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Millie-Annie

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Hi everyone!

I am completely new to chicken keeping!

I've wanted hens for 3+ years now, even attended a hen keeping course 2 hrs ago!

Well I've finally taken the plunge. Been researching breeds and settled on Wyandottes. It was a toss up between them & Faverolles, but thought the Wyandottes would be easier to keep for a newbie.

Got my girls on thurs and all seems to be going well so far!

Faverolles next year? ;) Lol

 

Franki

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Hi All,

 

And here is another new member: ME :D

 

I am fairly new to chickens, I adopted 4 Ex-Battery hens (Ginger, Gladys, Betty and Admiral Norma) last September through the BHWT from a battery in Guildford Surrey. They quickly turned from shy little "oven ready" chicks to boisterous, VERY noisy fully feathered Ladies who were ruling my Wildlife garden and its other inhabitants. They really brought be so much joy and I loved waking up to their clucking noises.

 

Sadly yesterday I had to have my 3rd girl put to sleep after I already lost 2 other girls within the last three weeks, they ALL 3 had a big fist sized tumour on their left side and were going down-hill fast. I spent ages browsing the internet, feeding them soft food and wondering if I had done anything wrong. In the end their little bodies shut down and putting them to sleep was the kindest but hardest decision. My vet every queried whether the chicks had actually been vaccinated by the Farmer as this was too much of a coincidence. Very scary for a complete novice like me. Now I sadly have only got Admiral Norma left, who seems terribly lost without her friends. I have already put my name down for some more ex-Batts but I am worried that those will all suffer the same fate.

 

Has anybody else here had similar experiences with their Ex-Batts? How long do they live in general post Battery?

Am wondering whether I should get a couple of Bantams to keep Norma company until some ex-Batts become available. Is there any particular QUIET breed somebody could recommend?

 

Best regards,

MadWelly71 *still very sad*

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Hi everyone, I have just found this site by chance.I have got 3 young hens in the middle of june this year.We looked at buying a house for the girls then after seeing how much it was to buy my husband decided to build our own house and detatchable run. it will still be here long after we are!!!! It is a bit over engineered shall we say.....I was given a black copper maran,a cuckou maran and a white maran with a grey fleck who has feathery legs.We dont have the black one as bonny turned out to be a cockeral . A quick name change to Bob was called for.He then went back to my friends who are now looking for some hens to keep him happy.I then got Lil or scruff as our son calls her.Lil is a tough little warren who quickley told Maisy and Rita that she is the boss now.Lil is starting to look a lot better now and is very friendly to us.We have been waiting for our first egg but nothing so far .I shall let you all know if it happens.Any tips to get them in the mood to lay? Lil the warren was a very good layer at my friends house but not a single egg has she popped out.have had her for 6 weeks now.Her feathers are going a rich brown too instead off a pale creamy colour.

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Ya hoooooo!!!! One of my girls has layed an egg.The problem is I dont know which one.And I got another this afternoon.How happy I was I had to phone, text and email everyone I know to tell them the good news.And now I`m posting it on Omlet too..The egg was a good size and it was a rich brown with a white paint effect on it .Boy was it great with my bacon sarnie this morning!!! :D:clap::dance::drool:!egg!!eggspeck!

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Hello All,

I'm new too - had my girls just 2 weeks and my lovely (eglu lilac) for just a week now. I have posted a topic as I needed a bit of reassurance that the eglu purchase was the right way to go and I got loads of lovely replies that did help, so thank you all for that.

 

I've got two lovely, friendly Goldline hybrids but no eggs yet... They really are fantastic and just follow me around the garden. They're even patient with my dog, Florence, as she's not quite sure she wants to share her garden and so follows them around and tries to round them up just like a sheepdog. Believe me that's quite a sight as she's a Chinese Crested and a bit lacking in the hair department.

 

I've been handling the girls more this week as I figured they'd had enough time to settle in, and I found lice - yuk :vom: . I've sprayed them and disinfected everything in sight as well as spraying the eglu so hopefully that'll be the end of them. I'll be checking them over on a very regular basis from now on as I don't want any more nasties.

