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Hens

Silkie

Chicken Breeds, Poultry For Sale, Silkies / By / 4th March 2023 / ,

Silkie Breed Description

Silkie chickens are amazing looking birds. No-one seems to know exactly where they originated. Some say China, others say Japan or India. Either way they have the most unusual feathers of any other chicken. There are various types of Silkies with some having just crests, others have beards and muffs. They come in large fowl and bantam versions. Ours are USA Silkies which are a smaller version of the bantam. The Silkies we have here are multiple colours from gold, gold partridge, gold blue partridge, black, white and lavender. They have crests, beards and muffs so are called bearded Silkies.

Silkie feathers are more like hair and it makes them unable to fly. The wing feathers are more twisted than regular wing feathers so they cannot get much lift, if at all. The beard, muff and crest can obscure the eye so they are more easily surprised and skittish than other chickens. Due to poor eyesight, they may not eat or drink much. A careful trim is helpful to give them a better chance to see. They are not big eaters anyway.

Silkies have black skin, 5 toes, and a mulberry comb which is both mulberry coloured and shaped like a cushion. The male has a larger mulberry than the hen. Wattles are very small and the ear lobe is a bright blue.

This hen is a good broody, as they fall broody often during the year. So much so that they might rarely been seen out of the nestbox. Silkie cockerels are somewhat defensive simply because of their poor visibility. They are always on their guard. A trim tends to sort this behaviour, as once they can see properly they know what they are up against.

Care Needs of A Silkie

Silkies are not good in a mixed flock due to their timid nature brought on by poor vision. Their feather is very fine and should not get wet. Feathered feet are also prone to picking up lots of mud in unsuitable ground conditions. An ideal Silkie habitat is clean, dry, mud free and only with other Silkies for company.

Breed Temperament

Silkies are not good at mixing with other chickens or rather they are not safe with larger chickens. They are quiet and curious. Due to their broodiness, they need care to avoid being malnourished in repeated broody episodes. See our blog article on broody behaviour

Breed Size

The USA Silkie is a small bird. Probably about the size of a pigeon.

Silkie Eggs

This chicken is classed as a poor layer of small eggs. Our Silkies lay about 10 eggs on consecutive days and then stop for a few months at a time.

Further Information

If you would like to know more about keeping chickens and which are good equipment choices then consider our online courses.

Silkie Read More »

Norfolk Grey

Chicken Breeds, Norfolk Grey, Poultry For Sale / By / 30th April 2023 /
Hedgerow Sussex Rock pullet

Norfolk Grey Description

The following describes the history of the Norfolk Grey and was lifted straight from the Rare Breed Survival Trust website. The breed was developed by Fred Myhill of Norwich between 1910 and 1912 under the name Black Marias. He went off to fight in the First World War but came back to find all his work undone. He started again and then took them to the 1920 Dairy Show. In about 1925 he changed the name to the more appealing Norfolk Grey. They were mainly the result of a cross breed between Silver Birchen Game and Duckwing Leghorns.

Unfortunately this bird, which was developed as a hardy utility breed, never really caught on. In the 1970s stocks therefore reportedly dwindled to just 4 birds which were then acquired by Andrew and Sue Bowden. This quiet hen is a black bird but with a beautiful beetle green sheen to its feathers. It has silver neck hackles and small but refined head with a single comb and small wattles. They are a fairly upright breed with dark grey or black coloured legs. The males are black in the body and have abundant white/silver neck feathers. As a breed they are not particularly broody however which could be why it is so rare.

Breed Temperament

The Norfolk Grey has a quiet and fairly timid nature so they are unlikely to cause a problem with their coop mates in a mixed flock.

Breed Size

A Norfolk Grey is classified as a large fowl – light

Eggs of Norfolk Grey

This chicken should lay between 200 and 220 medium brown or tinted eggs in their first laying year. The eggs are a good size too.

Sussex Rock Pullet
Hedgerow Sussex Rock Adult hen

Norfolk Grey Read More »

Hedgerow Blacktail Bluetail

Blacktail, Bluetail, Chicken Breeds / By / 13th December 2023 /
Bluetail x Rhode Island Red

Blacktail Bluetail Description

The Hedgerow Blacktail Bluetail is a lovely and friendly hen that’s just a little bit different. She has been produced from specially selected highly productive strains of Sussex and Rhode Island Red. Similar to a Columbian colouration but with a slight variation. The Rhode Island Red cockerel has had his wicked way with Light Sussex and Coronation Sussex hens. This means that the Coronation colouration is coming out in a lot of these with the blue neck and blue tail. Some are more Blacktailed with black round the neck. She makes a traditional and yet interesting addition to any flock of garden hens. The Blacktail is identical in appearance to the Brown Rock, but have not come from the Muirfield Hatchery in Scotland

Breed Temperament

Blacktail and Bluetails are calm, inquisitive and friendly. She can be very attentive, especially when she is on the lookout for a treat. Just try to pick up a spade to do some digging and these hens will appear out of nowhere to take a very keen interest in your efforts.

Breed Size

A Hedgerow Blacktail or Bluetail is classified as large fowl – light. They mix well with breeds of a similar size except very timid birds.

Blacktail Bluetail Eggs

She will be expected to produce 180 to 200 large brown eggs in her first laying year. The eggs will start off quite small but will increase in size as the hen matures.

Further Information

More info on our birds for sale can be found here. If you are looking to join us on one of our courses please check out our courses page

Availability

We don’t currently have any of these in stock at Hedgerow Henporium because these were happy accidents!

