LOOKING AFTER YOUR NEWLY HATCHED CHICKS

Issue 175
March/April 2019 £4.25

CHICKENS BRING YOUR BACK GARDEN TO LIFE!

Belgian True Bantams Maximising the
potential of your
poultry

Hen security solutions HATCHING

GOOSE
EGGS

How a chick forms

Springtime Turkeys

Keeping chickens at Rudyard Kipling’s former home

• NEWS AND VIEWS • QUESTIONS & ANSWERS • SHOWS • CLUB & BREEDER DIRECTORY
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16

20

24 28 32 42 50
Contents March/April 2019
8 Breed in Brief 32 Hatching Geese
The Belgians – do you know your Comprehensive guide to getting the
Barbu’Duccle from your best hatch from your geese
Barbu D’Anvers?
36 New waterfowl for RBST List
12 Poultry in my life Introducing the Steinbacher goose 56 Diary and Events
Working poultry keepers explain how and the Pekin duck See the very best of breeds in photos and
they fit earning a living with looking diary dates
after their girls. 38 The vet’s view
Telemedicine – how it can work 58 Club Directory
14 Diary of a poultryman for poultry keepers
Getting ready for spring and a new 60 Free Classifieds
breeding season 42 Your Q and As answered
by our experts 64 Breeder Directory
16 Incubation focus
ED CHICKS
Review of a Brinsea incubator 52 Turkeys in the spring LOOKING AFTER YOUR NEWLY HATCH
LOOKING FOR CHICKENS IS– OUR BREEDERS’ DIRECTORY
THE PLACE TO START
Issue 175

Most breeds can rear March/April 2019 £4.25

20 Twenty one days to life their own poults Issue 164 /July/August
July/August 2017 £3.99

How a chick forms CHICKENS BRING YOUR BACK

GARDEN TO LIFE!

YOURthe
Maximising
54 British Hen Welfare Trust Belgian TrueCHICKENS
Bantams WILL BRING BACK GARDEN TO LIFE!

23 Incubation Chart Remember the cockerels, Choosinpoteg ntial of yourPRACTICAL POINTERS

chicken s try
poul Keeping poultry safe
An easy way to record all your hatches for what can we do for them? for your
you to keep life style
Hen security solutions
HATCHING
GOOSE

Don't miss out

HEALTHY
EGGS

24 Coping with a late spring HENS

Be ready for quckly changeable weather chick forms
How aTOP
– TIPS FOR
CONDITION

DABBLING
28 Chickens are part of
Kipling’s former home SUBSCRIBE TODAY! WITH DUCKS
Turkeys
Springtime
THE ROUEN YOUR Q&As MY CHICKEN CHOICE
ALSO INSIDE

How poultry fit into this

Have your copy of Practical Poultry
National Trust property
delivered to your door: see page 63 for details
Keeping chickens at Rudyard Kipling’s former home
• CLUB & BREEDER DIRECTORY
• NEWS AND VIEWS • QUESTIONS & ANSWERS •
SHOWS
31/01/2019 18:26

001_Cover_July_August 17 PP.indd 1

March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 3

LOOKING AFTER YOUR NEWLY HATCHED CHICKS
Issue 175
March/April 2019 £4.25
Editor’s Welcome
CHICKENS BRING YOUR BACK GARDEN TO LIFE!
Belgian True Bantams Maximising the
potential of your
poultry
S pring time again and with
it the usual mix of winter
and spring type weather.
With so many cold springs in the
last few years, it is with some
Hen security solutions HATCHING hesitation that I declare that
GOOSE
EGGS spring and the better weather is
on the way. Spring maybe and
How a chick forms
the bliss of the longer daylight
but we have yet to see if the
weather is going to be kind to
Springtime Turkeys
us. Cold weather in spring is
still cold whatever the date so
Keeping chickens at Rudyard Kipling’s former home when looking after poultry take
• NEWS AND VIEWS • QUESTIONS & ANSWERS • SHOWS • CLUB & BREEDER DIRECTORY particular care – especially if you
have recently hatched chicks
Regular contributors or growing birds. This month is
when incubation really comes describes the feelings I get when Show Diary and sell
to the forefront and I’m pleased this happens and I want to know your poultry free
with the focus on incubation why to prevent it happening As we approach the summer, we
that we have gathered from again. We also take a special will be compiling dates for your
our experts in this month’s look at hatching geese. diary and we welcome dates of
issue of Practical Poultry. I am any poultry related event from
particularly pleased to be able to The future of you for inclusion free of charge.
Andy Marshall Chris Ashton bring you a chart for recording telemedicine in Just phone, write or email to
Poultrymans Diary 14 Hatching goose eggs 32 your incubation. I’m not noted poultry us and it will be included. On
for my meticulous paperwork Practical Poultry prides itself the subject of free advertising
but this chart helps you to easily on bringing you the latest don’t forget that we offer
record the sort of information developments in poultry keeping free classified ads to private
that is so vital to see what went and Dr David Parsons looks into poultry keepers – see page 60
wrong (or what went right) with telemedicine for poultry keepers for details plus a really good
your hatch and that information with interesting results. And selection of poultry for sale.
will hold the key to improving although electric fencing is a Happy spring and may the
David Parsons Janice Houghton-Wallace
your hatch over the coming comparatively old technology, it weather be kind to us all.
Telemedicine – a How a chick forms 20 months. I think there is also is still developing and we look at
good thing? 38 the matter of welfare of chicks keeping poultry safe by using it.
t her
Liz Fairbro
and improving a healthy hatch But going back a little in history
also improves the welfare of we also visit the former home of
A happy Easter – next the chicks – one of the saddest Rudyard Kipling and meet some
things is fully formed chicks that of the feathered friends who Liz Fairbrother, Editor
Practical Poultry on sale
have not been able to get out inhabit this beautiful house and
Saturday 22nd April of the egg. Dead in shell hardly grounds.
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4 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

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POULTRY NEWS
➜ March/April Your monthly guide to what's new in the world of chicken keeping
If you have a news story, product launch details or some other topical item, email pp.ed@kelsey.co.uk

Candioli Srl Acquire Vetark Products Ltd

T
he change of ownership sees Vetark
Products sitting under its new parent
company Candioli Srl, with both
companies set to benefit greatly from the
increased international presence. With over 130
years experience in the pharmaceutical market,
Candioli will bring its vast industry knowledge to
the new partnership, creating positive changes
to the product portfolio, international distribution
and technical support.
Peter & Zena Scott, the founders of Vetark,
said “We have thoroughly enjoyed taking Vetark
from an idea in 1988 to the established business
it is today, but it is now time to take a different
direction and allow the company to continue to
thrive under new ownership. We are extremely
pleased to be able to have Candioli driving the
business forward to reach new heights with
Vetark”.
The acquisition, which completed on
Wednesday 28th November, will see Vetark
continue to operate out of its Winchester office
under the current name. With the direction and
expertise of Candioli, Vetark look set to cement
their strong position as a leader in the animal
health market.
Candioli Srl is part of the Candioli group, a
family owned group of companies whose core
business is in manufacturing and distributing
pharmaceutical products, as well as nutritional
supplements for companion animals. Candioli
has introduced highly innovative products in Luca (centre) completing the acquisition of
the veterinary market to improve the health Vetark with Peter and Zena Scott
conditions of pets, with products now available
in over 50 countries worldwide. For more the health and wellbeing of animals with its
information, visit www.candioli.com/en/. complete range across multiple species. .
Vetark has built a unique product portfolio of To keep up to date with news and product
specialist animal food supplements, enhancing information from Vetark, visit www.vetark.co.uk.

Making the chickens stand out! www.omlet.co.uk

N
ow you can see your chickens in the
dark or spot them when they are
further away than normal. With an
innovative jacket, Omlet have made them
easily visible. In fact chickens Davina and
Deidre, known as the Galley Hill Two, actually
made the news in Milton Keynes, starring in
the Milton Keynes Citizen newspaper. Their
bright pink and yellow jackets make them
easily visible as they tour the area by day!
"The idea for the Hi-Vis Chicken Jacket
came about when a customer called Omlet
to ask for help locating his chickens at night.
As he lived in a built up area, outdoor lighting
was confusing the hens and they weren't
going to bed. He was having to look for them
in the garden each night.  The solution we
came up with was a hi-vis jacket so you
could see your chickens easily, he tested
it and loved it and so we made it available
for everybody. Of course it's very handy
for chickens that need to cross the road
regularly too." Simon Nicholls, Omlet's Head
of Product Design

POULTRY FIRM HATCHES PLAN TO MAKE HENS HAPPIER

A
manufacturer of poultry farm equipment
designed to boost bird welfare will launch
the UK’s first commercial poultry farm that is
open to the public, with support from Lloyds Bank
Commercial Banking.
Vencomatic Group is behind The Northern Poultry
Campus. It will include a café and a gift shop for
visitors and aims to increase transparency around
egg production by showing consumers exactly
where their eggs come from, and how birds are
treated.
The Campus, which will open in 2020, will also
provide a pipeline of skilled workers into the industry
by providing a venue and learning facilities for local
agriculture colleges.
It will be located at Sally Farms, a new 600-acre
poultry farm that opened in October in Helperby,
where birds are housed in an innovative new kind of
nest. The unit will house up to 64,000 birds, with 80
acres of outdoor space for livestock to roam freely.
The nests were specifically designed for the UK
market with support from the University of Bristol,
and Vencomatic hopes they will be widely adopted
by commercial egg producers across the UK.
Dr Leon Furlong, Managing Director at Vencomatic
Group, said: “The nesting systems that will be used
at The Northern Poultry Campus are designed to
keep birds in good condition and minimise the risk
of injury and disease. Making this facility accessible
to the next generation of poultry farmers will help
to grow and safeguard understanding of animal
wellbeing in the sector for the future.”
Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s York-based
agriculture team provided Vencomatic with an
£8.1million finance package to purchase the land and
develop the commercial and public-access units.
Thirsk-based Vencomatic Poultry UK is the UK
dealership of Vencomatic Group – a Dutch company
which supplies its poultry equipment to farms
all over the world. Turnover of the UK business
has grown from £1.8million in 2011 to more than
£10million today.
Free-range egg specialist Wot-A-Hen agreed to
a 20-year lease to manage the unit at Sally Farms,
which will supply eggs to Noble Foods to be sold
under the Happy Egg brand.
Dr Furlong added: “We want to provide
transparency in the industry, at a time when
consumers are very conscious about where their
food comes from.
“We were incredibly pleased by the reception
that Sally Farms had at its open day this year, which
was attended by representatives from the RSPCA,
animal welfare campaigners and National Farmers
Union members.
Ian Smellie, agriculture relationship director at
Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The egg
production sector has long been on a journey to
move away from keeping livestock in batteries
to maximise yields. Now, far more recognition
is rightly placed on the welfare of birds, and
Vencomatic’s systems are leading the way in
facilitating this.

6 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

KFC, MCDONALDS, NANDOS AND OTHERS GUILTY OF IGNORING CHICKEN WELFARE
W
orld Animal Protection (formally
known as the World Society for the
Protection of Animals) has put some
of the world’s biggest fast-food chains under the
spotlight – the Pecking Order 2018 report is the
first-ever international ranking on the welfare of
chickens raised for meat. Burger King, Domino’s
Pizza Group, Domino’s Inc[1], KFC, McDonalds,
Nando’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Subway
have all been assessed. The results are deeply
concerning; not one of the companies is taking
this critical issue seriously.
World Animal Protection has launched the
ranking as part of its Change for Chickens
campaign, which is challenging the fast-food
industry to stop the cruelty and suffering in meat
chicken production worldwide by committing to
source from higher-welfare farms rather than
factory farms.
Companies are assessed via publicly available
information on three areas: Interest, via policies
(how important the welfare of chickens is to
the company); ambition, via objectives and
targets (the promises a company has made to
improve chickens’ lives); and transparency, via
performance reporting (how clear the company
is about living up to its promises).
KEY FINDINGS FROM
THE PECKING ORDER 2018 ARE:
• No company receives a grade better than ‘poor’
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yers Metal and Mesh are a UK based long
established mesh and metal supplier.
They can supply - Welded mesh,
Wire Netting, Aviary mesh and Metal Roofing
Sheet, which are all products that would help
any poultry enthusiast, whether established or
just starting up. They can also offer advice and
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They can supply problem solving materials for
the home hobbyist or large scale breeder.
The welded mesh they supply comes in
mild steel, galvanised green plastic coated and
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Their in-house services and workshop offers
• Alarmingly, none of the fast-food chains have
a global policy on improving chicken welfare. In
most areas, chickens are not even guaranteed a
humane slaughter.
• Only three of the nine companies – Burger
King, Starbucks and Subway – have
demonstrated interest and ambition in
addressing the main problems faced by factory
farmed chickens. However, the commitments are
all limited to one region or country.
• Four companies: McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut
and Nando’s were classed as having very poor
chicken welfare
• Domino’s Inc and Domino’s PLC both received
a ‘failing’ grade
• Transparency is universally poor, with all
companies providing little or no information to
show how they are performing when it comes to
chicken welfare.
World Animal Protection’s Change for
Chickens campaign urges the food industry to
commit to global policy changes that will improve
the welfare of r billions of chickens. In particular,
companies are expected to:
• Use chicken breeds that grow at a healthier
rate.
• Ensure that chickens have the space to behave
more naturally. Cages must never be used.
• Give chickens the opportunity to enjoy natural
behaviours via enrichment – including perches or
platforms and pecking objects – natural lighting
mesh cut to size and folding of mesh. Mesh is
often used to keep your poultry safely in and
to keep out natural predators such as foxes,
badgers and birds of prey. They also offer a
range of anti vermin mesh to protect against rats,
mice and even insects.
Their roofing sheet range includes box profile
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please ask for details.
■ For more details see page 49
and high-quality bedding. .
• Ensure that chickens are slaughtered using
more humane methods that avoid live shackling
and render all animals unconscious before
slaughter.
Jonty Whittleton, Global Campaign Head
at World Animal Protection says: “The scores
are in and it’s not looking good for some of the
world’s largest fast-food brands when it comes
to chicken welfare. These iconic companies
must respond to growing consumer concerns
over chicken cruelty, using their immense power
to improve the lives of hundreds of millions
of animals. Using tools such as The Pecking
Order, we will continue to put pressure on these
companies to change for chickens.”
“There is no excuse for the pain, fear and
stress that a factory farmed chicken feels for
much of their life. Billions of chickens never
get the chance to see sunlight, to grow at a
natural rate or behave as they would do in the
wild. Major brands, including those featured in
The Pecking Order, profit from this pain. They
hold the power to turn this situation around and
there is a growing consumer concern that they
must do so. Chickens are at the very heart of
their businesses and deserve the chance to live
a happier, healthier life. That’s not too much to
ask.”
To find out more, visit:
www.worldanimalprotection.org
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 7
 BREED IN PROFILE
Belgian True Bantams
Belgian d'Anvers Millefleur male
he Belgian bantams are a breed
T that I greatly admire. Indeed
my family have bred and shown
them for over sixty years and
always considered them to be ideal for
new fanciers to keep, especially where
children are involved.
Initially someone new to the fancy
might find the different types of them
rather confusing so I will try and explain
a little about their history. Most breeds
are standardised in a particular shape
and style with a choice of colours that
still adhere to the same conformation,
Sussex being an example, where there
are seven different colours all of which
have single combs, long backs and
white pigmentation and so on. Belgians
are different, with the name covering
a group of different types, all of which
were thought to have originated in that
country, however, there could be a doubt
as to how long the birds had been in
Belgium.
The wonderful Dutch painter and
writer, Cornelis van Gink, states that
they arrived in Belgium during the
Seventeenth Century from either
southern China or possibly Burma with
paintings by Albert Cuyp illustrating
the birds. The breed was late arriving
8 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
by Stuart Kay
Belgian d'Anvers White Cock. 1st at
London Bantam Show in 1936
into Britain, why I cannot explain when
most of the True Bantams arrived here
at around 1860, mainly coming from the
Far East not just the comparatively short
journey from Europe. At the 1912 Crystal
Palace Show a group of Belgian fanciers
arranged a display of the birds and then
presented them to some of our breeders,
this actually worked very well because
during the occupation of their country
during the First World War many birds
were lost and they were able to return
to this country after the war and recover
some of their original blood lines.
To summarise the various types of
these birds I will commence with the
very attractive and cheeky natured
Belgian d'Uccle Millefleur male
ones that have rose-combs and legs
that are free from feathering e.g. clean
legged, we call these the Barbu d’Anvers
although they were at first often called
the Bearded Antwerp and still are in
some other countries, America being
one of them.
The shape and style of the d'Anvers
is one of their own, especially when
you see a top class specimen with its
well rounded and protruding chest
proudly displayed by a head that is
carried well back and creating a ‘Jaunty’
appearance. The most distinguishing
feature of the d’Anvers is their neck
hackle that is extremely well developed
with very dense feathering, probably
more than in any other breed of
Bantam. This abundance of feathering
combines with their muffling and beard
to form what is often called a ‘Boule’.
An old friend and breeder, who was an
expert on many breeds with one of his
favourites being the Belgian, stated that
“if you had a good ‘Boule’ to your bird
the rest of its structure would also be
correct” and I would not like to dispute
his philosophy.
To complete a good d’Anvers the bird
must have a good comb that should be
wide at the front and lie flat to the head,

