Blue Andalusian thread!

[Lacy Blues]

I can only speak for my flock. When I have young birds, I try to keep them in a pen that I can come into to feed, water etc., that way they get used to me being around. I don't try to catch them and usually by the time they're a few months old they start calming down. Until then, they drive me a little crazy! But once they calm down, I just love them!

Now, I don't know what hatchery your birds came from but from what I understand about hatcheries is that they don't have time to gentle their birds. They read that the andalusian is a flighty breed and so they think this type of behavior is normal. Well, I have never had one that wild. I think the only way your birds are going to calm down is if you get them cornered somewhere and trim those flight feathers so that they cannot go so high. You may have to do it more than once as they molt over and over their first year. Hopefully by the time they have their adult molt, they will have calmed down sufficiently that you won't have to trim them again.


... get a big fishing net from Walmart ($5-10) to catch them if you need to. You'll probably also need help. Once you catch them, they'll think you're going to eat them alive and they will struggle, they might even scream... just giving you a heads up. Good luck.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

THANK YOU for taking the time to post back. I know they are from Ideal Hatchery. One does seem much more calm than the other two and will let me pick her up about half the time. I really don't push it with them. I don't want them to fear me.

I never thought to trim their wings as such a young age, but of course that would work. And I'd probably do it after dark when I can pluck them out of the house or tree. I saw all three go into the house last night. And I stayed out till it was dark so I thought they stayed inside. But this morning, again, very few droppings in there which makes me think they moved out again.

And I stuffed them full last night. I sift their crumbles and reserve the dust in a separate bag. Then I take a big scoop and get it wet and make a mash out of it and let everyone eat it either out of the bowl or they all seem to prefer it off my fingers. Even these three crazy babies. And they LOVE LOVE LOVE it like it was crushed up meal worms. And I don't feel guilty letting them gorge on it because it's just their feed with some water added.

And the big hens had HUGE piles under their roosts this morning so it seems as though the babies should have had more than they did.

I like to hand feed them a few meal worms after I hold them. I think this helps create a positive association with being held. So I'll be trimming wings tonight to see if that helps discourage them from roosting up in the trees.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Do you not lock up your coop at night? Or is it secure enough that nothing can dig under your wire?

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I have two small coops and they sit inside this HUGE predator proof box. It's 20' by 14' and completely enclosed with welded wire, over the top, a large apron around the perimeter, etc. The walls are solid wood panels.



Half the top of the run is covered with corrugated sheets to keep the half where their houses, food, water are dry.

So no, I do not lock them inside their houses at night. Been doing this for years. I have a crazy schedule at work and I didn't want to add stress to my life by having to lock up and let out chickens twice each day.



I have perches inside their run and I put in toys all the time. I'll dump in a pile of leaves for them to kick around, a bucket of weeds, something from the garden like a califlower head to peck at, etc. And then I let them out into my flower garden each afternoon for about an hour.

 

[Lilwanis]

I have one Blue Andalusian girl. She was actually an impulse buy. I went to get a RIR to replace the one that I got that ended up being a boy. Since you can't just get one chick...The girl at the feed store suggested the BA, I had never heard of them at that point. Anyway, she is definitely one of my prettiest girls, even though she is just a hatchery chick. She is also the most neurotic, although she has her sweet moments too (once in a very great while, she will jump on my lap and fall asleep there). We call her and her "sister" the Psycho Sisters. They are starting to calm down, but freaked out every time someone got near them as chicks. Food, water, cleaning the brooder, sneezing, and so forth. Anyhow, so far I enjoy her, she has a lot of personality, even if she isn't my friendliest chicken. Here is a pic from about a month ago (I really need to get some updated pics!) She has gotten quite a bit bigger and has a red comb and wattles now and is 18.5 weeks (19 in two days).




Nox and Ruby is in the background. This was cleaning day, she is standing on the treat board, "Where'd the food go?"

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Oooo, she's pretty. My girls are almost 12 weeks old.

I did clip the wings of the two tree sleepers two nights ago. OMG, it sounded like I was trying to butcher them. Those babies can scream. And while they can still fly, they can't fly well and they are staying a tad closer to earth yesterday. Last night I did an after dark bed check and found all three safely tucked into the far corner of their house. And this morning's poops in the house, clearly show they spend the entire night in there.

Not sure if it was the wing clipping or if the colder, damper nights finally encouraged them. But I'm happy they are back in their house.
I feel bad cutting off their beautiful wing feathers. But I guess that's a small price to pay to keep my girls safe.

So we'll let it all play out and see how it goes. I did find a few people who have property and chickens and said they would gladly take them at a moment's notice if they were not working out. That has helped relieve some of my stress.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Spice Girls, I LOVE your coop set up and their big pen!

Glad you got them trimmed and I hope they calm down nicely for you.

 

[danhonour]

You should only clip the big flight feathers on just one wing,otherwise with both wings clipped they can still fly with some effort.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I clipped the wings on the two who were sleeping up in the tree and the past three nights, all three hens have slept cuddled up together in their house. I'm not sure if the clipped wing changed their tune or the colder nights. But I certainly do sleep more sound knowing they are inside their house.

They are doing their baby feather molt right now as they get their adult feathers so they might just shed these and grow new ones. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. I think they are 11 weeks old now.

When do Andalusians typically come into lay? I had read that they were slower than some other breeds. So I probably have a few months to wait still.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I had one girl start laying this year at almost 6 and a half months. Some, in other years, have waited even longer and that always shocked me! For an egg laying breed to wait that long. However, they seem to be slower maturing than a lot of other birds so I guess that's the reason. But they lay very well for many years!