Jump to content

Recommended Posts

They go off the lay in the shorter days ,too short a day and a bit cold , have kept them all my life, i usually buy some ex battery birds and after they have moulted they get a new lease of life for a year loving the good life, then they end up as chicken curry!!

 

ex layers can usually be picked up for £1 each great layers for a couple of years, MOST important as someone else said is the layers pellets though! mine have only just slowed down in laying almost 11 months of laying egg a day!

 

as for table birds Ross cobs are ment to be great, once we get a bit of land again i plan to get a couple of dozen in well worth it.

 

In my experiance try and stear clear of the poultry auctions, We got stung several years back, - bought a couple of birds from an auction seemed fine and after a week put them in with the flock, all our other birds had been fine, then all of a sudden new birds were watery eyes and coughing - microplasma was then in our flock for the rest of the time we had them, knocking off a few birds every 6 months or so. :doh:

 

Have a look at meadow sweet birds on the net. they usually retail about £6 each but never had a problem with these at all :yes:

OH and if you are planning on getting enough for yourself not for selling, make sure you buy a couple extra Work friends, once they have tried you own eggs will be coming back for more! With Just 3 birds and selling half a dozen to a dozen a week at £1 dozen I more than cover my feed costs!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Some good advice coming through, though (if I'm allowed to differ), I would follow a different route.

 

It's been over 10 years now since I kept poultry. I kept Sebrights, Rosecombs, Polish, Pekins, Indian Game, etc, and ducks, geese, peafowl, quail and pheasants etc. I also kept a small flock of farmyard banties/bantams. My farmyard stock weren't as small as the Rosecombs etc, but not as large as the ex-cage hens either - somewhere inbetween. They were hardy, good clockers/mothers, and came in a multitude of different colours, some with topneys (feathered hats), and some without. Now if I were doing it again, I'd search out the local farming papers (there's usually a poultry section), or take a drive through the countryside and call at a few farms. I'm not so keen on the purebreds - I like a nice mix of colours, and they're easier to tell apart too. I'd get a nice coloured rooster, and 8 or 9 nice average sized banties. Does it really matter if they produce 5 eggs a week instead of 7. Eight banties producing 5 eggs a week still leaves you with 40 eggs a week, and although they're smaller eggs, they're packed with taste!

 

For me 'food conversion ratio' and egg production aren't everything - I like a traditional mixed flock that are pleasing to the eye, and definately a nice rooster to head the flock.

 

Just my thoughts,

Zek.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...