same here, we have several neighbourhood cats, the chooks soon make quite a noise when they are around. they dont bother with our cat who can wander thru their run or lay about on the lawn while they are out. i do keep an eye on the chicks when they are out with their mum, but i know the hens can more than take care of any pesky cat!
koru_designs,
Oct 10, 4:54am
Ditto. We have Pekins (which are a bantam breed) & even they are more than a match for our cat. Our cat stays well clear of them.to the point that when I introduced young birds to the flock (they were the size of a nice cat snack), the cat didn't even bat an eyelid & they shared the same room as her (even perched on her bed once). Chooks are very good at looking after themselves. Keep an eye on them for the first few days but it's more than likely the cat will find out that those beaks & claws aren't the nicest :) Dogs, on the otherhand.they need to be supervised as they'll kill a chook with no problems if they're that way inclined (I suspect cats think it's too much hard work.lol).
teddies4,
Oct 10, 7:50pm
Well we don't have the dog problem so that is good.We are going to rescue some battery hens after their first laying season, so much cheaper.I am just waiting for my husband to finish making the chook house and run.Unfortunately we are going to have to keep them confined to the run (which is a large one) because of my vege garden.Its nice to know that the pussy cat shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Thanks for all your input.
jules.,
Oct 10, 10:40pm
WE HAVE CHICKS! 4SLW so far from 7! they are so small and cute :)
chrinto,
Oct 11, 2:22am
Hi there I have been reading this thread for a month or two now. We finally have our first chicken as of today. We have a red shaver pullet, extra stock from a free range farm. Have a question already we had to go out for the day, we left it food and water, it drank the water but ate no food. I gave it free range layer pellets which are what it is used to. It's beak had been clipped not much but would this stop it from being able to eat! Will it just be a bit worried about it's new home! Also we have ordered 3 Barnevelder pullets which will be ready in December. I can't wait to have nice fresh eggs!
jules.,
Oct 11, 2:28am
can anyone help please!.im on the hunt for egg cartons, but dont know where to look, does anyone know where to buy them from please!
nycafe,
Oct 11, 2:30am
Thanks so much for this thread it's been very useful. We have just finished building our chook run today , a nice big one to keep them away from the garden and the dogs away from the chooks. Hopefully next weekend we will have our ex battery chooks arriving :-) Soooo excited
lesleyf,
Oct 11, 2:33am
Can anyone tell me about clipping their wings please.I have 4 shavers - one of whom thinks she is Houdini!They were allowed full rein of the garden but after the mess they made today I have shut their gate (they have quite a large area just for them) but Houdini is doing her best to get over it!I think it's time for the snip! Any advice welcome, thanks.
lesleyf,
Oct 11, 3:20pm
bumping for the chooks!
jules.,
Oct 11, 10:35pm
give this a go site a go.http://www.backyardchi- ckens.com/LC-wingclipping.html-
i find it easier to hold their legs and lie them on their chest, while i hold, my son cuts the feathers (he's 9). as long as you follow the easy instuctions it wont hurt them a bit. some say its better to just clip one wing as it makes them off balance when trying to fly, others say to clip both. i have tried both and it didnt stop my girls, so may try just one this time and hope for better reults. good luck :)
lesleyf,
Oct 12, 1:17am
Thanks Jules - will enlist my son's help too I think.Hopefully it will work !
jules.,
Oct 12, 11:12pm
good luck, its a bit scary the first time, worrying if you are going to hurt or cut them, but it gets easier after that. let us know how you get on :)
jules.,
Oct 12, 11:47pm
and again :)
stompy,
Oct 13, 1:25am
What a lovely photo purple, very beautiful girls
koru_designs,
Oct 13, 5:02am
Lesley.if you're not quite sure what to do, it may pay to take one of your girls to the vet to be shown how to wing clip correctly & then you can do it yourself afterwards. Just in case - you can cause quite a bit of damage if you don't know what you're doing. And one wing is generally recommended rather than two - all you want to do is put them off balance. It won't stop them flying but will prevent them being able to steer properly. If you do both wings, it doesn't have any effect as they're balanced again (if that makes sense). Jules.I got spare egg cartons off my local freecycle. And congrats on the chicks :) Chrinto.is the bird still not eating! It's probably just a bit stressed after the move. You might like to give her some soluble vitamins to help her along a bit.you can get them from pet shops & farm supply stores. I use Soluvet - you just put it in their water. The blunted beak may hinder her with some foods but if she's used to the food you're giving her, it's probably just stress causing the fasting. Keep an eye on her condition in case she becomes ill or looses condition but hopefully she comes right soon.
