i cant waittttt!!!! O/T

[cherylxx]

im soooo excited.
for a while now i have wanted to keep some chickens in our garden but didnt have a clue how to go about it.
well im so chuffed to say that not only am i getting chickens BUT there is a huge battery hen rescue happening on saturday and ive offered a home to 4 little mistreated battery hens.
i have researched and prepared myself for the fact that they can arrive with very few feathers and some sores around their bodies due to the conditions they were living in (cages no bigger than an A4 piece of paper).
but not anymore for my little chooks. they will be moving into a purpose built palace (7 foot by 4 foot) and will be greatly loved.
can u tell im a little excited? lol
as well as watching their feathers growing back and their social skills developing i also get daily free range eggs from them.
what more could i ask for?
roll on sunday now, the countdown is on :clap::happy036:

 

[Mini]

I look forward to hearing how you are enjoying your new family of feather friends

I loved visiting my friends on a small farm as a child and collecting the eggs...Magic

Nothing tastes as good as a free range egg...yummy!

Enjoy!

Love Mini xxx

 

[Taz]

That is so nice! I'm sure your chooks will be fighting fit in no time.

 

[Cavycrazy]

Oh WOW, thats brilliant.

I have been wanting some chooks for ages and ages now, but hubby dead against it.

Will look forward to reading how you get along with your new ones.

Do post some piccies when you get chance will be so nice to see them and your coop.

xx

 

[Big_emo]

I would love to keep chickens but there are far to many foxes and cats near my house to do so.
I think it's great you are rehoming some battery chickens and eggs taste so much better from happy hens

 

[cherylxx]

ty for the replies everyone.
i will post some pics as soon as possible. hopefully the girls wont be too camera shy with their loss of clothing (feathers).
big emo, foxes can be a problem . we have a few around here so security is a big must here BUT cats on the other hand suprisingly dont care for chickens, in fact, most cats are scared of live chickens as they will cluck loudly and peck at an approaching cat. they soon learn that chickens arent worth the hassle to them. lol
only 2 days to go now (not like im counting the hours or anything....... 47hrs and 38 minutes) lol

 

[abigail09]

oh wow, that sounds great i realy wish i could have chickens but i only have a yard and no grass.

 

[cherylxx]

hi abigail,

dont want to sound like im pushing people but u could house approx 2-3 chickens in a small yard with no grass. in fact, battery hens have never seen grass in their lives (or sunlight , for that matter)
they would require a coop (henhouse) with an enclosed run with mulched/chopped bark.
chickens like to scratch for bits and can do that as easy in bark chippings as they can on grass.
if u were to have rescued battery hens for example, approx 6-7 foot by 3 foot (house and run included) compared to an A4 sized wire cage.... no comparison really.
i didnt think we could have chickens either as we live in a terraced house in a town. i always thought chickens were for country folk but that really isnt the case at all. im so glad i researched it more and found out that chickens (unlike turkeys and fowl) really dont need much room, just lots of love and i have loads of that to give

 

[abigail09]

what about dogs? i have a pug and he is in the yard alot

 

[30FlirtyGirl]

ooh how exciting, you sound like you will take great care of them. are you going to name them or are they going to be Chook 1 2 3 and 4 xx

 

[cherylxx]

i have a dog too and 3 cats.
many dogs accept chickens instantly but others may take a while to get used to them.
as long as the chickens are within the coop/run they are fine.
introduce the dog and note the reaction. he/she may well just sniff and whimper at them.
other dogs may bark. they advice giving dogs treats near the run to show the dog that the chicken area is a good place to be near and that in fact it is no threat.
obviously dont leave the dog in the yard with the chickens out of the run and if he barks constantly at them and they constantly run for cover ( some chickens dont care and will stand their ground) just use ur usual training technique to tell him 'no' and move him away from them.
he will soon get used to them being around.
pugs generally arent a hunting dog. if it were a jack russell more caution would have to be used as gunner/hunting dogs are the most likely to want to attack.
my dog is a border collie so hopefully she should take to them easily .
however , i will keep u informed and let u know how she reacts on sunday.

