Hello! I live in Indianapolis, IN and began with my chickens last year. On Feb 29th I purchased 3 straight run Black Australorps and 3 "miscellaneous reds"--which I believe to be Red Stars--from Tractor Supply. I ended up with one rooster (Australorp) and five ladies. I created a small coop from the back part of my utility shed and fenced in an area around it for their run. I built two nest boxes off the back of the shed/coop, which opened to the outside, to make it easier to collect them. My small flock quickly was allowed to roam the entire back yard when I was home, and that led to them roaming it all the time. hahaha My vegetable garden took a big hit and one of their favorite places to hang out was underneath my tomato plant "jungle". They loved the shade and hollowed out areas to snooze in. I can testify that I had no weeds growing beneath the plans since they scratched up everything! of course, other areas took a hit and my new strawberries were pretty scratched up. They discovered that they could scratch up my potatoes and take a test bite of them, leaving them laying exposed to the sun. There will be changes for this year so I can have my gardens undisturbed!
My reds are prolific layers, rarely missing a day, and the eggs are usually of the extra large variety (or bigger). The Australorps have been somewhat of a disappointment because the smaller of the two lays a much smaller egg---probably a large--and maybe 4 times a week. The larger of the two Australorps laid about the same frequency but a larger egg. However, she has only laid about 3 eggs in the past 2 months (and those have all been since new years) and is, for the most part, banished from the flock. The rooster runs her away whenever she attempts to eat any food I set out for them all. She has to wait until the others have their fill and walk away before she is allowed to come forward. (I try to toss stuff her way without the rooster knowing it, tho). She is sometimes allowed to join them in scratching and exploring, but most of the time, she is across the yard from them, looking very sad. At night they will all head to the coop, but some times the large Australorp is not allowed to enter, as the rooster stands guard. This became a problem as the weather turned cold. There have been a few nights that I have to physically pick her up and carry her into the coop for the night. A month ago, before it got cold, I surrendered the entire shed to them for a large coop (my mover and other items sit outside beneath a tarp). The flock--ALL of them--began physically attacking the large Australorp at the same time inside the coop. I watched the rooster pin her to the floor and the others surround her and peck away! I currently have an old dog cage inside the coop and I was putting the Australorp in there for her own safety. I release her for the day to roam but put her back into the cage or the night. The last 2 or 3 nights I have left the cage open because I have found her on the roosts a couple of times--much to my surprise. However, this morning when i went to feed and open the door, she was pinned in a corner, trying to hide from them. I may be seeking a new home for her if they continue not to let her join the group.
The week before Christmas I hatched 5 of 8 eggs from my girls in a homemade incubator. If the camera is not laying on its side, and my wireless connection has not died, this should be a live feed for their little area. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cwaf . There area is about 6 feet long and 30 inches wide for the moment. It is a puppy pen donated to me and it sits on a large piece of cardboard covered with pine shavings. It is in my house so they are warm. They have a lamp for warmth, a hanging feeder, and a plastic bottle with a watering nipple. They were hatched 12-21 through 12-23-12 and they are growing like weeds. I tossed the cardboard incubator (it was a mess) when finished and built a new incubator from a plastic storage container. I currently have 6 eggs in it, placed on 1-3-2013. [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] We shall see if I have success from this batch, and how many roosters I end up with! I do not want or need any more roosters so they will have to be rehomed as needed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]My introduction was rather long, I see, and I apologize for my ramblings! lol This forum has been a wealth of information for me and I thank you all. [/FONT]
My reds are prolific layers, rarely missing a day, and the eggs are usually of the extra large variety (or bigger). The Australorps have been somewhat of a disappointment because the smaller of the two lays a much smaller egg---probably a large--and maybe 4 times a week. The larger of the two Australorps laid about the same frequency but a larger egg. However, she has only laid about 3 eggs in the past 2 months (and those have all been since new years) and is, for the most part, banished from the flock. The rooster runs her away whenever she attempts to eat any food I set out for them all. She has to wait until the others have their fill and walk away before she is allowed to come forward. (I try to toss stuff her way without the rooster knowing it, tho). She is sometimes allowed to join them in scratching and exploring, but most of the time, she is across the yard from them, looking very sad. At night they will all head to the coop, but some times the large Australorp is not allowed to enter, as the rooster stands guard. This became a problem as the weather turned cold. There have been a few nights that I have to physically pick her up and carry her into the coop for the night. A month ago, before it got cold, I surrendered the entire shed to them for a large coop (my mover and other items sit outside beneath a tarp). The flock--ALL of them--began physically attacking the large Australorp at the same time inside the coop. I watched the rooster pin her to the floor and the others surround her and peck away! I currently have an old dog cage inside the coop and I was putting the Australorp in there for her own safety. I release her for the day to roam but put her back into the cage or the night. The last 2 or 3 nights I have left the cage open because I have found her on the roosts a couple of times--much to my surprise. However, this morning when i went to feed and open the door, she was pinned in a corner, trying to hide from them. I may be seeking a new home for her if they continue not to let her join the group.
The week before Christmas I hatched 5 of 8 eggs from my girls in a homemade incubator. If the camera is not laying on its side, and my wireless connection has not died, this should be a live feed for their little area. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cwaf . There area is about 6 feet long and 30 inches wide for the moment. It is a puppy pen donated to me and it sits on a large piece of cardboard covered with pine shavings. It is in my house so they are warm. They have a lamp for warmth, a hanging feeder, and a plastic bottle with a watering nipple. They were hatched 12-21 through 12-23-12 and they are growing like weeds. I tossed the cardboard incubator (it was a mess) when finished and built a new incubator from a plastic storage container. I currently have 6 eggs in it, placed on 1-3-2013. [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] We shall see if I have success from this batch, and how many roosters I end up with! I do not want or need any more roosters so they will have to be rehomed as needed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]My introduction was rather long, I see, and I apologize for my ramblings! lol This forum has been a wealth of information for me and I thank you all. [/FONT]
