dorinda said:I have something called Chicken Village which is in a botanic garden just up the road from me - people visit and look at the different pens (which are made to look like a village) a castle, a church, a sweetie shop, a prison, villas, kindergarden and cottages - and each one there is a different breed with all the info you need to know about them. I have 270 adult birds and about 480 chicks - I breed my birds mainly for exhibition (showing). I use certain wormers which come from home (France) much cheaper and easier to give to the birds, and I use spot on treatments which maybe aren't worth while if you only have a few birds. I'm also very lucky to have a "deal" with my feed merchant because I use a certain make of feed and other products he sells and I get all my feed at cost price (very worth while) and in exchange he uses photos of some of my birds in his publicity. As I show my birds they are all handled in some way everyday - I can "see" straight away if somethings not right -CHICKENS! said:wow, people with lots of chickens, how do you make sure they are all healthy and none of them have mites, also is it expensive having all of those or not really
I keep the quail for fun and the geese for guarding they are called adolph and Ava![]()
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foxy said:oh and a naughtly light sussex bantam called ena!![]()
ncotb said:foxy said:oh and a naughtly light sussex bantam called ena!![]()
:lol: :lol: she is cheeky! How are the girls doing? Broody yet?
This is fantastic info you have given me.I was looking on the internet to find out more as they really look amaizing and breed is orginated from Sweden.Lots of swidish pages but I can't read them.Do they stop laying eggs during winter as swedish winters are really long.You definytly raised my interest in themdorinda said:No I have the only ones in the country at the moment. The svart Hona is a "project" of mine - I imported the eggs from Denmark last year and I hatched 7 of them and have given a trio to another well knwon and respected breeder - who will breed from them . and I have another two breeders who are also going to breed from the trio that I give them (from chicks hatched by me this year). They will have to breed birds themselves next year and PCGB ring them. then I have to form a breed club and I have several breeders who have at least 4 generations that breed "true to standard" - it will take a good few years before they are even ready to be standardised in this country - but I do have a breed registrar - Julia Keeling - and I am very grateful to her for her interest in the breed - there is a possibilty that they have "come" from the Ayam Cemani breed - which could cause complications - and I'll have to have DNA done on my birds to verify that they aren't "bastardised" Ayam cemani - there shouldn"t be a problem .. nothing is simple on intruducing "new breeds" - I showed them at Ayr county show about a month ago - as an exhibition bird (I took a trio) and everyone was fascinated by them - they are BLACK - very black - skin, flesh, combs are all black - I love them and they are very good layers - and very hardy - except for cocci for some reason. I will be showing them this year at the National in the Non standard breed class 6 with a bit of muck they will create a bit of interest![]()
foxy said:ncotb said:foxy said:oh and a naughtly light sussex bantam called ena!![]()
:lol: :lol: she is cheeky! How are the girls doing? Broody yet?
Oh yes....Buffy is hogging one of the nest boxes... and looks quite fierce actually if you go near her! Ena was broody for bit then got bored. She must be one of my smallest hens but boy she has a hard peck!! :lol: :lol: