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

[Teila]

Good morning folks

MagicPidge I kinda like that I am restricted to 6 chickens because I know that I would not stop; just one more …..

6 gals is a nice number for our coop, run and block size. I also think it is a nice number that I can say I have a flock but still know all their chickenalities and name them all, spend quality time with them. Just me personally, but I think I would be getting out of my depth if I had any more.

I also figure that if one of the neighbours was ever to complain about one of the girls getting a bit excited on the egg song or Cilla attempting to crow (not that they probably would, they do not mind the gals and free eggs

) and the authorities should arrive on my doorstep, they will find healthy, happy, clean and ‘legal’ chickens and I would not have to reduce my flock size or pick who had to go.

I believe I have mentioned that my neighbours have 5 dogs in a 2 dog zone? And that they rent and the dogs are not approved; every time the agent comes around to inspect, the dogs and all traces of them are gone?

I would not like knowing that I am constantly at risk of losing one or all of them, or being told to vacate.

While I definitely do not agree with all Rules and Regulations, I tend to stick to them because I have a personality type tending towards flying under the radar. Breaking regulations messes with my head and I would stress constantly about being caught and the consequences .. as I said, that is just me and sometimes I wish I could be more “no drama, I will deal with it when it happens”.

Thank you sjturner79, it has taken me just over two years to get to the 6 I have and I am happy with the mix of chickenality etc. I also wanted a mix of colours and breeds but didn’t quite get there, 50% of the flock being Pekins and 50% being buff but that’s OK.

The eggs for Cilla’s last hatch were purchased from Burbank Babies. They are a local breeder but they are pick up only and do not post. Due to the time of year, she had all her bantams in one large pen and KiKi and Crystal came from that mixed bantam pen.

As I am not a breeder or show my gals I am happy with barnyard mixes and kinda like the variety of shape and colour they give.

Satay nice pickings!

At just over 2 years I am still learning and I am going to ask what may be a silly question … why is there much discussion on what to use on the coop floor?

I just wonder because the only time my gals go into the coop is to lay an egg or sleep; otherwise they spend no time in there whatsoever.

My coop is slightly raised off the ground and I have lino under the roosts; every morning I remove the overnight poops and clean the floor .. done and clean in 5 mins.

I just wonder if I am doing something wrong or missing something?

I have deep litter in the run. It is a bit of battle to keep it dry in the wet season but each afternoon I give it a quick turn over with the garden fork which keeps it loose and I believe it keeps the fly numbers under control.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Good morning folks 

MagicPidge I kinda like that I am restricted to 6 chickens because I know that I would not stop; just one more ….. 

6 gals is a nice number for our coop, run and block size.  I also think it is a nice number that I can say I have a flock but still know all their chickenalities and name them all, spend quality time with them.  Just me personally, but I think I would be getting out of my depth if I had any more.

I also figure that if one of the neighbours was ever to complain about one of the girls getting a bit excited on the egg song or Cilla attempting to crow (not that they probably would, they do not mind the gals and free eggs ) and the authorities should arrive on my doorstep, they will find healthy, happy, clean and ‘legal’ chickens and I would not have to reduce my flock size or pick who had to go.

I believe I have mentioned that my neighbours have 5 dogs in a 2 dog zone? And that they rent and the dogs are not approved; every time the agent comes around to inspect, the dogs and all traces of them are gone?

I would not like knowing that I am constantly at risk of losing one or all of them, or being told to vacate.

While I definitely do not agree with all Rules and Regulations, I tend to stick to them because I have a personality type tending towards flying under the radar.  Breaking regulations messes with my head and I would stress constantly about being caught and the consequences .. as I said, that is just me and sometimes I wish I could be more “no drama, I will deal with it when it happens”.

Thank you sjturner79, it has taken me just over two years to get to the 6 I have and I am happy with the mix of chickenality etc.  I also wanted a mix of colours and breeds but didn’t quite get there, 50% of the flock being Pekins and 50% being buff but that’s OK.

The eggs for Cilla’s last hatch were purchased from Burbank Babies.  They are a local breeder but they are pick up only and do not post.  Due to the time of year, she had all her bantams in one large pen and KiKi and Crystal came from that mixed bantam pen.