Hedgerow Blacktail Bluetail Read More »

Ixworth

Chicken Breeds, Ixworth / By / 23rd April 2024 / ,
Ixworth Cockerels head picture

Ixworth Chickens

Ixworths are one of the rarest breeds in the UK but in our opinion one of best. We are very fortunate to have been able to source some excellent breeding stock.

Ixworth Breed Description

The Ixworth was created some time ago by Reginald Appleyard who also designed some other chickens and ducks. Ixworths are pure white with white legs and a pea comb. They also have small wattles in the hen and quite small wattles in the cockerel. They are a solidly built bird with a neat head and beady eye.

The Ixworth breed was created by Reginald Appleyard, starting in 1931 and launched at the 1938 London Dairy Show, and named after the Suffolk village of his birth.

His aim was to produce a top quality, fast maturing table bird that would also lay more and avoid the other utility problems associated with the Indian Game breed.

Breeds used in its make included White Sussex, White Orpington, White Minorca, White Old English Game, Jubilee and Dark Indian Game. 

The breed nearly went extinct in the 1950s as faster growing hybrid broilers arrived.  Rare breed conservationists began to revive Ixworth’s in the 1970s and now there are now about 20 enthusiastic breeders but only four exhibitors.

Appearance

  • The Ixworth is a deep-bodied, medium to large breed. They are solid and heavy.
  • Birds should have white legs with a pinkish tinge, orange eyes, a red pea comb and hold their tail fairly low
  • Ixworth is only in one colour, white.
  • This breed has small wattles in the hen. The comb and wattles on the cockerel are also quite small.

Uses

An Ixworth is a dual purpose chicken. This means it is suitable for egg production or a table bird. It is white fleshed and some say it provides the best quality meat of any pure breed.  However like most pure breeds it is best to prepare for the table at no more than 12-14 months. Depending on the strain the Ixworth hen should produce about 150-180 medium-sized off-white/cream eggs in a year.

Ixworth Breed Temperament

As a breed in general Ixworths are a mild mannered chicken. Both the hens and cockerels are good in a mixed flock with no behavioural problems. The Ixworth hen is a really sweet chicken, because they are not aggressive at all in a flock. Ixworths are quite chatty but I have noticed that their voice and phrasing is different to other chickens. The Ixworth cockerels in particular are lovely. Both males and females are somewhat skittish, but nowhere in the same league as a Leghorn.

An Ixworth hen will go broody during the year, but they are easy to pursuade otherwise. They are capable of covering 30 or more eggs in a nest, surprisingly which is more than I have ever seen from any other chicken. Even our massive Brahmas couldn’t control such a huge number of fertile eggs. Needless to say we removed some so that her workload wasn’t as much.

Breed Size

An Ixworth is a large fowl, heavy in terms of size. They are fast growing.

Eggs

Eggs from an Ixworth are pale tinted (off white)

Further Information

You can read further information on our other chickens here on our chickens for sale page. If you are keen to learn more, we run an online instant access course in Chicken Keeping. Find out more about our Courses Here.

The Ixworth hens are the all white chickens in this video above. Swedish Flower Hens are currently in the same run.

Ixworth Read More »

Feather Pecking

Chicken Behaviour / By / 11th December 2023 / , ,
Cockerel with feather pecking damage
Example of signs of feather pecking behaviour

Feather pecking is a potentially serious issue in chickens. At best it can look rather scruffy, but at worst it can result in chicken death. Take a look at Peter Pecker in the photo. Notice his cream coloured feathers (his saddle) have v-shaped tips. This is classic feather pecking behaviour. This feather pattern of plucking is known as barbering.

The hens in his flock are being over attentive and because he is a kindly cockerel, he is letting them do it. He sees it as a mutual preening exercise which is a normal type of behaviour in birds. They often preen each other as it cements their bonds, however this can continue to a destructive level. Eventually the barbering gets closer and closer to the skin and if it does not stop, then it becomes a feather pecking habit. Chickens will then start to attack the pin or blood feathers as they are starting to poke through the skin. This will draw blood and blood is bad. Chickens then begin to actively hunt feathers especially those of chickens that are lower down the pecking order. They do not know when to stop when they start to draw blood and it can turn fatal.

The reasons behind feather pecking are complex and not well understood. Some people believe that the hens realise they have a deficiency in protein and eat feathers to make up the deficit. Others think it is a boredom or a stress response. In parrots that is surely the reason but is it still the case for chickens? There could be a similarity for sure. Allo preening (bird mutual preening) is a bonding and very natural behaviour so we may be just guessing. It is all too easy to attach human emotions and reasons behind animal behaviour. At the end of the day we can only make assumptions but not know for sure.

One thing is for sure, when the birds are in a moulting period and every bird is in the same state of undress then they actually (mostly) leave each other alone and stop the feather pecking to allow the feathers to re-grow. Maybe it is more to do with the heightened stress of hormone surges during the peak laying and fertility periods of spring and summer.

Feather Pecking Read More »

Swedish Flower Hen

Chicken Breeds, Poultry For Sale, Swedish Flower Hen / By / 4th January 2025 /
Group of Swedish flower hens

Swedish Flower Hens – Skånsk Blommehöna

Beautiful Swedish Flower Hens are as the name says, a native landrace Swedish chicken. They are exceedingly rare in Sweden and have been brought back from the brink of extinction by a few enthusiasts who have nurtured them and tried to keep them alive and kicking. These are now consequently finding their way across the world as people discover how beautiful they are.

Skånsk Blommehöna description

There is no breed standard for them because they are a landrace breed. This means that due to local conditions there has been a natural cross breeding taken place over many many generations until the chicken eventually became what it is today. A process of natural selection with no human intervention.

