Keeping chickens, point of lay hens, poultry feed suppliers

from battery factory

Keeping hens in my garden .

What do I feed my laying hens and pol pullets,

How do I house my chickens,

Which poultry breeds are best to keep in a garden,

Which hens are good egg layers,

Free a Battery hen.

How long will eggs stay fresh.

How can I tell if a egg is still fresh?

Where can I buy Water fowl, Game birds, Hatching eggs and Chickens from day old chicks to point of lay pullets.

Poultry feed shop. Poultry equipment shop

to your garden

How to keep hens in the garden for fresh eggs

With a bit of common sense, a clean place to live, the right food and protection from foxes, garden hens can live long and happy lives, keeping you supplied with fresh eggs year after year and if you hatch a few cocks, Christmas dinner.  A small or big garden, countryside or town, as long as your hens are looked after properly they will reward you with fresh eggs. I have included looking after garden hens tips,advice and live poultry breeders and poultry feed suppliers on this page.

How to house hens,
before you rush out and buy the point of lay chickens (pullets), your hens will need a place to sleep, rest and lay eggs. the hen house or coop will need to be high enough to have perches for your hens to roost. Most poultry and both hens and cockerels are happiest sleeping (roosting) or resting off the ground, it is also cleaner for them as they defecate at night, its also a good idea to add a few perches in the chicken run.
The chicken house will need to be wide enough for the hens to have about 12"of roosting space each (4 hens = 4ft) or deeper with 2 perches.
Timber chicken houses are best, Check for Price, Perches and Condensation before you buy the new "plastic" type.

Protection from foxes
You will need a secure chicken run for nights and when you are away. All but one of my laying hens left to wander in my garden for a couple of hours were killed by a fox in early afternoon. Walls and fences that will keep most dogs out of your garden will not stop foxes. the run needs to be made from reasonably strong wood and completely covered with chicken wire. Fit a secure door for feeding and access to the hen house.

A hen house and chicken run you can move around the lawn or garden now and then, providing fresh places  to scratch around is a good idea. Not a problem if you don't have the space but add fresh hay or straw for the hens to scratch around in and a bowl of sand or dry earth for the hens to dust bathe. The stuff you remove when cleaning out can be added to the compost heap.

What to feed laying hens.
Now you need to buy the food to feed the chicks, point of lay pullets or ex battery hens ,its a real thrill to see battery hens live there first days of normal life, scratching around, ruffling dust and earth through feathers, you have to see it to believe it, so rewarding.
Laying hens will need a mixture of grain for breakfast (mixed corn), protein and calcium at teatime (layers pellets) and fresh water and will eat kitchen left overs, grass, weeds, seeds and insects and slugs and snails from your garden.If you dont grow your own food yet, ask your bakers and greengrocers for leftover bread and vegetables.

Grit is essential to help grind up and digest the food. No need to provide grit if your hens are regularly given the run of your garden.
Laying hens and chickens in fact all poultry, need green stuff, like grass and cabbage leafs, they will produce better eggs with less cholestrol and more Omega-3 fatty acids currently good for you.

What do chicks eat. Naturally hatched chicks will learn from the mother hen and will eat most of the food listed above but if you are buying Incubator hatched chicks ask the breeder what they are feeding the chicks and continue. This will usually be chick crumbs providing the nutrients they need, bit like baby food. I keep the feeds in a galvanized dustbin away from rats and mice.

What breeds are best for a garden and laying eggs?
To many to list here but Light Sussex good layers of light brown eggs, Marans good layers of dark brown attractive eggs, and Rhode Island Reds good layers of brown eggs, are breeds that are easy to look after. A mix of all three will give you a lovely mix of colours in your egg basket. Welsummers lay a nice dark egg but are a nervous and noisy bird.
Ex Battery hens, usually Warrens, I find the friendliest and most grateful and the best layers, laying lots of light brown eggs .It really is a treat to see them enjoy a first ever dust bath. The factory owners, cant call them farmers, kill the clipped beak, miserably kept hens or sell them as pet food or worse when they are about 1 to 2 years old because they are nearing their prime. Ex battery hens will reward you with eggs for another 6 years. Good reasons to keep laying hens in a garden, never again having to buy factory eggs.

How long will freshly laid eggs stay fresh
Collect your eggs daily and enjoy the taste of real fresh eggs. How long will eggs stay fresh ?The eggs will be good for up to about 18 days (the time it takes a hen to lay a dozen eggs for hatching) but the fresher the better so its a good idea to have a pencil handy and write the date on the egg.

How can I tell if a egg is still fresh? fill a bucket with cold water, place the eggs in the water, the rotten eggs will float, the eggs on the turn will lift of the bottom and the fresh eggs will stay on the bottom. When you crack an egg into the frying pan a really fresh egg will have a yoke supported on a firm white, the older the egg the more the white will spread around the pan. Just like supermarket battery eggs.

Where can I buy
Water fowl, Game birds, Hatching eggs and Chickens from day old chicks to point of lay pullets.

If you are a reputable breeder and sell P.O.L poultry, Day old chicks, Game birds, Rare breeds and fertile eggs list your business on this page free
contact details

Garden Hens

Just a few hens for the garden?

Pure breeds hatched and reared as naturally as possible

Welsummer

Silver Laced Wyandotte

Barnevelder

Buff Orpington

Vorwerk

Lavender Araucana

and other rare breeds

Hybrids also available

We are located in Cheshire. Contact Garden Hens on 01565 733282

Old English Game, Forest Gate.

