Australians - Where are you all????

[MyHaven]

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IM FROM BUNDABERG QLD AUSTRALIA I Breed mostly Polish But do breed Silkies Hamburg's Wyandotte And starting Brahma and Cochin and Faverolles Cheers For The AUSSIES !!!!!

[/quote Well hello from Brisbane, that's a nice mix. How do the Faverolles behave?

 

[diamond3girl]

Could somebody tell me pleeeeease why my girl has stopped laying and is sitting on my other girls egg all day? ?? (i take her off it but she sits all day even when i take the other girls egg)

 

[tillyita]

She has gone broody on you. You can either give her some fertile eggs to sit on or you can use one of the many methods available for "curing" a broody hen. I generally put mine in a cage with nowhere to sit (on the ground) and nothing to make a nest with. I provide a perch and if I can, I put a rooster in with them so they don't want to "sit" on the ground (the rooster takes that as a personal invitation). After a couple of days they are "cured" of being broody.

Good luck - if you want more ideas there are plenty in the chicken section of this forum.

 

[MyHaven]

She has gone broody on you. You can either give her some fertile eggs to sit on or you can use one of the many methods available for "curing" a broody hen. I generally put mine in a cage with nowhere to sit (on the ground)  and nothing to make a nest with. I provide a perch and if I can, I put a rooster in with them so they don't want to "sit" on the ground (the rooster takes that as a personal invitation). After a couple of days they are "cured" of being broody.

Good luck - if you want more ideas there are plenty in the chicken section of this forum.

Hi Tillyita, I hadn't ever heard the rooster cure, I bet they snap out if it quickly.

I always use the cage, off the ground etc method that works generally in a couple of days.

I have a question for you.

I've got two clucky at the moment. The same two that keep going clucky every month or so. They generally lay every day (long enough for a decent sized clutch). I had one of the other girls lay under the mango tree one day and yesterday in my laundry basket in the house because she couldn't get to the favourite nest.

These birds aren't yet twelve months.

Here's your question - in your experience does giving them some eggs to hatch encourage future broodiness? Some people find it makes them worse and some better.

I can get some Orpington and Welsummer eggs at the moment and I am torn. This is the third day for both of them.

I can't remember having such clucky chooks. I expect a certain amount from purebreeds and especially from the Silkie but the Australorp is over the fence.

Cheers and thanks in advance.

 

[diamond3girl]

Can someone tell me how long my daisy can be safley off her fert eggs for? she wont get off unless i take her off so i pop a warm heat pad on them and force her to gree range for a while each dsu but is that necc?

 

[tillyita]

Can someone tell me how long my daisy can be safley off her fert eggs for? she wont get off unless i take her off so i pop a warm heat pad on them and force her to gree range for a while each dsu but is that necc?

Some hens don't leave the eggs at all (or only for a couple of minutes) some leave for a while. Generally it takes about 15 minutes for the core temperature of the egg to start to drop significantly - this can vary with the type of chicken (size of egg), where the nest is, what it is made out of and the outside temperature. When mine are brooding I usually feed the "mob" at the end of the day before locking them up for the night -I throw the feed out and turf the hen off the nest at the same time - that way I know she has something to eat. They usually act all indignant, go raid the food and have a drink/poo etc then head back in. This gives her some time out but the eggs don't cool eneough for it to be a problem. If she is sitting the rest of the time you shouldn't need the heat pad.

 

[tillyita]

Hi Tillyita, I hadn't ever heard the rooster cure, I bet they snap out if it quickly.

I always use the cage, off the ground etc method that works generally in a couple of days.

I have a question for you.

I've got two clucky at the moment. The same two that keep going clucky every month or so. They generally lay every day (long enough for a decent sized clutch). I had one of the other girls lay under the mango tree one day and yesterday in my laundry basket in the house because she couldn't get to the favourite nest.

These birds aren't yet twelve months.

Here's your question - in your experience does giving them some eggs to hatch encourage future broodiness? Some people find it makes them worse and some better.

I can get some Orpington and Welsummer eggs at the moment and I am torn. This is the third day for both of them.

I can't remember having such clucky chooks. I expect a certain amount from purebreeds and especially from the Silkie but the Australorp is over the fence.

Cheers and thanks in advance.