The characteristics of Swedish Flower Hens are that it can be with or without a crest. They can also have yellow, pink, white or pale mottled legs but the feathers all have a “flower” on each tip. There should be no “barring” on the feathers at all. Other than this the breed is not supposed to be selectively bred for colour or any other traits thus keeping it entirely as wild as it is. To add in selective breeding would destroy what makes them so special in the first place. The base colours for Swedish Flower Chickens are red, brown, blue, white, black and yellow. They have genebank status in their home country.

Our flock of Swedish Flower Hens (even the boys are named the same) is as multicoloured as possible with several boys to make sure the genes are well mixed to preserve the variety of colour which happens when nature decides the result.

The curious thing about Swedish Flower Hens is that until they are fully grown, you cannot tell what their final feather pattern is going to be. The grower chicks are often therefore a completely different pattern. They go through several changes of feathers until they earn their flowers by being mature enough to wear them. Although they are multi-coloured and may seem bright, they are actually superbly camouflaged in a field or natural setting. They just melt into the background.

Swedish Flower Hen Temperament

These chickens are not generally a friendly breed in that you could describe them as often standoffish. There are always some who don’t conform to this and reserve the right to be their own “person”. They are not aggressive to their other coop mates. Whenever you have any treats on offer they are then quite happy to be in your company. It is usually on their terms.

Breed Size

These chickens are a large fowl light category.

Swedish Flower Hen Eggs

Swedish Flowers lay a good number of pale cream eggs. Eggs size is medium to large

Cost

A Swedish Flower hen is a rare breed of chicken. The price starts at £11.50 for a day old chick up to £45

Sources of Further information

For more information about the chickens we sell please look at our chickens for sale page. There is a dedicated Swedish Flower Hen website which gives you a more thorough low-down on the history of these beautiful chickens. If you have burning questions about how to look after chickens and have been stumped by the confusing contradictions online join us on one of our courses.

Close-up of Swedish Flower feather patternPair of Swedish Flower ChickensSwedish hensCrested Black Based Red Swedish Flower HenYellow Swedish Flower BoySwedish Black based yellowA group of Swedish Flower HensClose-up picture of Swedish Flower cockerel headCockerel Black based red

Swedish Flower Hen Read More »

Hedgerow Speckledy

Chicken Breeds, Hybrids / By / 15th December 2023 /
Hedgerow Speckledy

Hedgerow Speckledy Description

The Hedgerow Speckledy is a pretty commercial quality hybrid with her beetle green black shining through her feathers like jewels. Her genetic breeding is part Marans and part Rhode Island Red. The Speckledy (pronounced Speckle Dee) makes a “spectacular” addition to your flock, and everyone invariably wants one. From a distance she looks grey but when you get closer you can see that she has a beauty that is particularly noticeable in the sun when the black shines though. Her vivid red comb and wattles contrast beautifully with the colour of her feathers.

To an untrained eye our Hedgerow Speckledy looks similar in appearance to a Coucou Marans, but there are some marked differences. She doesn’t lay a dark brown egg as a Marans does. Her neck feather look more like a Sussex (columbian) pattern. Her legs are clean and unfeathered too. She is not quite as stockily built as a Marans.

Hedgerow Speckledy Breed Temperament

She is a very calm and peaceful hen and will therefore enjoy a cuddle once she has decided she can trust you. This breed often has a tendency to be quite chatty. Speckledy hybrids are expected to be non-broody which is normal for most hybrids however, there may be the odd one who didn’t read the manual.

Breed Size

The Speckledy is classified as a large fowl – light.

Eggs

A Speckledy will lay over 300 large light brown eggs in her first laying year. Her first eggs will be smaller however, she will produce larger eggs over the coming weeks.

Further Information

To find out more of our other types of chickens please see our chickens for sale page. If you feel the need to learn more about garden chicken keeping you can try one of our courses. It will fill in all the blanks in your knowledge, even those you didn’t know you had!

Hedgerow Speckledy
Speckledy
Speckledy Grower
Speckledy on table
Speckledy hen

Hedgerow Speckledy Read More »

Hedgerow Blue

Chicken Breeds, Hybrids / By / 13th December 2023 /
Hedgerow Blue chicken

Hedgerow Blue Description

This Hedgerow Blue chicken is a very popular powder blue beauty and we normally sell out of these very quickly. She is a commercial hybrid created using top producing strains of Blue Plymouth Rock and Barred Plymouth Rock. Her blue colouring can vary enormously from pale grey right through to a darker blue/grey. She has lovely darker lacing around the edge of each feather which is more noticeable in some hens than others. Her neck feathers are darker too and again it is more prominent in some hens rather than others. These hens are very similar looking to a hen known as a Bluebell.

Hedgerow Blue Temperament

Personality wise, she is a calm hen with a good character, however, they can vary enormously in terms of bravery. Some birds can be very skittish whereas others are very “in your face”. They don’t generally cause any problems within a mixed flock. This blue chicken is a sweet-natured beauty and is a pleasure to own.

Breed Size

Our Blue has quite a matronly build, but neither too big nor too small.

Eggs

Our Hedgerow Blue will lay in the region of 300 delicious largish darker brown eggs in her first laying year. The eggs size will start off fairly small as she is learning her “craft” but they increase in size gradually over the course of the following few weeks. She is considered to be point of lay between 22 and 25 weeks

Eggs are laid in their highest quantity in the hens first laying year which is 52 weeks after point of lay. The second laying year will, therefore, have a slight reduction in eggs numbers. The third laying year will have an even more marked reduction in the numbers of eggs produced. Egg production is a big strain on the hens resources, therefore, hybrids – due to their high numbers of yearly eggs – will stop laying sooner than pure breeds. The term live fast – die young is applicable to most hybrids.

