We have new chickens!
As we’d planned, once Bertie died and we were left with just three, we added five hens to the flock. I’ll be blogging more on them later – at the moment, the new girls are still hiding in the roost and refusing to come down, so there hasn’t been much of a chance to photograph them!
Today though, I’d like to give a completely unsolicited plug to City Chicks.
We’re passionate about our chooks, so it was a great joy to be able to deal with a company that cares deeply for their birds. John Huntington and his wife Wendy own and run the Sydney franchise of City Chicks and, after a recommendation from our friends Christina and Steve (the Vet), we called them on Tuesday to order our new hens.
I was immediately encouraged when Pete had a ten minute conversation with Wendy on the phone – she wanted to know whether we’d had chickens before, what our set-up was, and she checked with John to see if he thought we were doing the right thing introducing five new hens into an existing flock of three. This wasn’t a company that was going to sell us chickens as a commodity – we could tell straight away that the welfare of their birds was important to them.
The following day, John arrived with our five new girls. They were in immaculate condition – not beak trimmed, although the sharpness of their beaks had been worn down from a pecking block they’d been nibbling at. John is the nicest man and a wonderful source of knowledge on all things chicken-related. He stayed and chatted with us for nearly an hour – I think he might secretly have been waiting for us to put the chooks into the dome so that he knew they were settled in properly before he left.
City Chicks offers a complete service – food, feeders, coops and anything else you need for backyard chooks. They offer a wide range of breeds (we stuck with hybrids), as well as a rental service so that folks can try out chickens in their backyard before making the commitment of purchasing their own.
They also offer a backyard chicken retirement service. As many of you will remember, I was extremely sceptical about this when I first heard about it, but you know what? Now that I’ve met John, and grilled him extensively about how it works, I completely believe him. When this new batch of girls stop laying, I’m confident that we’ll be able to retire them to a comfortable rural life in Queensland.
This is how it works – City Chicks charges $20 to take away your old chooks (if you get new hens at the same time, they take $10 off as a “trade-in”). That covers feed and the cost of freighting the birds to Queensland where they’re released onto a five acre enclosure. They’re provided with shelter and allowed to free range. There is a cap on the maximum number of birds they’ll take for retirement (which tends to balance out as new retirees take the place of ones which die from natural causes) and, because of the size of the property, there’s enough room for the chickens not to have to fight all the time.
The Lohmann Brown chooks that we bought from City Chicks were $25 each, plus an extra $45 for delivery. That isn’t the cheapest price for layer hens, but we think it was well worth the extra cost to deal with a company who provides fabulous service and takes such loving care of their chickens. If you’re in Sydney and interested in having backyard chooks, John and Wendy’s contact details are on the business card below. City Chicks also has interstate branches which can be reached through their website.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
John and Wendy are amazing we have all our girls and Albert the rooster from them. I’m lucky enough to be able to pop out to their place and pick my girls. They look after them all with such love. Plus don’t forget you can buy feed and all the extras from them also.
Samantha, thank you – I was just so happy to find folks who really cared about their birds. The new girls have already settled into the coop with very little fighting.
Okay, now I have an even bigger travel dream. I WILL one day get to your side of world, bring you all my homemade jams from here, and have eggs with you. And chocolate biscotti. And all the things you make.
Come! Come! Wouldn’t that be fun! :)
Makes me so happy Celia. I hope they keep going strong for a long time. One day I would love chickens but for now I have a KelpieXCattle dog who would love them too. I will come over and have a look at them today
Tania, they’ve really settled in very happily, it’s cute to see them all interacting now…
I like the retirement option but as far as your new girls go, we’ll see, as it seems the chooks become part of the family and depart this world still in your care. At any rate I hope, it’s long way off. You can start dreaming about omelettes :)
Sigh. I was determined not to get that attached to them this time, but we’ve already named them all. And the eggs have started already!
