Hens and an Eglu??

:thmb: I'll hop over and sign up!

Might even buy the mag for a treat this weekend - it's a bank holiday after all, I might fit in some browsing time :thku:

 

Save your money - the forum will answer any questions you have.

One thing to remind you - Pekins are notorious for going broody, so you will be eggless for weeks sometimes. But their antics, big personality, sweet nature and the absurd way they run down the garden with their big feathered feet more than makes up for that.

 

EeK!

We visited a breeder yesterday with coops holding 300 full size hens, and were less than impressed.

Then we visited a breeder today who has Silkies and Polands. OMG! We instantly fell for them! We are going back this week to reserve three :o

We were so impressed by the quality of the birds surroundings, and the cleanliness and attention to detail. We are going for a blue silkie, a partridge silkie, and a white crested poland.

Now I need to swat up on mareks, although they will be fully vaccinated.

I saw from your album Aaron that you too have or have had silkies?

 

Oh dear! Yes, I have Silkies. Never had any issues with Mareks, but I do know they and Polands can be susceptible to it, due to them having a domed head/skull.

Silkies are even worse than Pekins for going broody. And Polands live in their own world, most likely because of the huge crest/pom pom. Some people find that because of their lack of vision, they can be bullied, because they can't see anything except dead ahead. So they are also easily spooked - not ideal for pets.

My advice - stick to one breed, at least to start with. We started off with three Silkies and they're a great breed - friendly and quite laid back. They'll also be fine in an Eglu because although they are technically a large fowl breed, they are not much bigger than bantams. Even better, they can't fly!

 

Indeed, the flying issue is a definite plus! I would like to go for three silkies, but my oh loves the polands. They are living together happily at the moment, but I too am concerned about the mix of breed. I might try and convince hubby that three silkies is the way to go, in a subtle way!

Now I'm confused about the housing... the gift of the eglu is dependent on a house sale, and we could have to wait a while for that in this market. I just did a quick search online for a wooden coup and I can't believe how much cheaper they are! If we went ahead and got one ourselves we wouldn't have to wait, and now that the time of year is catching up with us our breeder is stopping incubating, and we could have to wait until next year to get the chooks we like. No way we can stretch to the eglu ourselves at the moment.

Are there any portable wooden coops? I've had a quick look but I just wondered if anyone knows of a wooden coop which could be portable like the eglu (within reason). I'm still concerned about the lack of an obvious permanent siting, the smells that might build from one, and the holiday problems (although the breeder does do chicken bed and breakfast for holidays)

I am totally willing to be won over by a wooden coop if anyone can give me a run down of the good points, and convince me they aren't hard work!!

 

http://www.forshamcottagearks.com/poultry-housing/boughton902a-poultry-ark.htm

We have this one as a permanent house, in a permanent location. Heavier to move than an Eglu, but larger and cheaper. With two of you it could be moved every couple of days, although not sure I'd want to be doing it in winter!

My gut instinct says you should wait for the Eglu - it will suit you more as it is so easy to move and to clean. You don't want a permanent run which the Forsham is better for. And go for Silkies - if you want pets that are tame and will come when called, they will be a lot better than Polands, who frankly live in their own world, will leap into the air with fright if shocked and are daft as a plank. And their crests can get mites!

 

Well....

After your very good advice we are going for Silkies only, which I'm really pleased about.

But, I started researching the Eglu again and found some very bad reviews on a forum. A woman asked for advice as she couldn't decide between eglu and wood. People replied that they'd had leaks in wet weather, practically cooked chickens in hot weather, and even worse faulty mechanisms where they couldn't get their chickens out and totally frozen door mechanisms.

That really put me off, because for the money you'd expect reliable performance.

After a whole day of comparing and searching we've decided to go for the Flute so Fancy 'hobby hen house' and 6ft run. [url="Http//:www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Hobby_Hen_House_and_Run.html"[/url]

It looks portable, and of good quality.

 

That certainly looks like a more traditional hen house. It will be heavier to move around the garden though. It's as well to take the bad reviews about Eglus with a pinch of salt - a lot of people hate them because they are so different...the older chicken keepers of this world are a traditional lot and only 'do' wood! The comment about door mechanism made me laugh as I remember pouring boiling water over the wooden hen house door to unfreeze it last winter!

Good news re Silkies - you won't regret it, even when they are going broody! How much are you paying for them - presumably as pullets? A warning - young Silkies are notoriously difficult to sex, so make sure you don't get passed off with a male. Maybe check that you can return if one does turn out to be a male - even experienced breeders can get it wrong with this breed.

Or let me know where you are and I'll see if I can find someone I know who has Silkies for sale.

 

We are paying quite a bit... I'm embarassed to say incase it is steep.... 30 quid?!

They are at Hamble Valley Poultry and we are really impressed by them. They've already said if a bird starts crowing they will exchange with no question.

They spent two hours showing us around, letting us hold the birds, showing us what they use for bedding, telling us which products work and which don't. The birds were in beautiful clean runs. They have a young vinyard, so the houses are between the rows of grapes.. bit luxurious!

And that was when we were just asking for advice, we were not given a sales pitch at all, just help and advice.

 

For pure breeds, that's not too far off what you would pay, especially from a specialist breeder. Hopefully you'll get superb examples of the breed and they are from this years' hatching...so they'll come into lay in Winter or thereabouts. One of the benefits of Silkies is winter laying

I warn you, chicken keeping is not only addictive but also a great time waster. Actually, standing and watching your birds is the best way to check if something is wrong with them - seeing how they behave and act when healthy is essential when determining if they get unwell. So fully justifiable time wasting

 

Yay - it's very exciting!! Thanks for all your help - I feel really confident in what we've decided to go for, house and breed, and I just can't wait to potter round the garden and watch them.

 

victoria

i am so excited for you - its wonderful to have chickens in the garden i am sure you will love them

loopy

 

Thanks Loopy!

I have just heard that the house will be delivered on Monday so not long to wait now. We are going to pick out our hens tomorrow evening. Then the breeder says they can take you to the local shop and show you everything you need to buy, and everything you don't - or they'll get it all in for you and give you the receipt. Very useful, although I kinda like doing that stuff myself. Ho hum!

 

Victoria, you don't need that much stuff, honest!

Feed - a bag of layers pellets (or mash if they have been raised on that) and a bag of mixed corn for bribes and treats.
Food container and drinker.
Bedding - debatable what is best, but you have several options - straw, wood shavings, hemcore (I like the last best).

Get yourself to your local Scats (or other agricultural merchant) and go shopping

 

Is hemcore the hemp stuff? I think she uses that, she said u can fling it straight on your veggies.

Yes, I'm not sure why they want to take us to buy it all. I like to shop around, and besides it's part of the fun!