Does anyone keep Chickens?

My new interest! I've got four at the moment

My boss has a few rescued battery hens, but all I know is that Dempsey wants to eat them!

my work mate keeps them their eggs are so fresh very nice

I think Hayley is our resident chicken expert

Got about 100 lb of them in the freezer for the dogs at the moment.

No, but I work a lot in the poultry enclosure on my course! I'm getting quite good at catching them!

I would love to raise chickens for meat for us and the boys, but not until we have space

bbimson wrote:Got about 100 lb of them in the freezer for the dogs at the moment.

ella wrote:I would love to raise chickens for meat for us and the boys, but not until we have space

Dave wrote:

ella wrote:I would love to raise chickens for meat for us and the boys, but not until we have space

I have kept hens for quite a few years now.We did have 4 but down to 2 now,one just died last weekend.They are nearly 4yrs old now which makes them a geriatric and stopped laying eggs 3-4 months ago.They are very friendly , hybrid called Amber Star,fantastic layers.3 yrs of ongoing laying.Beautiful eggs,I couldn't believe the price of eggs in supermarkets etc

April xxx

Here's a link where I got my hens from and what they look like.
http://www.meadowsweetpoultry.co.uk/poultry.htm

Aww those Amber stars are lush! And I like the eggs but don't think I would ever be able to eat my pet chickens, I've watched them grow from little babies I would just feel so mean. We've got two araucanas which are supposed to lay blue eggs when they grow up, one buff orpington (like a big teddy bear ) and one black rock

Ive got hens! Ones a model don't you know. lol

heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey sexy chickeeeeen bluuuck bluuuuck blucck blucck walkin nugget style.

I have five ex battery hens and they are lovely. They are my pets. My dogs love them too (they love scramble eggs)

Wouldn't get lexi that close and have a chicken left, she had a few days of raw chicken a while back

But the chooks bully the cats, and the cats follow them everywhere getting pecked all the while. I think they're a little masochistic.

nawwwh

I had a couple of rescue battery hens years ago, they didn't have feathers when I got them and just sat in the garden for days in more or less the same place. They soon got cocky and were lovely pets and laid nice eggs. I couldnt have put them in the pot though. Then again I think it is better to raise your own chickens and give them a good life even if you are to feed them to your dogs. You know that they were happy whereas you don't if you are buying them in

It wasn't intentional raw chicken the chickens decided to play in the dog pen haha. The one up there got away and she knows not to go near the pen again!

Anyway you can't really eat layers, they're just bone.

when i was about 8 i had 2 ducks i would love to have 5/6 chickens

fresh poached eggs every other day when i win the lotto

A few years ago we had 12 hens,3 ducks,a Rhode Island Red cockeral called Foghorn Leghorn 2 rabbits and 2 ferrets x I loved the ferrets,fantastic to watch them rat hunting My 2 hens I have now looked like RSPCA rejects 7 days ago because they were moulting-stopped laying 3/4 months ago- for the last 7 days i have been giving them a tin of 'fishy' catfood everyday and the difference in their feathers is amazing,perfect picture of health.The increase in protein and omega 3 boosts their system.I always put apple cider vinegar in their water too,natural tonic for them xxx It's -4 up here atm so they need all the help they can get lol I really fret about them in this cold weather x

April xxx

Haha they look so funny when they are moulting! Rubbish though cus they go off laying. I love the eggs that my girls give me, they taste so much better than shop-bought ones too. I've been naughty and got two more bantams (mini-chickens) which are now in quarantine! Ah well at least we will have lots of eggs. Your ex-battery hens are lovely Elena. My dogs tend to chase them but they know not to touch them. Yours look like they are really well behaved around the chickens.

my chooks are obsessed with cat food, we have to lock the cats door or the chickens will eat them out of house and home lol