Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: Meagan on December 28, 2011, 05:52:05 am
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I would love to get some Chooks (as pets for the children but also to produce eggs) but we have a small amount of outdoor space with garden but no grass! Does anyone have Chooks in a small space and if so how do you manage them? Would love to hear about people's chook experiences. Type of chook house set up etc.
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That will be lovely for all of you Meagan. I believe you can get mobile chook houses that are up off the ground and you can move them round. I don't suppose you want the garden dug up.
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That will be lovely for all of you Meagan. I believe you can get mobile chook houses that are up off the ground and you can move them round. I don't suppose you want the garden dug up.
Well I am happy for them to free range in part of the garden during the day. I have been googling a lot - there are so many different coops you can get.
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The ABC's Organic Gardening magazine has run a couple of articles recently on different chook breeds that may be interesting. Then again, we have our own Chookwoman who will, I am sure, have loads of words of wisdom and suggestions for you, although I think her chook run is on a larger scale than you are anticipating.
I think it's a great idea to have your own hens and I am envious - we have the chook house in our back yard but no chooks yet - one day we will get some, when we are more settled.
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We've got Pekin Bantams. A great little chicken that produce half size eggs. They are docile and suitable for small spaces. They deal with humans pretty well and we've got a number that we can just pick up. They are also stunning.
(http://theblokeyshed.com/photos/albums/userpics/Back_Paddock_Chooks_group.jpg)
I'd recommend getting a rooster as well. They really help with flock dynamics and are really fun to watch. Plus they are gorgeous. You just need to put them in a box at night so they don't annoy the neighbours.
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Oh, they're just gorgeous DD!
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They are beautiful. I miss having chooks after growing up with them.
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According to the council you can't have a rooster in our area. You also have to have a huge coop etc etc. To be honest if everyone who had chooks adhered to the rules I don't think many of them would actually have them in the first place :-)) I know the neighbors 3 doors down had them ( not sure of they still do ) and they had them right up against the fence which is ' a no no ' as far as the council is concerned.
I do want a portable set up so if we move in the future then we can take it with us. I will come back in a tick and add a link to different coops I found ;)
Here it is lol Cluck Med made me laugh
http://www.backyardchickencoops.com.au/
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Beautiful chooks DD. have you had them long? What happens when they stop laying?? I don't like the idea of having to get rid of them :-\
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you had better get them the mansion Meagan lol
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Meagan we had 4 chooks in a unit in East Freo may years ago. They used to free range around the courtyard and even along the front fence. It could be quite amusing sometimes as people would suddenly stop and back up when the realised the chicken was real and not a statue.
I keep Austalorps and Langshans at the moment They are both quite docile and good layers. I have also kept Isa Browns and Plymouth Rocks but prefer the Australorps and Langshans. The kids also used to have a couple of Silky Bantams. They were lovely to look at but not great layers.
Most chooks will lay for about 4 years. After that you have 2 choices either let them live out a happy retirement or dispatch them.
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Meagan you will have to get them the pent house.
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Beautiful chooks DD. have you had them long? What happens when they stop laying?? I don't like the idea of having to get rid of them :-\
We've had chooks for about 6 years. We accept that they aren't productive when they get old. Still kind of fun to have so we allow them to retire with dignity. When they get to old to be chickens I put them down. Same with most of the roosters. Not my favourate job but one that has to be done.
I'd ignore the council regs. Give your neighbours a dozen eggs and put the roosters in a box inside overnight and they won't/can't crow. You won't have any complaints.
Breeding chickens is easy. We just let them sit on some eggs and have had a couple of lots of baby chicks every year. The mother hens know what to do. Baby chickens are so cute.
I'll take a couple of photos tomorrow of the two batches of chicks we have right now.
