2011 laying hen availabilty
August 24, 2011
Our laying hen range is now in limited supply for 2011 - some varieties already sold out, but still some good layers available for next few weeks. You can see the full range on our website at the following link - http://www.farmfowl.com/LayingHens.aspx
First week of the month/Routine Health Care for Hens
July 1, 2011
The first week on the month is a good time to treat your poultry for both mites/lice and worms - more a preventitiive thing. It really simple to do and takes only a few minutes to dust them and add the wormer to the water - best of all is that there are fully natural products (which we stock) which means no eggs need go to waste. This will keep help keep your hens happy, healthy and laying well.
Farm Fowl on Facebook
June 17, 2011
We have a new Facebook page! I'll be posting all the latest news and information from Farm Fowl on there over the next few months. If you are on Facebook click on the 'Like' button to stay up to date with all the latest news, information and special offers.
Introducing new hens - some tips
June 05, 2011
Introduction of new hens into an existing flock can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. An existing flock has a 'pecking order' and when new birds are introduced the pecking order must be re-established. Usually this goes well with no major issues, but just in case it doesn't here are some tips that might help. It is important to note that these are just tips that have worked for us. Above all it is important to keep a close eye for the first few days.
- Make sure any bird you introduce is strong, healthy and big enough to hold it's own amongst the existing flock. Introducing too young of a bird or too small of a breed is not always a good idea.
- Ideally introduce more than one bird at a time, particulary if the existing flock is more than a handful of birds.
- Introduce birds at dusk, by putting the new birds into the hen house when the other birds are roosting for the night.
- Provide distractions such as additional scratch food or treats for the entire new flock.
If after this you feel there is still too much bullying is going on, remove the 'bullier' (bird doing the bullying) rather than the bird that is getting bullied. This is important as if you remove the bullied, you really have to start from scratch again if you are going to keep that hen. Keep the bird you removed sperate for a day or two before re-introducing it and hopefully this time things will be more settled.
Where the hen goes...
May 24 2011
'Where the hen goes, the chicks follow' is an old Italian saying about life in general. Apart from how it plays out in the human world, it has a special meaning in the chicken world for us right now. We have several hens rearing clutches of healthy and happy little chicks. A broody hen makes an excellent mother, very caring and really protective. The process usually begins with a hen sitting on eggs in one of our broody coops in just a few short weeks the hen is wandering around the grass with her chicks in tow. A wondeful sight to see.
Farm Shop in Wicklow
May 21 2011
I spent this morning giving a talk to a small group at the Farm Shop in Tinahely, County Wicklow. Philip and Rebecca are busy getting ready to open an even bigger and better shop in the coming weeks. The current shop has a wonderful range of products fresh from both their farm and from specialist producers around Ireland. Well worth a visit - you can find more details at www.tinahelyfarmshop.com. Thanks to all who attended the talk, I hope you gained something from it.
Talking all about chickens
May 20, 2011
Yesterday evening we gave a talk on all things chicken related to the members of Avondale Gardening club. Thanks to Carmel from Glanbia Rathdrum for hosting the talk and for the lovely teas afterwards, and thanks to Larry and all from the club for listening and the wide array of questions on both chickens and ducks.
An unexpected visitor
May 12, 2011
Earlier this week we had an unexpected visitor. It came in the form of a large white wild bird which arrived one afternoon and made itself at home in one of the fields close to the house. As night fell our guest was going nowhere and would surely of become a nice meal for something during the night. We made the decision to catch it and keep it safe overnight. We live in the mountains far from the sea, but to us it was clear it was some sort of sea bird, and secondly there was something amiss for it to be so far from the sea and so easily caught. It was also riddled with lice, but not of the sea kind which lead us to believe it had been away from the sea for a considerable time.
First thing next morning we called the local NPWS ranger who sounded sceptical on the phone when told we believed we had a Gannet, but agreed to take a look. A short while later the ranger arrived and as soon as she saw the bird said "that's a gannet". The ranger took it away and spent considerable time with her colleagues checking it over, treating it for lice and feeding it up before releasing it back to the sea. The ranger was very professional and it's good to know that there are people like that looking after the wildlife around us.
It's not often that we get to see wildlife around up so close that you can touch it. Our visiting gannet was truly stunning and the markings around the head, eyes and feet incredible. Hopefully it is now safe back with the colony many miles away!
Easter Specials at Farm Fowl
April 21, 2011
We have some great value special offers and some lovely hens for sale here at FarmFowl this Easter weekend.
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Chicken Keeping Starter Kit - Only €225 for this weekend. This includes all you need to get started with keeping Hens and even includes 2 Hens. Larger sized kits also available.
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Duck Houses come with a free feeder and drinker if purchased over the Easter weekend. Ducklings to help you fill it are also available if required!
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We have a great selection of hens for sale this weekend. These range from bantams and large fowl pure breeds to our wonderfully coloured and docile laying hens.
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Our equipment and feed shop has a good range of feeders, drinkers, feed, bedding, books and everything else you need for keeping chickens or ducks at very competitive prices.
Why not pay us a visit or get in touch at 086 8144745. We are always happy to offer advice to the newcomer to chicken keeping.
Equipment and feed now available
April 10, 2011
We have a full range of poultry keeping equipment and feed for hens and ducks for sale at competitive prices here at Farm Fowl. This includes poultry drinkers, poultry feeders, feed, bedding and all other accessories needed for chicken or duck keeping. Over the coming weeks we will be adding more details of this to the website, but in the meantime if you are looking for equipment or feed at a good price you can visit us here or get in touch at 086 8144745 for more details.
Ducklings in their playground
March 31, 2011
Ducklings are always something that we love hatching and growing up. From the day they hatch they are so full of life and character. Within hours of a hatch our brooder becomes the duck equivalent of a playground full of children that have just been let out for the first time after a week of pouring rain. Indian Runners ducks in particular start life as they mean to go on, very very active! In the duck brooder all it takes is for one single duckling to rise from underneath a heat lamp in order head for a lap around a drinker and suddenly it is like a track event with a 'first to 10 laps' race going on with twenty enthusiastic ducklings! Brilliant every time!
New Hen and Duck House Range
March 29, 2011
We've been thinking about offering a range of poultry housing for sometime and have been toying with some designs over the past year or so. Over the past couple of months we have been busy kitting out our new on-site workshop and we now have a full range of housing on display here at Farm Fowl in the County Wicklow countryside. The design of these houses has been developed using our poultry keeping knowledge as well as that of our skilled workmanship in knowing what works well and will stand the test of time for a hen house in Ireland. We have just created a Hen House section on our site and will be populating this with the various designs over the coming weeks, but you are more than welcome to view the entire range here. Customer feedback has been very positive so far so if you are interested in buying a new chicken coop please give us a call on 086 8144745.
2011 'really' begins
March 14, 2011
March, is a wonderful time of year as it is when we be move the first chicks of the year into the bigger growing pens to grow on. It is also the time when the daylight hours really begin to increase and the weather 'should' begin to get better We can always hope! We've put loads of work in over the winter getting ready for this season, but it is now that the activity starts and we are really looking forward to it.
We have changed some breeds this year, it is always nice to give something new a try! Many of our old favorites remain though. The Farm Fowl site has also got an overhaul and we'll be doing some more work on it over the next few weeks so please check back.
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