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

[LuckysMum]

Fancy Sorry to hear about you silkies. Hopefully it won't get to hot now. It's nice to hear Tassie has it right for tourism. I am hoping to get there one day.
Hi Teila I hope you get some rain, we had 110ml the last week and some lovely cool weather, but its heating up again. I'll cross my fingers that Cilla stays off the nest for a while now. I had an australorp that was broody, eventually got her off. You wonder how the cope with the heat when they sit on the nest in high temps.

 

[crazyroosterlady]

I've already posted this on the random ramblings forum but I was suggested to post it here too -
So I've been moving around a lot and Baffy my rooster lives at my grandparents in the coop with the other chickens and is angry that I don't live there anymore and he's forced to be an actual chicken (he was hand raised by me and dislikes coops).

He gets very excited when I come visit of course but when I put him back in the pen he pecks me (I actually have a scar on my face now cause he got me good and I lost a chunk of my ear another time) poor (violent angry) baby

So, I'm moving to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia soon and was looking into boarding him on a property near by cause ya know, he crows all day everyday and it's noise pollution

(why must he be a boy).
If anyone reading this lives in the Brisbane area and is willing to take him in for a while I would be INCREDIBLY grateful <3

I did look into possibly getting him caponized (basically desexing for roosters) but apparently chicken testicles are located inside their body (under the backbone between the lower two ribs) and the operation has a 5% death rate and the birds rarely are but under anaesthetic and infection are common that it stops the crowing AND it's banned in the UK because of the cruelty so, yeah, I scrapped that idea unless I can get a trained vet to do it safely and with low risk and anaesthetic. (http://www.humanesociety.org/…/HSUS-Report-on-Caponization.…)

There's also decrowing which works by severing the vocal cords but this also has a high death rate and heaps of complications post surgery and only works some of the time as well not to mention the mental toll a rooster that can't crow is not worth it and it just seems incredibly cruel. (think of it like de-barking a dog) (http://animals.mom.me/how-to-stop-a-rooster-from-crowing-27…)

BUT

While I was looking up chicken sanctuary's tonight, one lady told me about Cock-Collars (insert inappropriate joke here)

They basically work by being "worn snug around the rooster’s lower neck without altering their ability to communicate or behave in any other different way except lowering their crow in the morning and throughout the day. rooster collars prevents roosters from pushing out contents they have inhaled all at once, which produces a softer less powerful crow, while still allowing your rooster to function and perform normally" (http://www.cockcollars.com.au/)
So yeah I'm gonna give that a try and if it works i may be able to keep Baffy in the city with me if I can find a suitable place!!!

If you guys have any suggestions it'd be greatly appreciated!

Thanks if you got through this incredibly long and over explained post, I originally posted it on Facebook on Baffy's page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/baffythechicken/posts/?ref=page_internal) so I explained a lot of terms that people not part of a dedicated poultry forum possible wouldn't know

 

[mareeirene]

Hi i'm a Aussie from outer Melbourne , my question is, i have two Isa Brown chooks , and they are so fussy with food and have distinct dislikes , i was getting very worried with them because they were not eating their layer pellets like they should , i tried different brands all to no avail and then my son suggested making the pellets wet and bingo they demolished them , but is this okay , is it harmful at all to them , thanks

 

[mareeirene]

Another question too , does anyone have any Hyline chickens , i saw them on Gardening Australia and they look similar to Isa Browns but better Thanks

 

[Fancychooklady]

I've already posted this on the random ramblings forum but I was suggested to post it here too -
So I've been moving around a lot and Baffy my rooster lives at my grandparents in the coop with the other chickens and is angry that I don't live there anymore and he's forced to be an actual chicken (he was hand raised by me and dislikes coops).