Belgians make good broodies and mothers like this d'Uccle Millefleur hen
tapering to a single leader, which should
follow the contour of the head and thus
blend into the perfect picture. In the
standard there is a category which is not
included in many breeds called ‘general
appearance’ and is allocated 15 points,
therefore a good headpiece will collect
many of these points. A comb which
has a narrow base and stands well up
from the head or one where the leader is
faulty spoils the birds whole appearance.
The d'Anvers has a very cobby
shaped body with a wide front and a well
pronounced chest, their back should
be very short, with a tail which is well
spread and carried almost upright, it
Black dAnvers male showing a lovely Boule
is well furnished but if the main sickle
feathers are too long and curved they
tend to spoil the correct outline of the
bird. If a d’Anver is long bodied and also
lacking in width they consequently loose
the character of the breed.
The most popular colouring in the
d’Anvers appears to be the Quail in
several different shades, the self Black
is very strong in show quality but not
a very popular colour to sell to non
exhibitors. Other self colours include the
White, Blue, Lavender and Cuckoo. The
d'Anvers also exists in a version which
is minus a tail or as the old term was its
‘Popes Nose’; these birds go under the
Breeding Trio of Black Belgian dAnvers
Belgian d'Anvers Millefleur female
name of Barbu De Grubbe.
Apart from that missing part of
their anatomy they are similar to the
ordinary d’Anvers and have the same
colour range. These birds were actually
introduced into the country with the
first collection of birds in 1912. In recent
years there has been imported another
version which is called the Barbu De
Watermael, these birds are similar in
general character to the d'Anvers but
have a small crest and the unique feature
of having not one but three separate
spikes extending from the back of their
combs. As with the d'Anvers the most
popular colouring is the Quail in its
different variations
Another of the Belgian breeds is
the Barbu d’Uccle. They have a single
comb and heavily feathered legs that are
strong in the quill structure as are their
quite large and upstanding tails. The only
feature that they have in common with
the d’Anvers is they both of them have
Beards and Muffling. It is almost certain
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 9 Ê
BREED IN PROFILE BELGIAN TRUE BANTAMS
Belgian d'Anvers Lavender Quail female
that the d’Uccle is closely related to the
breed of Booted Bantam.
The name of d’Uccle appears to
be recognised worldwide in a whole
range of very attractive colourings but
confusion seems to arise or certainly
has done in the past with the Porcelain
and Mille Fleur coloured birds. In that
wonderful book of paintings by the Dutch
artist Cornelis van Gink, he illustrates on
page 124, a pair of Booted Bantams that
are described as being ‘non bearded
Mille Fleur’ and they look exactly as
stated, just like our d,Uccles only minus
a beard, whilst on page 126 there is
an equally beautiful painting of Booted
Bantams described as being ‘Bearded
Citron Mille Fleur’ with the Dutch spelling
being Sablepootkrielen ‘Citroen Porselein
Quail Belgian d'Anvers Hen showing a nice short back and lovely muffing
10 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Belgian d'Anvers White female
met baard’ and these birds have lovely
beards and muffs.
However, this slight confusion does
not retract from the birds their charm and
elegance. The PCGB Book of Standards
Quail Belgian d'Anvers Hen showing lovely muffing
◄ Lavender Quail the Barbu De
Watermael Belgian with a beautiful crest
states that Belgian bantams exist in an
extraordinary choice of colours, probably
unequalled in any other breed, and much
too numerous to be given in detail. The
birds always appear to be much larger
than the d'Anvers but some of this
created by their much different flow of
feather.
The d’Uccle also exists in a tail
less version and is called the Barbe
d’Everberg and at the present time do not
appear to be very popular. All the types of
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intensive conditions, they make ideal
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can become rather over friendly. 
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Short Days and New Boots
I
’ve always enjoyed reading Andy
Marshall’s regular updates . We
have only four booted bantams so
our autumn and winter challenges
will seem trivial to those with larger
flocks. Nevertheless, coping with the
short days and the harsh winter weather
requires extra effort and planning
whether you have four birds or 40. Like
everyone else who is responsible for
the welfare of livestock, we have to find
ways to care for the girls and their
environment, often in the dark
and through the worst of the
winter weather.
The chicken house and
its run are on concrete slabs
and the half under the house
is covered with wood shavings
and logs, which we clean out every
week. We also use Dengie Fresh Bed
(chopped straw) and bits of vegetation
from around the garden. The other half
of the run is covered with paper and
shavings that we sweep up at the end
of each day. It is in this half that we put
the food and drink containers – hooked
onto the side of the run to minimise
contamination and save as much floor
space as possible. We remove the
containers and clear everything away
each evening so that there is never
any food left around overnight. The
run and the house are all enclosed and
padlocked to protect the girls from
predators/intruders. Although the girls
have access to the garden only when
we are at home, we remain vigilant,
especially early in the day or towards
dusk – prime hunting time for Mr Fox!
As well as plenty of logs for perching,
we tie greens, fruit and sweetcorn up in
the run to provide interest and additional
nutrients. We always aim to keep the
girls entertained and interested in their
environment, so we also use Henny
Sticks and pecking blocks. We’re always
keen to try new chicken treats but we’ve
not had any success with the Hentastic
range. Perhaps our girls are too fussy?
It would be good to know how other
chicken keepers (and their birds) get on
with them.
Safe and Contented Chicken
Our focus is always on keeping the girls
safe and contented, and on making sure
that we can attend to them in the dark
before and after work. My partner and I
work long days so we’ve had to find ways
to check on the girls, feed them, prepare
the run and tidy the food and bedding
away, all in the dark. We couldn’t achieve
this without the use of head lamps, along
12 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Emma and Alistair Watkins
welcome spring with their poultry
with battery-
operated push
lights that are
screwed to the
underside of the
perches. Such welcome
illumination! The girls have a few treats
by torchlight in the morning, just to make
sure that everyone is OK and behaving
normally – as normal as they can be
at 5am! – and we have a good look at
them all in the evening when we clear
the run and shut the pop hole. Tasks
that seemed effortless on warm spring
mornings and long summer evenings
now have to be carried out in the cold,
the wet, the wind and the dark.
Thanks to a combination of shift
working and understanding managers,
we ensure that the girls never have
more than two consecutive days on
their own. The biggest problem that we
face when neither of us is home before
the girls’ bedtime is making sure that
everyone has had enough food. Ideally,
they should have some grain late in
the day to keep them warm overnight.
We thought about using an automatic
feeder where the lid will pop up at 3pm
but we’re not convinced that it would
work. It would take up space and we’re
concerned that the two banties that think
they’re in charge would hog the dish and
leave nothing for the others. The real
boss (“Little Chicken”) tends to stamp
her feet a lot and squawk in annoyance,
rather than exerting her authority in any
meaningful manner. The result being that
most of the time, the others just ignore
her. We feel that scattering plenty of
grain and Henny Stick around one half
of the run when we leave in the morning,
is the best way to ensure that everyone
gets their share. We accept that the girls
will eat everything else in preference to
their specially formulated layers’ pellets
but for one or two days of the week, we
don’t believe that there will be any lasting
damage to their health! Just to be sure
that everyone is happy, the girls will often
get the chance for some extra grain by
torchlight when one of us gets home
from work.
Despite the cold and frosty mornings,
the girls finally return to garden with a
flurry of new wing feathers, content to
wander around the barren flower beds
and forage through the leaf litter. They
seem undeterred by the cold but a heavy
snowfall will quickly confine them to the
house. Bantams that I’ve kept in the past
have tip-toed along a trail through the
snow, albeit tentatively but the booted
girls – not a chance. They won’t set
foot outside the run and rarely leave
the house. Making sure that they have
enough to eat and drink can be a real
problem.
We try to spend as much time with
the girls as possible and to save our poor
hands and feet from freezing, we bring
the girls up into the kitchen – clearly
not something that you could do with
more than four small bantams. They are
remarkably well behaved and will sit quite
contentedly at one end of the kitchen on
their specially made perch. They watch
us with limited curiosity as we open and
close cupboard doors and work our way
through the usual list of chores.
Some might say that the girls are
spoilt and that we are crazy chicken
keepers, going to great lengths to
keep them and their boots warm and
comfortable during the winter. Perhaps
– but it is worth every cold and frosty
morning to see the girls healthy and
happy as the days begin to lengthen
and we see the first glimpses of spring
sunshine. The girls are quick to explore
the fresh new growth around the garden
and make light work of scratching and
trampling the young green shoots! With
the excitement of spring comes the
challenge of coping with what must be
the moodiest broody in the world, every
year without fail…….but that’s another
story. 
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We care about the type of ingredients used in our feeds, and we think you should too. Not only do we use the
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ANDY MARSHALL
Andy's been involved with
chickens since he was a boy,
and is now a respected breeder
and a very successful exhibitor
I
n many ways chickens are like us,
they delight in the spring sunshine
and warmer longer days rather
than the early darkness and drawn
out nights of late winter. So we who are
responsible for our birds care need to
ensure our birds are happy and healthy
as spring arrives.
So what can you do to revive your
birds as spring arrives?
It does not matter if you just keep one
or two layers for fresh eggs or have over
100, be generous with fresh green food.
A few pieces of raw broccoli daily go
down a treat. Likewise if you a removing
old Brussels plants from the vegetable
garden once the birds have eaten the
few remaining green leaves, split the
stalks with a knife – the birds love the
pith, mix in a little cod liver oil (usually
sold for the equestrian market) three to
four times each week with the evening
grain feed
These are just a few examples of
extras that help revive the birds after
winter. It is though important not to
over do the extras or provide too much
protein as this can lead to the birds
getting fat, becoming sluggish and
14 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Andy's
DIARY
Don’t remove chicks from incubators
until they are really dry and fluffy,
better to be cautious than rush
prone to other problems. Think ◄ Round
of it as a fitness regime for hardboard rings
chickens! for chick rearing
Early spring is a
good time to catch those that have
and inspect all the dirty bottoms
birds - just to see if should have the
all is well. Any birds feathers carefully
with signs of mite or trimmed. Worming
lice can be dusted with should be done twice
diatomaceous earth and a year in the spring and
in the autumn six months
apart. There are a range of wormers
available perhaps the easiest is flubevet
which can be administered via the
feed and do follow the manufacturer’s
instructions correctly. If you are
concerned, a quick ring and after a
quick phone call put should not rather
than does not to read a quick phone
call should not incur a consultation fee!
If you are concerned then the cautious
approach is not to eat the eggs for seven
days after treatment and 30 days for
meat.
Our show season ended at the
Federation show last December. Taking
a show team to both the National at
Telford and then two weeks later at
Stafford for the Federation was hard
work for me and hard on the team
entered. In terms of success we did ok.

Over the two shows 10 entries at each
we came back with 13 firsts (65%) and
one bird on Championship row.
I was also privileged to be asked
to judge the Marans Club Show at
Stafford (Federation show). It is a
special honour to judge a breed club
show and I was delighted to have a
fellow Marans' breeder to assist me as
steward. Les Brewer from Yorkshire.
He was not showing this year and was
keen to learn more about his favourite
breed. I was very grateful for his help
especially in writing down all my
comments ready for the club report.
Showing does take its toll on the
birds and when I came to pick the
champion it was between a lovely
bantam pullet from Roger Furse and
a large female from Robin James. The
large pullet pipped the bantam just
on condition. I later learned from her
breeder that she had been at Telford
two weeks earlier and had just started
to lay. She did though manage to lay
the best bantam eggs so you could say
honours were even.
Visiting and exhibiting at these big
shows is important if you are, like me,
a keeper of heritage breeds of poultry.
You need to see how your birds match
up to the best in country and find out
what other judges / breeders think of
your stock. Plus of course your birds
always look at their best at home and
can appear totally different when at a
show. What you think is the best may
not be so. Historically exhibitors would
therefore often enter two birds in a
class. Nowadays this is less common
as the cost of entry fees has become
so expensive. If I can I will rotate birds
to see how they do. The other big
advantage of going to these shows
is you have the chance to speak with
fellow breeders. I had a long talk with
Alan Richardson from Yorkshire ( he
enjoys PP! ), not only keeps poultry
but he is a sheep judge and likes Blue
Faced Leicesters. We had a good laugh
about the dark arts and hazy evenings!
Hopefully those of you who can will
Highlighting the risks of wind for
poultry keepers. They were all empty
at the time ready for painting!
be well into the hatching season, we
definitely are here at Stable Green. A
useful tip is give the newly hatched
chicks first feed as chopped hardboiled
egg. You have no idea just what a good
start it gives them. Then over the next
few days replace with the chick crumb.
If you can, some finely chopped chick
weed, spring onion or chives sprinkled
on top of the chopped egg really helps
to get them going. Just remember to
remove any leftover egg and keep the
feed dishes really clean. We use old
saucers that are easy to wash. Another
good idea is have the chicks in circular
pens, this does reduce the risk of
chicks becoming chilled or caught in
comers. Each year I buy some 8’x4’
hard board sheets and cut them in
half so that they are 8’x2’. These are
very easy to pin together with screws
and some batten. Subject to the size
required you can use one for a ring
or as we do, we make up four pens
using one, two, three or four pieces of
hardboard. Then as the chicks grow
they are moved from pen to pen. At the
end of the rearing season theses rings
are then disposed of and we replace
for the next year. It certainly helps with
disease control. The chicks are then
weaned off heat and moved outside
where they are kept in 8’x4’ sheds
and allowed to range on grass for the
summer.
Andy's DIARY
Every year I hear about fertility
problems. These will very rarely be
seen in females and usually result
from the way in which the males are
being kept. So remember it’s often the
keepers fault rather than then the birds!
Expecting a male bird to be fertile after
a long season of showing is unfair as
he will be exhausted. Poultry are long
day breeders so they respond to light.
Therefore especially in adult males they
may not become “interested” until the
days lengthen. Another problem can be
with young cockerels that have been
penned together you select one and
then discover that the eggs are infertile.
This is usually caused by the selected
bird being low down in the peck order
or submissive and this very much has
an effect on his viability. All you can do
is be patient and matters usually sort
themselves out. Placing some ardent
young pullets (in lay) in the pen next to
the male that he can see, can have a
quite remarkable effect.
Males that are fat or suffering from
parasites will also tend to have lower
levels of libido. The breeding season is
a time that is always full of challenges,
surprises and expectation. Yet with
some care and planning you will be
rewarded with fit healthy chicks from
some happy and healthy hens looking
forward to their rest in the forthcoming
summer. 
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 15
First time lucky

Alan Woodward hatches for the first time

in a Brinsea Ovation 28 EX Incubator...
e’d never ever thought

W about hatching eggs before,

however, an opportunity
arose and it seemed to be
a good idea at the time!! Not knowing
a thing about incubators or eggs, we
purchased a Brinsea Ovation 28 Eco
incubator, which duly arrived and that
evening we followed the instructions
and we were up and running. Flushed
with excitement, we bid for our eggs
via e-Bay and several days later
they arrived carefully packed in
polystyrene and paper. We
left them a couple of days to
settle and popped into our
incubator our first batch of
Lady Amherst pheasant good, she organised looking good. We purchased a second
eggs. Conveying our new with our distributor batch of eggs – 6 Lady Amherst and 12
found knowledge to some for an EX to be sent Silvers. This time around we were far
friends of ours that we were to us, all we had to more successful. Out of this new batch
incubating pheasant eggs, do was send the Eco of 18 eggs we hatched 14 chicks in the
they casually mentioned the back. EX. The thing I love about the Brinsea is
humidity and the control of the Out of our first batch we the clear cover. To watch a chick fight
humidity. Humidity?? This was a new only got one chick. I think this was their way out of an egg is truly amazing.
one to us – panic ensued and so I rang down to the fact that we had borrowed We had to help 3 chicks out of their
Brinsea about our predicament. The an incubator whilst waiting for the EX shells as the membranes had dried
lovely Fiona calmed the situation and to arrive and maybe the eggs were too out but they survived and are looking
suggested the Brinsea Ovation 28 EX disturbed to form properly, however the healthy.’
as it has humidity control. They were so chick is now nearly 5 weeks old and Alan Wood
Continues page 18
16 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
 New levels of performance PLUS superb value
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100 190 380 580 Hatcher & Hatcher this incubator our
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capacity capacity* capacity* capacity** capacity
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*including integral hatching tray. **optional separate hatcher available. 190 380 from 60% to 95%,
this incubator is
Laminar airflow and advanced really the best! I wish
temperature control for optimum 100 I'd have purchased
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40 years For full specification visit www.brinsea.co.uk or call 0345 226 0120 Incubation Specialists
Egg incubator design Brinsea Products Ltd
and manufacture in the UK 32-33 Buckingham Road, Weston Industrial Estate, Weston-super-Mare, N.Somerset BS24 9BG
REVIEW OF THE OVATION 28 ADVANCE INCUBATOR
by The Exmoor Holiday Company Ltd
Jess Porter from The Exmoor Holiday
expanded her incubator collection with
a new Brinsea
The Brinsea Ovation 28 Advance Egg
Incubator is the second incubator we
have purchased since we first began
hatching fertile eggs 11 years ago. Our
first was also a Brinsea, the Octagon
model which lasted us well. It was
thanks to our previous satisfaction with
the Brinsea brand we decided to invest
in another of their models. We initially
chose the Brinsea Ovation 28 Advance
Egg Incubator because it held a good
number of eggs, has automatic turning
and a simple to use display panel
to adjust settings and check on the
temperature and humidity.
 
Product Specification of the Brinsea
Ovation 28 Advance Egg Incubator
■ Adjustable automatic egg turning.
Programmable turning interval.
■ High quality, high visibility cabinet.
Ventilation control. Internal water top
up and water level indicator
■ Supplied with 4 standard egg
carriers for 28 hen sized eggs or
48 quail sized eggs
■ Easy to view digital display for
monitoring humidity and temperature
(in C or F). Room and incubator
temperature alarms.
■ Made in the UK, spares in the UK,
servicing in the UK and 3 year
warranty
Currently retailing around the £250 mark,
the Brinsea Ovation 28 Advance Egg
Incubator is by far not the most or least
expensive incubator on the market. We
would say it is middle of the range, an
investment that will just keep on giving.
Whether you are incubating fertile eggs
from your own flock or purchasing eggs
from elsewhere raising your own chicks
as a pose to buying in adult birds can be
a more cost-effective way of expanding
your flock. Not to mention the joy bought
by watching your eggs pip and unzip
into chicks, a priceless miracle each and
every time!
18 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
BRINSEA OVATION 28 ADVANCE
EGG INCUBATOR – DESIGN
The overall design of the Brinsea Ovation
28 advance egg incubator is very good,
we particularly like the excellent visibility
through the top half which is made
from a very durable clear plastic. The
bottom half provides a sturdy base in
which the egg trays sit. At first we were
a little dubious of the single row of trays
as opposed to the tray with movable
dividers we had become accustomed
to with our previous incubator. For our
first hatch we set a mixture of 26 large
chicken eggs ordered from Redruth
Poultry, we did notice some were a little
snug in the tray so we ordered a set of
large trays for next time. On reflection
this is more beneficial when it comes
to hatching as once all the trays are
removed there is plenty of room for
chicks to hatch safely.
Brinsea Ovation 28 Advance Egg
Incubator – Usability
The Brinsea Ovation 28 Advance Egg
Incubator has proved to be a simple and
easy to use machine. From the initial
set-up we didn’t run into any problems
at all, the instructions provided are very
clear, guiding you through the different
options. As well as setting the correct
humidity on the control panel, water
should be added to the reservoirs
situated within the bottom half of the
incubator underneath the egg trays. On
our second hatch, 30 mixed bantam
eggs from A & J Poultry, we observed
when candling on the seventh day that
all were fertile except the very last seven.
Brinsea Ovation 28 Advance Egg
Incubator – Success Rate
Our first hatch rate using the Brinsea
Ovation 28 Advance Egg Incubator
was 14 out of 26, which I think is not
a bad success rate at all taking in the
considerations of the eggs travelling
through the postal system from Redruth
Poultry and with it being January –
February when the weather is cold and
fertility is naturally at a low. Now on day
ten of our second hatch, a mixture of
bantam eggs we collected from A&J
Poultry. We are yet to know our actual
hatch rate however upon candling on
day seven all were fertile except the very
last seven as previously mentioned.
We highly recommend the Brinsea
Ovation 28 Advance Egg Incubator
In conclusion we can highly recommend
the Brinsea Ovation 28 Advance Egg
Incubator to both a first-time user and an
experienced poultry hobbyist. It offers
a well built, easy to clean design. Its
simple settings panel allows accessibility
to everyone, no computer or tech skills
required. If you can use a television
guide you will have no issues with set-up!
With excellent hatch success rates and
a three years manufacturer’s guarantee,
we really can’t fault the Brinsea Ovation
28 Advance Egg Incubator.
 
‘The Exmoor Holiday
Company – Devoted to
all things travel, lifestyle
and Westcountry related,
bringing our readers
amazing content from
around the world. Our South
West Business Directory, promotes
holiday accommodation, attractions,
restaurants, shops and more!
Our smallholding on Exmoor is
located within the small farming village
of Challacombe. It’s home to our two
pet ewes Bow Bow and Belle, chickens,
turkeys and dogs. We are more of a
sanctuary as opposed to a functioning
smallholding! Whilst we enjoy the bounty
of eggs, and home-grown treats we
don’t send our animals to slaughter. We
do however enjoy raising and keeping
our animals and sharing them with
guests who visit our static caravan –
Exmoor Blue Bird. Jess Porter
The Exmoor Holiday Company
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Twenty one
days to life

Janice Houghton-Wallace explains how a chick forms

he miracle that is incubation

T
starts with fit and healthy
parents providing a fertile egg.
Ideally the egg should have
been laid in a clean environment and
stored appropriately with the blunt up
end and in a cool, even temperature
and turned each day. It is advisable to
store the eggs for as short a time as
possible before starting the incubation.
If gently washed with egg sanitant in
slightly warm water and then allowed to
dry, it helps to eradicate any bacterial
contamination that could be on the shell.
By using water warmer than the egg
the membrane will expand and prevent
bacteria being drawn in. The shell has
numerous tiny pores which allow air
into the egg for the embryo to breathe.
If the egg is washed with cold water the
membrane will shrink and draw bacteria
in.
Whether being hatched via an
incubator or under a broody hen the
process of the embryo growing and
turning into a chick is the same. When
A diagram
of the
inside of
an egg
showing
the
germinal
disc from
which the
embryo
develops
incubating artificially make sure the possible because with the lid off the
incubator is clean and up to temperature temperature will drop. However, once
before you are ready to put the fertile closed the temperature should soon be
eggs in it. Depending on the type of back to what is required which is 37.4
incubator you have the eggs with either degrees for chicken eggs.
lay on their side or sit with the blunt If the incubator has automatic turning
end uppermost. Place the eggs in the it will save having to open the incubator
incubator carefully but as quickly as and manually turn the eggs three times

20 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

Illustration of the embryo developing with amniotic liquid protecting it A candled egg clearly showing the eye spot

a day. The eggs have to be turned to

prevent the embryo sticking to the
membrane and therefore not developing
properly.
After putting the eggs in the incubator
don’t think that nothing much happens
then a chick suddenly grows before
hatching. A healthy fertile egg would
have had slight development once laid.
This stalls until it is under constant
warmth and being put in the incubator
resumes the process.
Miraculously days 1 and 2 of
incubation sees the beginnings of vital
parts of the growing embryo. The head,
ears, eyes, spinal column, nervous
system and heart start to develop. By One of the eggs showing pipping with a hole in the shell
day 3 the tiniest of tail, wing and leg
buds appear, along with a beating heart.
Twenty four hours later the toes and
tongue have started to develop, followed
by the crop, reproductive organs and
beak.
The embryo is protected by an
amniotic sac, which surrounds it. By the
end of the first week the legs can move
and bend and feather glands on the tail
and thigh are in place.
The first week of incubation is
effectively the most important because
the embryo at this stage has grown quite
dramatically but is not able to sustain
itself if there is any drastic change to
temperature. Should there be a power
cut during any part of the incubation
do not open up the incubator but place
a blanket over it to try to keep heat in.
So long as the power cut is not hours
long, once the required temperature is
back again all should be well. However,
if the power is off for a long time,
although some chicks may make it this
interruption could alter the length of
incubation with the possibility of any
hatching being a day or so late. This emerging chick will free itself from the remaining eggshell

