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ZF - kelly@
Have you tried making them mash for winter?
Kelly xx
Creator of BellyBelly.com.au, doula, writer and mother of three amazing children
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I just found this thread.
We are going to buy some chickens soon. We don't have anything yet and are scouring the web for ideas. So please: any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Did any of your make your own coop or, did you buy one?
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i wouldnt mind some noise - let me know when my annoying old neighbour is comming around! we're not in-in town but we are. we're in town as in the pubs on the corner but farms surrounding us - can you eat guinefowl eggs? hmmm
I have to get some kind of way of holding down the chook run wire down the bottom. they keep scooting out - i think i'll get some of that half hight chook wire and double up the bottom and put some over the door way so they cant fly out. and no foxes get in - i saw run up the paddoc next to ours at like 10am the other morning...and one was there the other night too...but my chooks where locked up, thank-fully!
out of the 12 chooks i have down the yard i get 2-3 eggs aday - but im not sure of their age or anythying (other then dusty the rooster who'll be a year old come NYE) but im not overly worried.
Ohh ZF there is a chook place in coldstream that have hatchlings - POL chooks thats where my mottly crew came from, which from memory is near-er your neck of the woods then mine. if you google it they'll come up.
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Cass, there are stacks on eBay - cheaper than ones you can see in stores. Due to time restraints we just bought one there but plan to expand it now.
Kelly xx
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We bought ours online too. Not much choice locally for us as we are remote. My DH isn't the greatest handyman and we only have limited time with him home so one we only had to assemble was the best choice for us.
Our girls prefer to sleep on the roof of it though lol.
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still here- our chooks are doing magnificantly!!
I get 3-4 eggs a day from our 4 chooks and the eggs are BIG and very yummy
we were lucky enough that our house came with a chook house so we only had to do maintenance on it to get it going again
Thinking of getting another couple of birds but dont want to upset our girls in the process as they are doing so well
they are so tame, happy and healthy chooks and dont wont to change that, but want more girls to share the love with lol
what experiences have you girls had bring new chooks into the mix?
also at the moment we have IsaBrowns but was thinking of getting some astrolorps or even some bantams
what experience has anyone had bringing another breed into a close bunch?
my girls are pretty close and all sleep together and hang together, so worried how outsiders would go?
any thoughts girls
i love me gals can you tell xxx
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det my brood are a mix. all bantoms i did have two big red ones (lol dunno the breed) and we locked 'em up on their own for a week when we got them then let them out with the rest and they where fine. as long as they have plenty of roosting space shouldnt be an issue. they might have a tussle to start off with but once they have a pecking order sorted out they'll be fine. my two roosters still tussle - c0ckrell is always got fuzzy tail feathers from it. but its cute makes him look younger then he is, LOL
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Isa Browns are notorious for picking on other breeds, so you might want to watch out for that if you add new ones. Ours have always taken a couple of days to accept a new Isa, but never done anything worse than chase it away.
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jen my bantoms do that to each other. c0ckrell has fluzzy tail feathers thanks to dusty! the two i had wherent too bad. the mottly crew are isa's i think.
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We looked at getting a bantam or another type of breed and the pet shop told us that you should get even numbers in breeds to stop them being picked on. We didn't want 4 chooks though so we have stuck with our two Isa Browns.
Our girls are starting to slow on the lay atm. I think it is too dark for them and it seems that they were molting as there were feathers everywhere. We get anything from 0-2 eggs per day, so still getting something which is great.
Cass - My DH built ours. It leans up against our existing shed and the back fence. DH just built a frame from treated pine (I think) and wired it up, put a roof on it and put a laying box in, a feed box & water bucket. The floor is a combo of hay and dirt. We give them a run out every now & then but we have a dog and he has to be kept a close eye on as her tends to have a go at the girls if you are not looking....
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My chickens are so cute. Today I went out to check for eggs. Found two of them nesting together in the one box. They both laid at the same time in the one box.
My third girl has not started back yet, I suspect she is going to take a little longer due to her injury that she had. We are also thinking of getting a fourth chicken.
I want to go back to the guy we got these girls off as they are healthy and pure breeds. DH wants maybe an Isa Brown.
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[QUOTE=*det*;3170710
also at the moment we have IsaBrowns but was thinking of getting some astrolorps or even some bantams
what experience has anyone had bringing another breed into a close bunch?
my girls are pretty close and all sleep together and hang together, so worried how outsiders would go?
any thoughts girls
i love me gals can you tell xxx[/QUOTE]
You can get bantam Australorps
Bantam is not a breed, its a size and most breeds have a bantam sized counterpart.
There are only a few breeds which are true bantams (they have no full sized version) Pekins and Belgiumsb are two that spring to mind.
Bantam Australorps wont be very small though, as a true full sized 'lorp is a very large bird. The bantams will likely be not much smaller than your ISA's.
Be aware that ISA's are very prone to being agressive to anything that doesnt look like them, they can be merciless with thier hounding. So what ever you get, make sure it is bigger than them and that you get at least two of them.
GL
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I am looking at adding to our girls now that the weather is warming up a little - i have found a site on FB that i might buy from and get some girls just before POL, they can go in the seperate room in the chicken hotel but still be smallish enough for Miss A & Miss Z to watch them grow IYKWIM.
Girls are finally back on the lay - getting a couple of eggs a day and one of the silkies laid yesterday.. was the whitest egg i think i have ever seen.
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Ours have done really well with laying this year given how cold and miserable this winter has been. The sunshine over Melbourne the last few days has really helped - they seem alot happier!
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We got 4 eggs today
Sent from my iPhone, more than likely while I should be doing something else!
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our chooks are back on the lay.
Miss Houdini is broody and on 11 eggs at the moment hopefully a neighbours son (plus his sister and his mum n dad LOL) will take any chicks they want to hand rear them so they can if they want to - DH has said NO MORE for a while non-stop chooks inside since march 1st LOL
But we have had one egg aday from another one of the girls. dunno which one though.
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Awww I'd love baby chicks.
Sent from my iPhone, more than likely while I should be doing something else!
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Hi girls!
Today I put my 18 eggs into the incubator at 4:30pm to see if we can hatch our first eggs. I am very excited if you can tell!
I bought a chook tractor to keep the young chickens in when they get to a few weeks old, during the day, until my hubby and brother build me a hen house.
I have a brinsea incubator which I can see some post about online that ppl are happy with. I am borrowing it , so just hoping it works ok. I bought a dozen austrolorpe eggs and 6 Ancona eggs. They are off a local guy, so I went an picked them up. They are from show winning girls coincidentally, and very big healthy birds! Very beautiful too! I am hoping I will get enough, but I would like a few diff breeds if I can too.
So no doubt you will all hear me getting excited as hatching approaches!
Ps does anyone know when you begin counting? Ie is today day 1 cos I put them in today, or do I wait till 24 he's has elapsed to call it day 1?
Bella xx
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk..... I'm probably feeding my cherub
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