California - Northern

[chrissyr]

i have to say I've never been happier with a rooster i've had. I now have 2: 1 is a Lav. AM and he's horrible. He harasses the girls, he hides in the pen for his own safety while his girls free range, and when a new hen comes around he chases the dickens out of her. BUT my marans cockerel is the best. I let both flocks together last week. To my surprise, the big marans didn't try to kill the other one. But he did lay down the law and put the Lav in his place. The marans didn't chase the other, but would not permit harassing/breeding. He broke up some of the hens fighting too. I put both groups together for short periods for the purpose of integrating 3 from one flock to the other. Well I finally did the full time integrating of the 3 hens into the other flock, but I put the marans in too. I think it's gone well. I think with him being in there, it has had less of fighting and picking between all the girls. He doesn't' harass, he just does his job. The lav AM cockerel is outside of them all looking in for a while. He is not happy.
I've never had a rooster that is so mellow and even put up with another rooster to some point. Pleasantly surprised.

 

[tommysgirl]

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I process when they seem to be settled and not growing much and I have time. My roosters grow up with the big boys so there is not much if any fighting. There is a bit of chasing around the yard but its a big space.

Young rooster will get schooled when they start to make the moves or find treats for hens. But unless there is more then a bitten comb I would not worry.

I feed everyone 20% and offer oyster. I need more oyster...

OK it should be fine for my crew then. They have grown up with him though they are housed separately at night right now. Thanks

Cockerels, for tenderness, 16 to 20 weeks. Older(notice I did not say larger--tenderness goes by Breed and Age) will be tougher and need brining and moisture cooking. Pullets can go over 20 weeks. Dual Purpose Meat, like Bresse, Process the pullets too.

2. I cannot free range Rooster in town.....

They go when they crow....

3. If they have been separated for more than a couple of days they will often fight even if they hatched together. Sometimes they fight anyway...

4. It is the Protein that is the biggest difference. 20% is fine for cockerels.

Thnks Ron. Ozzie spends time with the little guys every day so hopefully the they won't need much schooling as they get older. I am planning to move them into his run/coop on Sat. I think mam has a better chance of getting back to laying once shi is back with the GP

Can I give 6 weeks olds Wazine?

 

[tommysgirl]

I got my first egg!! At 7 months old and no eggs, I had just figured they wouldn't start laying until spring. But my grandma was visiting from Sacramento and was seeing my chickens, and pointed to a spot on the ground and said "Look, an egg". Sure enough, one of the hens had laid an egg some time after I had fed them that morning. The next morning I was surprised to find one again, this time in the nest box(yay!). I knew it was one of the Andalusians laying the eggs, but didn't know who(I suspected the Black, because she had the largest, flopped over comb) and this morning she proved me right. I sat out there and watched as she went into the nest box, then back out onto the ground where she paced along the fence. Back into the coop where she started clucking, then went into the nest box and dug around a little bit. Back into the ground for more restless pacing, then into the coop/nest box again. For half an hour(I timed it) she spun around in circles, digging and scratching in the nest box until it was finally perfect. And after a couple minutes of sitting very still and very quiet, started looking underneath her belly, where I saw an egg.
Funny enough, it's the hen that thinks she's a roo that started laying first.

The first egg


The 3rd egg, laid this morning(she's laid 3 days in a row!). It's the same size and shape as the one in the picture above, just looks a bit different because of the angle of this picture. All 3 eggs have had nice hard shells. Don't mind the purple comb in this picture, it's just from Blue Kote.

Congrats on the eggs!!!!!

 

[Lucie Blume]

Yes, congratulations!

The first egg is a wonderful miracle.

Enjoy those chickens!

 

[ronott1]

OK it should be fine for my crew then. They have grown up with him though they are housed separately at night right now. Thanks
Thnks Ron. Ozzie spends time with the little guys every day so hopefully the they won't need much schooling as they get older. I am planning to move them into his run/coop on Sat. I think mam has a better chance of getting back to laying once shi is back with the GP

Can I give 6 weeks olds Wazine?

I would wait until they were much older--16 weeks or older- but I would test first. UCD will test for $10.50.

This is a good answer from My Pet chicken:

Q: Do my chickens need to be wormed, and if so, what schedule should I use?

​

A: If your chickens have worms, you will want to treat them. Some signs you can look for at home are pale combs, a drop in laying and watery poo. However, it does no good to worm your flock--even on a seasonal schedule--unless you know precisely what type of infestation they are suffering from.

