Hello out there...I am not alone after all!

Hiya all,
I'm new to the forum, although I have been checking out this website and the forum for several months now and found some very useful information, so thought it was time to pop in and say hello. After months of preparation I picked up my three Blackrock hens on October 11 2008. Talk about excited...I am still driving my family and work mates doolally going on about my lovely, lovely ladies who are incidently called Aunt Sally, Felicity and Peck. They are soooooo full of character and distract me from everything I am meant to be doing... I think I have become obsessed...at what point does that become unhealthy ???

I've spent the last two weeks raising the coop onto legs, adding cladding to make it warmer and now have designed a run which is work in progress... I really wanted my ladies to be totally free range BUT a fast moving teenager whizzing out into the garden a weekend ago made them jump so much they got on the roof of the coop, hopped onto the fence behind and made off on the neighbours conservatory !!! You just do not want to know how I eventually got them back...still don't know if the neighbours have noticed the giant sized droppings on their conservatory roof Therefore, I really think I need a run for them when the kids and co are going wild in the garden to keep the ladies safe.

If they did fly off (clipping their wings has not totally stopped them flying - they have enough run, flap and jump to get upto about 4foot still ) would they be able to work out where they had come from??? I do not believe they would - anyone know different?

They where about 12 weeks old when I collected them - which makes them about 24 weeks old now but no eggs yet. I'm suspecting the dark days and early nights are the culprits - mind you only two of the ladies appear to be mature (with their red wattles and combs and wide girth). Are you still reading this???? Thought you would have fallen asleep by now so was about to stop anyway Could go on forever it is really obsessive this chicken keeping lark eh!

Angie T

Hiya Angie!!

Welcome to the Clucks and Chooks forum and don't worry you're not the only one on here who is obsessed with their girls...who wouldn't be!

Sounds like you have a good set up for your chooks just be careful that too much stress with the running around in the garden doesn't put the girls off lay. Having a teenager or kids running around in general initially freaks them out but after a while and if it's regular, they seem to get used to it. The first time my OH fired up his chainsaw close by all my chooks bolted to the otherside of the run in panic. Now he fires it up and they don't even bat an eyelid.

If the cheeks of your girls are red (or white depending on the breed) along with the wattles and combs, this would indicate that they should be close to start laying. I currently have 10 hens and on average get 7 eggs a day even on days where it's dipped as low as -8 so the cold doesn't always stop them laying.

You didn't mention whether you've clipped both or just one of their wings. Clipping one causes them to fly unevenly and with more difficulty than if you clip both.

Love the names! How did you come about choosing them?

Hiya CheekyChook,

yes I only clipped one wing on each of the girls...thnk they are just very good at jumping. The girls are used to my two kids going in and out of the garden but in fairness this has not been something they would be overfamiliar with as with the dark and damp weather only me and my OH venture out there on a daily basis (and why do I have full scale conversations with them and think this is ok??? ). I've only had them since Oct 08 so they are not that used to lots of activity outside yet. Therefore, it is no surprise that they panicked when another child unknown to them and very noisy flew outside! I made myself unpopular with my teenage daughter as I told them off -can't think why she thinks I care more about my girls...lol They seem soooo fit and healthy -I'm amazed at how well I've managed with them but thereagain Blackrocks are renowned for being resilient I believe.

The wattles and combs (and ears) have gone red and enlarged proper on two and the third is getting there. I just can't wait to find an egg no matter what unusual shape or size it may be!!!

Now my kids are getting older and I have more time, when not at work, I have developed a little veggie plot and lots of organic goings on and composting in my garden - adding the girls seemed like a natural progression given that the OH doesn't want a dog and I wanted a pet or three as it happened. Due to my constant garden pottering everyone says it's like the Good Life at our house so the girls where nearly called Margot, Tom and Barbara but my kids wanted to help naming MY pets so I gave in. My son wanted to call one Worzel but as they are female he chose Aunt Sally; daughter called one Peck as that is what it did to her when she first met it therefore the impact of naming a Margot, Tom or Barbara would not have made sense by that stage so Felicity was chosen after Felicity Kendal. Yes, my husband thinks it is all sooo sad that I actually put so much time, effort and thought into naming them. I can't wait to get home from work each day to see them although its dark by then (at the moment) so all I get to do is count them through the door and secure it; it still amazes me that they take themselves home each evening!!! I have my breakfast watching them make their way out each morning - its so relaxing to watch.

I plan to introduce my girls at the weekend as I will be taking more photos of them - anyway I'm off obsessing about them again, washing their feeding dishes, getting it all ready for the morning and trying to source some DE locally,

Angie T

Welcome Angie
I know just how you feel about your gilrs as im the same,i also have 2 black rocks called daisy & gertie,did have 3 but edna died last year due to an accident,i have also just aquired a light sussex called pearl and what i belive to be a brahma called elsie.Pearl & elsie are not tame but will be working on that when the weather gets better,they are getting used to me especially when i have food in my hands lol.
Chickens are soooo much fun,i talk to them more than i do my family,we often have girlie chats about this and that,they run up to greet me whenever i go outside,they even tap on the backdoor to come inside !
You will have so much pleasure with them especially in the summer when they will come and keep you company in the garden.
You might find in the winter they wont lay as many eggs as the summer due to the shortness of daylight,i sometimes get one or three eggs or even none ! although one of the new girls which i think is elsie isnt laying yet anyway,looking forward to the summer with 4 eggs everyday.
I hope you enjoy the forum and we look forward to any input you have or questions you want answering.
flump -x-

Yaaaaaay, I can't believe it - I had not one, not two but three eggs this morning!!! I went out to clean the girls coop and found an egg sat on the bedding (not in the nest box). I was so excited and was running around the house showing the kids and OH...woke the daughter up who now thinks i'm a 'freak' for being so happy about it!!! I took my obligatory photo of what I think is my first egg and returned to clean the coop only to find another one buried in the bedding - but as it was cracked it had to go. One of the girls climbed back in whilst I was cleaning the coop out and started scratching and flicking the wood shavings everywhere. I thought she was probably looking for the eggs I'd removed so continued to clean up. When I'd finished she again climbed back in and didn't come back out. When she eventually came back out I had a look to see what she had been doing as it seemed odd that she'd gone back in as it was only 9am. There was my third egg - all lovely and warm waiting for me. The other two must've been laid over the last couple of days and I had not seen them because when I get home it is dark and the girls are sat in there. It had not dawned on me to check of a morning when I let them out but will be doing from now on and in the evening.

They made me a lovely lunch of soft boiled eggs and soldiers

Oh how great, good to welcome you aboard.
I'm afraid I have been very remiss and forgot to come in here lately.
I have been really enjoy my three remaining rescue hens, they are the most enjoyable and comical creatures, and VERY endearing.

Hi Ronny! Nice to see you again! How are your girls doing?

Been so busy in the garden, getting seeds and everything prepared, that yet again i have not ventured in.

The girls are a delight, and gradually decimating the lawn now, by scraking all the moss up.
This is being a REALLY GOOD THING as I can use the resultant moss in my hanging baskets.
Henrietta has unfortunately taken a great liking to pansies, and I have lost 3 plants already, just having put them in...
I shall have to devise a cunning plan

When i put my pots out on the patio i put netting around the top to stop the girls eating them,i have also done this to my raised beds of veggies,well my husband has lol,it's just a race now to get the beds finished so i can get my veg planted up.
flump