POULTRY AND WATERFOWL

Over the years we have kept lots of different poultry and waterfowl. They have not only provided us with eggs, and meat at times, but also much enjoyment as we have watched them free ranging around the paddocks.

The chickens are particularly useful for clearing ground in the vegetable patch before spring planting. They scratch up the weeds, and eat the bugs, caterpillars, snails and slugs. The ducks are very fond of worms, slugs and snails too and are often seen foraging for them early in the morning when the dew is on the grass.

We used to hatch our own chickens to replenish our stock. Our oldest chicken was 9, but an average age is around 5-7 years and the most productive time of their life, in terms of egg laying, is from 6 months to 4 years. Obviously this does depend on what breed they are of course!

We kept several pens of pure-breed chickens when we first started running courses and breeding from them, so it was structured. This ensured the bloodlines were kept true. We no longer sell hatching eggs and prefer to just let them free-range together and now keep a much smaller flock.

Ducks are not as scatty as chickens. They tend to have much more routine to their day. They forage for much of their food and lay eggs from slightly earlier in the spring than chickens, and their eggs are great to use for baking cakes, for meringues and for making omelettes too!

For many years we kept and bred quail. Quails can't free-range, they need to live in a house with a pen. If left to free range they would simply fly off never to be seen again. They don't make particularly good pets in that sense, but their eggs are adored by many. They are a special treat in salads, hard boiled for picnics or to accompany a bbq.

We've also previously kept turkeys, guinea fowl and geese so if you have a hankering to embark on keeping poultry or wildfowl and have any questions just get in touch.

Poultry Keeping e-book

We have written an e-book all about poultry. It is very comprehensive and is the basis for the course that we run. It covers everything from; types of housing, feeding, cleaning, breeding and incubation, pests and diseases and much more.

It is available in downloadable pdf format for just £3.95.

You can purchase it using Paypal. Please email me to get your copy.