How do the two roosters get on? Do they fight?
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How do the two roosters get on? Do they fight?
not really.
C()crell my older one is Dustys dad. they kinda just cruse around together; but dusty is also bigger then 'rell but 'rell has bigger due (???) claws but they're little bantoms. so its not so bad. my big red girls are more annoying - they steal food out of your hand.
..no cheeping eggs yet, LOL hopefully friday
We lost one of our girls yesterday. It's the one that I am pretty certain had been attacked by something a while back. DH found yesterday morning. The day before she seemed OK, still laying albeit a bit sluggish and sitting down alot.
One of my other hens has gone broody. Does anyone know how I can get to stop? We don't have a rooster and buying fertilised eggs is not an option as we don't want to breed. I want to do it as nice as possible.
We plan on buying two more hens from the guy we got these girls off, he is Cranbourne North. Hopefully we can get some breeds this time around as well like last time.
Not as pecky now and ok for me to pick them up and collect the eggs.
I have found that randomly the girls are EATING THE EGGS.
I am checking now in the morning when i let them out and then again when i put them away but every now and then i see them getting at one??
They need some shell grit ZF, that's usually why they eat their own eggs as it's the shell they want rather than what is in the egg itself.
We mix up their normal pelletts and chicken seed with shell grit as well.
must be the time of the year- one of mine has gone broody as well
they say the main thing to do is to try and discourage it
take the eggs away regularily, also make sure they are drinking and eating- as they tend to forget to when they are broody
also try and lift them out of the nesting box when you see them there
also one of my girls has worms- eeewww
i thought there was spaghetti on their perch but it wasnt
so i got some worming tablets and gave them to them
apparently you are suppose to worm them every season if they are free ranging at all
we just got some fresh mulch layed so dare say they would be gotten them from their or the wild bird in the area
it is since then that my chook has been broody- only one of the 3 is
also have to withdraw their eggs for 7 days so thank goodness i had 2 1/2 dozen eggs stashed to keep us going
some people feed their eggs back to their chooks during this time- but not looking like an egg if that makes sense
thinking of getting some astrolorps x rhode island hens- anyone else had this combo before??
love the chooks!
x
Thanks *det*, gave her a gentle push and she is off for a bit. Will just keep doing that.
We have australorps, not x though. I have had rhode island hens in the past, I would think that is a great x breed combination. They are both great layers.
Just subscribing and reading.. My brother called tonight to ask whether he can buy the kids a chicken house and chickens for Christmas.. We had talked a few times about it, but the money needed for the house always was needed elsewhere. So now it might finally become a reality.
we ended up aith 7 chicks between 3 chooks. (took one of the 4th as she was hell bent on hatching a dudd -.-
but she now has one BIG egg under here (she plonked on it and by the looks dusty might be able to *ahem* mount my red girls and get it right LOL) plus a gunie foul egg so we'll see how she goes with them. the guinie fowl is for a neighbour who has them but none have gone broody - so we'll see.
the chicks are doing well... all locked up in the "nursery" side of the chook shed. and there they'll stay until they no longer fit though chicken wire then i'm going to devise a way of locking them in the run untill they're *almost* full grown. and i may look at selling some at that pont or tradeing with a neighbour who also has chooks.
Sad news here, had started trusting our dog again. She's been out while the chickens have been out a couple if times over the last few weeks.
Mowed yesterday & left the gate open, went down to feed the girls, called them then saw our girl Cassie run out of the shed and up the hill :( raced down. 5 chooks in the shed 3 missing.
White feathers near a fence (DD2's silkie) then down in the bush off the side if the hill more feathers, had to go the long way round but feathers & no bodies :(
1 girl Hird the Bird was Injured AGAIN so she's in my 'shower clinic' again and our dog is tied up.
Going to the market today, might have to convince DP to get the girls a few more chooks :( DD2's 2 chooks are both gone now :(
Oooooookkkkkkk SOOOO we managed to get Dp to buy some more chooks... BUT.
We came home with 2 POL Isa Browns - named Tic Toc & Rockstar BUT we also came home with a gorgeous Mummy and her 12 babies :)
At the moment we have setup the old bathtub on DP's shed bench, he has work lights above it we can setup that kick off a bit of heat (we have used these when the chooks nearly drowned), we have some starter crumble for the chicks, fresh water and mum will be getting some of our normal food.
