Single hen

[bekibutton]

...to a Parent-Toddler group in a couple of weeks time. What can I talk about?!

 

I run Hen Parties for Omlet and I'm so used to doing the 1.5 hour Hen Party spiel that I'm struggling to think of what I can say to a roomful of parents/carers as a half-hour basic intro to keeping hens in the garden. I've also been keeping chooks for something like 5 years and I can't remember what life pre-chickens was like!!

 

I'm taking a chicken with me (either one of my newly acquired pure breeds or borrowing back one of our Bitzas from my friend). I was going to try and get hold of (borrow) a show cage type thing, anyone know where I could try?

 

If you were attending a parent-toddler group talk on keeping chickens, before you had chickens, what would you have wanted to know about?

 

Thanks for any suggestions!!

Becki

[Stevie]

I guess you could explain to them how cheap chickens are to keep,how tame they become and how delicious their eggs taste,but also the negative bits like how untidy they can be and the amount of poop they do!

[Daphne]

have you got/could you borrow a cat/dog cage to take/show the bird/s - espec if you/they have one of those very open wire ones, rather than a covered one?

[Henhathnofury]

Having that chicken will be the perfect icebreaker, as will talking about poo!

 

I'm a freelance writer, so if you did want to send me over anything I would be only too happy to give you a hand shaping it up.

 

You could talk about the history of chickenkeeping - very briefly - how people used to keep them during the war - how there are actually wild chickens in forests and other lanscapes. Ask them if they have spotted chickens on TV or if they know other people who have go them. Get them to guess how many eggs a chicken lays and how many colours they can be.....

 

As I said, if you would like me to take a look at your 'speech' please let me know.

 

It sounds like a great thing to do.....such fun!

[Hen Watch]

Are you going to direct your talk to the parents or the toddlers???

 

I guess parents will want the same hen party info.

 

But toddlers might want more basic info. I'm madly trying to think back to when my lot were that age and what they would understand or want to know. I suppose a toddler wants to know that chickens have feathers to keep them warm, touch how soft they are, know that they don't have teeth, show them the pellets they eat, see all the different shapes and sizes of eggs (as they will only have seen supermarket ones so you could take a load along). Tell toddlers that chickens lay eggs in a nest, and we take them away every day to use in our cooking but if the chicken has a "husband" and then sits on a batch of eggs then baby chicks will hatch some weeks later. You could say your chickens like to help with the gardening by eating worms and that they keep their feathers clean with a bath and ask the children what they think chickens put in their bath. Also that chickens feathers keep them warm but that every year they grow a new set of feather "clothes" and take off their old clothes to do that. Ask the children do they like eating eggs. How do they eat them??? What do they think is inside an egg and crack one into a bowl to show them. Say chickens live in a house called a coup and that they like to live with their friends called a flock. What noise does a chicken make and can they make that sound?

 

Running out of ideas now....... good luck...... a toddler audience is going to be demanding.

[Hen Watch]

Still thinking about toddlers.....

 

A boy is called a cockerel/rooser , a girl is a chicken. Only girls lay eggs. Take a photograph of a chick and say in just 16 weeks they grow up into a chicken like this one. Boys are sometimes more colourful than girls... and you see that in the wild with lots of types of birds. End up with “we all wash our hands after touching pets”. Do they know any stories about chickens “little red hen”, “chicken licken” or the poem, “Hickerty, pickerty, my black hen, she lays eggs for gentlemen. Gentlemen come every day, to see what my black hen doth lay”. Chicken feathers keep them warm, you might have some in a cushion or your duvet.....

 

I think I need to get out more..... sorry will stop now.

[prudance]

I have toddlers and they have friends who are toddlers...

 

You really do have to go back to basics (if you're doing it for the kids) Hen Watch's suggestions are spot on (are you available for baby sitting?!!). For instance, this afternoon while cleaning the cube, my four year old wanted to know about the nest area. I said that that's where the chickens will lay their eggs (not laying yet). She said "How can they? There's nothing to do it with." She was looking for equipment to "make" an egg. Had to explain they come out of their bum fully formed.

 

Some of her friends have also been fascinated by the idea of different colour poos and that chickens sometimes like to play football with cabbages. If you wiggle your finger like a worm, some chickens will try to peck/eat it. They are birds (my kids don't believe me on that one) bit like penguins because they don't fly.

 

Good luck - also going to depend on the size of the group and the age of kids. Some only have youngsters, others will be nearly school age.

[Hen Watch]

They are birds (my kids don't believe me on that one) bit like penguins because they don't fly.

 

That's funny.... I like that one.

 

The omlet info booklet says "you don't see flocks of chickens flying overhead !!!" and that's a great quote too.....

[bekibutton]

I think it's mostly just for the parents, they sit downstairs in the church hall while the kids are in the creche upstairs, although I'm sure I'll have lots of interest from the kids when they come back downstairs so I will definitely be keeping suggestions for talking to toddlers in mind! Don't normally talk to kids so this should be interesting lol

 

I guess as HenWatch mentioned the food it might be good to take along some samples to show the parents, much as I'd do at a Hen Party, sort of explain this is the normal food (pellets) and this is the 'treat' food (corn) and by the way you can feed them such exotic foods as pomegranates and spinach if you really want to treat them.