Further information

More info on our birds for sale can be found here. If you are looking to join us on one of our courses please check out our courses page

Cute Blue chick at day old
A day old chick of the Hedgerow Blue
Hedgerow Blue hen
Here a Blue pullet is busy investigating whether there are any tasty morsels behind the feed tub
Blue pullet on the hunt
A Hedgerow Blue in hunting mode
A darker Hedgerow Blue grower
A grower at 6 weeks old in Hedgerow Blue
Hedgerow Blue chicken
She is not paying attention to the camera is our Blue pullet

Hedgerow Blue Read More »

Coronation Sussex

Chicken Breeds, Sussex / By / 12th December 2023 /
Grayson Coronation Sussex Chicken

Coronation Sussex Description

Coronation Sussex are very rare. We were breeding these since 2017 and are very similar to the Light Sussex however where the Light Sussex has black neck hackles, wing tips and tail tip, the Coronation Sussex has a pale grey in those areas. We no longer keep this breed but they are added on our site just for breed interest. Our previous breeding flock was headed by a magnificent cockerel called Silas. Sussex chickens come in various colours such as Light, Speckled, Red, White, and Coronation.

Son of Grayson Coronation Sussex
Female Coronation Sussex Hen
Sussex breeder group

Coronation Sussex Breed Temperament

She is a typical Sussex chicken temperament. A Coronation Sussex is confident but also not a lover of being cuddly. They are not usually the sort of chicken that dominates a flock. A Sussex mixes well with other chickens and are good layers.

Sussex Breed Size

This breed is classified as a large fowl – light. Sussex chickens in general have a rather matronly build. They tend to look rather stocky compared with something like a Leghorn for instance.

Eggs

Eggs are a biscuit colour or pale tinted and are produced in good numbers. Approximately 4-5 eggs per week in their first laying year. They come into lay at around the 25 week mark. The egg size is medium to large

Availability

We no longer breed these chickens.

Sources for Further Information

For more information about the chickens we currently sell please look at our chickens for sale page. If you have burning questions about how to look after chickens and have been stumped by the confusing contradictions online join us on one of our courses.

Coronation Sussex Read More »

Araucana

Araucana, Chicken Breeds / By / 12th December 2023 /
Araucana Black Cockerel

Araucana Breed Description – Not currently available

Araucana chickens are amazing birds. Pronounced Arra-carna. They have a beard, muff and a crest and most interesting of all, they lay a blue egg. We keep them in Black, Blue and Lavender varieties which are quite rare colours. Originally from Chile, they were brought to the UK many years ago and have been used in the creation of many crested breeds such as the Cream Legbar.

Indigenous Araucana are a rumpless chicken, so they have no “parsons nose” to grow feathers from. Americans bred with them with some of their local fowl and created a tailed version. The tailed version is more correctly known as Ameraucana. This differentiates the two kinds. Most UK Araucana are actually Ameraucana but the name Araucana has become a one size fits all kind of name.

Breed Temperament

Araucana are a fairly reserved chicken. They exhibit the full range of possible personalities, from skittish to velcro-like. Careful handling is the key. They are good in a mixed flock.

Breed Size

The chickens we have are large fowl – light, but they can also be found in some places in a bantam version. Large fowl in this breed are on the small side of large we feel.

Eggs

Araucana are very respectable layers of medium-sized blue eggs. Interestingly enough the genes that make a blue egg are different than those of a common or garden egg. The colour is deposited into the shell at the outset and the inside of the shell is as blue as the outside. Other breeds of chickens apply the colour as a final flourish just before laying. The colour on the outside of regular eggs does not go right through the shell. Rest assured that the egg once it hits the frying pan is just the same as any other regular hens egg. They just look rather nice additions to your egg box.

Further Information

If you need any further information on how to look after chickens then a course might be a good option.

Araucana Read More »

Hedgerow Goldilocks

Chicken Breeds, Hybrids / By / 13th December 2023 /
Hedgerow Goldilocks hen

Hedgerow Goldilocks Breed Description

The Hedgerow Goldilocks is a new version of a hybrid that we haven’t stocked before. We are now delighted to offer some for sale. She is a commercial quality hybrid which comes from a Brown Leghorn and Sussex recipe. She is more golden round the neck than the Brown Leghorn in her genetics hence her fetching name. We have not got adult birds yet so the gallery picture is a picture of a grower. The other Goldilocks picture in the gallery is a hen balanced on my hand. I wanted to show the colouring of her back feathers. When she grows up she will be rather good looking we reckon. A hen changes quite a bit from their grower colouring. The adult hen is going to be more golden still.

Goldilocks Breed Temperament

The Sussex in her makeup will tone down the liveliness of the Leghorn so this Goldilocks is a rather more mellow bird in comparison with a standard Leghorn.

Breed Size

Our Hedgerow Goldilocks is classified as a large fowl – light. She looks more like a Leghorn shape rather than a Sussex shape.

Eggs

A Hedgerow Goldilocks is expected to lay 280-300 cream eggs in her first laying year. The Leghorn in her will drive egg numbers for sure so she certainly won’t disappoint in egg laying terms.

Further information

More information is to be found on our chickens for sale page. If you would like to learn more about chicken keeping you will find more about our courses here

Availability

We don’t have any of these hens available at the moment at Hedgerow Henporium.

