Pauline Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Hi, could anyone offer advice, we are looking to get 4 chickens preferably chicks, I prefer a small friendly breed so my grandchildren can be involved when they visit. Any advice please, also how young can I buy them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneySuckleDreams Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Chicks? I guess you mean hens. How old are you thinking of buying them? as after 1 day old you will be hard pushed to tell the difference between cocks and hens. Hens sort themselves out in a pecking order, more than 1 cock will cause you problems, and you really don't want them near kids. Is there a local "local" market near you? It's sometimes the best place to pick up different breeds. We got a couple of fluffy feathered feet type chickens that way. Silkies might be a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 From our experience all chickens are friendly [:)]Are you anywhere near Trie sur Baise? They have a market on a Tuesday, and that's where we bought some of ours. Most of the chickens around here are the same brown barenecks, but the Trie market sometimes have more interesting breeds. We bought some white ones with black neck feathers, and some speckled grey and black. You need to get there early.We used to buy young ones (? 2 months+) but now get them a bit bigger.I don't think it's a very good time to buy at the moment, better to wait a couple of months. Now we get ours from a farming neighbour but they're just the old barenecks, which are very friendly but not so attractive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneySuckleDreams Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Tarbes market on Thursday mornings. Not the indoor bit...you have to cross over the road to the Antique/Flower bit. Or we could get one of our broody chickens to sit for you and you can come and collect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Roy Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 You might find something on here:www.leboncoin.frbut as Patf says it is not the best time of year to buy chickens. Wait until March/April and there will be far more choice. You shouldn't pay more than 10-15 € per adult bird, if that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWINKLE Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Roy Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 We've got some Sussex, which are a big breed and excellent layers, but very calm and the cockeral is a big softy. I wouldn't presume that just because some are smaller they are going to be friendlier (rather like some smaller breeds of dogs!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Probaly what twinks ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 My own experience is that good old what I call "warrens" are as good as anything and I've yet to meet one which wasn't really friendly. They are a hybrid which was created for high egg production but don't write them off just because they're not a "pedigree" breed, as it were! Cheep (sorry) and cheerful, a hen equivalent of a mongrel dog.http://www.breezybreak.com/chickens.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauline Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 Thankyou all for the tips and advice, I will wait until April to get the chicks, that coincides well with my grandchildren coming so they can be i volved, I just need to find a good place to get them from. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Roy Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Another place to find chicks is your local farmer co-operative shop or similar. We have a couple of local places where you can order day old chicks and they arrive on a certain date every month or six weeks. Otherwise most local markets will have chickens for sale, and if you ask the seller I'm sure they would be willing to sell some chicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauline Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks Rob for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 [quote user="Rob Roy"]You shouldn't pay more than 10-15 € per adult bird, if that.[/quote]€7.50 ir €8.50 at our market; usually for warrens (medium sized good layers), marans or light sussex (both larger sized dual purpose birds). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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