March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 21 Ê

 After twenty one days the

 Incubation start of a new life

Chicks hatching successfully

By the start of the second week the tucked under the right wing with the has hatched. Day eighteen sees the
embryo will be clearly visible during milk tooth in place near the membrane yolk beginning to be absorbed into the
candling. A candler is similar to a very to start pipping. During the incubation chick’s stomach. Once the chick has
powerful torch, which when shone process the allantois – which in humans hatched this absorbed yolk sustains the
through the egg shows the embryo is called the umbilical cord - is the waste chick for up to forty-eight hours without
developing. If the egg is completely clear outlet and the renal system is now food or water.
then remove it from the incubator as it beginning to produce waste which may By day nineteen it is best to leave the
is not fertile and could cause bacterial be seen left in the shell once the chick eggs unturned because it is essential
problems through staleness. that the process of yolk absorption and
When candling at this stage various the beak being in the correct position in
spidery lines will be visible around a the air sac are not compromised. The
darker area and a large black spot. This chick will begin pipping the shell by
spot is the eye but the parts of the body day twenty and hatching will usually be
that are developing are not necessarily achieved the following day.
size related to how they look once the Do not be tempted to help the chick
chick has fully developed. out of the shell unless it has been
Days 8 and 9 see the inner eyelid pipping and cheeping for a long while.
forming along with the egg tooth, which Then only crack a tiny amount more of
is such an essential part because it is shell to enlarge the hole. Never take the
this that the chick uses to chisel away chick completely out of the shell for it
at the membrane and shell in order to may well not be ready. 
hatch out of the egg.
By day 10 the comb is growing and
the flight feathers are developing. The
following twenty four hours see the beak
hardening, the comb gaining serrated
edges, pads developing on the feet and
scales on the legs growing
Day thirteen is a very important day
because the left and right collar bones
come together and form what we call
the ‘wishbone’. Claws on the toes are
also forming so at this stage the embryo
is beginning to take in calcium from the
shell which is aiding bone development.
Days fourteen and fifteen see the chick’s
skull, beak, claws, scales and egg tooth
become much harder. The air sac is
growing, which provides air to keep the
hatching alive before it gets into the
outside world. Most of the egg cavity will
now be full with the embryo.
On days sixteen and seventeen the
embryo will gradually turn into position
for pipping. This is when the head is

22 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

Incubation chart
Date Set Temperature at setting
Date eggs collected

Day 1st temp 2 temp 3rd tem Weather Breeds No. set Infertile Left in No hatch % Hatch Set
Set
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22 Hatch
23
24
25
26
27
28 Hatch
29
30

HOW TO USE: Check the temperature three times a day and record it. Also daily record the weather
and the average temperature outside as well if you can. if you can under Weather.
Dealing with a cold spring
In the event of a cold snap this spring, PAUL DONOVAN
investigates how chickens keep warm during the cold, and
how we can give them a helping hand.
f you can cast your mind back to
I the July 2015 issue of Practical
Poultry (how time flies!), you may
recall that I did an article on how
chickens cope with the heat. I suppose
it only seems pertinent (even though
many eggs have been laid since), that
now we are amidst the winter months,
I should try and cover how our beloved
birds deal with the cold. At the end of the
day, most of my friends back home in
blighty old England who keep chickens
are not lucky enough to wallow in the
temperatures I am blessed with here
in Botswana; although last year was
an exception, so I hear. My poor birds
spend most of their time lazing in the
shade of a tree, or hollow they scrape
in the ground to get away from the
blistering sun.
It would be easy to think that a
chicken in a cold climate is having as
hard-a-time as we are in trying to keep
warm. In actual fact, they find it harder
to keep cool during hot weather, than
warm during the cold. That aside, the
chicken is actually quite a resilient bird
when it comes to the cold. Not only do
they have a higher metabolism and body
temperate, but a number of other ways
of surviving the chilly winter months.
24 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Feathers
It all begins here. Contrary to some
misconception, feathers appeared
on some dinosaurs long before birds
began to evolve. These dinosaurs were
too large to fly, so one can assume
the feathers provided some form of
insulation? It was not until 1861 when
a fossil of a bird to be christened
Archaeopteryx, (which means ancient
wing or feather) was found, dating back
to the Late Jurassic era 150 million years
ago, that we can fully appreciate how
birds took their evolution to the next
level.
Birds not only utilised feathers to take
to the skies, which they have dominated
ever since, (even though chickens are
not the best fliers – but that’s down
to us), but continued their evolution to
provide a highly efficient mechanism for
keeping warm during cold spells; much
the same way as mammals evolved fur.
If we look at the arrangement of
feathers, we can see they are organised
in a layering system. The visible
feathers are large and robust, providing
protection from the wind and rain, and
are groomed with an oil from the preen
gland to shed water. In effect they are
like a waterproof jacket. But it is at the
Chickens are
remarkably well
adapted to the cold.
base of these upper and mid layers
where the soft, lofty down feathers
reside, that gives the feathers their
thermal quality.
This undercoat of fine feathers help
to trap air against the skin providing
the chicken (and all birds), with a highly
efficient thermal layer to protect against
the winter elements. If you have ever
worn a down jacket or slept in a down
sleeping bag, then you will know just
how effective they are at keeping the
warmth in. And this comes at very little
weight.
All fluffed up
Although the feathers obviously provide
the physical barrier against the wet and
cold elements, their efficiency can be
greatly enhanced by trapping as much
air as they can between their layers, and
then warming this up with the bodies
heat. And the way the chicken does
this, is to fluff them up. The increased
air pockets, are then warmed by
the body raising the temperature by
around several degrees – although this
behaviour can be counter productive if
its raining, as the down feathers will soon
become saturated, chilling the bird.
To prepare for the winter, come the

Archaeopteryx the first bird found to have feathers.
end of the summer, the chicken will
undergo a winter moult – shedding its
relatively thin summer coat, for a warmer
winter one. One may see this happening
towards the end of summer, into autumn,
when the appearance of an increased
layer of down feathers occurs, as these
are the ones which provide the most
insulation.
It is interesting, that even with
my chickens here in Botswana,
although there is not that great-a
difference between summer and winter
temperatures, certainly not on the level
you guys experience back home, the
down feather layer still increases quite
significantly in thickness in my birds.
Avoiding frostbite
So, a chicken has an efficient insulated
layering system of feathers around its
body to keep it warm. But what about
the legs and feet which, in most breeds,
have no protection? Obviously those
with feathers around the legs are at
a distinct advantage, as the feathers
provide a natural barrier. For the less
fortunate, in cold weather having naked
legs exposes them to the wind, rain,
snow, frost and even frost bite. But there
are some intriguing mechanisms in place
which protect them from the cold.
The robust scales which cover the
legs are the first line of protection, as
they act like miniature heat shields to
reflect heat from the circulating blood
and generated by muscle activity, back
into the legs. But the most efficient
system they have, involves a process
called ‘counter-current heat exchange’.
Basically, what this is, is the arterial
system which circulates blood around
the body, in the legs and feet runs very
close to the surface. As warm blood
enters the leg, it heats up the cool blood
which is returning back into the body,
maintaining it at a constant temperature.
This is such an efficient system, that it
is seen in almost all birds, particularly
those from cold climates.
Furthermore, the chicken has the
capability to restrict blood flow to the
extremities during exceptionally cold
Feathers, a natural barrier to
inclement weather.
weather, and redirect it to other areas of
the body.
Of course, during periods when the
bird is roosting or resting, the legs are
nestled amongst the feathers, which
helps keep them warm.
Fat is good
We have bred chickens for their
eggs and meat, and in doing so have
produced a bird which has good muscle
mass, particularly in the chest area,
and fat reserves. Both of which provide
a barrier against the cold. A well-fed
chicken can lay down as much as 10%
of their body weight in fat reserves. Even
a young bird if it is well fed, will have
decent reserves.
Shivering
It may not be immediately obvious, but
beneath all those feathers, a way the
bird is trying to generate warmth, is by
shivering. Yes, we are not the only animal
to shiver. However, there is a slight
difference between the way a chicken
shivers, and how we shiver.
A chicken shivers by instigating
opposing muscle groups to create
muscle convulsions, but without the
visible shaking as seen in humans. That
way, the heat which is generated is not
given up to the atmosphere, but remains
within the feathers. As efficient as this
shivering is, there is a payoff for the
chicken of course. And that is, the act
of shivering draws on valuable energy
reserves. But considering they have
access to a ready supply of food, that is
an affordable payoff.
Ê
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 25
 Coping with the cold
Fluffed up, the feathers trap air which is then warmed by the body.
Insulation is provided by the fluffy down feathers
Basking
The sun on our back during a sunny
winters day, infuses warmth into our
body. And the same holds true with the
chicken. A free-range bird will bask in
the sun, as though it were sitting beneath
a heat lamp. With its back facing into
the sun and wings slightly spread, it will
sit there contentedly absorbing the free
warmth nature is providing it.
Snuggling up
One of the easiest ways of trying to
stay warm, and conserve body heat
is to share it. That may seem a rather
contradictory thing to say, but bear with
me. During particularly cold spells it is
not uncommon to observe the birds
huddled together on their roosting
perches, or even as a group on the
ground. As they huddle together, they
share the warmth of others within the
group. Generally, the dominant bird will
be in the centre of the group, so will gain
26 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Roosting during the day helps conserve body heat.
most from this behaviour, but that is not
to say those on the periphery do not.
Chicks or young birds which are
born later on in the year, (or during an
unseasonably cold spell) are particularly
vulnerable to the cold due to their small
size, and lack of feather development.
One way these young birds keep warm,
is to seek the warmth of the hen, and will
huddle beneath her wings. During these
periods, the hen will fluff her feathers up
to increase the warmth available to her
chicks.
Lethargy
Some birds, during exceptionally
cold spells, can reduce their body
temperature down to that of the
surrounding temperature, and effectively
enter a state of torpor. Although chickens
cannot lower their body temperature
to such extremes, they can reduce it
by a few degrees. Lowering the body
temperature means the bird does not
have to invest a lot of energy in trying
to maintain it at a higher level, and so
conserve valuable resources.
What can we do?
Although over time, our birds have
become well adapted to coping with the
cold, it doesn’t hurt if we give them a
helping hand. During the winter months
when the chickens may be spending
more of their time indoors than roaming
around, it is important that we make sure
that the accommodation we are going
to keep them in, is free from as many
draughts as possible. This is where a
bit of a compromise comes into play, I
suppose. You need to provide sufficient
ventilation and airflow (which you have
control over), to promote a good healthy
environment for the birds, but avoid
unnecessary draughts which can be
detrimental to the birds health, which are
not controlled. Do NOT see draughts as
a form of ventilation.
 Coping with the cold
Nestled amongst the
feathers the legs are
kept warm.

Some breeds are better adapted to the cold than others.

Draughts can result from an ill-fitting Supplementary heat Tail-end

door, gaps in the roof, walls or floor Adding some sort of heat source in the So, there we have it. A chicken has
etc. It is important that these are dealt hen house during the winter months is several ways in which it can stay warm
with, otherwise they could lead to the an obvious way of providing additional during inclement weather. Some, it
birds catching a chill. Draughts are warmth. Obviously, we need to ensure has to be said, are quite complex. But
particularly hazardous during the night, the heat source equates to the size of of course, we can also do our bit to
because the birds are sleeping and area being heated. Too much heat in a make their life a little more comfortable,
not moving around generating body small, inadequately ventilated hen house particularly during these rough times.
heat, so the continual exposure to a will create as unbearable conditions as And that is providing them with a
cold wind can seriously harm them. a cold draughty hen house will. A gentle clean, healthy environment free of
Even during warm weather, exposure background heat is all that may be draughts, as well as providing some
to cold draughts can impact on a hens required. supplementary heat so they don’t have
egg laying routine, as the birds are If the birds have access to an outside to work as hard trying to stay warm.
still susceptible to colds. And picking pen, it may be worth covering the sides Young birds are particularly vulnerable
up a virus of some sort can hamper with a tarpaulin or plastic sheet. That way during these times, so need a
egg production. If you provide nesting they can be protected from the wind. watchful eye. 
boxes for your birds, take care where
these are situated. If they are in the
direct line of a draught, the hens wont
use them. Instead, they will find
somewhere else to lay, which may
not necessarily be the best place.
Laying them on a hard surface will
see cracked eggs all over the place.
One should also pay particular
attention to where roosting areas
are located. These should be sited
well away from doors and windows.
Ideally they should be nuzzled in the
corner of the house, high enough off
the ground to avoid draughts blowing
through the bottom of a door. If you see
your birds are not roosting in their usual
roosting sites, then suspect a draught is
disturbing them. The hens warmth is always welcome Inset: The legs have some ingenious ways of retaining heat.

March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 27

 Keeping chickens at
Rudyard Kipling’s former home
isit Rudyard Kipling’s former
V home, Batemans, in East
Sussex, and you might spot
estate manager Len Bernamont,
tending to his hens. Len lives in the mill
keeper’s cottage beside the watermill.
He enjoys telling people about the
chickens and their link to the famous
children’s author, who kept hens of his
own. “The chickens have a role to play in
terms of both conservation, and keeping
history alive”, he says.
Rudyard Kipling lived from 1865 to
1936, and is best known for his classic
tale, The Jungle Book. The author had
a soft spot for hens and wrote about
chickens in a poem called The Hens
of Bombay. It was published in his
autobiography, Something of Myself in
1937. He also wrote about the watermill
where Len lives, in his book of short
stories, Puck of Pook’s Hill, in 1906.
Kipling’s Jacobean house, with
extensive gardens, was his “good and
peaceable place”. He kept livestock on
the estate - pigs, chickens, and geese
- and he had a large walled kitchen
garden with fruit trees and vegetable
plots. The family aimed to be largely
self-sufficient. Kipling adored the estate
and its surrounding rivers and streams,
which meander through the Wild Garden
and beyond.
As custodian of the estate today,
Len continues the Kipling tradition, and
keeps his own chickens, who roam
the gardens. However, they weren’t
28 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
By Susie Kearley
Batemans Manor House National Trust Images John Millar
Len Bernamont
a planned part of the Bateman’s
experience - the chickens moved there
as Len’s pets, when he took the job in
2013. They settled into their environment
well and he’s been keeping chickens on
the estate ever since.
Len manages all the outdoor estates
at Bateman’s and also those at nearby
Bodiam Castle. He’s actually worked
for the National Trust for 19 years,
first working at Bradenham Estate
in Buckinghamshire, restoring the
manor gardens, and then expanding
into countryside management and
undertaking restoration work in nearby
West Wycombe Park.
“The chickens were my pets,” he
explains. “I kept chickens at Bradenham
and when I moved here, I brought them
with me”. The original chickens have
since passed over the bridge to “chicken
heaven”, but Len continues to keep
chickens, and currently has nine.
Len also has a dog and a rescue
cat, who was adopted as a kitten. “The
cat was rescued from a sack of kittens
that were destined to be drowned in the
river,” he explains. “He escaped, so we
took him in”. He’s all grown up now, and
is a happy, curious little thing who loves
life on the estate.
“There are heritage sheep in the field
opposite the wild garden,” says Len.
“They’re a rare breed, native to the Isle
of Man, and they help wildflowers to
proliferate, just like the hens.”
Today Len, his wife, and his
menagerie of animals are very happy
living in the Sussex countryside. The
hens offer different benefits to his
traditional pets. “Other than some very
tasty eggs,” Len says, “the main benefits
of keeping hens, is the way they help
spread the wildflower and bulb seeds by
scratching out bare areas and spreading
seed for germination on their feet. The
wild garden itself is full of spring flower
bulbs, followed by a wild flower meadow
during summer. It gets cut for hay in July.
“They are good for keeping the bugs

down too, especially in the orchard.
They’re out and about again now the
Avian Flu restrictions have been lifted.
They’re very popular with the public too.
They’re a surprise for our visitors, who
love to see the chickens up close, and
don’t seem to mind the occasional stolen
sandwich”.
The proliferation of wild flowers since
the hens came to stay is an indicator that
the ground hasn’t been disturbed much
in the past, explains Len. “This area was
probably covered in ancient woodland
before it was cleared. There have
definitely been more flowers growing
in the wild gardens since the chickens
arrived so they’re doing a good job!”
You can’t beat a
National Trust Scone
The chickens aren’t allowed in the formal
gardens, but one, called Amber, keeps
turning up at the National Trust tearoom!
“She likes the scones and other goodies
they serve,” says Len. “I have to go and
collect her twice a day when I get a call
to say she’s appeared by the tearooms
again!
“The hens used to enjoy spending
their time in the mill, but this resulted in
chicken poo on the floor, so we put a
gate at the entrance. Now they perch on
the gate instead.
“Their interaction with people is
usually based around food. People feed
them a bit of their sandwich, but they
don’t come to the gardens with a bag of
bread, so over-feeding has never been
an issue. We don’t have a feeding station
- that would just result in lots of wasted
food. The hens make people smile and
they like to come back to see them.”
When Len hears children making
clucking noises, he knows that visiting
children have found the hens, but they
won’t let people handle them! “Amber is
the only one you can really pick up,” he
says. “At the tearoom they often don’t
even know she’s there. She’s so quiet, so
seeing her is quite a surprise.
“I love looking after the chickens!” Len
continues. “They’re part of our family. I
couldn’t tell you how many generations
we’ve had, but we always have more
eggs than we can eat, so I give some
to friends and family. We don’t produce
enough to supply the tearoom on the
estate, and I’d need to get certification,
so it’s not worth the fuss. We’d like to
The Mill
National Trust Images Andrew Butler
give the hens a higher profile though! I
did think about giving them a Facebook
page, but someone has to write the
posts, and I’m not sure I have the time!”
Breeds and breeding
Len keeps a range of different hybred
hens including sky lines, light Sussex,
cuckoo marans, and cream legbars with
blue/green eggs. He has buff Orpington’s
too, which he likes because they’re large
and fluffy. “They don’t lay many eggs,
but they look amazing!” he says.
He gave up breeding hens when
his wife, a nurse, complained of being
woken up by the cockerel in the early
morning, following a night shift. “Now
when we want to get a few more
chickens we go to a local breeder,” says
Len. “They do different hybreds. One of
my neighbours got ex-battery hens but
I normally only get two at a time. If we
started down that route we’d get 50 and
we’re restricted by space!
“The hens are so easy to look after,”
he continues. “You get into a routine,
clean regularly and check they’re not
ailing with anything. Our neighbour
looks after them while we’re away and
has as many eggs as they want, so the
bartering system is alive and well!”
Talking about neighbours, the cottage
next door used to house Rudyard
Kipling’s secretary, who took care of
business and typed his stories. This
kept Rudyard free to dream, be inspired
by the landscape, and write about the
fairies living around the estate. His
surviving children, Elsie and John, were
encouraged to go out and explore.
Ê
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 29
 National Trust visit

They’d come back to the house with

stories and let their imaginations soar.
Unfortunately, Rudyard’s oldest child,
Josephine, died at the age of 6 from
Pneumonia. Life was never the same
after her death, but moving to Bateman’s
was a fresh start for the family. The hens
and other livestock probably bought
some much needed smiles and comfort
at that difficult time.

Bird Flu restrictions

Len’s hens are all immunised against
salmonella and he takes biosecurity very
seriously, but it’s still necessary to keep
the birds in their pen during outbreaks of
bird flu.
“This was the second year of bird flu
restrictions, and the main thing was to
keep the birds penned so that wild birds
couldn’t get in,” Len explains. He keeps
an eye on the wild bird population for
any signs of disease. There’s a footwash
at the entrance to the bird pen, and Len
uses gloves when he’s cleaning. He goes
the extra mile to keep the hens occupied
while they’re in their pen, scattering food
around, so they have to search for it, and
giving them tunnels and boxes to play
with.
“In 2017, the restrictions weren’t so
clear cut,” he says. “The first year, we
had the hens housed, but DEFRA didn’t
say it applied to backyard flocks and
everything was a bit vague. It had a
big impact on freerange producers,
so this year, DEFRA were better
organised and as long as we could
show we weren’t allowing wild
birds to interact with our flock, they
were satisfied that we were proactive in
preventing the spread of disease”.
He has occasionally been challenged
by visitors, who felt that keeping the
hens in a pen was cruel, but he put that
down to a lack of understanding about
bird flu and his legal requirements as a
responsible keeper. When it’s safe, they
have two acres of wild gardens in which
to roam.
There are two National Trust
volunteers with chicken phobias, who
won’t venture down to the mill, where
the chickens are kept in a secure pen at
night. Fortunately however, most people
like the birds!