As I am not a breeder or show my gals I am happy with barnyard mixes and kinda like the variety of shape and colour they give.

Satay nice pickings!

At just over 2 years I am still learning and I am going to ask what may be a silly question … why is there much discussion on what to use on the coop floor?

I just wonder because the only time my gals go into the coop is to lay an egg or sleep; otherwise they spend no time in there whatsoever.

My coop is slightly raised off the ground and I have lino under the roosts; every morning I remove the overnight poops and clean the floor .. done and clean in 5 mins. 

I just wonder if I am doing something wrong or missing something?

I have deep litter in the run.  It is a bit of battle to keep it dry in the wet season but each afternoon I give it a quick turn over with the garden fork which keeps it loose and I believe it keeps the fly numbers under control.

There is no ' one size ' fits all. It depends on your setup and requirements. Once you get upwards of 50 birds hygiene is a little more of a challenge. If it works for you then stick with it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. !

 

[Teila]

Ah, OK Fancy so the discussions I see are more related to the larger flock situation?

I don’t think it is broke and it does appear to work for me

but I am always learning and wondering if I could do something better.

 

[KerryF]

I have a friend that does deep litter too. They have shed that's about 16m2 and an outdoor run the same. Not sure they've ever cleaned the shed, but the run gets all the garden waste dumped in it year round and then once a year they empty it out to the veggie garden. It gets soaked in winter, dries rock hard in summer. Very little in the way of flies and absolutely no smell. She has 4 chooks in there and I do always feel sorry for them sitting in their own waste inside, but they've never lost a chook to illness or suffered respiratory infections - probably because the shed is big and so full of holes?

We straw our run and leave it. Flies in summer can be off putting but it doesn't smell. Turns into a swamp in winter so we add more straw to stop the chooks from getting their feet clogged up and the are out in the garden all weekend. The shed is smaller, not as well ventilated, and has a sawdust ("dust free") bed which we remove the poop and feathers, or any wet patches, from weekly and compost. Then when we buy a bag of feed we also top up the sawdust. Once a year we clean it all out and scrub the shed down. Only had to do this once as we're only 18 months ish in. Our shed doesn't smell either.

Anyway... I think the ventilation and size v number of chooks is key. Also it seems to me that the health of the birds from the very beginning is incredibly important. Would that be right? Can a chook that's sick at a young age ever really be healthy?

All our originals came with lice and respiratory issues, and we've lost several despite taking great care of them. My friend has only culled chooks because they were no longer laying and lost three young chooks because they opted just to throw it in there without any gentle introduction not realising how severe the rejection would be.

Frankly seems unfair to me as I'm pretty attached to my girls!

 

[Teila]

I love BYC and the sharing of information … without BYC, this thread and others, I would have no idea how others do things or if I am even close to doing the right thing.

KerryF it was interesting to read what you and your friend do.

My coop is actually two kit coops joined into one and just the right size for 6 x bantams. As I mentioned, I clean it every morning and it is pretty easy to keep clean. The longest any poops are inside the coop is overnight.

The deep litter in the run is a combination of soil topped up with crass clippings whenever the lawn is mowed and new soil if needed. Our garden waste goes straight into the compost bin or garden bag if not compost suitable. The chicken poop goes into the compost each morning also.

I tried the hard earth run (for want of a better term) but found that the poops just sit there until raked up whereas with the deep litter their constant scratching in it turns the poops over, buries them etc.

Yep, the ventilation and size v number of chooks is probably the key and only having a small flock of bantams means I am only dealing with a small number of poops.

Good question “Can a chook that's sick at a young age ever really be healthy?” to which I do not know the answer. I have battled sour/impacted crop, a one off mite infestation and retention of a broken soft shelled egg from which the gals have made a full recovery and appear healthy but I have been lucky enough to not have experience with respiratory issues (touch wood).

Maybe there are some things which ail them from which they or their immune system never fully recover, leaving them weakened against future health issues.