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I'm going to build a proper chook run and shelter in the new year. We'll be getting some Faverolle chickens. A heritage breed that is both good layers and meat birds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faverolles_(chicken)
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We used to have 2 chooks in a small suburban backyard. They would run up to the back door when they heard us and would take vegemite toast out of the kids hands when they ate breakfast outside, or from plates of unsuspecting guests. They scratched up most of the lawn but I didn't care. I fenced off the patio so we could sit out in a manure free zone. Me and the kids adored them but eventually they were taken by a fox. We were slack at keeping them locked up at night because we didn't know there were foxes around. Grumpy husband won't let us get more, he prefers his lawn rather than fresh eggs and delightful chook chatter. If I got more I'd get some ex-battery hens (http://www.homesforhens.net/) to give them a nice life.
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We have Isa Browns. We had 3 but one recently died unexpectantly. We had them free range a fair bit early on, but they poo EVERYWHERE. So if you don't have a large space they don't need a huge run, and we keep ours contained now. (mostly) if they get out they will eat the vege patch, so I prefer that doesn't happen.
Kids love them, I love them, eggs are fab. Do it!
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As you can probably tell by my name, I am rather fond of chooks. I am the 3rd. Generation of chook women in our family., and there are 2 grand daughters coming on who also love them. I have kept chooks for 30 years. I have tried the lot from having beautiful rear breeds to the ISA Browns that I have now. These are little egg laying machines. We have our chooks on rice hulls, this is cleaned out twice a year, bagged and kept for 6 months, then put on the garden. Our chooks are fully enclosed as we have a lot of foxes in our area. Every day II feed them scraps and greens from the garden. They require very little care as we have automatic water and feed available for 2 weeks.THere are many small coops available.
I would suggest one that is fully covered in wire so dogs and foxes can't get at them. they make great pets if handled from young and fed daily. The ISA Browns lay about an egg a day for 1 year, and then either stop laying or continue at a lesser rate. We don't keep a rooster as we have found some are too protective and can attack both adults and children. It is a good idea to keep out wild birds as they bring diseases that you don't want. They also eat a lot of food. I think Jacki French has a good book for people starting out.
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Chookie I knew you would respond at some stage ;) thanks.
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The aggressiveness of roosters is largely related to the breed. Most of the roosters we've had are very docile towards us. We've had the occasional rooster who has tried it on with us but they were put down. Aggression towards us isn't tolerated and we also wanted to remove them from the gene pool.
Roosters are great to have tho. Roosters will sacrifice themselves to save the flock. They eat after the hens, find food for them and will even stave themselves to death so the hens can eat. Rooster chivalry is alive and well.
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Yeah and thankfully the place we get our chooks is happy to take them back (and give to the neighboring Italians) when we need new ones, so I can avoid the whole headless chook part (I have funny memories as a kid).
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We had chooks in Adelaide before we moved to Qld.
Grizelda and Matilda lived the longest and were quite geriatric when they finally fell off the perch. They were rescued from battery farms at the 'end of their useful life'. We got eggs from them for at least 5 years after we saved them and they layed intermittently right to the end..
They had full run of the garden and the cats and dogs were all terrified of them :D
Kept the bugs under control and roosted in the fruit trees at night. Grizzles loved chillis and would eat a few for breakfast every morning. I think it warmed her up and reduced the arthritis. :D :D
When we had a rooster we locked them all in at night.
The rooster always sat on the highest perch, (being top of the pecking order). We found that by putting a perch up really high in he couldn't stretch up to crow in the morning so he stayed quiet until we let them out at a respectable hour.
After Grizzles and Matilda died we had some bantams move into our fruit trees. Feral chookies? :P They must have liked the freedom.
Neighbours complained and the council dog catcher came round to remove the noise.
It was funny to watch his attempts to catch two chooks. I explained they were not ours, but I would be very upset if he trampled on my garden and veggie patch. The chooks flew as well as any wild bird. As soon as they saw him coming they went straight over the fence and came back when he left.
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Rosie, love this chook story.
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Me too, thanks for sharing it with us Rosie.
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Well DH is happy for us to get chooks ( he is generally pretty accepting of all my crazy ideas ;) ) Yay!! I have been searching for coops and now just need to measure the yard and work out what size will fit. I would ideally like one the boys can go into but will be happy with any one really :) as long as it is big enough for the chooks.
