Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Fancychooklady]

Wow, I definatly need to waste no time then! What i was thinking was get the female one and grow it on for a year in a pot so I'm a year further ahead than if I leave it and buy it at the nursery when I'm actually ready for it. I hadn't planned to buy both yet thinking the male probably wouldn't take as long to come to flower? Or did they both take just as long to start producing flowers?

There is one cultivar that is self sexing , but not very widely available. I planted 1 male and 3 females and the chooks ate them. You can plant them at a ratio of 10-1 . They grow really well here.

 

[Meeka3]

Really, a match for foxes? I'd heard the tick bit but hadn't realised they gave foxes a run for their money!

___________________________________________________________

Meeka3 .... I was very surprised at your comments. Could never imagine any poultry having a go at 'small snakes' and defeating foxes. Ticks I can understand, and it's good if they can get at them.

They must be some kind of hefty minded birds .... but then, knowing only my own chickens, nothing would surprise me when it comes to poultry. They seem capable of so many things. Can be surprisingly aggressive when the need arises.

My biggest girl had her dirty bottom clipped and washed this evening ... oh wot fun. !! She now has a slightly bald patch ( nothing more than a good moult would produce normally ) .... and I think she might remain seated on a freshly laid egg to warm her butt for the next week or so. The feathers will grow back quickly. She really is a dirty girl. She loved the warm/hottish towel I applied. Raised her tail in sheer delight.

Cheers ........

They're more like wild birds than chooks, and these ones that I got lived on 100 acres in the trees, so although I originally thought I had to keep them penned for 4 weeks, now I have found out it takes about 8 weeks for them to know where they live. They will travel up to 20 k's per day to return back to where they came from, and they are much stronger than chooks and can fly, so I have to keep them enclosed. I feel so sorry for them, but once I let them out they'll have 8 acres of trees to live in, and hopefully will come back to the coop to sleep.
If your weather is anything like ours at the moment, your big chook will enjoy having a bare bum to keep her cool.

 

[Meeka3]

hi i normally do post but at the moment they are off the lay a bit. I can let you know when i have more if he isnt in a hurry.

He said he doesn't mind waiting, he got a dozen wheaten marans eggs, but he would like some black cuckoo as well, and I have figured out how to get some of your chickens - ha - I'll just wait until he's got some ready for selling, and ask him to let me know.

 

[tandykins]

Rude Kissybum has been breaking into Tetra's nest and kicking her eggs all over the place when she herself needs to lay. This morning she smashed one and I was done with her. Tetra's maternity cage is going to have to remain shut until I get Kissy to stop. I will simply have to let Tetra out manually. A pain, but I've done it before. Today was Day 10 and while Tetra was off the nest, I candled her remaining 9 eggs. 1 was culled, 4 were fine, 1 had an iffy air cell and 3 had detached air cells but the 8 not culled had visibly wiggly embryos in them.

For the time being, I've removed the eggs with detached air cells from Tetra's nest and have moved them to one of my incubators to keep them upright. I'm not certain this was the right decision but it seemed the thing to do to improve those eggs' chances. Now I'm wondering if I also should have removed the one with the iffy air cell as well. :/ Opinions would be lovely and enlightening. It is an exhausting day. :|

 

[Teila]

Good morning Friends

tandykins I am so pleased for you that integration went so well; if not a little jealous

Your description of Tetra gave me a chuckle. I always place my broodys on the ground when removing them from the nest because their time in ‘the zone’ appears to render their legs useless until they snap out of it. Some of my broodys have sat in the spot I put them in for a few minutes before getting up and moving around; even when meal worms are on offer.

Sorry to read about the egg dramas though. I do not have an answer for you … I have never used an incubator and being the ‘set and forget’ type, never candled or studied air cells etc.

I am always learning new stuff on BYC and also this thread .. thank you Meeka3 for the info on Guineas, fascinating stuff. 20kms in one day!

I am not sure what the max temp was yesterday but I think about the 35 degree mark. I do know that it was already 30 degrees at 9am when I was mowing the lawn and after mowing, sweeping, weed killing, cleaning the fish ponds and cleaning the chicken coop I am now sporting a mild case of sunburn and have some new aches and pains

The gals were feeling the heat a little, especially when they were all piled on top of each other trying to use the one nest box; apparently the other available nest boxes are invisible

Watermelon, iced water and the occasional misting of their favourite spot in the garden etc seemed to help.

I mentioned it not so long ago but I am going to mention it again .. homemade weed killer.

I was watching TV last night and saw an ad for Roundup gel weed killer; just bend down, touch the weed with the gel and it dies. Fine print: it can take up to 7 days.

My weed killer; Woolies Home Brand Vinegar, Woolies Home Brand Salt and Woolies Home Brand Dishwashing Detergent. No bending, just spray um and if the sun is shining [like yesterday] dead within hours.

Quicker; Cheaper and less chemicals.

