Page 22 - Simply Veg Issue 1 2016

Choosing the right chicken breed
Picking a chicken that suits you is essential for any beginner. The rst thing that you need to consider is how many eggs you are hoping to gain from your birds. Some breeds are known for their egg laying abilities such as ‘Rhode Island Red’ or ‘Leghorn’. If you are the only egg eater in the household, eggs could go to waste if you choose one of these breeds, so maybe you should go for another breed that doesn’t lay as many eggs.
You should also consider who will be looking after the chickens, if you have children or grandchildren that would want to help out, you should go for a breed that is typically easier to ‘hand tame’ such as ‘Silkies’ and ‘Houdan’. However, if you are a con dent chicken keeper and only you will be caring for the chickens, you might not need to consider this factor.
After you have decided what breed is best for you, nding a supplier is the next step. Choosing an ex-battery chicken is one option, although this decision should not be taken lightly as the birds shouldn’t be re-homed too often. You can also nd local chicken keepers by searching online, in newspapers or through word of mouth recommendations. Before buying chickens, you should visit their chicken keeper to ensure that the chickens have no health issues that you do not know about
and that the keeper you are buying from has looked after the chickens.
Of course there are a lot of other breeds available, but these are some of the key points for you to consider before you make any purchases.
Beth Cowan
Free Chicken Courses for Beginners!
W: www.minimeadowsfarm.com T: 07824 393517
Mini Meadows Farm, Naseby Road, Welford, Northants, NN6 6HZ
MiniMeadows.indd 1 02/12/2015 15:31 Laying hens for your plot
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