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

[cluckynikki]

After 6 months of gentle persuasion I have finally won the war with my husband and got the go ahead to have two hens ... but only two. The main idea behind it was for my daughter to have a pet, and she would like a pekin bantam or a silkie. I would like a good egg layer so want a hybrid like Miss Pepperpot or Gingernut Ranger.

 

However, I was told by a breeder that it would not be fair to put the two types together as the hybrid would make the silkie or pekin bantams life a misery. Does anyone have any experience of mixing these breeds.

 

I appreciate I would have to get them both at the same time. Would it be an idea to get an older silkie/pekin which could stand up to POL hybrid?

 

All this time spent researching and planning and now I am feeling really nervous about making the final choice. I have had the eglu in place for the last three weeks and have attended an Omletchicken keeping course, which was when my daughter fell in love with a pekin. Previously it was going to be so simple ... two hybrids and that was it.

 

Now I am so confused ... I wake up in the night and can't stop thinking about it. I have more or less promised hens of some sort to my daughter for Thursday and there is a local breeder who advertises both, so what should I do?

 

Any advice gratefully received.

[BeckyBoo]

Panic not. I've had a silkie in with big birds and they are absolutely fine. Get them at the same time and you shouldn't have any problems provided they are both the same maturity ie: both pol or both roughly the same age. Loads of people on here have mixed flocks, I've got bantams, I had a Brahma boy, ex-batts, Gingernut Rangers, you name it mine all sleep together in the same cube.

I would suggest getting three, that way they're a little flock and if one dies (which hopefully will be a long time) then you're still left with a pair, a single hen is an unhappy hen and introducing hens to each other can be very stressful.

 

But with hens, size really doesn't matter.

 

Go for it, once you've got them you'll wonder why you didn't get them years ago

 

BeckyBoo

[cluckynikki]

Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately I can only go for two. I wish it could be three, but hubby has compromised by finally accepting the inevitable, so I feel I should compromise too.

I still can't quite believe I'm on the verge of getting my hens. Hubby's comment is : 'I'm not having anything to do with them'. It warmed my heart yesterday to see him fixing the wonky lever on my eglu!

I'm sure he will come round in time but if I was to go ahead and get three it would seem like I have not respected how much he has compromised.

Nikki

[Aggienator]

A bantam is defined as being 1/4 the size of the full size bird. So 4 bantams = 1 chicken, therefore if you get a hybrid and two bantams you are still coming in below quota

[jlo]

Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately I can only go for two. I wish it could be three, but hubby has compromised by finally accepting the inevitable, so I feel I should compromise too.

I still can't quite believe I'm on the verge of getting my hens. Hubby's comment is : 'I'm not having anything to do with them'. It warmed my heart yesterday to see him fixing the wonky lever on my eglu!

I'm sure he will come round in time but if I was to go ahead and get three it would seem like I have not respected how much he has compromised.

Nikki

 

If it is any consolation - my hubby was exactly the same. He adores them now and will often take his work down the garden to watch them. Infact, he was the one who suggested we added to our two! So.... you never know!

[feemcg]

I'm glad he's compromised by saying he's not having anything to do with them.......I'd def get 3 then

[Patricia W]

I'd go for three - animal welfare grounds if he asks. Get two the same and then you could always say he's seeing double....

[Mrs Webmuppet]

Definately get 3, they will be much happier and afterall 2 bantams =1 normal chicken and you have to have one each - you , daughter and hubby ( thats why we have six -two each )

[cluckynikki]

Thanks for all the interest and messages of support. I will only go for two and keep my fingers crossed that I am lucky with them both.

 

The breeder I am going to tomorrow has warrens, light sussex and black rock available,but no pekin bantams for a few weeks, so that kind of solves my dilemma. I don't think my daughter will be prepared to wait any longer for her hen ... the eglu has been ready and waiting empty for 3 weeks now so we will go tomorrow and get two.

 

Any suggestions about which two of the above we should get?

Thanks in advance.