Goldilocks Grower
Looking at the camera is over-rated
Close up of Goldilocks
Chickens wiggle when balanced on your hand

Hedgerow Goldilocks Read More »

Black La Flèche

Chicken Breeds, La Fleche / By / 12th December 2023 /
La Fleche Cockerel standing tall

La Flèche History

La Flèche translates in French as “the arrow.” It has been said that the La Flèche chicken gets its name from the arrow-like shape of its V-shaped comb, but the name actually was derived from its geographic origin. The town that bears the name La Flèche is a town in the department of Sarthe within the Pays de la Loire region of France. It’s a village which lies to the east of Paris and is near the famous racing city of Le Mans. The name of the village was given to it by the Church of St. Thomas in reference to the arrow that martyred their patron saint. This breed of chicken is said to have first been produced in Le Mans during the fifth century, and then Mizeray and finally at La Flèche.

A large population of La Flèche chickens made their way to America in the 1850s. They were found to be not hardy enough by producers, especially so in the eastern and middle States, and were soon abandoned for hardier newly arriving breeds. Poultry author W.B. Tegetmeier purchased some La Flèche chickens and imported them into England in 1882

Breed Description – not currently available

This breed is a medium-sized but slender pure black bird that is much heavier than it appears. It has longer than normal legs so they appear quite tall. The blackness of their feathers shines beautifully as a petrol/beetle green sheen in the sun. White earlobes are in stark contrast to the black feathers. La Flèche is often called the devil chicken because they sport a V comb which looks like the horns of a demon. They also have large nares (nostrils) which makes them look even more unusual. As a breed, they can be quite a flighty bird but if they are handled regularly they can become very sweet and interactive. They lay a large white egg and lots of them. Many Spanish chickens resemble the La Flèche but with the exception of their comb.

This breed is also quite a gourmet bird for table use being very prized in their native country and are famous for producing magnificent capons (castrated cockerels) and poulardes (fattened pullets) that are much celebrated in the Paris and Anjou markets. Today in the farmers market of La Flèche, these birds are sometimes sold as the “Fowl of Le Mans.” Of all the French breeds of chicken, it is said that the La Flèche stands at the head for table qualities. They have thin white skin with tender, juicy, delicate, short-grained flesh. Their breasts are meaty and full in shape. The breed fattens well, with the fat distributed across the breasts, legs, thighs, and even the back.

Black La Flèche are very rare in the UK. They also come in blue and a cuckoo variation which is even rarer.

La Flèche Breed Temperament

They are a very active bird which makes them undesirable to some people. They can fly well so are likely to need wing clipping to keep them out of harm’s way. If they are well handled when young they can be positively velcro-like and totally trusting. They are non-aggressive. The cockerels can be very over amorous to the hens if you keep more than one boy at a time.

Breed Size

The La Flèche is classified as large fowl – light.

Eggs

A large white egg is laid in very good numbers.

Cuckoo La Fleche hen
Black La Fleche hen accepting a hand
La Fleche hens at the feeder
Curious La Fleche Hen
Young La Fleche hen looking at the floor
Black La Fleche hen side view

Black La Flèche Read More »

French Blue Splash Marans

Blue Splash Marans, Chicken Breeds / By / 13th December 2023 /
French Blue Splash Marans hen

French Blue Splash Marans Description

French Blue Splash Marans (always plural) is a large fowl with a stocky build. They are quite friendly. Their main characteristics are the feathered legs (English Marans do not have this) and feathered outside toes. They also lay the most wonderful mahogany reddish brown egg. As the colour is the last thing to be applied to the egg before it is laid it takes quite a long time in “manufacture” to create such a depth of colour. This means that Marans lay steadily well, but not prolific. The eggs are well worth the wait however.

The Blue Splash Marans is a mostly white bird with random blue splashes on her plumage. A Blue Splash Marans tends to be a little calmer than the other colours. They have feathered legs and the feathering extends down to the outside toe.

Temperament

French Blue Splash Marans are a quiet and calm breed, which don’t normally cause any flock issues.

Breed Size

The Marans is classed as a large fowl – light but they are on the larger end of that class.

Classed as Large Fowl but there is a bantam version at a quarter of the size.

Eggs

The eggs in common with all Marans are very dark brown

French Marans Dark Brown Eggs

Availability

These French Blue Splash Marans are not currently available at Hedgerow Henporium

Further Information

If you would like to learn more about keeping chickens, please check out our poultry courses page.

French Blue Splash Marans Read More »

French Copper Black Marans

Chicken Breeds, Copper Black Marans / By / 13th December 2023 /
Copper Black Marans Cockerel

French Copper Black Description

The French Copper Black Marans (always plural) is a large fowl with a stocky build. They are quite friendly. Their main characteristics are the feathered legs (English Marans do not have this) and feathered outside toes. They also lay the most wonderful mahogany reddish brown egg. As the colour is the last thing to be applied to the egg before it is laid it takes quite a long time in “manufacture” to create such a depth of colour. This means that Marans lay steadily well, but not prolific. The eggs are well worth the wait however.

The Copper Black Marans is mostly a black bird which is wonderful glossy oily sheen which glows in the sun. They have copper round the neck hackles and onto the breast. They have feathered legs and the feathering extends down to the outside toe.

Temperament

The French Copper Black Marans is a calm and quiet bird which does not normally cause any flock disharmony.

Breed Size

Classed as Large Fowl but there is a bantam version at a quarter of the size.

Availability

These Copper Blacks are not currently available at Hedgerow Henporium but we tend to stock in late spring.

Eggs

The eggs of a French Copper Black Marans are among the most desirous of all egg colours. In a good example they are a large and dark mahogany colour. The egg colour will get a little lighter throughout the laying year.

