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

[satay]

Yayyyyyyy Australians! I am seriously very new to the chicken world but I can already see it becoming addictive. Got these two silkies, another silkie and a D'uccle a couple of weeks ago.

The kids named them so we have Jemima, Cutie, Felicity and Rosie hehe.

I am in the Logan area and happy to see fellow aussies on this awesome site.

I grew up in Logan before moving out here 9 years ago, Still have relatives in Logan and hubby works at Beenleigh

 

[satay]

Great news about Annabelle ...

Love the dandelion chicken ... LOL.

I have to wonder what is wrong with my big girls - they won't go near the ( expensive ) dried mealworms I purchased.   Even pick around them in rice / oats / greens  goodies from "Mum" .... leave them sitting there for visitors to eat ??? ( perhaps - other birds ?  ) ... unless they become so inquisitive that they do polish them off.   I have not stuck around enough in wettish, cold weather to observe over hours !!!   

Mindy on the other hand, knows exactly what to do with them.   Wolfs them down.  

Chooks can be ultra weird at times. 

Weather down south here, is cold - but supposed to warm up again next week ( which is very strange for this time of year ) .... I love the cold, hate the heat in our dangerous summers in Victoria.   Elsewhere in Oz,  it's pretty darned dangerous too.   .... 

Cheers .... 

None of mine will go near meal worms in any form not even the ducks. So my lot are really weird. They are loving pumpkin at the moment. I picked up a heaps for 15c kg the other day so i smash one in their runs a couple times a week.

 

[appps]

None of mine will go near meal worms in any form not even the ducks. So my lot are really weird. They are loving pumpkin at the moment. I picked up a heaps for 15c kg the other day so i smash one in their runs a couple times a week.

Do they eat it all or just the mushy flesh you normally scoop out in the middle? Always thought it would be too hard for them to be interested.

 

[satay]

Do they eat it all or just the mushy flesh you normally scoop out in the middle? Always thought it would be too hard for them to be interested.

They hollow it out and usually just leave the outer skin. Usually i drop a whole jap pumpkin over the fence and it generally just splits in two. Come back a few hours later and all is left is the outer skin.

 

[Teila]

Good morning folks

satay it’s a deal! Let’s swap overnight temperatures and I will even throw in my 'needs to be mowed again' green grass to seal the deal

Fizzybelle great news on Annabelle! Love the dandelion pic! All my gals love lettuce but you know what you can do with your peas or pumpkin

lol

Lol LuckysMum love the coffee pic also and yes, I can relate.

Howdy SilkieChickStar lovely to meet you and you have some adorable little bubs there.

This has been playing on my mind since we built the new coop so I am going to share.

For the three years I have had chickens and they have had a kit coop onto which another kit coop was added, multiple renovations and extensions etc over time, providing enough room for nesting and roosting without being cramped, I have been telling people that because of our sub tropical climate “the gals do not spend any time in the coop except to lay an egg or roost and the rest of the time they are out and about in the run” or supervised free ranging.

I honestly thought that this was what they preferred to do and they could have hung around in the coop if they chose to.

Now they have had their new beaut, super sized, high coop I have to admit I was wrong and apparently it was not the climate that was the reason for them not spending time in the coop.

Every morning they wander down the ramp and wait for me to deliver breakfast, then they all wander back up again and have their mothers’ meeting and many times throughout the day I can look out the window and no chickens in the run .. they are hanging around in the coop, having a roost, having a natter, nanna nap etc.

I love the fact that they love their new coop but feel bad that I had it wrong for three years

I remember reading in BYC someone said something along the lines of just because the chickens tolerate it, does not mean that it is the best thing for them or what they actually want … so True!

 

[Chook Newby]

Yayyyyyyy Australians! I am seriously very new to the chicken world but I can already see it becoming addictive. Got these two silkies, another silkie and a D'uccle a couple of weeks ago.

The kids named them so we have Jemima, Cutie, Felicity and Rosie hehe.

I am in the Logan area and happy to see fellow aussies on this awesome site.

Hello Silkiechickstar! You have lovelyy little chicks there

 

[Chook Newby]

Hello everyone!

Just thought I would share a receipe with you all. I found it on the net and its supposed to be a good protein hit for chickens particulary when they are going through their moult (which mine are not yet). I made it and gave it to the girls yesterday morning and but last night the whole lot was gone! They LOVED IT!!

1 cup of oats
2 tbls of dried meal worms
4 tbls of coconut oil (which I had to melt)
2 tbls of water
Mix together and serve!

I also found some info on mite prevention. If you put 1ml per bird per day of apple cidar vinegar in their water, it will seep into their blood and skin and prevent mites. Has anyone heard of this or tried it?

 

[Teila]

Hey Chook Newby

Thank you for the recipe!

I use ACV [with mother] and have done for three years for the following reasons:
* It apparently maintains a good pH balance in their digestive system and makes it a little uncomfortable for worms to live in. So while not an actual wormer, it can be a deterrent.
* It can act as an antiseptic killing bacteria in their throat and is reported to keep bacteria out of their water. I know it is recommended to people with sinus issues also.
* Some think it increases egg production but I can't comment on that because I only have bantams who spend more time broody or moulting than they do laying

I had not heard about the mite thing though .. I am also interested to hear from others.

 

[Chook Newby]

Hey Chook Newby

Thank you for the recipe!

I use ACV [with mother] and have done for three years for the following reasons:
* It apparently maintains a good pH balance in their digestive system and makes it a little uncomfortable for worms to live in. So while not an actual wormer, it can be a deterrent.
* It can act as an antiseptic killing bacteria in their throat and is reported to keep bacteria out of their water. I know it is recommended to people with sinus issues also.
* Some think it increases egg production but I can't comment on that because I only have bantams who spend more time broody or moulting than they do laying

I had not heard about the mite thing though .. I am also interested to hear from others.

Hi Teila!

Could I ask, what is AVC [with Mother]? I really dont want my girls to get worms

 

[Teila]

Hey Chook Newby

Sorry, ACV is Apple Cider Vinegar but it must have the mother to be effective. I use Macro Organic Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar which contains the natural culture ‘mother of vinegar’, a living mixture of beneficial bacteria, minerals and enzymes.

Not all are ACV fans so it really does come down to a personal choice and as I mentioned, it is not a wormer but hopefully a help in prevention between wormings, which I still do.

It is about $4.50 to $5.00 for 500ml, so not cheap, but I believe other brands can be purchased cheaper in bulk. It is available at our local Woolworths, so easy just to include in the weekly shop if needed.



It is contraindicated on extremely hot days.