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

[MyHaven]

No-one around me seems to truly understand their appeal, and power of chicken math. Ahh, slight vent sorry. 

Been there, dealt with that, converted some of those. Give someone a cuppa with chickens in line of sight. They come around when they start to watch them.

 

[Fizzybelle]

Quote:
My silkies are 12 weeks today so I'm not sure when they stop growing and how big they will get. Maybe someone can tell me.
They are much the same size as my 8 week old australorps. My husband reckons the aussies look like raptors. Especially when the are running for their treats.

Aussies do look like raptors! My Ada is a Australorp RIR cross, and I chose her originally for her prehistoric look. She's changed some as she's matured of course, but still has the most dinosaur like features of my flock. Despite her evil look in this photo, she's really calm and very sweet.




Lol, Silkies are probably the equivalent of dressing a raptor up in a fluffy bathrobe and furry bunny slippers.

 

[Fizzybelle]

I used to think tha bantams weren't worth taking up my limited numbers with council restrictions. But when somebody gave my son Silkie I learnt that it's actually very handy sometimes to have a little egg. And they arent really that small. You can use them to half a one egg recipe or just add that little bit of extra egg when you need it and if you need to you can use two. Silkies are great little layers when they aren't clucky. And they make great mums. I can't speak for other bantams. I haven't had them long enough.

And you can treat the eggs as gourmet? Devilled eggs look great.

Yeah, I mean look at Quail. They're teeny weeny, but both eggs and meat are popular and sort after. An eggs only useless if you let it go to waste.

Actually Quail are another bird I'd like to try keeping down the track, not at the moment though. Anyone here ever kept any?

 

[User395221]

Despite her evil look in this photo, she's really calm and very sweet.

She looks like a zombie chicken in that photo LOL

My Marcy has a really dinosaur-y looking beak, I reckon. I'll try to do a photo of her.

 

[Anniebee]

Am feeling very guilty now after reading all your comments about lone and lonely chickens.

Mindy Araucana lives by herself - her coop mate and friend Moppit Silkie died, and when I tried to integrate her with my remaining birds, my Welsummer tried to literally kill her. Tried it a couple of times, with the same result so there was only one solution. She roosts at night with a toy dog as a companion ( which she turfs onto the floor every now and again ). The two big girls accepted friend Milly Barnevelder, up and died, hence I have now only 3. ( they were all purchased at the same time from the same breeder ).

They all get together at the double separating fence ( had to do that too, as Mandy Welsummer would try to grab her through a single wire fence ) .... and have some kind of conference every evening. Always the 3 of them standing as near as they can get to one another. I'd rather have a happy healthy and non-injured ( or worse ) bird, than try it all again.

So she has bachelorette quarters. If when free ranging she goes anywhere near a single fence, Mandy rushes over to try and peck at her. But Mindy is a wake up to all that now and gives the fence a very wide berth.

Have thought of getting a few more ( 3 ? ) Araucanas, young ones, and seeing how they go with Mindy, but if it all goes pear shaped, it means we have to make a 3rd run and new coop. Simply cannot cope with the thought at the moment.

So - I stand convicted .... I have a lone chicken. !!

 

[sjturner79]

Am feeling very guilty now after reading all your comments about lone and lonely chickens. 

Mindy Araucana lives by herself - her coop mate and friend Moppit Silkie died, and when I tried to integrate her with my remaining birds, my Welsummer tried to literally kill her.   Tried it a couple of times, with the same result so there was only one solution.   She roosts at night with a toy dog as a companion ( which she turfs onto the floor every now and again ). The two big girls accepted friend Milly Barnevelder, up and died, hence I have now only 3.  ( they were all purchased at the same time from the same breeder ).  

They all get together at the double separating fence ( had to do that too, as Mandy Welsummer would try to grab her through a single wire fence ) .... and have some kind of conference every evening.   Always the 3 of them standing as near as they can get to one another.   I'd rather have a happy healthy and non-injured ( or worse ) bird, than try it all again.  

So she has bachelorette quarters.   If when free ranging she goes anywhere near a single fence, Mandy rushes over to try and peck at her.   But Mindy is a wake up to all that now and gives the fence a very wide berth.   

Have thought of getting a few more ( 3 ? ) Araucanas, young ones, and seeing how they go with Mindy, but if it all goes pear shaped, it means we have to make a 3rd run and new coop.   Simply cannot cope with the thought at the moment. 

So - I stand convicted .... I have a lone chicken.  !! 

Not quite a lone chicken, as she can easily see and talk to the others during the day by the sounds of it.

 

[Teila]

Lol, Silkies are probably the equivalent of dressing a raptor up in a fluffy bathrobe and furry bunny slippers.

 

[satay]

For those of you with all bantams, do you get enough eggs and find them useful (like in cooking, frying them ect)? My mother was complaining that when our large girls stop laying we'll be stuck with a bunch of useless eggs which I totally disagree with. You might need two instead of one, but really, I don't see a problem. Cept maybe for a boiled egg, might be a bit fiddly. Then again she was cranky at Dad and I for getting Ada and Annabelle in the first place, yet at the time we had two hens who had stopped laying, and one bantam Oh, and are Pekins seasonal layers? I'm wondering if I'll need to wait until spring for Esme to start laying. Her and Agnes have been chest bumping a bit lately, wondering if hormones are raging a little bit.

Tell your mum they are great for eating and baking. I actually use quail eggs for making muffins.

 

[satay]

Good morning friends 

]
We do have a dilemma which I have to keep secret from the girls .. we are running low on meal worms!  I have placed an order [plus some dried crickets to try] but it will not get here until Tuesday or Wednesday and some rationing may be needed until then.  I hope Dusty does not notice or she will be packing her little suitcase and moving to Martyn’s Mealworms   

 

[Teila]

Good morning folks

Fizzybelle I used to have two pet quality Silkies, sadly both have passed away now. Anyways, they were white and they sure could get very dirty in the dust bath and wet dirt after rain etc but without a bath or any intervention from me, they managed to turn a beautiful white again.




potato chip I think some people see a cute little chick, think it will be may be hush a child’s insistence that it wants a pet and be easier to keep than a puppy or a kitten. I also believe that whoever sold them a single chicken is partly to blame, especially if they knew it was going to be a single chicken.

Having said that I know of people who have raised single chickens who appear to have coped fine .. been part of the family etc … in the house, watching television, spending time with her people.

Anniebee I agree that Mindy is not quite a lone chicken and you are doing the right thing in her case .. I am sure she is happier chatting safely than being beaten up.

LuckysMum I often ask the girls “and how are my little dinosaurs this morning?”

Thanks you for the kind comments about how pretty KiKi is … I am not going to argue with that one

.. when she is not doing her screeching peacock impersonations she is a cutie!

On that note .. the radio actually seems to be working

She does have a strong chickenality and now she has managed to push Blondie one rung down the pecking order, she is giving LuLu a hard time. If she manages to rise above LuLu also, that only leaves Dusty and Cilla on her quest to the top .. good luck with those two Kiki, I do not fancy your chances