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

[Fancychooklady]

Ok i am not sure if this is a silkie thing or my old roo was one of a kind. This roo silkie is so mean it attacks us and breaks the skin, it is always pecking my white silkie.... his only about 13 weeks at most 14 weeks yet looks to be maturing very fast for a silkie. He is not head as the drake and his girls keep everyone in checksurely his not old enoungh to start covering yet.

Also he shares a coop with three mixed breeds red sexlink chixkens who are about 3 years old if he covers these girls whats your opinion should I let them hatch?

Some cockerels can become a little aggressive as they mature sexually, but If he is just mean you don't want to breed him . That's not a trait you want to emulate .

 

[kat79]

Some cockerels can become a little aggressive as they mature sexually, but If he is just mean you don't want to breed him . That's not a trait you want to emulate .

He was a little sweetie before so hoping he is just maturing and he gets over it soon cause I brought him a no crow collar and a apple green chicken nappy so he can come inside.

 

[User395221]

and a apple green chicken nappy so he can come inside.

I'm almost scared to ask, but what's a chicken nappy?

 

[CluckerFeet]

I'm almost scared to ask, but what's a chicken nappy?

I've seen ads online for them before... I'm pretty sure they're exactly what the name suggests. :7

Some people love having inside chooks... the opposite of my chooks, who won't try stepping inside even when they are cornered in an open doorway (it's like an invisible force repels them from the inside of the house!)

 

[kat79]

I'm almost scared to ask, but what's a chicken nappy? 

This is a chciken nappy. This is what i do to my poor roo to keep my son happy and I dont have to clean up all the poop

 

[User395221]

This is a chciken nappy. This is what i do to my poor roo to keep my son happy and I dont have to clean up all the poop

And now I've seen everything.... LOL

 

[LuckysMum]

I've just been reading all the posts from the last 24 hours so much info it's been great reading.

Like you potato chip now I've seen everything. I'd never heard of a chicken nappy or even dreamt you could get something like that.

Is it normal for a silkie roo to be mean. It looks like I have one roo and 4 hens out of the batch I hatched. I want to keep him if hes not too loud. I wonder if someone can tell me, my silkies have the same dad but different mums can I hatch my eggs when they eventually lay them. Or do I need to get another roo that's not related.Thanks

 

[Anniebee]

I would be surprised if rabbit and Guinea pig food has anything that is bad for a chicken in it, but I've never throughly read the ingredient list. It would not be a complete feed for them though as I suspect it would not have much protien. There are people who let thier chooks have cat food, but you need to be really careful of that because the high salt content can easily lead to hardened arteries and heart failure.

To sjturner79 .... Thank you for your response.

I have looked at dry rabbit tucker, considering it to be ( perhaps !! ) something slightly different and interesting for the girls, rather than the scratch mix they get every few days. Being that is like feeding them a McDonalds diet, I don't do much in the way of scratch mix for them - only 2 or 3 days a week - a handful or two. But, as mentioned, I have never succumbed to buying dry rabbit tucker for them.

I must remember to take my reading glasses next time at a large supermarket, and read the ingredients of rabbit and guinea pig food.

Their complete food is layer pellets and anything / everything else is a treat thing.

I would NEVER give my chickens, cat food, although some do. It is designed for cats, ( both dry and wet ) and is not at all good even for dogs !! .... let alone chickens. .......... Nope.

Dog food is not good for cats either. It's the vitamin and mineral additives in them that make them so different. I do feed the girls cooked meat - and will up that this week for more protein.

( I feed my dog Blackhawk holistic diet ... chicken and rice. Found the lamb and rice heated her blood up too much ( red meat can do that ) ... and she started scratching like a mad thing, with no fleas to cause the problem. Backed off that, onto Supercoat for one bag full - which has little meat, but a fair amount of grain in it ( not good for long term ), but it seemed to do the job. .... she stopped scratching and is now back onto Blackhawk chicken and rice - on which she will stay. I add to that, a raw egg a couple of times a week, a bit of cheese here and there, and some tuna in olive oil ... again, here and there. )

But, as this is a chicken thread, I had best stick to chickens !!

And you sjtturner79, or someone else, may be able to assist with a query. I have read and believe, that chickens have a 'limit' to their egg producing abilities. i.e. they have just so many eggs to produce, and then there's an end to it. Also have read that the larger the chicken, the more inclined they might be to quit laying earlier than others. I have scrounged around via Google but cannot find much information about Welsummers and when / if they cease to lay. ??

Mandy Welsummer is one huge chook. She eats well, drinks her water and stands upright with tail erect ( a while back she was rather sad and floppy, but she got over that ). She is the only chicken I have that drags her moult into months .... she is sooo slow. So I am thinking, it is her almost half a year moult that has stopped her laying. Will only know if that is the case when Spring arrives. She is still shedding feathers, but also growing new ones.

Just one of my 3 chickens is providing eggs at the moment - about 5 per week, and that is Molly RIR. Strange looking eggs for her - speckled ( ?? ) and not her normal lovely baby pink colour.... but it IS Molly who is laying them. Maybe Mandy has taught her how to speckle spray eggs ????

Mindy Araucana will begin again soon, as she is developing her new feathers now, and is already interested in making a nest !! ... she's a hard task master at laying. But poor Mandy .... ? Nothing from her since December.

The runs are overshadowed ( even though Neil has cut a lot back ) by a ginormous elm tree, owned by the back neighbours. So during summer, there is not much daylight gets in, as the sun is high in the sky, and the tree is heavy with foliage. But as we approach winter, the sun is lowering, and the elm leaves are falling so there will be plenty of sunlight for them over winter and spring and into early summer.. sunlight is already filtering into the runs ...

Perhaps I had best just shut up and wait for Spring ... eh ? Meantime, if anyone has any other suggestions, would appreciate them.

Apologies for the long post ......

Cheers .... and thank you.

...........

 

[mooandmcgee]

Ok this afternoon I let the girls free range and tonight I only had to call them back into their run!!! SO happy!!!! These three chicks are AWESOME!! Such well behaved little ladies.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions on mites. I think I am going to leave it as there really isn't any real reason to think the chick have them other then I had a small bug on me. I used an entire can of surface spray on the coop before putting them into and so I think it was just a coincidence but will keep you all posted. x

 

[sjturner79]

Ok i am not sure if this is a silkie thing or my old roo was one of a kind. This roo silkie is so mean it attacks us and breaks the skin, it is always pecking my white silkie.... his only about 13 weeks at most 14 weeks yet looks to be maturing very fast for a silkie. He is not head as the drake and his girls keep everyone in checksurely his not old enoungh to start covering yet.

Also he shares a coop with three mixed breeds red sexlink chixkens who are about 3 years old if he covers these girls whats your opinion should I let them hatch?

I would chop the head off that rooster as soon as possible myself. At most I'll give a rooster one chance. If it attacks anyone a second time, it gets its head removed.

I've just been reading all the posts from the last 24 hours so much info it's been great reading. 

Like you potato chip now I've seen everything. I'd never heard of a chicken nappy or even dreamt you could get something like that. 

Is it normal for a silkie roo to be mean.  It looks like  I have one roo and 4 hens out of the batch I hatched.  I want to keep him if hes not too loud. I wonder if someone can tell me,  my silkies have the same dad but different mums can  I hatch my eggs when they eventually lay them. Or do I need to get another roo that's not related.Thanks 

I have had a few silkie roo that are quite friendly. If you get a mean one get rid of him , friendly ones are usually easy to find.
Crossing at 50% related should be okay. You can't be certain until you do hatch them. If you get a lot of defects then look for a new boy, otherwise your good.