HOW IT ALL STARTED.....Back to the Beginning...

We are a small family business, growing under the name of “Happy Hen Hoose”. Our names are, Gerald and Margaret. We are of course in the poultry business, We breed a range of premium quality, healthy, rare breeds, as well as traditional farmyard poultry A reasonable range, in limited numbers. 

The demand for our top laying hybrids, the "New Isa Warren Layers", continues to grow and grow. Sold at point of lay, these are the birds to choose, if you are new to poultry keeping and require a few family friendly hens to enjoy around the garden.

The experienced commercial poultry keeper who has the benefit of wide open spaces to free range his hens, need also look no further than this prolific healthy layer of quality eggs. Sold with full vaccination.

How did it all start?

Like many other poultry people our initial involvement with poultry was in a small way. Possibly the idea of Fresh Eggs always available, was our main motivation and we were happy to have a very few laying hens to start with (fresh eggs daily). Maybe even a couple of quacking ducks as well (keep down the garden slugs) a couple of guinea fowls (keep the hawks and other predators at bay) three wee, fluffy, silkies, (wonderful foster mothers) and what about that duck that doesn’t quack and some say, looks ugly and likes to perch on trees, (now there’s something different) “Muscovy”, looked just grand to us and what about some, and so it went on................ and on. And so easy to justify these expansive (and sometimes too, expensive) future plans.

We listened to poultry keepers of long standing and how easy it could be, to allow an interest in a few hens, to develop into something bordering on an obsession. The warnings were not taken too seriously. They were right, and we were “wrong.”

That’s probably not the right word. There was nothing wrong about the direction we took.  But it really wasn’t part of our original plans.

“Bella”, from our first wee group of hybrid hens, had not been informed I suppose, that her main purpose in life was to lay eggs for our consumption and that thoughts of going “broody”, were not to be a consideration. May be her plans were better thought through than ours. Anyway she showed a great determination to be a mum and very protective of her/our eggs, and so it was a mum she had to be. We bought some fertile eggs locally and she took to them instantly and went on to prove she knew exactly what she was doing. As well as being a great mother and teacher to her chicks she taught us well, so much that isn’t always in the books. A great loving, learning experience that fuelled and focused our energy and enthusiasm for the road ahead.

Although “Broody Bella” proved to be the perfect, attentive mother, she must also have felt it may be wasn’t such a great career move…maybe the mothering process took up too much of her valuable time. Whatever her reasons, she went back to consistent egg laying and told us, (in hen language), to buy an incubator. As she looked like she might have more sense than me, I did. Then another one ……and then another one.  Although there may still be more incubators to come, that start, led us on to where we are today.

Yes Bella’s got a lot to answer for. It’s probably time I had another word with her.