London.
For sale. Wheaton Old English Game Bantams �12 each; Silver duckwing Old English Game Bantams �12 each; Spangled Old English Game Bantams �12 each; Chamois Poland Bantams �20 each; Ko Shamo (White) �15 each; White quail Watermael �25 each; Seramas �10 to �20 each. depending on colours & size etc. Telephone 020 8519 0220 after 6.00pm or weekends.

Carmarthenshire west wales.
Hatching eggs and grass reared Chickens from day old to point of lay. 01239 711308
LARGE FOWL Cuckoo Maran Exchequer Leghorn Light Sussex Silver Grey Dorking Araucana Rhode Island Red
BANTAMS Light Sussex Silkies [Black, Blue and White] Wyandottes [Blue Laced, Silver Laced, Gold Laced, Buff Laced, Silver Pencilled and Partridge] Pekins [Buff, Lavender, Millifleur and Lavender Splash]

Wylye Valley Chickens
South Newton Salisbury,Wiltshire. 01722 743391
Bantams Barbu d'Uccle Pekin Polish, Crested ,Sussex, Welsummer, Wyandotte, Yokohama.
Large Fowl Araucana, Appenzeller, Barnevelder, Brahma, Cochin,, Fayoumi, Kraienkoppe,Leghorn, Maran, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Barred Redcap, Derbyshire, Rhode Island Red, Silkie,Sussex',Vorwerk, Welsummer, Wyandotte,
We are able to supply , fertile eggs for your own incubation, day old chicks and growers and Point Of Lay pullets

AXE VALLEY BIRDS,Summerleaze Farm, Kilmington, Axminster,
Devon Tel: 01297 34472
Chickens, Bantams, Quail, Waterfowl, Aviary Birds, Ornamental Pheasants and Quail Eggs, Poultry Housing, Feed & Equipment also available.

Vanessa & Phillie,COLLINS
Swindon Wilts 01793 752305
Various large Sussex, Marans, Arucana and Orpington. Bantam Austrolorps, Plymouth Rock Silkies, Sussex, Barbu D'Uccles, Barbu D'Anvers, Sebrights, Welsummers and Scots Greys. Also Dexter Cattle.

EDGEMOOR POULTRY, North Devon
01769 520244
Red Saddleback Yokahamas, four colour Brahamas, three colours Jersey Giants, Blue Orpingtons, Silver also Gold Appenzellers, Cochins, Favorells, Arucanas, Hatching Eggs sometimes available. Also Dexter Cattle.

Sunnymeade,
Brinsea, Congresbury,
Bristol
Tel: 01934 852215
Derbyshire Redcaps, Speckled or White Sussex, Braekels, Guinea fowl, Hatching Eggs, Chicks and growers.

Moon Ridge Farm - Exeter, Devon
Quail, Pheasants, Domestic Ducks, Ornamental Ducks, Domestic Geese, Ornamental Geese, Peafowl, Guinea Fowl, Chickens, Swans. A family run smallholding breeding a large range of poultry , water fowl quail and pheasants nation wide delivery service. We also post out hatching eggs . If you would like a price list or arrange a visit please phone . We give free advice on all poultry and water fowl issues . We welcome your interest. Tel. 01392 851150

Blackwater Traditional Rare Breeds.
Large Fowl, Bantams, Ducks and Geese. We have a large collection of rare and pure breeds of poultry. Small supplies of hatching eggs, chicks, growers to pol available in season. Breeds: Large Marans, RIR, Light Sussex, Buff Orpington, Speck Sussex, Blueleghorn. Bantams: Pekin White, Buff, Partridge and Polish, Dutch. Ducks: Cherry Valley, Buff Orpington, Khaki Campbells.Romsey,Hampshire. (Visits By Appointment Only Please).Tel. 02380-811110

If you are a reputable breeder and sell P.O.L poultry, Day old chicks, Game birds, Rare breeds and fertile eggs list your business on this page free

Big Green Smile
online shop

The natural place to go to for green and eco friendly home and garden products including water & energy saving ideas.

You'll also find lots of eco friendly gifts and gadgets all at great prices and offering the very best in quality and style. Perfect for reducing your carbon footprint and making for a greener home and garden!

How to grow your own fruit and veg,
Growing your own tips, Preparing and digging the growing area, Seed beds, Growing broccoli, How to grow cabbage, How to sow Cauliflowers, How to grow sprouts, Daily Telegraph research found that a basket of six fruit and five vegetables from Tesco and Sainsbury's costs �37.20, compared to just �21.01 on average from four different independent greengrocers around the country.
growing your own

All the POULTRY FOOD and EQUIPMENT you need, including POULTRY GRITS AND MINERALS, CHICKEN FEED, LAYERS PELLETS, HEN COOPS,CHICKEN RUNS AND HOUSES
The hen and chicken food supplies
online shop
EX BATTERY FOOD RANGE
The Ex-Bats Range are the superior quality feeds for all ex-battery hens, providing them with optimum nutrition when they need it
ORGANIC POULTRY FOOD
100% organic farmyard layers feed producing natural yellow yolk

POULTRY FEED,GRITS AND MINERALS, LAYERS PELLETS, CHIC PELLETS, POULTRY HOUSE AND RUN DISINFECTANT, PARASITE CONTROL FOR POULTRY,ORGANIC POULTRY FOOD.EX BATTERY HEN FOOD, CHICKEN COOPS, HEN HOUSES,CHICKEN RUNS AND PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE LOT, EGG BOXES !!!!

Cheltenham, Worcester, Evesham, Gloucester, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Alcester, Redditch, Stratford Upon Avon

Advice on Keeping laying hens and suppliers of poultry food

Keeping laying hens in my garden, how long will eggs stay fresh, best poultry breeds for gardens, layers pellets and chick crumbs online stockist.

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