Peeps in Europe!

[abpatchy]

I totally agree with you.

Thank you as well for saying that!

 

[Erba]

Oh gosh, thank you so much for nominating me! BTW am going to be naughty and hatch again, now that the Light Sussex hen's eggs are a nice size and I still have the four roosters!

 

[abpatchy]

Oh gosh, thank you so much for nominating me! BTW am going to be naughty and hatch again, now that the Light Sussex hen's eggs are a nice size and I still have the four roosters!

yay... more chicks!!!

 

[nivagh]

Hi all... new member living in eastern Luxembourg, right on the DE border. Have been keeping hens for eggs for about a decade. We lost our entire previous flock of ten rescue hens to a very determined fox just over a year ago but just bought five hybrid layers from an agricultural store in Belgium and are soon to start incubating some eggs too. Looking forward to interacting with you

 

[CuddleNest]

Hi all... new member living in eastern Luxembourg, right on the DE border. Have been keeping hens for eggs for about a decade. We lost our entire previous flock of ten rescue hens to a very determined fox just over a year ago but just bought five hybrid layers from an agricultural store in Belgium and are soon to start incubating some eggs too. Looking forward to interacting with you

Hi from St. Augustin and welcome .

I hatched this year for the first time and find it addictive! And the now 12 week old pullet/roos are so fun and cuddly..definitely interesting and rewarding raising from the hatch. I get the feeling it might become a yearly event. Good luck! Look forward to pics!

What kind of hybrids are your chickens...just general barnyard mixes or does it mean something else? Sorry, im still learning..I've only had a flock for 2 years.

 

[nivagh]

What kind of hybrids are your chickens...just general barnyard mixes or does it mean something else? Sorry, im still learning..I've only had a flock for 2 years.

I don't know what breed they are precisely. They were just sold as "poules pondeuses" ie. egg laying hens. They resemble Bovans Goldline. They gauged things right with regards to being point of lay - they started laying after about ten days and we're getting between one and three eggs from the five girls after nearly three weeks now.

 

[abpatchy]

Hi all... new member living in eastern Luxembourg, right on the DE border. Have been keeping hens for eggs for about a decade. We lost our entire previous flock of ten rescue hens to a very determined fox just over a year ago but just bought five hybrid layers from an agricultural store in Belgium and are soon to start incubating some eggs too. Looking forward to interacting with you

welcome to byc and this thread! I love that we are getting more and more members here!!!

Sorry about your loss... foxes are really good at climbing fences or digging underneath.

Incubating... oh yes, that is adictive.

 

[nivagh]

For those you based in Germany, if you're interested in getting ex-battery hens, the rescue organisation we used in the past is called Rettet das Huhn. They're active in many parts of DE but unfortunately no longer so much in Rheinland-Pfalz. They're very often looking to rehome hens (plus the occasional other animal!)

 

[Erba]

For those you based in Germany, if you're interested in getting ex-battery hens, the rescue organisation we used in the past is called Rettet das Huhn. They're active in many parts of DE but unfortunately no longer so much in Rheinland-Pfalz. They're very often looking to rehome hens (plus the occasional other animal!)

First of all a warm welcome from me to the group "Peeps in Europe"! We're growing! Yeah!

I heard a lot about "Rettet das Huhn" after I got my chickens... Suppose you only hear chicken news, if you become or want to become a chicken owner and join all the forums. I hadn't heard of them before that. Although I was very much set on getting Light Sussex, even before I was able to keep chickens. A friend of mine picked up 4 Light Sussex hens at a chicken market, and I was so jealous! I didn't have a coop at that time and it was a real bummer. Anyway, after that I built a coop. Unfortunately all his were eaten by a fox, so he had none to breed with...My luck with Light Sussex, I'll tell you hasn't been good. At least I have a pair now to start breeding with. My perseverance payed off in the end, but it has been a bumpy ride!

 

[BDutch]

Hi all... new member living in eastern Luxembourg, right on the DE border. Have been keeping hens for eggs for about a decade. We lost our entire previous flock of ten rescue hens to a very determined fox just over a year ago but just bought five hybrid layers from an agricultural store in Belgium and are soon to start incubating some eggs too. Looking forward to interacting with you

Welcome to the EU community on BYC @nyvach.
The rescue hens / laying hens are no breed but called hybrids. It is a selected mix that is established for maximum production at low cost.

The hybrids have names like Red Star, Isa brown and Lohman brown. The breeds we normally discuss are mainly ornamental or have their origin in a region and have cultural value in some way or are old production breeds with heritage value but are no longer the best layers.

Nice about laying-hybrids is the abundance of eggs. Good to know : these hens are not selected for a long and healthy life. In the industry they kill the hens after 21 months. When lucky the hens are rescued and live a few years longer. These hybrids often get health problems when 3-4 years old. Especially with the ovary sticks/laying eggs.

The older breeds or natural mixes lay less eggs a year, but lay snd live longer. Some even lay eggs over 6 years old (decreasing every year), The older breeds / hobby mixes are stronger and often don’t have health problems until they get real old.

The ornamental breeds where owners have bred there animals intensively can have health issues too.