Australorps breed Thread

[DeesHens]

Quote: Oh yeh RoseMarie1, I hear ya. My skin is very thin and so soft too that gloves are a must doing outdoor chores or hand feeding chickens. I buy the ladies gloves with nitrile fingers so they are more useful for picking up small things and also keep my fingers dry. With our wet climate it is a must. Can't recall when we had so much fog which makes absolutely everything wet outdoors whether covered or not as the air is full of tiny water particles. It is crazy.

I have been meaning to plant some grazing frames with winter wheat. Thanks for reminding me.

They have so much grass year around that they don't go crazy over it as much as the worms and bugs that invade the root system. I like to flip it out of the frame or just move it and let them go at it.

I have several large pots of alpine strawberries in their paddock now so it is fun to move them every few days so they can find whatever is hiding underneath.

As soon as I start doing it they come running. Also I have a small compost pile I move around daily for them. I get a big kick out of watching them discover "goodies". They love the tiny slugs they find. Gross to me but thankful they get rid of them. Wish I could put them in my fenced in raised garden area now but my Poms own that yard. Believe me, they would not take to my chickens invading their territory.

Later on this winter I may need to lock the dogs in the house for a couple hours and let the chickens do their work. Transporting them in a dog carrier now would be a job for my DH though. Might be fun.

We have deer netting over the top of our paddock to keep the eagles & hawks from dive bombing. I know if we have snow this winter it will destroy it. We don't often have snow but when we do it seems to hit during the night. During the day DH could shake it off unless it freezes on. I am going to speak with DH about your PVC pipe/tarp idea. We could not do the entire large size paddock but we plan to move the coop closer to the house for winter so could do that section as it is also next to the garage. They have a nice sized covered dust bath area there as well. We are always figuring out ideas to make there life more comfy.

Love my birds!

~Dee~

 

[DeesHens]

Hey Everyone!

On the subject of friendly vs aggressive birds.
I am wondering if it just isn't like dogs? What I mean is that you can get a dog from same litter and one may excel over the others with a more engaging personality. Of course I know the genetics do play a big part as well as environment especially early puppy days of development can make a huge difference. But sometimes it seems animals are born with a blueprint of what they will become no matter what.
Looking back I can see certain traits were always there with not only my animals but my kids too. LOL

~Dee~

 

[RoseMarie1]

Oh yeh RoseMarie1, I hear ya. My skin is very thin and so soft too that gloves are a must doing outdoor chores or hand feeding chickens. I buy the ladies gloves with nitrile fingers so they are more useful for picking up small things and also keep my fingers dry. With our wet climate it is a must. Can't recall when we had so much fog which makes absolutely everything wet outdoors whether covered or not as the air is full of tiny water particles. It is crazy.

I have been meaning to plant some grazing frames with winter wheat. Thanks for reminding me.

They have so much grass year around that they don't go crazy over it as much as the worms and bugs that invade the root system. I like to flip it out of the frame or just move it and let them go at it.

I have several large pots of alpine strawberries in their paddock now so it is fun to move them every few days so they can find whatever is hiding underneath.

As soon as I start doing it they come running. Also I have a small compost pile I move around daily for them. I get a big kick out of watching them discover "goodies". They love the tiny slugs they find. Gross to me but thankful they get rid of them. Wish I could put them in my fenced in raised garden area now but my Poms own that yard. Believe me, they would not take to my chickens invading their territory.

Later on this winter I may need to lock the dogs in the house for a couple hours and let the chickens do their work. Transporting them in a dog carrier now would be a job for my DH though. Might be fun.

We have deer netting over the top of our paddock to keep the eagles & hawks from dive bombing. I know if we have snow this winter it will destroy it. We don't often have snow but when we do it seems to hit during the night. During the day DH could shake it off unless it freezes on. I am going to speak with DH about your PVC pipe/tarp idea. We could not do the entire large size paddock but we plan to move the coop closer to the house for winter so could do that section as it is also next to the garage. They have a nice sized covered dust bath area there as well. We are always figuring out ideas to make there life more comfy.

Love my birds!

~Dee~

yep us to on the making their life more comfy. lol I bet they do have a blast in that compost and in the other goodie areas you fix for them. I laughed awhile ago at one of my rir hens because she was running across the yard with something dangling on the ground and several of the other girls were after what she had. I tried to take a closer look but she wouldn't have that either. I think it was a small snake because it was just too big around for a worm. Looked like it was about 6-8" long but I am surprised if it was a snake because the ground is a little cold now for them to be crawling. They went out into a new area today they haven't been going to. DH and I have been cleaning out the area and they seem to be liking that. It has lots of trees so I thought it would be GOOD cover protection this winter to let them forage in it. It was really grown up and he's been cutting all the under brush out. I've got several piles of leaves piled back there to go into their run to. I figured they'd have those scattered for me before I can get them into their run. They're soooo good at that.

Well the PVC pipe job is a TWO person job and DH wasn't here so I didn't get much done. Also Dee talking about the pvc over the top area Bee was the one that gave me the idea for that and she said to help strengthen it to tie it together with another pvc at the top or in the middle should I say. She said I could use those zip ties to tie it together with but I wonder how long those would hold up in this heat and humidity we have here in the south. Going to see how much those tee things run at Lowes because that's what I would need I guess to hook them all together at the middle so it would be sturdy. I did get my rye grass planted though.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Does anyone else have aggressive australorps? Mine like people...up to a point, but they torment my other chickens, especially the lonely welsummer pullet. In fact, everyone picks on her; she's at the bottom, very bottom, of the pecking order.

