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Chickens

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AvatarFazc
So I got three chickens, fresh eggs every day! The dog's not playing so well with them, but I'm sure she'll get used to them.

Anyone else got chickens?
AvatarBenMac
Ive been tempted for a while now, my dog puts me off as do foxes.

How many eggs you getting a week? What are the costs like per week? Are they easy enough for someone else to look after if you go on holiday?
AvatarFazc
Well I only got them today, so I'm quite inexperienced with looking after them. According to the farmer I bought them off I should get on average a couple eggs per day between the three of them.

I'm using shredded cardboard as a cheap alternative to hay, and I've got a 2x1 meter shed in the back of the garden as their area.

Apparently chickens eat as much as they want, so keeping their food bowl filled is usually the best answer to keep them fat and healthy. This is mostly all information off google so I'll need to do more investigating!
AvatarFazc
Cool fact I only just learned today, chickens will lay their eggs regardless of whether a rooster is present. But it's only when the rooster is there you get a fertilised egg.

How strange!
slimsim
Fazc said:Cool fact I only just learned today, chickens will lay their eggs regardless of whether a rooster is present. But it's only when the rooster is there you get a fertilised egg.

How strange!


Someone needs to give you a biology lessonWink

It works exactly the same with humans! Grin
AvatarVid1982
The only problem with getting hens for eggs is when they stop laying the meat isn't very nice due to the meal grain you need to feed them for nice eggs.
AvatarMattD90
Fazc said:Cool fact I only just learned today, chickens will lay their eggs regardless of whether a rooster is present. But it's only when the rooster is there you get a fertilised egg.

How strange!


lol this is the basis of the entire egg industry
AvatarFazc
Haha fair enough!
Avatarfilthhounds
Had three chucks two years ago, but fox had them. Great fun though! Watch out for red mites virtually impossible to get rid of. You can buy special powder to dust them in. Keep an eye out for the little red buggers especially in their pen .
Have some fun by throwing them the odd worm (chickens, not the red mites)!
May go broody as well, will sit in the pen all day, cold water generally sorts them out.
Good cluck!
stephen
Will be good to see how you get on with them as I like the idea of having a few chickens as I've got good memories as a kid in Zimbabwae my dad used to keep a few chickens and wee used to go collect the eggs and I remember getting woke up in the morning with the rooster haha although don't think my neighbours now would be too happy! haha In Zimbabwae we just let them be free range during the day and put them in the coop at night although the garden was about 2 acres.
AvatarSparrow
Fazc said:Cool fact I only just learned today, chickens will lay their eggs regardless of whether a rooster is present. But it's only when the rooster is there you get a fertilised egg.

How strange!


I never knew that! Thanks for the biology lesson.
AvatarFazc
So got my first fresh egg today, was quite surprised figured it'd take them a day or two to get settled in. Gave that one to my little nephew who seemed very impressed by the whole animals-laying-edible-things malarky.

Stephen, I'd love to let them loose but everything I've read about Jack Russels suggest my little dog would probably eat them by the morning. So we're keeping them in their shed for now.

It's funny, picked up one of the chickens today and when I felt it all I could think about was roast chicken dinner... Tongue
Avatarfredhick
We have about 15 chickens and they are a little harder to look after than you might think. Few tips

- if the isnt a certain amount of light in the day I.e in the winter they wont lay eggs, this is why battery farms light the place up the whole time
- if they eat too much and get fat they won't lay eggs
- you would be Very lucky to get a couple of eggs every day from 3 chicken unless they are super chicken
- if you leave eggs in the coup too long they will start to eat them
- we have found a cleaner coup usually means more eggs
- chicken are dumb and will sit on eggs even though they are not fertile just boot them off and remove the eggs because they will sit there until they die
- if you hold a chickens head near the ground the draw a line with your finger in the sand directly from under there beak out for about 10th they will get hyponotised by it and won't move until you wake it up, this us a fun game.

Chickens are cool we handle ours alot so they will perch on your hand and fall asleep very cool
AvatarFazc
Good tips Fred, thanks!

fredhick said:- if you hold a chickens head near the ground the draw a line with your finger in the sand directly from under there beak out for about 10th they will get hyponotised by it and won't move until you wake it up, this us a fun game.


Haha, love it!
AvatarCuddles
Post Edited: 23.12.2011 @ 10:30 AM by Cuddles
We used to keep chickens when I was a kid. Loved going out to get eggs for breakfast!
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