First day... and the first egg too!

[wibble5]

Hi all, just thought I'd update you with my first day of city chicken keeping. I live in central Hull and have a decent-sized yard, and am determined to live as close to "the Good Life" as possible within the space available!

Got my two girls, Stella and Guinness (named after my and my late partner's favourite round), free from a friend down the pub who's got a smallholding, got them home, and after a few embarrassing swawks they seemed to settle in pretty well. Guinness especially has a good pair of lungs, which initially freaked me out a bit! Then had a chat with the neighbours (well, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission), who, thankfully, seemed ok about it and actually rather fascinated.

I have made a decent-sized pen, and plan to keep them in that most of the time. I popped out for a couple of hours, and apparently next door's cat had scared them a bit, making them cluck a bit furiously, but the neighbours didn't seem to mind. This is the main worry about being in a city. But, I tell myself, there are dogs nearby that bark louder and are much more annoying... hopefully when they get more accustomed to their surroundings they'll quieten down a bit. I had Stella eating out of my hand, but Guinness is still a bit scared.

Was just checking them before putting them to bed, and discovered an egg at about 10pm! I'd only had them a few hours and didn't think they were supposed to do this till morning, so was a bit surprised. I hope this doesn't mean there's anything wrong. Could it be because they're a bit confused by the upheaval? But anyway, I plan on ceremonially eating it with soldiers for breakfast.

[Richard]

How many soldiers are you asking round?

Really pleased for you - you must be tickled pink and probably they are on your mind almost all the time.

Neighbours usually don't mind atall. I've even had my neighbours telling me to have a cockerel - but no thanks, they may find the fascination of being woken at 5am on a summers day good - but not me!!

Don't worry about the egg laying, the egg would have been in her system before she arrived. You may find they'll go off lay for a while. This often happens from about two / three days in.

Anyway, you enjoy yourself and enjoy your bit of country in the middle of the City - I know of someone who had a garden about 40 - 20 feet and was almost self-sufficient in vegetables - 100% in eggs.

Take care and so nice to read your post.

Richard

[wibble5]

Thanks so much for the reply. Had a pretty sleepless night last night worrying about whether they'd be ok, but I needn't have - they were fine! Quiet as mice until I went to let them out. I think they've settled down a bit now. They seem to enjoy foraging for weeds more than eating the pellets and corn I've bought for them, though! And they absolutely love tinned sweetcorn, so much so they now turn their noses up at ordinary maize. But they're going to have to realise I can't afford to keep buying them Jolly Green Giant every day... Oh yes, and the egg was great! (plus 10 soldiers ... from the Brown Toast Regiment)

[morph]

Hi wibble

Glad your lovely chicks are settling down. I live on a housing estate with the usual "new build" sized garden and have 4 ex-batteries.

Once they settled down, they barely make any noise, only the low mutterings of happy chicks pottering about and wrecking my manicured garden!! haha Whilst I run round after them tidying up so my husband doesn't notice the mess and poo!!!!

My neighbours haven't said a word and I think next doors rotweiler makes much more noise than my 4 chicks and 4 cats put together!!

Happy egg eating!

[b_cos_1_can]

my neighbours have been great too!
i take the odd couple off egss round to my neighbours and they love it!
good luck with them, they are so rewarding you will never regret it!
(mine are still noisy at times-3 weeks after giving them their new life!)
keep us posted, its great to see the progress our chooks make....and the owners!!!
best wishes
kat xx

[melons]

Glad the girls like their new home.

We also have a good set of neighbours..thankfully, I was horrified to read the post about neighbours wanting to end someones chicken keeping future, the ones I have told have all melted when I've said ex battery ladies, but we are all silly about our pets, it'll be one of the lazy bints who drive 200 yards to drop off their kids at the school at the back of us who complains if anyone does :mad: I tell the girls to be quiet while in the garden :wink:

[wendy]

Hi.
Well done for joining the ranks of the ex battery hen rescuer's. These little brown hens are so rewarding in all sorts of ways. Not least the lovely eggs they give you.
When I first had my girls late 2005, I had so many eggs all my neighbours got them. Now I get about one egg a day from the four of them. So I am limited to how many I give away to friends and neighbours. Children have the call on them first.
My girls are quite quiet, I have just heard one telling the world how lovely it is to be alive. But that is rare. Yet my friend has one ,Hilda, who is very noisy.
I just think it is the luck of the draw, like people really. I am a quiet little soul. My husband on the other hand is like whirling dervish.
Wendy

[Richard]

Good point about the progress b_cos.

Maybe a few 'then and now' photo's would be nice. Most start looking better after a matter of about 3/4 weeks and they're pedigree in no time atall!

(That's when they start thinking they're posh )

Richard

[b_cos_1_can]

posh

do they start clucking posh too richard!!

you and wendy have some posh lookin chooks :wink:


kat!!

[wendy]

well thank you Kat.
I think they are the best....but then I may be biased.
Wendy

[Richard]

It's not any old riff raff down the lane don't you know.

Mine are so posh they wipe their bottoms with Andrex and all their poo's smell like freshly cut lavendar.

I have to make an Appointment to clean their Shed and Supermarket own brands are just a big NO NO.

Richard :mrgreen:

[AnnaB]

Hi wibble5
They are lovely - the girls and the eggs.
Richard, you are MAD! but very funny.

[wibble5]

Good day today - two eggs! One of them proudly announced it with the full 10-minute fanfare of squawks and clucks. Doesn't appear to be anything you can do to quieten them, so I just left her to get on with it. Boy, has she got a good pair of lungs on her! At the moment I'm working nights, so hopefully I'm the only person she's disturbing. And I was a little worried that they're not eating much of their pellets, preferring instead to peck at plants and weeds, but this doesn't seem to be affecting their egg production.

And, as Richard says they are wont to do, they've totally ignored the nesting box and prefer to lay in opposite corners of the shed, which has plenty of wood shavings on the floor. They also snuggle side by side on the floor to go to sleep instead of using the perch. One of them's got slightly lifting scales on her leg, so I need to get hold of her to put some vaseline on it, which I'm dreading as I know she's not going to like being picked up and there'll be more noise...but as people have said, I just need to grasp the nettle, as it were, and go for it. She'll thank me for it in the long run...

By the way, does anyone know what chickens do in a thunderstorm? Do they panic and make noise or doesn't it bother them? Just wondering as it was threatening to thunder as I went to work tonight and am hoping they're not kicking off in the shed and waking the neighbours!

Sam

[b_cos_1_can]

hi sam

mine were in the middle or a thunder storm last night and they panicked big time! didnt know wether to run and hide or just sit there and when i approached them theywere quite happy to see me, then they bolted cos a big thunder rumble happened!

do you think your chook might have scaley leg? ive never come across this but have heard of it breifly!

best of luck with any thunder storms and the leg!!

kat x

[Richard]

A lot of mine have had somewhat 'manky' legs. Strange because the ex-batts haven't been as bad as the 'pedigree's'.

Like the avatar wibble!

Just imagine the noise in a 15,000 Chicken battery farm when eggs are being laid or something else is going on.