UK Member Please Say HI

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi welcome to the thread sherbertdipuk

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, welcome from me too. Your username put a smile on my face this morning at the thought of those yellow tubes of sherbert with a licorice stick in it. Happy memories!

I have cream legbars that lay blue eggs and I've used my legbar cockerel with brown egg layers to create pullets that lay varying shades of green.... my favourite being olive.... although as she progresses through her cycle they are getting paler and are tending towards a kind of golden green now. I also have white layers and shades of brown from pinkish/flesh coloured to very dark terracotta and treacle toffee coloured. I love having multi-coloured egg boxes!

My legbars are pretty good layers (I'm getting between 5 and 6 a week from each of them) and my cross bred blue/green egg laying pullets, produced reliably right through the winter with no artificial light, although the older pure legbar went into moult in Oct and has only just come back into lay. I think it's quite useful to have a mixed age flock so that you can maintain egg production.

Good luck finding someone local to supply you.

Regards

Barbara

 

[sherbertdipuk]

Thank you for the warm welcome. I had the best morning, went for a drive to a poultry supplier. They had so many different breeds and answered loads of questions. They said beginning of July is perfect for getting point of lay hens from them.

The staff were obviously obsessed and one was trying to convince us to get ducks as well! As we were walking round one of the ducks laid an egg which my children loved.

I can't believe I'm going to have to wait till July to get them, it's going to feel like forever. Plus I have no idea which breeds to get, there were so many amazing ones, and they were all so friendly. My boys hand fed a couple.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi that's lovely that you were able to go see some in advance. Lovely to hear your boys got to hand feed some. Food really is the way to a chickens heart. What to start with can be a hard choice. I started with warrens or should I say my other half did, the chickens were meant to be his project. I was bird phobic and scared to death of them thought they would peck my eyes out!! How stupid I feel now about that. He lost interest and the 2 warrens grew on me and I realised they were nice and friendly didn't peck or scratch and that was it my chicken journey (or should I say obsession) was under way. I havnt stopped since. They were called Amy and Penny and they restored my faith in birds. Unfortunatly I lost them to a fox and boy did I cry they were just like a dog or cat a real part of the family. My fault too not making things secure enough, I really learnt my lesson from that. You have some time to decide on breed untill July good luck.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Barbara! Hope your well? Have rehomed one of my cockerels from the January hatch but that just left the one on his own. I didn't do it myself the other half did cull him. I feel bad but I know it's for the best. I was going to take him to the fur and feather auction but I didn't know where he would end up. I know he has had good life with me and been well looked after and the end was quick.
On a lighter note I have some horse pics I found

Have a lovely evening

 

[rebrascora]

Quote by Yorkshire coop:
I will now..... after having a good chuckle at those pictures. I really relate to almost all of them.... the post one is the odd one out. The horse may look different but the viewing angle is sadly all too familiar! And as for the beach photo, it took us 3 visits before we managed to get the horses feet wet, but we got soaked on every occasion trying to coax them in. The worst of it was that when we eventually got them in and beyond where the waves were breaking (nearly belly deep), they were too frightened to come back out through the breaking waves. It's quite disorientating sitting on a horse that is refusing to move whilst the sea is moving all around you.

Sorry to hear that you had to cull your other boy but it was the right thing to do and at least you found a home for one of them. What stage are you at with current incubation? My 3 chicks are strong and healthy and starting to look for mischief. I must get their new little enclosure sorted tomorrow because they are now a week old and keen to be out exploring. The rain today stopped work on it but forecast looking good for tomorrow ad Tues.

@sherbertdipuk

So pleased to hear you found a local supplier and that your family are getting drawn into it too. The only thing I would say about ducks (cute a they are) is that they can turn a puddle into a muddy pond in the blink of an eye. If you have limited space they can make a real mess!
Gosh, yes, it is a long time until July!! Some suppliers will sell chickens earlier than point of lay for a reduced price, so if you were wanting to get to know them and get them settled in before they reach laying age, then that might be an option. How many are you aiming for? Do you have a coop/run yet? Are you planning to buy or self build? Some of the commercially available coops on ebay and the like, are advertised as being suitable for more birds than they can comfortably accommodate and people on this forum have reported behavioural problems as a result, so do plenty of research and get as large a one as you can afford. That would be my best advice.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[sherbertdipuk]

Thanks Barbra, I'm buying the coop and I'm getting a much larger one than I need. I will be building an enclosed walkin run as the shape of the space is not quite square and I don't want to waste any space.

I won't be getting ducks, as adorable as they are, it's taken long enough to be getting hens! I'm going to get 6 to start with. I have also booked on the beginners chicken course for the whole family.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi everyone hope all is well with you all??

Hi Barbara, no eggs incubating at the moment got two week old chicks out in the brooder shed right now so untill they have gone or are off heat I'm behaving myself and not putting the incubator back on. Have sold six today though so that's a bonus a little more money for the feed pot. But than again I don't think I will ever break even. But every little helps.

Never been to the beach with my horse I'm not sure how he would react!! He is ok going through water that does not bother him so maybe. Then again he's only been on the wagon once in the last 12 years and that was for a trip to the vets when he was choking that was about 6 years ago but bless him walked straight on there and back on for the trip back home. Maybe might try to give it a whirl before he gets too past it.

Any way bed time for me here, early to bed and early to rise

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi all!! New buy sell trade section of the forum for countries outside of the USA
Here is the link for you to check out > https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/970668/attention-all-members-outside-the-usa-new-bst-section

 

[Luddite]

Hi, I'm in the South Wales Valleys and my chicken coop arrives tomorrow. The hens are coming from a friends farm on the opposite mountain to me and are six weeks old at the moment. I'm hoping to have them housed by the end of the week.