Raw Green Cottages

Chick Keeping Courses. Book a place now!

2011-04-08T19:10:00.002+01:00

A wonderful and unique opportunity to gain an insight into the world of chicken keeping.

Course availability over the next 30 days;

Friday 15th April
Tuesday 19th April
Thursday 21st April
Friday 22nd April
Saturday 23rd April
BH Monday 25th April
Friday 29th April
BH Monday 2nd May
Tuesday 3rd MayAll courses are 2 - 4pm

Our fun, lively and informative chicken afternoons provide you with all you need to know about keeping your poultry healthy and happy.
Ideal for first time chicken owners, or those thinking about taking up chicken keeping.
We give you practical advice, tips and support in all aspects of poultry husbandry.
For those already well versed in the art of chicken maintenance, we also offer more advanced courses.
However, we like to encourage a mixed range of ability on course, so you not only learn from us, you learn from each other.

We love daft questions and are committed to making these days as fun and helpful as possible. A definite afternoon out with a difference, for all the family, in a beautiful and rural South Yorkshire location.

Once we've done all the chicken schmoozing, the Hen Party will begin. We have an informal chat, with a question and answer session in our teepee with traditional tea, cake and sandwiches. (Don't worry, there'll be no chicken sandwiches on offer!)

And of course, nobody walks away empty handed. They'll be a goody bag for every guest full of handy hints and hen treats!

Prices*Although these courses are advertised at £25 per person, prices are as follows;

Adults - £25 per person
Children (7-16) - £15 per person
Under 7's - Free
Family Ticket (2 adults & 2 children) - £60

Group bookings are welcome. Or why not book a birthday party with a difference?

Come along to one of our courses, there's so much more to chicken keeping than meets the eye. A memorable experience guaranteed. x

Any queries?Jody - 07502 009103
www.rawgreencottages.co.uk
www.twitter.com/rawgreencottage
www.blogspot.com/rawgreencottages

Blitz Lice, Mites & Bugs - Naturally.....

2011-03-25T22:15:00.000Z

Diatomaceous Earth is a natural but super efficient, organic way to treat outbreaks of lice, mites, red/spider mite on your hens or in the woodwork of your coops. Without getting too technical, it's basically a very fine powder that comes from fossilised shell. It's not a new product by any means. It has been used in agriculture for years and years. It is completely non-toxic and can be used as a food supplement as well as a external treatment. It also works for other animals, fleas on dogs, ants in the home, cockroaches etc... It really is a brilliant product and will blitz bugs and stop or prevent infestations without harming you, your family or your animals and pets. I am selling it in 100g bags if anyone wants some. A brilliant household investment for only £4.00 per bag. Let me know!!! Jody xxx

Our Latest Newsletter

2011-03-12T17:46:00.002Z

Could there possibly be anybody who does not find these teeny
tiny quail totally and utterly adorable?

Chinese Painted Quail or Button quail as they’re sometimes known,
are the smallest type of quail and when fully grown measure only 3inches in
height!

(When quail hatch they are only about ½ an inch tall. (All
together now, awwww)

Anyway quail are the perfect bird to keep, especially for those
who cannot keep chickens.

This is why:

.......

They can live indoors or outdoors….

They don’t smell….

They’re not noisy….

They lay extremely nice little eggs…. (Perfect hard boiled in
salads)

If you take them from an early age they can be tamed (My Quail
‘Nutcracker’ spends most of his evenings sitting on my shoulder, watching TV)

So….
You want to get the person who has everything the perfect present.

Buy them a complete quail kit

A Pair of Chinese Painted Quail with starter kit for just £59.99

This Includes:

An Indoor Quail Cage,

Feeder & Drinker

Food and Bedding

And of course A pair of Chinese Painted Quail

A beautiful and unusual gift (Or just buy them for yourself)

xxxxxxxxx

Spring is Here!!!