30 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

Challenges and highlights
“The biggest challenge is keeping the
chickens where we want them,” says
Len. “In late winter, the rose garden is
pruned and we put mulch under the
roses. The chickens go and scratch
the mulch all over the path.
Keeping them out of the
formal gardens at this time is
particularly tricky”.
Among the many
highlights of keeping
hens, Len enjoys seeing
new chickens arrive. He
likes to see what happens
when they lay. “The first year
can bring some surprises.  Images Andrew Butler
Batemans Manor House National Trust
Sometimes they lay double yolks.
One hen laid an egg the size of a quail’s Threats and predators the mink got them, so we gave up.
egg, while another laid an egg bigger “The hens have a great life,” he They’re not a threat to the chickens
than a goose egg! Seeing the first continues. “We had one or two scares though, because there are people
egg can be quite amusing. We very with foxes and vicious dogs but we around - the house is open every day
occasionally get weird shaped and lop haven’t lost any to a fox in recent years, and that keeps the mink away. The cat
sided eggs too! now the pen is fox proof. Dogs should had a scrap with the mink recently, and
“The hens regulate themselves,” he be on leads when they visit the gardens chased them away”.
continues. “and while some have a break - we’ve had a few scary moments when
from laying, others will supply us with people didn’t comply, but most people What next?
eggs. There seems to be an unspoken do. The future of the chickens at Batemans
agreement that they have breaks, but “When I lived in Buckinghamshire, is bright and Len is already thinking
some are always laying. Some lay from we had a cat who would sleep in the ahead. “I’d like to get more varieties -
spring to the end of summer, and then chicken house and helped keep the nice looking chickens or hens that lay
others take over egg laying duty. Having rats away. We still have no rats because nice eggs. I particularly like the miniature
a variety of different breeds helps with our current cat is also good at catching Polish chickens, who look like they have
that. Some lay 350 eggs a year. Some things. dreadlocks. I enjoy finding interesting
lay 70 a year. Most lay about 150 a year. “We do get mink here. We had breeds, and hope to introduce more to
The eggs are delicious!” domesticated ducks on the pond, but my flock here at Batemans”. 

March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 31

Hatching goose eggs? By Chris Ashton
The broody goose and the eggs need more care than other waterfowl
recocial young from ducks ◄ Structure of the egg: the eggshell

P and geese are instantly

appealing. They are well-
insulated with fluff and
designed to cope outside the nest after
a short rest under the broody mother.
encloses two membranes. These
two membranes separate at the air
sac. There are chalazae (rubbery
supports) which hold the yolk in a
central position. Albumen, as you can
see in broken eggs, consists of more
It is this yellow fluff which gives the dense albumen and liquid albumen.
Easter chicks or goslings their wow The germinal disc where the egg is
factor; they are much more attractive fertilised always floats towards the top
than the naked altricial hatchlings of of the yolk when the egg is turned. So,
the parrot’s or blackbird’s nest. in the early stages of incubation, the
Spring is the main hatching time for temperature should be 37.2 degrees
geese and ducks in the wild. Although on the top of the egg. A forced air
it’s now possible to hatch ducklings incubator will guarantee the same
temperature throughout the egg.
at almost any time of year, it’s best
not to unless you have good facilities ▼ This duckling was ‘dead in shell’.
for them, and well understand their The yolk sac had not been pulled into
nutritional requirements. With geese the body cavity, and the switch from
there is less choice: they lay in spring. allantoic to pulmonary respiration
probably did not happen. This situation
Egg-laying frequently happens when the humidity
Wild geese live in flocks, but within has been too high, and weight loss
these flocks there are family groups (water loss) is too low. Some birds
which stick together until the breeding may even break (pip) the shell, but
then die because they have no room
season. Adult geese tend to remain
to manoeuvre. Unused albumen may
paired; this helps family protection and glue the hole up. That is why incubators
cohesion and gets a sure start to the must be kept damp at the pipping
breeding season. Lengthening daylight stage to stop the ‘glue’ setting. Those
hours trigger ovulation, and the ducklings/goslings that do hatch are
interest of both goose and gander in large and soft, and may have a raw
mating. This generally happens around umbilicus. They hatch later than birds
February 14th when daylight reaches which were dry and had more room (in
10 hours, and it is the traditional time a well-developed air sac) to pip out of
for the first goose egg. the shell.
Most domesticated geese lay only
in spring. They have retained many
of the habits of their wild ancestors
- albeit having raised their egg
production from the greylag’s clutch
of nine to even 60 in some commercial
breeds. However, around 30 eggs per
season is more likely.
In recent years, domesticated
geese seem to have become more
prone to laying a few extra eggs in
the early autumn. The possibility
of this second clutch is also due to
the changing light conditions over
the calendar year. The lengthening
of the days in the summer stop egg
production and mating because
longer daylight hours are the signal to
moult. After the birds have moulted
in the summer (which is also tied to
the migration pattern) the hours of
daylight then start to fall as the autumn
equinox is approached. This 12-hour
slot can trigger ovulation again in well-
fed domesticated geese; in the wild,
breeding at this time of year would be
lethal for the goslings.

32 Practical Poultry March/April 2019


Water loss from the egg
Modern incubators can be very tightly
controlled for even temperature
throughout, and exact humidity.
Nevertheless, they sometimes fail to
hatch goose eggs. The main reason
is that insufficient water is lost from
the egg.
Water is always lost from an egg
after it is laid. In dry climates, eggs are
stored in conditions where water-loss is
minimised until incubation commences.
In the UK, it’s different: insufficient loss
may be difficult to achieve over the
incubation period. Water-loss for poultry
eggs is sometimes cited as a total of
13% of the egg’s weight; but goose eggs
are much closer to the average for wild
birds which is 14-15%.
Water is evaporated through pores in
the shell which are the spaces between
the crystalline columns of calcite which
form the palisade layer. These pores
allow the escape of carbon dioxide and
metabolic water as the embryo uses
its yolk and albumen to grow during
the incubation period. The escape
of moisture results in the correct
percentage of water remaining in the
hatchling’s tissues. If too much water is
evaporated the embryo will desiccate. If
too little is released, then any hatchling
is too plump and soft; it will have a
protruding umbilicus and even an
external yolk sac. These hatchlings
often die, or even fail to ‘pip’ the internal
membrane and the shell.
The correct loss of water can be
estimated visually by ‘candling’ the egg
during the incubation period. The
examination of the size of the air sac
◄ As incubation progresses,
water vapour is lost from the egg.
When the air sac has developed
correctly (like this one seen on
day 15, day 20 and then day 29,
then more water can be added
to the incubator to increase RH
substantially at hatching. The
large air sac gives air to the
hatchling, and also gives it room
to manoeuvre once it has broken
into this space.
► The eggs are designed to
carry the weight of the goose,
but the goslings are vulnerable
when they hatch. Temperatures
in the nest vary; they are lower
than core body temperature.
The optimum for incubation is
between 37.2 – 37.6 in a forced
air incubator. Overheating in an
incubator will kill the developing
embryo.
indicates how much water has been lost.
A more exact method of weighing the
egg at the outset, and at points during
incubation, can be used. Weight loss
is a more accurate indicator, especially
in the early stages of incubation. But
visual inspection is also useful to see
how the embryo is behaving, especially
in the later stages. The point of these
observations is to adjust the humidity
as seems necessary, depending on the
trend of water loss. As a broad guide,
checking the weight on day one and at
day 14 is useful. Unless the operator
candles or weighs eggs, then the correct
RH value is just a guess. Insufficient
water loss is lethal; eggs losing less than
13% weight will not hatch.
What is the optimum
RH of the incubator for
correct water loss?
The problem with goose-egg incubation
is that there is no single correct value
for RH. The amount of water lost during
incubation depends very much on
the porosity of the egg shell. And the
structure of the egg-shell will depend
upon the variety of goose, and her
nutrition. The size of the egg also has
to be taken into account. Large eggs
have a relatively small surface area for
their volume, and thus lose less water
pro-rata than smaller eggs. In addition,
shell density (and porosity) also varies
over the season, and with accessibility
to minerals.
On the whole, a manufacturer’s RH
incubator settings seem to be about
right for chicken and most duck eggs,
but they cannot take all the goose egg
variables into account. Asiatic geese
such as the ‘African’ (the Lion Head or
Shi-tou [from China], and the Chinese
goose) have eggs which tend to lose
sufficient water in the incubator. So do
Steinbacher goose eggs; the breed is a
relative of the Chinese (a Eurasian cross).
Very much in contrast are the
traditional European breeds, developed
from the wild greylag goose. The Pilgrim,
Brecon Buff and West of England,
for example, are traditional farmyard
breeds and they have retained a
characteristically less-porous shell. It is
these eggs that are more likely to lose
insufficient water during the incubation
process, even when the incubator is
run dry at 25% RH through most of the
period. There are frequently eggs which
just fail to hatch.
Using broodies
The answer to success with ‘hard to
hatch’ goose eggs is to use broodies.
You can use a broody goose, but
problems often arise. Muscovy ducks
and broody chickens usually do a better
job of hatching waterfowl eggs and
rarely lose much condition themselves
if they are well looked after. In contrast
a goose will often lose a great deal of
weight even if she is encouraged off the
nest twice a day to feed. Never use a
yearling goose to sit: her body weight
is inadequate to sustain her. A young
female will often spend little time looking
after herself, get very run down and even
die. Females certainly need worming
before sitting to remove this risk factor.
In addition, goslings and eggs at point of Ê
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 33
 days. Geese take between 28 and 34
days; the Muscovy needs 33-35 days.
The actual time depends upon variables
such as water weight loss, size of the
egg, age of the egg when set, and
viability of the embryo. Fresh eggs from
unrelated birds, with correct weight loss,
hatch earlier than those with problems.
However, expect a hatch to be complete
over a 2-3 day period.

Golden rules for success

The Muscovy duck is an excellent broody for goose eggs.
hatch can get squashed in the nest and
are much safer with lighter birds. The
goslings can be removed from the nest
at hatch and hand-reared (which keeps
them tame), and the broodies rewarded
with chicks of their own species.
Why does the nest work better?
Commercial white geese produce
eggs which hatch in incubators. That’s
because they have been bred from
parents which have been hatched in
incubators themselves. Birds have been
automatically selected to produce eggs
compatible with artificial incubation.
Commercial incubators are also run
by specialists who know what they are
doing!
Rare breeds of geese are often
derived from smallholder birds i.e.
hatched and reared in natural conditions.
These farmyard birds are different from
the commercial geese; rare breed eggs
are adapted to natural incubation.
Incubators are kept scrupulously
clean, to exclude bacteria which will
infect the eggs.
In contrast, the nest and natural
environment is teeming with bacteria.
The egg itself is designed to cope with
this. The outer layer or cuticle is a sticky
protein layer which covers the egg as
it is laid, and it hardens immediately. If
an egg looks clean, don’t wash it. It has
a natural waxy antibacterial coating. If
bacteria do manage to invade the pores
of the shell, they have two membranes
to get through, and the albumen itself is
hostile to them. It contains antimicrobial
proteins and it contains few nutrients
that support microbial life. It has a very
alkaline pH of around 9. Eggs which are
infertile in the nest look little different
from fresh eggs even when they have
been sat on for 30 days. However, if an
egg has started and then failed – it will
go rotten. It is growing tissue, which
has then failed, which is susceptible to
infection. That is why it is essential to
candle eggs, check if any embryo has
died, and leave only the developing
fertiles in the nest.
In contrast to incubators, nests are
messy places which harbour fungi and
bacteria. However, birds themselves
also protect the outer shell of the egg
from hostile bacterial invasion. Friendly
bacteria found on the feathers of birds
are transferred, with preen gland oil,
onto the surface of the eggs. These eggs
are cleaned by the feathers and oil and
acquire quite a protective gloss in the
nest during incubation.
Water loss in the nest is different too.
Records of humidity in the nest show
that is RH is fairly high at around 60 i.e.
higher than an incubator setting. So,
something else must happen to produce
the correct water loss that we see in
nest-incubated eggs. It is possible that
bacteria affect shell porosity. Also, the
behaviour of the broody bird, getting
up around once an hour to re-shuffle
the eggs, will cause more evaporation
through repeated airing and cooling than
takes place in the incubator.
How long do eggs take to hatch?
Waterfowl eggs take longer to incubate
and hatch than chickens. The incubation
period varies with the species. Ducks
mostly pip and hatch between 28-29
• Use a turf as a nest base plus
abundant, clean nesting materials.
• Make sure the broody is free of
external and internal parasites.
• Choose a broody who is tame, and
feed her once or twice a day, depending
on her weight and behaviour.
• Weigh each goose egg on digital
kitchen scales on the day of setting. Half
way through incubation, check that they
have lost 7.5% of their original weight. In
an incubator, adjust humidity if needed.
Eggs getting too dry in a nest can be
rescued in a humid incubator. Also, water
can be added to the turf.
• Early season eggs have thicker shells
and need a drier nest. Late season eggs
have thinner shells, need more moisture
in the base of the nest, and are more
prone to bacterial infection.
• Keep a record of when the eggs
started incubation, and the expected
date of hatching.
• Candle the eggs. There is no point in
a broody sitting on infertile eggs. Nor her
sitting on eggs which have started and
then failed; these will go rotten. A laser
torch is a very good ‘candler’.
• It is essential to be around at hatching
time – put that date in your diary.
• Get your rearing facilities sorted out
before you incubate. Don’t improvise as it
happens - especially with waterfowl. They
create an awful lot of work if you are not
prepared. 
More info
in ‘Keeping
Geese’,
published
by Crowood
Press.

