h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Kelli, googling the internet yesterday to find out about Old English Game bantams one of your journals came up one the first page of search results.

It was great to see h2g2 turn up!

I wonder if you'd mind telling me how yours is getting on? We've had conflicting info about how well they mix with other birds and how well they lay. It's hard to tell in the book we have what applies to the Old English Game large chicken and what applies to the bantam version.

This chicken business is a lot more complex than I ever thought.

Oh, and what size eggs they lay? That's yet another variable to take into account .
Waz

Hey Waz, I forgot that these threads can be pulled up by google! It is a minefield beforehand isn't it? Once you've got them it all seems much simpler.

Clary has settled in well and gets on fine with our other bantam, a polish/pekin cross (Tilly). This week she has decided she prefers to roost somewhere in the garden other than our chicken house which is annoying, means I have to lock them in the run well before dusk so that she doesn't go off and hide but hopefully she will fall out of tht hbit soon. Until this week the two hens would cuddle up in the same nestbox which was cute. We never got around to getting the ex-batts we wanted as we wanted these two to settle in before introducing more hens and now it is winter so will probably leave it to spring.

In terms of temperament, she isn't aggressive - think that is the full-size version, but she is a little skittish and just buggers off if t'Boy starts chasing her whereas Tilly puts up with an awful lot more if there is some grain or pomegranate seed in it for her. She will still come up to us (even t'Boy when he is behaving) and eat grain out of our hands. They don't leave the garden really although have both gone over the fence once each - they then sit either side of the fence squawking at each other in distress at being separated, seemingly forgetting that whichever one went over could simply fly back again. Birdbrain isn't in it.

Can't tell you about her laying prowess yet as she still doesn't. I think she was a bit too young at the time of year we got her so by the time she was mature the weather was turning. We had been told they don't lay well over winter and unless laying pattern is established before the sesons move on then she might not start until spring. If she hasn't started producing by May next year she is heading for the pot! Tilly lays around six eggs a week, they are about 40g - by comparison a large supermarket egg is around 60g, I don't think they are a lot smaller than a medium shop egg. I made a 6-egg fritatta yesterday that fed 6 people but had loads of veg in it. Typically when we have poached eggs for lunch I will have one or two and husband will have two or three. They are bloody gorgeous though.

I wasn't kidding about the poo in my journal thread (which I must update...), they do seem to produce an unfeasible amount of it, and while I am sure it is good for the garden it is really smelly (I always assumed that farmyard smell came from the large animals, now I know different) and they do it in most inconvenient places so I am not sure we will ever increase our flock past the two we already have even though we originally planned for 4-6 birds.

Hope that helps a bit

It does help, and thank you.

Our bantams still haven't appeared, I don't think the guy really wants to part with them. We tried to call on him, way into the back of beyond in the Welsh borders, but no answer. In the meantime we've ordered a couple of silkies but it'll be a while before they're ready.

We've fenced a bit of the garden off for them, they won't be able to reach the patio.

Unless they fly over the fence.

A friend of mine kept ducks for some time. The first generations were fine but over the years they gradually adapted to a lifestyle of hanging around the kitchen door waiting for hand outs. But it was evolution into a deadend - he got rid of the lot because of the mess.

Pomegranate seeds? That's a new one. For minerals is it?

no, not for minerals - we just happend to discover that they go absolutely made for them. The kids love pomegranate and t'Other is still at that messy eating stage where he throws about 50% of his food on the floor - the chickens kept coming in the kitchen and eating the dropped bits. They also love courgette seeds so all of the over-grown ones from the allottment went to the birds

I think we are going to have to restrict them to the end of the garden soon although I have no doubt that they (or at least Clary as she is quite a good flier) will come over the fence from time to time - it will still stop them crapping by the back door for some of the time...

Good luck with the silkies, they are so cute!