Australorps breed Thread

[DeesHens]

Gramma Chick, did you do anything to help stop your broody hen during those long three months? Wow! Guess she is a very determined one or is it her hormones got stuck? lol Maybe both, huh?

chickisoup, you have described to the letter what it is like with Broody Bella. It really is hilarious at times.

DH asked me this AM if we should just leave her in "broody jail" overnight from now on to speed up the cooling process. He takes her out of the nest very early in the AM before I get up as he is a super early riser. He said she is very hot when he lifts her out. We do have two nest boxes so if she hogs one it isn't the problem. I have read for the health of the bird it is best to try to stop it so they don't get too deconditioned. She already has lost weight from not eating enough with her loss of appetite. She was our piggy eater too before this. Grab mouths full of food and run to hog it down. Pecked Peppa hard if she came near her stash. Of course, NOBODY pecks Betsy. She is the boss. LOL Betsy is very cruel to Bella at times. I think she does not like her stealing food, etc. But overall when everyone is normal the three of them hang out nicely together thankfully. I just wish Bella would end her broodiness so things could get back to the normal routine.

~Dee~

 

[Gramma Chick]

Gramma Chick, did you do anything to help stop your broody hen during those long three months? Wow! Guess she is a very determined one or is it her hormones got stuck? lol Maybe both, huh?


~Dee~

Maybe it was only 2 months ...It seemed like forever .I didint try to stop her ....I kept hoping she would hatch something ..
She had one egg hatch but it didnt absorb the yolk
She was too much of a mover ...she would set on everyone elses eggs & leave the ones she was supposed to set on ...
so the next 3- I gave her none of them hatched .
I started pulling her out with the flock after the other hen hatched & raised & released her chick .
This is what I do for Broodys ...I dont let them starve .
I feed them twice a day ...I have a little plastic dish of food I put in the box with them .
The food is like mush very liquidy so I know they are getting enough water .
On top of that I put scratch / or sun flower seeds ....that normally gets their attention ..& they eat .
Funny if it is too dark they will tuck the dish under them too !
A Plastic dish is better I used a small tupperware dish after the ceramic dish broke a egg
this is chippie
Shes a good momma with one chick
this is my favorite pic of them I call this wing locking . Baby is 1/2 Aussie



This is what I did with my bad broody ..I wish I had thought of it sooner


Netted her in - This is Looney.. they are both Americanas & lay light Green eggs

 

[chickisoup]

Dee~ my other hens were hard on my broody when I would throw her out of the nest too even tho they were buddies before. I think it's attitude she was giving off. They are all back to getting along fine now. I gave my broody treats in the nestbox just like Gramma did. Tho I did toss her out twice a day like I said before, I made sure she got special "treats" of things she needed while sitting like bites of can catfood and eggs scrambled in coconut oil with bits of veggies in them for protein, fats and nutrients.

 

[DeesHens]

Gramma Chick, I enjoyed your pics so much. I had to show DH, especially the one with the chick under momma's wing. Too cute! I would enjoy doing things the way you do them if I wanted more chickens for sure. When Bella was at the height of her broodiness she would not even eat a dish of sunflower seeds. That is when I became alarmed. This was a few days ago though. So then I began taking her out for walks. Only then she ate & drank. So I sort of figured things out for myself but it is truly very good to read what you all do. Plus last time/the first time Bella went broody we learned a lot from that experience. Trial & error. lol Anyway, your advise and wonderful pics are great. Thanks so much!

BTW, We didn't have the heart to make her stay in "broody jail" overnight. Just seemed too much for all concerned. Glad we didn't now. I don't think I could have slept. lol She would have been safe and all but it just seemed too disruptive for our little flock and all.

chicki soup, I appreciate you sharing your experience too. It always makes me feel better hearing things will get back to normal someday. lol Bella didn't seem quite so broody this AM so my DH didn't put her in "broody jail" today. So far so good! She is acting more normal and hanging out with her flock. Not clucking so much & not puffing up. Yay! I agree with you that all that strange behavior puts off the other hens. They do not like it at all I can tell. Especially the "chimpanzee scream" several times in a row.

She was still doing it late yesterday but so far so good today.

