Peeps in Europe!

[crissy1079]

Hi! yes I’m another crazy American who relocated to Austria. My husband is Austrian so that’s how I ended up here. I also have backyard chickens which are our(my son and I) pets. And we enjoy the eggs of course. It’s nice to find another American living in a German speaking country with chickens. I’ve had my mom ship me a lot of chicken medications that I could not find here.

Welcome @crissy1079 ! I'm the crazy American who relocated to Germany......really my wife told me to. Not a breeder as @abpatchy or @Erba are, but an egg eater with 3 kids who wanted chickens as pets. Hopefully you will stay active in this thread as it seems to be only about 5 of us who post.

 

[crissy1079]

Hi and thanks for the welcome. I have a mix. I have some bantam silkies, 2 full size brahmas, bantam Sussex, bantam New Hampshire, a green layer not sure the exact name she doesn’t have a tail, and some mixes. I have a beautiful mixed bantam rooster silkie/Cochin mix. I hatched him from the egg. I have 16 total. 1 is sick at the moment. Wels is about 2 1/2 hours from me. I’m in lower Austria about an hour from Vienna. Sulmtaler seem to be very popular here. I don’t have any yet.

Welcome @crissy1079 ! What kind of chickens do you have? I just came back from a show in Wels in November. I'm breeding Sulmtaler... well, this will be my first year.

 

[abpatchy]

It's always a good idea not to attract attention. I don't know what the law is in Holland but in Germany you are allowed to butcher your own... at least at this point. You just can't pass the meat on to familiy and friends.
What keeps me from raising meat birds (besides space issues) is the fact that those poor birds really suffer. That's why I breed a dual purpose chicken... eggs and meat. We'll see how that works out by fall latest.

 

[crissy1079]

I forgot about my Australorp and lachs Faverolle chickens. And those are my favorites. And I just got 3 Bantams from a farmer a few months ago. I think one is a German chicken and the other is all white. I can’t remember the breeds.

Hi and thanks for the welcome. I have a mix. I have some bantam silkies, 2 full size brahmas, bantam Sussex, bantam New Hampshire, a green layer not sure the exact name she doesn’t have a tail, and some mixes. I have a beautiful mixed bantam rooster silkie/Cochin mix. I hatched him from the egg. I have 16 total. 1 is sick at the moment. Wels is about 2 1/2 hours from me. I’m in lower Austria about an hour from Vienna. Sulmtaler seem to be very popular here. I don’t have any yet.

 

[AnnaWolf]

The law is the same here at the moment. And i agree with you about meat breeds that they grow to fast to be healthy. What i mean with meat birds will be al roosters but dutch bantam are tiny so i'm still searching for a breed for on the table.

 

[AnnaWolf]

It's always a good idea not to attract attention. I don't know what the law is in Holland but in Germany you are allowed to butcher your own... at least at this point. You just can't pass the meat on to familiy and friends.
What keeps me from raising meat birds (besides space issues) is the fact that those poor birds really suffer. That's why I breed a dual purpose chicken... eggs and meat. We'll see how that works out by fall latest.

Wich dual breed do you have? And at wich age do you slaughter?

 

[abpatchy]

Wich dual breed do you have? And at wich age do you slaughter?

I breed Sulmtaler. Their meat is supposed to be really delicious. I'm sorry, I am new to this.. but I heard you could butcher as early as 4 or 5month...not sure though. I can gell you in fall. Really any of the dual purpose chickens would be ok... Malines, Orpington, Australorps, Barnevelder, Bielefelder... they all are supposed to be great "meat" birds.

 

[Erba]

Before 1916 there were no "meat birds" and no pedigree breeders. People have for centuries been eating unwanted cockerels and roosters. The very old breeds were bred by farms the old fashioned way like the cornish, which is not the same bird today. The original Sussex came to England with the Romans, also not the same bird as today. We have a lot to thank those breeders, way back then for. So many breeds and so little space to keep them!

 

[Papa John59]

Hi! yes I’m another crazy American who relocated to Austria. My husband is Austrian so that’s how I ended up here. I also have backyard chickens which are our(my son and I) pets. And we enjoy the eggs of course. It’s nice to find another American living in a German speaking country with chickens. I’ve had my mom ship me a lot of chicken medications that I could not find here.

Well well! I'm not alone! I've been here for almost 26 years and I've spent a lot of time in Austria. I coached American football in Hohenems for 3 seasons and spent almost every weekend there for those 3 years. I just remembered that when Subway opened a store in Hohenems, the manager was an American lady from Jersey. Not you is it?

How, pray tell, was your mother able to send meds by post? Wasn't there problems with customs? Luckily, I have a vet who cares for chickens so I've got that under control. But I do know what you mean by the lack of otc meds here.

 

[crissy1079]

I’ve been here about 12 years now. No it was not me. I’m in Lower Austria about an hour from Vienna so no where near Hohenems.

My flock has had some respiratory problems. So my mom has sent me some vet rx which is actually all natural. I call it meds but it really is not. But really helps with respiratory stuff. I’ve had some chickens wheezing like they can hardly breath, watery bubbly eyes. And after some vet rx all better. And I can’t find it here. She also will pick up some other items I’ve needed from tractor supply. She just mails them in a box. I’ve never had a problem. She always send me boxes with american candy and stuff we can’t find here so she will just toss it in that box. So I guess that’s why customs doesn’t check. I can’t find a vet that is knowable about chickens here. I’ve been to 4 even one an hour away and still no help. They pretty much say cull. So I do my research and treat them myself.

Well well! I'm not alone! I've been here for almost 26 years and I've spent a lot of time in Austria. I coached American football in Hohenems for 3 seasons and spent almost every weekend there for those 3 years. I just remembered that when Subway opened a store in Hohenems, the manager was an American lady from Jersey. Not you is it?

How, pray tell, was your mother able to send meds by post? Wasn't there problems with customs? Luckily, I have a vet who cares for chickens so I've got that under control. But I do know what you mean by the lack of otc meds here.