 

[appps]

Good morning Friends 

tandykins I am so pleased for you that integration went so well; if not a little jealous 

Your description of Tetra gave me a chuckle.  I always place my broodys on the ground when removing them from the nest because their time in ‘the zone’ appears to render their legs useless until they snap out of it.  Some of my broodys have sat in the spot I put them in for a few minutes before getting up and moving around; even when meal worms are on offer.

Sorry to read about the egg dramas though.  I do not have an answer for you … I have never used an incubator and being the ‘set and forget’ type, never candled or studied air cells etc.

I am always learning new stuff on BYC and also this thread .. thank you Meeka3 for the info on Guineas, fascinating stuff.  20kms in one day! 

I am not sure what the max temp was yesterday but I think about the 35 degree mark.  I do know that it was already 30 degrees at 9am when I was mowing the lawn and after mowing, sweeping, weed killing, cleaning the fish ponds and cleaning the chicken coop I am now sporting a mild case of sunburn and have some new aches and pains 

The gals were feeling the heat a little, especially when they were all piled on top of each other trying to use the one nest box; apparently the other available nest boxes are invisible    Watermelon, iced water and the occasional misting of their favourite spot in the garden etc seemed to help.

I mentioned it not so long ago but I am going to mention it again .. homemade weed killer. 

I was watching TV last night and saw an ad for Roundup gel weed killer; just bend down, touch the weed with the gel and it dies.  Fine print: it can take up to 7 days.

My weed killer; Woolies Home Brand Vinegar, Woolies Home Brand Salt and Woolies Home Brand Dishwashing Detergent.  No bending, just spray um and if the sun is shining [like yesterday] dead within hours.

Quicker; Cheaper and less chemicals.

Only thing worries me with the home made one is the salt. You read so much about how fertilisers can cause salt build up in soils I hesitate to spray it around. Mind you the size of the area I'm killing I wouldn't use one of those touch ones either lol

 

[appps]

Rude Kissybum has been breaking into Tetra's nest and kicking her eggs all over the place when she herself needs to lay.  This morning she smashed one and I was done with her.  Tetra's maternity cage is going to have to remain shut until I get Kissy to stop.  I will simply have to let Tetra out manually.  A pain, but I've done it before.  Today was Day 10 and while Tetra was off the nest, I candled her remaining 9 eggs.  1 was culled, 4 were fine, 1 had an iffy air cell and 3 had detached air cells but the 8 not culled had visibly wiggly embryos in them.

For the time being, I've removed the eggs with detached air cells from Tetra's nest and have moved them to one of my incubators to keep them upright.  I'm not certain this was the right decision but it seemed the thing to do to improve those eggs' chances.  Now I'm wondering if I also should have removed the one with the iffy air cell as well. :/ Opinions would be lovely and enlightening.  It is an exhausting day. :|

Not sure it's the right thing either but I did the same with my last two I hatched as the one under penny that grew had a saddle air cell as well as the one in the incubator already. At the end of the day I hatched them upright in the incubator and both were fine so I guess if it didn't help it didn't hurt either.

 

[Teila]

Only thing worries me with the home made one is the salt. You read so much about how fertilisers can cause salt build up in soils I hesitate to spray it around. Mind you the size of the area I'm killing I wouldn't use one of those touch ones either lol

Hey appps .. yep, I hear and understand your concern. There is only a teaspoon of salt in the mix and I ensure to spray it on the weed itself and not too much around the general area. I also tend to use it only on the driveway or path where the weeds are hard to pull out.

I am not recommending it for general, all garden weed control and probably should have said that; thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify....my bad

If you can, the safest and best was to eradicate weeds is with pulling them out or hoping the chickens eat them. The home made stuff just makes life easier when dealing with hard to get to weeds.

 

[appps]

You know what has surprised me weed wise, their ability to survive the chooks. I've had them free ranging on an area in my back garden for at least two years. Not a blade of grass or weed left of course. Then the goshawk hit and they were confined back to their run. Well that area is absolutely full of weeds now! I wouldn't have dreamt after that long even the seeds could have remained!

I'm trying to work out now if I can let them have that area again once the babies have grown too big and fat too fly over my wire fences . Now the oak in the middle of it is all covered in leaves again I'm thinking they will be hidden enough by it to graze there again.

 

[Teila]

You know what has surprised me weed wise, their ability to survive the chooks. I've had them free ranging on an area in my back garden for at least two years. Not a blade of grass or weed left of course. Then the goshawk hit and they were confined back to their run. Well that area is absolutely full of weeds now! I wouldn't have dreamt after that long even the seeds could have remained!

I'm trying to work out now if I can let them have that area again once the babies have grown too big and fat too fly over my wire fences . Now the oak in the middle of it is all covered in leaves again I'm thinking they will be hidden enough by it to graze there again.

lol .. yep .. you know how they reckon the only thing to survive on the planet in the event of a end of life event is the cockroaches? I am thinking they forgot weeds!