What else do i need to do for these cheeky little ones, we really want to give them the best chance at growing big and healthy... also HOW do we sex them?
Will post a pic of the mum soon as the guy couldn't remember 100% what breed she was - he had 8 customers lined up and we bought them an horu before and came back to get them - she is a bantam but not 100% on what.... really hoping most of them aren't roosters :p
They are so damn cute though... yay we got CHICKS!
Is there anything i need to do for them from a medical point?
chick crumbles are good...
got any old marge tubs? cut down the sides of them an put a little water in them - you'll need to re-fill often - they love pooing in the water (but it makes a fail safe water fertiliser, LOL. plus its shellow enough for them not to drown OR you can use frizbees they're shellow and hold a fair amount of water too. if you're worried about mum not getting enough turky starter crumbs have a higher level of protine/fat and the chicks can eat them with out a worry :-) aaaaaaaand i'd suggest at least two plasic bins (the kind you get at sams wherehouse) full of chick crumble to, my lot go though a bin a fort night so two bags goes into one and a half bins so i have a few days to get more for when im intown ect.
have you got sawdust? use that on the floor - it absortbs poo/wee stuffs - again can be used in the veggie patch to keep slugs away. dont put *any* grain what so ever in there, chicks cant eat it and it causes lumps on their chests (found that out from my suggent "mum" lol)
We also have put lawn clippings in with ours down at the shed/clover for them when they where in "play pen" *if* you let them roam have them under chook wire, crows/hawks looooove chicken nuggets. (lost a few to them out here) and table scraps too. mine loved cooked rice. when they get bigger you'll be able to see which are males and females.
(the females tend to be the dumber ones i've found LOL) and if possable - if they cant all hide under mum have a light on so they can huddle under that as well as mum. if you flick though the photos on my FB page of my fuzzbutts/mottly crew thats what i used. are they road islands or what?
Got hay in the bathtub & shallow water dishes.
The guy said it was ok to put mums food in too???
Do they need any medicine?
They are only a couple of days old so we won't let them outside just yet.
Might see if I have the old porta cot and when we do let them on the grass i will turn that upside down over them?
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Check out this little one HERE ( a few pics in that album too)
Not 100% sure Dansta, on the poultry forum someone has suggested Bella MAY be an Old English Game Hen but they aren't 100% that the chicks look to be the same breed, i would hope they are similar to her but i don't know much about the breed so hoping to get more of an idea once they get their feathers in and see how we go?
well hes wrong, going off what i;ve been soak bread in water/milk or chick crumbles. my "mum" told me that the grains get caught in their chest and cause like a crunchy lump (a few of mine have it) which can, if left long enough kill them. I'll ask the local chicken/duck guru next week about it - he shows/breeds and is like a studerd for the pulary autions... for mum i wack extra chick crumbles in plus the grass cliping and if i dig up the veggie patch i try and dig up enough worms for all of them.
No medican other then dusting when they're older. i used an old play pen - and some shade cloth over them - but the pora cot should be ok for now until they get bigger, they'll need more room as such (thats why half my chook shed is the "nursary" )
Speaking of worms i need to dig some up for bandit, she needs some protine the poor thing has been sitting for 30days now.
We are going to give them about a week up here then will put them down in the other room in the chicken shed.
We have 3 rooms in there but I think I will cut the front off a broken washing basket & they can use that as an in ground nesting box :)
Taking all my patience not to run out and check on them now :)
When did you start letting them outside?
Have pics on a poultry forum, looks like mum is an Old English Game Hen but all comments are that the chicks are too big to be 'hers' and some think they might be RIR's but its all a wait & see I guess.
mine are still in the shed at almost 4 weeks old - and i have an old grain bag covering the chook wire to stop them escapeing and old fence plilings stopping anything sacraching out under the walls... I'll be lletting them out in the run in about...3weeks once they're big enough not to escape though the chook wire. mainly due to the hawks and crows Oh and the dog, lol.
Im fairly protective of mine though, lol.
And they may not be hers. - my silky is on one gunie fowl egg, one RIR at the moment...which the RIR seems to have a chick in it!! kinda exciteing, lol.