34 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

 2019 brings two new poultry
breeds onto the RBST Watchlist
Pekin duck
fter careful consideration, the
A Pekin duck and Steinbacher
goose are to be added to Rare
Breeds Survival Trust’s most
important document, the Watchlist.
THE PEKIN DUCK
First domesticated some 2000 years
ago, the Pekin duck was standardised
in the UK in 1901, but it has a long
history before this point. In 1870 a
Chinese student, Chan Laisun, gave a
lecture in New York referring to ducks
known in his homeland as ten pound
ducks (referring to the weight). As a
result of the lecture, in 1872 some ducks
were imported into the UK. Then a year
later, some ducklings were imported
into the USA in 1873 by John Palmer.
These importations provided the
basis for the differences in development
of the breed between the USA and
Europe. In the USA breeding was
concentrated on developing the breed
36 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
as table bird, whereas in the UK
breeders focussed on its exhibition
qualities. This has led to major
differences between the American and
European forms of the breed.
The present-day European Pekins
are upright with particularly dense
plumage. One description of the general
shape of the Pekin is that it resembles
a small, wide boat, standing almost on
its stern, and the bow leaning slightly
forwards.
This is a variety that continues to
survive as an exhibition breed and also
as important base stock for commercial
breeding.
THE STEINBACHER GOOSE
Having only been standardised in the
UK in 1997, the Steinbacher goose has
not long been ‘accepted’ into the native
breeds world.
It is generally believed that the breed
originates from the northern European
gs two new poultry breeds
Steinbacher goose
plain, more specifically central Eastern
Germany, from crosses of local German
geese with Chinese geese. It has also
been suggested that Russian fighting
geese were also introduced.
The breed was first seen in the UK in
blue/ lavender in the early 1980’s. Other
colours can be found, but mainly in
mainland Europe.
The latest UK survey on the breed
recorded 13 confirmed breeders of
Steinbacher geese with 65 birds in
total, making them a breed of high
conservation concern.
Richard Broad, RBST Field Officer
and Chairman of the RBST Poultry
Working Group, says ‘Over time breeds
come to the attention of the RBST
and with the members of the RBST
Poultry Working Group we look at their
individual merit. Both these breeds
are in need of help and the RBST are
pleased to be able to recognise them
on the RBST Watchlist’.
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 Healthy options
Expert advice on keeping your chickens fit and well
➜ DaviD Parsons, MrCvs, qualiied in 1975 and has spent most of his working life with poultry. He's currently
a veterinary consultant, has written many professional papers and also lectures at Bristol University
TELEMEDICINE – AN AID TO SOLVING YOUR HEN’S PROBLEMS
Figures 1
o you use any of the social
D media platforms? Last year
my wife and I used Facebook
to arrange how and when to meet
our friend and veterinary surgeon in
Budapest. It worked very well providing
you use a suitable mobile phone. Later,
I discovered that he ran his veterinary
practice through Facebook updating
opening times, making appointments
and keeping in touch with clients and
their pets. As you may have guessed
he is a good few years younger than I.
Telemedicine is not a new idea
and with selected clients I have been
using it for many years. This used the
telephone and land lines. Attempting
to assess the nature and severity of
a potential problem over the phone
was possible provided you both were
prepared to spend some time being
clear and precise when describing the
problem. You must be able describe
the clinical signs accurately and back
this up with relevant lock production
information e.g. food and water
consumption, number of eggs laid,
house temperatures and growth rates.
This could work very well but was
not always straightforward and I can
remember trying to work out with a
client some distance from me whether
or no their lock was suffering from
caecal coccidiosis. They had opened
38 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Figures 2
a bird up and I was asking whether
there was any blood in the blind gut
or caecum. Now, you should see
the problem. Where is the blind gut?
Knowing where the intestines are is
straightforward. However, even in
a dead bird when you start cutting
into the abdomen you can tear blood
vessels and depending on how long
the bird has been dead, blood may
low. To make matter worse the
intestines are concertinaed in the
abdomen and not the simple tube as
depicted in books. The blind gut whilst
joining the intestine a few inches from
the vent, actually extends quite far
forwards towards the gizzard and liver.
In the cold light of day, determining
whether the blood was sloshing around
the outside of the intestines and simply
in the abdomen as a result of the
post mortem technique or was inside
the lumen of the blind gut was a little
trickier.
These old telephones were big. You
can imagine the practical problem
of holding one to your ear whilst
attempting to do the post mortem and
then describe your indings as you
go along. There is more than a little
stress involved especially when farmer
and vet are trying to ind the common
ground to be able to visualise what
each other is describing.
However, when working with clients
on farms some distance from the ofice.
Being able to examine and describe
what might be happening could save
valuable time and ensure that the
correct sample kits and treatments
were in the car. This could only happen
when the client was prepared to invest
time and money in learning what was
necessary.
Technology has advanced
spectacularly in the last two decades.
Telephones are now smaller, mobile
and packed with programmes and
quality cameras. More importantly, they
are easy to use. There are many things
I do not like about mobile phones but
that is no reason not to use them in
those situations where they can be
really useful. They say a picture paints
a thousand words and for my purposes
this is correct.
Camera phones now take excellent
quality pictures. It is simple to send
these pictures over the internet.
Alternatively, we can now have quality
live video feeds at a price we can all
afford. No need to try and describe
the dead bird to me. You can show me
and I can ask you to focus on areas of
interest.
The downside of the internet is
that the assumption is that everything
should be for free but more of that later.
Figures 4
Whilst the ability of any one person
to describe what they are looking at
varies tremendously, so does their
ability to take a good photograph.
Simply, knowingly or not we will see
what we want to see and not always
look carefully. In the accompanying
pictures I am going to highlight this. All
these pictures have either been taken
by clients, friends or I using mobile
phone cameras.
The potential problems with using
the mobile phone camera are as
follows. Firstly, the focal distance of the
camera lens and the screen that you
use to look at the picture. The screen
is relatively small meaning that the
picture can look sharper than it really
is. Combine this with getting to close
and an out of focus picture will result.
Take a look at the three pictures of
a hen with scaley leg. I have classed
these as poor, better and not perfect.
The important point here is that even
the poor picture did not look that bad
on the mobile phone screen. When you
enlarge it on your computer screen
then you see how useless the poor
picture is. The trouble is, if you are in
a hurry and have put your hen back
with her friends then she will be rather
reluctant to be caught again so you
can get a better picture. I might have
a good idea as to what the problem
Figures 3
might be but it is really little more than
guess work based on experience.
Figure 5 is similarly out of focus.
Furthermore, just looking at the picture
it is not easy to orientate yourself.
Just whereabouts on this bird are
those puncture wounds. This picture
was taken by a knowledgeable and
observant client and sent to me
via Whatsapp along with a written
description. This is a favourite cockerel
that has been caught by a fox and
suffers from puncture wounds on the
breast behind the crop. The question
was simply how bad did I think it
was and should it be seen by a vet?
Of course, this all happened around
Christmas. More than one picture was
sent and I am using this one simply
to highlight the fact that what you can
see sharp and in focus is not always
what the camera sees. We decided
to go down the conservative route
of treatment. In other words, simply
cleaned up the wound, then bathed it
in salt water (a teaspoon of salt in a cup
of water has hot as we felt we could
tolerate without being burnt). Then
applied antiseptic cream and kept the
bird conined under a heat lamp with
feed and water. The wound needed to
be bathed three times a day. Figure 8
shows that the infection is being drawn
out from the puncture wounds. This
picture is much clearer and shows just
what can be achieved.
Figures 2 and 6 highlight another
problem. What you see and what the
camera focuses on may not necessarily
be the same. In figure 2 all I wanted
to show was that the right side of this
hen’s face looked quite normal and the
cyst like swelling was only on the left
side. What has happened is that I had
the camera phone set up incorrectly.
As you can see the plug on the wall
is in sharp focus whilst the face is
somewhat blurred. Figure 6 is different
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 39
 EXPERT ADVICE 
Figures 5 Figures 6
Figures 7
in that photographing inside the mouth
is dificult at the best of times. Again,
the camera has focussed on the edges
of the beak rather than the roof of the
mouth. It is sometimes possible to
adjust the setting for the area that the
camera focuses on. In its simplest form
this can just be focusing on a spot in
the centre of the picture or focussing
over a much larger area. To get the
best from your phone camera you may
have to play around a bit. Trial and
error until you know what works.
At one of my chicken chat
meetings a friend took a picture of me
administering Exzolt by crop tube to
a hen. The picture certainly conirms
that something was being administered
by syringe and crop tube, it takes two
people with a bird this size but you still
need some written directions detailing
where to place the tube within the
mouth.
Now figure 3 is a really useful
picture. I know it is only of droppings
but is it normal? The picture shows you
Figures 8 the urate portion of the dropping which
40 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
will normally be sitting on top of some
brown faeces. These urates look more
like the splat from a seagull. Something
is not right. The question now is “Is this
associated with disease or excessive
drinking”.
Lastly, figure 1. A veterinary
colleague from Estcourt Vets showed
me this picture of a duck’s leg and
explaining that this resulted from a
leg band that had become too tight.
On this occasion we discussed what
he had advised and whether anymore
could be done simply looking at the
picture on his phone. Even vet to vet
this made discussion of the case so
much easier.
I believe that more and more use
will be made of mobile phones for
monitoring all sorts of things. For the
moment, careful use of the camera
can aid prompt treatment and monitor
the success of that treatment. The
technology should be embraced.
Please do not expect the veterinary
advice to be free, it will not be but it will
be better quality than can be achieved
by simply discussing a problem over
the phone. Furthermore do not expect
treatments to be dispensed over the
phone on the basis of one photo.
To summarise, I think the cameras
on mobile phones are great for
assisting vets help you. To get the best
from them you must both look and see.
Make sure that what you are trying to
show is clear and sharp. Do not get
too close, beware of camera shake
particularly important with slow shutter
speeds and ensure the camera is
focussing on what you want it to focus
on. Lastly, if you are taking a picture of
your hen’s head, turn the lash off!
 Chicken-friendly vets
This directory contains the contact details of vets recommended by
PP readers, and practices specialising in poultry.
THE NORTH
Ark Veterinary Surgery
Mobberley, Cheshire
T: 01565 872 035
The Minster Veterinary
Practice
York, Yorks.
T: 01904 620968
www.minstervets.co.uk
Robson & Prescott
Morpeth, Northumberland
T: 01670 512275
Sandhill Veterinary Services
Thirsk, N Yorks
T: 01845 578710
www.sandhillvet.demon.co.uk
CENTRAL ENGLAND
Amicus Veterinary Centre
Solihull, W Mids.
T: 0121 7331439
Arnold & Carlton
Veterinary Centre Ltd
Nottingham
T: 0115 940 34000
www.merialvetsite.com/
sites/arnoldandcarlton/
home.html
Avonvale Veterinary Centre
Kenilworth, Warks.
T: 01926 854181
Beech House
Towcester, Northants.
T: 01327 354477
Bicester Vets
Bicester, Oxon
T: 01869 252077 (24 hour)
www.bicestervets.co.uk
contact@bicestervets.co.uk
Blue House
Veterinary Centre
Biddulph, Staffs.
T: 01782 522100
www.bluehousevets.com
Companion
Veterinary Clinic
Newark, Notts.
T: 01636 707636
Hillman Veterinary Centre
Ltd
6 practices, W. Midlands
T: 01922 622280
www.hillmanvets.co.uk
Want to be included? Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG, or email to: pp.ed@kelsey.co.uk
The Jamieson
Veterinary Group
Ilkeston, Derbys.
T: 01559 329322
The Minster
Veterinary Practice
Sutton Bonington,
Loughborough
T: 01159 516551
www.minstervets.co.uk
Radnor Courts Veterinary
Practice
Cambridge
T: 01223 249331
EASTERN ENGLAND
Isle Veterinary Group
Ely, Cambs. T: 01353 658333
www.islevetgroup.co.uk
Mill House Veterinary
Surgery & Hospital
King’s Lynn, Norfolk
T: 01553 771457
www.millhousevets.co.uk
Stephen Lister
Attleborough, Norfolk
T: 01953 455454
Retford Poultry Practice
Retford, Notts.
T: 01777 703011
www.retfordpoultry.co.uk
Slate Hall Veterinary
Practice
Willingham, Cambs.
T: 01954 262460
Westover Veterinary Centre
N Walsham, Norfolk
T: 01692 407040
THE SOUTH EAST
Animal House Veterinary
Services
Deal, Kent T: 01304 379533
Herne Bay, Kent T: 01227
374858 www.ahvs.co.uk
Arthur Lodge Veterinary
Surgery
Horsham, West Sussex
T: 01403 25296
Ashbarn Veterinary Surgery
Ockley, Surrey
T: 01306 713177
Robin Creighton
Braintree, Essex
T: 01376 325511
Coggeshall T: 01376 561667
Send your details to: The Editor, Practical Poultry Magazine, Cudham Tithe Barn,
Crown Veterinary Clinic
Redhill, Surrey T: 01737
822250 http://sites.google.
com/site/crownvetswebsite
Downslink Veterinary
Surgery
Southwater, West Sussex
T: 01403 732219
Hunter’s Lodge Veterinary
Practice
Ewhurst, Surrey
T: 01483 276464 Guildford,
Surrey T: 01483 570782
The Minster
Veterinary Practice
Leominster
Tel: 01568 610343
www.minstervets.co.uk
Nine Lives
Veterinary Centre
Redbourn, Herts.
T: 01582 793636
www.ninelivesvets.co.uk
Pierson Stewart
and Partners
Cranbrook, Kent
01580 713381
Putlands Veterinary Surgery
Paddock Wood, Kent
T: 01892 835456
post@putlandsvets.com
Seers Croft Veterinary
Surgery
Faygate, Surrey
T: 01293 851122
Senlac Veterinary Centre
Battle, E. Sussex
T: 01424 777321
South Downs Veterinary
Consultancy
Emsworth, W. Sussex
T: 01243 389911
Swaleside Veterinary
Surgery
London Rd, Teynham
Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9
9QH Tel: 01795 520972
Trinity Vet Centre
Maidstone, Kent
T: 01622 726730
Westpoint Veterinary Group
Warnham, West Sussex.
T: 01306 628086
White Horse
Veterinary Surgery
Horsham, West Sussex
RH12 4HE T: 01403 252964
St David’s Poultry Team
THE SOUTH WEST Exmouth, Devon
Castle Vets T: 01392 872932
Bridgwater, Somerset.
The Poultry Health Centre
T: 01278 459913
www.castleveterinary Trowbridge, Wilts.
practice.co.uk T: 07920 522594
www.poultryhealthcentre.com
Companion Care
Veterinary Surgery Upton Veterinary Centre
Bournemouth, Dorset Poole, Dorset
T: 01202 635160 T: 01202 624140
www.ccbournemouth.co.uk
Wareham Veterinary Centre
County Veterinary Clinic Wareham, Dorset
Ilminster T: 01460 259509 T: 01929 552599
www.countyvetclinic.co.uk
THE WEST
County Veterinary Clinic
Taunton T: 01823 326222
Ashcroft Veterinary Surgery
www.countyvetclinic.co.uk
Cirencester, Glos.
Dalton’s Game Consultancy
T: 01285 653683
Amesbury, Wilts.
T: 01980 622350 Border Veterinary Centre
www.gameconsultancy.co.uk Oswestry, Shrops.
T: 01691 670395
Filham Park
Veterinary Clinic MacArthur Barstow
Ivybridge, Devon & Gibbs
T: 01752 892700 Droitwich, Worcestershire
www.filhamparkvets.co.uk
T: 01905 773262
Ikin & Oxenham F: 01905 796179
Sidmouth, Devon
www.mbgvet.co.uk
T: 01395 512611
Ottery St Mary, Devon Stow Veterinary
T: 01404 814322 Surgeons
Stow, Northleach & Bourton
JC Exotic Pet Consultancy on the Water, Glos.
Salisbury, Wilts
T: 01451 870566
T: 0777 5796432
www.jcexoticpetconsultancy.
co.uk WALES
The Minster Summerhill Veterinary
Veterinary Practice Centre
Howton, Hereford
Tariq Abou-Zahr
Tel: 01981 341321
Newport, South Wales
www.minstervets.co.uk
T: 01633 255394
Moorgate Veterinary Group
Newton Abbot, Devon
IRELAND
T: 01626 833023
www.moorgatevets.co.uk Eugene McGrath
Tralee, Co. Kerry
The Mount
Veterinary Group T: 066 7123098
Honiton, Devon
Peninsula Veterinary Clinic
T: 01404 841011
Kircubbin, Co Down
F: 01404 841014
T: 028 4273 8700
M: 07850469595
Donaghadee, Co Down
Rosevean Veterinary T: 028 9188 2004
Practice
Penzance, Cornwall
T. 01736 362215 SCOTLAND
info@roseveanvets.co.uk Academy Vet Centre
Silva House Stranraer, Wigtownshire
Veterinary Group T: 01776 703131
Bath T: 01761 413341 www.academyvets.co.uk
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 41
Get the BEST out of your hobby
No doubt other Practical Poultry contributors provide readers with sage
advice on maximising the potential of their poultry (be it hybrids or pure
breeds), so for this issue I would like to focus on pure breed poultry
keepers and discuss the upcoming breeding season. By Simon Hargreaves
aving been breeding and

H showing poultry for over 20

years, I think 2018 was one of
the most tricky for the poultry
keeper. We had the ‘Beast from the
East’ early spring, followed by weeks
Not all your surplus
pens need to be full

of scorching, grass-burning heat only

a matter of weeks later. It is perhaps
no surprise that some fatalities were
encountered during both extremes,
despite the best efforts of the poultry
keeper.
To me, this weather drove home the
point of ‘resources’ and how we need
to adapt to being better equipped in
the face of such cold or hot conditions,
and also in the event of another Bird Flu
outbreak where the Prevention Zone
regulations may require all poultry to
be housed temporarily in sheltered structure in my breeding endeavours, broody hens and being able to resist
accommodation. although admittedly it does somewhat the urge of setting some eggs beneath
Many poultry keepers don’t like to take the fun out of it. them. This is particularly difficult if
admit it, but we often make use of every You can plan so far ahead and even you keep breeds that go broody very
shed, pen, ark, outbuilding and nook have a firm number in your mind of the easily. Despite your best efforts to avoid
and cranny. Of course, it doesn’t begin maximum amount of chicks your will broodiness, it is very infectious and you
like that early season - but the hatching hatch, but that can soon go out of the have to be quite a disciplinarian to ‘break’
of a few different breeds (or colours of window if one variety usually struggles broodiness and disallow any potential
a breed) soon requires rearing quarters, with fertility, for example. In past years it mothers to sit.
feed, our time, expense, and so much may have been necessary to set a given But it is good to have the right
more. number of eggs just to achieve 30% facilities, the correct rearing sheds and
Since I regard my hobby as just that success, but this year the fertility rate ground, and to be in a position where any
- a hobby!, I don’t like the idea of using may be much higher, so you could have visitors don’t get the impression that the
words like ‘strategy’ for the upcoming a good number of unexpected chicks to hobby is overwhelming you. You will also
breeding season. But the last few years rear. feel much better if your house is in order
have highlighted the need for more Another factor to consider is those and all the rearing pens look attractive.

42 Practical Poultry March/April 2019


Of course, each individual can breed
and rear as many different varieties as
they like, but the noise factor should
be another major consideration. Most
breeders are ruthless and will only let the
absolute best males reach adolescence,
with their unfortunate male siblings
weeded out at different stages of the
rearing process - as different undesirable
factors ‘faults’ become evident.
And as the breeder becomes more
accomplished, the number of adolescent
males that are ‘too good to cull’ will
increase, leading to more crowing and
the possibility of strained relations with
neighbours.
Variety, of course, is the spice of life
and with all the different sizes, colours
and types of pure breed poultry available,
is it any wonder that many of us struggle
to settle on just one? But I feel that in
order to make any progress (especially at
first), it is wise to keep just a single pure
breed: settle on a particular plumage
type and make that your chosen variety
for which you will become known.
As any breeder or fancier will attest to,
it gets more difficult each year deciding
on which of the older birds will remain as
your strain’s backup birds. You cannot
keep them all, and if anything like me
this is compounded by the fact you see
something positive in each individual.
And you recognise that [whilst lacking
in other areas], a particular bird has a
tremendous trait that would be a shame
to let go of.
When you have a few backup males
of each variety kept, as well as your
breeding stock and the current year’s
growers on site, you can soon find that
a lot of work is involved. Your morning
routine can take much longer than it did
a few months back and you are now
spending a lot of time presenting your
debit card at the local feed store.
Large White Silkies
On top of all the added expense are
the added chores such as cleaning
out; instead of cleaning out just one or
two sheds intermittently, unless you
are really disciplined then you can be
facing several sheds, outbuildings and
pens to clean out. And if this is the case,
it will have been on your mind to buy
the necessary bedding and plan the
task around the weather. But instead of
assigning an hour or so to these duties,
the whole Saturday needs putting aside
and your partner may not appreciate how
unavailable you have suddenly become.
Of course, when you have several
pens on the go, the problems we face
as poultry keepers can be magnified.
The heat last summer meant it was very
difficult to avoid red mite in every poultry
house - and no doubt readers will have
their own methods of prevention / cure,
but it is much easier to eradicate in a
single poultry house than several. Another
consideration is attracting vermin such as
rats. There are, of course, ways of dealing
with them - but good husbandry often
isn’t sufficient. They are tenacious and
persistent creatures and will find a home
wherever they can on your property in
anticipation of any free feed - particularly
Varieties such as large Black Hamburghs need more support
in the winter months. Eradication, as
expected, means further expense.
If you are new to pure breed poultry
and haven’t experienced any of the
aforementioned, then hopefully a
picture will be beginning to form of how
difficult we can make life for ourselves.
It’s really easy to keep setting eggs in
the incubator, and chicks aren’t really a
problem; they bring so much joy and are
a great experience for all the family. So
it’s easy to keep hatching them, but it’s
unwise to do so without a plan for how
many you will keep, and more importantly
- how you will move on any surplus (which
usually far outweighs the number being
kept).
You may plan to sell your surplus stock
as breeding pairs or trios at market, and
in most cases they will have to be fully
grown to show their true beauty and
get the best price. Do you really want to
take that risk, knowing that they may not
achieve their worth on sale day? You have
reared several cockerels to maturity and
endured all that crowing, so my advice is
to advertise them in a prestigious poultry
magazine such as Practical Poultry,
where you will attract the right buyers.
Selling at market can be risky -
particularly the weekly ones. It is best
to target a specific rare breeds sale,
or generate your own interest in your
birds by posting pics and updates on
Social Media. And don’t be surprised if
they sell quite quickly online; if you have
reasonable stock in presentable condition
then it usually always attracts a fair price
and the right buyer.
So get the best out of the hobby, hatch
and rear a few birds and support a pure
breed. But don’t overcomplicate things:
have a system in place where pens won’t
look devastated after a long rain shower,
and have some empty pens and plans
for sheltered accommodation (should
the need arise), and this way you will fulfil
your purpose of keeping a pure breed: to
enjoy it! 
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 43
 Your Questions Answers &
Got a problem with
your hens? Need some
practical advice?
Let us know and we'll
Email pp.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to Poultry Q&As, Practical Poultry
Poultry,
do our best to help!
Kelsey Media, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry's Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG

Q At the weekend I had my first

run in with a large rat in the
chicken pen. It was a bit of a Benny
Hill moment – me running around
after it armed with a large stick and
my clueless Border collies, the cat
and the cockerel bounding around
after me. Needless to say ratty
lived to see another day and I spent
most of the morning blocking up
any potential gaps it could squeeze
back in through.
So, onto my dilemma. We’ve got
quail waiting to be moved outside
into an old moveable coop. I’m
confident the sides of the coop A rat’s burrow which could lead Rats will soon descend on any
are rat proof with narrow mesh to several nests feed left out overnight
but I’m concerned about ratty
digging under. I want the quail to Rats can chew through wood and would be such an incentive to rats
be as natural as possible, which I squeeze through wire – although as they are an ideal size for them
think is on the floor. I planned on chick wire is very small and would to seize that even with the above
using a small mesh skirt around make life difficult for a rat. Rats precautions I would not be happy
the coop but my concern is that it burrow so would be prepared to do putting them out unless the rats had
will be nothing short of a nightmare this to get to their prey. Two foot been eradicated first.
moving the mesh once the grass square paving slabs around the To discourage rodents always
has grown up through it when mobile and under the coop housing clean up any spilt feed in the mobile
it’s time to move the coop. Would area itself would certainly be a so that there is nothing left in the pen
putting a frame of paving slabs precaution but quail on the ground overnight.
down instead be an option - heavier
but possibly easier to lift than
grass-trapped mesh? How deep or
far will rats dig?

A I think the first thing you need

to do is get rid of any rodents,
letting them co-exist alongside any
poultry is not something that should
be accepted. Clear any cover around
where your birds are and look for
where they are burrowing and nesting.
Rat bait can also be administered
safely if in boxes where it is unlikely
that the rats will be able to scratch it
out. Any rodent poisons much be kept
away from pets, children and the birds
themselves. Much the safest way is
to get in a professional pest control
person who will find where the rats are
staying and deal with them and this
can be a reasonable cost that is so
worthwhile. Tiny quail would stand little chance of survival if rats got to them

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 Your Q&As
I have recently found red mite
Q in my chicken house. To deal
with this I have just bought a brand
new house but want to know if the
chickens will move the red mite
with them? Is there anything I can
do to prevent this? I normally move
chickens at night so I’m guessing
the mites will be on the chickens
feeding at this point?

You are correct in assuming that

A
if you move the chickens at night
you will probably be moving some
red mite with them. Ideally, move the
chickens during the day and treat
Isolate and wash clothes after
cleaning out mite infested
poultry housing
Red mite need to be eradicated to ensure chickens keep healthy
them before putting them in their new
quarters. Ivermectin pour-on and
Frontline spray, although not licensed
for use in poultry should deal with all
parasites, however, there is now some
resistance to these and there is also an
egg withdrawal period of 7 days. Red
mite have to be treated with respect
in that you cannot half deal with the
problem, it is imperative that you are
methodical in eradicating them. The
reason that this is so important is
that they are great survivors, living
for several months without feeding
and having the ability to crawl from
one house to another. One hen can
be the host for up to 500,000 mites
feeding on her over a period of about
2 hours. During this time they can suck
up to 5% of a hen’s blood, eventually
affecting her health.
Treating both house and chickens
is best to counteract the mites. Ideally,
treat the new house with Poultry Shield
and when dry spread Diatomacious
Earth (Diatom) over the cracks and
crevices as well as the perches. This
can also be dusted onto the birds
themselves. When using any such
treatment always use a mask to
prevent any inhalation of the powder.
If you can treat and house the
chickens in a temporary area whilst
treating the new house so much the
better. When you have moved the birds
out of the old house burn it as soon
as possible, this is the best way of
making sure no mites move on.
If the poultry house is a mobile
unit, make sure it is situated away
from trees because wild birds are
capable of carrying and spreading
mites. Always make sure clothes you
wear whilst dealing with Red mite or
Northern mite are washed immediately
and you are showered so that there is
no possibility of passing on the mites
yourself.

I want to incubate some eggs under a

Q broody but last year a broody hen kicked out
some eggs from under her. How can I stop this
happening again?

The simple answer is you cannot. A broody

A understands the difference between fertile and
non-fertile eggs better than us and usually, any egg
that is kicked out has something wrong with it and will
not hatch anyway. Whether the hen can sense a pulse
of an embryo and realises that a dull, static egg does
not contain a healthy, growing embryo I do not know
but if any egg rejected is opened, chances are the
embryo is dead, rotten or infertile. The broody does
an excellent job in ‘candling’ her eggs by instinct – we
have to use a candling machine to see whether or not A broody will push away an egg
an egg should be removed from an incubator. that has something wrong with it

46 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

 I’ve just been to a sale and
Q bought some baby ducklings.
They are yellow and downy and I am
wondering if they need some heat?
They are huddling together and
seem very subdued.

This is a sadly all too frequently

A asked question. Sales persist in
allowing people to sell young ducklings
and because they are undoubtedly
tougher than chicks, they have a
longer survival time. But that’s all it is
as eventually, if the weather is cold,
they will lose their battle to keep warm.
Work first of all on the principle that a
baby duckling is going to suffer stress
from being taken to a sale, left in a
pen and then brought back to your
place so put them in a quiet place,
do not let children handle them and
keep family pets well away – they will
feel threatened enough. If they feel
cold, the weather is cold and they
are huddling together, then provide
heat. In an emergency put in hot
water bottles wrapped up so they
can flop next to them – or put them
in a cardboard box next to a radiator.
Check they then don’t get overheated!
Meanwhile obtain a heat lamp,
preferably one that is a dull emitter
eg it gives out heat but not light. This
needs to be rigged up above a draught
proof, ideally circular pen (hardboard
is good for this) with the lamp in the
middle so that the ducklings can move
away if they get too hot. As they get
older you move the lamp higher and
then start turning it off in day time
until they no longer need heat at all.
Provide water but not swimming water
they could drown as their feathers
will not be oiled from their preening
gland when they are very young .
(It’s different if they are with a mother
duck). Feed duckling crumbs, chick
crumbs until you can get hold of
duckling crumbs.
Warning – there is nothing as
messy as ducklings as you will
discover. They will need “freshening”
or cleaning out frequently and soon
develop an odour all their own. Be
really thorough in keeping them
clean and aim to get them off heat
and into a bigger pen as soon as you
can – which of course is dependent
on the time of year. One year we
hatched out runner ducklings and as
it was January, initially put them in
our bathroom which is a nice warm
place. This was only to be for a night
until we had rigged up an extra heat
lamp in an outside building (as well as
the suspended one). Meanwhile my
partner was taken ill and carted off to
hospital where he remained for well
over a week. My time was taken up
visiting and looking after all the other
animals and of course, it was cold
and dark by 4pm so the little darlings
remained in the bathroom for another
couple of weeks. Believe me I kept
them very clean but it was a constant
battle as they are so messy and having
a bath, whilst delightful to watch them,
was a bit of a challenge odour wise. I
was very relieved to get them outside
but clearly their nice warm winter start
had done them proud as they went on
to be lovely birds.

