ARGHHHHHHH, I found one of our Hylines that has been broodie. I can NEVER find where shes laying, she ALWAYS finds her own nesting place around the place. To my surprise today I found her sitting HIGH on a mountain of 45 eggs! There were so many they were rolling down the bank she had made her nest at the top of. And not to stop there, she had a previous nest a few feet away that she filled up first with 50 eggs! Shes drives me nuts and is on her way to a new home if she doesnt sort her s*%t out. You know I think she is IHC, shes nuts at the best of times! I can see the funny side, Ive never seen anything like it, she looked so rediculous perched up on top.
koru_designs,
Aug 15, 10:48am
hehehehe.Jules, I hope you took a photo!
luteba,
Aug 15, 6:54pm
So, about the same time as my bantams started laying, they've suddenly become much more destructive of the lawn under their tractor.I move them every day, and rotate them round the lawn - takes about a month to get round the whole lawn, which previously has been plenty of time for the lawn to grow back, and there wasn't a whole lot of damage to the lawn within their tractor each day.However, in the last couple of weeks they've suddenly started really digging it up, scratching much more vigorously than previously.I wonder whether they've suddenly learnt about worms (the first time I tried feeding them some worms I'd collected, they looked extremely suspicious of them, like they'd never seen them before; now they gobble them up quick as a blink), or whether it's some other thing associated with laying.Any comments!If it's some dietary deficiency, I wouldn't mind supplementing their diet if it put less stress on the lawn!
koru_designs,
Aug 15, 7:33pm
Maybe there's something under the grass that's recently emerged.maybe grass grub or similar & they're digging up the larvae! Or they're trying to get more protein or calcium in their diet now they're laying (do you have them on some sort of layer mix!).
luteba,
Aug 15, 8:55pm
I've got them on Peck n'lay Gold, and give them supplementary grit.And treats every few days or so (worms from under the leaves, or a bit of raw mince, or some little cubes of cheese) so I think they should be okay for diet.Could be grass grub larvae though, hadn't thought of that.
jules.,
Aug 16, 2:34am
does anyone know how i can get the silly girls to sleep in thier lovely new MANSION and out of the trees and the rain please! they are going in and using the nesting boxes but are all still in the tree tonight.
jules.,
Aug 16, 2:44am
I never even gave it a thought, I was so shocked I just took her off and destroyed both nests and covered them so she couldnt go back. I put her back with the others, she clucked around for a few hours but has since calmed down and stopped her nonsense (for now).
I thought Hylines went clucky less, but not this girl, and shes only 1 year old too!
koru_designs,
Aug 16, 3:22am
Jules. You could try manually putting them into the coop at night (ie removing them from the trees) until they get the idea.or feed them in the evening in the coop & shut them in so they have no choice but to roost there.or (& I think this would be my first choice) maybe shutting them in the coop for a few days so they bond more closely with the coop & hopefully develop new habits of sleeping in there. Good luck.
gag5,
Aug 16, 2:49pm
hi all - good reading here. Any way of telling which chooks lay other than standing around all day to watch! have been getting 1 or 2 eggs every day from 4 hylines since we got them in March so not sure if its the same 2 or are they laying alternate days! Does anybody use those self feeders! What do you think of them!
mothergoose_nz,
Aug 16, 4:54pm
they have pin bones at the back and when you can get 2 or 3 fingers between them they are laying.google pin bones on hen to find where exactly they are.easy to find and feel through the skin.
jules.,
Aug 17, 4:51am
thanks koru designs, i had thought about feeding them in there and locking them in for the night and doing that till they get the idea. i wouldnt be able to get them down from the trees cos they sleep well above my head and out on the thinner branches. id look pretty funny when i fell out trying to get to them! will keep you posted.
rhos1,
Aug 17, 5:35am
Being slightly squeamish I've been toying with the idea of having a few hens, but don't see here how people deal with them when they have finally finished laying. We used to have them when I was a child, but somehow I never enquired how they arrived on the diningtable! I'll be really interested to hear - serious query.
jules.,
Aug 18, 4:44am
bumping. for rhos1
rhos1,
Aug 18, 7:05am
Thank you Jules The thread seems to have shut down,which is a pity because I made a genuine enquiry. O well .
