Chicken A-Z

[Bephlam]

I'm another pure breed addict here!!

I keep chickens for their personality, looks, eggs and egg colour! I have 13 at the mo, and have a mix of egg colours...white, peach, blue, chocolate, olive green.

I'd say 10 mins a day spent 'looking after' them...about another 5 hours just 'looking at' them!

Enjoy!

[TPeers]

I agree, but why not "mix and match"?

I do... but having had both I think the case for pure breeds is good. Despite all the adverse press they receive I find them hardy, I'll happily trade egg machine for personallity and long life and the pure breeds are tamer and easier to handle.

[di]

I also think mix & match is the way to go!
TPeers...totally agree with your post,our last hatch we hatched some Norfolk Greys,they'd almost become extinct but are gradually increasing their numbers again...the Cockerals are absolutely beautiful
But have some time with google & see what takes your fancy,Omlet have a pretty easy to understand dictionary with pics & explanations of what each breed is like.There is another one I came across the other day...think it was called My Pets or something similar,if I remember I'll let you know.
As for money,the basic day to day stuff isn't too bad,but you should be prepared for the unexpected,for instance,we've recently had a problem with mites & have spent getting on for fifty pounds in the last couple of months for treatments(we have got a few more chooks than three though & also three coops!).As well as the cost,it's also added to the time to clean them out,treat house & bird.Not saying that to put you off,but just to let you know that although most of the time you're talking twenty minutes a day for three hens,there may be times where you'll need longer.
We've had several traumas & stresses over the last few months,but I'd never be without the girls,they'll find a place in your heart & you'll consider them as much a pet as a cat/dog.
Good Luck with your hunting & look forward to hearing what you've chosen & when you're getting them.

[lettucegrow!]

Don't worry about being an amateur, we all started knowing nothing but you will be amazed at how fast you soak chook info. ( I wish that had happened at school) I'm new this year to this and am now happy and confidentish about my three girlies, enough so that I'm considering fertile eggs under a broody- who would have thought that this time last year. Advice- read loads!!

[matthew2riches]

One tip I would give to anyone thinking of keeping chickens is NOT TO WORRY! It is very easy to fuss over chickens for no reason. At the end of the day the chooks will tell you if they are unhappy :-)

[Bramble-Poultry]

keep your hand on your wallet when buying chickens. we started out with 4 "wee brown hens" for eggs................. last weekend Jennie spent nearly £200 at an auction. admittedly a good proportion of that bill was autoturning incubators but..........

it is as addictive as some illegal substances i am lead to believe

[RedThorn]

I currently have 8 girls a mix of ex-batts(5) and colourful girls(3) .... lots of good advice above, just wanted to stress that you should really consider having a coop which will hold at least twice what you want to start with... please note I said start with Definately recommend 3 girls for the reasons stated above. Lots of Ideas on here on building your own coops. Just read and use the search function TPeers, Flummery, Lynda66 but to name a few people who have built their own.

Lots of people are looking a fertile eggs (myself included!) and it is very addictive and the girls do worm your way into your heart!

Something to consider though is if they're going to free range, where will it be and is there any plants/ lawn you do not want to be totally destroyed

[bluemoon]

Well I have pure breeds, and I agree that we need to keep the gene pool as large as possible. One way to do this is for those with back garden hens to keep them, then even if they can't breed themselves the suppliers will keep the breeds alive because of this demand. If your main priority is eggs then be careful where you buy a pure breed from as some are bred purely for showing and their egg numbers are low. Make sure you buy from a utility strain.
Having said all that I don't think there's anything wrong with hybrids at all, most of them are just as beautiful as their pure-bred counterparts and temperament has usually been considered as part of the breeding programme, as a flighty chicken in a battery cage would not be a good thing. As a result most hybrids are calm and friendly (I think White Stars are the exception).
I've bought chickens at point of lay and as growers and there's a lot to be said for having them from an early age, especially if they are for the garden as they tend to know you and think of you as flock leader, which makes them very easy to handle. All we have to do is walk into the run when they've been out free-ranging and they follow us.