Awww, when I read about your chookies I can’t help but think of my girls that I gave away when I moved from Albury Wodonga. I only offered them to a woman who promised to keep them alive and since she was the best friend of a good friend, I knew they’d be okay.
I’m the sort that when the weather was over 40 for days with northerly winds, I got an evaporative cooler for them. And you thought the koala teapot was over the top. The look on John’s face when he said, ‘You got an air conditioner for the bloody chooks??’
I have much chook envy – I am sorry.
There is nothing more peaceful than watching chooks peck and tossing them a grub as you’re weeding. Oh and motoring on the Hawkesbury for weeks at a time. :)
Maureen, you crack me up so much. When we get old, maybe we can be mad old chook women together. I must admit, I’ve never thought to buy an air conditioner for them though.. :)
city chooks sounds like a what a wonderful enterprise..so envious of your girls..x
Jane, thank you! Do you have chooks?
Well, I knew one could rent TVs and even furniture, but ‘chooks to try out’! How absolutely fabulous! And the retirement service may not be cheap but if your golden layers really do end up as grey nomads in the Sunshine State! What a wonderfully warm feeling just to read this :) !
Eha, they were a great find! Hope they stay in business for many years to come!
I’ve heard of City Chicks. What a great idea. Good luck with the new girls.
Deb, thank you! I think they’re going to settle in well!
Yay! Congrats on the new girls…can’t wait to hear all about them! Have heard about the rental-try it out places, but unfortunately none around here. Little girl and I will have to just keep working on the hubby to let us get a few. :-)
Abby, they really do make good pets! Ones that weed and lay eggs too! :)
What a great company.
And what a deal for peace of mind once your chickens stop laying.
I’m looking forward to hearing new chook stories and seeing recipes that use up lots of eggs!
Heidi, the eggs have started already! One of the chooks is already laying daily!
They are very nice people and very good quality hens and of course you know Steve and I were already convinced by the retirement service. Looking forward to meeting your new girls
Chris, thank you so much for putting us onto them. I know how you and Steve are about your chooks, so it was already a good character reference before we even met John!
I love how the young girls are sitting in the rafters checking things out. Hens are so funny and they must provide you with hours of entertainment. I do like the sound of John and City Chicks and I am so pleased there are people like him out there who won’t just throw birds at anyone in exchange for a fast sale. I’m against buying dogs from pet stores so I bought my Ruby from a reputable breeder and I had to come up to her standards before she would sell me a dog. I had to drive two hours to her home so she could get to know me and all of us were put under the microscope – these are the sorts of breeders you want to be dealing with xx
Charlie, we want to deal with people who really care about their animals, don’t we? I can just see you driving out of town clutching your CV to apply for a new dog! :)
I hope that they’re okay! I feel somewhat connected to them, especially one already :) Glad to know that they come from such a caring business too to a very caring home! P.S. have you tried laying out two mats? ;)
Hehehe…a couple of them are a bit precious at the moment.. :)
Celia, we are city chick fans from Brisbane. They are fantastic. The other thing that I appreciated was how used to people the girls were when they arrived, so handling them was easy, and they LOVED company – it is very amusing to garden with the girls supervising. We retired ours to a family on acreage who wanted friendly birds for their grandchildren to enjoy. We are now apartment dwellers and missing many chookie benefits, including waste management!
Chris, thank you for letting us know that the Brisbane facility is just as good – as you say, the chooks are really friendly. When we got out first flock of chooks, they were really nervy, but this batch come up and chat whenever they see us coming!
Yay! How exciting Celia, congratulations on the new members of your family :) I’m sure the new girls will settle in soon- hopefully with a minimum of ruffled feathers!
What a wonderful sounding company, they really care about the welfare of the birds and aren’t just out for a quick dollar turnover. We need more ethical business like this- thanks for sharing xox
Becca, they’re so lovely – they’ve settled into a comfortable routine already!
Love the idea of a retirement option for them, what a wonderful sounding company.
Celia did your girls both present and past often get broody?