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The boys will love them Meagan, photo please when it is all set up.
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Make sure you get a coop that is easy to clean. We got an old kids cuby house for a chook shed. It's great except getting inside as the door was built for a 6 year old.
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Well I have found a place that sells coops locally.
Thinking of this one
http://www.westpets.com.au/12-chicken-coop-wp001.html
Or this one
http://www.westpets.com.au/6-chicken-coop-wp005.html
Or this one
http://www.westpets.com.au/1-chicken-coop-wp001.html
It is really hard to get an idea of how big they are even though they give dimensions.
What do you chook owners think?
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Meagan, get the largest that you can afford, and that will fit in your yard. You must be able to shift it around. As they don't seem to have a base you would need to sit it on heavy wire mesh so that foxes or dogs cant dig under. You can lift the lid on the egg box to get the eggs. This is a good idea.
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Meagan, do you know what wood is used in the construction of these chook houses and what preservatives / treatments have been use? Are they toxic? I don't know if that matters - Chookie, will the hens peck at the frame and ingest the chemicals in the wood? It's just a thought I have had - I always seem to look at the negatives of everything, I guess I'm just cynical!
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Meagan, do you know what wood is used in the construction of these chook houses and what preservatives / treatments have been use? Are they toxic? I don't know if that matters - Chookie, will the hens peck at the frame and ingest the chemicals in the wood? It's just a thought I have had - I always seem to look at the negatives of everything, I guess I'm just cynical!
Never known them to peck at the frame.
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Nah ours never have either. We have a liid to lift up to collect the eggs, and give access to clean out the straw. Very easy. Ours isn't huge as we were lever going to have too many, and they then have an enclosed run around it. We don't really have trouble with foxes here thankfully... Just possums.. Lol
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As they don't seem to have a base you would need to sit it on heavy wire mesh so that foxes or dogs cant dig under.
Chookie do you need mesh on the bottom if it is on concrete slabs or just on soil? We plan to put it in the skinny 1mt deep garden bed in our court yard and I am not sure if we need slabs or just leave the soil? I think I need to do more reading and research!
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After reading the posts I had another thought. Meagan if you are having a wooden chook house and it is sitting directly onto the ground be aware of white ants.
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Meagan, It is the soil that the foxes dig under. You need to place the heavy wire under the cage, sticking out at the sides and pin it through the cage and wire into the ground with tent pegs.
Cookie, hadn't thought about ants. Might be better to have a metal frame.
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Hmmm I think it might be easier to have it on slabs as wire sticking out may be a bit dangerous for the boys and if it ends up wider than the garden bed strip then I would have to remove brick pavers to nail in tent pegs.
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Still talking and thinking about chooks. I am a little worried about how much work it will be and how much cleaning of the pen etc is needed :-\
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http://www.animaltuckerbox.com.au/xmas%20catalog/DPC0061_XmasCatalogue(WEB)_Dec2011.pdf
We have a half tank chook cage which fits 3 chooks comfortably. I often let them out during the day and lock them up of a night although we don't have any problems with foxes in Tassie. They are pretty easy to move but need two adults to move the cage but we leave the cage in the one spot as the chooks are out and about most of the time anyway. We love our fresh eggs, the color difference of free range eggs to shop brought eggs are amazing. I choose not to have a rooster because of the noise. It's also great to be able to give all the scraps to the chooks rather than throw them out. Good luck with finding the right cage for your needs but I'm sure you guys will love having your own chooks cause I know my lot do.
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meagan, are you still going ahead with the chooks? We are also looking at getting some and I'm a little worried that it all sounds like a great idea but they will end up being more work than I anticipated. We are in an area of Melbourne that has foxes so will need to ensure the coop is fox proof but DH used to be a builder so as long as we run through all the necessities I'm sure we will end up with a great coop, it just might take a little time. i would love to hear others view on chook ownership and how much work it realy is. Also we are going on holidays at the end of March for a month so if it's going to be too much work to leave for our neighbour we will need to wait until we come back and then I'm a little worried we wont' get many eggs as the weather will be cooler??
