Reply to: What is it with Chickens ?

[expat]

It's amazing how many people don't realise this fact, and think the eggs have to be fertilised to be laid.

In fact just because a cock has mounted a hen doesn't mean that they are fertilised anyway. He gets to say whether his seed is going in that hole, but she gets to decide whether it goes anywhere near an egg. A hen can hold it in for quite a while before deciding.

[expat]

Yeah, me parents had one for about a year then built a bigger one so they could get more chicken. Cockerel was a pain in the arse though and kept attacking me mum, so I shot it with a 12bore.

HTH

Had one cock that thought he was cock-of-the-walk, and when I came into his hut he ran at me and pecked me hard on the boot. A second contact between him and my boot convinced him once and for all that the pecking order wan't what he had hoped after all. OTOH when a hen with chicks charged, I gave way. I knew that she meant it.

You do want a certain aggression in a cock, he may be a prat but he'll defend his girls. If a fox gets into the henhut, the feathers that you see all over the place are cock feathers. He goes in first.

[TheBigYinJames]

So when I am eating my boiled egg tomorrow, I actually eating a
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It's amazing how many people don't realise this fact, and think the eggs have to be fertilised to be laid.

[EternalOptimist]

Only if you want chicks. Do women stop menstruating when they don't have a man around? Eggs are just chicken 'time of the months'

So when I am eating my boiled egg tomorrow, I actually eating a


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[zara_backdog]

I use to keep bantams ( nothing to do with motorbikes) until my mum cooked one of them for tea

[TheBigYinJames]

How come they lay eggs? Don't they need a one-in-a-while seeing to?

Only if you want chicks. Do women stop menstruating when they don't have a man around? Eggs are just chicken 'time of the months'

[Bob Dalek]

No, we don't have any cockerels. Hens are pretty quiet on the whole.

How come they lay eggs? Don't they need a one-in-a-while seeing to?

[TheBigYinJames]

Anybody got one of these? I'm quite tempted.
http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_serv...the%20goodlife

They're a bit expensive for the amount of living space you get.
I built my own.

http://www.bampotty.com/chickencoop/cooprebuild6.jpg

[Money Money Money]

Anybody got one of these? I'm quite tempted.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_serv...the%20goodlife

Yeah, me parents had one for about a year then built a bigger one so they could get more chicken. Cockerel was a pain in the arse though and kept attacking me mum, so I shot it with a 12bore.

HTH

[TheBigYinJames]

Do your chickens cock-a-doodle-do? Some arse near where I live has a right bastard rooster that lets rip at 5am.

No, we don't have any cockerels. Hens are pretty quiet on the whole.

[Bob Dalek]

Some foodscraps are fine (next week they'll be eating the inside of our jack-o-lantern pumpkin for instance). Some foods are a definite no-no, but any chicken book or web page can tell you which ones.

For egg layers, you should get layers pellets for the bulk of their food, but these are literally dirt cheap compared with the number of eggs you'll get back for it.

Do your chickens cock-a-doodle-do? Some arse near where I live has a right bastard rooster that lets rip at 5am.

[TheBigYinJames]

Can I just feed them foodscraps or do they need some special chicken feed?

Some foodscraps are fine (next week they'll be eating the inside of our jack-o-lantern pumpkin for instance). Some foods are a definite no-no, but any chicken book or web page can tell you which ones.

For egg layers, you should get layers pellets for the bulk of their food, but these are literally dirt cheap compared with the number of eggs you'll get back for it.

[Mich the Tester]

Can I just feed them foodscraps or do they need some special chicken feed?

[KentPhilip]

Chickens are OK if you can't find any sheep.
They tend to peck during foreplay though

[expat]

Does it work out cheaper just to buy eggs from the shops instead of rearing chickens in your back garden though?

Yes.

Are eggs from your own hens better?
Oh, yes.