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

[sjturner79]

My silkie has gone broody I think as she's hijacked the nesting box! Tried to put her in another one she won't budge not even when I put eggs in there( real ones mind you) nope does not work she still wants to be in the same nesting box.

Well if you have some fertile ones to give her you might get chicks

 

[chooks01]

Well if you have some fertile ones to give her you might get chicks

I have given her some eggs hope she hatches some but she's in the main coop, don't know how things will go with the rest of the flock

 

[sjturner79]

I have given her some eggs hope she hatches some but she's in the main coop, don't know how things will go with the rest of the flock

That will really depend on your flock. My last 2 chicks where fine with the flock, but one of them I'm not sure I'd trust around newborns as she is fairly aggressive to all the other hens and even has a go at the roosters sometimes, and she's not even at laying age yet.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have given her some eggs hope she hatches some but she's in the main coop, don't know how things will go with the rest of the flock

The biggest problem with them being in the main coop is that others may come in behind her and lay more eggs. Ideally you want to ' set ' the eggs together , otherwise she will have a ' staggered ' hatch and that can be disastrous for the stragglers. The other risk of course is that she may get bullied off the nest. I have a little rabbit hutch inside the main coop. Hen is happy to be in there with her eggs. She has water and feed and no interruptions from the others.

 

[Teila]

Top o’ the morn’n to ya!

Noting that 1 day and 23 hours ago someone in Queensland (who shall remain nameless) mentioned “I also prefer a bit more winter” .. giving said person ‘that look’

! Thanks for that; I’m freezing!! Lol.

Sam I hope you enjoy your 4 day break. Before I started working from home, I spent my week day morning standing at the bus stop at 05:45am; not too bad in summer but if it is still dark out, it does not seem right. You have my respect that you are on a train at 4am and also my sympathies!

ChristieB love the egg pic! Well done.

chooks01 good luck with the hatch

I have always had to separate my broodies; too many fights over favourite nest boxes and the risk of eggs being broken or subsequent chicks being injured.

Never seen a fox around here; just the occasional possum and as we live near the Boondall Wetlands, lots of birds. My biggest fear is neighbourhood cats!

Still cruising along nicely here, no dramas. Dusty is still the only layer BUT Cilla is squatting and hopefully she may return to laying soon, the bubs are nearly 4 months old. Blondie and LuLu are apparently still on holidays and it is going to be interesting to see if the bubs start laying before the freeloaders!

We are North Melbourne fans (AFL) and we are kinda excited today as North Melbourne are coming up to the Gold Coast to play the Suns and as we only get to see them live once or twice a year; we are making the trek down to the Gold Coast via train. People make that trek every day for work and it is no big deal but for one who does not leave her castle very often, it is going to be a long and hopefully enjoyable day.

I have the NM scarf, cap, T-shirt and jumper ready and looking forward to cheering the boys on for real and not just shouting at the television screen

Game Day at our place; even Syba gets into the spirit:

 

[chooks01]

The biggest problem with them being in the main coop is that others may come in behind her and lay more eggs. Ideally you want to ' set ' the eggs together , otherwise she will have a ' staggered ' hatch and that can be disastrous for the stragglers. The other risk of course is that she may get bullied off the nest. I have a little rabbit hutch inside the main coop. Hen is happy to be in there with her eggs. She has water and feed and no interruptions from the others.

Tried to do that she gets too upset and refuses to sit on her eggs. Then she goes back into the nesting box and sits there with or without eggs

 

[Fancychooklady]

Tried to do that she gets too upset and refuses to sit on her eggs. Then she goes back into the nesting box and sits there with or without eggs

Oh well then my only other advice , would be to mark the eggs and remove any additional ones daily. Once she has hatched them, relocate her and the chicks.

 

[chooks01]

Oh well then my only other advice , would be to mark the eggs and remove any additional ones daily. Once she has hatched them, relocate her and the chicks.

I ended up covering the nesting box as there has been fights and the head chook tried to lay her eggs on top of her

put another nesting box in the coop so hopefully she does not get disturbed

 

[Sidhe13]

@tandykins Great to hear Bumblebee is home safe and Ophelia is recovering well!
It sounds more like a cat attack than a fox, though. The tears across Ophelia's back, the survivors, and Bumblebee being dragged away seems more like a cat thing than the chaos and widespread death caused by a fox...just a thought...

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Hay does anyone know of any breeds that you can get in Aus that are extremely colourful?
Like I don't just mean laced birds or bright colours. I mean each chicken of the breed is fairly individually coloured.
An example would be this Icelandic chicken below, but they are not in Australia. Or should I just cross some of my birds and see what comes up?