cheylitz,
Aug 18, 2:02pm
If you can't do the deed there maybe someone locally that will, we have a ethnic group that will take them.Cheaper to give them away than to keep feeding them.
twins3,
Aug 19, 12:04am
advice please We have 6 chooks on a normal quarter acre section. They used to roam freely, but i have had neighbours at the back complain about 2 of them jumping into their section. We have now made their run bigger to keep them in all the time which i feel awfull for them. What i want to know is, are they any hard and fast rules for keeping chickens locked up all the time, the coop is moveable but do i need to put anything on the ground or is the grass fine. I am rather peeved about this situation.
cheylitz,
Aug 19, 1:45am
you said jumping do you have a fence around your section.I have a metre high fence, the Silkies don't bother but with the others I keep both wings well clipped and my girls stay home
stompy,
Aug 19, 2:30am
I was also going to suggest clipping their wings, gee pesky neightbours ay! maybe if they tried the eggs they would change their minds.I only have three chooks and becaue they are such little laying machines I could never kill them for the table if and when they give egg alying I would just let them live their days out here.
koru_designs,
Aug 19, 4:24am
Re #330 I guess it depends if you view the birds you keep as pets or production animals (or both) plus the breed. I keep Pekins & they're really not worth eating, IMHO.they're small & there's not much meat on them, although a mature rooster would be ok on the BBQ, I guess. My chooks are my pets & we don't eat our pets. When they die, they get buried in the backyard. And I don't kill them - they get put down. But I know most poultry keepers don't do this, especially if they're keeping them for meat. They either learn how to cull the birds themselves (often using a killing cone to hold the bird still) or send them to a processor who will do small kills (they process & package the birds).
koru_designs,
Aug 19, 4:25am
cont. I have a contact I can send unwanted roosters to, if required - I don't get them back to eat but they're killed humanely & they guy cooks them. I haven't used him yet - I think if I had a surplus of roosters, I'd find a processor. My hens wouldn't be worth eating after they finished laying - chooks get pretty tough after about 2 years & I let mine live way longer than this.
koru_designs,
Aug 19, 4:34am
Re #334 What breed are they! Some breeds are more "flighty" than others. If it's becoming a problem & the neighbour has complained, clip one wing (not both - if you do both, they can still fly) so they can't fly. Make sure you don't have anything near the fence they can use as an escape route. And if it's really bad, put them in a run with an enclosed top. I don't have much experience tractoring our chooks as they are free ranged over our back yard but lots of people do it & they're normally quite happy as long as they have enough room (size will depend on number & size of chook) & the run is moved regularly. If they're just running on grass, maybe provide them with some extra, varied greens to nibble on (spinach, etc.you could also try growing your own to give them - comfrey, buckwheat, clover, arrowroot, etc). If they're on dirt for a prolonged period of time, provide lots of greens & sprinkle lime over the area when they're moved to kill any nasties in the soil.
koru_designs,
Aug 19, 4:36am
Forgot to add. You will need to reclip their wings when the flight feathers regrow. And another option to containing them all the time may be to let them free range only an couple of hours a day when you're home.
rhos1,
Aug 19, 6:48am
Thank you very much Chey and Koru - your advice is very helpful. Now I have to work out where to fit some hens on our quite small section. Thanks again
purplegoanna,
Aug 19, 4:56pm
i have a new plan.we live at work so i have to be very careful how many animals i bring onto the property without making it like a farm not a business.BUT BUT but but down the back of our implement shed is a space of spare land, about 4-5ft wide and about 30mtrs long.building on one side and 3mtr high electric & mesh fence on the other! perfecto chook run for heeny & penny!.just need to gate the open end of.have been clearing all the junk his lordship has biffed down there over the years, then a good truck load of leaf mulch just to give them something to play in & bonza im away.might even be able to add another 2 to the mix!.got hubby half way talked into it just gotta win him over!.fingas & toseys x'd peeps.
purplegoanna,
Aug 19, 5:00pm
speaking of roos.im lucky cause ive been put onto a lovely gentleman who takes roos for free and free ranges them on his farm (for upto 2 yrs!) and eats them as he needs to, he only eats chicken & fish so hes more than happy to take anyones boys.he culls & dress's them himself.AND if any of my roosters actually turn into hens due to mistaken identity he gives them back!
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