I've also used a pet rabbit in the past to do the same thing (before I had roosters).

In regards to the broodyness it sometimes does and sometimes doesn't - It really depends on the breed of chicken and their individual personalities - some breeds are more disposed to going broody than others (like the silky bantams and australorps). Generally I don't allow young hens to sit on their own eggs if I am going to allow them to brood I give them some eggs from an older chicken - simply because the young eggs can be (but aren't always) immature.

I generally will allow a young hen to go broody if she is that way inclined as it tends to extend the egg laying period of her life (better for me) and the eggs that they lay, after they are finnished with their chicks, tend to be a lot more mature (larger and better formed) than those that were laid before she went broody.

BTW I mostly have australorps - and those hens that go broody (and not all of them do) tend to be the ones that always go broody - those that don't won't. They are great mothers, but if you are planning to let them sit - don't let them do it in the main coop or any hen with the same tendencies will jump in on the act when the eggs start cheeping (I've had up to 5 hens trying to cram into a nesting box when the eggs start making noises) - and when they do - they all stop laying at the same time (of course!) and the chicks tend to get crushed in their shells.

That may or may not help you make up your mind.

 

[MyHaven]

I've also used a pet rabbit in the past to do the same thing (before I had roosters). In regards to the broodyness it sometimes does and sometimes doesn't - It really depends on the breed of chicken and their individual personalities - some breeds are more disposed to going broody than others (like the silky bantams and australorps). Generally I don't allow young hens to sit on their own eggs if I am going to allow them to brood I give them some eggs from an older chicken - simply because the young eggs can be (but aren't always) immature. I generally will allow a young hen to go broody if she is that way inclined as it tends to extend the egg laying period of her life (better for me) and the eggs that they lay, after they are finnished with their chicks, tend to be a lot more mature (larger and better formed) than those that were laid before she went broody. BTW I mostly have australorps - and those hens that go broody (and not all of them do) tend to be the ones that always go broody - those that don't won't. They are great mothers, but if you are planning to let them sit - don't let them do it in the main coop or any hen with the same tendencies will jump in on the act when the eggs start cheeping (I've had up to 5 hens trying to cram into a nesting box when the eggs start making noises) - and when they do - they all stop laying at the same time (of course!) and the chicks tend to get crushed in their shells. That may or may not help you make up your mind.

Tks. That was what I thought you'd say in regard to tendency. I'll have to ask my mum about the egg size and laying longer following a clutch. Interesting - I've never heard that one either. That particular Australorp does have small eggs by comparison. (Also pale pink with white speckles?? I've included a photo incase your interested???) One reason I got pure breeds was because they laid longer in life. So that is a good reason to do it. Thanks for advice. I have the set up for them with separate areas - at least for one. And I'm not sure I want two at a time??? Decisions, decisions. Mind you, the person advertising eggs hasn't answered his phone so it may be off to the cocky cage for both of them anyway.

 

[tillyita]

Tks. That was what I thought you'd say in regard to tendency. I'll have to ask my mum about the egg size and laying longer following a clutch. Interesting - I've never heard that one either. That particular Australorp does have small eggs by comparison. (Also pale pink with white speckles?? I've included a photo incase your interested???) One reason I got pure breeds was because they laid longer in life. So that is a good reason to do it.

Thanks for advice. I have the set up for them with separate areas - at least for one. And I'm not sure I want two at a time??? Decisions, decisions.

Mind you, the person advertising eggs hasn't answered his phone so it may be off to the cocky cage for both of them anyway.

What do you feed your girls? Those look like calcium spots (my term - I don't know what they are really called) are they raised or flush with the egg?

 

[MyHaven]

What do you feed your girls? Those look like calcium spots (my term - I don't know what they are really called) are they raised or flush with the egg?

Hi, so you think she's lacking? The spots are flush with the surface, not raised or lumpy. I feed Laying mash, shell grit, and scraps including their own shells back, plus various extra protein. The shell is lovely, thick and strong. She has always laid it. I haven't noticed her in the shell before she went clucky. I'd better look at it thanks.

BTW - My mum and Aunty 80 years old off a farm with chooks her we life hadn't heard about larger eggs and longer laying time for a hen after a clutch. Busier with milking than chicks I guess.