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

[satay]

Dropbears and thylacines are a bit of a problem around here, but the bunyips keep their numbers down.


xxxx    M

Lol gotta love ya Ash

 

[satay]

Thanks colourful, but I'm after some Marans pullets. Waiting on satay's Wellies to start laying !

 

You and me both Luke. They are 21 weeks now so hopefully soon. I ask them every morning as I let them out to free range... Where is your eggs girls.... So far they just give me the stink eye and take off into the yard lol.

 

[satay]

Here ya go Luke this is the chilli tree. It's nearly to the roof

Same one different angle. And my giant passion fruit

Wow that is an awesome chilli bush and congrats on your first passionfruit. Ours took a while to get going. We have a purple and a yellow one. Now I get so many passionfruit I turn it into sauce.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

You and me both Luke. They are 21 weeks now so hopefully soon. I ask them every morning as I let them out to free range... Where is your eggs girls.... So far they just give me the stink eye and take off into the yard lol.

.lol. They have to start carrying their load soon.

Do you do anything to help pullets start laying? I have got my first pullet she is about 22 weeks old now and not laying, I'm just wondering if I have to do anything to get her laying.

 

[IamSamSam]

My lorps were 5mths before laying the will just start and you will be all eggcited ! Haha that's how I use to say it when I was a kid !

 

[appps]

On the laying thing, are they going to slow down and stop over winter? I don't remember that with our isas or australorpe but I keep reading about no eggs over winter on the forum. Is it a breed specific thing? Or is it because the Americans have so much colder winters? Or is it just bad memory on my part and they all do stop lol

 

[alliterationsss]

Who else is getting drenched! This is day three ! My yard is becoming a mush pit and I am going to let the girls out as their coop is mush ! Maybe Ash can answer but anyone ? Do chickens have feet issues like humans with too much mush or wet ground ? For long periods ?

I'm in Sydney Australia and my chickens will have to learn to swim if the rain continues

fortunately I have a section in my coop with pavers... At least if they stand in that they are out if the mush.. I'm not sure if they get feet problems from being wet constantly but it's pretty mushy

I also added to new members to my week old flick yesterday, so we have a little peck order dominance happening out there...
It suppose to rain for next few days here, so hoping I don't have to build a boat

Hi

I'm in Sydney too & yes it's great the raing has stopped - for now.

And my coop used to be a either a dust bowl or a mush pit til we paved it last Oct. (It's 3.6m x1.4m and wasn't too expensive.) It's made a huge difference. But even so, the tarp I have over the top was 2 years old and leaking, and so last week I had to put another one over it by myself, which is not held down very safely at present - just with bricks! .. .I'll have to get someone to help me secure it. But it makes such a difference!

But re the wet feet - I've really had it forced in to me by the old fellow at my local produce who knows everything to know about chooks, that chooks mustn't get really wet feet - that that's the one bad thing for them. That they don't mind getting wet in the rain, but they mustn't stand around in lots of mud - just what he says.

Btw, you might have read my earlier posts where I said I had to help my chooks get used to eating their chook food and not all the treats I was giving them? I'm currently 'de-sensitiving them' and they are so hungry and keep crying out - it's awful! But we're making a little bit of progress. Meanwhile, they're really digging up the grass in desperation. well, it was my fault in the first place... I've been told I can give them a little bit of a treat today (Day 3)

sss

 

[Ashburnham]

Chooks naturally slow down their laying as the days get shorter, and then go into moult.
I keep mine laying by putting a low wattage light on a timer in their coop so they get an extra hour or two light in the morning.


xxxx M

 

[cluckcluckluke]

My lorps were 5mths before laying the will just start and you will be all eggcited ! Haha that's how I use to say it when I was a kid !

On the laying thing, are they going to slow down and stop over winter? I don't remember that with our isas or australorpe but I keep reading about no eggs over winter on the forum. Is it a breed specific thing? Or is it because the Americans have so much colder winters? Or is it just bad memory on my part and they all do stop lol

The chickens not laying has nothing to do with the cold...much. Chickens laying relies on the light to lay their eggs, around 16 hrs of light a day is needed for you hens to lay. The colder months starts then to moult ( I never know why they do this ) so they are concentrating their efforts on getting new feathers and NOT laying. They then decide after all this they need a little break, so some of your hens may not lay for up to 5 months!! But Aussie chooks are tough, so don't bet on it.
If you have pullets then they should lay right through their first Winter like nothing is happening!

I keep mine laying by putting a low wattage light on a timer in their coop so they get an extra hour or two light in the morning.


xxxx M

Ash, I'm trying to find a way of doing this without electricity?
Do you know of a way?

 

[Ashburnham]

Solar powered light? Clockwork timer? Not easy.