French Copper Black Marans Read More »

Cream Legbar

Chicken Breeds, Cream Legbar, Poultry For Sale / By / 23rd April 2024 /
Cream Legbar

History of the breed

The Cream Legbar has Leghorn and Araucana genes in its breed profile ancestry. The Leghorn part makes for the aloof nature. Some of the Legbars can be quite friendly but as with all chickens, personality is definitely down to the individual. These chickens are an autosexing breed as from hatching these can be sexed by the colour of their down. The males are blurred paler colours with or without a defined pale headspot. The females are quite strongly chipmunk coloured with a stripe pattern down from head to tail.

Cream Legbar Breed Description – Hatching shortly

Unfortunately due to the craze for blue eggs, there are many many breeders of poor examples of the breed. Some breeders are oblivious about the correct genetics and produce Cream Legbar-like birds that are not actually Cream Legbars. The Cotswold Legbar is a Legbar but is not defined as a Cream Legbar. These hens are more gold and salmon coloured than your traditional Cream Legbar. The Cotswold Legbars are brilliant birds also and can also be blue egg layers or a green egg. Any Legbars that lay an olive egg would have been crossed out to a brown egg layer at some stage. Brown genetics muddy the blue egg genes which results in an olive egg.

These are a crested breed which is a feature which comes from the Araucana in the genetic makeup. Many people call these Crested Cream Legbars. There are no uncrested Cream Legbars – ever. This is a pet peeve of mine. A Cream Legbar is a Cream Legbar. True Cream Legbars are grey/brown in the body with a pale salmon breast. They have yellow legs and cream (almost white) neck hackles. Any birds with yellow or gold in the neck feathers is not to the defined British standard. These are not Cream Legbars. The body shape is also defined in the standard but I won’t go into that here.

There is also an official Gold Legbar and Silver Legbar but these are a different type of Legbar. Both are rare to find and both are also uncrested. Neither the Gold or Silver Legbars will lay a blue egg.

Breed Temperament

Legbars have rather a lot of Leghorn in them (clue is in the name – Leg). Leghorns are a rather skittish bird. Legbars are quite aloof but are likely to be around when any treats are handed out. They are not really fussed about being your best friend. Hens can be quite assertive flock members so you should try to avoid the more timid companions.

Breed Size

These lovely hens are classed as large fowl – light.

Cream Legbar Egg

The Legbar is a blue egg layer of a medium to large size in a good example. Proper blue/green egg colour is part of the verification of good quality breeding. Hens with blue or green egg genes mean that the shell is produced a little different. The shell colour is actually formed within the fabric of the shell itself. A feature which is created further up in the egg manufacturing process. Other egg colours are only applied to the shell just before the egg exits the hen. You can almost think of as a paint applied before the egg is actually laid. The inside of brown shells are white whereas the inside of the shell of a blue egg layer is blue. When the egg is on your plate, you can tell no difference to any other egg.

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Hedgerow Homemade

Chicken Breeds, Hedgerow Homemade, Hybrids, Poultry For Sale, Swedish Flower Hen / By / 14th December 2023 /
Faverolles hen with no beard or muff

Hedgerow Homemade Breed Description

Our Hedgerow Homemade chickens are currently from a mix of Swedish Flower Hen boys with our laying flock of Ixworth and Faverolles.

They come in a variety of colours especially with those Swedish Flower Hen genes.

Most are handled regularly to ensure that they are happy to be held by their new owners. They are all large fowl rather than bantam sized, so most will lay a good sized egg.

We have called them Hedgerow Homemade because that is exactly what they are. The exciting time is when they hatch and it’s like a Forrest Gump moment, “you never know what you’re gonna git”. We always love when they start to feather up, as it’s then that their true identity begins to show itself. It’s totally fascinating and consequently, we find it difficult to let them go because they do turn out quite unique and rather lovely.

Breed Size

Our Hedgerow Homemade would be classed as Large Fowl and either light or heavy. Some are definitely more chunky than others!

Breed Temperament

Variable mostly placid but some may be a little flighty or standoffish if they have more Ancona in them for example. Given the right handling they are apt to become quite calm and interactive. They do reserve the right to be contrary 🙂

Eggs

Egg colour could be anything from white through to a medium brown colour. They will be medium to large in size. Quantity would be anything from 80 to up to 200 in their first laying year.

Cost

The Hedgerow Homemade starts at £10.50 for unsexed day-olds and rises to £35 each with age

Availability

We have some growers left at around the 16 week mark. We have some black, white, splash, brown and Faverolles with no beard.

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French Wheaten Marans

Chicken Breeds, Wheaten Marans / By / 13th December 2023 /
French Wheaten Marans hen

French Wheaten Marans History

The French Wheaten Marans was developed during the 1920’s near the town of Marans which is north of La Rochelle in Poitou Charente, France. Marans is always written in the plural and pronounced Ma-Ron. The original Marans had lightly feathered legs, something that can still be seen in French birds. Many strains of Wheaten Marans (non standard in the UK) therefore still have reasonable amounts of feathering on the legs. They are often referred to as ‘French Marans’ because of this. UK Marans tend to have clean shanks so are not called “French”

The French Wheaten Marans are thought to be made up from quite a number of very old breeds: Barred Plymouth Rock, Coucou de Malines, Croad Langshan, and Faverolles but also some Rennes (this is a place in Brittany and thought to be a cuckoo breed), Gatinaise and possibly Brakel depending on who you speak to.

