TOMWARDFARM Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Bonjour, bienvenue, Hey guys and welcome, just to say Hi and jackiepoppies if you search for her she lives in the Allier, probably not a million miles from you, she may be able to offer advice on hen breeds in france and where to source them from. Also I know she has mentiones she has seen a lynx in the field next to her property so probably definately worth a chat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hi, What fun it sounds ! Are you guys working in France as well ? or going for full-time self sufficiency ? I'd echo what Redwing say - get 6 initially and aim to add a couple new girls every year to keep production up. After the first winter you will find production drops off quite significantly over winter. From your posts I suspect you will be like the majority of us and will keep any non-laying girls on as long as they live as pets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidygirlsuk Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Welcome to the forum Drew and Alan. I'm looking forward to yours pictures, especially of your hen house, you lucky things. Where in the uk did you live before France ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmamakeup Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hi there Welcome to the forum. A fab place for advice. I'm constantly on here being a newbie to chickens myself and am picking new ideas and tips up all the time. Everyone's so helpful. Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew and Alan Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 bonjour! and to tidysgirluk we have lived together in the north east of england (co Durham) and Pembrokeshire, West Wales as thats where we are from. but that was a few years ago now!! and to Patricia: no, no jobs for us! we just spend our time working on the house and gardens!!! Alan is happy being retired but Drew (sorry for writing in the 3rd person but theres two of us) is an artist by trade. We have converted (by ourselves!!) our old grain store (which used to store the wheat in our home when generations ago it was a HUGE working farm) and now its a studio / gallery for Drew to work and exhibit in. we have tried to keep it as original as possible, exposed beamed ceiling, original floor, wood burner, stuff like that. Hopefuly we will open it officially next spring / summer, too much to do at the moment!!!! Food is more important lol!!! Drew's parents now live with us too, well not 'with us' exactly, sort of 'next door'! we also have a selfcontained apartment (gite) under drew's first floor studio which we were gona rent out to holiday makers etc , but Dad has cancer so they have come to live with us so we can take care of them as they get older, couldnt leave them on their own in the UK!!! will try work out how to add pics soon! we are on FB and got pics on there but cant link them to this! will work on it tho!!!!! dont know if this will work but we are members of a couchsurfing website (its a site u go on if u are traveling / visiting a certain area and need a place to stay, you can stay with people who have a room spare, like us) so we have pics on there! none of the chicken house yet! but will add that soon! but the link is: http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=77XY0FP but we arent very technical so dont know if it will work..... and yay!!! done more work on our chicken house, so we are one day closer to having chickens!!! ok, been a busy and messy day, so a glass of wine is needed! thanks for ur comments ! such a great site! D & A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Welcome to the Forum both! I'd get an extra chicken than you think you need for good measure, this will hopefully account for late developers, broodies etc. So I'd say you need 7 to be pretty much set for your 2 dozen eggs a week. Also, you won't need to think about introductions for a while. Your plan sounds fabulous though, well done both Although I can't believe you left South Wales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlehenny Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hi to both of you! Welcome to the forum. I am ssoooooo jealous ! In terms of real advice to you, having 3 chooks in a domestic garden, there is little I can add to what has already been said. However: my OH used to live in Bordeaux, speaks fluent french, knows more than a little about living in France , I know a bit about keeping chickens, SO: surely we are the perfect advisors to come over, spend about 6 months at yours, drink loads of vino and generally put you on the right track in leading la bonne vie ! (Oh, did I mention 2 children, 2 cats and an aquarium full of tropical fish, not to mention the chooks?! oh well!) Have fun and enjoy chicken keeping - it's so much fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Lou Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Just wanted to pop along and say welcome onboard!! Sounds like an fabulous life you have there Best of luck with your new hens.. you won't regret it one bit! Keep us updated x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I can't get onto that link, it says you need to be a member. You can get a link to facebook albums at the bottom and post it on here for people to see, or you can upload them to flickr or imageshack (which is probably easier) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew and Alan Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 have just changed the settings so the link should work! will work on the flicker pics tmrw! thnx for that ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhoderunner Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I've had my three Rhode-island hybrids since February - 16 - 20 eggs a week - so agree that 4 or 5 would provide plenty of eggs. Love the sound of your new life. I did A level French, so would be happy to do a bit of translation for you if your couch is free! Look forward to hearing your news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ness3103 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 i've just had a nosy at your pics mimzy is sooooooo cute i'm totally of your lifestyle. can't wait to see more pics especially when you get your girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew and Alan Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 hi! yeah the couch is available! but the spare room is more confortable ! lol! think we have linked the renovation pics from our facebook to here now! we arent technicaly minded!!! it should work as have set the facebook ablum so everyone can see it... well it works when we click on the link, so hopefuly it will work!!! got our sand, cement and wood delivered today so renovation work starts properly today!!!!!!!! in a few weeks hopefully!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atsw Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Think we have linked the renovation pics from our facebook to here now! we arent technicaly minded!!! it should work as have set the facebook ablum so everyone can see it... Still not working for me . I've never set up a facebook account and it says "You must log in to see this page." Using Photobucket, Imageshack or Flickr to host your pictures is very easy, they even provide all the photo strings to make the pictures appear in your forum message, then you just select the string and press the "Img" button above your post to make it show. Pressing the 'Preview' button will allow you to check it all works before finally hitting the 'Submit' button. Hope this helps, sounds like you're having fun over there. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Welcome to the forum *waves madly* Your set up sounds great, chickens would be lucky to live with you! I would maybe start off with 6-10 hens, whatever you feel comfortable with really. You have plenty of room but I wouldnt be tempted to get too many as it may overwhelm you. I have a Maran and she is a very hardy little hen. Not one day of illness in 2 years and a regular layer of dark brown eggs. You could maybe go for a mixture. Keep in touch and let us know how you get on. Oh and we love to nose at photos on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 The photos worked for me, but I do have Facebook. It looks very + is coming along well! You could fit loads in that! 6 does sounds like a good number, a mix of hybrids + pure breeds, and then as someone else said if you add another couple next year they will 'retire' at different ages so you'll always have eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidygirlsuk Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Just looked at your pictures, your chicken house is cool What a lovely place to live. I can't wait for picture updates either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew and Alan Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 http://s630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/drewandalan/ hi guys n girls!! ok well we have set up the photobucket thingy.... not sure if its works! sorry if it doesnt!!!!! who would have known this site gives both chicken advice and technical support ! and thnx for ur patience and chicken advice which is what we are here for too! lol!!! well tmrw we are gona pluck up the courage and go to our departments weekly cattle market as we found out today that they also sell chickens! its a HUGE HUGE market for all the big farms to sell / buy at so we might be out of our depth! dont want to come home with a cow!!! but hopefully we will be able to price up some chickens and ask some questions! got the roof timbers fitted to our coop today in the rain!!! merci for your help so far!! regards, a tired Drew and Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Oh man, that is one cute doggie!!! Good luck at the market Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Wow what an amazing place (very envious) You both are working very hard. Welcome to the forum. Look forward to lots more pics of your progress especially when your girlies arrive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidygirlsuk Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Your dog is so cute. The house is amazing and wow what a huge veg patch. I grow mine in pots it the porch Good luck at the market. Don't get a cow, we want to see chickens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireG Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 What a fab looking house and garden. I agree with the others one very cute doggy to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 The house, garden & surroundings are stunning. Am very - Enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayo Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hi guys and welcome from me too. Sure, cows are o.k., but priorities, priorities ; first must come the pig(s) ; eggcellent pets and good guards. I was given a couple of piglets as a child and one lived to a very ripe old age ; didn't find out the fate of the other one until it was too late ; I'm still not a veggie though !!! BUT, Most important is to make sure that you aren't too tired to do the digging of that big hole. Come on guys, try to keep up . . . for the duck pond of course. Naturally you will have ducks. Amazingly diverting and not to shabby in the egg department either. Looks like you're in for another busy summer. Good luck with it all. I'm sooooo envious. Happy digging. Mx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