He gets very excited when I come visit of course but when I put him back in the pen he pecks me (I actually have a scar on my face now cause he got me good and I lost a chunk of my ear another time) poor (violent angry) baby

So, I'm moving to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia soon and was looking into boarding him on a property near by cause ya know, he crows all day everyday and it's noise pollution

(why must he be a boy).
If anyone reading this lives in the Brisbane area and is willing to take him in for a while I would be INCREDIBLY grateful <3

I did look into possibly getting him caponized (basically desexing for roosters) but apparently chicken testicles are located inside their body (under the backbone between the lower two ribs) and the operation has a 5% death rate and the birds rarely are but under anaesthetic and infection are common that it stops the crowing AND it's banned in the UK because of the cruelty so, yeah, I scrapped that idea unless I can get a trained vet to do it safely and with low risk and anaesthetic. (http://www.humanesociety.org/…/HSUS-Report-on-Caponization.…)

There's also decrowing which works by severing the vocal cords but this also has a high death rate and heaps of complications post surgery and only works some of the time as well not to mention the mental toll a rooster that can't crow is not worth it and it just seems incredibly cruel. (think of it like de-barking a dog) (http://animals.mom.me/how-to-stop-a-rooster-from-crowing-27…)

BUT

While I was looking up chicken sanctuary's tonight, one lady told me about Cock-Collars (insert inappropriate joke here)

They basically work by being "worn snug around the rooster’s lower neck without altering their ability to communicate or behave in any other different way except lowering their crow in the morning and throughout the day. rooster collars prevents roosters from pushing out contents they have inhaled all at once, which produces a softer less powerful crow, while still allowing your rooster to function and perform normally" (http://www.cockcollars.com.au/)
So yeah I'm gonna give that a try and if it works i may be able to keep Baffy in the city with me if I can find a suitable place!!!

If you guys have any suggestions it'd be greatly appreciated!

Thanks if you got through this incredibly long and over explained post, I originally posted it on Facebook on Baffy's page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/baffythechicken/posts/?ref=page_internal) so I explained a lot of terms that people not part of a dedicated poultry forum possible wouldn't know

Hello and welcome. Seems like you've done your homework. I would try posting on your local FB Poultry site to see if you can find him a nice rural property with girls of his own.
You could try the ' no crow collar ' in conjunction with a 'night box' ( bird is kept in a low clearance box , so he can't stretch up to crow until mid morning ). A word of warning on the collars , they are not designed for backyards with lots of trees or objects that the bird can get caught on and choke.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Hi i'm a Aussie from outer Melbourne , my question is, i have two Isa Brown chooks , and they are so fussy with food and have distinct dislikes , i was getting very worried with them because they were not eating their layer pellets like they should , i tried different brands all to no avail and then my son suggested making the pellets wet and bingo they demolished them , but is this okay , is it harmful at all to them , thanks

Making a mash with pellets is fine, just make them enough to eat in one serve though as it can go mouldy and rancid if left laying around. There are some companies that make ' micro ' pellets , I mix these 50/50 with a free range grain . In regards to your question on isa browns , try googling Andy Vardy 's noticeboard and follow the links to your state.

 

[mareeirene]

Making a mash with pellets is fine, just make them enough to eat in one serve though as it can go mouldy and rancid if left laying around. There are some companies that make ' micro ' pellets , I mix these 50/50 with a free range grain . In regards to your question on isa browns , try gooldling Andy Vardy 's noticeboard and follow the links to your state.

 

[mareeirene]

Thankyou Fancychooklady very helpful !!

 

[LuckysMum]

mareeirene
crazyroosterlady

 

[Anniebee]

Sparky74 ... been ages since I visited here ( not getting notifications at all now ) but want to say I feel for your loss of chickens to foxes. ... These cunning, ( but beautiful looking ) creatures, do hunt during the day time, so chickens are always at risk. As for 'marking your territory' ... if you are a man ( I have no way of knowing what your gender is ) ... then go for it. They usually avoid the smell of human male urine - however, female human urine is ignored and of no use. I have no idea why that is.

Just have a pee or ask ( if a lady ) someone willing, to provide some good sized samples, and spray it around all areas that a fox might climb, burrow, or dig around ... fences / gates in particular.

Good luck in the future. You have to 'out-think' a fox.