Poultry Keeping General Discussion #1

[Epacris]

A very warm welcome to the inaugural Poultry Keeping General Discussion sticky thread.

This thread is for you to share your experiences keeping chickens, ducks, geese, etc. If you are new to keeping poultry this is a great place to ask questions about how to get started, if you are well along on your poultry keeping journey please come and share your story, if you are an old-hand at keeping poultry we’d love for you to share some of your wisdom and experience.

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[HotI]

I only have one chook at the moment following a fox massacre, but have a set up that fits 12 comfortably. Our chooks have been free range (1/2 acre) until now, but i am going to put a chook run in before we restock. We built our chook house, it is over engineered and gorgeous- the taj mahal of chook sheds.

[RhiChiChi]

We have two chooks and usually get two eggs a day, although one of then has been a little slack lately (just don't know which one!) Unfortunately due to having two dogs and neighbours having cats they are locked on their pen most of the time unless we are home and outside. They go nuts when they are let out & dig up my garden :/

I have a question though for those with chooks - both of ours have feathers missing under their necks - I think they rub up and down on the coup wire but could it be something else?

[NaeNae]

I wanted to be the first to post

I have just got my first 5 chooks, young girls who are yet to lay. I am slowlygetting them use to their surroundings so they have not been free ranged yet but they will be very soon. I love them heaps and I think I will be guttered when I lose my first one.

RCC - as I am only just starting out I was just going to suggest dusting them and their enclosure for mites that might be making them itchy?

HotI - I would LOVE to see your over engineered chook house. I am looking for some ideas as DH has agreed to starting the rebuilding phase of the original chook area here on the farm. I was given permission to use the original Clydesdale transoprtation crate, but sadly its a HUGE, HEAVY crate and even if I remove the old timber it would still require a crane or similar to shift it .... something we just don't have.

SO that said I need to re think how I am going to do things and aside from the run would love some ideas on how to build a chook coop that will house quite a few more birds. Would you like to share?? photo's dimensions, materials etc etc????

I have a few Q's.

I have noticed one of the birds has slightly, what looks like blood, stain droppings. These birds have never had grass beneath their feet or to taste so I have put it down to new things aggrivating their system. I cannot tell which bird though and they all seem happy enough.

Also - a few of the birds seem to do a little bit of a cough, thinking they might have a cold. Are there vitamins that can be added to their water to help them recover or is their something I can "whip up"

Also - Scraps, the girls don't seem interested yet in scraps but are there things they SHOULD NOT be fed?

and - I have been covering one section of their run where I keep their feed because its been raining and I don't want their food getting soggy. Do chooks care about soggy food?

Finally - how frequently should I be changing their hay? and what to do with the used stuff as I don't have "garden beds".

Thansk Nae x x

[Rainbow_Mumma]

oohhh great thread! We have 23 chooks, did have a duck but a nasty fox got her but she will be replaced soon, we are also getting geese and a turkey or 2. The joys of living on a farm lol

[NaeNae]

OK so I have discovered that the bloodied poop is something called Coccidiosis or something we have put some medication into their water, hopefully they will drink it.

I want to build a permanent chicken coop somthing that can house a few birds ....... any ideas? has anyoen got that book "building chicken coops for dummies"


Would love some ideas

Nae x x

[HotI]

I have a few Q's.

Also - a few of the birds seem to do a little bit of a cough, thinking they might have a cold. Are there vitamins that can be added to their water to help them recover or is their something I can "whip up"

Yep, i can't find the name of it now (we have it around here somewhere though), i think it was a powder that you add to their water. we have used it when chooks look abit off.

Also - Scraps, the girls don't seem interested yet in scraps but are there things they SHOULD NOT be fed?
and - I have been covering one section of their run where I keep their feed because its been raining and I don't want their food getting soggy. Do chooks care about soggy food?