2011-03-11T22:22:00.000Z

Unbelievably our hens have started laying really well already and both our incubators are bursting with Legbar, Favorolle and Sussex/Silkie eggs. Hatching so far has been pretty successful and we have a happy, healthy bunch of chicks cheeping away in the brooder. Get in touch anytime for any hen advice or information or pop over and visit us.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CHINESE PAINTED QUAIL. Beautiful Quail available, all colours. Ask about our quail starter kit. Perfect for those with balconies or small/no gardens. Although they will live really happily indoors.... xxxx

Happy, Healthy Hens

2011-02-14T00:41:00.006Z

Getting all my hens in tiptop condition for laying and breeding this season by using a fantastic hen health food topper.It includes linseeds, pumpkin seeds, garlic, manuka honey, lovely, big, juicy oats and liquorice root powder amongst other magical ingredients. I've just been sprinkling a little of it into their pellets every few days and my hens are loving it....
Anyone want some? £4.00 for 300g

click on the PAYPAL link below,or email me at jody@rawgreencottages.co.uk

2011-02-09T22:35:00.000Z

Well Goodbye and GoodRiddance to January.

Seems like the weather has turned a corner (Well a little bit anyway) and it's not as mind-numbingly freezing.

Our new breeds are coming along really well and we've had our first few eggs from them which have gone straight into the incubator. Who knows..... we may have our first chicks of 2011 before the end of the month.

Just to remind you. Our 2011 breeds are; Salmon Favorolles, Cream Legbars and Silkie Goldtops. Not forgetting our 'old faithful' hybrids. I'm pretty sure they are all going to be in high demand so get in touch asap and reserve your birds!!!....... xxxx

Season 5 at Raw Green Cottages!

2011-01-04T16:02:00.000Z

Happy New Year to everyone.
Hope it's a fantastic 2011 for all of you!

January 4th and so far I'm sticking to my New Years Resolutions including this one which is to blog, blog, blog!!!

It's all quiet down at RGC at the moment. It's really just been a case of damage limitation this last month. The snow and minus temperatures mean that just keeping our chickens warm (ish) and defrosting waters and coops is a twice daily effort. Thankfully though it seems like the warmer weather is here and it's not as bitterly cold as it has been. Our birds have managed to come through the cold spell relatively unscathed which is wonderful. Winter is always an anxious time for poultry keeping. Although they are much tougher than they look, chickens can get too cold and frostbite can also be a real problem!

So what's new for this year... Well it's all about Cream Legbars, Salmon Favorelles and Silkie Goldtops at Raw Green Cottages this season. Cream Legbars are our blue egg laying faithfuls. Universally popular with kids and adults, we are breeding them for a third year- Hooray!

The re-introduction of the Salmon Favorelle - These are amazing, friendly birds and one of my firm favourites. They look like little, chubby owls, are feather sexed (Just about) and are the nicest natured birds you could wish to meet. What's not to love?

Finally we are going to be breeding Goldtop Silkies . These are a cross between a Silkie Cockerel and a light Sussex Bantam Hen. Massively popular with kids due to their docile and quite lovely natures, they do have a tendency to go broody at the drop of an egg! So if you want to hatch your own this year- the natural way, one of these is a must. Oh and they're pink...... Love Jody xxx

Cute Little Quail

2010-08-01T15:11:00.000+01:00

Just hatched a few quail for us at home .. how small are they compared to the day old silkie hen!

White Stars

2010-04-07T15:24:00.000+01:00

We have a limited number of white stars coming in next week. Lovely white egg layers.

Geese eggs? We haven't the room

2010-03-23T21:08:00.001Z

Everybody is waiting for the first orpington and legbar chicks, (and our incubator is bursting at the seams), but a friend of ours has asked if we've any space for 9 geese eggs.

Now we've been promised we can keep a couple if they are fertile, so we have to do a bit of juggling around and candling of the eggs to see if we can squeeze them in. Now I'm not even sure what we are going to do with the geese once they have hatched ... it just gets crazier by the day

Ordering pure breeds for 2010

2010-03-21T21:52:00.000Z

Last year, Dave & I had a complete nightmare trying to accomodate everybody for pure breeds. Hybrids are fine as we buy these in and are in constant supply. However we hatch all the pure breeds ourselves and as we are only a very small setup, have a limited amount of eggs & incubator space.

