Thanks everyone - while the responses seem reasonably divide on cockerel v pullet I'm going to say it's too big a risk for me to take. Pity, cause they are pretty birds :)
Cheers
Can I ask what makes you think that? I'm not an expert, but a quick look around says Marans should have white / grey legs, and Rocks would have yellow - not that it's super easy to tell on the pictures.
Also should have said they are supposed to be Bantams - again, hard to tell size with the...
I'm (possibly) purchasing these (hopefully) ladies in a couple of days. I think they're going to be hens, but hoping for a second opinion.
The seller says he 'got them as chicks in January' - so somewhere between 12 and 16weeks. I'm assuming 12wks to err on the side of caution.
Hello! I'm going to ask about Chickens and Quail living NEAR each other.
I know they shouldn't live together for all the behavioural / food / disease reasons, but I want to know...
- How close is too close? I have a small yard and while they birds would be separated, I'm not sure if they'll be...
Obviously everyones opinions are not to be discounted, but it can be done. We transplant everything thats dying or unwanted into our chicken pen and most of it survives...
hmm, cheers. Would I be correct in saying pullet feed wouldnt hurt the chicks or adults, and I could supplement the layers with calcium?? Is there still a concern of the chicks eating the calcium supplement? I use a mix of shell grit and old ground eggshells
I'm looking at adding to my flock come spring (It's Winter in Australia) and I have a very very fiesty hen who goes broody every season. I'm looking at buying a few day olds to slip under her when the time is right, but I'm wondering about feeding.
I have a treadle feeder that the adults use...
I'm looking at trying a similar thing. I'm planning on building little safe cages and planting in them, but I don't know what would thrive in the nitrogen heavy soil. Hopefully I can take advantage of it and get some vegies out of there and keep the soil from being terrible.
Some things I...
My hens LOVE having long dried grass as nest material, and so do I. It makes a nice little hollow for them to lay in, and they cant kick it all out of the nest because it tangles together really well.
Yes.... Thats why I break them so quickly, Otherwise it's Oh, Gemma your broody again, okay, I'll set up the cage on the weekend... *weekend rolls around* FFS CINDER I ONLY HAVE ONE CAGE... DOOFY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOUR TOO BIG FOR THE BROODY CAGE, DONT YOU START
yepp... it happens
So, I have six chickens... I have six roosts. 3 of my birds sleep IN the nest boxes
Here's what happens, every night. In order of age, hen 1 and hen 2 go in, curl up on the top roost, and sleep. Hen 2 kills anyone who tries to come up there, Hen 1 sits happily in the corner.
Hen 3 comes in...
I saw a spider once, body the size of my palm, and the legs double that. Oddly, not in the least bit scared of that one, its the tiny poisonous ones that worry me, the big ones I have no trouble with
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Thats not a problem... I've gotten my fingers very yucky having a look back there, and the feathers are clumpy under her butt, there is nothing sticking together around the actual hole.
ddawn: I've used both treatments before, Im wondering if its because I did both at the same time?
my Almost 2year olf ISA Brown has pretty much lived on the nest today (she's not broody)
She hasnt eaten all day, shows absolutely zero interest in any food, including cooked egg and bandsaw dust.
I took her off the nest at one point, and she just stood by the waterer and drank for 20minutes...
Soooo, my new (I've had her 3months, new-ish) Light Susssex/Mutt hen was getting along with the other hens. And then she started laying, now she is beaten up at every oppotunity. I seperated the bullies, slowly reintroduced, added more space, and I thought the bullying died down. Her feathers...
my chickens have an entire feeder devoted to lucerne chaff (aka, finely cut alfalfa). its made out of a 2litre milk bottle, takes them (all 6) three or four days to finish it. If I get lazy and dont refill it for a couple of days, they dive on it when I finally do refill it. They never eat the...
I think the breeds would be okay,
Most people hang the food and water from the bottom of the coop. If the floor is think enough, you could screw in a couple of hooks and hang them from there. If there isnt enough space, hang the waterer in the open part, but the food needs to be kept dry...