 

[cherylxx]

hi flirty,
we already have our names ready for them.
at first the kids and hubby toyed with the idea of comical names ' fingerlickin, kfc, oven ready and butter basted' but after a few giggles i put my foot down.lol
so now they are to be called ' sage , rosemary, thyme and parsley'
may even change my mind once we see them, who knows. lol

 

[30FlirtyGirl]

hi flirty,
we already have our names ready for them.
at first the kids and hubby toyed with the idea of comical names ' fingerlickin, kfc, oven ready and butter basted' but after a few giggles i put my foot down.lol
so now they are to be called ' sage , rosemary, thyme and parsley'
may even change my mind once we see them, who knows. lol

These are great names. I could get tempted to look after chickens myself just off your enthuasium. xx

 

[cherylxx]

hehehe flirty.
u mean my enthusiasm shows? lol

 

[Claire1981]

im soooo excited.
for a while now i have wanted to keep some chickens in our garden but didnt have a clue how to go about it.
well im so chuffed to say that not only am i getting chickens BUT there is a huge battery hen rescue happening on saturday and ive offered a home to 4 little mistreated battery hens.
i have researched and prepared myself for the fact that they can arrive with very few feathers and some sores around their bodies due to the conditions they were living in (cages no bigger than an A4 piece of paper).
but not anymore for my little chooks. they will be moving into a purpose built palace (7 foot by 4 foot) and will be greatly loved.
can u tell im a little excited? lol
as well as watching their feathers growing back and their social skills developing i also get daily free range eggs from them.
what more could i ask for?
roll on sunday now, the countdown is on :clap::happy036:

Thats just brilliant!!

Have fun with the hens!! I never buy caged hen eggs I just dont think its right! x

 

[abigail09]

where are you geting the ckickens from and what chicken coop/run have you got. i have always wanted chickens!!!!

 

[cherylxx]

hi claire,
im so glad you dont buy eggs from caged hens
sadly the fact that caged hen eggs are sooo much cheaper than free range means that people are still tempted to buy the caged variety , especially with the recent rising in food costs.
i would definately urge everyone to stick to free range eggs.
the way caged eggs live is just awful. its actually quite hard to watch anything about it.
cant believe we treat animals like that and get away with it in todays age :sigh:.
all we can do is our own small bit and im very glad ur doing urs

 

[Claire1981]

hi claire,
im so glad you dont buy eggs from caged hens
sadly the fact that caged hen eggs are sooo much cheaper than free range means that people are still tempted to buy the caged variety , especially with the recent rising in food costs.
i would definately urge everyone to stick to free range eggs.
the way caged eggs live is just awful. its actually quite hard to watch anything about it.
cant believe we treat animals like that and get away with it in todays age :sigh:.
all we can do is our own small bit and im very glad ur doing urs

Oh god yh! I couldnt buy caged - imo they are nicer! Although thats prob all psychological ha ha ha!

I agree its appalling
x

 

[cherylxx]

where are you geting the ckickens from and what chicken coop/run have you got. i have always wanted chickens!!!!

im getting my chickens from the NLHR (north london hen rescue).
they rescue battery hens and ship them to more local coordinators. U say how many u want before the rescue and give a donation of £1 per hen u take.
They then rescue them for u at the next big rescue date.
I got my coop/run off ebay . They have many on there and some very reasonably priced.
A good one to get for use on concrete/paving is an Eglu by Omlet.
They are designed that they can be placed on concrete and be completely fox proof and are the easiest to clean out.
But there are many different coops out there.
Ive attached a pic of the one i have although we only plan to keep this one for about 6 months as we want to convert our garden shed and attach a static run to it, meaning i can then house about 20 hens (although i am not sure i want that many, maybe 10)

 

[Claire1981]

im getting my chickens from the NLHR (north london hen rescue).
they rescue battery hens and ship them to more local coordinators. U say how many u want before the rescue and give a donation of £1 per hen u take.
They then rescue them for u at the next big rescue date.
I got my coop/run off ebay . They have many on there and some very reasonably priced.
A good one to get for use on concrete/paving is an Eglu by Omlet.
They are designed that they can be placed on concrete and be completely fox proof and are the easiest to clean out.
But there are many different coops out there.
Ive attached a pic of the one i have although we only plan to keep this one for about 6 months as we want to convert our garden shed and attach a static run to it, meaning i can then house about 20 hens (although i am not sure i want that many, maybe 10)

Looks good! Have fun!! x