This year, to be fair to everybody, we are going to do a very strict 'first come, first served' basis. If you would like to place an order for an orpington, silkie, cuckoo maran or pekin then please email me with a phone number and your order and we will put you on the reservation list. We will then give you an email when we are close to getting you your birds.

I know its a bit of a pain, but it is the only way to be fair. If you can get your request in before Easter then you shouldn't have to wait long xx

Good poultry dealer in Yorkshire?

2010-03-16T16:33:00.000Z

A lady came to mine this afternoon all the way from Whitby. She had spent 8 weeks trying to find a poultry breeder in Yorkshire. Luckily a friend of hers in Sheffield gave her my number - but it was a 4 hour round trip just to buy 2 hens.

If there is anybody in the York/Harrogate area thinking of selling some chickens, please do - apparantly there is nobody up there who does. I don't mind missing the odd few people 4 hours is a long way to go for a couple of hens (hope they settle in OK Yvonne!!)

Bi-OO-Cyst - The New Great Coccidiosis Fighter?

2010-03-15T11:33:00.000Z

With the UK hatching season just beginning, I thought I'd let you know of a new product that is said to be 'The future of Coccidiosis Control' (if you believe the hype.)

As many of you many know, Coccidiosis is a terrible condition that young birds can catch. The cocci parasite can be ingested by wild bird droppings or chicks can often be born with it. For the regular hatcher it can be a problem.

I've just been recommended a new product to try called BI-OO-CYST I have just bought a litre bottle to try and I will let you know how I get on with it ... All the blurb from their website is below..

Bi-OO-Cyst is the first disinfectant designed to be a powerful, DEFRA approved virucide, whilst also being effective against endoparasites especially OOcysts. Bi-OO-Cyst is the most versatile disinfectant currently available and has been designed specifically to meet the exacting demands of today's modern livestock industry. Its broad spectrum of activity is effective against endoparasites including OOcysts, viruses, bacteria, moulds and yeasts. The versatility of BI-OO-Cyst offers farmers the first product that will not only disinfect but at the same time control coccidiosis all in one simple operation.

Our first chick of the year.

2010-03-09T21:32:00.001Z

Our first chick has finally hatched - after a couple of weeks of infertile eggs, it looks like the season is finally kicking off (albeit, a little slowly) We put 10 red silkie eggs, 3 cream legbar and 7 pekin eggs in our incubator 29 days ago. Only 5 eggs were fertile (all the pekins) and this morning we found this lonely little partridge pekin.

We have some more eggs in the incubator that are fertile so she won't be alone for long. Hopefully the next lot of eggs will be all fertile, including our 1st 2 partridge orpington eggs.

Spring is Coming

2010-03-05T12:59:00.000Z

It definately seems warmer the last few days - infact I have noticed that the cream legbar & partridge orpington hens have been a lot more chirpier than normal. Imagine my relief and surprise when I looked in the next box and saw the 1st cream legbar egg of the season ...Hooray. Now we just have to wait for the partridge orpingtons!

We are pleased to discover that we will have a pretty much constant supply of assorted point of lay hybrids this year. Last year saw us low on bluebelles and black rocks, due to a commercial breeder retiring. This year we hopefully will have a constant supply as well as a very pretty new introduction - A 'sussex'. This is a hybrid version of the popular Light Sussex. A very pretty and friendly white bird with a black neck, that lays over 300 eggs a year.

Buying and Keeping Chickens in Yorkshire

2009-11-19T01:12:00.000Z

Hello there - I've finally decided to take the plunge and start a blog for Raw Green Cottages since we have so much happining at the moment. We have decided to start keeping different types of silkies for 2010 as well as Partridge (instead of buff) Orpingtons. We are also going to keep Pekins as well as they are so adorable.

The majority of people who start with chickens normally begin with hybrids such as black rocks (miss pepperpots) or Lohmanns (gingernut rangers), but in my opinion it is better to mix this up with something like a cream legbar that lays a nice blue green egg, or a maran that lays a dark brown one.

Over the next few months I'll be updating this site showing you all the changes that we are going to be making - with lots of great photos ... See you soon .... Jody xx