Reason for my absence.

Wow - good luck with your new venture!

Nice on the BBQ.......I'm KIDDING!!!!
Loving your new additions to the family Willi. Love their terrace house as well.....have fun.

I suppose a few more won't really matter will they?;)

Thanks Sheilar :-)

Lil the day I got them I went to my mums for dinner & she done CHICKEN! I tried to eat it but it was getting stuck in my throat, Lol.
Scottish I think thats my OH opinion now, He's given up saying "No More", Lol.

No wonder you have been busy Willi, brilliant, I love their very nice 'des res' and wish you luck, you will have to blog us on occasions and bring us up to date. I went on a days course on chicken keeping, it was very interesting but we have too many foxes here it would be a nightmare.

I used to have light Sussex bantams, way back when I was a lad, some thing that passed as a Rhode Island Red and two Silkie Bantams..<<they are said to encourage the others to lay. You should google Silkie Bantam Willi, they look mad.

Lucky chucks, a new home and a carer, hope they reward you with a few good eggs, love their names...

Tell the chooks 'Auntie Poppy' will be over to see them very soon. I like their house Willi. Its amazing what you can fit into your garden. I think it must have elastic sides! btw I managed to get you another chicken book!

My neighbour keeps a few chicks like you, not long had these at point of lay, the only thiing I can say is the eggs are lovely, nothing like shopbought and I had a double yolker the other day!

Thanks GM, I will keep you all up to date on our progress :-)

Pimp I looked them up, arn't they cute, but I must stick to 4. I like the different colours the silkies come in but they look like some of my dogs toys, so could be a problem, Lol.

Thanks Lincs, must say I am looking forward to the eggs :-)

Hi PL, I did have to take out one of the sheds but I done a bootfair with alot of the contents that I never use & made enough money to get their new home & all the bits & bobs you need, its all very eggciting!

Oooh Pam pick their brains for me on any info that might help me along.
Im worrying about red mite & alsorts now! I have every potion going to keep on top of any beasties that might show up :-)

So THAT'S what you have been doing,Willi? ..wondered where you were...:o) and how lovely are they? I love their new home,and so will they..are they rescued battery hens? they look to be in too good a condition to be...hope you get lots of pleasure from them and lovely eggs..they sure have a good home :o)

Very smart accomodation Willi :o) I expect it's eggs for brekkie every day from now on??!!

These new ones have only just started laying and she takes the eggs straight the way so they don't go broody, also if this happens or if one gets picked on she,s got a small coop to put them in for a few days, oh also she,s got a sand box for them to scratch in, hers are in the orchard not free range but a moveable coop and they made deep holes iin the grass......I,m sure yours will be fine she doesn't get much trouble but does pass us some lovely eggs 6 every day is a lot for 2 people to eat....I usually swop for toms &peppers but we're having an awful year so I,m taking her some oatcakes!

lucky you willinilli, i would love some, my sister-in-law has some and ducks to, think more and more people are having them as pets,
nice to see you and your chucks to :o))

Hi Willie, We always have hens about the place. Fairly easy to look after. Always shut them up in their house at night, and remember to open door in morning. Sounds silly, but sometimes it is easy to forget. Keep them in their run for at least a week, they learn it is home then. Watch out for red mite July/August. You buy a powder (from any agric shop) to dust the hen house with. A bad infestation can kill the bird or severely weaken it - they suck their blood. Layers pellets are fine I mix with corn, they like that. AND finally, once you do let them out, be prepared for your garden to suffer. They destroy quite a lot of plants My worst one is not called Atilla the hen for nothing. She did an entire bed of aubretia and anything yellow that appears in the garden. Hope that helps Jx

Hi Bloomer, I must be mad but they are cute. I didnt get ex bats as I had heard they can be more sickly & dont live as long, I want them as pets so want them around awhile :-)

Not yet Tracey they are too young, in about a month they will hopefully start.

Thanks Pam, they have a dust bath. I was thinking I might need another coop incase one needs time out.

Hi San, get some they are nice. Cant wait for eggs :-)

Hello Jane, thanks for all the advice. At the mo im like a mother hen, getting up at 6 to let them out, checking between 8 -9 to see if they have gone to bed.
I have got some redmite powder along with a dozen more things I read about! Lol.
Hope you dont mind if I PM you with any questions I have :-)))

Don't mind at all Willie. Sometimes with ex battery hens, it's not because they are ex batts that they die off earlier, it's the breed. Locally round here they are called Warrens, but I'm not sure if that is a universal term. They are a cross between Sussex White and Rhode Island Red. They are specifically bred for maximum egg production and so lay every day for most of the year. It's the consistant egg laying that burns them out and weakens them. You can't of course stop them laying eggs, they just churn them out day after day. I tend to have these as I have them specifically for the eggs (farmers are a hard bunch) lol, but they all have names (and are therefore safe from being eaten - we have a policy, if it has a name, we can't eat it, even with the sheep) and they have a lovely little house and the complete run of the place. Infact, we get hens from neighbouring farms, who like it better here, so turn up and move in! The downside to this breed is that they don't usually live as long as less productive hens. Jx

Thanks Jane, im so glad I have someone who knows about chooks :-)
One of them had a dirty bum yday so I caught her & gave her bum a wash, Lol. Good job I havn't 100's of them!
Will be PMing you later with Q about treats :-)

My neighbours first lot, little red ones, had a passion for cooked spaghetti, diving on it and acting as if it was worms.....so funny!