I seem to remember that as a coloured onion skins produce a yellow

Q child my mother coloured eggs
for Easter with Cochineal – what is
it and can I still use it?
It is very much available and
A comes from the unfortuate
Cochineal beatle. Carminic acid is
extracted from the female and is
treated to produce carmine, which can
yield shades of red such as crimson
and scarlet. The body of the insect is
19–22% carminic acid. The insects
are processed by immersion in hot
water or exposure to sunlight, steam,
or the heat of an oven. Some people
use red onion skin or red cabbage
for colouring red eggs while normal
egg as does tumeric and saffron.
(You can buy saffron producing
crocus from several seed companies
if you want to grow your own.) Saffron
crocus conveniently bloom in the
spring!
You can also use commercially
produced food dyes. Hardboil
eggs first and then make up the dye
whichever you choose (obviously
make sure it is non poisonous!) and
immerse until it takes the colour.
Some people believe that immersing
briefly in a weak solution of vinegar (eg
half a teaspoon to an average sized
pudding bowl) will help take up the
dye.

Practical Poultry March/April 2019 47

 Your Q&As
In this wet weather my ducks
Q (and even chickens) tend to
make their eggs very muddy. I’ve
been told it is dangerous to wash
them and I should discard them or
put them out for the every hopeful
Jackdaws. But I don’t have that
many birds and am loathe to lose
eggs.

It is quite safe to wash eggs but

A there are few things to observe.
An egg shell is porous and so avoid
using cold water – always use water
warmer than the egg. It doesn’t
have to be that much warmer. The
Irish Food Safety Authority have a
useful guide which, though aimed at
commercial egg producers, is very
sensible.
It says, “Remember egg washing
is not recommended because
Salmonella can move into the inside
of the egg through pores in the shell,
increasing the risk to consumers. Try
to explain this to your customer and
get agreement to accept unwashed
eggs.
There is an increased risk of
Salmonella transmission from the
outside to the inside of eggs during
washing. These risks can be multiplied
several-fold by poor washing practice.
For example, if soiled eggs are left
uncollected for a few hours after
laying, and/or if they are left to soak
in wash water, then there is more time
for the Salmonella to pass through
the shell into the egg. Additionally, if
the washing water is not at least 11oC
above the temperature of the egg,
then Salmonella can be sucked into
the egg through the pores in the shell.
Even after washing, if eggs are not
dried quickly and completely before
storage then there is more chance
of Salmonella penetrating the shell.
The use of chemical detergents or
sanitisers in the wash water may not
help, because some chemicals may
actually increase the porosity of the
shell making it easier for Salmonella to
cross the shell barrier.
Getting egg washing right to
avoid all these increased risks is not
simple, and for that reason it is much
safer not to wash them at all, but to
concentrate on good husbandry, and
the production of eggs that are clean
in the first place.”
It is often preferable to ‘dry clean’
an egg eg scrape off any mud or
debris but if you do wash you will
need to store in the fridge immediately
after washing. Salmonella (remember
the big Salmonella scare with Edwina
Curry) is always a concern and much
was written about this at the time. It
was generally felt that the likelihood
of salmonella was over exagerrated
but it did lead to vigilence in the UK
commercial industry and a vaccination
programme, ensuring that British eggs
are exceptionally safe to eat. But its
best to consider the possibility when
handling home produced eggs and
take precautions. Adhering to the
advice above on washing will help. I
have ducks and I clean their eggs and
have not experienced any problems
myself but I do make sure that if I
have washed an egg that I hard boil
it or use it for baking where it is well
cooked just to be on the safe side. On
the other hand I like my boiled eggs
and omlettes pretty runny so I select
perfect eggs for this purpose. As with
any eggs or food products, vulnerable
groups of people should take extra
care and if you are selling eggs you
must be extra careful. And always,
always discard eggs that are cracked.
Finally prevention is better than
cure and if you are consistently
getting muddy eggs or worse still,
eggs covered in the bird’s droppings,
then you need to take stock of how
you produce them and how you are
keeping the birds. It’s not acceptable
for chicken welfare for the runs to
be muddy and wet and certainly
not acceptable for the eggs to be
contaminated with faeces. It indicates
the need to clean out more often, use
clean bedding and ensure the surface
of the runs are dry in the winter.

48 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

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HEN SECURITY!
Meriel Younger from www.electricfencing.co.uk talks
about her hen security solution.
hen we got our six hens we

W made sure they had a house,

a small run, food, grit and
water – it was a while later
until we actually got around to creating
a larger secure pen for them. Generally
security is one of the last things a new
hen owner will think about.
Last Christmas we re-homed six
hens from my brother’s free range flock
at their change over (Leckie Layers) for
my children. We had recently bought
a small section of land that could
accommodate the hens and maybe
some other animals in due course
(when I persuade my husband!). We
had secured an old hen house from one
of our neighbours and bought some
feeders and drinkers. So, this is what I ordered: Professional 1.2m Netting
We set the girls up in their coup but 1 x 25m x 1.2m Professional electric net This netting is 1.2m high it has close
realised fairly quickly that the run the hen 1 x 1.2m Hot gate mesh at the bottom and comes with
house came with wasn’t going to satisfy 1 x Gemini 120 energiser double pronged posts some of which
their needs – they really do eat tons of 1 x Earth stake are extra strong corner posts. It has guy
grass. The hen house came on wheels 1 x 50m lead out cable ropes and pegs, ground pegs to peg
and so we moved them every couple of 1 x Croc clips down the bottom line, a warning sign
days to keep their grass supplies fresh, 1 x KV10 Tester and a repair kit. The double pronged
but this is was consuming not to mention posts are much easier to put in to the
back breaking. These are the components for a ground than the single prong as you can
Being an expert in electric fencing… mains powered electric netting kit. I use your foot to guide the post and then
(ha ha!) I knew what I needed to do… knew this would keep any unwanted stomp on it to push it into the earth. We
buy an electric fence. I also knew which visitors out as it is a high net and it has laid the netting out in the rough outline of
one would work best for our situation. very strong double pronged posts. where we wanted it to be and then went

50 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

 possible), clipped one of her wings and
also moved their pen when I saw the
grass getting low and she has not tried
to make her dash for freedom again!!

Do foxes try to dig under

the netting?
We have foxes around
us and when the
netting is on they don’t
go near it. The bottom
line is pegged down and
they will not try to dig
under it. If your netting is has no power
running through it rats will make holes in
it and find a way to the hen’s food. You
do need to be careful where you place
your enclosure – make sure it is not
near somewhere high where a fox could
launch an attack from and jump in to the
pen.

How many hens fit in a

25m netting enclosure?
We have 6 hens in a 25m enclosure. We
move the net every couple of months to
ensure the hens get enough grass. This
is what works for us. The more space
around the posts one by one putting KV10 Tester they have the happier they are! However
them into the ground. With the use of This straight forward and handy little this is not a tried and tested formula and
the guy ropes we have created a sturdy tester worked best for us. This tester is you will have to gauge what works for
boundary – even against some strong so easy to use. Place the tester on the your site and your hens.
Scottish storms. fence line and press the red button. The
LED lights light up when the pulse fires The kids love the hens and the eggs.
Hot Gate down the line every second. Easy to The hens are safe and secure. I have
Hot Gates are a brilliant invention! They read and easy to understand. When the peace of mind!
attach to the netting with cable ties lights drop down in to the red zone you Obviously, there are other ways to
around the post and the power transfers know you have a problem. Firstly check keep your hens secure from Mr Fox
through a small metal clip. The gates the fencing for a short and if there are but this is our experience and electric
are of the same height and colour as the no shorts then isolate the energiser and netting has worked well for us.
net – also with close mesh at the bottom. test it. If you are thinking about your hen
The hot gates come with an insulated security, why not
handle so even if the power is on you
Some FAQ get in touch –
don’t get a zap. There is a a foot plate for Do hens fly out of the netting? 01620 860058 or
the post so the ground is not disturbed We had one escapee and she wanted to info@electricfencing.
underneath and the post is held securely. make her nest in a flower border. I made co.uk
Love our Hot Gate! sure the house was in the middle of their www.
pen (to make the flight path as long as electricfencing.co.uk
Energiser
We chose a Gemini 120 energiser which
is the most powerful one in the range
(dual powered – so it can run off mains or
battery). We did this because we wanted
to power a three reel system and the
netting from the same energiser. There
is a bit of shorting from grass growth but
this energiser still gives us 8,000 volts on
our fences. The Gemini 120 can power
4 x 50m nets in ideal conditions, so we
figured this would give us a bit of leeway
if we wanted to add more netting to the
hens’ run. We run our system from the
mains. The energiser is housed inside
and a lead out cable runs out to the
fencing attached by the crocodile clips
thus transferring the zap down the line.

March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 51

 Springtime
TURKEYS
Janice Houghton-Wallace says it’s a
busy time of the year for the birds
y March turkeys will be mating,
B unless the weather suddenly
starts to turn bitterly cold. Even
with bad weather they may still
become active but be patient because
fertility might not be very good. A little
warmth and sunshine often helps with
this problem.
Breeding saddles should be put on
the females before any sign of actual
mating, so that treading damage is
lessoned. When mating does occur it is
the hen turkey that calls the tune. She
squats before the stag and if he is taking
no notice she will get up, walk around
him and squat again. Sometimes hens
can be rejected for a while and they
then become quite frustrated and rather
cross. It is not unusual for a hen to fall
for a stag in the next pen, whereby she
promptly squats as close to the netting
as possible, tempting the stag next door
and possibly upsetting his hens as well.
52 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Janice
Houghton-Wallace
Sometimes a girl does not want to know
Their hormones take over and
regardless of whether they are with stags
or not, hens will squat. Hens will also
squat for the person who looks after
them but with a few strokes, some kind
words and some feed they temporarily
get over this urge.
Once squatting and mating occurs,
eggs will follow about three to four weeks
later. A successful mating will result in
the hen turkey being fertile for several
weeks which is why it is so important that
A clutch of turkey eggs
varieties are kept separately from one
another. It only takes one illicit mating for mating with a rare variety. Certainly older
‘gene drift’ to affect what is produced, males will still perform but their fertility
resulting in a cross-breed. will be far less dependable. Fertility will
Younger stags are likely to be more also be affected if antibiotics have been
fertile than the older ones, so in a administered because of infection, in
breeding pen use stags that are no more which case time alone will sort out that
than three to four years old if possible. problem. Hens will remain productive for
Obviously you have to go with what you longer than stags but I would not expect
have to breed and mating with an older too much from them once they reach five
stag is better than missing a season’s or six years of age.
During the spring a male will protect his females
The optimum time of year for fertility
is from March to May, after which it
begins to decline. Occasionally stags
get a ‘second wind’ and it is possible
for fertility to rise again around July.
Good sunny days certainly help to
bolster fertility and if it is a cold wet
spring then an improvement in the
weather often means an improvement in
fertility as well. Also, it can take a stag
a little while to actually tread the hens
correctly, especially if he hasn’t trod
before, so be patient with him. If it is his
first time he may even try treading her
the wrong way round and I have actually
seen a hen turkey dive under a stag in
an effort to get him to carry out his duty
properly. Eventually though, things will
work out, especially if there are other
turkeys that can be seen carrying out the
procedure correctly.
Do not be tempted to put in two stags
together with hens though. What will
happen is that they will start to vie to be
the conquering stag. When one starts to
mount the hen the other will try to push
him off and it could only end with the hen
getting hurt and no fertilization taking
place. By all means you could swap
stags after a period of time but do not
run them together.
If you have a group of stags on their
own they will also fight for supremacy,
even if there are no females around.
Some of these fights can be quite
‘bloody’ with the birds exhausting
themselves. Although distressing to
watch it is quite natural behaviour for
stags in the spring. Do keep an eye
open though for any really bad injuries
because there is nothing gained in birds
being really injured to the extent of their
health is severely threatened.
A Narragansett turkey and young poults
A very comfortable poult
After the hen has laid a clutch of eggs
she will go broody and if you want her
to incubate some eggs naturally she will
do this. However, if you do not want her
to remain broody this cycle has to be
broken, which can be quite difficult. You
could put her in a special pen with a wire
floor for a few days, along with feed and
water and as birds do not like sitting on
wire it may do the trick. If she is ‘sitting’ in
a shed put her outside and if necessary
close the door so that she cannot enter
until the evening. This is only possible if
there is adequate shelter and feed and
water elsewhere in the area. She may
well sit tight near the door but if offered
treats occasionally and disturbed it will
eventually get her out of her broody
stupor.
It also helps to place her on a perch
with the other turkeys in the evening.
Once she begins to perch by herself you
will have broken the broody cycle and
if you have done so early enough in the
season she may well lay another cycle of
egg again.
Should you wish a turkey to incubate
her own eggs you will find that generally
a turkey will make a great mother. Turkeys
usually sit well and are very protective of
their young. The important thing is to let
her sit or move her to a place where she
is quiet and not disturbed by other birds
or anything else. A large dog kennel with
ventilation and a door is ideal or a large
cardboard box, on its side so the front is
just open slightly with shavings, in a safe
shed will be fine. 
Back on the nest
after her break
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 53
 BRITISH HEN WELFARE TRUST

COCKEREL L NELY HEARTS

Here at the British Hen Welfare Trust our primary focus is on the lovely
ladies of the chicken world. However we’re also pretty fond of the chaps too,
which is why we’d love to find homes for some unwanted cockerels
this Valentine’s Day and beyond.

O
ur Cockerel Lonely Hearts
page has dozens of listings
showing cockerels in all their
finery, just waiting to find
a flock of happy hens to join. Breeds
include Silver Laced Wyandottes, Polish
bantams, Orpingtons and Lemon Pyle
Brahmas, to name a few.
Leanne Evans has three cockerels
who, in her words, just ‘want to be loved
and eat treats from your hand’, while Jill
Parker’s appropriately named cockerel,
Guy, ‘would love to have some girls of
his own in a place where he is allowed to
crow and be himself’.
There have already been many
successful re-homings as a result of the
lonely hearts page, but there are still lots
more cockerels hoping their luck will soon
change. For example, Laura Snowdwon
re-homed her cockerel Bruce via the
page, and said: “I’m so, so happy. He has
got his happy ending!”
These handsome lads are located
all around the country, and many are
available free of charge. In some cases
the cockerels are only being advertised
due to a change in circumstances, or
because they’ve found their voices
and are crowing a bit too loudly for the
neighbours’ liking.
However, many of the cockerels
advertised via the site have come about

54 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

 as a result of chick hatching projects
carried out in schools. Once the chick
hatching scheme is completed, chicks
will either be returned to the company it
was organised through, where their fate
is uncertain, or they may be re-homed
by someone in school. Even for those
chicks that find a home, the cockerels are
usually unwanted.
The British Hen Welfare Trust receives
daily calls asking for help to re-home
unwanted cockerels which have been
hatched through such schemes, and the
numbers are growing as these schemes
become more popular. As such, the
charity does not advocate chick hatching
schemes and has developed see a
more ethical way of learning for children
through the creation of a series of popular
curriculum-linked workshops and lesson
plans.
In any case, we think cockerels make
wonderful coop mates and protectors for
your girls. So, if your hens are hankering
for a bit of male company, head over to
our Cockerel Lonely Hearts page and
make a handsome chap happy!
Did you know? In ancient Greece the
cockerel was frequently used as a love
gift and the sight of a cockerel was just as
romantic as a modern bouquet of roses!
Be a Runny Egg
Are you still trying to shed those
Christmas pounds? Or perhaps your
New Year’s resolution to get fit has fallen
by the wayside? Then why not sign up
to take part in the Great North Run, and
raise money for the BHWT at the same
time? We’ve got three places left to fill, so
get in touch by emailing megan.holland@
bhwt.co.uk if you fancy the challenge.
Hidden Eggs
You may have spotted us on Jamie
and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast on 11
January, speaking out about the issue
of hidden eggs in processed foods. As
a result, we have launched our Hidden
Silver Laced Wyandottes, Polish bantams & Lemon Pyle Brahmas
Joe and Mrs Cholmondeley
Eggs Campaign which calls on McVitie’s
and Mr Kipling to switch to free range
eggs in their much-loved household
treats. Improve the lives of millions of
commercial laying hens and help make
change happen by signing our petitions
by heading to www.bhwt.org.uk/
hiddeneggs
Scottish Portrait Awards
This stunning photo of Sheila Woodward’s
son Joe, with Mrs Cholmondeley
(pronounced Chumly), was shortlisted in
the Scottish Portrait Awards’ black and
white photography category. It wasn’t the
eventual winner (even though we think
it should have been!) but is a wonderful
advertisement for the beauty of ex-bats.
In addition, the photo was produced
using a 19th century printing technique,
known as the albumen process, whereby
a piece of paper is coated with an
emulsion of egg white  (albumen) and salt
(sodium chloride or ammonium chloride),
then dried. The paper is then dipped in a
solution of silver nitrate and water which
renders the surface sensitive to UV light.
Clever eggs! 
 www.bhwt.org.uk

About the BHWT
W e think all laying hens deserve to
enjoy natural freedoms whilst they
lay tasty eggs for us to eat; that means
freedom to roam on green pasture,
freedom to enjoy sunshine, freedom to
scratch for insects and freedom to lay
an egg in a nest.
Here’s what we do in a nutshell
(or you could say eggshell):
•
• Each year we save approximately
50,000 hens from slaughter and
find them caring pet homes through
our network of 32 regional pop-up
centres so they can enjoy a free range
retirement.
•
•
•
• We educate consumers about the
caged eggs hidden in processed
foods, like pasta, quiche, cakes and
mayonnaise so they can make an
informed choice when shopping.
•
•
•
• Our positive campaign style has been
described as pioneering and one of
our most successful campaigns was
in persuading Hellmann’s to produce
•
•
a free range mayonnaise; as a result
thousands of hens now enjoy freedom.
•
• We take hens at the end of their
commercial laying life from farmers
around the UK all of whom support our
•
work.
•
•
• We lobby MPs and MEPs to support
British farmers and protect them from
cheap
• imports where we have no
•
control over welfare.
•
• We actively promote our Great British
Free Range Farmers – there’s a lot
•
of•happy hens free ranging the UK
countryside because of their investment
in free range systems.
countryside because of their investment
in free range systems.
www.bhwt.org.uk
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 55
Around the shows and Events for Poultry People
BEAUTIFUL BIRDS ON SHOW!
Rupert and Blanche share their photos with Practical Poultry

T he Domestic Waterfowl Club

Championship Show was held on
14th October 2019 and the photos
clearly show the quality of these birds.
Just studying the photos is a lesson in
perfect poultry and I find it a great help to
see the best of the breeds photographed
so that I can learn more about how they
should look. My Muscovy ducks are
sadly not at this standard although great
egg layers and good on the table! I think
the photos are also helpful if buying
poultry as it gives you some idea of what
to look for in an ideal specimen.
Best in Show was a lovely example of
a Crested duck where positioning and
quality of the Crest are so important and
DWC Reserve best in show
Call male C Holtum
a cheeky Call drake was the Reserve
with all the character of that breed plus
impeccable markings.
We also bring you a Judge’s eye view
of a poultry show and his observations
and thoughts are very insightful.
Regional and more local shows (as well
as the big Nationals) are very grateful
for willing volunteers to steward and
help and for poultry keepers wanting to
further their knowedge and get to see an
interesting range of breeds and colours,
it is a well spent day with good company.
The Poultry Club of Great Britian carry
a list of shows on their website or you
could contact the show via the Practical
Poultry show diary – please say where
you saw their show. If you’d rather go
and visit first then it will still be a learning
and sociable experience and many
shows also have sale pens too so you
can buy some quality stock.

