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Chickens!!

Nicki

Moderator
I thought you might like to meet a few of the chooks ;)


Betty is the all black one, an Australorp Bantam; the other two are Scots Dumpies [Cuckoo] - they are about 21 weeks now.

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The Dumpies and Gordon, White Crested Black Poland, doing his nodding bird impersonation :D

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Nellie, Self Blue Frizzle Poland

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Ask yourself, do you feel lucky?



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Bring me sunshine...
[Morecambe and Wise impersonation!]

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We also have a White Crested Blue Poland called Sylvia, will have to sort out a photo of her too!!

They are such characters, I've only had them since July and it's the first time we've ever had chickens - or had much to do with them - but they are wonderful (y)
 
What characters you've got there, Nicki!
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We've always thought we ought to get some chooks, but have never got round to it because we have been away at weekends so much. Now OH has (supposedly) "retired" I think we must look into the possibility again. Our neighbour has about 30 different varieties and is trying to sell his house - perhaps we should offer to "rehome" some of them!

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I can highly recommend chooks they are so much fun, such great personalities. - warning though, they are *almost* as addictive as Cavaliers [don't tell your hubby!]

Your neighbour might be will to part with some of their brood - alternatively a nice thing to do is to rehome ex battery hens. http://www.bhwt.org.uk/cms/ [unfortunately they don't seem to come up this far North yet]



Sylvia is hilarious, if she hears me outside she shouts until I go and give her a treat!! [and they say Cockerels are noisy :rolleyes:]

The Polands lay wee white eggs, about 1/2 the size of a medium egg, but with a huge yolk...

The Australorps lay a tinted egg, but about the size of a medium egg - which is big for a Bantam.

The eggs are just a huge bonus ;)
 
Oh they are wonderful! I love the pictures -- such personality in each -- the Morecambe and Wise image had me laughing, that is just what they look like walking off! :rotfl:

I've always wanted chickens. Do you have issues with foxes? And do they need to be inside all winter?
 
Foxes aren't too much of a problem here - the crofters [sheep farmers] shoot them all :( - we've only seen two locally in 7 1/2 years...

Our biggest threats are Stoats [we have one living in the stone walls of the garden, who has decimated the local vole and mice populations, and takes the rabbits!] and Pine Marten which are also about [though rarely seen, more likely to find their poo!!]


Mine have a large house and do spend more time indoors if the weather is bad - they have a very secure run which I'm planning to cover for the Winter but also have an outside area for when we are at home.
 
Nicki, they look fab!! I wanted Bantams and my hubby who is handy with wood was in the middle of making me a hen house...It can to a stand still when as Kevin was busy working my Father in Law was going to finish it for me and managed to mangle his fingers in Kevin's chop saw!!!! :(((((((( Did I ever feel bad!!

An operation later, one pinned finger (never to be bent again) and the loss of the top of another plus stitches to the rest of his hand!! (It sounds bad but could have been sooo much worse!!) and the hen house has never been finished!!

I think jobs for me are jinxed, last week Kevin was putting the base for my dog trolley he has made into my car and managed to slice his head open on my boot lid!! Two hours wait for his head to be glued back together!!

I think I'll stick to the Guinea pigs for the moment!! :))
 
Oh my goodness sorry to hear about your FIL - do hope he is more comfortable now, that sounds horrid [note to self, NEVER try to use the chop saw again! Hubby doesn't tend to let me near anything like that anyway - now I know why :(]


Then poor hubby with the car boot - oh it is beginning to sound like you are jinxed :(

You might be able to find a local handy man who would finish the hen house fairly cheaply for you - in return for the promise of some eggs :)
 
Kevin is a carpenter by trade so his saw is industrial sized!! His dad was using it with Kevin around and is also usually good with tools!!

Kevin sid he used it in a way he shouldn't and should have known better!!

Still felt bad though!!

Chicken house is on hold for the Winter...see what happens in the spring!!

Nicki I love your photos!!!
 
Foxes are a REAL problem around us, sadly. My neighbour originally had 4 magnificent white geese. One day, while walking my dogs around our field, I looked across the hedge and noticed all 4 sitting very still, surrounded by white feathers. Closer inspection revealed that they were all headless!!!!! :shock: :shock:

On a better note, one of my OH's students, who keeps all sorts of old and interesting breeds in Notts, once gave me some specimen eggs - they just looked fabulous....and tasted even better!

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Can any of you "Eggsperts" tell me what type of chooks they all came from?
 
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