Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[peep peep peep]

Found an unexpected suprise when I got home from town today. Wasn't sure how long she had been sitting.

Aww too cute and great work on the photography.

X2!

 

[Anniebee]

@tandykins I am very sorry to hear about the attack upon your chickens. I don't have much of an idea about how to look after your injured hen apart from just making sure infection doesn't take a hold, but I have a few suggestions for fox deterrence that could help.
Try and get your dog as well as that Irish Wolfhound to urinate around the chickens pen.
Also try and collect as much dog hair as you can and pack it into old socks or stockings. Then hang them around your yard/ chickens pens.
The best method probably is what Ash uses and that's to have an electric wire (at fox nose height) run all around your chickens yard.
Good luck with your flock and I hope no more attacks occur.

If you scroll down through this page it has several diagrams for optimum electric wire placement.
http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/fox_deterrence.html

Agree with this ... dog urine ( especially if male dogs ) ... and always leave one lot of fresh dog poop in the back garden somewhere. ... Also, if there is a man around who would be willing to accommodate the request

... human male urine against some fences - somewhere near where you think the fox might be getting into your garden ... that's also a big deterrent. ... I have also used ammonia sprayed at regular intervals near both side gates ( our back garden is entirely fenced off ) .... There are a great many foxes who live in / near the Dandenong ranges, Victoria.

The dog hair is a great idea .... foxes don't like dogs too much. !! .... - hope the little beggar doesn't come back again any time soon.

Agree with another comment here - manuka honey only when things seem to be healing. .... the honey also might be too attractive to the other chickens, and they might peck at it to eat - causing more problems for your injured chicken. Good luck.

 

[Anniebee]

@tandykins get hubby to pee around the perimeter...the foxes don't like it. If you chain the dogs up the foxes will walk around them.

It is raining and the chooks are out. They don't want to come in, even for their favorite seed. They want weeds. I figure they will go in when they are ready and will lay some hay in preparation.

Spot on Sidhe13 ... male urine ( dogs and particularly, human ) is most definitely a big deterrent. .... Use that option - - - - if you can. ....

My husband was horrified when asked. !!

... but that's his problem .... LOL. "I am not going to pee in my own garden - on gates or fences either, thank you very much" ? .... He's great otherwise but draws the line at wee-wees for foxes.

Apparently female urine does not have the same effect. ..... No further comment ??

 

[Anniebee]

Found an unexpected suprise when I got home from town today. Wasn't sure how long she had been sitting.

Absolutely beautiful photographs and such a happy looking Mum. . ...

I still miss so much, my little Silkie ( Milly ) who died about 2 years back now. .... She is still my avatar on here.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Absolutely beautiful photographs and such a happy looking Mum. . ...

I still miss so much,  my little Silkie ( Milly ) who died about 2 years back now.  .... She is still my avatar on here.    

Oh that's sad, I love my silkies. I have one little 12 week old splash cockerel that runs over and pecks my gumboot as soon as he sees me. Harmless really but I still put my toe up his bottom each time. I started collecting blue and silver laced wyandotte eggs today as I have a partridge silkie hen that insists on brooding.
My theory is ' give her what she wants , eggs ' , only they will be eggs of my choosing.

 

[Sidhe13]

Yep female urine apparently doesn't work. I just get him to pee on the gate posts. And around the enclosure a bit. The boys help. He peed on some chook bloodstains today in case the foxes get a whiff.

I made the hard decision and culled one of my babies today. He has never been quite right and always has a poopy back end! I clean it and it gets poopy again! I noticed his wonky leg has gotten worse and one toe has turned sideways. He hobbles round eagerly but has never grown well, can't perch and can't stay clean. Sooner or later he was going to get sick again. He has been nursed and had special treatment but I went to wash him again today and just couldn't do it any more...he hates it. So I threw out some extra scratch just for him while I dug a hole and threw put more on the other side of the house when I called out my partner. They saw and heard nothing. And it was quick. I don't trust myself to do it swift and not screw it up so I ask Shaun to do it. As a rooster his days were limited but I feel comfortable knowing he is at peace and had a well cared for and happy life. Poor wee Amprollium.

The nesting boxes are set up ao we can go away next week without Wonky wanting to lay eggs outside the enclosure. She didn't lay at all today because I didn't let her out early enough. Fingers crossed she takes to the new boxes. There will be improvements made as we go along...

 

[aliyah7404]

Found an unexpected suprise when I got home from town today. Wasn't sure how long she had been sitting.

beautiful

 

[Fancychooklady]

Beautiful sunny day today. The teenagers were all out sunning themselves.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Very nice Fancy.


Hay I'm wondering if anyone else has heard of an instance like this before;
A few weeks ago I got another FW Marans rooster (His name will be 'Small' for this post) along with some hens. This rooster, despite being twice the age of my original FWM rooster (He will be called 'Big') was significantly smaller, not so much in height but defiantly in chest and thigh size as well as body width. Both roosters are 100% healthy and I just put the size difference down to different lines. About 1 week ago Small escaped from his pen and into the Big's pen and they immediately got into a large fight. After this there must have been accerted dominance because both roosters stopped crowing as much and calmed down within their own flocks.
Now, the other day I went down to the chickens, saw what I thought was Small in Bigs pen and thought crap he's got out again. But when I got closer Small was in his pen. Big is now almost exactly the same size as Small. He has literally 'shrunk' in a few days...He's not ill in anyway and he's eating, drinking and doing all his rooster duties the same as normal but has just gotten significantly smaller. I am no longer to even tell them apart that's how much he's changed.
The only thing I can think is that Small is now the dominant rooster even though he only has 5 hens and a smaller pen compared to Big's 12 hens. But I don't understand how dominance can change the size of a rooster in such a small amount of time and it's not like Small is pushing Big away from food and water because they each have their own homes?!?

 

[Deej211]

Chicken math has struck again!! 4 blue orpingtons 3 gold spangled hamburgs 3 lav araucanas and a red ancona chick. Various ages. To go with my 6 aras 1 polish 3 aussies 1 silkie 3 bantams and 1 gs hamburg adults as well as 4 aras 3 weeks one aussie/maran 3 weeks 1 orpingtonx 8 wks 1 polishx ara 8 weeks 4 mixed polish x 1 day old 2 rirs 6wks one hylinexmaran 6 weeks one sl wyandotte 6weeks one darkbarred plymoth 6 weeks. Holy!!! Got it bad. Also 2 bantam polish coming next week and a huge pile of eggs on their way. Hmmmm what hubby doesn't know wont get me divorced lol