 

I'm looking to get at least one more hen, maybe two soonish and wondered if maybe the pure breeds are the way to go so there's a bit of a mix - and so we can actually get through all the eggs (when they finally start laying that is). I live in Deal, Kent so if anyone knows of anyone nearby that sells hens I'd be grateful.

 

Thanks for reading, I'm looking forward to getting to know you all a bit better.

 

Teresa :D

(Just have to work out how to attach a signature and all the extra bits at the bottom and I'm away!).

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Hello,

 

I'm new here. I'm a teacher and have spent this week telling my class of 10 year old (who constantly tell me how busy they are) that I'm mum to 4 children, 3 new hens (Milly, Molly and Mandy), 2 dogs (Millie and Harvey cocker), two hamsters (Honey and Sugar) and a rabbit (Amelie). I'm a bit busy too!!!

 

I've only been keeping hens for about a month and absolutely love it. We have a new !gogreen! and 3 fresh eggs every day for the past fortnight. I couldn't persuade hubby to let me have another dog but he was very keen on chickens (as were the children and I) and the rest is history.

 

I can't believe it's taken me 43 years to learn what great animals they are. Now I've been converted, I tell eveyone how fab they are.

 

Look forward to chatting to lots of other chicken fanatics!!

 

Julie XX

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Welcome to the forum - lots of information and advice on here, and not just on chickens. Once your hens have settled in and you are used to them and they to you, I bet your class would love to meet them one day if you took them into school!

 

Don't forget to check the FAQs or use the search if you've got any particular questions, chances are someone else will have asked the same thing, but if you can't find it then post on one of the sections and you're sure to get an answer from one of our friendly forum members. Chickens are fab, and we're all mad about them on here!

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Hi there. My name is Hazel and I have had my cube since January. Its great.My brother gave me some hens as he has far too many and so far I have managed to look after them pretty well. They look after me really well by giving me lots of eggs. I do have one wee question. I felt that the cube with just the small enclosure was a bit small for four hens so we fenced off an area for the hens to wander about in. The trouble is that this area is now absolutely bare and when it rains it gets very slippy. Should I move the iglu out of the fenced in area or should I put something down on the ground to save me slipping and breaking my leg? Do hens like walking around on just earth (sometimes wet and slippery)? As it is coming into winter it would be good to sort something out soon.

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Another novice here! :D I've been reading this forum for quite some time, trying to learn all I can about chicken keeping. I finally got my eglu this week and have been trying to decide what sorts of hens to get and if I should get them this late in the year or wait until next spring. I have to say that I'm not feeling very patient at the moment! :wink:

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Hi , I'm new to the forum too. I'm Angela, not got a hen name as yet , hahaha.

I saved really hard for a cube,and got it on ebay at a really reasonable price, it is in excellant condition and Omlet have been very helpful with manuals and guides even spare parts. I can't thank them enough. I have three ladies. Bantams bought as 9wk chicks and we are at 14 wks now and growing fast. A welsumer,Frizzle and Araucana. I have just had paving put down for them and they are on wood chips,scratching away happily with a large plastic hanging basket as a dust bath full of earth and sand....they love this too. I am now saving to have a WIR for them. I would like to thank everyone for all the input on this forum ,advice, humour and companionship your marvellous . Thank you. :D

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Hello Angela, am glad you have got some girls to enjoy.My tv hardley goes on now as when I sit down with a coffee I love to watch my chooks.I find them amaising .when you watch them their names will just come to you. I did`nt know chickens made so many different sounds.I am new to chickens too and am in the middle of worming mine. I have tried the natural ways like useing cider apple vinigar and vermin-x but have been told that you really need to use Flubenvet if you want to do the job, and there is no egg withdrawal either.It is so easy to use..I have just been to a local poultry sale and saw so many different breeds some of which were huge!!!!There were lots of bantams too they are such pretty little birds.Enjoy your girls...

