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

[satay]

How cute . So was this just a natural curly gene popping up out of the blue or is there frizzle in their background somehow?

I contacted the friend I got the eggs from as I could not remember and she says she has a frizzled Belgian. They don't come frizzled normally so obviously there has been a cross some where along the way some how but I cant wait to see how she feathers out.

 

[satay]

Have just had an idea re perch- maybe I could just swap out the piece of pine that forms the top rung/perch with untreated wood, as that will be the roosting place of preference and they will just be using the ladder system to get up there. That's assuming all 10 of them will be able to squash in on it. It's only 86cm wide, so maybe not.

There's also another problem with their soon to be yard area, a close inspection has revealed that the chicken wire fencing (that we dug into the ground and weighted down with bricks, about 4 years ago has rusted away and the fencing is now able to be lifted up from the ground all the way around!

That's what got me wondering about treated pine in chook yards, because I was tossing up whether to use some treated pine boards that we have spare or corrugated sheet metal also spare, to put around base of fencing to eliminate the gaps. Any suggestions on this fencing prob are also welcome

The coop renovations have continued with yesterday spent cementing up gaps and holes at the base of the coop which has for years let in rain at the base. It looks much more water proof now and I'm hoping it will keep the saw dust dry as well as give those nasty mites no where to hide.

The chicks are now going into their 8th week now and I was thinking about putting them into the coop by the end of the week. Assuming I manage to get all the fencing/perch repairs done by then. They all seem fully feathered and have been going without their brooder light during the days and a few nights recently. Will I need to take the brooder light into the coop with them in case there's a few cold nights? How long do I keep them in the coop for to get them used to it, before letting them have the run of their yard?

Sorry for all the questions! Any advice much appreciated

I think your perches will be fine. I can't see them being bothered to peck them but you could do as you thought and replace the top one. I use corro at the bottom of all of my big pens. Keeps most things out.
Our over night temps at the moment are around 6c and my brooder babies go out onto the grass full time but 3 weeks of age. Our day time temps are around 25c at the moment but I do the same in winter too where we can get into the minuses over night.

 

[satay]

Little pullet by my Crele ara roo over red partridge/quail ara hen. I've showed u all the cuckoos but neglected to mention the other stunning colours and patterns thrown by my beautiful chookies. Loving these colours. Heres some others

Nice colours

 

[satay]

Omg a frizzle baby!!!

Hey Ash, goodluck with the headcounts!

Cute as teila.

OMG OMG OMG! Yay!!!!! Just as i was wondering whether to give up hope, Miss Vonte is broody!!!! Let them out this morning, all seemed normal, by the time i got home i pretty much went straight out to replace food/water, and shut them in. Collecting eggs, as usual i went to the first 2 nesting boxes, expected to see nothing, oh, theres one egg there. Moved on and went to automatically grab the stack in the next one and BAM! Theres a chicken there! Lol.

Instantly got super excited!! Went and got the eggs id saved for a broody and chucked them straight under her. Didnt know when i should have done it but i was just so excited it had to be then! Lol. So when do I move her to the seperate brood pen? Straight away or do i give her a few days and make sure she stays on them or???

Was just saying the other day i thought shed make the best mum strange that my RIR went broody before my LSs tho..

YAY!!!!

I don't often use broodies now but when I did I found some would sit anywhere but others if you moved them that was it and they were not going to sit anywhere else. All you can do is to try and move her straight away and see if she is happy to stay sitting.. Would be worse if you moved her in a few weeks and she refused to sit.,

 

[satay]

Sounds like you have amazing set ups. Lucky chicks

Yes, Ash is a hatching god. He has great set ups for all his little ones.

 

[satay]

Update of the never ending hatch 6 little quails out, 1 marans and 2 Belgians from my own ones.

 

[satay]

@Fancychooklady How's that flu going? Hope you are starting to feel better.

 

[Teila]

Morning Friends

Thank you for the nice comments regarding my silly broody gals.

locknest4 I agree with satay and would not be concerned about them pecking the treated pine roost. My gals have smoothed off and debarked the natural timber roosts they have around the run for during the day but the internal roosts have always been just for sleeping with pretty much no evidence of pecking or rubbing. Why peck a roost when you can peck the chicken next you?

Deej211 love the colour and patterns!

RodneyRooster Congrats on the broody!

Oh how I wish moving one of my broodys was enough to break them

Not having a rooster, with all of my gals who have had a hatch, when they go broody I order fertile eggs and set up the separated broody box and run for them. I grab a few dud eggs out of the fridge and bring them up to room temperature, make a nice nest and pop the eggs in it. I take the broody from the normally eggless community nest box she has decided to brood in and show her the nest with eggs … I swear you can see her little broody eyes light up and she settles down on the nest almost immediately. By the time the fertile eggs arrive she is well and truly settled.

Granted I have only had 5 hatches here with 3 separate broodys but moving them has never been an issue. Maybe I just have some very determined broodys but I reckon they would brood on the egg carton in the fridge if they could get to it!!

 

[V1cky]

I don't often use broodies now but when I did I found some would sit anywhere but others if you moved them that was it and they were not going to sit anywhere else. All you can do is to try and move her straight away and see if she is happy to stay sitting.. Would be worse if you moved her in a few weeks and she refused to sit.,

I've tried to move my broodies a few times but they kept going back or trying to go back to the spot they picked even if I've moved her eggs to a new spot. I find it best to leave them and when it's close to hatching time barricade her off so no other hens can peak the chicks when they hatch. Once the chicks are all out and walking is when I move them

 

[appps]

@RodneyRooster. I let mine sit a couple days in the normal nesting box so I'm sure she is good and broody and then I move her and the practice eggs to the new spot. The first year I had to add some wire across the front of the box to make her stay for 24 hrs to get her to settle there. This year she stayed happily without that. Once she is settled in the new spot for a day I give her the hatching eggs.

But a disclaimer...my broody area is a seperate small 3m square pen. She can't get back to the other nest. While I was waiting on my shipped eggs though I would put her out on the grass for a good feed each morning and she would inevitably head straight to the laying box rather than her new nest when I let her back in. I think if she had the run of the whole coop area I would find her back in the laying box and cold eggs after coming out for a feed at some point.