nppulse Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 thinking of getting a couple of hens to keep. any advice? tips? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flash Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 bantams all the way, these ones rule polish bantams i hear the black rocks are also good layers if u want them for eggs, but bantams are good if u want them for incubating eggs. black rock cheers flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 (edited) If for eggs i beleive they need around 14 hours of light to lay?? Long time since i worked on the farm but i am prtty sure it's about that. We used to have lights in the coup to help Keep an eye on them as once 1 chicken starts to eat the eggs they ALL copy Once they start eating the eggs of course they are no good. If you get eggs with soft shells you can buy crushed shell to put in with their food to help. No i am not joking Quite easy to keep. LG Edited April 21, 2006 by Lord Geordie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Hi, Get a trio of farmyard bantams. This is a cock bird and 2 hens. The bantam eggs have bigger yolks than the large eggs in the supermarket so size is no issue. A farmyard bantam is a bantam with a bit of everything in it and not a particular colour. Flash is right they are very good mothers and we have 2 sitting on eggs at the moment. One hen on 3 goose eggs and the other hen on duck eggs. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flash Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 i feel sorry for other species mothered by bantams as they get confused, my friends bantam hatched a duck egg and then the duck now thinks it is a chicken and does what comes naturally(sought of) it tries to mate with the other bantams and gets worried in water. but other wise its alright. FM i would watch those goose eggs, as my friend did the same but the eggs rotted and exploded, literally and stuck the bantam to the roof of the hutch, must have been a shock cheers flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Hi, Last year we hatched a brood of ducklings out under the bantam and they have grown up to be normal ducks. We did the same for 3 geese last year and they are now with our other geese. How long had the goose eggs been sitting before they exploded? It takes us 26 days for a duck under a bantam and 30 days for a goose. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibby Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Eggs or Asthetics? If your going for eggs you want to go for one of the hybrid breeds that will lay you more then you can eat in a year or one of the big breeds. A good example of these would be a Rhode Island Red. If you want them for asthetics then ye go with the bantams, you get loads of different types, afros, frilly feet what ever you want really and their eggs are good enough for one. Cheers Gibby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Eggs or Asthetics? If your going for eggs you want to go for one of the hybrid breeds that will lay you more then you can eat in a year or one of the big breeds. A good example of these would be a Rhode Island Red. If you want them for asthetics then ye go with the bantams, you get loads of different types, afros, frilly feet what ever you want really and their eggs are good enough for one. Cheers Gibby Hi, We had a bantam with frilly feet so we called it trousers. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 But what about if you wanted to hatch off pheasant eggs and beat the bird flu restrictions .........if they ever come?? Banties are the way forward..............aren`t they FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 (edited) Silkie Banties remind me of those Cooshi keyring things you used to buy Looks more like FUR that feathers LG Edited April 21, 2006 by Lord Geordie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nppulse Posted April 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 nice one peeps cheers. was looking at getting them for the eggs. will look into it a bit more. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Hi, We have hatched Pheasants succesfully under bantams. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flash Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 bantams are defiately the best. good all rounders in my opinion. cheers flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 Well we have had warrens and light sussex. The warrens are good egg layers and the light sussex were nice to look at and good on the table. If they start to eat the eggs, blow the white and yolk out of them and fil them up with mustard and replace in the nest.... They soon stop eating tehm after that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nildes Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 RIR x Light Sussex lay well and are quite robust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plinker Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 warrens or blackrock for the most eggs but b/rocks are a bit stupid compared to warrens that make great pets for your children, i allways have a few warren hens mooching about . plinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Pudding Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 A-ha ... At last a subject i know a little about ! If you don't want to upset your neighbours every morning and wake up early yourself , avoid getting a cock . As COCK-A-DOODLE-DO At 5:30 every morning is not very amusing ! As to which hen to choose for egg laying ... This depends on lots of things .. Do you want an egg every day ? Do you want a "good looking" bird ? Are you intrested in rare breeds ? I keep a couple of Marans nice "red" eggs . A couple of Blue Orpingtons , as these look really good . An a couple of Cream Legbar's BLUE EGGS !!! Think about how many eggs you would use a day .. An remember work mates etc always like some good tasting eggs ! all the bst yis yp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teal Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 You could always consider runner ducks, these are proficient layers, with a richer egg than chicken. That said bantam eggs are hard to beat. Would recommend you get a few silkys, if you think in the future you might expand your flock- as these girls will go broody very easily, so you only need to get eggs some eggs off a mate and they'll do the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenbears10 Posted April 23, 2006 Report Share Posted April 23, 2006 Eglu Are those an expensive gimmick? If they are what do you suggest housing the chickens in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted April 23, 2006 Report Share Posted April 23, 2006 You will need to make sure the coop is raised from the floor by about 12" to 24" to stop Rats getting into the coop as Rats will kill chickens and eat the eggs. When we used to get our in for the night we even used to fold away the gangwalk and close the hatch. Also it keeps foxes out LG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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