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Hi, well after 'lurking' for a while I thought I'd better join!!

 

Got my 3 lovely girls 8 weeks ago - can't imagine life without them now!

 

I have a Bluebelle , she's called Scarlett (after Scarlett O'Hara)

a Maran Cuivree, called Carlotta (after the opera Diva in Phantom of the Opera)

a Whitestar called Joni ( my son named her after Joni Mitchell)

 

I also have a rescue cat called Smokey - we've had him 3 weeks now.

 

I live in Suffolk.

 

Hello to all on the forum!

 

(red eglu)

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Hello

 

Well I too am a new girl. I have had my girls for 5 weeks. I have 2 ginger nut rangers and 2 miss pepperpots...chelsea, darthveda, victoria and cluck. Yes, the boys of the household named the first two. Darthveda lives up to her name and is chief in charge, with victoria being in charge of escaping first, chelsea is miss sensible regular layer and cluck...well if she was a human would be very scatty!! Chelsea lays most days, Darthveda did initially and now does every now and then with the other 2 yet to start. I hope they all start laying before the winter or am I being too hopeful?

 

I love this chicken lark, the characteristics of the girls is just great and they love following me round their garden when allowed out of their purple cube.

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Hi Hazel,

 

I think that's one of the first things I've learned... Chickens and grass doesn't go together. When I got my first lot of ex-battery hens last year in autumn, I let them roam freely in the garden... and kissed goodbye to my lawn. Over the winter that patch literally turned into my very own muddy and slippery Glastonbury.

I have now fenced off a run for the ladies and put down a thick layer of bark chips down and a dry corner for their sand baths. This way the chicken can scratch to their heart's content and their feet stay dry (they don't like wet feet and hate mud). I have reclaimed the rest of my garden, with the grass growing back very nicely (and stepping stones leading to the coop.. just in case). The ladies still get the grass clippings and I occasionally rake a handful of dried worms or maggots under the bark chips to keep them happy.

Alternatively, you can probably move your run around on the lawn and then put down grass seeds on the bare patches although I imagine that can get rather expensive and tiresome at some point.

 

Hope this helps?

 

Manuela

PPPP Rusty & Megan 2 Black Rock chicks

GNR Norma (1 old Ex-batt)

(white chicken)(white chicken)(white chicken) Lizzy, Mae & Rita (3 new Ex-batts)

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Hiya - I have been spending some time on the forum as a build up to the exciting day that my girls, green cube and run arrived on 13th September 2010...... Two weeks on and we are getting along together very nicely. I have four gingernut rangers (Omlet girls) and am convinced that one of them (Miss Babs) is a bit scared of heights :lol: She has to stop at the top of the ladder in the mornings and psyche herself up before she jumps down. They are all very similar in colour but I am beginning to notice some differences in them, ie their combs are all different sizes. I have found advice picked up on the forum really helpful and you all seem such a supportive bunch. A photograph has been taken of the first egg (which, incidentally was laid - I think - by Doris) and this will be posted on the forum at some point because I am so very proud of her. I didn't realise just how wonderful the feeling would be to gather fresh eggs every day. Hoping that this feeling of wonder won't subside too quickly (bit soppy I know, but hey ho) :D

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Hi Cheeky Girls!

 

We have 1 gingernut like yours called Cluck. She never goes down the steps of our cube. She is the lowest ranking chicken of our 4, so has to wait for the other 3 girls to descend the steps on the cube....then has to ensure there is a landing site for her to launch herself down onto in the mornings. Then whens she is in the garden, she loves scooting round doing lots of running and flying as much as she can despite her wings being clipped. I call her our liability chicken....the other 3 will all be nicely pecking away in the garden and Cluck will be up to something!!! Like you, we too are new at this chicken lark and loving it, learning loads too. I found Cluck sitting on the roasting bars today, watching the others on the nest....we think she is trying to learn how to lay an egg as she has not started yet.

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