Shelley Dawn
In the Brooder
- Aug 7, 2015
- 14
- 0
- 24
Hi,
I am very new to chicken keeping. We are in the UK and have had 4 hybrid pullets for 6 weeks- an Amber Star (Gwen Hen), a Bluebell (Poppadom), a Black Rock (I think thats right?) (Midnight) and a Light Sussex (Shelley Dawn). They were sold to us as 18 week pullets but 2 were noticeably larger and these are the two that have been laying- one for the last 5 weeks and one for 3 weeks, each laying a beautiful egg almost every day. The other two are smaller and I think therefore not quite ready to lay yet but it's so hard to stay patient!
The Ladies enjoy free ranging in the garden when we are in and they have a 3m x3m run with shade which they go in when we are out (I do worry about daytime foxes especially when we and the dog are out as we are quite rural and very near woodland). At night they have a "Hen House" in the back of a stone outbuilding. My husband made a lovely house in there for them with ramps in and out of a little window. Its very solid and fox proof for night time. They have nesting boxes in the Hen House and the outdoor run. I made curtains for them this weekend!
We are absolutely loving having chickens and had no idea how tame they would be so quickly! They follow us everywhere and try and come in the house! My children handle them gently and can often be seen sitting on the logs with one or two chickens sat on their laps, chatting away to them,Our Dalmatian has been brilliant with them, the only problem being that she trys to steal their food! It has been a steep "learning curve" and BYC has been a fantastic source of information. I have had worries about poo, food, waterers, everything really and found an answer at BYC every time. So thank you very much, I would have been very stressed without you all as we never imagined we would adore our chickens this much and we just want to do the right thing by them, giving them the happiest lives we can in exchange for yummy eggs!
Anyway, thank you for your help so far!
I am very new to chicken keeping. We are in the UK and have had 4 hybrid pullets for 6 weeks- an Amber Star (Gwen Hen), a Bluebell (Poppadom), a Black Rock (I think thats right?) (Midnight) and a Light Sussex (Shelley Dawn). They were sold to us as 18 week pullets but 2 were noticeably larger and these are the two that have been laying- one for the last 5 weeks and one for 3 weeks, each laying a beautiful egg almost every day. The other two are smaller and I think therefore not quite ready to lay yet but it's so hard to stay patient!
The Ladies enjoy free ranging in the garden when we are in and they have a 3m x3m run with shade which they go in when we are out (I do worry about daytime foxes especially when we and the dog are out as we are quite rural and very near woodland). At night they have a "Hen House" in the back of a stone outbuilding. My husband made a lovely house in there for them with ramps in and out of a little window. Its very solid and fox proof for night time. They have nesting boxes in the Hen House and the outdoor run. I made curtains for them this weekend!
We are absolutely loving having chickens and had no idea how tame they would be so quickly! They follow us everywhere and try and come in the house! My children handle them gently and can often be seen sitting on the logs with one or two chickens sat on their laps, chatting away to them,Our Dalmatian has been brilliant with them, the only problem being that she trys to steal their food! It has been a steep "learning curve" and BYC has been a fantastic source of information. I have had worries about poo, food, waterers, everything really and found an answer at BYC every time. So thank you very much, I would have been very stressed without you all as we never imagined we would adore our chickens this much and we just want to do the right thing by them, giving them the happiest lives we can in exchange for yummy eggs!
Anyway, thank you for your help so far!
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