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Me personally think chooks are really easy to keep, as long as they have fresh water and grain/scraps and some where safe to perch then there shouldn't be to many hassles. I do think they need room though. I wouldn't like to keep mine locked up in a small cage permanently. Mine are free to roam most of the time during the day but I don't have issues with foxes or other animals to harm them. They don't need walking or brushing or cuddles like cats and dogs. My kids collect the eggs daily and I check their water levels every few days. We have a self feeder for grain which I check each week and top up and then give them scraps when the scrap bucket is full.
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Two other things - we have no grass, lots of deck and lots of garden beds where they can roam during the day but no grass for the them to feed on, and we have a small dog. My husband says we wouldn't be able to train our dog to like the chickens but I'm sure they would eventually be able to live together, the dog is an inside dog most of the time but he follows us where ever we go so is generally outside if we are.
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Wonder, I would get my chooks when I come back from holiday. They will be POL, that is point of lay, and probably won't lay for a couple of weeks from when you get them. They need time to settle in. If you get Isa Browns they will lay for a year from when they start, probably 6 eggs every 7 days. make sure the wire is under the ground and fine enough not to let any wild birds in. ( sparrows). they eat the food and bring diseases. they really aren't much trouble once you are set up.
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Wonder, a small dog shouldn't worry them. We have a border collie-cross who is fine with our chooks roaming. We have a dozen chooks (we live on a rural property), and they are really easy to look after - have a self feeder and self-watering set up, and free range most afternoons, providing we're home before dark to shut their door. Friends in town have three on their suburban property and find them very easy. They will definitely scratch up your garden beds though. Also pooh on your deck if they are out for a long time each day (they get sick of scratching and like to hang out near the house). The eggs are awesome though.
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Two other things - we have no grass, lots of deck and lots of garden beds where they can roam during the day but no grass for the them to feed on, and we have a small dog. My husband says we wouldn't be able to train our dog to like the chickens but I'm sure they would eventually be able to live together, the dog is an inside dog most of the time but he follows us where ever we go so is generally outside if we are.
We have a Staffordshire bull terrier Wonder, and trained her to be fine with them no problem. While she got used to them we had her on a rope so that they could get away from her if they needed to. Once she was used to them we let her go free. We never deliberately left her alone with them, although occasionally it would happen accidentally. Never had any problems.
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We have a jack Russell and she doesn't worry about them at all, although she will snap at them when they are trying to steal her food. I usually let mine roam around my garden for a few days before I mow the lawns, then I lock them up and clean up where they have scratched my garden beds and mow the lawns. That way my lawns stay nice and tidy until I let them out again a few days before I am due to mow again.
I have a back yard and front yard but only let the chooks scratch around the back area, although a little bantam I have squeezes under the fence and roams around the front lawn as well.
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We still haven't organized anything yet. I was thinking we would go for pullets ( ready to lay chooks) but after visiting a friend who has had hers from day olds I can see how much the children would get out of having chicks and seeing them grow!
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Thanks for all the replies. We are definitely going to go with setting ourselves up and getting couple, DH just has one small area of the outside still to finish off which is also the area we think would be a perfect home for the chooks. I've been researching coops and DH will easily build one which is hopefully vermin, bird and fox proof. Meagan I'm undecided over which to get also as POL is the most practical but my son is so looking forward to having a smaller chicken he can watch grow I think he will be devastated if we go with POL. Even though we have had many, many animals come through our house DS has never had a pet of his own and is so looking forward to choosing, naming and caring for (i now this will get relegated in time) his own. There is certainly a whole new world out there once you start researching urban chook keeping!
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The problem with day olds, and this is why we decided against it in the end, is you don't know which are roosters and won't until they start to crow and you are around to see which one/s it is /are, as that usually begins before the other differences become apparent. That certainly wasn't an option for us as its against the local laws to have a cockerel and we could be prosecuted for it if a neighbour complained, and we have a neighbour who would almost certainly complain.