Chooks don't like similar foods that shouldn't be given to dogs or put in the compost- onion skins etc

You don't want their food to get wet cos it can get mouldy or start to grow (especially if it a seed mix).

[NaeNae]

OK I have been spending a fair bit of time on 2 different poultry forums lately but wanted to share that I have started working on the reconstruction of part of the original run. Granted I am working faster than I have materials or money but it feels good to have something else to keep my focus on rather than really noticing the "so we are not pregnant this month" thing.

I enjoy a good hard days work being out in the fresh air and seeing the changes I make thats the thing ... I hate doing stuff that is sublte, that you cannot tell stuff is happening.

Anyways My girls faces are starting to redden as is their little sticky uppy things and they certainly are becoming more friendly and trusting though I do resist the urge to catch and cuddle them LOL

Nae x

[mummy of 3 boys]

ooooh i so want to own some chookies for eggs but im not allowed and its not the real estate as i dont really have one its due to diseases

How many eggs do you get a day/week???

[Floweryfields]

I have 6 hens and get between 3 and 6 eggs a day - I give alot away! You can't go past a home grown egg!

[mummy of 3 boys]

wow, me and my Df have a fryed egg almost every night with dinner we go through like a dozen a week almost

Due to us living/working on a huge chook farm we are not allowed our own personal chooks for disease reasons which is really annoying....

What would you require for a chook pen?? if i can get my mum to build a chook pen i can give her some chooks and she can have them for eggs for me

[Jennifer13]

Oooo we have our own chatter thread! My poor girls are not very happy with the amount of rain over the last few days. Even if we leave the garage open and their coop is dry they insist on sheltering under bushes, which are not very dry!

NaeNae - no chocolate, avocado and rhubarb for hens. Ours get all other leftovers and are not fussy at all. They love the leftovers so much they stand at the front door and tap to let me know they're waiting after they are let out in the morning.

[Jennifer13]

Oh no Astrid. Hope the eagles move on and the remaining chickies are okay.

No predators here. Possums on the roof of the coop, but that's it. Fx!

[Kazbah]

I hope you find your other boy soon Astrid

[NaeNae]

Just checkin in, I have been busy and working very hard, up until a few days ago, then had to put the brakes on just a little bit due to some potentially exciting news (still not holding my breath).
DH and I were all set to get all the concrete posts in but the rain over night filled up the post holes with water. So while DH was cutting some of the heavy timber and doing his thing I started scooping out the water from the post holes ... we stopped for lunch and when we went back out the holes I had spent so much time scooping from were full again the ground is too wet and the clay soil just seeps water.

I am hoping it will be fairly dry over night and have put some Corro tin over the holes but knowing my luck ATM we'll have more rain and won't be able to do much tomorrow.

Its frustrating as hell, DH has told me that he will not be building the coop for me so stiff poopies for me and my current situation, I just hope the crappy prefab coop holds up ... unlikely the screws are all starting to pop out

ANYHOO

I have some piccies in a thread on another forum if anyone was interested, just PM me and I will send you the link.

Nae x

[tellytubby]

Had a look at one of my girls this afternoon. Looks like my dog has had a go at her
I'm so worried about her. There is a quite clear bite mark/puncture on her neck, blood...

DH wanted to know if I wanted to knock her off, but I said we should give her a couple of days see if she comes good.
Any suggestions?? What can I do to help her??
So cranky at my dog. She is usually really good. But we were out all day today, so she was obviously bored. Bah!! Bloody dogs!!

[Astrid]

Make sure you put something like betadine on the wound, just to stop any infection coming from that and I would keep her in a warm, dark place. We had a few chooks hurt by our dog at the time. He did not go for the neck, he just like to pluck their feathers, which meant their skin got torn. Managed to save one as the tear was only minor. Best of luck with your poor chook.

[Jennifer13]

Chocolate is a no-no for chooks (and most animals). Also avocado and rhubarb. Otherwise they are not fussy!