Breed Description

The British Poultry Standards lists feathered shanks as a serious defect. As with many utility type breeds around this time, there was great pressure to export the Marans before the “type” was properly fixed. This took longer due to the number of breeds that were used to create it. The original birds were producing many variations from the standard “type” but when it was brought to England in 1929, the type was fixed. By the mid 1930’s, the first Cuckoo Marans then entered the British Poultry Standards.

There are a few different colours of Marans and this one is called Wheaten. It is a broadly brown and cream bird and is actually quite stunning, and one of our personal favourites. They lay a good number of rich reddish brown eggs. As they take a longer time to produce this colour than whiter eggs the breed is not as prolific a producer of eggs but still produce a very respectable number.

Breed Temperament

Wheaten Marans are quiet and confident birds. They rarely get into or cause trouble

French Wheaten Marans Size

Marans are typically quite a large stocky bird. They would be classed as Large Fowl – heavy

Eggs

French Wheaten Marans lay a rich dark mahogany dark brown egg. They do not lay as frequently as other breeds because the shell takes longer to develop the depth of pigment. Steady is what you could describe them as.

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French Copper Blue Marans

Chicken Breeds, Copper Blue Marans / By / 13th December 2023 /
Adult Copper Blue Marans hen

French Copper Blue Marans History

The French Copper Blue Marans is always spelled in the plural and pronounced Ma-Ron. It was developed during the 1920’s near the French town of Marans. Marans is north of La Rochelle in Poitou Charente, France. The original French Copper Blue Marans had lightly feathered legs, which is something that can still be seen in French birds. Many strains of Copper Blue Marans still have reasonable amounts of feathering on the legs and are often referred to as ‘French Marans’ because of this. UK Marans tend to have clean shanks so are not called “French”.

The British Poultry Standards lists feathered shanks as a serious defect. As with many utility type breeds around this time, there was great pressure to export the Marans before the type was properly fixed. This took a long time due to the number of breeds that were used to create it. The original French Marans birds were producing many variations from the standard type. When it was brought to England in 1929, the type was fixed. By the mid 1930’s, the first Cuckoo Marans entered the British Poultry Standards.

The Marans are thought to be made up from quite a number of very old breeds: Barred Plymouth Rock, Coucou de Malines, Croad Langshan, and Faverolles but also some Rennes. Rennes this is a place in Brittany and thought to be a cuckoo breed. Gatinaise and possibly Brakel are although thought to be in the breeding line depending on who you speak to.

Breed Description

There are a few different colour variations of Marans and this one is Copper Blue. It is a broadly blue bird with faint black lacing on the body feathers and copper coloured feathers around the neck.

Breed Temperament

In common with all Marans, the French Copper Blue Marans is a mostly calm bird with a nice temperament. They mix well with other birds as a rule.

Eggs

The eggs of the Marans are a rich deep reddish brown. They are a steady layer but not prolific.

Availability

The Copper Blue are not currently available at Hedgerow Henporium

Further Information

If you feel you would like to become more experienced in chicken care then please consider one of our courses

Copper Blue Marans pullet
Young Copper Blue Marans hen
Adult Copper Blue Marans hen
Cockerel Copper Blue Marans

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Egg Laying Flock Retirement Ladies

Chicken Breeds, Poultry For Sale, Retirement Ladies / By / 20th April 2024 /
Laying flock of chickens

Retiring Egg Laying Flock Description

The bottom of the page will show a selection of our egg laying flock that are due for retirement. Our retirement ladies come from our egg-producing breeding flock and most are still laying but won’t be expected to lay an egg every day. When a chicken gets older, then her laying capacity will tail off. Some might even lay very infrequently. They are all in good health and would like to find a nice home, preferably in a small laying flock so that they can enjoy their well-earned rest. We also take in hens for rehoming if you can no longer keep them.

Current Availability

Re-homes

We don’t have any hens that have been rehomed just at the moment. Pictures of the rehomed hens are below.

Cartoon chicken with wings flapping
Waving Cartoon Chicken
Round cartoon chicken

Special needs hens for Sale

We also have 3 hens which have special needs, so can only go to homes that are prepared to do what is necessary to ensure their comfort. These are hens which were hatched in April 2023 and came into lay in December 2023. The reason we kept them was to make sure that we had some eggs to tide us over the winter period when our other birds were moulting, aka “resting”. I will detail their history below.

Special Needs Hen No. 1

This hen has been hatched with a skull deformity. Consequently her beak points to the side and is misaligned. She will need her new owner to be prepared to file her beak with an emery board. Much like you file your own nails. Beaks are made of keratin which is the same stuff that fingernails are made of. If the beak was left to its own devices it would curl back on itself into a hook as the bottom beak is not there to keep it in check. Once the beak hooks over, the hen can no longer eat. Beaks have a blood supply like dogs claws but the end doesn’t and it is this (dead end) which is gently filed back. A bit of reshaping on the sides might also be needed on occasion.

Special Needs Hen No. 2

This hen was hatched with a slight scissor beak. The picture is of a normal Faverolles hen. As scissor beaks go, hers is quite mild and it doesn’t stop her feeding herself. This hen will need the same sort of treatment as hen no. 1 above. The aim is to encourage the beak to follow the normal line. Beaks grow much like fingernails so eventually the top beak will curl downwards because there is nothing to keep it in balance. The beak should not be allowed to develop a hook. A hook will force the two halves of the beak apart.

Hen no. 2 is a really sweet hen, very attentive. As with all scissor beaks, the feeder should have a depth enough so that they can use their beak as a shovel rather than a pecking implement. This she manages very well.

