Where to buy chooks in Herts/Beds/Essex?

[Lemon]

Hello,

am new to chicken keeping and hubby is building our wooden hen house as we speak. Me, I'm joining forums and am enjoying reading people's tales about their chooks!

Am researching where to get hens from and have noticed that most 'normal' prices round here are £15 for a hybrid.

Am on waiting list for 3 ex-batts but hope to get hens soon. (how long can a house & run take to build?!?!? ) Have made list of favs, mainly being pekins, buff bantm orps, and anything in buff colour really!! Will probably get 2 (3?!?!?) hens but am not sure where to buy or what I should pay?

Any ideas? We're in Stevenage and can travel - probably 50miles is reasonable distance?

[kirsty b]

On previous searches of my own I have come across Happy Hens. They are based in Essex.
link: Happy Hens

Also, there is a feed place just outside Fulbourn near Cambridge who sell hens for 12.50 each. Not sure if thats within your travelling radius though.

[fairy]

Hi Lemon, I'm only in WGC. Perhaps we could share hunting resources/places!!! I have found a really nice guy at a Poultry place - Thornes garden nursery in Letchworth (01462 675767). It's only about 15 mins from you and really easy to get to. They sell loads of chickens - Bantams are 30 pound a go though!

I am really after a few bantams too, and don't really mind what type, but I only want hens. I also fancy some other hens - pref. pure breeds so they don;t scratch up the ground as much as my 3 Rhode Island Reds!

Let me know if you find a good but cheap source - and I'll do the same!

[kernowyon]

try the north london battery rescue, Carly from there regulary posts on here. search the members list for her profile

heres a link http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...henrescue.html

[fairy]

Carly has been very good! She brought my exisitng 3 hens up from Brighton a couple of week ago! They are great! So much so, that I want more!!!

[Mrs Jackson]

There's a rare breeds poultry place just outside Stotfold near Fairfield called Thornes. Not cheap but I had some lovely birds from there a few years ago. You could try Standalone Farm too, they hatch out loads of chicks.

Mrs J

[Lemon]

Thanks Kirsty, I really fancy some Goldlines from HappyHens - they sound like really friendly birds! I think that place is 30miles away, 1hr's drive away. Still a possibility, but will see if any closer first!

Hi Fairy,
I had a look around Thornes a little while ago! So many chicks and chooks! Large fowl and bantams too! Didn't note prices though. Are bantams reallly that pricey? Can't see hubby agreeing to pay that kind of price. 'Scuse the ignorance, aren't rhodies pure breeds then? Don't know where else to get banties from....we went to Woodside nr Slip End, Luton today and they have 4 breeds of hybrids at £12-£15. They are P.O.L. too. No bantams though.

Hi Kernowyon,
Am on waiting list for some ex-batts. Thanks.

Hi MrsJackson,
Standalone Farm is a working farm, do they sell chicks/chickens there too? Any ideas of prices?

......still search continues! Will tell you what I get!

[Lemon]

Hi Lemon, I'm only in WGC. Perhaps we could share hunting resources/places!!!

Let me know if you find a good but cheap source - and I'll do the same!

Fairy,
Forgot to mention that there are some cross-breed chicks at Woodside. They're in the petstore. They have 'Silverlinks' hatched 31/07/08, unsexed and at £4 each. They also had some Cream Legbar Crosses, hatched 25/07/08, also unsexed at £7.50 each.
It's a cheaper option than POL, but considering they amount of raising they need, and how much younger they are than POL, they aren't that good value for money.

Happy searching!!

[Mrs Jackson]

Hi MrsJackson,
Standalone Farm is a working farm, do they sell chicks/chickens there too? Any ideas of prices?

I've never seen them advertising them for sale, but they must sell them somewhere because they hatch chicks out all summer. Give them a call, there's no harm in asking.

Mrs J

[Lemon]

Hi Lemon, I'm only in WGC. Perhaps we could share hunting resources/places!!! I have found a really nice guy at a Poultry place - Thornes garden nursery in Letchworth (01462 675767). It's only about 15 mins from you and really easy to get to. They sell loads of chickens - Bantams are 30 pound a go though!

I am really after a few bantams too, and don't really mind what type, but I only want hens. I also fancy some other hens - pref. pure breeds so they don;t scratch up the ground as much as my 3 Rhode Island Reds!

Let me know if you find a good but cheap source - and I'll do the same!

Hi Fairy,

How'd you get on with the bantam hunt? Can't say I've found any on my travels....

Anyway, what I have to report is that I have found another source for chickens. Went there today after work. Its Notcutts Garden Centre in Smallford (in between Hatfield and St. Albans.)

