CHICKENS AND EGGS ( Trivia, Too Much Information ) :-)

[oldmaninbc]

Cheers mate.
Foxes eat the heads too.

One of my hens went broody, I got a dozen fertilised Australorp eggs which she hatched but failed to take out to eat and drink so they all died.
This happened a second time with another hen so I am done with trying to raise chicks naturally.
I have an incubator, I just need to get a brooder made.

One of my older chicks turned out to be a rooster and now I am trying to get rid of him.
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I went to a new breeder and got some purebred Australorp chicks that are guaranteed to be hens (3) that are now about 10 weeks old, they are very friendly, I can pat them when they are between the pots and they usually come over to see what I am up to when I am cleaning out the water bowl or watering the plants.
It took them a week to get used to going into the henhouse at night and getting on the roost.
There hasn't been much squabbling about the pecking order.
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I also got a new feeder made from stainless steel and holding 5 or 6Kg of feed which has a rain hat top keep the feed dry when it rains, I got sick of wasting food every time it rained.
The new chicks took to it straight away but the older ones I haven't seen go near it, could it be too low for them, should I raise it on bricks?

I bought a 20Kg bag of parrot mix and have been spreading that around the chook yard every day or so and they have been eating the lot.

I found a snail the other day which lasted about 10 seconds when I threw it to the chooks.

Last night one of the hens ate a weevil beetle that was in the henhouse.

I use to put some of my chickens in the veggie garden so they would eat pests of the plants. I know slave labor but the chickens seemed ok with it.

Why the parrot mix?

Not sure why your older birds won't go near the feeder, doesn't hurt to try something different.
Chickens like their food. Curious what you find out.

 

[pop_rocks]

Cheers mate.
Foxes eat the heads too.

One of my hens went broody, I got a dozen fertilised Australorp eggs which she hatched but failed to take out to eat and drink so they all died.
This happened a second time with another hen so I am done with trying to raise chicks naturally.
I have an incubator, I just need to get a brooder made.

One of my older chicks turned out to be a rooster and now I am trying to get rid of him.
View attachment 19122936
View attachment 19122937
View attachment 19122938

I went to a new breeder and got some purebred Australorp chicks that are guaranteed to be hens (3) that are now about 10 weeks old, they are very friendly, I can pat them when they are between the pots and they usually come over to see what I am up to when I am cleaning out the water bowl or watering the plants.
It took them a week to get used to going into the henhouse at night and getting on the roost.
There hasn't been much squabbling about the pecking order.
View attachment 19122939
View attachment 19122940

I also got a new feeder made from stainless steel and holding 5 or 6Kg of feed which has a rain hat top keep the feed dry when it rains, I got sick of wasting food every time it rained.
The new chicks took to it straight away but the older ones I haven't seen go near it, could it be too low for them, should I raise it on bricks?

I bought a 20Kg bag of parrot mix and have been spreading that around the chook yard every day or so and they have been eating the lot.

I found a snail the other day which lasted about 10 seconds when I threw it to the chooks.

Last night one of the hens ate a weevil beetle that was in the henhouse.

racoons will also pop the heads off chickens
those are good looking birds man and it looks like your enclosure is well built to keep out predators

 

[pop_rocks]

I use to put some of my chickens in the veggie garden so they would eat pests of the plants. I know slave labor but the chickens seemed ok with it.

Why the parrot mix?

Not sure why your older birds won't go near the feeder, doesn't hurt to try something different.
Chickens like their food. Curious what you find out.

yeah that sounds interesting, i would scatter hand fulls of the n.american bird seeds you can get in bulk at the feed store and the chickens would eat it up except for the sun flower seeds
they liked it and it was dirt cheap, plus it attracted all kinds of song birds to the yard

 

[Frosty Nuggets]

I use to put some of my chickens in the veggie garden so they would eat pests of the plants. I know slave labor but the chickens seemed ok with it.

Why the parrot mix?

Not sure why your older birds won't go near the feeder, doesn't hurt to try something different.
Chickens like their food. Curious what you find out.

Yeah they are good bug hunters the only problem is they do more damage than the bugs to the vegies.

I thought a bit of variety would be nice for them.

