Australians - Where are you all????

[rexy]

 Re : Araucanas.  

Hi again .... My little Miss Perfect - Mindy Araucana, ain't so perfect at the moment.   She's gone broody on me.    Still laying an egg almost every day, but refuses to leave her nest, pecks me when I gather the egg, or get her off her nest - at which time she turns around and gets right back in again.   She growls and crows a little while sitting.    I have had a look through BYC with references to broodiness and how to cure it etc., and have seen a few suggestions that are interesting, but most likely for me, not practical.  Like hanging her in a wire bird or cockatoo cage for a couple of days, or sitting her on an ice pack ?  Don't like the sound of that much.   Dunking her in a cool bath sounds reasonable.   Three times a day ?     


My thoughts are - for when it stops raining - yes it's raining AGAIN here and the garden, everything -  is saturated    :   

a)   tip her nesting box up so she cannot access it - she will then find another spot to sit no doubt, but at least won't fry herself IF the weather gets very warm. 

b)   put 3 or so  large dummy eggs beneath her.   She is a small chicken and may not be comfortable on those, so hopefully will get off.    Would have to do that while the nesting box is still in it's proper place, and the weather is chilly.     She could though, just get out and make another nest !! 

c)   take her outside with her food, water and treats, into her run - and shut the coop away from her.   

d)   bring her inside to the bathroom at night with food, water and nothing but an empty plastic cat carrier - or even the bare tiles to sit in / on - to cool her down a bit ?    She most likely would roost on the bathtub edge which I wouldn't mind - it would at least be cool. 

Please - any thoughts, ideas or successes anyone has had for curing broodiness.    

Would much appreciate it ....

Cheers ...... AB

Hi Annie, I am not an expert. But I will try to help.

Firstly, Araucana's do go broody regularly. Hopefully only once a season.

Both your ideas a) and c) are good. My suggestion would be to shut her away from the nesting area during the day, and then as she needs somewhere to roost at night, let her in there but block off the nestboxes.

It does depend on how determined she is. You will find that out though.

Hope that helps a little bit.

 

[Buttenshaw Farm]

Hi Anniebee,
My Araucana went broody for 5 weeks, then finally was running around with the rest of the flock. Literally 3 days later she was back in the nesting box dying to hatch something out of thin-air. We ended up putting some day olds under her, she's SO happy and such an excellent mum. I am firm believer in the theory some chicks will be continually broody until their desires are full-filled.

Just another option for you if you have the room for chicks!

 

[Anniebee]

Hi Anniebee,
My Araucana went broody for 5 weeks, then finally was running around with the rest of the flock. Literally 3 days later she was back in the nesting box dying to hatch something out of thin-air. We ended up putting some day olds under her, she's SO happy and such an excellent mum. I am firm believer in the theory some chicks will be continually broody until their desires are full-filled.

Just another option for you if you have the room for chicks!

Quote : ( from Rexy )

Hi Annie, I am not an expert. But I will try to help.

Firstly, Araucana's do go broody regularly. Hopefully only once a season.

Both your ideas a) and c) are good. My suggestion would be to shut her away from the nesting area during the day, and then as she needs somewhere to roost at night, let her in there but block off the nestboxes.

It does depend on how determined she is. You will find that out though.

Hope that helps a little bit.

*********

Thank you so much for your helpful hints here - Rexy and Buttenshaw Farm. They are ideas to ponder and do.

Today I let her out ( carried her out that is, with much complaint and her version of savage pecks ) .... put her food, water and some scratch mix outside in her run for her .... and SHUT the coop. She clucked incessantly, upset my other two chooks - who are separated from her for good reason - she is NOT popular !! .... and they seem to know that something is amiss. Finally she day-time 'roosted' on a log, and at 6 pm I let her back into the coop - it was like giving her a whizz bang Chrissie present.

She was straight back into her nesting box and settled down. I expect an egg on inspection tomorrow. Will do the same ( weather permitting ) .... as I did today. Will also upend her nesting box in the next couple of days - so's she is not comfortable. But she WILL find a spot on the straw in her coop, or somewhere no doubt. Will just keep putting her outside until she gets over it all. FIVE WEEKS ? Sheesh .... I hope not.

