The Trap Nesting Thread

[ki4got]

Quote:
well, you could always rig a trap door heading INTO the pen... then when she gets hungry she can come in and eat but won't get back out... that's why i like the pigeon style trap doors. it's one way only.

 

[galanie]

OMG isn't that the way it always seems to happen? That the worst time for something is when it is a reality? Then again, probably she's just out there somewhere and you'll find her in the morning.

Every one of my hens has quit laying except the one that only started laying this fall. But one has a good excuse, she's broody. And one pullet is being rooster surfed pretty frequently now and has super red comb and so forth so I feel sure she'll finally grace my trap nest with some human bait.

 

[MANOZ]

well........my darling still has not returned.it's been a quiet couple of days.i'm just about finish building for the winter.hopefully everything goes smoothly this winter,i have a decrease in production now as well,down to maybe 2 eggs some days.i have noticed big temp swings over a short period will disturb their laying.some days its in the 30-40s some days its 80 degrees or higher.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

80 degree days would be great! We are at 7 right now. So far my girls are still laying, all but the broody one. One has dropped to 3 ish a week, the other 4 good layers laid 23 this week of a possible 28, not bad...the other two have not started yet. I wish your chicken would come back. It is so sad to lose one, sorry to hear she is still missing. Maybe she will come back for Christmas! You should post pics of your new setup when you are done

 

[galanie]

How great to see you posting here today Manoz. It's funny, I was just going to look for it, and here we are. Anyhow, My trap nesting has gone without a hitch till a pullet started laying recently. She won't go in there. So, I have the exact same kind of nest only outside the trap nest with a fake egg in there and she is laying in that now instead of in a depression on the floor. In a week I'm going to prop that door open and put the fake egg inside and see if I can get her in there like I did the others. She's noticeably bigger than they are though, so I just hope it's not so small that she won't go in. I know she'll fit lol but will she do it? We'll see next week.

ETA: And I have another pullet that should start laying before the 1st, and 3 more due to start around Feb. So this will be valuable experience in getting the new layers in there. The older ones it was no deal at all, they saw where the nest was and went in. But these new girls, they are overlooking it I guess.

 

[MANOZ]

galanie----seems like you beat me with the pullets laying.....still waiting on the newcomers. i am curious about training new members to use the nests as well. i'm hoping the other birds will lead the way. i see that is not always the case so please let me know how that goes.would be a nice addition to the research. they should catch on pretty easy, i'm thinking.

 

[galanie]

Well this pullet was almost 9 months old so it's about darn time she started laying! I ended up with lots of different ages except the 6 month olds, of whom I have 3. But they're breeder orps and just take longer to lay than production breeds so I don't look for them to start until around 8 months. It being winter, I guess these three will take their time about starting to lay as well.

Super egg laying isn't my goal but this trap nesting has sure opened my eyes about my hatchery birds. The poor things were obviously bred to be egg laying machines even though the breed wasn't meant to be one. Four to five eggs a week is about all they can do and still be able to lay for years from what I understand but these girls laid six to seven a week, suffered greatly this summer (it was unusually hot), and now don't look so good, especially the one that did lay all through the summer. But I may breed her anyway, we'll see how she does. They have stress also from flock dynamics changing so it's not all from laying too much. My roo has finally let them know he's the boss and they can't get it through their heads that they can still be the Queens of the place, just not over him lol. Oh he's a gentleman he just won't allow them to beat him up any more.

Anyhow this new pullet's eggs are distinctly different from the other that's laying so no problem with keeping track for now at least, besides being in a different nest. I'm so proud of her, her very first egg ever was a LARGE! I was amazed. I kept checking around and thinking there had to be a smaller pullet egg I overlooked but never found one. And she's laying the 5 a week that I expect.

Love my egg log that I have by the back door. I like to just look at it and think how it'll look when they all get started cause for now, only 2 rows have tick marks on it. When I first started, four rows did, then three, then one, now two.

I also need to build another trap nest or two this winter cause when I have 8 or more laying I know there's gonna be lots of traffic jams.

 

[MANOZ]

sorry for my late post,
galanie-----sounds like the flock is in very good hands.

.I've been racing against the weather and it looks like winter will win.lol

 

[galanie]

Well I've got the girl laying in the trap nest now but there's no door on it. This weekend I'm going to put the door back on there and we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you posted!

PS - I got an extra egg yesterday that I *think* was a first one from the barred rock that is due to start laying! And it was in the trap nest too! Again, I'll keep you posted. I'm only worried that one size won't fit all here. I mean the dark cornish and the barred rock look to be around 4 lbs, and the black orp girl is a bit over 7 lbs, I weighed her the other day. Visually, they are like 2/3 her size. So if I adjust it so they can't get out, she may not even go in. We'll see.

 

[MANOZ]

well today,i heard the egg laying song while i was out giving water and such.the only strange thing was the song was not coming from the trap nests,hmmmm i thought as i quickly scouted around the yard.doesnt sound like any of my other layers it was one of my australorps, a pullet that was due months ago ,i found 4 eggs. now i am at that stage as well. time to pull out the fake eggs and golf balls. she layed on the ground in a very little space i had to get my little boy to get them from their spot. i guess my work is cut out for me. lol...

still havent attempted to breed the others again yet

no excuse ! i just been lazy lol