They probably thought they were worms. lol. Not tried that one with mine. Jx

My daughters next door neighbours have chickens and she looks after them when they are on holiday. You wouldn't believe the stuff they feed them with, any old leftovers, I think they've even had curry! My girls were silkies and liked corn. They would follow me round the garden as I worked waiting to pounce on any worms etc I unearthed. They were such sweet little things .... until the fox got them:-(

Oh that's the trouble Ba, so susceptable to foxes. I think because we have 14 cats, we don't get many foxes. Got the odd mink though and they can be nasty little critters. Snoopy killed one on the yard, I rather hoped he'd do another 100 or so, then I could have a coat :o) !
How are treats coming on Willie, I don't give mine very many at all. If they get too fat, they don't lay! Also at this time of year, because mine have the run of the place, they can dig their own up. If i do give them anything, it's a bit of bread from time to time, but I usually just stick to their diet of pellets and corn and let them grub up wriggly things - yeuch. Jx

Aphrodite (well she was very pretty) liked a little crumb of digestive biscuit occasionally. She was so gentle she could peck a crumb from between my finger and thumb without me feeling it. Her daughter Meme was not so lady like:-)

Oh sweetie. If I had a hen like that, I would give her bits of biscuits too. All mine are/have been thugs. Can take whatever you're eating out of your hands at 50 paces. Bit like the seagulls at the seaside. There was a little boy who lived down the drive (well in a house that was down our drive - obviously)! and I can remember going down to get the post one day - all the animals used to follow me, dog, cats and hens, I looked like the Pied Piper of Cononley. Anyway, this little boy was eating a packet of crisps and you know how small children take things out of the bag and sort of examine them sometimes. Well the little lad was scrutinizing this particularly big crisp. Out of nowhere Norah took off, flew past him and swiped the crisp half way to his mouth. He was left looking at this tiny crumb where his big crisp had been and he just couldn't work out what happened. He burst into tears and I burst out laughing. It was so comical. Norah was suitably chastised, but she didn't give the crisp back. Strange thing was, she had her wings clipped and wasn't supposed to be able to fly. I think she ran down the drive as fast as she could to gather momentum and sort of dived past. still makes me laugh. Jx

Lol Jane, a very talented chicken:-) As a teenager I went for my lunch break with a friend to a park near our office. As we unpacked our sarnies the sky turned black as thousands of pigeons descended on us. We just sat there in helpless amazement. It was quite near the Pier Head so we were lucky there were no gulls...it was like a scene from Hitchcocks 'The birds'. We didn't eat there again:-)

Lol lol Jx

Hi Ya BA & Jane, I have been sticking mainly to their pellets but last night they had a tin of sweetcorn & today Poppylover was over & wanted to hand feed them some mealy worms, which they enjoyed as well as her wedding ring!
I met a woman who keeps chooks at the feed place & she mixes garlic powder & codliver oil in with the pellets cos its good for them so I have been doing that.

They have had a very busy day today, they now have the run of the side yard but when they want a lie down they just go back in their run.
They have eaten all my pea plants & started on some tomato plants, little b_____gers!
I shut the dogs away earlier to see if they would come into the dogroom & they were straight in, so nosey, Lol.

I didnt know you had had any BA. Did the fox get them at night or when they were out during the day?

Jane I love the way they follow you about. Mine have only been here a week now but they are getting quite tame, so I think give it a couple of months & their be on the sofa with me, Lol.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... I'm well jel!!!! Enjoy them! x

I am Jill, they are so much fun :-)

Think you're doing great Willie. Honestly soon you'll wish they didn't follow you quite as much lol. Better tell OH definately no mankinis at home!!! Jxx

Lol, Yeah they love Mealy Worms! Lol.

lol lol lol :o)

I was late locking them up Willi, came home from a meeting to find one headless corpse, he'd taken the other. I was heart broken and still feel guilty:-(

I feel guilty today. Forgot to let Atilla out this morning. Son had to release her from her house at 2pm. That's me stuffed for eggs for a few days. She will be very cross. :o(

Aw,Jane poor Atilla..I'm sure she will forgive you ..

Not a chance Bloomer. She is a bit of a handful when she is in a good mood. As I type, she is wreaking her revenge on the veg patch. A tad reluctant to go to bed incase she gets locked in forever.

Seems they are no different from us,Jane.all with their own personalities ....

Oh dear BA, i can imagine how you felt. Ive got to go to a wedding tomorrow so my son is babysitting the chooks.

Jane you should go without eggs all week! Lol.

Well my girls are getting to know their mummy, everytime i've been out there today Carrots has been on my lap which Ramekin does'nt like cos she thinks she is boss.
I took Willi out there & had him on my lap & Carrots still jumped up next to him!

They certainly seem to have taken over Willi, Aphrodite used to come to the shop with me, it was only next door to my old house and she was very well behaved:-)

I Know, when I was in the back garden today I could here them at the gate wanting to come in.
Great that she would follow you to the shop, might take mine to Tescos with me, Lol.

God no Willie, they might end up plucked and ready for roasting. Better keep them safe at home!!! Jx

I used to carry her under my arm, wouldn't trust her on the street she might have been run over and she refused a collar and lead lol:-)