Have considered getting some eggs to set underneath her ... preferably RIR eggs, as they are a consistent bird, and faithful as all get out .... do their best at all times .... and if she raised chicks, they would be with her forever ( minus any roo's ) in her home run. However, having to give smelling salts to hubby with that idea, was not funny ( only joking ). He shrieked and cackled like a demented chook. !!
'HOW MUCH IS THAT GOING TO COST ? " .... well - frankly it wouldn't cost a lot, as the only extra I would have to purchase would be chicken grower - then pullet grower .... and the remainder takes care of itself costing a little extra for the layer pellets, straw & wood chip floor covering. Just would have to find someone who has RIR eggs, is all .... not something easily come by I would imagine. I have no doubt she'd love them all to bits. She's that kind of chook ( I think ) ...

Oh wot fun - keeping chooks !! My Welsummer, with bright red comb, looking good, has not laid an egg in many weeks now - she stopped laying when she began growing feathers after a long moult. She squats as often as I go into the run .... but I cannot get the old ovulation started again ... ( if that's what I am supposed to do - I can hear you all laughing now

). Maybe she has quit the scene altogether - although she is only 2 years old ? hmmmm.

Thanks again for your helpful hints.

Cheers ..............AB.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

HELLO!!!!!! everyone!

Are there any White Leghorn Breeders here?!?!??!

 

[rexy]

HELLO!!!!!! everyone!

Are there any White Leghorn Breeders here?!?!??!

You really are bored, aren't you, Lucas?

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Quote:
Like you don't understand..............

!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahha!

 

[MyHaven]

Hi Donna, pleased to meet you and welcome. What kind of chicks do you have?

I just loved WA when I visited 20+ years ago.

Cheers

 

[MyHaven]

Don't talk to me about clucky chooks.

Fraidy (Australorp) and Silkie (Silkie) are 1 year old. They haven't had an adult moult. They lay 12 eggs and go clucky. Two - three days to break, a week plus to start laying again, lay twelve eggs and go clucky again.

So I tried the give them a clutch and see if that fixes them theory. Ah ah. Fraidy disinherited her babies at 6 weeks. She laid the next day to her credit. Laid me less than 12 eggs (not sure something has been getting my eggs, jolly crows.) and you guessed it, clucky again. This time I've loaned her out to hatch someone else's eggs as I'm not home much at the moment to check on a clucky in confinement.

You wouldn't believe it, Fraidy goes on holidays and the next time I walk outside her sister Lizy Taylor is on the nest and stuck there. I'll confine her on the weekend.

BTW - I think the chicks are about 10 weeks old and Silkie laid her first egg again yesterday. Yay!

AB: It normally only takes me two, three days top to break the clucky Fraidy and it would appear she's just one of those gals. I put her in an old cockatoo cage which has a 3inch stand so it does get air under it. Given what I know of you set up for Mindy. I'd just take her nest and anything out of her area that she can settle on. You don't want her to be confirm able to sit. I find it is best to break quickly before they go properly on the cluck and it doesn't take as long to actually break or get them laying again. As I worry about spilt water etc I don't confine mine if I'm not there to check on them. At these times I find they really don't come off the cluck by just lifting them off part of the day.

In the old days when all chooks went clucky sometime, my grandmother just had a separate coop on the ground for them all - no comforts except a perch. I think she kept them in for a week or so. But I can't really remember it was a very long time ago.

I personally couldn't do the ice or even the dunking. Although my neighbour who grew up on a commercial egg farm remembers her mum dunking them in a bucket of cold water for a quick fix. She says it worked every time.

Cheers to all

 

[Anniebee]

Don't talk to me about clucky chooks.

Fraidy (Australorp) and Silkie (Silkie) are 1 year old. They haven't had an adult moult. They lay 12 eggs and go clucky. Two - three days to break, a week plus to start laying again, lay twelve eggs and go clucky again.