Brydie, that’s a really good question, and the answer is no. The reason is that we always buy hybrids – ISA Browns or in this case Lohmann Browns – who’ve had their broodiness bred out of them. Pure breds are lovely, but I’m loathe to be pecked every time I go to get an egg!
I can’t wait to meet the new girls. I’ve done a bit of research into these guys in Brisbane as I’m thinking renting chickens might be a good way to convince Will. Fingers crossed!
Maybe we need to bombard Will with an email propaganda campaign on your behalf, Claire.. :)
SO happy you have new chicks! Look forward to meeting them in December! x
Anna, look forward to seeing you then! xx
What an utterly fabulous set up! If it wasn’t for Big Bill our shiitzu-poodle who likes to play with chooks and shock them to death …
Rose, shocked to death is a bit much, I guess, but it’s a shame you can’t have them. They’d do wonders for your garden! :)
Welcome to the new chooks! How exciting.
Thanks Pat! They’re quite lovely!!
How exciting. Is Peter still in the coup or have you let him out for the weekend??!!
Nancy, I let him out! :) Hahahaha…
Sounds as if your new city chicks are going to have a fine home. I do love their retirement plan too.
Andrea, it’s really good to have an option. Don’t know if we’ll take it, but it’s nice to know it’s available.
Great post, Celia! what a fantastic company, City Chicks!
Sally, they really are! :)
Good for you! yeahhhh! 😀
Thanks Sophie!
Hi Celia, Are you going to name this lot? How long does it take before they become friends with your original crew?
Glenda, they’re already named! And they’re already integrated too – only took a couple of days! :)
So … what are their names?
There’s a post coming. :)
You are so cruel.
I did it! http://chefmimiblog.com/2013/09/20/in-my-kitchen
Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for playing Mimi!
That’s a wonderful solution to the retirement dilemma Celia. New chicks on the way here too, due to hatch in another 10 days.
Jo, how exciting! Hatching them must be a whole level up again!
How fantastic to have a company like this who actually cares!
Tandy, I thought so – hard to find in this day and age!
There’s something about a young chicken – by the time they reach 5-6 years like mine they are getting lazy and have developed bad habits (like finding any newly planted tree to scratch up). I wont mention that I am only getting 1-2 eggs a day if I’m lucky :( However, they are family now, along with their bad habits and I wouldn’t part with them. Great endorsement for a caring company. Good for you spreading the word. Joy
Joy, that’s so true, you know. Our three old girls are quite cantankerous and grumpy these days, in a very amusing sort of way, but it’s interesting to see how much like old women they’ve become. The new ones by contrast are all so excited and full of life.. :)
What a great idea!
I think so too! :)
Hooray for the new girls. Truly a new chapter in your lives. Need more chook videos :)
Hopefully we’ll be able to oblige! Definitely more photos! :)
City Chicks sounds fantastic. I love how they care about where their chicks are going but this retirement plan is unbelievable. How cool is that to know they’re going off to a nice little retirement community.
Diane, it’s certainly a viable option we didn’t have before! :)
oooh thanks for posting this Celia, I’m still very keen to get some chooks but had no idea where to start. I think I might give Wendy and John a call.
Lisa, that makes writing this post worthwhile! :)
What a perfect way to get chickens and I love the sound of a chicken retirement farm. We’ve got them on the plans for next year, so I’ll definitely look to see if they have a service near us. Hope your girls are settling in and have come down from the roosts.
Barbara, they’re definitely down now and the whole flock seems to be quite harmonious. It’s a great thing to watch!
Congratulations on the newest members of your family:D I’d love to have a few chooks but they’re still illegal here in old backwards Canada! xx
Wow Barbara, so many people have chooks here – including several of our neighbours! I hope they change the laws sometime soon – it’s wonderful having homegrown eggs!
Hurray for new chooks! Post tons of picts! Maz
Will try to! xx
it’s good to hear about companies like this one Celia. And a retirement home for chooks….. sounds like a good ending for the gals!