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Thx hun, I assumed there would be something, Ohhh e-bay looks good, would have to work out size ;)
Girls are really loving them, we just went down & threw out some scraps, topped up their water, put them all up on their perches.
They just want to spend the day down there & pat them.
I wonder how long before we get eggs?
Health wise what do I need to do/look for to know they are healthy & don't have any pests?
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ZF - Good signs of health are nice red comb and wattles (wattles are the soft skin bits that hang below the beak of the bird). Check them over every week or so - looking at their legs, things that they might get are scaly mite - so the scales on their legs get really crusty - this is easy to treat. My hens have never had this in the whole time I've had them (more that 6 years). They can also get other mites in their feathers - usually if they have good access to dust bathing, they keep fairly clean from these. If they do happen to get mites,they will be quite scratchy and you can treat them with a dust - pestene powder.
Hens lay from around 20 weeks of age. You will notice that hens pullets not layer have yellower legs and around their eyes. Once they begin to lay, the yellow that was going into their system (so legs, etc) goes into the yolk of the egg. So keep an eye on that for signs. The comb also becomes much fuller and redder when they are coming into lay.
As to wing clipping - you do only one side. This causes them to be unbalanced and therefore unable to fly over things. Just use a pair of decent scissorsand trim the longest feathers by half. It doesn't hurt them.
ETA Just looked at your pics, they are mature hens, so eggs should be laid soon! Do you have any dummy eggs in the nesting box so they know where to lay?
Do you have them locked in still? You should let them settle for a couple of days in their night house so they know where to go back to each night once you start letting them out.
Once you start letting them out, you will be unlikely able to get them back in in the middle of the day. They will naturally return on dusk, but chooks are greedy pigs and while they are out freeranging, you will probably find it hard to get them back! Perhaps make a habit of calling them with something tempting to get them to come to you.
Becareful leaving them with the dogs - even the most well behaved dog has been known to turn into a chook killer at times!
Any more questions, I can help - love my chookies!!
?? about the yellow legs and the yellow moving to the yolks. Never heard of that and would certainly not apply to black legged chickens. If anything the colour of the legs do fade as they age in both males and females.:
They have been in since we got them, don't want the dogs at them and wanted to give them time to figure out their surroundings.
No dummy eggs?
As HotI mentioned, last night & tonight when we went to check on them & give fresh water I caught them and put them all on the perches.
Thanks for the info, I will have to print some of it out :)
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Well this is the information I was given at my very reliable backyard chook forum many years ago. Actually it also applies (and probably moreso than the legs) to the vent. A non laying hen has a dryer, yellowish vent, whereas the laying hen's vent in moist, larger and white.:
The vent is the better way to go. More confused about the yellow going to the yolks statement, as that would mean that black chooks would lay eggs with black yolks as their leg colour changes :lol: Have come across much contradictory information when it comes to chooks, you should hear them at the local poultry club ;)
I suppose dark pigmented chooks would still have the yellowing thing, you just can't see it. Serious poultry people can tend to be slightly, um, odd in my experience! I know one lady who has personalised leg braclets with letter beads on each of her chookies!
ssshhh! that will be ZF before long! :rofl::
:rofl: you think :p ????:
HotI have you prepared the fact sheet I demanded on FB? :rofl: I can see how ppl could get quite addicted to chickens , breeding etc.
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ZF is going to be a crazy chicken lady!
Warning, hatching chicks can be addictive!! I found hatching chicks under a broody one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done. 'Candling' the eggs with a torch at night to see if they are fertile, then watching the development, seeing the chick swishing around inside the egg, wtaching the blood pumping through the veins and then finally hatching out. And watching the mum teach them everything. So much fun!!!:
The only thing that cured me from hatching them every season is having to find homes for the roosters that you inevitably get. :(
Ours find a home in the freezer. Good reason to have dual purpose birds that both lay and are good eating.
Well,see there is just me - and I can't dispatch unfortunately - call me a sook, but I just can't do it. I need a big strong man to do it for me while I hide inside and pretend it's not happening!
I can't swing the axe, but I help hold and then gut after he has done the plucking. First time I was almost throwing up and in tears, now I am fine.
Ok ladies what do you do with your chicken manure and how often do you tidy up after your feathered friends?
I have a bit of straw left over to swap their nesting boxes around as even though i have been showing them their perches they still seem to poop in the boxes but am wondering how often i should clean up after them.
I have to empty out their pool today as they have feathers and seeds right through it, am thinking of maybe not filling it FULL (as we can't get it out the door with water in it) and just using an old baby bath in 1 of the other rooms so they have 2 water sources.
I have also noticed they are digging/scratching in 1 spot behind the door - i know they like to scratch around so have they just found a soft spot they like?
I found some chicken rings on e-bay for $7.40 for a pack of 25 with free postage but am not 100% sure on what size to get, DP thinks about 12mm ?
We put the dirty straw on the garden or on top of the compost heap, depending on what's there to be fertilised. Some plants find the manure a bit strong straight out of the coop, but TBH we haven't had an issue yet.
Our coop gets cleaned out by DD twice a week (with my supervision). It's pretty grotty by the time it gets done, but they're out free ranging all day, every day, so not too much of an issue really.
Cool, I will bag it up and give it to DP's friend for his veggie patch, straw and all!
Then when we do ours we can keep it.
Will clean it up tomorrow when the girls are feeling better!
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Girls are now color coded :) will get proper pics to share.
They seem to have some sort of mite/lice, they are small and white/clear... How do I get rid of them? After I pick the girls up I find some on me :sick:
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