3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[smartrus]

Hi all, we currently have 5 chickens who are eggcelent layers and very sociable. They are a well established group who get on well with no issues at all. We decided to sell the odd surplus box of eggs out the front of our house with an honesty box thinking we may get a bit of interest. Well, we got more than we bargained for! The neighbours snapped them up and we now have them knocking on the door for more!! I also use the eggs for my cakes business which is why I initially got the chickens! The poor things are now struggling to keep up with the demand!! I am thinking of getting some more but am very worried that it will upset the group as I know they do not take kindly to intruders! (that's another quackers story!! ) I am after advice please on whether to bother at all or how to go about introducing a new group? Dont want to get more and then regret it, would love more though. any advice welcome, thanks!

[zakjon-98]

A good way to introduce new birds is to have them in a separate house such as a cat carrier in a sectioned off piece of their run and then free range them together. They will fight a bit but you need to leave them to it if they have space to run away unless blood is drawn. One thing to bear in mind is that chickens will not lay forever. If your chickens are pets and you want to keep them you may want to have space in your coop or be prepared to buy another to buy some more hens when they stop laying so you will still have eggs for your cake business. Good luck

[Chortle Chook]

zakjon-98 's advice is spot on. Am I right in remembering that you have a redundant duck house? Could you not pop a perch in there and use it as an ongoing introductions house? If you are going to need a steady supply of eggs you really will also need a steady supply of new chickens e.g. 2 new POL per year so that as your older girls go out of lay and move into retirement, the new ones come into lay. This means you will need a regular intros house. Some easy to move netting might also be a good idea. Doing this should mean you have about 10 girls at any one time and your main house would need to be big enough to support that number while the intros house only need support about 2 for a short period.

[smartrus]

Hi, thanks for the advice, good suggestions all round! Yes I do have a duck house which would fit 2 chickens and we could net off a bit of the run as its quite large, also whilst the older ones are free ranging, I could let the new ones have the full run. How long do you think they will need to kept apart from each other? I'm a bit of a novice I'm afraid but learning all the time!

[HennyPenny59]

How many people do you have asking for your hens' eggs, and how often do they want them?

[Chortle Chook]

How long do you think they will need to kept apart from each other?

I think that depends very much on the breeds you have. Good layers tend to be hybrids and these girls can get quite viscious so for these at least a week. I've read posts on here where it takes a lot longer e.g. over a month . Gentler breeds are easier to introduce but they tend not to be such good layers . Bit of a catch 22 really

[Deb Dav]

Every time I have got new girls, I always ensure it is at least three of them (last time it was 5 girls to 7 old girls). I try and get them as late in the day as possible, keep them separate from the old brood but when it is bed time - I wait until the older girls have gone to bed, shut the cube door and then place the new girls in the cube via the back after an hour. So far it has been successful and there hasn't been to much of any fuss.

 

As for the eggs, I sell them from my front door and when I have some to sell, my A frame sign goes out by the front verge but people always come to the door saying ,"I know your sign isn't out but do you have some eggs?" one customer came at eight in the A.M. Fresh eggs will always be popular so enjoy the fact that your neighbours enjoy your eggs.

[smartrus]

HI, thanks for that guys! All fab advice. We have at least 2 sets of neighbours who say they will buy as many as we have, 2 teachers at the local school who want a box a week, a friend who wants a box a week and I even saw a car pull up to look in the revamped sewing box I put out to sell, tut as there were none left and drive off! No idea who that was but all eggs I put out go! Its great really as I enjoy selling them, just wish I could meet demand. We have 5 hybrids at the moment which are rhode Island red crossed with white sussex and they are the most charming and friendly hens. My mother in law has 'proper' snooty breeds who live up to their name and dont want anything to do with us!! I will certainly think hard about how to introduce more to the flock and plan it properly.

[daxigirl]

Ooo careful you don't create egg monsters like I did. It got rediculous with people wanting dozens at a time. It got that I didn't have any eggs myself and I got anxious over not meeting demand. Then I realised how stupid I was getting and took the time (gently) to point out that I keep chickens for me and only sell on the surplus. If the sign's out then I have them available, otherwise not. I still have more than enough customers at home and work and I still get a thrill when someone knocks on the door to buy some, silly I know.

 

All I'm trying to say is remember you keep them for your pleasure not to supply the neighbourhood.

[smartrus]

Hi, thanks that s good point! We do keep chickens for ourselves and my cake business. I think that I was just surprised at how popular they were! Can you tell me how long they lay 1 a day for??

[daxigirl]

Sorry all mine are 'posh' birds, so don't feel it's necessary to do everyday or if your Moomin every fortnight. I'm sure someone that knows will be along with the details.

[smartrus]

Yes, my mum in law has 'posh' birds too! They also think laying each day is far too much trouble!

[Chortle Chook]

I too have special breeds and egg laying for my girls is pretty good in spring and early summer, then again in mid autumn but trickles in winter and has stopped altogether now when they are moulting. I've always wanted what I call 'real chickens' (not so much for the eggs as for the lovely clucking that they do) but OH will have none of it and just says 'no biggies and no scratchers' However I have heard elsewhere on this forum that hybrids drop their one a day egg production after 2 years - quite radically. You might, however get more informed adivce from other hybrid owners on this topic if you pop a post up specifically about that

[smartrus]

Thanks, i'll do that!