 

As for the cage, my sister has a dog cage but unfortunately the dog is using it at the moment! Don't know where else to ask/look, might have to take a cat basket after all

[Mrs Kettle]

I went into my daughter's primary school class (6 and 7 year olds) to tell them about keeping chickens. I took one of our hens in a cat basket and let her out to wander round the classroom, which they and she loved (only one poo, which I was prepared for, and the children were delighted by). I let a couple of them do assisted holding so they could see how heavy she was. They wanted to know what they ate, where the cockerels lived (we live in Birmingham, so not many round here!), how many eggs they laid, where and why we kept them. I also took in eggs (to show the difference in shape and size).

 

One thing I did steer clear of with that age group was advocating that everyone should buy free-range eggs - not because I don't believe it, but because they're from a range of economic backgrounds, and for many families it's a decision based on cost.

 

Good luck!

[Falkor]

I have a mesh cat basket but not much help as I am in Cambs.

 

Something like this would be ideal, you could pop some polythene under so no poop on floor

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SMALL-HEAVY-DUTY-DOG-PEN-PUPPY-PLAY-PEN-BLACK_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1686Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem380099086738QQitemZ380099086738QQptZUKQ5fPetQ5fSuppliesQ5fDogsQQsalenotsupported

 

Expense though

[laurmurf]

Claret just prepared and presented the Junior Poultry Keeping Certificate course and she might be able to share some ideas with you about what worked for the mixed audience of kids of all ages and their grown ups.

[Egzandra]

I do wish I could come to your talk, (too far away though) although I would have to dress up as a toddler and sneak in. Sounds as though it is going to be great.

 

Will you hand round biscuits made with your eggs? That would be an extra attraction.

[braden01]

I'd suggest that you get together a 10 minute intro, just covering the great points raised by others on this thread and throw it open to questions. Most people find it more interesting if they can get involved and their questions will obviously guide you on what they are most interested in. Before we got our chucks, my questions were around the kind of food / housing, what happens if you go away for the weekend, noise levels, suitability as pets etc but this group may want something different.

 

Maybe take in pictures of your henhouse etc so they can get a feel for the equipment you need.

 

If these are parents who might be interested in keeping chickens themselves, maybe you could print off a few small sheets with lists of the websites for Omlet, buying second-hand henhouses, getting ex-bats etc etc so they can take them home to do more research themselves / come on this forum to ask more questions.

 

It sounds great - hope the session goes well!

[scrambledhead]

Hi there,

 

I came to one of your hen parties this month, it was great, just tell them what you told us!

 

[Suzy]

Can I add a suggestion?

 

I'm the only person I know who keeps chickens and I got into it because I was so stunned how many battery eggs are still used by huge corporations and in so many well known branded (and supermarket) products - fresh pasta, ready made sandwiches using non free range mayo etc.

 

My step daughter has already given a talk at her school about how she owns ex-bats (hmm artistic licence but for a good cause) to great effect!

 

Might be a bit of a negative but I think building awareness and shock value is a big motivator for some people!

[bekibutton]

Thank you for all the suggestions so far!

 

As it's now only a few days till the talk I'm starting to get a little nervous, but I think I'll spend the weekend preparing, maybe print some stuff, get some pics etc.

 

Still haven't been able to find a suitable cage to take this chicken in, does anyone have any suggestions where I can buy one or borrow one from?

[Mrs Webmuppet]

Wilkinsons do a large pet carrier for £12.99, you may have to order it but it can be delivered to the store post free. It only took 3 working days for ours to arrive.It would easily accomodate one chicken or two bantams.

[MaggieMcHen]

Just as a matter of interest how do you get involved in running 'Hen Parties' for Omlet? I am a teacher so talking to people isn't a problem - I've also been asked to give a talk on keeping hens (+Eglus and Cubes) to the local allotment society - does that count as a Hen Party?

[bekibutton]

Well, today's the day! Wish me luck! I'll let you all know how I get on, if you're interested that is

 

MaggieMcHen, I think there's details on how to apply to run your own Hen Parties in the Chicken Keeping Courses section of the forum...

[Groovychook]

Hope it goes well!!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Good luck, you'll be fine!! Deep breaths & be yourself, let us know how it goes

 

Sha x

[Daphne]

yes - I'm sure you'll have a ball; enjoy the chance to talk about chickens without the other party drifting off to find something more interesting they just have to do, right now! Good Luck

[bekibutton]

I think it went well!

 

Aside from the awful acoustics in the church hall (they asked me to speak up ) and the bit where my laptop (showing a chook-pic slideshow) ran out of battery, everything else went smoothly!

 

Leonard Hen made a great demo chook and only freaked out a couple of times, then laid an egg in the cat basket on the way home! I'm sure she's told her fellow hens all about her crazy adventure by now lol

 

So many people were really interested in keeping chickens, some were worried about cleaning them out but of course I said that with the and it's really easy. And as long as you don't go overboard with the organic spinach and pomegranates (some of our chooks' fave treats) they're really cheap too.

 

Some interesting questions but I think the best one has to be "do cockerels lay eggs?" hehe

[Falkor]

Glad it went well and the laptop battery thing happens to me EVERY time i have to show someone important somthing important I bet you were great!

 

Hope you reminded them all that if they buy a to mention your name so you get a good egg vouhcer!

 

I can just imagine all your chooks gathered around Leonard Hen getting the gossip