oh my god

[francesbean]

ive been and gone and done it- ive ordered an eglu with 2hens its arriving next wednesday. Ive wanted them for ages, and I think its all this credit cruch stuff, ie im not going to be able to move to my fantasy one acre plot with detached 4 bed 16th century cottage in somerset, so 3 bed terrace overlooking lovely pastureland and with detached long garden will be our lovely home for future. Poss last chance to max the credit card - So I thought why not? Aah they are coming on wednesday along with a red eglu and run and some netting to keep them away from the rest of the veg and borders.Im also going to get an ex batt from the dogs home. Ive only ever looked after chooks for a few days holiday respite - so will need lots of support from you lot!

Im so excited!!!!!!!!!!

[Tracey]

Lucky you you've got so much fun to come with your new chooks .

[mtoyne]

You are going to completely love it. We started with 2 in january and got 3 ex bats a few weeks ago. They are brilliant as pets and so easy to look after.

[lozza_9]

well done you. I love my Eglu and my chickens. Don 't forget you have to thing of names for them :-)

dont forget to look at the eglu web site - some excellent advice.

[francesbean]

aah names, people are always so inventive, I;ll have a real think over weekend. Im a little worried that now I have taken the plunge the price of chick feed will rocket-Ill have to research prices and sources in my area.

francesbean

[Eyren]

im not going to be able to move to my fantasy one acre plot with detached 4 bed 16th century cottage in somerset, so 3 bed terrace overlooking lovely pastureland and with detached long garden will be our lovely home for future.

That's pretty much why I decided to get an allotment and chickens two years ago - nice area and view, but no money to move to somewhere with a bigger garden

Enjoy your chickens - and if you need more advice, try the Omlet forum. You might even see me there

P.S. The price of chicken feed may be a problem for farmers, but compared to feeding a dog or even a cat it's, well, chicken feed! We did a costing exercise for feed and other basic supplies over on the Omlet forum a while back and reckoned that if you take the value of their eggs into account, you can easily break even. And of course you'll be getting loads of free manure for your veggie patch as well.

[Geo]

If you buy two battery hens...

You could call them....

EVER & READY...

Geo..

[yoanbob]

You wont regret it, just keep mr fox away!

[Sue]

Hi
Further to the cost issue, I've worked out that my chicken poo pile has been worth £141.50 to me so far! I've been mulching like mad with last year's poo/straw mix and I would either have not been able to do this or be seriously out of pocket buying stuff in at £3.50 per 70 litre bag.
We don't get a manure delivery to our allotments and with a bad back couldn't cope with barrowing a big delivery so my chicken poo pile has been a godsend.
best wishes
Sue

[carlseawolf]

just don't go naming them if your planning them as meat birds as it will make it harder when the time comes to slaughter them.

[francesbean]

im now in the nervous stage, have i got everything ready? is there enough space? batery hen place getting backto me on monday re saved hen, so no carlseawolf having saved one from petfoood fate no table birds for me - I think they are wonderful for just for providing eggs,Ill still get my freerange chicken bits andbirds from the supermarket!

tried to get a poultry book from bookbarn yesterday, ended up with 3 novels and a 1950s baby book for my pregnant best friend = what a scream- greatest pic of baby in high rise getting fresh air by hanging out of window in a cage - must have been 6 floors up- the book praised dads ingenuity and said that several had been made for the same purpose. Imagine that today!

trying tofind organic chicken feed in bath area -can anyone help?

[pipscariad]

Firstly, Hello to all - I'm a newbie on here, having been 'looking in' for a while. I had to grin when I saw your message, as Snap - I've just ordered an Eglu too (but minus the hens as they don't deliver those as far as wild 'n woolly Pembrokeshire) and I too am having a slight panic, but in a good way! I am sooooo looking forward to having hens again - the last time I had hens I was 9, and that's *coughs and mutters* years ago!

I too will be coming here often for advice - first up is what sort of hens to have, but much depends on what's available round here.....

So - 8 days to Eglu and counting. Good luck with yours

[Oolalula]

Hi, I'm a newbie too...and a keeper of 3 (was 4 until recently) ex-bat hens. I would really recommend seriously thinking about getting ex-bats. Aside from being only 50p each (at least, they were when I got mine back in '06), they learn quickly, respond well to some TLC and lay well. Mine have been brilliant slug-busters too.

I see you're in Pembrokeshire, so your nearest battery hen welfare trust co-ordinator is in Carmarthen I think.

[terrier]

Welcome to the 'Vine all you newbies. I was just about to browse the Googlie thing for our nearest chook torture farm via the chook rescue site when I saw this thread (OK, I logged into the vine for a quick look first). I've not had any ex batts before but it is time to look for new additions to our tiny flock. I know of quite a few people who have taken on ex batts and found they really respond well to their new life so I'm going to have a go. Good luck with your new chooks, you'll wonder what you did without them

[MaureenHall]

Brilliant idea to rescue some ex-batts. I've got 6, had them for a couple of months and they're so wonderful They all are re-growing their feathers and are so friendly now. It's so funny to see them charging down the garden whenever I go out there, all clucking excitedly round my feet just in case I have any treats for them. Eggs were quite good at first, but have gone off a bit this last week or so, but I've put that down to the high winds and yukky weather. Fingers crossed they'll all be in lay again soon