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

[satay]

That's true Annie.
Some pics of the youngsters today. Glorious day, at last!

I really need to come for a visit. I forget what it is like to walk on lovely green grass. The little grass i have left now is crunchy brown under foot. Love the silkies.

 

[satay]

Ah ha! http://www.heraldsun.com.au/technol...d/news-story/9cdc15a00a6e044667caf064334e6ffd

We had them too everywhere on Saturday.

 

[satay]

Thanks, for awhile there I thought you might have been talking about New Zealand, but I wasn't sure if it was even considered part of "Australia" 

Nope , The new zealanders are their own country.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I really need to come for a visit. I forget what it is like to walk on lovely green grass. The little grass i have left now is crunchy brown under foot. Love the silkies.

Hehe, you'd be welcome anytime. I'm sure we'd have some gumboots to fit you. It rained so hard night before last, that I couldn't sleep.
Our visitors usually say, " omg I can't believe how green your grass is " . By the time they are leaving they are saying " geez it rains a lot here " . I laugh and say " well you can't have one without the other, goes with the territory " .

 

[Chook Newby]

Morning everyone

HELP! I'm hoping all you chookie experts can give me some advise and share your experiences with me...

I have my first Broody girl!

I have done lots of research and believe I know what I need to do as I have already tried a couple of things with no success. But I would like to hear your opinions and techniques.

As you can see from the below picture, Polly is pulling out her tummy feathers as well.

Although she growls at me, she still lets me pick her up and 'toss' her out of the coop for a little wonder around the yard. As soon as I turn my back she hops back in there and sits down in her spot again. This concerns me as I work full time and can not be there during the week days to kick her out. I can't close up the coop either because the other girls need to lay in there.

I look foraward to hearing your stories and receiving your advice!

 

[appps]

Morning everyone HELP! I'm hoping all you chookie experts can give me some advise and share your experiences with me... I have my first Broody girl! I have done lots of research and believe I know what I need to do as I have already tried a couple of things with no success. But I would like to hear your opinions and techniques. As you can see from the below picture, Polly is pulling out her tummy feathers as well. Although she growls at me, she still lets me pick her up and 'toss' her out of the coop for a little wonder around the yard. As soon as I turn my back she hops back in there and sits down in her spot again. This concerns me as I work full time and can not be there during the week days to kick her out. I can't close up the coop either because the other girls need to lay in there. I look foraward to hearing your stories and receiving your advice!

Just put a barricade up one end so she is stuck up and away from the nest box then when you get home (anytime after about 4:30pm) lock the nest box and let her join the others. I just used cheap plastic wire from Bunnings and tomato stakes. Doesn't matter how you achieve it but to break her she has to have ZERO access to the nest box for 3-4 days. No taking on and off and no letting her sleep in it. I've got two in my temporary run at the moment which is good because yesterday I had 3!

Ps. I've since added a second row of the plastic wire hanging down from the top because the australorps were smart enough to work out they could fly over. The others were all too silly till they came along

 

[Teila]

Hey Chook Newby

While I do not have as many broodies as some on this thread, I do have some experience with determined broodies

I have two words for you ‘broody breaker’.

This is a wire bottomed crate, raised slightly off the ground to allow air flow. Nothing but food and water in there and a perch if you so desire. The idea is not only to cool down those hormones but make her a little uncomfortable in that she can not snuggle down and brood.

It can take 2-3 days in broody jail before they break and sometimes even more if they are fully determined.

I do not leave my broodies in there overnight and pop them on the roost with their friends at dusk, having blocked off the nest boxes just in case she feels the need to jump down. Next morning I get out there bright and early, pop her back in the breaker and open up the nest boxes for the others.

If I am home and can watch them, I sometimes just let her free range with the others, keeping the coop and run closed. But, of course, you need to be home to do that because you will need to let in those who do need to lay and back out again.

appps does not use a broody breaker but has a separate run with no nest in sight that she pops her broodies into. That also works if you have the room. [Edited to Add that I see appps posted around the same time

].

There are some who say that cold water baths and ice bottles in the nest box work also but for me, the broody breaker is the quickest and easiest method by far. Trying to keep her out of nest boxes and let others in, constantly taking her out etc is stressful for both her and you.

This one is not wire bottomed [it was a back up because my wire bottomed one was in use

] but the air flow was still good and the ground is a little rocky so she could not get too comfortable. This was also taken just before I moved her because her shade was moving. But it gives you the idea:



This is my wire bottomed breaker that I picked up at a garage sale for $20 which is now my main breaker:



This is also an example of a broody run .. she has no access to the coop and nest box. That was a good system I used to use but sadly the new coop and run took up the space.

 

[Chook Newby]

Thank you so much Appps and Teila

I'm a little reluctant to block her off with fencing because yesterday after I 'kicked her out' of the coop yesterday, I came back 20 mins later to find her desperatly trying to get back in by flying up on top of it! If she had flown 1.5 metres more, she would have been over the back fence! That scared me.

I tried popping her in a cold water bath yesterday - twice - she wasnt very impressed so I gave that away as she got too stresssed.

I think the way to go is the 'broody breaker'. I just need to find the wire bottom cage. So can I just ask, do I keep her in the cage all day, every day for 3 days and just put her on her roost at night with the others? My biggest concern is that she will get really stressed from being confined?

Love both your chicken areas BTW

 

[Fizzybelle]

Hi Chook Newby, All the best with breaking your broody. I granted my pekin Esmé parole from broody gaol today, though my D'Uccle Beatrice has now reoffended. Half victory. I would try putting your girl in a fenced off area during the day, and the cage at night. A fan also helps to spread the cool air, plus it's hot already. If she's flying though, and you're unable to put her in a small run that has a roof of sorts, then maybe just keep her in the cage until she's snapped out of it. Since she's broody, she'll likely just sit down anyway. All you can do is try and see how it goes

I've tried the water thing too, with no success. Just a wet and angry broody.

Satay, 40 degree days already? Dang

I was wondering what do you do to keep your girls cool, especially at night. Do you have fans in your coop? I'm curious to hear what everyone else does to keep their girls cool day and night. I'm looking to run a pedestal fan into my coop when we get power to the shed as they're panting already. I had one case of heat stroke last year (ended well thankfully), don't want another ever again.

 

[SilkieChickStar]

Hope everyone is well, 3and a bit weeks on and my little jellybeans are starting to look more like green cheeks. They are so incredibly sweet at this age