Lost a chick last night, is that common?
It was the smallest one!
Cleaned out the bath tub, fresh water 3x a day, plenty of feed.
Have turned the light on this morning so maybe mum can get a rest, turning it off to go out then will check them all again this arvo... They got some more grass time this morning. So sad!
Dansta - does this look ok for the night setup? It's basically a workers light, gives off HEAPS of heat.
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The remaining 11 seem to be going well, the bigger ones with the darker feathers are getting more wing feathers through and the look so cute.
We still have 3 little yellow ones who seem to have yellow wing feathers and look slightly smaller than the others.
They are hard work, keeping up the water and replacing the feed, today i have to lift the bathtub out of the shed and hose it out while they have a bit of a play on the grass under the portacot, i really think Bella loves that time out scratching around.
Am heading down to the chicken shed today to give it a clean out, also going to try and put up some roosts for the girls, DP bought a trailer full of stuff back from his nans which had an old metal shelf (3 tier thing) - the shelves on it would actually make good little roosts so i pulled it apart and am going to TRY and rig up some way of putting them in the shed.
She also has an old cupboard in there (will get pics) that i am hoping to convince DP to allow me to cut up as the cupboard spots would actually be a good size to put in the second room for when the chicks go down there, somewhere safe and warm for them and we wouldn't need to build new nesting boxes, they would probably be big enough for our normal girls too.
Am going to charge the camera this morning and try and get some pics for my chickens album... let you all know what i'm talking about.... i could easily see myself getting caught up in these chicks and the like but DP reckons we are not keeping them all :(
Dansta a roo is yours if you want it, HotI there is a fair chance you could be getting a present for Miss A if Dp wont let me keep all the girls :p
HERE is a link to my album on FB - let me know if it's not working... how cute are the chicks?
ZF how are the chicks??
We hatched a gunie fowl out :D their name is Freddie nerks. (random pet name dad used to give stuff, lol) and they're sooo adorable!!!
another two eggs are making pecking noises... not quite cherping plus another two eggs under casper and another 4 under hudni.
This weekend im fixing up the chook run so i can have them in there with out the dog getting in or them out and crows out as well - just need to cut a few holes in the shed walls and in this hot weather i'll be able to pop a sprinkler in there to keep them cool and hopefully keep any thing i plant in their watered!
Awww Chicks! How are they ZF? Can you tell hen or rooster yet?
Gunie fowl are cute, love the name.
I have ordered two more chickens. We are adding a Leghorn hen and Rhode Island Red hen to our flock. I might even pick up an Isa Brown when we get there. He said they always have Isa's ready.
Our Australorp is still clucky. I am just taking her off the nest quite a few times a day and just hope and :pray: it ends soon. On the plus side, she is becoming very tame.
Chicks are going well, moved them into the second room in the chicken shed.
They are getting bigger & seem to be going well.
We lost a silkie last week, she was a bit slow the day before then I found her dead in the nesting box :(
Hird the bird also drowned :(
2 old girls, 1 silkie & 2 new girls plus mum & chicks.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/30/uqazyzyv.jpg
naww thats go good ZF; i lost one of my chicks; randomly two weeks ago but the rest are all fit and well...and starting to roost on the roost rails.
I now have a RIR X Bantom chick and freddie too. i have another two broody chooks sitting on eggs that should hatch out in the next two weeks, so i have to get the chook run more succured and chick-escape proof. which means i need to get it ready hopefully this week adding some more over head mesh and then some smaller wire along the bottom and shade cloth then moving a "holey hose" thats ment ot be a dripper into the run so the chooks can cool off and water what ever i plant in there too (im thinking a grape vine and passion fruit for shade and durability)
Soooo my little chicks are not so little anymore :) about 6 weeks old now and look at them:
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naww they're "ugly cute" heh
Hi everyone. We recently got some chicks too :) My friend breeds them and I got some Jap x silkies so they won't be very big but they have the fluffiest feet. I have 7 all up and 1 at least is a rooster. Hopefully I can figure out how to upload pics and you guys can see them
Hi Everyone. We are getting chickens after Christmas. Just ordered the coop so very excited!
