Solving Omlet Smart Auto Door Timing Issues with Alexa Routines

[heth1986]

Hi all!

 

I'm seriously thinking about causing chaos (hopefully not too much!) within my small flock of 3 and adding a couple of blue egg layers into the mix. Does anyone have any experience with the Fenton blue / rose? I'm interested in their egg production / friendliness / hardiness.

 

I'm also tempted by a dark brown egg layer... is there a hybrid that lays a chocolate egg? (Slight obsession with egg colour at the moment... perhaps a white one too?!)

 

Thanks in advance for you help!

 

PS my run is at least 4 x 5 metres, maybe a tad bigger, with 3 girls alreay, do I have room for 3 more or would they be too cramped now that they've got used to their space? I do let the FR in the rest of the garden most days but this is weather dependant and usually only for a couple of hours.

[zakjon-98]

I don't know much about Fenton rose chickens but legbars of broadway have a blue/green egg layer and a chocolate egg layer hybrid. Some friends brought from them a while ago and the hens were healthy and layed blue eggs. It does seem that many blue egg layers are not very friendly though unfortunately.

[zakjon-98]

Also forgot to add that with blue egg type hybrids there is an around 15% they won't lay blue eggs but pure breeds such as cream legbars and aracaunas will definitely lay a blue/green egg

[debbier]

My WIR is 2m x 3m and I have had 4 birds quite happily, so you should be fine with extras. I have a cream legbar and she is a prolific layer of pale blue/green eggs. She's been my best layer by far. She was a bit nervous/flighty when we first got her but is now top chick (since introducing two newbies).

[cyclonetog]

Do you need the quantity of eggs a hybrid will give you? If so the Burford Brown will give you the dark eggs you want.

(as zakjon said they are supplied by legbars of broadway, and now a couple of others)

 

I had this same conversation with our local breeder and he convinced me to go with the Marans, his reasoning was that the bird will lay a couple eggs less per week but live for much longer.

As we had a surplus of eggs anyway this made a lot of sense to me.

 

A visit from the fox means things haven't quite worked out as planned, but I've replaced our hybrids with 3 pure breeds (1 being a Marans) because we simply don't need the amount of eggs we were getting...

[heth1986]

Thanks for this, I thought I'd have the room I just wanted to double check first (better start planning a bigger house though, I should have seen morehens syndrome coming!)

 

I was thinking about hybrids for a couple of reasons, and please excuse my naivity if I'm completely wrong, I was new to this last year ;

1) I was told that they're alot calmer than purebreeds

2) I could do with the 'year round' egg laying, don't most pure breeds stop laying all together in the winter months?

 

Whilst the girls are all pets to me, I can no longer bring myself to buy eggs from anywhere, OH insists on having an egg orientated breakfast EVERY morning (he's a big guy so this normally means 3 eggs, which is all I get! ), I also give the neighbours and mother in law eggs as often as possible and like to bake, make homemade mayo, quiches etc. So yes, egg production is now an important element... hence me rehoming my silkies with Egluntyne earlier this year, bless there little fluffy heads, they are useless layers

[zakjon-98]

Hybrids are much more likely to lay through the winter than purebreeds. The personality of the hen is not always down to the breed but to the individual hen although the certain breeds are more likely to be tame. In a book I have it says the appenzeller breed is not tame yet mine is the friendliest (and my favourite ).

[debbier]

I'd say overall my legbar has been a better layer than my Omlet hybrids. They've all slowed down in the winter, even the hybrids. My marans has been an atrocious layer. She looks as healthy as anything, but hasn't laid at all in well over a year. Even before then she didn't lay much. The breeder I got my two newbies from said that he'd had a "duff" Marans line who weren't good at laying, but had a good line going now. She's very calm, but I might as well have a tortoise for the amount of eggs she gives

Sorry to waffle, but it's luck of the draw to some degree. That breeder (fro The Gobbett) did say that silkies laid even fewer eggs than his naff Marans, so I didn't bother with them

[cyclonetog]

Personally so far I've found the pure breeds to be much more docile than the hybrids, which is backed up by things I've read around the net.

 

In your situation though, where higher volumes are much more important I'd say go for the Burford Brown for your dark eggs. In the short term you're more likely to get more eggs than with a Marans so if you're going to use them up then it's a no brainer really.

 

I hope my Marans is a decent performer, none of our new ones are in lay yet so we're still waiting to see how they get on

[heth1986]

Well that throws a spanner in the works!

I'm now far more tempted with a legbar, I know they'll all be slowing down in the winter months but I had no idea legbars were good layers! Burton brown also very tempting...

I'm still intrigued by the Fenton hybrids though, maybe it's just because they're new and exciting!

[Egluntyne]

I once had 4 Fenton Blues. They laid beautiful eggs, but they were skittish, unfriendly and not at all hardy. I wouldn't have them again.

[Purplemaniacs]

Another spanner in the works maybe

 

My hybrids only laid regularly for their first winter after that I had to buy eggs.

 

I have hybrids that lay white and blue/green eggs. Having hatched some bantams this summer my long term plan is to hatch some bigger pure breeds to replace the hybrids when the time comes.