Edited to Add: the grass clippings added or given to the gals are only those from when the lawn is 'short' and just needing a trim .. any decent growth or long grass is put into the compost bin.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I love BYC and the sharing of information … without BYC, this thread and others, I would have no idea how others do things or if I am even close to doing the right thing. KerryF it was interesting to read what you and your friend do. My coop is actually two kit coops joined into one and just the right size for 6 x bantams. As I mentioned, I clean it every morning and it is pretty easy to keep clean. The longest any poops are inside the coop is overnight. The deep litter in the run is a combination of soil topped up with crass clippings whenever the lawn is mowed and new soil if needed. Our garden waste goes straight into the compost bin or garden bag if not compost suitable. The chicken poop goes into the compost each morning also. I tried the hard earth run (for want of a better term) but found that the poops just sit there until raked up whereas with the deep litter their constant scratching in it turns the poops over, buries them etc. Yep, the ventilation and size v number of chooks is probably the key and only having a small flock of bantams means I am only dealing with a small number of poops. Good question “Can a chook that's sick at a young age ever really be healthy? ” to which I do not know the answer. I have battled sour/impacted crop, a one off mite infestation and retention of a broken soft shelled egg from which the gals have made a full recovery and appear healthy but I have been lucky enough to not have experience with respiratory issues (touch wood). Maybe there are some things which ail them from which they or their immune system never fully recover, leaving them weakened against future health issues. Edited to Add: the grass clippings added or given to the gals are only those from when the lawn is 'short' and just needing a trim .. any decent growth or long grass is put into the compost bin.

We are all learning from each other , and it's nice to know that you have learnt your lesson about grass clippings. In regards to unhealthy chicks being unhealthy adults, depends on the illness. Coccocidiosis kills rapidly and makes for very sick chicks, but treated properly will grow into healthy birds. Mareks , coryza, mycoplasma , infectious laryngitis etc will often be fatal in young chicks and even if you manage to get them through the initial onset of the disease, it will often reoccur and become chronic. I've tried dirt, pine bark, hay, straw and sand in the runs and I have come to the conclusion that in our climate sand is the best. Once hay gets wet it gets moldy , straw creates a nice hiding place for mites and lice ( hollow ) . The pine bark isn't too bad , the birds like scratching it around and you just keep adding layers. The next thing that I intend trying , come spring is pine needles. I've read that they have great anti parasitic properties and just so happens we have a pine forest nearby.

 

[appps]

Tried the deep litter method ewwwww it stinks! So I'm taking them off and putting sand back

Hmm mine smelt a LOT better when I went deep litter. Mind you I've seen it with straw and my experience with straw was it just brought flies so I really use a claytons deep litter with wood shavings. (In their house only not the yard, that is dirt)

The only smell is when one of them lets it rip first thing in the morning. Silent but deadly indeed lol

 

[chooks01]

Finished taking out the deep litter now the coop is nice and clean again I pinched some fresh lavender flowers from my neighbour with smelly cat pen ughh don't know how she can stand going into the pen

to put inside the coop. my coop and run has the proper ventilation but I'm just not one to put my precious chookies rummaging through thier own poop

I much prefer cleaning it out everyday.

 

[chooks01]

Hmm mine smelt a LOT better when I went deep litter. Mind you I've seen it with straw and my experience with straw was it just brought flies so I really use a claytons deep litter with wood shavings. (In their house only not the yard, that is dirt)

Hubby reckons it's ok and does not smell too bad but to me it smelt heaps bad, hmm maybe it's the neighbours smelly cat pen that I can smell

either I don't want neighbours complaining about my chook pen being smelly.

 

[sjturner79]

@ Telia hmm I think Burbank might be a bit far from me to do a pickup since I'm on the limestone coast. I really need to find someone who will post fertile frizzle eggs. I don't have a problem with getting excess chickens as I can send any that don't suit me out to my brother's farm. They have 4 coops and mostly freerange so have room for about 120 chooks but seem to have rarely got past about 20 as they will give them out to friends or club that ask for them. Unfortunately they don't have the types of chooks I'm looking for at the minute. They have mostly whites and isabrown crosses.