◄ DWC
Best of breed
Steinbacher
C Holtum

► DWC Best
in Show
Crested A
DWC Reserve best in show Stanway
Call male C Holtum

SYSTON CHRISTMAS SHOW

Report from Reece Thomas judge with additional results by Rupert Stephenson

2 019’s show was once again

very, very well run and very
well organized even though the
space has shrunk considerably due to
the excellent entry this year being the
highest ever. The quality of the Dutch on
display was overall very good with a lot
of very good type birds. I did have my
work cut out for my first time judging.
I was scheduled to judge to Dutch
Bantam Club Regional show and also
steward for the other True Bantam
classes with good friend and very
experienced judge Nancy Hutchinson,
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with
Nancy and learned a lot about breeds
I didn’t know so much about such as
the Belgian Bantams and Sebrights. We
worked out way through the classes at
Best bantam soft
feather light Dikkie Lee
Boden Silkie
a good pace with plenty of nice birds in
every true Bantam class but the bird
that caught our eyes was a lovely white
Peking female.
We got to the Dutch and I have to say
I was very pleased with the quality of the
birds being exhibited with good numbers
in each class which is nice to see
especially with such a high entry totalling
49 birds of which 44 were penned
on the day. The hardest class for me
was the Silver females with all of them
being good type and nicely marked.
The Gold females was a good class but
only one female had fine peppering si
desired. The Gold males were a very
good class with me left struggling to
decide between two males for first
place with both being good types, well
marked birds but eventually I chose my
winner which was owned by Paul and
Nikki Heath. This bird went on for best
Gold Partridge and Best of Breed it had
lovely flow from the head down to the
tail holding himself very well and giving
him the “U” shaped back that caught my
eye.

56 Practical Poultry March/April 2019


Show Champion Old English .Game K
and M Hinckey
Best Lg Soft feather Ancona S Whalley
Best Booted bantam Dikkie Lee Boden
The best true was a White Pekin
female. She was good type lovely foot
feather but even she wasn’t enough to
beat the Yokohama that went onto be
Reserve show champion. What a bird!
Lovely type great markings and the
quality of feather was exceptional.
Overall winner and show champion
was a lovely Old English game by K and
M Hickey, nicely proportioned it and well
presented,a credit to the owners
Judges for the day were Mr B Ward,
Mr C Wood , Mrs N Hutchinson , Mr R
Thomas (Dutch Bantam Club regional)
Photographer Rupert Stephenson
kindly came along and tried a new
set up using a hessian and more
natural background for his last oficial
engagement before oficialy retiring as
main P.C.G.B. Photographer
A big thank you to all the committee
and friends who all put so much time and
effort into putting on this lovely show
Main Show results were
B.I.Show K and m Hickey O.E.G.
Reseve B.I.S. Yokohama P and D Wood
Best bantam Soft feather light Silkie D L
Boden
Best Rare hard feather David Gore
Rumpless game
Reserve B.I.S. Yokohama P and D Wood
Best of breed Silver Bantam Sarah Terry
Best Dutch P and N Heath
Bestsoft feather heavy German
langshan D L Boden
Best true bantam Pekin Colin Field
Best large hard feather Oxford game
John Messenger
Best large Soft feather Ancona S Whalley
Best female white call A Lovell
Best waterfowl Call Ira Holmes
Best juvenile Brahma Ira Holmes
Best eggs Legbars S Burton
Best Dutch P and N Heath
Best rare Hard feather Rumpless
game D Gore
1st Belgian Hen P and D Wood
Best Booted bantam D L Boden
Events
Chicken Chat at Estcourt Vets,
Devizes, Wiltshire
www.estcourtvets.co.uk on February
20th and March 21st. Ring
01380 723687 to book a free place.
MARCH
3 Norfolk Poultry Club Spring
Show inc Regional Australorp Club –
Yaxham Village Hall
10 Billlington March Show
Bedfordshire
www.billingtonpoultryclub.co.uk
16 Frome Livestock Poultry Sale –
entries close 1 March 2019
www.fromelivestock.com
31 Clocks go forward – British
Summertime begins
APRIL
7 Fabian Eagle Purebred Auction
entries close 3 March Norfolk
www.fabianreagle.co.uk
13th April 2019
Graded Poultry
Rare Breed Sale
Entries are now
open for the next
Rare Breed Poultry
Sale held at Melton
Mowbray Market. 
To download a
schedule and complete your entry
form, please click the link below. 
Entries close Friday the 8th of March. 
For all enquiries, please contact
Helen Cole on 01664 562971 or email
Helen@meltonmowbraymarket.co.uk
21 Easter Sunday
DISCLAIMER:
If your show or event is not listed in our diary, email:pp.ed@kelsey.
co.uk post details to: Liz Fairbrother, Practical Poultry Magazine,
Cudham, Tithe Barn, Berry's Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG and we
will include it in the relevant issue. We need details at least four
weeks prior to publication so for the May/June issue of Pratical
Poultry, please send by 1 April. We will be publishing a 2019 date
diary so if you have any events please send us details before 1 April
2019 – earlier if possible.
Please note that Practical Poultry magazine cannot take any
responsibility for descriptions of shows and events included in
this diary. Telephone numbers and websites are included for you
to check before you set out to travel to make sure that the show
is running and that it is what you want to see. If you have any
alterations to make to the entries we'd be pleased to hear from you.
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 57
 CLUB DIRECTORY
Joining a single breed club, or your local poultry society, can
provide a source of help, encouragement and inspiration.
BREED CLUB/
ASSOCIATION
Ancona Club
Mr P Smedley 01904 468387
phil.boy@virgin.net
Appenzeller Spitzhauben Society
Mr B Milby Home: 01524 935202 Mobile:
07530647079
appenzeller-spitzhauben@hotmail.co.uk
www.appenzellerspitzhauben.co.uk
Asian Hardfeather Club
Tracey Gunning 01342 718625
skudbuket@yahoo.co.uk
Australorp Club
Ian Simpson & Louise Carpenter
01636 814958 ian@australorp
clubgb.wanadoo.co.uk
Barnevelder Club
Mr C Millward 01948 840011
Belgian Bantam Club
Mrs Nicola Firth 01359 230448
Booted Bantam Society
Alison Yates 01663 751204
a.yates4@sky.com
www.bootedbantamsgroup.
webs.com
British Araucana Club
Amanda Rowe 01535 645083
araucanaclub@btinternet.com
www.thebritisharaucanaclub.co.uk
British Waterfowl Association
Kate Elkington 01531 671250
www.waterfowl.org.uk
Brahma Club
Mrs S Black 01792 898310
brahmaclubgb@yahoo.co.uk
Call Duck Club
Alan Davies 01437 721433
www.britishcallduckclub.org.uk
Cochin Club
Mrs E Oliver 01280 850206/07545 429755
elaine.oliver@oohd.co.uk
Croad Langshan Club
Mrs L Heigl 01428 602992
lynheigl@lynheigel.demon.co.uk
www.croadlangshan.org.uk
Derbyshire Redcap Club
Mrs Woodroffe 01335 310305
thewoodroffesr@btinternet.com www.
derbyshireredcapclub.org.uk
Domestic Waterfowl Club Inc Scottish
Waterfowl Club
Mike Hatcher 01488 638014
hatcher579@btinternet.com
Dorking Club
Mrs V Roberts 01943 872660
victoriaroberts06@tiscali.co.uk
www.vicvet.com/dorkingclub
Dutch Bantam Club
Simon Patel 07826 525810
dbcmembership@hotmail.com
www. dutchbantamclub.co.uk
58 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
Faverolles Society
Miss N Williams 07852 978648
nicolawilliams991@hotmail.com
www.faverolles.co.uk
Frizzle Society
Mrs C Shepherd 01229 716408 (after
6.30pm) tees.
frizzles@hotmail.co.uk
German Langshan
Mrs D Tanner 01874 690177
Goose Club
Denise Moss 01437 563309
contact@gooseclub.org.uk
www.gooseclub.org.uk
Hamburgh Club
Mr P Harrison 01706 377653
christinehson@supanet.com
www.hamburgh.co.uk
Indian Game Club
Mr & Mrs S Cook 01462 711617
john.sylv@indiangame.co.uk
www.indiangame.co.uk
Indian Runner Duck Association
Chris Ashton 01938 554011
www.runnerduck.net
Japanese Bantam Club
Mr A Ingram 01983 760566
Leghorn Club
Mr P Hallum 01566 780304
islandeqvet@hotmail.com
www.theleghornclub.com
Lincolnshire Buff Society
Mrs Helen McSherry
07527 628192 / 01630 638177
helen.mcsherry@btinternet.com
www.lincolnshirebuff.co.uk
Marans Club
Mrs M Morgan 01428 751285
fircones50@googlemail.com
Midlands OEG Club
Dave Hackett 01214 214610
Minorca Club
Rob Walker 07767 237840
robfirebird@googlemail.com www.
theminorcaclub.co.uk
Modern Game Club
Miss E de Gray 07913 963766
Moderngameclub.sec@btopenworld.com
www.moderngameclub.co.uk
New Hampshire Red Club
Mrs C Compton 01962 774476
christine@compton3.plus.com
www.newhampshirered-
poultryclub.co.uk
Old English Game Bantam Club
Mr S Owen 01664 474215
stewart.owen2@btinternet.com
Orpington Club
Andrew Richardson 01995 601772
richardson755@btinternet.com
www.theorpingtonclub.org.uk
Buff Orpington Club
Mark Watson 07770 984992
mark@bufforpingtonclub1898.org
Facebook: UK Buff Orpington Club 1898
Pekin Bantam Club
Mr R Thomas 01726 70298
anyothercolourpekin@btconnect.com
www.pekinbantamclub.co.uk
Plymouth Rock Club
Sally Prescott 01472 840142
sally.prescott142@btinternet.com www.
theplymouthrockclub.co.uk
Poland Club
Clare Beebe 01553 828206
clarebeebe@aol.com
www.polandclub.webs.com
Rare Poultry Society
Acting Sec Miss P.M. Fieldhouse
01934 824213 (eve)
secretary@rarepoultrysociety.org.uk
www.rarepoultrysociety.com
Rhode Island Red Club
Mr R Everatt 07809 112920 richard.
everatt@tiscali.co.uk
Rosecomb Bantam Club
Mr J Merchant 01984 667263/07575434786
joe_merchant@hotmail.co.uk
www.rosecombbantamclub.co.uk
The Russian Orloff Society
Mrs J Gillam 01943 830923/07926 183985
jayne.gillam@btinternet.com
www.russianorloffsociety.weebly.com
Scots Dumpy Club
Mrs Toddy Hamilton-Gould
01869 346554
toddyclive@towerfields.com
www.scotsdumpyclub.org.uk
Scots Grey Club
Rory Innes 01361 882965
07747 043817
roryinnes@hotmail.com
Scottish Game Club
Mr K Gardner 01324 558791
Scottish Pekin Bantam Club
Mr S Currie 01292 541203
Scottish Rhode Island Red Club
Mr C McQuattie Strathmore, 6 Kingston
Place, Kingsmuir, Forfar, Angus DD8 2RG
Scottish Rosecomb Club
Mr W Dalgliesh 01835 823184
Scottish Sussex Club
Mrs R Aitken 01569 766775
agnes.aitken@virgin.net
Scottish Wyandotte Club
Mrs R Aitken 01569 766775
agnes.aitken@virgin.net
Sebright Club
Charles Pears on 01208 831542
misterpears@hotmail.com
www.sebrightclub.co.uk
Serama Club of GB
Acting Sec: J Gillam 01943 830923
jayne.gillam@btinternet.com
www.seramaclubgb.co.uk
Silkie Club
Miss G Franklin 01981 510606
gabzfranklin@yahoo.co.uk
www.silkieclubgreatbritain.co.uk

Suffolk Chequer Breed Club
Claire Tidy 01692 630622/07920 842242
claire.tidy@yahoo.com
Sussex Club
Mrs P Gage 01364 653182
www.thesussexpoultryclub.com
Turkey Club UK
Janice Houghton-Wallace
01988 600763
janhwallace@aol.com
www.turkeyclub.org.uk
Utility Poultry Breeders Association
Graham Smith 01926 420962 (pm only)
www.utilitypoultry.co.uk
Welsummer Club
Gerry Williams 07970 783022
ggawilliams@btinternet.com
www.welsummer.club
Wyandotte Club
Mr J Maddock 01229 772556
jmaddock48@hotmail.co.uk
www.wyandotteclub.moonfruit.com
Black Wyandotte Club
Mr A Brooker 01344 774462
allanbrooker@talktalk.net
Laced Wyandotte Club
Mr T Griffith trefor.griffith@btinternet.com
www.thelacedwyandotteclub.co.uk
Partridge & Pencilled Wyandotte
Miss R Duncan 07743 326344
Red1007@hotmail.co.uk
www.partridgewyandotteclub.co.uk
White Wyandotte Club
Mrs D Procter 01254 878319
REGIONAL CLUBS
& ASSOCIATIONS
IRELAND
Ballymena Poultry Club
Dr S Johnston 02825 685727
County Antrim Agri. AsSociety
The Secretary 02825 652666
Dromore and District Poultry
Association
Mr P Dick 01723 850690
Irish Society of Poultry Fanciers
Michelle Kiely 00 353 06255302
Northern Ireland Waterfowl Club
Mr J Kittle 07745 170621
Royal Ulster Agri. AsSociety
Mrs K Hughes 02890 665225
Ulster Poultry Federation
Mrs B Mizen 16 Killygore Rd,
Rathkenny, Ballymena BT43 7LR
SCOTLAND
Berwickshire Agricultural Association
Natalie Cormack 01289 386412
Carnwath Agricultural Society
Mr J Gardiner 01555 840867
Central and West Fife Agric. Society
Pat Wilson 01334 828735
Dalmally Agricultural Society
Susan McLaughlin 01838 200638
Fife Agricultural Society
Hilary Lumsden 01334 829184; Mobile:
07931 955591 hilsjor@yahoo.co.uk
Latheron Agricultural Society
Mrs M Hansard 01593 721222
Maggie.hansard@yahoo.co.uk
Leslie Ornithological Society
Mr W Paterson 01592 771690
Moray & Nairn Fur & Feather
Association
Lorna Miller 01343 540289
North of Scotland Poultry &
Waterfowl Society
Mrs Cath Connor 01955 604458
Peebles Agricultural Society
Mrs H Dickson 01555 773211
Peebles & District Poultry &
Bantam Club
Mrs H Dickson 01555 773211
peeblespoultryclub@tiscali.co.uk
Royal Highland Agricultural
Society
01313 356200
Scottish National Show
Mr R MacDonald 01771 622557
NORTH WEST
Bolton & District Poultry Club
Mr C Tomlinson 01254 831551
Cheshire Agricultural Society
Mr N Evans 01565 650200
info@cheshirecountyshow.org.uk
Cockermouth & District Fur
& Feather Society
Mr R Jackson 01900 827071
Eden Valley Poultry Club
Mr D Clapham 07900 964450
Gt. Harwood Agricultural Society
Mr W Bruce 01254 672656
Holme & District Poultry
Fanciers Society
Miss C Slater 01539 445248
Ireby & District Poultry Club
Mr K Bates 01697 478395
bates.bridleway@gmail.com
Longridge & District Fanciers
Mr A Richardson 01995 601772
Manx Bantam Fur & Feather
Mr N Taylor 07624 472257
Mottram & District Poultry
Society
Mr G Brierley 01613 305234
Onchan Fur & Feather Society
Mr D Lawrence 07624 473762
lawste@manx.net
Poynton Horticultural &
Agric. Society
Mrs C Hallworth 01625 872065
Preston & District Poultry
Egg Society
Mr T Oldcorn 01772 863167
Ramsey Fur & Feather Society
Mr A Preston 01624 833035
Ribble Valley Poultry Society
Mrs C McNeal 01200 442159
Southport & Ormskirk
Bantam Society
Mr P Bentham 01704 895107
Stalybridge Poultry Society
Mr G Bearley 01613 305234
Todmorden Agricultural Society
Mr P Harrison 01706 377653
Wharfedale Agricultural Society
Mrs J Raw 01943 462541
NORTH EAST
Barnsley & District Poultry Society
Lauren Sanders 07856 107779
Craven Poultry Keepers Club
Jayne Gillam 01943 830923
Driffield Agricultural Society
Paul Littlewood 07423 063177
Durham County Agri. Society
0191 388 5459
East of England Poultry Club
Mr L Clark 01754 872417
lenandjoan@live.com
East Yorkshire Fur & Feather
Society
Mr J Hyde 01377 288030
Egremont Fur & Feather Society
Mr I Trohear 01900 832680
Egton Horse & Agricultural
Society
Mr D Nixon 01946 824212
Gargrave Agricultural &
Horticultural Society
Mr E Boothman 01535 652222
Keighley & District Agricultural Soc
01535 633852
secretary@keighleyshow.co.uk
Nidderdale Agricultural Society
Mr R Cornforth 01347 821617
Northern Poultry Society
Mr G Foster 01484 540042
Northumberland & Durham
Bantam Club
Barbara Smith 07711 095104
Northumberland Poultry Society
Mrs J Barry joan.barry123@btinternet.com
Stanhope Agricultural Society
Mr D Richardson 07879 990467
r99dsr@hotmail.co.uk
Tow Law & District Fanciers Society
Miss B Smith 07891 009647
WALES
Aberystwyth & Ceredigion
County Show
Mr G James 01970 617481
Anglesey Agricultural Society
Mr A Hughes 01407 720072
Caerwys Agricultural Show
Mrs Thurland 01352 720043
poultry@Caerwys-Show.org.uk
Denbighshire & Flint Agric. Society
Miss E Turner 01352 712131
Dyfed Poultry Society
Mr A Davies 01437 721433
Gwynedd Poultry Club
Mr A Brown 01286 650775
Lleyn & District Agri. Society
Mrs CA Jones 01758 730447
Merioneth Agricultural Society
E Douglas Esq 01341 422837
North Wales Agricultural Society
Mrs D Jones 01286 831142
Pembrokeshire Agri. Society
01437 764331
Poultry Club of Wales
Mr E Page 01639 831378
Royal Welsh Agric. Association
Miss Bethan Lewis
01982 554403
Seven Sisters Poultry Club
Mr D Evans 01269 592522
Shropshire and Mid-Wales
Waterfowl Society
Mr F Millward 01948 840011
EAST ANGLIA
East Anglian Game Society
Mr D Symonds 01502 568351
Norfolk Poultry Club
Miss J Taylor 01362 680205
Joyce247@btinternet.com
Suffolk & Essex Poultry Club
Mr Bullock 01206 230203
West Essex Bantam Club
Mrs R Rawlings 01245 382209
MIDLANDS
Bakewell & District Agric. Society
Miss Janet Bailey 01629 812736
Billington Poultry Club
Miss K Wilson 01525 850758
Glossop & District Poultry Society
Tinson & Hidden 01457 855720
High Peak Poultry Club
Mr P Ward 01298 871420
Hinckley & District Poultry Club
Mrs T Jones 01283 555714
Lichfield & District Poultry Club
Mrs S Bruton 01092 843055
Malpas & Whitchurch
Poultry Fanciers Society
Mrs B Birchall 01948 860769
Moorgreen Agricultural Show
Mrs N Hutchinson 01773 861921
Nantwich Agricultural Society
Mrs S Broadhurst 01630 638630
Northampton & District
Poultry Club
Mr M Anderson-Howe 01788
571202/07813 604520
Oswestry & District
Poultry Society
Mrs M Thurland 01352 720043
Selston Poultry Fanciers
Mrs N Hutchinson 01773 861921
Stratford-upon-Avon
Poultry Club
Mr D Hackett 01214 214610
Syston Poultry Fanciers
Mrs C Rogers 01162 606902
SOUTH WEST
Ashburton & District Fanciers
Mrs P Gage 01364 653182
Bugle & District Poultry Club
Mr R Thomas 01726 70298
Carisbrooke & District
Fanciers Society
Mr A Ingram 01983 760566
Chacewater & District
Fanciers Society
Mrs G Johns 01872 560216
Cornish Bantam Fanciers
07749 226992
Cornish Poultry Club
Linda Bastion 01209 214622
Cotswold Pheasant
& Poultry Club
Mrs M Gardner 01666 510248
Cullompton Fanciers Society
Mrs J Hobbs 01884 840895
Devon Fanciers
Exhibition Society
Mr M Winson 01404 822293
Dorset & Wiltshire
Poultry Society
Mr P Tory 01747 820031/07730 527202
Kingsbridge Fur &
Feather Society
Mrs K Winson 01404 822293
Liskeard Agricultural
Association
Mrs B Breyley 07894 456099
www.liskeardshow.org
Royal Cornwall Agric.
Association
Mr K Dowrick 07749 226992
Salisbury Poultry Club
Julia Lindley 01722 790027
Stithians Agricultural
Association
Mr A Jose 01637 839218
Taunton Poultry fanciers
Mr J Merchant 01935 23897
joe_merchant@hotmail.co.uk
www.tauntonpoultryfanciers.co.uk
Taw & Torridge Poultry Club
Mr A Hooper 01805 623241
SOUTH EAST
Arun Valley Poultry Fanciers Society
Jan Pannell 01903 213674
Ashdown Forest Poultry Club
Mrs C Edmonds 01273 474555
Colchester Poultry Club
Mrs N Firth 01359 230448
Hants & Berks Poultry
Fanciers Society
Mrs K Roadnight 01962 771156
High Wycombe &
Dist. Poultry Society
Mrs K Winslow 07793 085938
High Wycombe Fanciers
Mrs K Winslow 07793 085938
Isle of Wight Poultry Club
Mr J Holt 01983 609302/07733 411047
Kent Poultry Club
Ms Lorna Luckhurst 01795 532848
kpc-sec@kentpoultryclub.org.uk
Reading & District Bantam Club
Jane Freeman 0118 934 0076/07710653124
Royal County of Berkshire
Agricultural Society
Mr M Hatcher 01488 638014
Surrey Poultry Society
Terri Gregory 07736 718430
surreypoultryshowsec@msn.com
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 59
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Incubators and hatching eggs ¨ Housing and runs ¨ Literature ¨ Smallholder tractors ¨ Machinery, tools and equipment ¨
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 TRADE ADVERTISERS CALL - 01732 445325
CHICKENS
AMBER STAR
£18. Standard brown egg layer.
Please call 07808 661873,
Preston. (07.18)
BLACKTAIL
£15. She is extremely friendly and
has a lovely dark red plumage
with black tail feathers. Please
call 01622 843649. (06.18)
BLUEBELLE
£18. Standard brown egg layer.
Please call 07808 661873,
Preston. (07.18)
BUFF BARRED
S Leghorn) is not everybody’s
£18. Standard brown egg layer.
Please call 07808 661873,
Preston. (07.18)
CALDER RANGER
£18. Please call 07808 661873,
Preston. (07.18)
COLUMBIAN RANGER
BLACKTAIL
£17 Each. This Rhode Island
Red based layer combines all
the benefits associated with a
modern hybrid with the traditional
good looks of the chestnut
plumage. Hardy and docile.
Please call 07747 166408. (06.18)
COUCOU
£17 Each. French Maran based
hybrid. A dark brown egg layer
with excellent shell quality and
production. Please call 07747
166408. (06.18)
FENNING WHITE
£15. Having the reputation of
being a slightly scatty and flighty
bird the Fenning White (White
choice. However once in lay she
not only calms down but lays
beautiful pure white shelled eggs.
This bird does really well in free
range conditions Please call
01622 843649. (06.18)
HERITAGE SKYLINE
£22. This bird, whilst being
somewhat shy is stunning to look
at and 80% or so lay lots of lovely
blue/green shelled eggs. Please
call 01622 843649. (06.18)
MENDLESHAM BLUE
£15. Smokey grey plumage, very
placid birds. Please call 01622
843649, Kent. (07.18)
MENDLESHAM
RANGER
£14. Good temperament and
excellent layers,a good all round
bird and great for beginners.
Please call 01622 843649, Kent.
(07.18)
PARTRIDGE
£18. Large white egg layer. Please
call 07808 661873, Preston.
(07.18)
PEKING BANTAMS
£20 a pair. Please call 01162
778776, Leicestershire. (06.18)
PIED SUFFOLK
£15. Black plumage with white
neck feathers. Great looking bird,
always popular. Please call 01622
843649. (06.18)
QUAIL
CHINESE PAINTED
QUAIL
£6 each or £10 a pair. Please
call 01162 778776, Leicestershire.
(06.18)
GOLDEN COLOURED
QUAIL
£5 each. Golden coloured quail
also known as Italian. Six weeks
old. Please call 07982 756345.
(06.18)
JAPANESE QUAIL
£5. Normally sold in trios. Calm,
friendly breed of quail by nature.
Mostly golden colouring. Based
on Isle of Sheppey. Enquiries
welcome. Please call 07982
756345, Kent. (06.18)
WATERFOWL
BARNACLE GEESE
£25 each. Excellent condition.
Three years old, bred this year.
Very prolific. Please call 07889
774399, Kent. (06.18)
ORNAMENTAL
WILDFOWL
From £40 pair. Various types
available. Mandarins, carolinas,
tree ducks, teal, wigeon and
more. Please call 07540 183970,
Lincs. (06.18)
INCUBATORS AND
HATCHING EGGS
MARAN POULTRY &
HATCHING EGGS
£15 bird, £12 egg. Dark cuckoo,
French copper black and blue,
French wheaten and blue tail
wheaten. Hatching eggs 1st
Feb-1st June. Please call 01847
841242, Caithness. (06.18)
MISCELLANEOUS
FOR SALE
CHICKEN HOUSE AND
ATTACHED RUN
£80. Overall length is 422cm x
width 183cm x height 165 cm.
Buyer to collect and dismantle.
Please call 01379 741695, Norfolk.
(06.18)
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 61
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 î Please note that entries are for livestock only and are limited to 40 words. Entries may be edited.
Breeder Directory
£49 for inclusion 12 issues over 2 years payable by cheque and credit card. Call 01959 541444 for an entry form or email pp.bd@kelsey.co.uk
CAMBS/LINCS
A Searle
01223 860023 Chittering, Cambs
Large fowl: Wyandottes; silver laced,
white. Orpingtons; black, blue.
Bantam partridge Wyandottes
JUST AUSTRALORPS
01287 632879 /
07841593865,Guisborough. We breed
and exhibit L/F & Bantam Australorps.
We have won top prizes at National
and Championship levels including
Champion Large Fowl at The
Federation, Supreme Champion at
both Great Yorkshire and Countryside
Live. H/E available. Excellent Layers.
Orders taken.
Muscovies and More
07982 823088
Muscovy adults; hatching eggs.
Peacock hatching eggs
DEVON/CORNWALL
AAA1 Quality Geese,
Ducks, Guineafowl
01837 83839
Devon
Ducks: Khaki Campbell, White Cherry
Valley ( approx 300 eggs per year),
Saxony, Indian Runners, Muscovy,
Silver Appleyard. Guineafowl (biggest
collection of colours). H/E – adults.
National delivery available
ukguineafowl.co.uk
Devon Tuell Chickens
01822 870295 Tavistock Bantams:
silver blue Dutch, silver laced
Wyandotte, Pekin 7 colours. LF:
Welsummer
E: julie@tuellchicks.eclipse.co.uk
EdgeMoor Poultry
Rare Breeds
01769 520244
North Devon.
Orloffs. Buff laced Wyandottes. Red
saddleback Yokohamas. Salmon
Faverolles. Dark Brahmas.
Sabelpoots. Pekin. Bantam Orpingtons.
Eggs collected or can be posted
64 Practical Poultry March/April 2019
DORSET/GLOS/
SOMERSET/AVON
A McCallion
01594 832642 / 07837 701446
Coleford, Glos
Cuckoo Marans (Dark Brown
eggs), Polish Green-Legged
Partridge Chickens, (Zielononozka
Kuropatwiana), from Autumn 2017
Cream Legbars (Mervyn Parry's Lines),
Eggs, Chicks, Growers, POL at various
times
E: a.gower1073@btinternet.com
John Leach
01225 334819
Bath
Utility Rhode Island Red, H/E and
breeding stock when available
KENT/SUSSEX/
SURREY/LONDON
Charlotte's Chickens
07747 166408 Ashford, Sunbury,
Middx. Suppliers of Hybrid chickens &
accessories. Up to 11 different varieties
of POL hybrid hens all fully vaccinated
plus a small number of chicks
www.charlotteschickens.co.uk
Hen House Poultry
01622 843649/07711 082133
nr Maidstone
Huge selection of fully-vaccinated
hardy, prolific laying POL hybrids in
many different colours.
Available year-round. Plus, Pekin &
Ancona bantams in season.
Friendly advice given
www.henhousepoultry.co.uk
ONLY £49
FOR INCLUSION
IN 12 ISSUES,
OVER 2 YEARS!
Call 01959 541444 for an
entry form or email
pp.bd@kelsey.co.uk
Malcom Sweeney
07917 862776
East Sussex
Brown Sussex, Red Sussex
and White Sussex large fowl.
Hatching eggs available from
May and young stock available
from September. Adult birds
sometimes available –
all from exhibition stock.
malcomsweeney7@gmail.com

