Solitary chicken - need advice

[emmalou]

I am new to this so please be patient! I am planning on 5-6 chickens for eggs but there seems conflicting info as to whether I need to get a rooster/cock as well as hens? I am not wanting a wake up call every morning, well my neighbours aren't but seems a bit of a minefield what I should be looking for. I am also unsure on breeds? Sorry to be so vague but have to start somewhere.Thanks to everyone for their help so far! Today we have finalised and ordered the run fencing and have listed what is necessary, so massive progress made. I cannot get the chickens much before June though I am still also confused over sexing them and knowing how to find a good hen for eggs. I would also like to rescue battery hens. How can I do this?

[Sil-El]

You don't need a cockerel to get eggs, only if you actually want to breed from your girls and have chicks.

Unless you live in the middle of nowhere or have very understanding neighbours, a cockerel is likely to cause noise problems - we'd love one but we daren't!

 

My own experience is that cockerels are not as easy to come by as hens so wherever you get your girls from, they will all be girls and you won't be buying a boy by mistake

 

As for what type to get, there's no real right or wrong answer really. We have hybrids and they are all different and all lovely. Other folk have different breeds and also swear by the ones they have.

 

I have no experience of ex-batt hens but there are plenty of folk on here who do and no doubt will be pleased to offer you advice.

 

Whatever you decide, welcome to the wonderful world of hen keeping - it's great fun and hopefully your ladies will give you lots of pleasure and lots of eggs

[mullethunter]

If you want ex batts that's absolutely brilliant. Look up the British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) for info on rehomings in your area.

 

On the forum Gavclojak is the ex batt expert.

[Casey76]

Cockerels do not crow only in the morning (and that can start at 3:30-4am!), they also crow all day long, and if they have competition, even if they can't see each other, they will try to out crow each other - I know this from experience. I used to have 2 or 3 cockerels when I was breeding fancy birds, and in the end it was just too much (or too many cocks in my village!)

 

If you are just starting out, hybrid layers are great. They are already sexed, so you know you are getting pullets, they are usually vaccinated, and they also come in a range of pretty colours.

 

While it may seem like a fab idea to rescue some ex bats, they often have "special needs," and may not be the easiest introduction to hen keeping. Get some experience of "normal" hens under your belt first, and in a few months/a year you will be more than capable of looking after rescue hens.

[clucker1]

Emmalou, where are you based? You might be able to go round to an Omletters house....I think there is a thread about people and locations available for that. I went to an omlet hen party before I got my chickens, it was arranged by Omlet ie I booked in. It was really brilliant, a couple of hours seeing someone else's chickens and set up, plus being shown feed, nesting materials, how to hold them etc. Plus we had a cream tea to finish. Failing that a book....I'll try and find my book which I bought ages ago and let you know what it's called. I had my nose in it every waking hour before we got our chickens! Really, chickens are easy peasy and this forum is brilliant to ask questions on.

[clucker1]

Yea, if you go under "visit and Eglu owner" you will be able to see Egluntyne, cubes etc available for viewing. Even if you aren't buying one of them, an Omletter might be able to show you the ropes of looking after chickens. (Ps I would throughly thoroughly recommend a cube though, so very easy to clean and less chance of red mite (nasty creepy things which live in wooden chicken homes)....., I LOVE my cube and it has made chicken keeping so much easier as everything is at hip height,no bending down and no I'm not in Omlet sales dept!

[emmalou]

Hi there. I am in France but have been trying to combine a UK visit with an Omlet breeder in Sussex. Not proving easy. I have been in touch with one other French person on here who has chickens so has been very hepful. I was hoping to adopt some exbatts but in France their system and laws aren't the same as the UK. There are organisations who can point me in the right direction of where to get some and there are Facebook pages set up for people who are looking to adopt exbatts but they are not very up to date and people aren't great at replying. I have found a website that delivers chickens to the garden centres out here each month and seem quite reputable. This seems to be the way to go here, or at a farmers market which may not be such good quality. I am still unsure on the exact breeds but they have been able to guide me a little on my requirements. I cannot get them before June so gives me plenty of time to look into breeds. This is their link, sorry but it's in french....

 

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Edited March 23, 2016 by Guest

[Olly]

Wow, that's fascinating! 'Pondeuse' means 'egg-laying', you learn something new every day on this forum!

 

Looking at that site, the 'rouge foncee' look like Rhode Island hybrids, similar to the Omlet Gingernut.

Sussex is self-explanatory, and the 'cendree' looks like a Bluebell in one picture.

 

These all look like hybrid hens and they are much the same as you'd buy here in the UK, they aren't all called by one name here but they're all similar- bred to be prolific layers and not to go broody. I think you could choose any of those and have a good flock for back-garden henkeeping.

[emmalou]

Yes, I just wasn't sure what the Poule Pondeuse Médicis (Nouveau) was?? I will opt for a variety and wanted a Maran Cou cou as well. Not sure whether they will all get on. Thanks for your help.

[Olly]

Oh sorry I hadn't seen that one - it looks like a 'reverse Sussex' or a Daisybelle to me.