 

I love coloured eggs

 

Chrissie

[daxigirl]

One of the chicken keepers I work with got a couple of the Fenton Blues and is incredibly disappointed as they do a pale egg but decidedly not the blue she was hoping for.

 

My Paxo does a , not at all friendly, Moomin (on the rare occaision) does a , has been friendly and Persil and Aerial should do a blueish when it's time, they love a squish as I hatched them out.

[Chucky Mama]

I have a Fenton Rose that was sold with a 98% chance of laying blue eggs...she lays cream eggs She has grown into quite a large bird, very pretty. She is a little more skittish than my other birds but has settled as she has matured.

[Sue]

Sorry - I have never kept Fentons, but these are from my Coloured Egg layers, Olive Eggers and Higgledy Harriets, they are good layers and lay a few in the winter, though I expect not as many as a young commercial hybrid. Anyway I love the colours in my egg basket

 

[Mrs_B]

I don't know if this helps, as I don't have experience with Fenton Blue/Rose hens but I have a Columbine/Skyline that is a hybrid which is based on the pure breed Legbar. My girl lays a blue egg and it is beautiful (and so is the breed itself). There is a 80% chance of getting a blue or green egg, and 20% pastel/pink - so the odds might not interest you if you definitely want a blue egg. My experience of the breed is friendly and my hen will follow me around but she doesn't like being picked up at the moment and is skittish (but she is my favourite!)

 

My White Star (hybrid of the Leghorn) lays a wonderful white egg and although a bit flighty, is friendly and becomes more easy to pick up every time I interact with her. I also think they are lovely looking white hens.

 

There are also Cotswold Legbars which lay 80% blue/green eggs.

 

Hope this helps!

 

x

[debbier]

Sorry - I have never kept Fentons, but these are from my Coloured Egg layers, Olive Eggers and Higgledy Harriets,

 

What a lovely wide variety of colours you have there.

[zakjon-98]

Those olive coloured eggs are amazing! What breed/hybrid lays those?

[HH HENS]

Hi I have a Fenton Blue and a Fenton Rose, as far as hybrids go I rather like them as they are a better looking chicken then your basic hybrids, they have a bit more weight on them and don't lay quite as madly as the brown hen, so Im hoping that they will lay for longer.

The Fenton blue looks similar to the cream leg bar but the egg is not as blue, it is a pale blue and as they get older it gets much paler and yes there is a chance that they won't lay blue eggs at all. Mine is friendly and likeable.

My fenton rose unfortunately does not lay a blue egg but it is a pretty pinkish colour, she is a real character and loves people. I run use her as my demonstration chicken when showing my chickens off. She is a big chicken.

I also have cream leg bars, mine do not like being handled and are a bit flighty, but they are great layers they are three years old now and are consistent layers of a lovely blue egg, they stop laying in november and usually come back into lay in february, they are pretty chickens.

I would highly recommend all three breeds. Good luck and I hope this helps.

[Gloss-Hen]

I have 12 chickens. 3 of them are cockerels so I excuse them but my girls altogether lay 2 eggs a day and they come from my 2 adult polands who lay pretty much every day and polands are pretty, curious and friendly.Also they do lay lovely white eggs, well mine do anyway

Silkies are rubbish layers like Heth1986 said. And I have 2 who are 35 weeks old and have not given me one single egg

[LottyJ1]

Sorry - I have never kept Fentons, but these are from my Coloured Egg layers, Olive Eggers and Higgledy Harriets,

 

Ohhhh wow - do tell us what breeds they all are and where you got them.

 

I love the different colours

[heth1986]

Thankyou everyone for your replies!

I've been converted to getting a couple of legbars instead of going for the fentons so I shall see how we get on! Better get started on a bigger house! (With extra room for expansion... Just incase )

Just one more question though, and I know its down to individuals but... Those of you who do have legbars, do you find them particularly noisy in comparison to others?

Thanks again for everyones help!

PS

Darkbrowneggs... You must tell us what hens you have to produce such a wonderful selection of eggs, they're gorgeous!

[Sue]

Hi All - Yes I do love my different egg colours, it always gets gasps of admiration when someone opens an egg box. I have Cream Legbars for the pale blue eggs, then a special Olive Egger x CLB for a stronger bluey green. The darker greeney ones are from Olive Egger crosses again, and the dark brown speckley ones are from Higgledy Harriets which are a type of Cuckoo Marans. There are some photos HERE

 

All the hens are really pretty as well as they have little feathery hats So far they have proved to be good layers, but I will let you know what their winter performance is like.

 

I shall take some photos of the girls (if it ever stops raining) - would you believe I had a mains water disaster in the pens the other day and ended up with 4" of water inside

[zakjon-98]

Wow! Those marans eggs are is that what a proper marans egg is ment to look like? I've never seen them that dark before. The higgledy Harriet eggs look like my barnevelder eggs just slightly darker

[cyclonetog]

Yep, to be considered a Marans the egg should be a certain shade of dark brown or darker.

 

It's number 4 on some scale I think, but I can't remember what the scale is called