as they didnt eat it all. They seem to be establishing a hierachy at the moment with the Light sussex being boss -how much hen pecking to the others is normal in the first week? Also with these breeds ive got (see the list below on my signature) would you advise on clipping their wings when i let them have a run around the garden? My fences are 5ft tall but have a few places where a crafty hen could jump up on things and make herself closer to the top of the fence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hey owen, I have not clipped ours and according to the books some can be quite flighty. I have not seen them get more than 0.5m. off the ground even with the most frenetic flapping... I also have a few possible climbing points where they could hatch an escape plan but they dont seem to want to get out. Their area is 18m*15m so they may get more adventurous when they have explored all of that. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