[BeckyBoo]

Definitely make one of them a black rock, they're hardy, they're hybrids (so they'll lay through the winter which the pure breeds won't) and they're friendly (they also lay HUGE eggs) As for the others, I don't know about warrens, our light sussex is a bantam and is really flighty, but our buff sussex was a boy and was a lovely boy.

 

Good luck, it's so exciting picking new hens!

 

BeckyBoo

[Egg Lou]

Oh good luck choosing! you will probably find whatever you decide to have now will go out the window as they do seem to have a habit of choosing you instead and you will be drawn to particular hens so just go with your heart at the time

 

SHame you can't have the pekin you wanted but in incase you ever get the chance later on I can recommend it as have 3 pekins in with my 4 hybrids and no issues with size etc.. ( have bottom plucking girl but thats a recent issue and on way to being sorted!)

[Patricia W]

Warrens are the lovely brown ones you see illustrated in nursery rhymes - very good layers too and often very friendly

[cluckynikki]

Just to let you know I am now a proud hen owner. My daughter and I went to Shropshire Poultry today and chose a Rhode Rock (Tilly) and a Warren (Coffee). It wasn't quite so much as choosing the hens as having ones which they could catch ... I didn't know hens could run so fast! They are both beautiful.

 

Anyway, Tilly and Coffee are now safely settling down in their new home, not looking quite as shell shocked as they were, and enjoying their pellets and water. (I'm amazed how much they drink). They haven't ventured into the eglu yet but we're looking forward to seeing that tonight.

 

Had a bit of a drama getting them out of the car as the box they were in started to give way underneath (one of them had pooed in it and it had gone quite soggy). I had visions of my new hens running down off the street!

 

They both look a picture of health but on close inspection I have noticed that Coffee's beak doesn't quite meet into a perfect point. The top bit goes off at a slight angle. I hope it's nothing to worry about and it doesn't seem to stop her eating.

 

They are both looking very fed up with the rain and I feel guilty for keeping them confined in therun after they have been used to free-ranging in fields. I can't let themout until next wednesday when the garden netting I have ordered from omlet is due to arrive.

 

Also, rather stupidly we had a visit from Green Thumb today for our quarterly lawn treatment. They have not treated the section where the hens are or the bit where they will free range, but have done the rest of the garden, which is 'our bit'. However, I'm now frantic that weedkiller may have been carried in the wind (not that it was windy) and landed in their run. I have changed the drinking water and food, but I feel really worried that I will have poisoned my girls on their first day.

 

I think I'm going to spend the first week as an anxious mum!

[SAB]

Oh definately get a pekin for your daughter - they are such friendly wee birds and well able to stand up for themselves - our Tallulah is even best mates with our turkeys! We also had a mini silkie in with our flock (ranging in size from bantam, to larger chickens, to turkeys) - he got on fine and only left to be a stud as turned out to be a cockeral! Be ware of that for silkies as they are harder to sex than other breeds and often only crowing or egg laying decides it .

 

Good luck with it all (by the way, it was year of persuasion to get my OH to agree to 4 chooks and if you look at my signature you will see we've expanded a lot since we started last year and he also is very involved with them despite his intention to have nothing to do with them).

[cluckynikki]

Hubby hasn't been too put out with the girls' arrival today as he took delivery of his new car today so he is nicely distracted. Mydaughter fed thegirls with corn treats by hand this afternoon so I reckon they will soon become quite tame.

 

At the moment Tilly is the only one who has ventured into the eglu. But she hasn't realised that she has got to go round the corner to make room for Coffee too. She is just sitting there in the doorway taking up all the space!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Congratulations on your new girls . Where are the photos ?

[cluckynikki]

I'm afraid I don't know how to attach a photo! Instructions would be useful.

 

Just to update you. they still hadn't gone to bed by the time we left the house at 7.40pm tonight. Infact Coffee hadn't even ventred inside the eglu at all.

 

We were out there eagerly with a torch when we returned at 9.15pm. No sign of either of them and by discreetly shining the torch towards the eglu we could only just see the feathers of one of them, so they were obviously tucked up together.

 

Lovely.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Clever girls .

 

Here is a guide to putting photos on the forum. I use Flickr but Photobucket is good too.