The other thing is that they need special equipment, accommodation and care which is different to the adult hen needs. Finally, they're at risk of being taken by rats (which are all too plentiful in London) and I just couldn't face that with my daughter.
Not to say that YOU shouldn't, your circumstances are probably different. I just thought I'd raise the points for consideration.
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Day olds are trickier, as CarolineW says. They need more care and more likely to die, but I have plenty of friends that still seem to set eggs under a hen and raise chicks. From about 7 weeks old, they are much easier. While not cutesy day olds, they still are small and your DS would probably still get a big kick out of having them. Should take about 3 months from then to get to point-of-lay. Good luck with them. I love being able to throw my food scraps to the chooks.
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sorry, to clarify we would like to get the ones that are about 7 weeks old - still small and cute enough for DS, will require a little more work than the POL but not as much work as the day olds and we can tell the sex at that age. There is so much to learn.
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A friend of mine incubates her hens eggs and I love watching them hatch and grow. We are thinking about getting an incubator for DS as he absolutely loves watching too, and we can sell the chickens at our shop.
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Do you run a pet shop DG?
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I was concerned about the rooster possibility but apparently as long as you buy them from a place that is reputable and the chooks have been sexed then it is ok ??? My friend has three hens which were sold as hens so I guess that was a success.
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Judydawn, we own Thunderbolt Trailer and Produce Centre.
Sell new trailers and trailer parts as well as Stock and pet feed, Searles garden products, chook feeders etc and automotive products. My DH also runs a mechanic shop there too. We often sell farm fresh eggs from our customers chooks and also sell their chicks for them too.
DG :-*
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Sounds like an interesting business DG.
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We have 11 chooks plus we are currently chook sitting for friends who are away. we were given an old chook shed which we patched up and we have fenced off the end of our yard and they have done an amazing job clearing up the area. We did let them free range thrpugh the whole yard but they always went straight for the vegie patch. We did have a rooster for a while but he was so noisy and when we were away camping it was too hard for my neighbour to be putting him in a box at night so we gave him back. Last year we had a broody hen so we bought fertile eggs and 9 of them hatched 6 of them were roosters :o, Fortunately we had a friend who lives in the country so she took them and distributed them amongst her neighbours / Our boys love the chooks and they are always happy to come for a cuddle. and I must admit I love watching them run they are so funny, I will occasionally throw an apple core from the decking just to watch them sprint through the bushes. We let them live on after they have stopped laying but have put some down when they look like walking etc is hard
good luck with your chook adventures we love ours
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We have two Isa Browns, they are so friendly, come running to you whenever you go out the back door, and squat down in front of you for you to pat them. We have 2 rows for roofing tiles laying flat around the base of the chook pen to stop foxes digging in. The pen has a dirt floor, that has sawdust and pea straw I put through the mulcher. This is collected twice a year and left for about 3 months before putting on the garden. We let them free range in an area that is fenced with sheep fencing and has bird wire on to stop them getting through, as they will dig up your garden. The area they free roam in is like the mini golf course, with pot holes everywhere, as they dig for insects and plant roots, and also like to sand bath. We have to make sure we don't let them out before a certain time in the morning and lock them in before dusk at night as the foxes are not shy of humans around here, and will take them. We have lost quite a few over the years, at being a bit late locking them up, or letting them out too early. Every now and again, when we don't get eggs in their nesting box, we need to go hunting to see if they are stashing there eggs somewhere else, which they do from time to time, especially if they are becoming broody. I save all my veg peelings, and stalks from cauliflower etc, also all egg shells, put them in the thermomix and make up a mash for them, which they love. I love having chooks, but they are a responsibility like any pet, that needs looking after. Good Luck I'm sure you will enjoy them as much as I do as will the children.
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We had isa browns at one stage. The kids loved them cause they were so easy to pick up because of them squatting. We always knew when wedge tailed eagles were around as they would stop what they were doing and would be looking up but they never took any of our chooks.