I'm wondering whether it is too low for the older ones but not for the youngest, maybe the rain hat gets in the way?

racoons will also pop the heads off chickens
those are good looking birds man and it looks like your enclosure is well built to keep out predators

Yeah foxes, hawks and eagles were my biggest worry but then there are snakes which can either kill the chickens or hide in or under the nest boxes and bite when you take eggs.
The bottom of the fence is set into concrete to stop foxes getting under.

yeah that sounds interesting, i would scatter hand fulls of the n.american bird seeds you can get in bulk at the feed store and the chickens would eat it up except for the sun flower seeds
they liked it and it was dirt cheap, plus it attracted all kinds of song birds to the yard

Yeah, next time I might try another mix like canary for more variety.
These chooks love sunflower seed, it's in both the parrot mix and the regular chook mix I buy.
The only birds we get here are either sparrows (we call spoggies, I call flying mice) and doves or crested pigeons (we call toppies because of the pointed feathers on top of their head).

I have just bought a rat zapper electronic mouse/rat trap to go in the henhouse.

 

[oldmaninbc]

yeah that sounds interesting, i would scatter hand fulls of the n.american bird seeds you can get in bulk at the feed store and the chickens would eat it up except for the sun flower seeds
they liked it and it was dirt cheap, plus it attracted all kinds of song birds to the yard

Song birds are great to have around, sound good and usually look sharp...the males

Chickens are interesting to watch and listen to.

 

[oldmaninbc]

Yeah they are good bug hunters the only problem is they do more damage than the bugs to the vegies.

I thought a bit of variety would be nice for them.

I'm wondering whether it is too low for the older ones but not for the youngest, maybe the rain hat gets in the way?


Yeah foxes, hawks and eagles were my biggest worry but then there are snakes which can either kill the chickens or hide in or under the nest boxes and bite when you take eggs.
The bottom of the fence is set into concrete to stop foxes getting under.


Yeah, next time I might try another mix like canary for more variety.
These chooks love sunflower seed, it's in both the parrot mix and the regular chook mix I buy.
The only birds we get here are either sparrows (we call spoggies, I call flying mice) and doves or crested pigeons (we call toppies because of the pointed feathers on top of their head).

I have just bought a rat zapper electronic mouse/rat trap to go in the henhouse.

That's why I would only put a few chickens in my garden and generally if I noticed an infestation like tomato hornworms.
The weasel that got at my chickens, I would see it in my garden for some reason, it was changing color to white.
I lived on a beef ranch and there was several cow dogs that kept many intruders away.

You have a nice setup for your chickens, they should be happy birds.

 

[pop_rocks]

Yeah they are good bug hunters the only problem is they do more damage than the bugs to the vegies.

I thought a bit of variety would be nice for them.

I'm wondering whether it is too low for the older ones but not for the youngest, maybe the rain hat gets in the way?


Yeah foxes, hawks and eagles were my biggest worry but then there are snakes which can either kill the chickens or hide in or under the nest boxes and bite when you take eggs.
The bottom of the fence is set into concrete to stop foxes getting under.


Yeah, next time I might try another mix like canary for more variety.
These chooks love sunflower seed, it's in both the parrot mix and the regular chook mix I buy.
The only birds we get here are either sparrows (we call spoggies, I call flying mice) and doves or crested pigeons (we call toppies because of the pointed feathers on top of their head).

I have just bought a rat zapper electronic mouse/rat trap to go in the henhouse.

an electric rat trap, but wont it zap the chickens? (chooks?)
i think they just like the variety and i will have to look into other types of feed, but this n.am seed mix is what you would put in a feeder to feed wild birds so its cheap
the chickens have heir favorites and the wild birds get the rest

 

[Frosty Nuggets]

an electric rat trap, but wont it zap the chickens? (chooks?)
i think they just like the variety and i will have to look into other types of feed, but this n.am seed mix is what you would put in a feeder to feed wild birds so its cheap
the chickens have heir favorites and the wild birds get the rest

The trap is like a tunnel that the mouse/rat has to enter fully to get zapped so the chooks are safe.

 

[armedoldhippy]

chickens would eat it up except for the sun flower seeds

hell, i thought EVERYTHING ate sunflower seeds? i've watched deer and bears eat them from feeders, and every bird in my yard except robins too. wow...