cheylitz,
Oct 13, 3:43pm
This is a first for me. Living in town I am not allowed Roosters.Hatched some chicks on the 27th June, kept two I thought were pullets and about 10 days ago one I was having doubts about crowed. Time to panic, put him in a box over night in the garage but during the day when free ranging he didn't crow.Managed to find a home for him so all is well on that front. He was so tame and pretty. BUt I had a Silkie go clucky so gave her three silkie eggs to sit on to make sure before buying fertile eggs, then few days later passed the eggs on to another clucky Silkie, then a 3rd one goes clucky so she got the three eggs passed on.Before I threw the eggs out decided out of interest to candle them after 10 days of shifting around and there is little chickies inside. My question is at what age does a rooster become fertile. He is only a week over 3 months old. and the eggs became fertile before he even crowed.
jules.,
Oct 14, 2:34am
hes a randy little devil :) bumping for cheylitz.
tjc30,
Oct 14, 2:47am
Think I will stick with my ladies only coop. Dont want any of that funny business going on and scaring the kids when they crack an egg in the pan and theres a baby in it
chrinto,
Oct 14, 3:53am
thanks for the reply, she seems better doesn't seem to be able to get up on her perch to sleep though, I put in a ramp so that might help. She is just sleeping on the floor which isn't too healthy.
koru_designs,
Oct 14, 4:35pm
Chrinto.if it's any consolation, mine sleep on the floor too & they're perfectly capable of perching. It's no biggie. If you're worried, you can go in after dark & pop her up on the perch - she'll work it out sooner or later. Cheylitz.I think it depends a wee bit on the individual rooster because I've read of teenage roos siring chicks as well as fully mature ones (obviously). They should be mature by about 20 weeks but it may be sooner in individual birds. If you see them covering the hens, then they're definately mature :)
jules.,
Oct 14, 7:01pm
i had to take our old girl to the vet today to be put down :( shes been getting slower and slower the past month or so. all my girls roost in the tree, but she hasnt been able to get very high for a while and last last week she was just managing to get in the base of the tree, but last night she wasnt there, so i went looking for her and she was snuggled up on the floor of the house, so i popped her into the nest box. so that made my decision a bit easier, shes just got too old and slow and its not fair for her. the vet was very good whilei shed a few tears. the big task is to tell the kids when they get home this afternoon. RIP ROXY.
lesleyf,
Oct 16, 3:57pm
Haven't managed to pluck up courage yet to clip Houdini's wings - have stuck a boogie board on top of the fence and she won't go near it - problem solved (until my kids want to go to the beach!).Just wondered if anyone else gets really weird eggs.A couple of days ago we had one that had like an umbilical cord coming from it - made of soft spongy shell - the egg itself was fine - just odd!Then this morning we got a teeny little egg - about the size of the Cadbury's mini eggs at Easter - very cute!Anyway, is this normal or do I have crazy hens!
jules.,
Oct 17, 1:54am
They are very stunning Ladies, but I know how cunning they can be too! The story of my life.just found another nest, thought some had moved their nest and sure enough I stumbled on it when collecting the eggs from the house tonight. I dont know why they have to squeeze down the side of the house where only my Daughter can fit rather than just go in the house into their cozy nesting boxes! I think its just a game they play with me!
mothergoose_nz,
Oct 17, 3:01am
purple your selection of hens is a treat to see.
jules.,
Oct 17, 3:25am
we did have one very tiny egg at the beggining of the season, but was just full of blood. some have a slightly bumpy ridge occasionally, but never any that sound like the one you got. hopefully someone will let s all know why it may have happened.
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