[mini_cj]

Hello everyone!  We're hoping to start keeping chickens on our 1 acre plot near Falkirk, and were wondering if anyone could recommend somewhere local to buy them.  We thought four might be a good number - is it ok to mix different breeds together or would it be better to get all the same kind?  Any suggestions would be welcomed!  Thanks.

[Francis Bacon]

Hi Mini cj

Don't know much about chickens, but would like to keep them in the future  

Anyway welcome to the site you'll love it 

Donna

[carl]

nothing wrong with four. mixing also not a problem. if you are wanting eggs and a hardy breed try a hybrid. there are loads of types of chiken to choose from, just have a look at a site like practical poultry. they have a good forum, which will help you find what you want locally. or maybe another poster on this forum would be able to help.
best of luck
carl

[Andrew]

Hello and welcome to the forum . There is a  great mix of people and experience on this site. we have found it invaluable.
We live in Stirlingshire and are in the process of buying our first poultry as well.

We have recently started a smallholders association and I have found it a great source of information. Our next meeting is on 20 February probably in Stirling. Just check on the FV &WF page on this forum.

If you are interested in buying Poultry at auction there is a special sale of poultry and equipment at Lanark Auction Mart on 14th Feb at 10.30am. I will most probably be attending and if you go I will no doubt see you there.


Andrew

[Rosemary]

Hi, Mini -cj

We're in Alloa - I have two sources of chooks; one in Burntisland and one in Longniddry (two good Scottish place names!).

If you contact me direct, I'll pass them on.

[mini_cj]

Thanks everyone for the advice and really quick replies!  Rosemary, I'll contact you direct to find out about your suppliers, and I'll also try and pop along to the meeting in Stirling if I can.  Sounds like a great way to share knowledge.

[Guy]

Hi , ive recently joined myself and its great to share and gain knowledge and tips. We have a selection of layers - warrens(rescued),buff sussex and light sussex plus a gold laced orpington cockerel. We bred the sussexs ourselves from eggs bought through a supplier - although the viable egg % was low (approx. 40%), and you have to wait untl they have matured before they start laying , it was a great experience to watch them hatch , grow and eventually start laying. We are about to start off another batch , but this time they will be our own eggs and hopefully the orpington /sussex cross will work.Truely self sufficient and very "EGGciting!!" lol

[Pebbles]

Hi mini_cj

A warm welcome to you.

We really want chickens (& ducks) next. We're also in Central Scotland and have just taken the plunge on our land with some sheep and pigs.

My OH would love to get some eggs to incubate, but I'm not sure what's involved - Guy any advice or tips would be appreciated. Rosemary have you tried hatching your own?

Anyway, look forward to hearing all your news.

Pebbles

[rustyme]

hello Pebbles,
         hatching eggs is very simple. If you have an incubator how much you need to do depends on if you have a manual or automatic one ? If you have an automatic one then IT does the turning for you , as eggs need to be turned regularly, if you have a manual one then YOU have to turn the eggs by hand . All very simple and easy. The temp will be sorted by the thermostat , so just keep an eye on things , and you will have to make sure that there is water in it to supply moisture for the eggs. If you are using broody hens then they do everything for you ....you just supply food and water for the hen... Incubators are very good and simple to use , price depends on how much work you want IT to do. I made my incubator ,years ago,out of an old wooden tea crate and a few light bulbs . That first one hatched hundreds of eggs, chicken, duck, goose, pheasant, guinea fowl even pigeon eggs....I then made mark 2 with draws and a perspex lid and that went on to hatch thousands , mainly pheasants. So it is all very easy all you need to do is follow instructions that come with your incubator or just download them from the web..... Hope that is of some help .....

cheers

Russ
 

ps.   here is a site with all the info you should need:
               
                 http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/hatch.htm

[Guy]

Hi Pebbles,
As rustyme says , its all down to personal choice and budget. We have an 18 egg capacity incubator with automatic turner(useful as we both work). Ours is also egg shaped , a little gimmicky i know , but the cover is nice and large giving a fantastic view of whats happening inside .
Ours came from P and T poultry off the internet , who were really helpful and efficient.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do - i will update on the progress of our new batch.
 Guy 

[Rosemary]

Hi Pebbles

We hatched two broods last year. We have a 10 egg Brinsea Automatic- we have a Covatutto (or something like that) before and it never worked properly. I'd recommend an automatic one, especially if you're at work during the day. The stress of the hatching is worde than giving birth (apart form the absence of pain) - do you help, do you not help? But it's really exciting watching the chicks hatch.

We'll incubate some when we come back from holiday and get a replacement cockerel.

Rosemary

[mini_cj]

Wow - I can see that hatching your own would be fun too...loads to think about now!  Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

[mini_cj]

And time for a wee update - thanks to Rosemary's suggestion, we are now the proud owners of five Black Rocks!  They are still a bit tentative about braving the outside world, but that's probably for fear of being blown away.  Didn't realise that as soon as it even hints at getting dark they all make a dash for the spikiest, jaggiest bit of holly/hawthorn hedge and roost right in the middle - had fun extracting them last night!  Anyway, tonight they were all congregated outside their pop-hole so it was a much easier job to get them inside.  Oh what fun!!

[Fluffywelshsheep]

hiya from me
am in tullibody

* Fluffywelshsheep waves