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

[cluckcluckluke]

Your birds look great Luke and I have an update for you. I got my first wellie egg today

! Congrats. That is so good. Now they should all start laying. It's like when you get one broody, they all go broody.
Well Done. and thanks

.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Glad things have settled with them Luke. Stressful little beggars aren't they
I've just worked out one of mine has a longer bottom beak than top. Never ends does it lol

Congrats Satay!

Thanks, I know. People always say how easy they are to look after, but I seem to find endless problem's.lol. Maybe it is mind thing.
There is a great article on trimming beaks her on BYC, I will find it for you.

Thanks Ash. I really like their feathering.

 

[jaybanana]

Hi everyone!
Just dropping by to say hello, and check out my chicks! So big now! Only got 2 out of 12 eggs, so not the best (but hey, first time hatching, and first time mumma hen), but better than nothing right? Anyone know whether these are roos or hens? I'm thinking the black is a roo.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/772943/roo-or-hens#post_11030419

 

[megacakes]

I've just had some bad news from work...during the holidays, one of my girls at work has died. The principal of the school found her looking sick and so quarantined her from the other two, who were apparently getting a bit pecky, but she didn't make it
They are all Isa browns, and we got them at POL nearly two years ago, so I'm not sure if that's normal for a productive egg layer or whether it was an early death. She never really came back from her moult, even though she seemed perky and happy.

So my question now is should I get some other hens? The coop and run they have is huge...I could easily fit about 10 in comfortably, especially if I set up another nesting box in the run. Now that I've been reading this thread for a while, I'm keen to try some other breeds that would add interest to the coop, especially for the kids. Would my two existing, slightly motheaten girls cope with others being added, or should I split the run into two? I'd rather have them all together, but the boss thinks separating them would be better. What breeds would you guys recommend? Silkies, bantams and frizzles all look nice, but maybe I'm being too ambitious?

I am in Sydney, and could probably convince my husband to take a two hour drive to "the country" to pick up some chooks, so are there any suggestions as to where I should be looking? I get all my chicken related stuff from Enfield Pet & Garden, and their range is pretty limited. Would any of you guys who are close to Sydney be willing to sell their excess ladies? I'm not allowed a rooster (I did ask!!)

 

[megacakes]

I just found a person in North Sydney who has two Wyandotte hens for sale...but at $100 for the pair? Is this expensive? They are 16 months old and are "good layers except when broody", which sounds ominous!

 

[Ashburnham]

That is a ridiculous price. You can buy "second hand" laying hens from battery farms for about $5 each.
They are usually no more than 18 months old.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I just found a person in North Sydney who has two Wyandotte hens for sale...but at $100 for the pair? Is this expensive? They are 16 months old and are "good layers except when broody", which sounds ominous!

For kids at a school I would not be paying that much for chickens. Wyandottes are bad layers any way.
Your 2 ISA's should handle some new hens. I think your passed girl had just "expired" ISA's work so hard that they puff out of laying after a year or so then slowly trudge along till they die.
ISA's eat ALOT so perhaps not the best for a school.

I would recommend Ancona's ( and not because I just got some ) because they are efficient eaters. They lay LOTS of white eggs Like white Leghorns and they have a great pattern to them.

Silkies are going to go broody a lot so you won't get many eggs. But you will be able to hatch them.

Bantams like Polish and Frizzles, these girls are not going to lay big eggs. My frizzle lays a nice little creamy brown egg about 5-6 times a week. Frizzles are actually quite good layers but the eggs are small. Polish are not going to give you very many eggs.

For a school flock I would recommend just the nice Multi purpose breeds. Like RIR's and Australorps. These are very friendly, reliable breeds. Laying lots of eggs and having nice personality's and not going broody to often.

But as ash said you can get still good laying battery hens for $5. I will say though that they do take some persistence and patience to get them to get their feathers back and get into the "outdoors" life.

 

[megacakes]

Thanks for the advice, guys! The girls we've had have been great layers, and we were using the eggs in the preschool as we provided meals up until last year, when the government closed down the kitchens in preschools across NSW. Now we have quite an excess of eggs, especially since I don't take them home any more. Some of the teachers won't take them home because the hens look a bit manky, which is just plain weird...I guess they've never seen the state of the hens providing eggs for supermarkets!
I guess I'm trying to say that I don't really mind if we have hens for looks rather than laying. The opportunity to re home an ex factory hen or two appeals to me, but as I'm only at school three days a week, I can't guarantee I could give them the care they really need to get back on their feet. I'll have a look on the hen rescue site and see if it suits the situation. If anyone comes across any other breed in the Sydney area that might be appropriate and not too pricey (the school has no money, so I'm guessing it will be a meg donation) please let me know. The chooks have been a fantastic thing to have in our school. We are VERY inner city, catering to some quite disadvantaged families, and the opportunity for some kids to care for our girls has been really game changing for some of them. It's going to be a sad day on Wednesday when they find out one lady didn't make it.

 

[sydney quailman]

I've just had some bad news from work...during the holidays, one of my girls at work has died. The principal of the school found her looking sick and so quarantined her from the other two, who were apparently getting a bit pecky, but she didn't make it

They are all Isa browns, and we got them at POL nearly two years ago, so I'm not sure if that's normal for a productive egg layer or whether it was an early death. She never really came back from her moult, even though she seemed perky and happy.

So my question now is should I get some other hens? The coop and run they have is huge...I could easily fit about 10 in comfortably, especially if I set up another nesting box in the run. Now that I've been reading this thread for a while, I'm keen to try some other breeds that would add interest to the coop, especially for the kids. Would my two existing, slightly motheaten girls cope with others being added, or should I split the run into two? I'd rather have them all together, but the boss thinks separating them would be better. What breeds would you guys recommend? Silkies, bantams and frizzles all look nice, but maybe I'm being too ambitious?

I am in Sydney, and could probably convince my husband to take a two hour drive to "the country" to pick up some chooks, so are there any suggestions as to where I should be looking? I get all my chicken related stuff from Enfield Pet & Garden, and their range is pretty limited. Would any of you guys who are close to Sydney be willing to sell their excess ladies? I'm not allowed a rooster (I did ask!!)

if look at gumtree there is a place at ellalong nsw not sure where it is but call garry 0412 588813, cheers sam

 

[Ashburnham]

My big fella nearly all grown up.

Some of the younger girls

My new quarantine/ holding cage I finished today.