Scrambling eggs in coconut oil with bits of veggies sounds great! I have been boiling extra eggs and mashing them. I also sprout winter red wheat for them for a treat. They love it so much. I am thinking about mashing up some of our dog's kibble for a treat. It is Orijen 6 fish formula - no grain - but first I have to find out if all the ingredients are proper for chickens. It is high quality food for our dog's food sensitivity issues. Ratio: 80 whole fish 20 fruit, veggies, botanicals. I just need to go through the long list of wholesome ingredients to make sure there is none that chickens cannot eat. That will take time so haven't got to it yet. hee hee You all know how that goes I am sure.
All my best, ~Dee~

 

[lightchick]

Hey everyone! I just have a small question. When did your Australorps start laying? I have a 12 week old one and my chick starter/grower said to start feeding layer pellets at 16 weeks. Is that too early?

 

[ronott1]

Hey everyone! I just have a small question. When did your Australorps start laying? I have a 12 week old one and my chick starter/grower said to start feeding layer pellets at 16 weeks. Is that too early?

It depends on if they are Breeder or Hatchery Australorps. From my experience, Hatchery Australorps start at 22 to 25 weeks and Breeder, at least the Hupp Australorps start at 27 to 30 weeks.

Form experience that I have had, too much calcium can cause funky eggs at first. It seems to be less of a problem if they stay on grower feed until you see the first egg. I do put out free choice calcium for them at 20 weeks or so.

I also worm them at 16 weeks old to avoid laying problems associated with round worms.

 

[lightchick]

Quote: She's a hatchery Australorp. How much does it usually cost to worm? Will my sex links need layer pellet at 16 weeks though?

 

[ronott1]

She's a hatchery Australorp. How much does it usually cost to worm? Will my sex links need layer pellet at 16 weeks though?

Sexlinks, depending on which type, will lay between 16 and 20 weeks. I have had golden comets but the were laying when I got them

It will be fine to give them grower and free choice calcium until the Australorps start.

 

[lightchick]

Quote: I have a Black sex link and a Brown sex link. Both are mixes of RIR and Plymouth rocks (differently colored).

 

[chickisoup]

Gramma Chick, I enjoyed your pics so much. I had to show DH, especially the one with the chick under momma's wing. Too cute! I would enjoy doing things the way you do them if I wanted more chickens for sure. When Bella was at the height of her broodiness she would not even eat a dish of sunflower seeds. That is when I became alarmed. This was a few days ago though. So then I began taking her out for walks. Only then she ate & drank. So I sort of figured things out for myself but it is truly very good to read what you all do. Plus last time/the first time Bella went broody we learned a lot from that experience. Trial & error. lol Anyway, your advise and wonderful pics are great. Thanks so much!

BTW, We didn't have the heart to make her stay in "broody jail" overnight. Just seemed too much for all concerned. Glad we didn't now. I don't think I could have slept. lol She would have been safe and all but it just seemed too disruptive for our little flock and all.

chicki soup, I appreciate you sharing your experience too. It always makes me feel better hearing things will get back to normal someday. lol Bella didn't seem quite so broody this AM so my DH didn't put her in "broody jail" today. So far so good! She is acting more normal and hanging out with her flock. Not clucking so much & not puffing up. Yay! I agree with you that all that strange behavior puts off the other hens. They do not like it at all I can tell. Especially the "chimpanzee scream" several times in a row.

She was still doing it late yesterday but so far so good today.

Scrambling eggs in coconut oil with bits of veggies sounds great! I have been boiling extra eggs and mashing them. I also sprout winter red wheat for them for a treat. They love it so much. I am thinking about mashing up some of our dog's kibble for a treat. It is Orijen 6 fish formula - no grain - but first I have to find out if all the ingredients are proper for chickens. It is high quality food for our dog's food sensitivity issues. Ratio: 80 whole fish 20 fruit, veggies, botanicals. I just need to go through the long list of wholesome ingredients to make sure there is none that chickens cannot eat. That will take time so haven't got to it yet. hee hee You all know how that goes I am sure.
All my best, ~Dee~

Hi Dee!!! glad your broody girl isn't screaming anymore. That tends to be one of the first signs they're getting over the whole thing. It was pretty hot here at the time (not good to help a broody cool down) so I gave my broody a little help by "floating" her in a rainbarrel . First time she actually seemed to like it, second time I got a bath!!!

Biggest difference between dog and cat food as far as I know when it comes to chickens, (besides the grain filler thing) is dog food tends to have a lot of salt (not so much in cats because they can't handle it)which is not good for the chooks, but that just might be the cheap stuff trying to make it taste better so dogs will eat it.