Garden hens

[pigletwillie]

I am looking to get 4 hens for my garden, after making them a home obviously. They will be free range in the day and have full access to the garden. Can anybody reccomend a variety suitable for me. Good egg laying and full size birds are what I am after really after.Any suggestions peeps??

[roitelet]

No suggestons for breeds but if you let then free range in the garden you will have no garden left!

[vicky]

Another has sucumbed to the lure of hens!

I'd suggest a variety of different breeds and colours as they look so interesting (and it helps to be able to tell them apart), also they lay eggs of slightly different colours which is fun! Marans are dark brown eggs, cream legbars lay blue and white star lay white eggs for example.

Ex batts are also worth thinking about as you really do feel that you have made a difference to their lives and the joy of seeing them come outside or dust bathe in the sunshine for the first time is quite something!

I started with 4, I think it's a good number to get and ours provide plenty of eggs for our family (3 egg eaters).

Edit; We keep ours in the run whilst plants emerge in the spring, once spring growth is over they don't get destroyed by the hens, although ours don't free range all the time. Depends how big your garden is too...

[shirlthegirl43]

As roitelet says, they will absolutely trash your garden PW. Warrens (brown hens usually bred for battery) are good layers and become very friendly, ours come into the house when they are allowed out of their run.

[MaureenHall]

Ex-batts!!! No hesitation in recommending these. I keep mine in their run in the mornings when I'm busy or out and about, then they have the run of the garden the rest of the time. Really friendly and sociable (after the initial shock of being released), cheeky at times, and lay lovely big (70g+) eggs

[Bramble-Poultry]

we use cochin hens for the garden if a "breed" is what you are after rather than a hybrid layer.

Reasoning behind is that they can become very tame, cant fly (some weigh up to 12lb and the wings are too small!) and have feathered feet so the damage caused to the garden is reduce (slightly)

the lay a normal sized egg, if slightly smaller than a normal battery hen egg and can lay upto 180 per year on a good year, normally 150. they come in all colours from white, black and partridge to name a few and look like a Pekin Bantam, just a whole lot bigger!

The attached photo is my 10 year old daughter holding one of our Partridge Cochin hens - "blossom" just so you can guage size etc

[Bramble-Poultry]

as maureen says, ex-batts are indeed great fun. i have a seven year old ex-batt in the autumn of her years but still beats all the others down the ramp in the morning when let out and still comes for cuddles too. a lot depends on what YOU FANCY!!!

go to an auction and see what bird breeds are available. KEEP YOUR HANDS IN YOUR POCKETS MIND YOU OTHERWISE YOU WILL END UP BUYING TOO MANY - especially if a novice.

a lot of poor quality birds, or lice infested ones are shoved through auctions to get rid of them, so you have to have your wits about you and be knowledgable if you want to pick up a good bird at an auction.

Dont go all emotional and "rescue" the birds from the auction as you will play into their hands and end up prey to them. Been there - done that and got the t-shirt! bought a load of trouble, took me ages to get back on an even keel a few years back!

[janeyo]

I have a blackrock, she is quite rainproof as her feathers are tightly packed. She lays big eggs too, always over 70g. Pale brown eggs. Lots of double yolkers.

I have a goldstar (looks like a battery hen), she is very doclie and loves a cuddle. Lays lovely brown eggs about 65g. I also have a white star (cross with leghorn). She lays big white eggs, again over 70g, but is flghty and has only been caught for a cuddle once in 16 months lol.
They are all hybrids and get on well, cost £12 from a local farm.

They scratch ALL DAY and cleared a 25 feet square weed /grass / scrubland area to dirt in 3 weeks. I now have logs in there, large graveled bits, and slabs dotted about which I turn over now an then to give them something to do.

They are brilliant birds and all recommended. Still laying about 2 eggs in 3 dys from each bird. The first year they laid one a day.

[lainey lou]

Yep, your garden will get trashed be prepared!!
My birds came from Omlet, 2x gingernut rangers and 1 pepperpot, they are fab layers and rarely have a day off even through the wimter.

[Suechooks]

Amber links are fantastic layers and lovely friendly birds.
Just a word of warning FOXES can climb walls fences and anything else so be careful even in towns if your hens are free-ranging when you're not there.

[Flummery]

You do realise that everyone will tell you that their type of hen is the best. This should lead you to realise that all chickens are gorgeous! I have 4 hybrids - called Rangers by the breeders but they are very similar to the Isa Browns that are used in the battery production system. In fact I think ours were spares from battery hatchings. They are extremely friendly. I let them out into a fenced bit of garden with (now) rubbishy grass in and keep a garden chair there. I often sit in with a cuppa, book, knitting, whatever, and they are so brilliant to watch. They must be a real stress buster. You can feel your blood pressure dropping just watching them. One invariably flies up to sit on my knee several times - a couple of others do it now and again. I never leave them in there when I'm, not in the garden though. Foxes roam at daytime too.

You won't look back. Just make sure the run they live in is fox-proof - which costs a bit. Best of luck with them. Have a look at my chicken blog for the process we went through to get ours. 4 chickens and usually 4 eggs a day. Maybe once a fortnight one will have a day off.

[Birdie Wife]

There are plenty of hybrids around now, many of which are bred for free ranging back gardens, like Lohmann Brown or Black Rock, but if you fancy pure breeds then they won't lay as many eggs, but are likely to go on laying for more years than the hybrids. Have a look at Light Sussex (cream coloured eggs) and Marans (dark brown eggs) if you might be interested in breeding for meat as well, Welsummers (terracotta eggs) or Leghorns (big white eggs) if you just want eggs, and if you want to support rare breeds then I'd recommend Minorcas (chalky white eggs) or Silver Grey Dorkings (cream eggs).

If you think that's too much choice, have a look here...

[Flummery]

Hi Birdie - nice to see you back!

[Nicos]

Chooks eh???..good on ya!

[NSB]

The only advice I can give is do go to the auction and write down the names of the ones you like, please dont buy there I dd and bought mycoplasma back to my flock.
Initially my first girls were from a local breeder I would efinatley recommend that avenue as I have phoned her so many times since then with any questions I have, I would definatley reommend that. I