I was just wondering if anyone had a list of what things we need to buy? I think we need:
Nesting boxes
laying mash
nesting straw
egg grit
mulch for cage floor
lime for cage floor
Feeder/drinker/bowl for grit
worming solution
Bin to store feed (is a garbage bin with lid ok?)
feed scoop
Need anything else?
TIA
sounds about right Mel.
my chooks just got an enclosed run now - and some more shade cloth to cover them in a smidge in summer!
the gunie foul is soo cute just a long neck and a little body hehe
As dansta said it all sounds good Mel... the only thing with a bin is that you really want a nice tight seal on your food storage - rats & mice are cunning and they will try and break into things.
My girls don't have an enclosed run, they have 1/4 acre (roughly) of their own which is fenced but we don't even shut the gate anymore they just wander up to the house.
They go back into the chicken hotel when it's hot and we have an old bathtub out front which is full of water with chicken wire over it (so they don't fall in).
If i had my way i would knock down the current chicken hotel and put in a concrete floor, some water tanks, seperate rooms still (but better setup) and have a run off the side that is undercover.
They could still free range everywhere but it would be accessible from inside the coop only and be able to be shut off if i wanted to put chicks out there.
At the moment out little chicks don't get to free range, i am going to start trying to let them out under the portacot a couple of times a week BUT we can't let them out alone as the hawks would probably try and get them.
I REALLY want to keep a roo and try and hatch out some chicks of our own, now we know we could setup the 'nursery' for the girls to hatch and then keep babies in there i would LOVE to...
I really wish i could get a male silkie but not sure DP will let me.
Then i could cross our female silkie with a boy and some of our backyard crosses with a boo out of these new chicks.
I have put some pics up on a poultry forum and quite a few people have suggested we lucked out (or got ripped off) and most look like boys :( got to give them a couple more weeks and see what we think :(
Oh no! Can you returrn them and ask for a refund?:
Also what does everyone clean their coop with? Do I have to buy a special spray/wash or can I make my own up?
No, we bought them unsexed under a mum so there was no guarantee. :(
I clean the coop weekly, I dust their nesting boxes but I don't spray, every now abs then I wipe down with some lavender or a bit if dish washing liquid in hot water.
once every two weeks here - as they're only in their roosts til about 8am.
I need to put lime around again and get that ivmex stuff too...(but its bloody exxy for some one like me >.<) and i just put fresh straw/hay in their boxes/on the floor for them...then hopefully next year i'll have some cucumber and mayby pumkins growing in their run.
Added to my flock today. I picked up 1 leghorn, 1 Rhode Island Red and 1 Isa Brown. My Ancona is not very happy about having siblings at all! Had to separate them at first. Now they are just avoiding her.
The leghorn is still young and has decided to buddy up to my Australorp ( currently clucky). I am hoping she will stop my Australorp being clucky.
hope every ones chooks are going ok in this heat!! mine are panting heaps and have extra water bowls out ect and sprinkler has been going for them too...poor babies! hit 44.5 on a neighbours back veranda (shaded) today 0.0
It got to 45 here yesterday too, extra water given along with some shallow water in an old baby bath & shell pool.
Our tanks are low and we desperately need some rain so no mister or sprinkler here :(
Fairly certain almost all chicks are roo's :( going to keep 2 (patch & tiny) and see how we go. If both are roo's we will get rid of patch later.
Have put an add in a local BSS on FB so hopefully the roo's can go to good homes or a pot for someone who knows what they are doing.
Hoping to breed from our boys and try raising our own with hopefully better ratios :(
When can roo's start to breed (age wise) does anyone know?
when they start crowing...so about 6 months...they sound so funny when they start crowing!
Our barnevelder is broody, argh! She was hogging the two nesting boxes but now is just sitting in front of them both. Hope it wont stop our other three from laying - or laying somewhere else...
I was so worried about them in the heat yeaterday too but they've coped well. Poor things :( They hate water so thats not been an option.
kelly i put more water bowls out for mine - and wet down the ground around them - to try and cool the air temp for them...
i have three broody...and one lot is about to hatch it seems 0.0
Do you have a rooster? We dont, but she is the dominant female. I think the other girls are happy shes out the way. Lol! Ive been wetting the ground too, when my bubs gets cranky she seems to enjoy watching me do it in the HAB! :)