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

[Fancychooklady]

These littlies are probably the feistiest little ones I have had hatch here.  At just over one day old they are already trying to hang off mum's wattles and peck her in the eye.  Previous bubbies have at least waited a couple of days before attacking mum! lol

Again, maybe it is because she is stuck on the nest and easy prey! 

My last batch of Wyandotte would hang on to wattle even when mum swung them from side to side. The little ones are looking for food.

 

[JHek]

I have just lost 9 of my chickens to foxes including my roosters. I plan on bringing the ones that survived back to my suburban yard until we fix the main coop but I'm worried about transporting one of my hens that's broody and sitting on about 6 eggs.

I was going to use a large flexible toy bucket, layer it with straw then put her and the eggs in and put her in the footwell (so it doesn't move) but I'd like to know if anyone has other advice to make sure it's as stress free and safe as possible.

 

[appps]

You mean like one of those brightly coloured ones? What happens if she freaks out and gets out while you are driving? I would wrap a sheet or something over the top to keep it nice and dark in there so its less stressful for her as she wont know what is going on and so she cant become a danger while driving by deciding to come out, she could just decide mid trip to try and find her way back to her "proper" nest

 

[JHek]

They're about double the width of a normal bucket and a little deeper. Thanks for the sheet idea, I'm a little upset and scatter brained at the moment.

 

[appps]

I can imagine, It's an awful thing to have happen.

 

[appps]

My last batch of Wyandotte would hang on to wattle even when mum swung them from side to side. The little ones are looking for food.

They are all making my little one seem very meek and mild, it hasn't even come out from under mum so we can see it properly yet. The kids haven't seen it at all and I've only seen enough to see the colour.

I think when I open up tomorrow which will be day 3 if she doesn't come out for food or let it out from under her I will get it out from under her Myself and take it and show it the water like you mentioned you did. I also like the idea of a photo op . Did you just take them one at a time or all at once? Wondering if I might freak her out if I take her only baby off to the house for photos. Maybe I'll do an in coop photo shoot

And another question, will she just come out and it follow behind or do they somehow manage to hitch a ride with her? Just wondering how they stay warm if not under her as we have had a real cold snap.

 

[vehve]

A dog crate would probably be a good place to transport mama and her eggs. Even then, throwing a sheet over it (remembering that some air flow is needed too), would make it cozier and darker.

Regarding chicken pricing. I think that your prices are right when you get all the birds you want to sell sold. Supply and demand. Around here (on the other side of the world), a POL landrace pullet would go for about 30 euros, 40 if she's already started laying. I saw 8 week olds being sold for about 10 euros. But chicken keeping is more of a hobby here. Also, one could probably rent out a flock of say 4 layers for about 20-30 euros per month to someone wanting summer chickens, and then get them back when the weather gets colder. I'm thinking of hatching out some chicks in early spring, renting them out for the summer, and then sending them to freezer camp when the person wants to return them.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have just lost 9 of my chickens to foxes including my roosters. I plan on bringing the ones that survived back to my suburban yard until we fix the main coop but I'm worried about transporting one of my hens that's broody and sitting on about 6 eggs.

I was going to use a large flexible toy bucket, layer it with straw then put her and the eggs in and put her in the footwell (so it doesn't move) but I'd like to know if anyone has other advice to make sure it's as stress free and safe as possible.

Sorry for your loss. Seems everything is out to get our chickens sometimes. Whatever you transport her in , make it nice and dark so she is less inclined to freak out. Good luck.

 

[appps]

Need some advice guys - is this normal? Little peep came out from mum when I opened their box up this morning. It is very quiet but tried having a little wander and penny just kept pecking it and trying to sit on it till after five minutes it finally got it in a spot she could hunker down on top of it again.

I did pick it up at one point when she was getting quite pecky because it was in a corner and she couldn't position herself on top, and took the opportunity to pop it's beak in the waterer a couple of times. It didn't seem to want to drink though.

She hopped out long enough to poop them jumped right back in. I've given her a little container of food and she is eating and making little chatty noises but the chick is yet again buried up underneath her so it's not having any.

At what point after all the chicks have hatched does the hen leave the nest and the chicks just follow along behind her? How long will she keep it in the nest without letting it wander?

Is this all normal behaviour or being a new mum do you think she hasn't worked out how to treat it as a chick instead of an egg? I'm a little concerned about leaving her alone while I go to work to be honest as she isn't real gentle.

 

[Fancychooklady]

They are all making my little one seem very meek and mild, it hasn't even come out from under mum so we can see it properly yet. The kids haven't seen it at all and I've only seen enough to see the colour.

I think when I open up tomorrow which will be day 3 if she doesn't come out for food or let it out from under her I will get it out from under her Myself and take it and show it the water like you mentioned you did. I also like the idea of a photo op . Did you just take them one at a time or all at once? Wondering if I might freak her out if I take her only baby off to the house for photos. Maybe I'll do an in coop photo shoot

And another question, will she just come out and it follow behind or do they somehow manage to hitch a ride with her? Just wondering how they stay warm if not under her as we have had a real cold snap.

For the first couple of weeks they only spend short bursts of time out from under mum gradually increasing in time as they get bolder and older. I bring them all in on day 1-2 for pics cause they aren't very mobile at that stage and much easier to handle. While I have them there I put a bowl of water and starter out . First put your finger in the water and tap the bowl then tap their beak , they usually let you drizzle the water in. Next I put my finger in the water , then in the starter and go through the whole process again, dragging my finger back to the feed bowl and tapping ,till they get the gist.