bantams have arrived :)

[mossi]

i am now the prowd owner of 2 girls and one boy bantam hens..
after 5 days one of them has laid her first eggs, two, one had a broken shell, i assume she trod on it.. the others fine, is there a way i can incubate them without buying expensive incubators ? will a box in the airing cupboard doo ? or do they need light and warmth.

thanks..

martyn

[TPeers]

If you are running a cock with the hens I have been told that you need to wait about two weeks before you get fertalised eggs - you *did* make sure that the cock is not related to the hens, didn't you? Inbreeding is just as bad for hens as any other livestock.

As to hatching them - bantams are known for going broody, can't you let the hen do the work for you?

[TPeers]

Ahh, should say airing cupboard no good - eggs need humidity, not dry heat!

[Birdie Wife]

Congratualtions mossi, I hope they give you many years of pleasure and a few years of eggs too! Can you get some pictures of them up on the Vine? Tpeers is right - you should make sure the hens are unrelated to the cockerel if you want to breed chicks, it's very important. As for hatching, let Nature take its course and one or both of the hens should go broody at some point. It doesn't seem to matter much whether there is a couple of eggs or a dozen in the nest as to when the hens will go broody, so enjoy some fried egg sandwiches while you wait! Welcome to the Vine!

[mossi]

my girls ( and boy )

they have had another egg ! over the wkend, so 3 in a wk, i know its not alot, but for a novice like me its eggciting ( get it lol ) i have written on them 1 and 2 in the hope someone sits on them and they hatch, no ones sitting though, does this mean they are scrammbled egg sandwich material ? should i make that incubator out of a wooden box with a light bulb ? ( do they really work )

anyway..

heres some pics of my gang.. ok i have a few questions..
at present they are in my coop i made, that turned out to be more like a avery ! its 7ft long, 6 ft high and 5 1/2 ft wide.. it has two hutchs in, one is on the base, a old rabbit hutch, which they seem to like as the eggs have been laid in there, the other is up the ramp, where i put them at night to sleep, this they are having probs with , geting up the ramp i think, maybe its because they used to live in acres of woods, and arent used to being kept in a cage with a ladder !

i also have at the end of the garden a garden shed, with a wire caged run, which i keep the rabbits in at the moment.. im wondering if the chooks would be happier in there and the rabbits in there house ?? how much space do the bantams need ?? what would be best.. ive included pics, so you can see and comment..

Also had a call over the wkend about rehoming the cockerel, hes a tad noisy, more squaky, and seeing as i live in a semi residential area, he could cause compaints.. shame as i do like him and his nature.. but millers ark farm have agreed to swap him for two bantam girls, then he can live in a the open space on the farm, they take the hens to schools to show them how nature works..

anyway enough rambling on, heres the pics..

comments please..

thanks

[Headfry]

Mossi.....they are lovely. You are very lucky!
Thanks for the photos.

[TPeers]

What beautiful birds! The run looks fine, and don't worry they will get the hang of the ladder - I had to 'teach' my girls how to use theirs by crawling in under the hen house and grabbing a hen, then 'walking' (shoving) it up the ramp! Took two tries on consecutive nights and all sorted.