Incubating, Hatching & Raising Guinea Fowl Keets eBook Only £3.50
How To Grow Herbs For Cooking eBook For Sale Only £3.00
Khaki Campbell Duck Eggs For Hatching
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Clock With Herb Box For Sale
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Herb Box For Sale
MF 35 (23C) Engine Rebuild DVD only £18.99 +P&P
MF 35 Hydraulics DVD For Sale only £18.99 +P&P
Amazon.co.uk Farming Friends Bookshop
Amazon.com Farming Friends Bookshop
Chicken Penpal Scheme only £12
sara | March 9, 2010
I have been asked if you can make a hen go broody.
It depends on the breed of hen as some breeds are more susceptible to becoming broody than others. Bantams and Silkies (I have friends that have used Silkies to hatch guinea fowl and quail eggs before now) are known for being broody hens.
Things you [...]
sara | March 3, 2010
I have just been writing for my poultry newsletter about how it is a good time to think about how well protected your hens are against the threat of foxes and other predators especially as March is a time when fox cubs are born and so foxes will be looking for more food and so [...]
sara | February 21, 2010
What is your favourite chicken breed?
Chickens and hens are kept for many reasons:
They lay eggs.
Provide meat.
As pets.
For company.
Their plummage.
Their disposition and character.
My favourite breed is the leghorn as I kept a white leghorn for 5 years. She was called Hatty and she had a brilliant personality. She ruled the roost over the guinea fowl, cats [...]
sara | February 12, 2010
I was asked today which chicken breeds are kept for meat.
My father-in-law suggested Cobs where the fastest growing chickens for their meat.
The more traditional breeds he suggested included:
Light Sussex
Rhode Island Red
Buff Orpingtons
Chickens are bred for different purposes. Some are breed solely for their meat, others their egg production and some for dual purpose.
Meat Birds
Cornish
Orpington
Cochin
Brahma
Dual Purpose [...]
sara | January 14, 2010
Keeping a few hens in the back yard is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the UK and it’s no surprise because it is incredibly straightforward. If you keep hens without a cockerel, they make very little noise and shouldn’t be any trouble with the neighbours. A supply of fresh eggs is always welcome [...]
sara | December 30, 2009
I have been asked if you can you move unhatched hen eggs.
“Can you move unhatched chook eggs to another location like another nesting spot or coup. Coral”
Hi Coral,
Thanks for your question. I don’t have experience of moving unhatched hen eggs myself but I have tried to move guinea fowl eggs when the guinea fowl hen [...]
sara | December 29, 2009
My friend Trisha from Birdtablenews has sent me a message on my farmingfriends twitter page to say, “We have 4 hens and can’t put them out because of a fox. We are in middle of fencing a small field that has a hen hut, do you think that putting up a large fence will [...]
sara | December 28, 2009
My hens have recently started to eat the duck eggs that are laid in the early morning before 8am. My hens and ducks are kept in the smae hut but I don’t want the hens to eat the duck eggs so I have been looking at tips to stop egg eating.
Gather eggs more frequently or [...]
sara | September 7, 2009
My friend Trisha from Bird Table News emailed to say that this Summer a fox has taken a number of their hens.
Just wanted to say that this summer we had foxes get some chickens. The chickens that the fox killed always wandered off on their own and were never near the cockerel. We [...]
sara | September 1, 2009
Determining an illness or disease by a hens droppings can be difficult, but the droppings can be a tell tale sign that a hen is not well.
I received an email from one of my readers asking about a hen having yellow discharge and diarrhea.
I have a hen with a yellow discharge and diorrhea. She is [...]
