This comment was left by JudyM on my old blog, and I've copied it over here as I can't move the original.

"An entertaining read! I can identify with the relief to get away from commuting to London. I worked in Whitehall for - oh about a thousand years! Did your CDs work at entertaining your little chicks?"

Hi Judy, thanks for your comment. I tried to send you an email as it hadn’t appeared on the blog, but it got returned as undeliverable!

Yes, the CD’s do help keep them occupied, but not as much as the
lettuces and sweetcorn do!!!! They also love chickweed. Drives em
potty!!!! lol

But anything that hangs up just above their heads is good, as they peck at it rather than their mates!!!! Watch it if you hang it up by string though, as they chomp through it.

As the hardboard is 2ft off the ground, I just have a really thick cane or piece of wood hanging from one side to the other, with a butcher’s hook or similar hanging down and hang the lettuce from that. The CD’s did have thick string hung from the wood, but they’ve eaten their way through it all, so at the moment, I don’t have any CD’s hanging.

how sweet your chicks look ! We live in suburbia in an end of terrace two bed house with a double plot garden backing directly onto Upton heath ( Poole). We have 8, new, ex - batts from the cages ( Jill in Devon , Battery Hen Welfare trust)and 4 old girls, ex- battery barenrs from an egg packing plant at Winterbourne kingston. We also have 5 dogs (cavalier king charles spaniels ) and 4 guinea pigs and 3 goldfish. Yes - the pets keep us busy and take all our money. Admire your wbsite - my uncle lives in saltfleetby, nr louth. xxx Sue zzzz

Hi Sue, I don't know Saltfleetby, as we don't get up Louth way much, my friend on the allotment site I belong to comes from Louth, but now lives near Lowestoft, so he would probably know it well! Yes, animals keep you poor don't they? lol although Sooty the cat will only eat the dried GoCat with turkey, so she is easily pleased, and Penny the dog, varies a bit with what she likes, her favourite is PAL in jelly, but she also likes the Chubb Webbox thing which I think smells vile, but she loves it!!!! The chooks are the most expensive things to feed!!!!! I'm glad you like the blog, its only my way of keeping a diary of what happens in my little chook world, but I thought it might also be a way of advertising my chooks for sale too, and its cheaper than a website, especially as we don't have thousands for sale at any one time. Nice to hear more people are helping to rescue the ex battery girls. I've seen inside a battery farm, it was years ago when I worked for the National Farmers Union, but it wasn't a pretty site, and its lovely to see them getting used to being real chickens again isn't it????

Can't tell you how jealous i am.
I live in Cleethorpes in a terraced house but thankfully with a long back garden.
Used to have a few chooks and ducks a few years ago but the increase in urban foxes put paid to that.
I am now looking to get a more secure housing unit and keep 6 or so egg layers for the sheer joy of watching them. Even considered selling up lock stock and barrel and renting somewhere with more chick friendly accomodation space.
Captivating little critters are'nt they.

They are lovely to watch Shane, so industrious, and makes me feel like the pied piper when I take their corn down to them in the afternoon!

But they are always getting into scrapes and I have to rescue them! We've put barrier fencing from the run to the polytunnel to give them somewhere dry to dust bathe with all this rain, even the bigger temporary run is like a mud bath now! But they kept pecking the polythene, so I put stakes all round and more barrier fencing and now, they dig holes to bathe in and get underneath the barrier stuff, then they cant remember how they got in so can't get out again! I have to go down there several times a day to pull them out!!!

But its lovely having nice fresh eggs to eat, with no food miles and at least you know what they've been eating!!!!

Hi, Annie,
I love reading about your chx. We have just the three Warrens, lovely Laydees,all laying at present. We have a fairly large garden near Guildford and the Laydees run free (except at night), and even though my husband and daughter built them lovely big run! However, this lot love my spinach plants, and anything trying to grow except cabbage. The previous Laydees (sadly now deceased due to age and the ravages of foxy) only liked to dirt-bathe in my veg patch, not to eat all the goodies. So we'll get some proper fencing so we can grow stuff too. Keep on with the good work!

Hi Ellen, yes they are fascinating to watch aren't they? I'm surprised your old ladies didn't like eating your veg patch though! The other week when I went down to Kent to see my daughter, hubby left the gate open and little, and the young girls got out and ate all my spring cabbage plants!!!!

Must update the blog again, but MIL has been here since last Wednesday and I don't like leaving her alone for long!!!!

6-3-08. Hi.I brought 2 chickens of you 16 days ago and they both laid eggs today. my 2 little girls where really really pleased as they feed them everyday and check for eggs. egg size is good and looking forward to eating them when we all have enough. the chickens are so freindly and love tip bits be it grass clippings, pasta, egg shells,etc.

Hi Matthew, I am so pleased the chooks have started to lay eggs for you at long last! I think they are a bit late laying as its still winter really, and they need a good 14-16 hours of daylight to get into the egg laying habit!

And at lest now your little girls work is being rearded with lovely fresh laid eggs!!!!

Im really loving your 'chook chats'. Its a dream of mine to rear some and one day I will be joing your forum with my own tales.
Can you recommend some really useful reading to get me started please.

Jane

Hi Jane, to be honest with you, I have learnt more from the poultry pages on the allotment site that is on my 'Sites I like page' than anywhere else!

There is also a poultry forum, and you don't have to join to read the messages. But there are many many people on there who have only just stated to keep chickens, and thre are people on thre who have kept them for 40 odd years, so a wealth of information for free!

Please don't think I'm just plugging the site! lol I'm not, but it is a very friendly place, and I really feel at home there.

However, if you want to have a read of a book, one good one to start with is 'Starting With Chickens' by Katie Thear. Katie has ept poultry for a long time, and this is a good starter book for anyone. I got a copy from Ebay, and it is pretty comprehensive! But there is a wealth of info in books and on the internet for anyone wanting to keep chickens.

Although hubby and I have kept poultry for over 11 years on and off, I didn't think a year ago that I would now be raising chicks from day old and selling them as point of lays or oven ready!! But I am, and I do enjoy it, they all have their own little characters!!!!

Keeping ex batts is very rewarding, but can be heartrending when you first see them with no feathers and dull listless combs, and some don't live long, but at least they died living like a chicken should, not being killed at 18 months just because its eggs are no longer the correct size or colour!!!!

Good luck, I hope you do have a go!!!!!!

Just been wandering around your site and enjoyed the clear layout, what floor covering are you using in your brooder pen - this year we have many more chicks than before and am looking at giving them more space before they join the others outside.

At the moment they are in brooders (home made) and have cardboard bases covered in Kitchen towel to give them purchase and avoid damage to their legs

We too have retired from the rat race to grown veg and rear our own animals

Hi James, I'm pleased you like the blog! I started it off, but it was finely tuned by my friend John Harrison who is the owner of the Allotment site in my 'Sites I like' page. He's a webmaster and I feel has done me proud! made my blog more noticeable!!!!

I was worried about splayed leg too, so when we got the first day olds last September, I looked on the internet, and on an American site, this guy said he used sawdst or shavings on the floor, but as a young chick will eat whatever it finds at its feet, he covers the shavings with a clean old sheet for the first few days, until the chicks learn what is chick crumb. so I did that and this time also with the meat chicks. The chicks don't slide around on the sheet, and they don't eat the shavings either! OK, so it means I have to keep looking for old sheets, but after a few days, I think I left them about 4 days last time,this time was a week as I didn't have a lot of shavings, but then you take the sheet off, complete with poop, and the shavings underneath are still nice and clean!

How many chicks have you got this time then? We've only got 57 now, as I gave 6 to my friends in Scotland last week, and we lost 2, they sometimes panic and crush into a corner, although there are no corners in my brooder, but they still manae to crush each other at times, silly chicks!! Ours are 4 weeks old tomorrow, so it'll be weigh in time, and they are going over into the big chook house! It's all disinfected and poultryshielded ready for them.

Can you buy chicks not chickens and for how much…
thankyou

Hi Olivia, you can buy chicks, but they have to be kept nice and warm for 4 weeks! I don't know whereabouts you are, or what sort of chicks you are interested in or how many you want! We buy our chicks from a hatchery who usually only sell them in the 1,000's, but they do sell small numbers too, but you have to collect. They are at Eye Green near peterborough and small numbers of chicks are £1 each. But other breeders charge differing prices, some as much as £8!!!!!

Great site love it - I thought I was the only crazy one loving chickens like you but glad we are all the same. I have chickens and have had for many years - I had to give them up when I became pregnant some time ago but just recently started again and absolutely love it - fresh eggs everyday yum - anyway I have five at the moment some little bantams and am after couple more layers - you mentioned Eye Green can you tell me whereabouts please - but I would rather get them from yourself - do you have any for sale - I only live in West Pinchbeck - my mobile is 07957 579484 kind regards Debbie

Hi Debbie, sorry I've only just seen your note. I've been gardening all day! No, you are not the only crazy one!!!!! lol if you look on the allotment site I mention. A link is in my Sites I like page, you will see there are loads of us!! A typical one is 'Babe' who only wanted 2 chickens, and she loves Polands. Well, she's hooked now, she got her 2, then some more, then she re-homed some ex battery chickens, then she re-homed 4 from another lottie site member who sadly couldn't keep hers anymore, and I think she's got a few more now, and STILL looking!!!!!

And I thought I was nuts!!!!! lol Sadly, as you'll see if you read my what's for sale page. My latest babies which are Babcock B380 hybrids are only 15 days old yet, so won't be POL until 14th August. they are brown birds laying brown eggs, then on 16th June, we are getting 250 day old Amberlinks, but they won't be ready until mid October.

We get them as day olds from Joice and Hill Hatchery. they are down Green Road, Eye Green, phone number is 01733 221833, but they only sell day olds, they are purely a hatchery, not a rearing farm. Would love to save a couple of my new girls for you. If you don't find any elsewhere, come back to me in August. I'll put you down as a maybe, as I've got about 60 of the present 125 pre-booked so far!!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I'm pleased you like it!! Ann