Special Needs Hen No. 3

This hen had an unfortunate start in life as her coop-mates decided to try to eat her vent. Chickens can be very vicious to their own kind. With treatment her wound healed but with a lot of scar tissue and tightness. I gave her a chance to grow because that is just what I do, however I knew when she started to lay that she might have difficulty. She could have gone one of two ways. The scar tissue might have prevented her from expelling her egg and she would die from the experience. Alternatively the laying hormones which enlarge the vent might do the job of making her more flexible in that area.

It is a relief to find that she has been able to lay without complications. Her damaged vent, however has never really had a good seal, so she leaks. This hen has a messy bum, and she will always have one. Fly-strike is a risk to her so vigilance would be needed, along with a spa treatment every so often.

All three hens are a normal weight, and eat and drink like normal. The wonky ladies need a feeder they can dig their beaks into, but apart from that they are happy-go-lucky. They are all laying a nice egg. I am offering them for sale because they are not needed for my breeding plans for pure breeds, however, they can stay here regardless for life if necessary. The amount of eggs they produce is too many when I add into the rest of my breeding birds eggs. There is only so many omelettes I can eat!!

I would like all three special ladies to go together. Pictures below of the wonky ladies. If you want to take on these ladies then I will show you what to do so you can continue with their care. You can also bring them back here for us to do it for you.

chicken with deformed beak
Hen no. 1
Salmon Faverolles Chickens
Hen no. 2

Our Retirement “policy”

All our girls get to live out their lives here at Hedgerow Henporium until their natural demise if they are not re-homed. None are ever “dispatched” just because they no longer lay enough, or lay at all. Egg numbers are not that important to us but their good health is. Our retirement option is not a “rescue hen” situation because their fate is not in dispute or ever even at risk. They get to live their full natural lifespan either way.

Any re-homed hens are only taken if they have a clean bill of health.

What To Expect From Our Retirement Girls

Our retirement selection is usually done in Autumn. As they have been with a cockerel for some time they could be looking a little “careworn” for example, they may look somewhat scruffy. Cockerels are truly magnificent birds, but their “bedroom manners” are not very tender. As they mate every 10 minutes, they do cause some feather loss or damage at times to our girls. When a cockerel has a favourite (usually the easiest or most submissive hen) then she will have more feather loss than most. The feather loss pattern will be around the top of their heads and mid backs due to being firmly grasped and trodden on by the cock bird. Most of our breeding hens wear hen saddles so that they are protected from the advances of the males.

Feathers will grow back in a few weeks with some TLC, a good diet, and some girly “me” time. Depending on the time of year some hens may be in moult (annual phenomenon) and as a result may resemble a hedgehog in parts while they are in the process of growing their new finery. They are all in excellent health.

Expected Lifespan

The lifespan of our retirement ladies is not expected to be very long as they are often 2-3 years old come retirement. Egg laying takes it out of hens however many eggs they have produced thus far. We find the average hen lives 4-5 years in good health. As in humans things can happen which alter the normal expected lifespan so nothing is guaranteed.

Prices

Hens are priced individually according to age and breed. Please ask for details of our availability as it changes regularly. See below for the individual birds profiles. Hopefully they will be living with you soon 🙂

Laying Flock Breed Size

They are all classified as large fowl. Some are light and some are heavy.

Breed Temperament

All our egg-laying flock are pretty docile with no real squabbles going on. They are all good-natured girls.

Eggs

You may get some eggs from any hens we retire. If they do lay then they will be medium/large sized and pale cream coloured.

Re-homing For Your Hens

If you find that your circumstances have changed and you need to find new homes for your hens then we can probably help. If we have some space to keep them in quarantine then we will try to take them if we can.

Re-homing for Cockerels

We cannot re-home cockerels as we don’t have enough space to keep them separated. Cockerels will fight if kept together which is distressing.

Thank you for considering some of our ladies.

Egg Laying Flock Retirement Ladies Read More »

Hedgerow Hy-line Brown

Chicken Breeds, Hybrids, Poultry For Sale / By / 14th December 2023 /
Hyline brown official picture

Hy-line Brown Breed Description

Hy-line Browns are your archetypal barnyard hen and are very desirable to mass egg producers. Don’t let that put you off owning one. Owning a Hyline brown means she is going to be very lucky indeed compared to her hatchling companions. She is friendly, docile and a very nice addition to any garden flock. She is a top egg producer and also very economically as she doesn’t eat as much as most hens do either. This is what makes her so attractive to egg producers. In full feather, she has ginger background with pale amber tips to her tail and wings.

Breed Temperament

A Rhode Island Red based hybrid is bred to be docile, however they have plenty of attitude and are usually to be found near the top of the pecking order. This is no timid hen though, as she is active, friendly and inquisitive. Some hyline brown hens can be rather forceful. They are generally a good mixed flock bird, but possibly not always a good companion for more timid coop-mates.

Breed Size

Hyline Browns are classified as large fowl light.

Eggs

The Hy-Line Brown is the world’s most balanced brown egg layer. She produces over 355 rich brown eggs to 80 weeks, peaks well and begins lay early with optimum egg size. These traits combined with an excellent unrivalled feed efficiency, the best interior egg quality in the market

Further Information on Hy-line brown

There is loads of information about the Hy-line brown on the Hy-line website. For other chickens from Hedgerow Henporium view our chickens for sale page. Or if you have any questions please use our contact form

Close up of chick showing egg tooth
Hy-line Brown day old
Off to work from an egg
Feeding time Brown and Silver Brown Hy-lines
Hyline brown official picture
Young Hy-line brown hens
Two week old Hy-line brown chick

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