Newbie in England

[cluckedoff]

Hello, I have 11 chickens, various breeds, six are ex-battery and despite 18 months in a cage no-one noticed that one was a cockerel!

I'm going to be upping my flock to 30 once we've got our new uberhenzone sorted but right now I have two coops and the girls free range our orchard dawn till dusk, eating frogs and doing whatever they fancy.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.
Sounds like you have a great flock! How great that you've rescued those battery hens!

Good luck adding to your flock! Feel free to check out these helpful links https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...often-underestimated-part-of-raising-chickens

Glad you joined our flock! See you around BYC!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

That reminds me of a neighbor, she had 3 identical dogs and I asked if she bred them. She said she bought two of them years ago and one day, one of them had a litter of puppies- she kept one. It wasn't until then (no joke) that she discovered the two sisters she had bought were actually brother and sister. She is a very nice person , so I didn't say anything but, I could NOT understand how she didn't notice the male. Puppies can be sexed at birth, unlike chickens.

I suppose a rooster could easily escape detection in a cage crowded with battery hens. Imagine the money they lost feeding a boy and not getting any eggs in return.

Welcome to the Backyard chickens flock.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi from Yorkshire UK

Glad you could join the flock! What a sneaky boy, it just goes to show how much notice they don't take. Wishing you the very best of luck adding to your flock. Do you have certain breeds in mind? Out free ranging in the orchard sounds great for them, do you not worry about predators?

Enjoy BYC and all the chicken chat

 

[Cynthia12]

Your chickens eat frogs? How lucky are they? No frogs for ours here. They get to eat beatle bugs though..and, once in a while I will see a small mouse being fought over.
Have fun on this forum. Much, much enjoyment, and learning is done here. Yep!

 

[cluckedoff]

Thanks for all the replies. Don't worry about predators too much as we have wild boar round here and they seem to keep the foxes away touch wood. We do have a big problem with jackdaws which the rescue chickens chase like crazy but the older hens tolerate.

As regards the cockerel, he doesn't crow (yet) so I don't think he will but since he's arrived (three weeks ago) he's grown by a third and developed a very pronounced wattle and crown. Amazingly they have grown their clipped beaks back as well - though a couple are still a bit scant for feathers. But they don't seem to mind.

 

[cluckedoff]

Oh and as regards breeds, we have a black rock but I've yet to identify the others. The battery hens are all brown breeds but very different in appearance. One appears like a walking chicken nugget, absolutely tiny.

 

[Cynthia12]

Oh and as regards breeds, we have a black rock but I've yet to identify the others. The battery hens are all brown breeds but very different in appearance. One appears like a walking chicken nugget, absolutely tiny.

What a picture in my mind..a walking chicken nugget. I've seen a photo of a duck running saying....I don't want to be a nugget, I don't want to be a nugget. Cute.

 

[nj2wv]

welcome to BYC !!