Martins Wood
01323 811877 E Sussex
Fully vaccinated POL hybrids all year
round. 13 breeds of colourful hens
including brown, white & blue-egg
layers. A one-stop poultry shop. Open
Tues-Sat 10-5
www.martinswoodchickens.co.uk
 
Priscilla Middleton
01892 723115
Tonbridge, Kent
LF: Brahmas, Orpingtons, most
colours. Red Saddled Yokohamas,
Orloffs, Marans, Welsummers,
Barnevelders, Appenzellers. Bantam:
Orpingtons. Belgian, Pekins, Burmese
& others. Franconian Geese. Black
East Indian Ducks, Call Ducks & Some
wildfowl. Peafowl. Pigeons
Park Farm Poultry
01372726772 / 07803046109
Chessington
Bantams only. Silver grey and red
Dorkings, silver laced and barred
Wyandottes, gold laced Orpingtons,
Welsummers, speckled Sussex,
gold partridge, black mottled and
lavender Pekins, frizzle and plain,
Barbu d'Uccle millefleurs, gold
partridge Dutch, white crested
black Polands and white Silkies. By
appointment only
Key to abbreviations
LF: large fowl
H/E: hatching eggs
D/O: day-old
POL: point of lay
BREEDS
BR: Black Rock
IG: Indian Game
LS: Light Sussex
NHR: New Hampshire Red
OEG: Old English Game
OEPF: Old English Pheasant Fowl
RIR: Rhode Island Red
RIW: Rhode Island White
TNN: Transylvanian Naked Neck
W/fowl: waterfowl
Breeder Directory   
Pope Poultry
07753 162408
Ashford Kent
Fertile eggs, Chicks from day
old, POL, layers. Pekin Bantams –
Lavender, Lemon, Millefleur, Gold
and Silver Partridge. Wyandotte
Bantams – Gold Laced, Blue Laced
and Silver Laced. Rhode Island Red
Bantams.
* Poultry hatched from own stock
* Friendly advice given.
hdaniuk@yahoo.co.uk
SPR Centre
01243 542815
Sussex
Second to none Black Rock hybrid
pullets, plus Speckledies, Light Sussex
& Blue Belles. All fully vaccinated.
Available to order on a monthly basis,
backed up with professional advisory
& after-sales service
www.sprcentre.co.uk
Surbiton Poultry
020 8335 0836 / 07802 827189.
Light, buff, speckled, brown,
red & silver Sussex. Wheaten
& cuckoo Marans. White, blue,
brown, Exchequer Leghorns.
Salmon Faverolles. Silver grey and
dark Dorkings. Welsummers. RIR.
Plymouth Rocks, buff Orpingtons.
Gold Brahmas. Croad Langshans. 15
colours of Pekin bantam. 12 types
of hybrid inc Chalkhill Blue. Coturnix
quail
www.surbitonpoultry
andhenhouses.co.uk
NORFOLK/SUFF/ ESSEX
Bulmer Poultry
01787 269306
Sudbury
Rare breed poultry. Jersey Giants,
Brahmas, Ayam Cemani, Pekin,
Ixworth, Araucana, Wyandottes,
Silkies, Guinea fowl, ducks and
turkeys. H/E, chicks, growers & POL.
Courier available UK
www.bulmer-poultry.co.uk
Bruce Howell
01362 668303
Dereham
Swans, geese & ornamental
waterfowl inc Pintails, Teals, Wigeon,
Sea & Tree ducks. Guinea fowl,
pheasants.
Poultry inc Welsummer, French
copper blacks.
Also rare breeds
www.brucehowellwaterfowl.co.uk
Jim Kemp
01359 269515
Suffolk
Pekin, Silkie, Barbu d'Uccle, Sebright,
Wyandotte, bantam Barnevelder. H/E
NOTTS/DERBYS/
LEIC/MIDLANDS
Hens for Pets
01623 793841/07860 436586
Notts
Coloured hybrids, Legbars, Old
English Pheasant Fowl, Araucana.
Bantams: Pekin, Poland, Sabelpoot,
Sussex, Ancona, miniature Silkie,
Dutch, cuckoo Marans, Appenzeller,
New Hampshire Red, Friesian Fowl.
Mixed variety ducks. H/E
www.hensforpets.co.uk
WARKS/N'HANTS/OXON
Michael Page
01295 721076 (evenings)
Banbury
LF: cuckoo/copper black Marans,
Welsummer, Light Sussex, lavender
Araucana. Bantam: Pekin; gold
partridge, lemon cuckoo, lavender.
H/E (can post), D/O, growers
Warwickshire Chicken Coop
07960 693724
Warwickshire / Oxfordshire border
Wide range of POL hybrids; buff,
lavender, blue & splash Orpingtons;
Cream Legbars; Pekin and Sabelpoot
bantams.
For more information visit www.
warwickshirechickencoop.com
WORCS/SHROPS/
STAFFS/HEREFORD
Hillview Ducks
01386 860137/07999 507442
Khaki Campbell, Cherry Valley
ducks from sexed D/O to POL. Both
excellent layers. Small or large orders
taken
www.hillviewducks.co.uk
Page's Poultry
07809 421565
Burton-on-Trent
Breeders and suppliers of a full range
of pure breeds and hybrid laying
hens. Large range of domestic ducks,
quail, geese and Guinea fowl. Friendly
help and support for poultry keepers.
Visits welcome during opening
hours. H/E in season
Pembridge Poultry
01544 388270
Leominster, Herefordshire
Quality Purebred Poultry.
Cuckoo, wheaten, copper black
& copper blue Marans. Cream
Legbars, Norfolk Greys, silver laced
Wyandottes. Green Legged Polish
Partridge Fowl. H/E, chicks and POL
usually available
www.pembridgepoultry.co.uk
Pheasant Croft Poultry
01885 410594
Herefordshire
LF: Vorwerk, Cream Legbars, and
cuckoo Marans. Bantam: Light
Sussex, cuckoo Marans, silver laced
Wyandottes, buff laced Wyandottes,
black Australorps. H/E & POL
www.pheasantcroftpoultry.com
WILTS/HANTS/BERKS
Hamble Valley Poultry
077385 70740
Hants
Pure bred quality Silkies & Polands
from registered breeder. Bantam &
LF. Vaccinated birds from non-related
stock. H/E by post. Hatching- service
provided. Poultry care & starter pack
for all customers, advice freely given.
E: longtime845@gmail.com
www.hamblevalleypoultry.co.uk
Hampshire Marans & Ayam
Cemanis
01264 790191 / 07464113051
Andover
Breeder of extra dark brown egg laying
marans. Black Copper, Cuckoo and blue.
I breed quality Ayam Cemanis.
My birds are free range.
H/E, D/O,POL etc.
I also breed Isabella partridge
Brahmas, Gold & Silver Laced Brahmas,
Lavender & Blue Pekin Bantams.
NEW FOREST POULTRY
07831 413812
LF French Copper Black, Blue,
Wheaten, Cuckoo Marans, Light
and Speckled Sussex, Cream
Crested Legbars, White Leghorns,
Welsummers, Silkies in White, Black,
Gold, Guinea Fowl in White, Pearl,
Pied, Lavender. Bronze Turkeys.
H/E posted, D/O, 8 weeks, pol for
collection.
www.newforestpoultry.co.uk
JHPEKINPARADISE@gmail.com
CUMBRIA/N.EAST
Blyth Pure Breeds
01670 365370 / 07930 657637
Cochins, Dorkings, Frizzles,
Orpingtons & Sultans. Other pure
breeds available from time to time.
Hatching eggs & livestock prices on
request
March/April 2019 Practical Poultry 65
 î Please note that entries are for livestock only and are limited to 40 words. Entries may be edited.

Cochin, Lakenvelder, Cream Legbar,

LANCS/CHESH/
MERSEY
Cass’s Chucks
01706 812710 / 07960 889860
Todmorden, Lancs
Hatching eggs available: rheas,
Guinea fowl, Muscovy ducks, top
quality LF RIR, and bantam partridge
Wyandottes, black German
Langshan, gold Sebright.
Ornamental pheasant hatching
eggs: Lady Amherst, Yellow Golden,
Swinhoe, Silver and Temminck's
Tragopan. Surplus Muscovy
ducks and ornamental pheasants
sometimes available
Halsall Dark
Brown Eggs
(H) 01704 841275 (M) 07724 957330
Utility strains, all LF: Welsummer,
Marans in dark cuckoo Copper Black,
French wheaten. Also Ixworth, dark
Indian Game. H/E posted. Young stock
Hedgerow Henporium
01244 646026
Cheshire/Wirral
Commercial hybrids in lovely colours.
H/E, D/O, POL. Faverolles; Muirfield
Black Rocks & Utility Rocks; French
Marans in Wheaten Copper & Blue;
Cochin; Blue & Black La Fleche; Silver
& Gold Barnevelder; Ixworth; Ayam
Cemani. Female guaranteed.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter @
hedgerowhens
www.hedgerowhenporium.co.uk
Pear Tree Poultry
07808 661873
Preston, Lancs
Breeds (various colours) LF: Brahma,
Orpington, Faverolles, Appenzeller
Spitzhauben, Marans, Welsummer,
Silver Duckwing, Sussex; Light, buff.
Barnevelder, Vorwerk, Wyandotte,
Silkies, Poland. Bantam: Wyandotte,
Thuringian, Araucana, Orloff, RIR,
Light Sussex, Ancona, Hamburg,
Welbars, Pekin, Serama, Barbu
d’Uccle, Barbu de Monts, Dutch. 12
varieties of hybrids. Ducks: Indian
Runner, Khaki Campbell, Aylesbury,
Pied, Muscovy, Call. Pheasants:
Golden, Lady Amherst, Mikado,
Temminks Tragopan. Toulouse geese.
Bourbon Red turkeys. Japanese quail,
Indian Blue peafowl. Open 7 days.
Viewing welcome, no obligation.
www.peartreepoultry.co.uk
YORKSHIRE
Mount Bank Farm Poultry
07801 940922
North Yorkshire
Ducks: Khaki Campbell, Indian
Runner, Aylesbury, Welsh Harlequin,
Magpie, Cayuga + Shetland.
Chicken: LF - Orpingtons, Rhode
Island Red, Light + Speckled Sussex,
Vorwerk, Ayem Cemani, Cream
Legbar, Wellsummer. Bantams -
Pekins, Cuckoo Marans, Sablepoots.
www.mountbankfarmpoultry.co.uk
ONLY £49
FOR INCLUSION
IN 12 ISSUES,
OVER 2 YEARS!
Call 01959 541444 for an
entry form or email
pp.bd@kelsey.co.uk
Weasel Green Poultry Paula’s Poultry
Kevin Lambert 01659 77410
01535 633376 Leadhills, South Lanarkshire
Schijndelaars white, Yokahomas We have moved, but stock still
Red, Saddleback Owl Beards, White available from Ewan in Jedburgh,
Moor Heads, Brabanters Golden Scottish Borders, on 07969 578959,
Black Spangled and Yellow White and 01835 862513. Bovans Goldlines
Spangled. All Large Fowl Hatching usually available, & occasionally
eggs can be posted.
other hybrids & some purebreds
tourist576@hotmail.com E: paula@paulaspoultry.co.uk or
Newholme Peafowl ewan.kinghorn@sky.com
01430 860957/07854 784732
www.paulaspoultry.co.uk
East Yorkshire
Breeder of peafowl, peacocks and
peahens. Available in Indian Blue,
pied, white, purple, black, shoulder,
cameo, bronze, peach, opal, silver
pied, white eye and Java Greens.
Chicks from day old in season,
and grown adults. Any size orders.
Delivery
www.newholmefarmpeafowl.com

Key to abbreviations
LF: large fowl SCOTLAND
H/E: hatching eggs
D/O: day-old
POL: point of lay Edinburgh Chickens
07968 030674
BREEDS We have a colourful selection of 11
BR: Black Rock types of hybrid hens at POL. Perfect
IG: Indian Game as both pretty and productive
LS: Light Sussex
pets or as a larger laying flock. All
NHR: New Hampshire Red
vaccinated, healthy and happy!
OEG: Old English Game
OEPF: Old English Pheasant Fowl Farmgate feeds and Easichick
RIR: Rhode Island Red stockist, we also sell a wide range
RIW: Rhode Island White of poultry keeping equipment. Hen
TNN: Transylvanian Naked Neck boarding service available
W/fowl: waterfowl E: info@edinburghchickens.com
www.edinburghchickens.com
Hens-Made-Easy
01334 870637/07942 004487
Fife
Great colour range of hybrid hens
at POL, vaccinated, easy to handle,
good layers.
Ducks and geese, purebreeds
and bantams on request. Hen
Hotels boarding service. Find us on
Facebook
E: scott.dron@tiscali.co.uk
www.henkeepingfife.co.uk
WALES
Cosy Hens
01291 650655
Monmouthshire
L/F: Araucana, Ayam Cemani,
Barnvelder, Brahma, Faverolles,
Friesian Fowl, wheaten Marans,
Orpington, Sussex, Vorwerk. Bantam:
Pekins, Sebrigh. Range of colours.
H/E, chicks, growers, POL. Modern
hybrids. Please visit our website for
full details
www.cosyhens.co.uk
Arthur & Jeni Griffin –
Cilnant Farm Poultry
01691 718261/0786 6359653
Llangollen/N Wales, Cream Legbar,
Friesian Fowl, RIR, Welsummer,
gold Dutch bantam, Guinea Fowl &
bronze turkeys. Brown hybrids also
available. H/E a speciality (collected
or posted). Cocks of all breeds
usually available. Friendly advice
given E: jeni@chickenandegg.net

66 Practical Poultry March/April 2019

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