My Australorp Roo is aggressive toward the white bottom pecking order hen ..They must be able to tell colors ...as my baby flock sort themselves
3 Greys , 2 blacks , 2 blacks

Quote: So true Ron, so true. Later when I went back she was much nicer. Guess I just haven't came upon her at that exact pressing time of duty lately. She does keep me giggling.
Hand fed the girls some chard today. The leaves are getting tougher as the temperatures become colder. I am not looking forward to winter. Oh well. ~Dee~
I am sure that egg is somewhat uncomfortable coming down the shoot ...would make me grumpy !

 

[RoseMarie1]

My Australorp Roo is aggressive toward the white bottom pecking order hen ..They must be able to tell colors ...as my baby flock sort themselves
3 Greys , 2 blacks , 2 blacks
I am sure that egg is somewhat uncomfortable coming down the shoot ...would make me grumpy !

lol yeah I was out there the other day cleaning the pen when one of my rir's was on the nest. She was making some weird sounds and I just knew she was laying a double yolker or something but it was a normal sized one. So I was like that one must hurt coming through the shoot.

 

[thedragonlady]

Oh yeh RoseMarie1, I hear ya. My skin is very thin and so soft too that gloves are a must doing outdoor chores or hand feeding chickens. I buy the ladies gloves with nitrile fingers so they are more useful for picking up small things and also keep my fingers dry. With our wet climate it is a must. Can't recall when we had so much fog which makes absolutely everything wet outdoors whether covered or not as the air is full of tiny water particles. It is crazy.

I have been meaning to plant some grazing frames with winter wheat. Thanks for reminding me.

They have so much grass year around that they don't go crazy over it as much as the worms and bugs that invade the root system. I like to flip it out of the frame or just move it and let them go at it.

I have several large pots of alpine strawberries in their paddock now so it is fun to move them every few days so they can find whatever is hiding underneath.

As soon as I start doing it they come running. Also I have a small compost pile I move around daily for them. I get a big kick out of watching them discover "goodies". They love the tiny slugs they find. Gross to me but thankful they get rid of them. Wish I could put them in my fenced in raised garden area now but my Poms own that yard. Believe me, they would not take to my chickens invading their territory.

Later on this winter I may need to lock the dogs in the house for a couple hours and let the chickens do their work. Transporting them in a dog carrier now would be a job for my DH though. Might be fun.

We have deer netting over the top of our paddock to keep the eagles & hawks from dive bombing. I know if we have snow this winter it will destroy it. We don't often have snow but when we do it seems to hit during the night. During the day DH could shake it off unless it freezes on. I am going to speak with DH about your PVC pipe/tarp idea. We could not do the entire large size paddock but we plan to move the coop closer to the house for winter so could do that section as it is also next to the garage. They have a nice sized covered dust bath area there as well. We are always figuring out ideas to make there life more comfy.

Love my birds!

~Dee~

Dee, Take a look at my page, and see the monofilament lines I use for Hawk protection. These are 40 lb. test lines that cover about 1/2 acre.Leaves , snow, and ice do not foul these lines. They have done a great job for me. All my hydrangea bushes in the orchard under those lines have bird netting which the bushes have grown through. That gives the Orps another level of protection.

 

[DeesHens]

Quote:
Must have been hilarious watching your girl run with the snake thing. It was a very strange sight for me watching Betsy Barr Rock gobble down a section of garter snake. Saw it for the first time last summer myself after DH mowed. She stretched out her neck with her beak skyward to get it down. Good grief! That was totally weird looking. Yesterday Bella found a centipede under the compost and ate it. I was a bit concerned as I thought they have poison in them but she is alright today so no harm. She eats anything so I suppose I am learning to trust her judgment. LOL

The T connectors would be longer lasting for sure I agree. Probably make a stronger frame and think they are affordable too. Free is always better but sometimes weighing the labor investment against paying a bit is a better deal in the long run. Good on you for getting the rye grass planted & good on your DH for clearing the under brush. Your flock is in for some good stuff.

~Dee~

 

[DeesHens]

Quote: So true Ron, so true. Later when I went back she was much nicer. Guess I just haven't came upon her at that exact pressing time of duty lately. She does keep me giggling.
Hand fed the girls some chard today. The leaves are getting tougher as the temperatures become colder. I am not looking forward to winter. Oh well. ~Dee~
I am sure that egg is somewhat uncomfortable coming down the shoot ...would make me grumpy !

ROFL!

Gramma Chick, have you ever noticed that some children cry louder than others during the same vaccination. I think Peppa has a case of the "cry baby". LOL I have never had a hen that put up such a big fuss before so was not use to it. hee hee. But yes, point well taken.

~Dee~

 

[DeesHens]

Quote: Thanks thedragonlady. I shared your pic and comment with my project manager. My DH is coming up with some ideas and appreciates the input as well. Helps to spark some thinking for our situation for sure.
Sure looked like a cold day in your pic with all that snow and ice last year. BRRRRRR! Great how well your set up worked. ~Dee~

 

[RoseMarie1]

Must have been hilarious watching your girl run with the snake thing. It was a very strange sight for me watching Betsy Barr Rock gobble down a section of garter snake. Saw it for the first time last summer myself after DH mowed. She stretched out her neck with her beak skyward to get it down. Good grief! That was totally weird looking. Yesterday Bella found a centipede under the compost and ate it. I was a bit concerned as I thought they have poison in them but she is alright today so no harm. She eats anything so I suppose I am learning to trust her judgment. LOL

The T connectors would be longer lasting for sure I agree. Probably make a stronger frame and think they are affordable too. Free is always better but sometimes weighing the labor investment against paying a bit is a better deal in the long run. Good on you for getting the rye grass planted & good on your DH for clearing the under brush. Your flock is in for some good stuff.

~Dee~

Thank you Dee.
I bet that was a hoot watching her down that thing.