Where to buy chickens, ducks, etc in the South East??????

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

Anyone?

[DuckyLover]

Try Capralama in Bethersden, Nr Ashford, Kent. They have a website - at this time of year they also have a fantastic reindeer grotto !

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

oooh thank you! I'm Essex/Hertfordshire/London Borders.

How much can I expect to pay for them, roughly?

[Alambil]

as in for pets?

Try the RSPCA - am pretty sure the South Mimms one had a duck last time I was there

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

Oh, yes, that's a jolly good place to start!

Mind you...Willows farm is also quite close......

[TheChristmasFaggot]

Mumbles Farm in Borough Green, Kent.

Hens are around £8-£10 each, they usually have a few breeds available. Cockerels are free.

Ducks are probably a bit more expensive (and a lot more trouble & mess).

You'll need a large cardboard box with air holes cut in the side to bring them home in.

Glad to see someone else getting some birds. They're fab!

[tortoiseSHELL]

My aunt got some from Southmead Poultry here - she would recommend them. We got ours from Cotswold Chickens here - again they are very good.

How much to pay - really depends on the type of bird - for a hybrid could be £8-£15, for a pure breed then £10-£30.

It might be best to wait till it warms up a bit - they are happier in the spring!

[sophierosie]

How about rehoming some battery hens?

The battery hen welfare trust has a coordinator in Essex.

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

Oooh i didnt know they had such a huge rehoming programme going on with battery hens!

Have I heard right, that some MNers have hatched their own with supermarket eggs???

[TheChristmasFaggot]

I can't remember if that was PPH or Megalegs although I'm pretty sure they were trying to get Buford Browns or Cotswold Legbar varieties from Waitrose!

And you need a broody hen to sit on them.

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

oooh thank you.... i'll see if i can search archives rather than pester them!

[CountryGirl2007]

definetly consider a rescued battery hen! the poor things really deserve a good home rather than becoming someone's dinner after spending their whole life in a tiny little cage.

[tortoiseSHELL]

Megalegs tried with some cotswold legbars.

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

DH is warming to the idea ........

[Ledodgy]

Did Ocado forget to deliver your turkey VVV?

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

nah, i'm not doing christmas dinner this year so dont need to worry about it.

I am thinking ahead to next year though....

[CountryGirl2007]

also try www.thehenshouse.co.uk and www.practicalpoultry.com (go to the forum, there are several people on there who have rescued battery hens and there is a gallery section with before & after pics of them)

[VVVExcitedAboutChristmasQV]

ooh thank you!

[smeeinachristmastreeinnit]

so glad you started this thread vvv,im in the same area by the sounds of it and we were just today talking about getting chickens, let me know if you find a good place!

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Will do

[saff]

you need to check with your local council, they removed ours after a lovely neighbour reported them as they were attracting vermin? something i never saw

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Really? You werent a council tenant too were you?

[smeeinit]

oh! thats not good. i bet my neighbours would complain too!

[CountryGirl2007]

As long as you don't get a Cockeral, Hens are usually quiet and as long as you get rid of any food scraps before dark they should attract vermin either.

[saff]

yes we are council tenents and the arrived like sas with masks all very pathetic we only had two. But we got ours from igloo or something like that they came in fox proof home. But like i said was council got em in the end

[saff]

yes we are council tenents and the arrived like sas with masks all very pathetic we only had two. But we got ours from igloo or something like that they came in fox proof home. But like i said was council got em in the end