The chickens are outside in an enclosure with the houses in the pen. They had (what looked to me - no labels no prices, just used knowledge taken from books) possibly, light sussex, buff sussex and others. They looked quite young, I'd guess pullets. They had bigger birds in a different pen and a last pen with a millefleur something or another and an interesting one with a muff (or beard - not sure) you know, fluffy feather either side of the beak but underneath the head. Cute though.

I enquired about prices and they said they vary with breed and the prices are from £18-£40. I don't think I will be buying my chickens from there!

May go back to Thornes next week to have a look around.....either that or Woodside. Not sure if all animal farms have chicks/chickens for sale though - I haven't asked. I can think of a few in the surrounding area.

[Eyren]

I had a look around Thornes a little while ago! So many chicks and chooks! Large fowl and bantams too! Didn't note prices though. Are bantams reallly that pricey? Can't see hubby agreeing to pay that kind of price. :

Pure breed pullets will cost around 25 pounds for non-show-quality birds, so Thornes are a very average price. Nearly all bantams are pure breeds, so yes, they are all that expensive. My two pekin bantams came from there, and they've been very healthy and also very tame.

A lot of the reason is that pure breeds only lay well in the spring, so they produce fewer chicks per year. Not a good choice if you are keeping hens mainly for eggs!

Also, bantams and large breeds don't always mix, though Orpingtons and pekins apparently get on OK (Orpies, which are huge, are big softies!). I wouldn't mix silkies with big hybrids, for example, as silkies are quite timid in comparison, from what I've heard. (timid with other chickens - they are friendly with people)

I would second the recommendation of Happy Hens - haven't been there yet myself (they didn't have any pekins available when I wanted them), but I've spoken to Kirsty on the phone and she's very nice and friendly. She stocks a good range of hybrids, which are a good choice for beginners.

( 'Scuse the ignorance, aren't rhodies pure breeds then?

Yes they are - but a lot of hybrids are rhodie crosses, because rhodies are good layers as pure breeds go, hence maybe some confusion going on. IIRC, the standard brown battery hen is a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a Rhode Island White.

@fairy - Pure breeds will scratch just as much as hybrids. If you want a chicken that will scratch a bit less, you could try a short-legged/feather-legged breed such as pekin bantams - though frankly mine haven't read that page of the chicken handbook, judging by the amount of gravel scratched onto my path!

[Ashbylife]

Try asking around at any local countrystore/farm type shops. This is where we found the contact for our Maran Bantams - they came from a fairly local farm and were only £10 each (actually £20 for a trio, but we declined the cockerel and the price was the same). We'd only gone in to buy the ark, but the question of where to source chickens came up and they were a mine of information - makes sense because lots of the local farmers go there for supplies.

[angelat]

I am in stevenage too!!! Lemon!!

hi lemon

I am relatively new to this site, and am also looking for chickens. I have ordered my coop and run and am waiting for it to arrive.

I am getting mine from thorne's garden nursery from stotfold, if thats any help. am going for two hybrids.

I live in stevenage. poplars area, where are you in stevenage?!! what a coincidence!!

we can share stories of our new chickens!!

angelat

[Lemon]

Hi Angelat (in Sunny Stevenage!)

hi lemon

I am relatively new to this site, and am also looking for chickens. I have ordered my coop and run and am waiting for it to arrive.

I am getting mine from thorne's garden nursery from stotfold, if thats any help. am going for two hybrids.

I live in stevenage. poplars area, where are you in stevenage?!! what a coincidence!!

we can share stories of our new chickens!!

angelat

Hi there!!
I'm new to chicken keeping and have wasted many many a time of forums reading people's chicken adventures and learning stuff too!

Are you getting your coop and run from Thornes?

We went up there last month to have a look round and do some research...am off work this week (was supposed to have chickens by now!!) and went up there to have another look around! I am quite tempted by the bantams there - I really fancy a lemon cuckoo pekin - it'll cost me £25. I really like the Buff Orpingtons but am intimidated by the size - unsure if they have them in the bantam version.

Am unsure what chickens we'll get. It'll probably be from Thornes or Woodside nr Slip End. What hybrids are you getting Angelat?

Just had a thought, where do you plan on getting your supplies like food/corn/grit from? Thornes have the stuff, but they're not the cheapest in this area....

Am not too far from you I think - we're in Broadwater. Am not a Stevenage native but am enjoying the area - we've been here almost 2 1/2 yrs.

Oh, and we're still building our hen house and run.. that's what I've been doing this week (when not on forums!!) house almost complete - run to do now (& my hubby is quite fussy!!!)

...........back off to garden to progress---------------->

[Hilary B]

Don't be intimidated by big chickens. Like some other species, a lot of the biggest ones have the most placid temperaments (think Jack Russel v St Bernard). My big Cochins (now many years gone alas) were the friendliest chickens I ever came across, especially 'Cuddles' the cockerel.