witzend Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Still in 2 minds (or more ) re starting with chickens but, if I did, is there a best time of year to start? Also (sorry) is there a best age to get 3 hens - I'd want 3 diff types for variety of visual type and also colour of eggs .........should I get little chicks/few weeks old/older ?? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'd get POL (around 20 weeks) and any time is okay to get chickens, but I think there will be more to buy around now because the fertility rates are higher because of longer days (i think thats why anyway ) I'd get a ginger type hybrid, white star and a cream legbar for the eggs you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 The minimum age really is 8 weeks, any younger and you'll be dealing with heat lamps etc.. A really nice age is about 16 weeks when they are pretty much their final colour with a bit of growing to do, they are easily tamed and very cute at that age Pure breeds will start laying from about 24 weeks, hybrids start younger Hybrids are usually available as POL (Point of lay) which is about 20 weeks There are more pure breeds available from about now onwards as the early hatched chicks reach rehomable size and the most choice is Autumn time when people sell off POL chooks and show birds that dont make the grade to reduce stock for the winter hybrids are in plentiful supply all year round Personally I'd go for it in summer when you have the lovely long evenings to bond with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 cheers - I was hoping summer wasn't too late cos I've still not made my mind up about what I'm doing!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennym Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hi Witzend, I know exactly how you feel. We debated it and changed our minds many times before finally getting the Eglu & run last week and 3 lovely ladies on Saturday. Like you we wanted different, easily-distinguishable types but our priority was temperament - the more friendly and placid the better. We need to be able to get them in & out of the run/house easily and don't want flighty birds trying to flap off around the neighbourhood. We're in central London but with a very large garden - the garden is shared and although our neighbours are happy with the idea of chickens, that's another reason we didn't want any difficult birds. In the end we went with what our research and the people at Widgits Farm told us - the hybrids (at least the sort they had) are reliable egg-layers, placid, easily tamed and best suited if you need to keep them in runs regularly. They had some lovely purebreds as well but each had some quirks that we just didn't want to have to deal with (furry legs to keep clean, flighty temperaments, poor/small eggs, too active for runs etc). Of the ones they had at Widgits, none of the green/blue/white egg layers would have been right for us. We came home with 3 POL (point-of-lay, about 16 weeks) hens - a Gingernut Ranger (standard brown 'supermarket' eggs), a Miss Pepperpot (brown but 'tinted' eggs, whatever that means) and a Bluebell (light brown eggs with a plum 'blush'). Hopefully the eggs will be different enough that we'll know who laid what! Maybe one day with more time/space/experience we'll branch out into some more interesting breeds but these have been very entertaining and inquisitive so far. Not fully tame yet but I managed (with treats and a looootttt of patience) to get them to eat out of my hand on the first day. They are not quite so timid now and learning fast who the treat-lady is I know it's a hard decision but even with all the hard work and money getting set up it was definitely worth it - at least for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 thanks - Nice to know I'm not the only one who's been dithering!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Personally I'd go for it in summer when you have the lovely long evenings to bond with them Definitely - we were down to one hen in september last year so we had to make an emergency purchase of hens - due to the short nights we didn't get to see much of them (as we both work), it's only really this summer that we're starting to bond with each other; long days do help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I would agree with Spring and Summer. My hens and Eglu were a Christmas present, but I didnt want to get them in the winter when they get up after I have gone to work and will be in bed before I got home. We pre-ordered ours at Christmas but had them arranged for delivery for the end of March, the weekend the clocks went forward. It has worked out really well with the weather being wonderful and the light nights we have had loots of time for chook watching. At least by the time the dark nights come in they will remember who I am from one weekend to the next If you get yours in summer you will have a few months before the dark nights set in to enjoy them and get to know them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