Keep in mind that particular wormers are only useful for particular parasites, so it is best to get a diagnosis as to which you are addressing. That way you will know which wormer will help their condition. Otherwise, you simply may be stressing their systems out by giving them a medication that does not treat the issue they have. For instance, tape worms and round worms are treated by different anthemintics (wormers), so if your chickens have roundworms, using a wormer for tape will not address the problem at all. And worse, it can conceivably make your birds sicker from the stress of medication they don't need. You will not want to worm your flock at all unless they actually have worms AND you know which parasites you are treating them for.

Your veterinarian will be able to perform a fecal smear and tell you what parasites your flock may be suffering from. Avian vets can be hard to find, but in many cases, any vet can perform a smear for you, whether they treat birds/chickens or not. Extension agents will sometimes make this service available, as well, and in most cases, you can find someone to do a smear for a nominal fee.

If you find your flock has an infestation, then you can treat them with the right anthelmintic; your extension agent or vet will be able to recommend the best medication for your flock's particular issue. If your flock is clear of a significant problem, you will know that if your birds are showing signs of illess, it must be due to a cause other than worms.

 

[chiqita]

i have to say I've never been happier with a rooster i've had. I now have 2: 1 is a Lav. AM and he's horrible. He harasses the girls, he hides in the pen for his own safety while his girls free range, and when a new hen comes around he chases the dickens out of her. BUT my marans cockerel is the best.  I let both flocks together last week. To my surprise, the big marans didn't try to kill the other one. But he did lay down the law and put the Lav in his place. The marans didn't chase the other, but would not permit harassing/breeding. He broke up some of the hens fighting too. I put both groups together for short periods for the purpose of integrating 3 from one flock to the other. Well I finally did the full time integrating of the 3 hens into the other flock, but I put the marans in too. I think it's gone well. I think with him being in there, it has had less of fighting and picking between all the girls. He doesn't' harass, he just does his job. The lav AM cockerel is outside of them all looking in for a while. He is not happy.
I've never had a rooster that is so mellow and even put up with another rooster to some point. Pleasantly surprised.

My second worst and best rooster were both marans. Speedy would attack me fighting for dominance and became speedy stew. Louie was killed defensing the flock from our local bobcat. It was very sad and I still miss him.my current marans rooster is a wuss but the hens like him. He is Louie's grandson louie 3.

 

[chrissyr]

It's a reference to a Australian commercial that passed intoVernacular forever.
We are happy little vegamites as happy as can be.
We all love eating vegamite for breakfast lunch and tea.
We all love our vegamite!
We all adore our vegamite!
It's( something) good for every meal!!!!

All with little kids grinning like loons.

I never saw the original commercial but I still know the bloody jingle.

there was that song from an australian group "do you come from the land down under?" (not sure the actual name), but It mentioned vegamite sandwich. I never knew what they were talking about. learn a new thing everyday!!

 

[chiqita]

there was that song from an australian group "do you come from the land down under?" (not sure the actual name), but It mentioned vegamite sandwich. I never knew what they were talking about. learn a new thing everyday!!

Men at work!
More terms from that song
Glow= sweat
Chunder= vomit.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Yep, Men at Work.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

i have to say I've never been happier with a rooster i've had. I now have 2: 1 is a Lav. AM and he's horrible. He harasses the girls, he hides in the pen for his own safety while his girls free range, and when a new hen comes around he chases the dickens out of her. BUT my marans cockerel is the best.  I let both flocks together last week. To my surprise, the big marans didn't try to kill the other one. But he did lay down the law and put the Lav in his place. The marans didn't chase the other, but would not permit harassing/breeding. He broke up some of the hens fighting too. I put both groups together for short periods for the purpose of integrating 3 from one flock to the other. Well I finally did the full time integrating of the 3 hens into the other flock, but I put the marans in too. I think it's gone well. I think with him being in there, it has had less of fighting and picking between all the girls. He doesn't' harass, he just does his job. The lav AM cockerel is outside of them all looking in for a while. He is not happy.
I've never had a rooster that is so mellow and even put up with another rooster to some point. Pleasantly surprised.

That's funny! Mine are the same way! My marans rooster is the only one that has never tried to attack. (Other than the fat orp Roos) all my others, Wyandotte, Easter egger, especially, have tried. Bad roosters!