Am I Mad?

[Nicos]

Brilliant advice!

Three chookies it is then.

Jules

If only my kids were that easy to persuade!!!!

I can't imagine you'll ever regret getting them!

[julesapple]

So excited now!

Sorry, over excited so just have to post again. It's like all my Christmasses come at once.

Any particular books you can recommend?

I like bantams, my granny had them many years ago and they were very sweet. Are there any other small hens that are recommended for beginners?

OMG...I'm nearly dancing here! Just reading bits of the thread to OH and he's said yes! He's looking at chook breeders on the www as I type!

Lynda, we have a Cleo too. OH named his chocolate business after her and we both use the same graphic of her for our labels. I've just had Cleo immortalised into woven labels for my textiles!

Jules

[Nicos]

PS- I can't tell if it has a mesh base????..perhaps some of the other keepers will suggest whether it's going to be fox proof.....looks good though!

[Nicos]

Good grief...what a pair!!!

Good for you!

[Nicos]

...and just a thought...I wonder if your OH has anything in mind he's sort of got his mind on getting- but hasn't yet mentioned it to you??? ( sorry OH...)..change of car.....etc etc...

[Suechooks]

A good book is Starting with Chickens by Katie Thear (she's also written one Starting with Bantams). They're full of sensible advice and info. I've got several others but always go back to that one.

[julesapple]

Lolololol......

...and just a thought...I wonder if your OH has anything in mind he's sort of got his mind on getting- but hasn't yet mentioned it to you??? ( sorry OH...)..change of car.....etc etc...

OH can't even remember his pin so he hasn't bought anything already. He has been after three chocolate tempering machines (one each plain, milk & white chocolate) but we're talking over �9,000 here so three chooks don't equate to that much!

But I was very nice to him this morning......

We've been looking at bantams; I never knew there was such range of breeds. The only bantams I've seen were small and brown. I'm in love with Pekins already....Wylye Valley Chickens has the whole kaboodle, but first things first! Let's get the ark installed.

Jules

[julesapple]

BBQ Chickens

OH wants to know if smoke from our BBQ will affect the chooks? It's a fire pit type bbq and we occasionally sling a log on the coals when we've finished bbqing so that we can sit outside if it's chilly. The logs can be a bit smokey despite being very well seasoned.

Jules

[Hilary B]

Are you mad? You're on the Grapevine aren't you? We are all a bit mad here! (sane people are BOOOOORING).

[julesapple]

Phew!

Are you mad? You're on the Grapevine aren't you? We are all a bit mad here! (sane people are BOOOOORING).

Wondered why I didn't feel out of place!

DD is home from the falconry now, and is hugely enthusiastic about getting chooks.

Jules

[HayleyB]

erm, why'd he go to a falconry

[julesapple]

DD was at work!

erm, why'd he go to a falconry

The DD (Darling Daughter) was at work. She's just about to graduate from her BTEC Animal Management course, and needed 256 hours work experience in both years of course. The local college have taken so many students on this course that last year work experience was nigh on impossible to get.

Before Christmas she was offered the chance to get work experience at our local falconry. DD jumped at the chance as she has a thing about birds of prey. She's done way over her 512 hours needed for graduation and will be the manager there in June when she's graduated.

We now have a kestrel fledgling, Freya, and two barn own chicks, Inca and Boogie. All three are imprinted on the DD as she hatched them from abandoned eggs. I've put pictures on the thread about the view from your window in the Chit Chat category.

Horrible though it sounds, if we ever get to have chicks from our planned chooks we'll have a use for the unwanted boy babies - but I won't be able to dispatch them

Jules

[Madasafish]

Only fish are mad :-)