I'm new to this

[lettucegrow!]

What a lovely pic of your girls. If that doesn't convince a new keeper that hybrids are wonderful I don't know what will. Beautiful!

[country chic]

Oh yes, and to echo above - they do poo everywhere if you let them roam around the garden. I'm planning on keeping mine in a side garden to stop our little one treading in the muck/picking it up/eating it/goodness knows what else with it.

Yes i am now taking steps to keep mine in the back garden and not allow them to roam into front garden, otherwise it turns into a minefield of poo.

Just picking up the quiery about intigrating the birds, my 3 girls were put together from differest flocks and placed in the hen house under the cover of darkness so they all woke up in the morning together, there was a bit of pecking and social exclusion went on for a bit but thats just how they sort the pecking order out. They are all chums now but the pecking order is in force at all times.

My 5yr old is dead keen to handle the chickens and is constantly trying to pick the girls up, which sometimes she does and by some miracle she has so far never been pecked, so in my short experience the chickens have never been agressive towards her, but handling is good to do just to get them used to human contact.

My Girls have an enclosed area just over 2meters by 3meters which they have to stay in when we are not around, it is a good idea to have a few perches in the run and an area which is under cover.

Keep us posted when you get your birds, an interested to know what you go for. Cc

[Bramble-Poultry]

Here are some of our ex-batts enjoying the snow! you will also see Sophie the cat on rodent patrol. She doesnt bother the chooks and they dont bother her!

Top left is a dorking cockerel, and top right (with its bum in the air) is Jellie Bean, the cockerel i rehomed for Maureen. He loves it here in wales!

Next to Richard is the back of a Cream Legbar that lays blue eggs, and along teh bottom are Aylesbury and Indian Runner Ducks. The rest are hybrid ex-battery layers from one of our last rehomings at the end of 2010.

Cant wait for the next lot to turn up!

[Newtothis]

OK I think I'm getting the picture - every hen is an individual, and some are more individual than others!
Chris that picture is great! I thought all hybrids were brown - how wrong could I be......I wondered why some were called 'black' rock hens.

I will keep people informed of proress and take some pictures too if I can work out how to upload them.
We're working out plans for the coop at the moment - it'll be a DIY affair, using up some of the materials from our extension that are left over - another DIY affair.....

David

[chris]

I enjoyed building the coop - just building a new one out of plywood now..

If you get stuck about what to do with it post up on here- I've had a load of help when I was building my first one, etc - so I'm sure you'll get any answers you need too

[chris]

...infact here's some pictures of my old build progress. The run I made is small, but they were only in it two days a week until I was home from work

Picasa Web Albums - Chris - Chickens

[Newtothis]

Cheers Chris.
Everyone here is very encouraging.

Thanks

David

[Newtothis]

Thanks for the photos Chris - I'll study them with care.
Are you in Caerphilly? We used to live in Llanbradach many moons ago.

David

[chris]

Spooky, how did you know? Yes, moved here from Cardiff a year ago. I know that's quite near, as it's on the same valley train line (I think?) but never been there. I tend to walk around with shutters on my eyes, I can just about managed to and from work - everything else is satnav

[Newtothis]

Well not so spooky Chris!

There is a little location map next to your web album, and I looked at that - I'm nosey really....
We miss Wales and Cardiff a bit, we used to live in Canton too for the first few months after we married.
We've lived hear in S.Oxford for about 22 years now, I guess things must have changed.

David

[chris]

google is evil!! Data mining gits. Didn't even know that was there!