So I tried the give them a clutch and see if that fixes them theory. Ah ah. Fraidy disinherited her babies at 6 weeks. She laid the next day to her credit. Laid me less than 12 eggs (not sure something has been getting my eggs, jolly crows.) and you guessed it, clucky again. This time I've loaned her out to hatch someone else's eggs as I'm not home much at the moment to check on a clucky in confinement.

You wouldn't believe it, Fraidy goes on holidays and the next time I walk outside her sister Lizy Taylor is on the nest and stuck there. I'll confine her on the weekend.

BTW - I think the chicks are about 10 weeks old and Silkie laid her first egg again yesterday. Yay!

AB: It normally only takes me two, three days top to break the clucky Fraidy and it would appear she's just one of those gals. I put her in an old cockatoo cage which has a 3inch stand so it does get air under it. Given what I know of you set up for Mindy. I'd just take her nest and anything out of her area that she can settle on. You don't want her to be confirm able to sit. I find it is best to break quickly before they go properly on the cluck and it doesn't take as long to actually break or get them laying again. As I worry about spilt water etc I don't confine mine if I'm not there to check on them. At these times I find they really don't come off the cluck by just lifting them off part of the day.

In the old days when all chooks went clucky sometime, my grandmother just had a separate coop on the ground for them all - no comforts except a perch. I think she kept them in for a week or so. But I can't really remember it was a very long time ago.

I personally couldn't do the ice or even the dunking. Although my neighbour who grew up on a commercial egg farm remembers her mum dunking them in a bucket of cold water for a quick fix. She says it worked every time.

Cheers to all

Oh my ... I have had to laugh ( or go nuts ) over this 'clucky' bizzo. I upended Mindy's nesting box - so she doesn't have that at the moment. 'Conned' her into eating quite a bit, by delivering her favourite mash ( and of course gave it to the others as well ) they go bananas over that .... and she has stayed outside in her run, is eating, drinking water, not trying to nest on any straw, and goes to roost on her normal perch early in the evening. She has always retired early. However - she never SHUTS UP. She clucks incessantly, still crows occasionally like a rooster, runs full pelt at Miss Ruby dog, (that's two chooks now that Miss Ruby has NOT got in her corner ) and is wafting her wings and fluffing herself up a lot. Still broody I think, but doesn't really know what to do about it I reckon.

She has quit laying. But I guess when she gets over all this 'heat' stuff, she might lay again - she's been a good layer. Dear Molly RIR has managed to deliver one egg in 4 days, and Mandy Welsummer is hopeless - and I think also broody now, but she too doesn't know quite what to do about all that. She has access to a nest, but is not inclined to go there and sit like Mindy did. Just makes a lot of clucking noises, squats at the drop of a hat. If I catch her nesting incessantly, I will have to remove her and bring her inside until she's over the problem. A friends' 8 Araucana's have all stopped laying, but he has not seen broodiness ------ YET ! He believes they are going into a moult. hmmmm !! Good luck to him !!

Your 'fun' with Fraidy and Lizy is priceless. On again, off again. Ye gods !
I seriously never knew there was so much to chicken keeping .... especially the fun with broodiness.

As long as they remain healthy, and relatively happy ?? that's the main thing for me. Hope all is well with you MyHaven.

Cheers ......... AB

 

[Nicky-the-witch]

Broody chooks - gotta love them!
I was waiting for my broody Nell (Australorp cross) to go broody again after her 1st hatch in Feb earlier this year. I ran out of patience and bought a couple of 10 day old lavender/grey Araucana chicks. Nell was fairly interested but pecked me away when I tried to slip them under her late that night - so into a makeshift brooder they went.
Next morning, Nell was resolutely sat on her nest - broody as you like! So I ordered the expensive eggs I had been wanting to hatch out with her. Today is day 11

So after wanting just a couple more birds to give me a multi-coloured egg basket - I seem to be on the way to being over run with chicks!
However, eggs were shipped from interstate and we have a couple of really hot days due next week (days 15&16) so perhaps I really an counting my chicks before they hatch!! lol
I will be thrilled if we get just a couple for Nell to raise.

Nell doing her thing - She is one grumpy chicken puddle when broody!


My 2 little chicks


My beautiful blue eggs.