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Well we collected 3 day old chicks this afternoon :o :D ;D they are very cute!
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That's great. Let us know how you get on with them. What breed did you go for?
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Megan, that is terrific. The kids will love them. We have the GC staying at the moment and the highlight of the day is to feed the chooks with the kitchen scraps and collect the eggs. They all had eggs for dinner last night. Cooked in the TMX
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They are so cute at that age. My friend incubates eggs and I love seeing them hatch and grow. What breed are they? We get 6 eggs a day with our Isa Browns and Black Astrolorps however I have become egg intolerant. They are fine cooked in a cake etc, but cant eat them on their own or a quiche etc. Have fun watching them grow
DG xxxx
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Oh how cute, bet the family are loving that. Will be great to watch them grow. Just think how excited they will be in a few months time when you get your first egg :)
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DG ... egg intolerant. What a shame. My DH has recently become lactose intolerant. How come we can handle foods, etc. up to a certain point then our bodies suddenly decide ".... well, that's it, I don't like this food any more so let's just start reacting badly to it ..."? It's not fair. At least you can still get your fresh eggs by other means, so that's good.
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How lovely Meagan. I love the way the chicks just drop asleep wherever they are and how they follow you round.
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:) We got our chickens about 6 weeks ago.
We have 5 that are 6 weeks old, and 6 that are POL.
Fresh eggs every day are great. My kids love them.
Robyn
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We have around 15 at the moment but this includes 4 roosters that will be taken to auction this weekend.
Our kids love watching and playing with them.
Our egg production is extremely low due to weather changes and moulting. Can't wait for them to all recover and get back into production once more.
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They are Hi line which is really similar to an isa browns. So very cute :) I will try to add a picture later.
They are called Licorice, Rosie and yet to be named lol. They are getting lots of love from the boys ;D so sweet, ds3 cuddles them against his cheek!
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I have an Isa brown who lays everyday, a frizzle and 2 new baby leghorns.m I've lost several sillies to disease but they were gorgeous!! My frizzle sits on my lap for cuddles and the two babies follow my very confused poodle around! The cat ios loftily indifferent!
The Isa free ranges during the day and truthfully has demolished many vegetables! The 3 smaller ones are in the tractor most of the day but let out when we are in yard. I've lost one chicken to a dog and one baby taken by crows we think.
They really are my babies! They are very therapeutic and to me make the house a home!! ;D
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Joynatalie - we too have lost silkies! We now have a rule that no matter how cute they are we are not buying anymore of that breed.
We have a mixture of Isa, Rhode Island, Minorca, Aracuana - lays the prettiest blue egg!, Sussex, Barnevelder and quite a few Pekin.
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Cuilidh, it is strange how intolerances can suddenly appear out of nowhere.
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(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m631/meaganlq/f9df503c.jpg)
Sorry about the size of the pic :-)) huge!!!
I meant to add from left to right yet to be named, Licorice and Rosie
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Oooh. How lovely.
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Oh they are so cute and fluffy :)
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Megan, these are going to be great family pets. Your children are going to learn so much from them. They will learn how to be kind and gentle with them and this translates to people. Enjoy them.
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Huge is good when it comes to pictures of gorgeous, fluffy little chooks Meagan ;)
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We love our chooks, although I have 1 bantam who keeps escaping under the fence and 1 hen who thinks she's a rooster and try's to crow :)
They are all laying at the moment so all is good. I'm guessing they will stop as the weather gets colder.
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Love to hear that Mandi :D :D Bit of an identity crisis aye?
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Sometime hens that think they are roosters actually grow spurs and become aggressive and stop laying. But she still lays eggs and is not aggressive or has spurs. If she did we might have to eat her ;D lol.
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We love our chooks, although I have 1 bantam who keeps escaping under the fence and 1 hen who thinks she's a rooster and try's to crow :)
This is very common when there is no rooster present, one hen will feel the need to become masculine and dominant :-))
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Lol, well that's definitely what she has done then :)
Does that mean she's lesbian? Lol
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;D ;D ;D thats it now i have heard every thing ;D
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;D
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We love our chooks, although I have 1 bantam who keeps escaping under the fence and 1 hen who thinks she's a rooster and try's to crow :)
This is very common when there is no rooster present, one hen will feel the need to become masculine and dominant :-))
Can vouch for this - have seen it happen - a little Pekin bantam hen older than the rest and at the top of the pecking order decided she was "it" and kept the others in line . . . she'd "crow" morning, noon and/or night!! :D
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:'( lost a chick this morning :'( :'( :'( she hadn't been looking great and was the runt. I thought she was getting better but we buried her this morning :-[
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Oh poor little chicken. How did the kids cope?
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Eldest really seemed shattered but they are both coping better than I am :'( I should have gone with my gut and called to talk to a vet or the hatchery earlier :(
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Birds of any kind are hard to treat, once they get sick they don't seem to recover.
Hope you have no more issues :)
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Me too. We have cleaned the feeders and moved them to a temporary box while we dispose of the box they were in! I was really at a loss explaining to the boys what happens when a chick gets sick and dies! Totally unprepared for that!!
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Who knows, could always be a mystery. I'm sure the others will be fine if they have not shown any signs of being unwell.
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Oh, Megan. How awful for all of you. Unfortunately this can happen. Don't waste your money on a vet as they don't seem to know much about chooks. A few do have special skills in this area but not many. Would be better to ring the hatchery. If the others look OK then then this little one had something wrong. Best to remove any sick looking bird, small or large, from the others if one looks ill. Make sure it has plenty of fresh water and keep it warm. Hope the others are OK.
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There are a few medicines you can buy - a local business has a "winter pack" with sometimes that can help birds when unwell. Sometimes a warm mix of Vegemite and water can help chickens pick up.
We lost a few birds in our first 6mths which although sad was handled really well by our small kids (6, 4 and 2) as we explained about the cycle of life and death to them.
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Thanks chookie, DH actually had to put her out of her misery as she was not in a good way :'( :'( I think I am more sad than the kids. Ds5 seemed to take it fairly badly but has brightened as the day has gone on. I just can't face waking up to that again though :( I plan to call the hatchery tomorrow. One of the two remaining has a bare patch under its wing, no fluff and like wet feathers ??? Seems to be eating and drinking ok though
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Megan, i think that the littlies often cope better than us. As kyton has said it is quite a good learning experience for the children.
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I know and that is part of the reason we chose to start with chooks. Doesn't make it any easier though :(
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Oh Meagan that is very sad but kids seem to handle death in a matter of fact way. Hope the others are ok.
Gretchen
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Megan when we got our chickens 2 months ago, we lost 3 in the first week.
So we have 5 little ones, and we bought 6 point of lays, as well.
So far all is good now.
Kids were upset for a day, but ok now.
Robyn
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Yesterday's egg 69 gm.... Today 's 111 gm !!!!! Ouch!!!!! :)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/03/eruhaba6.jpg)
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Poor love, how is she looking after passing that GF :o Wonder if it is a double yolker, if there is such a word :-))
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OMG!
Gert
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we get some big ones too.
about 8 per day.. :o
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Judy, oddly enough she's fine .. Not fussed, bothered in any way at all??? It probably is a double yolker.. Will try it tomorrow. My first thought when I saw it was that it belonged to some interloping goose. Lol
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we get some big ones too.
about 8 per day.. :o
How many chooks do you have Obbie? Are your large ones double yolkers? Do you know what causes it?
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we have 8 chooks and one very large rooster.
Most of the big eggs are double yoke's.. , no don't know what causes it.
Ours free range when we are home, like these 2 weeks, and we let them out usually for a couple of hours when we get home from work.
Love the fresh eggs, compared to shop bought cage eggs.
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Yes. We have only two but they have the run of our jungle of a backyard ... Eggs are great ! Would never buy/ support cage eggs... Don't understand how such conditions can be considered legal....
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I love finding double yolkers. :) :) They are sort of special.