Bad Luck Bantams

[AnneGirlGG]

Sexing day-old, non-sex-linked chicks involves squeezing them so that the males' gonads pop out the back -visible to the "professional sexer." That's why there's a 10% error rate. It's hard to hold a wriggling chick just right, especially when they're rolling by quickly on a conveyor belt. It's also why it's not recommended to try this at home unless you're properly trained ... and why most places sell only straight run bantams. Sexed bantams have a significantly low survival rate!

Yeah I've read up on how they do it. And every so often, I've seen people asking if they killed their chick by trying to do it at home after warching a youtube video. Yeah, probably...

I absolutely know that some people can't have or don't want males and that's why sexed birds are appealing. So I'm not knocking the overall practice. In my case, we can have roosters and if we have any we need to sell, I will. If not, we'll make other arrangements, whatever those may be. I'll keep getting straight run.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Obvs feel free to ignore if this isn't helpful, but have you tried just being around, either in the run or somewhere close by, and acting like everything's normal and the excavator isn't even there? Bringing special treats and sitting with them trying to be reassuring might actually be having the opposite effect, especially if you're already feeling anxious or upset about either the noise or the chickens' reactions. (This is not a criticism of you personally! People have thoughts and feelings and animals can pick up on those, it's just how life works.)

Of course it's helpful!

Unfortunately, it's been somewhat attempted. I left them to deal with it the first day. Only noticed a problem 45 minutes in, when they were huddled in a corner. That's when I went out with "treats" (their whole grain mash). I was maybe a couple hours earlier than I would normally be, but this is part of our routine. I do sit with them quite a bit on a regular day. Second day, I was already there cleaning the coop. I let them try and work it out while I finished, but they were struggling. Yesterday (day 3), I just went out and grabbed them. Poppy was already screaming for the carrier, which she does when I bring them inside for heatwaves. She seems to understand that carrier = rescue to the basement.

I'm sure they can pick up on the murderous rage emanating off me, but what can I do. I'm 30% Irish on a DNA test. And I think the difference between chicken interest and fear is having the choice to leave. Mine have no choice in the run. They're locked against the hill while he works.

Appreciate you weighing in. I could work on desensitizing them to it, but I also have this fear that too much stress will spell disaster for the flock. I would prefer things fail on their own accord, or by our choice. Not because of bad timing with my neighbor. But it is what it is.

 

[MROO]

That's been my experience across multiple flocks too, they always want to "help" when someone's using power tools or heavy machinery.

Mine do the same thing. DS thinks they like the feel of the vibrations in the ground.

 

[thecatumbrella]

~ STUPID QUESTIONS ~​

This is far from ideal, but I could allow the flock to continue having a secondary home in our basement while we wait out the neighbor. The weather is mild enough that they should not have issues being moved between enclosures. I would default to their outdoor pen and have them sleep in the coop. Biggest problems (that I can predict):

• Egg laying. Everyone will want to lay in the coop, but the timing for that doesn't always work out. Hornet is my only layer right now, and she was SCREAMING downstairs to get back to her nest box. I do provide an alternative in the basement, but it's obviously not the same. Not 100% sure how to handle this, or if chickens are even capable of adapting to lay in two different areas.
• Proximity. 3x8 is a far cry from 9x18. It's akin to being locked in a conventional coop. How long until we see behavioral problems...
• Enrichment. I'm planning to build some elevated perches, but there will be no dust bathing opportunities. I'm already fighting dust with drop cloths and air purifiers. So if they don't take the opportunity while they're outside, they miss out. In fact, their dust bath was interrupted yesterday by the construction.
• Mites/Lice. My mother-in-law had her home infested with bird mites after some nested in her attic. So yeah, I'm a bit paranoid. The chickens do get monthly health checks, but that's little reassure to someone like myself. Current brooder is a watertight stock tank filled with chicken sand. Is there something better I should be using? Should I grease the sides (joking)? Should I swap to a bedding that can be more easily changed out? The sand is almost zero dust and very easy to clean... and it was an investment. I'd like to keep using it, but could be convinced to switch.

These are my thoughts for the day. How can I make the basement more accommodating? My husband's going to try and flag them down the next time they're working to get a better timeline. Are they going to bang this out in a week? Or will they just putter here and there over several months? That should help shape our decision.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

~ STUPID QUESTIONS ~​

This is far from ideal, but I could allow the flock to continue having a secondary home in our basement while we wait out the neighbor. The weather is mild enough that they should not have issues being moved between enclosures. I would default to their outdoor pen and have them sleep in the coop. Biggest problems (that I can predict):

• Egg laying. Everyone will want to lay in the coop, but the timing for that doesn't always work out. Hornet is my only layer right now, and she was SCREAMING downstairs to get back to her nest box. I do provide an alternative in the basement, but it's obviously not the same. Not 100% sure how to handle this, or if chickens are even capable of adapting to lay in two different areas.
• Proximity. 3x8 is a far cry from 9x18. It's akin to being locked in a conventional coop. How long until we see behavioral problems...
• Enrichment. I'm planning to build some elevated perches, but there will be no dust bathing opportunities. I'm already fighting dust with drop cloths and air purifiers. So if they don't take the opportunity while they're outside, they miss out. In fact, their dust bath was interrupted yesterday by the construction.
• Mites/Lice. My mother-in-law had her home infested with bird mites after some nested in her attic. So yeah, I'm a bit paranoid. The chickens do get monthly health checks, but that's little reassure to someone like myself. Current brooder is a watertight stock tank filled with chicken sand. Is there something better I should be using? Should I grease the sides (joking)? Should I swap to a bedding that can be more easily changed out? The sand is almost zero dust and very easy to clean... and it was an investment. I'd like to keep using it, but could be convinced to switch.

These are my thoughts for the day. How can I make the basement more accommodating? My husband's going to try and flag them down the next time they're working to get a better timeline. Are they going to bang this out in a week? Or will they just putter here and there over several months? That should help shape our decision.

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The mites part freaked me right out! I've never had birds nest in the house/attic anywhere, but that sounds terrible!

It sounds like it could be plausible. I mean, I've got all of mine in the guest room. It's far from ideal, but it is what it is after we decided some safety modifications needed to be done on the coop. Then weather delays, etc. I would rather have them in here and me carry them back and forth for outside time than lose them the first night to a raccoon.

I definitely think the added enrichment is a great idea. Have you looked into things like large parrot perches and toys? They're the same size or even bigger than bantams, so that could work.

 

[thecatumbrella]

The mites part freaked me right out! I've never had birds nest in the house/attic anywhere, but that sounds terrible!

It sounds like it could be plausible. I mean, I've got all of mine in the guest room. It's far from ideal, but it is what it is after we decided some safety modifications needed to be done on the coop. Then weather delays, etc. I would rather have them in here and me carry them back and forth for outside time than lose them the first night to a raccoon.

I definitely think the added enrichment is a great idea. Have you looked into things like large parrot perches and toys? They're the same size or even bigger than bantams, so that could work.

I think mites are more problematic if you have a nest. The birds eventually vacate, so the mites look for new hosts. You'd think any on the chickens would stay on the chickens. Who knows. It's the risk of bringing livestock indoors, I guess. Mites aren't as bad as bed bugs, but it's close and does some real psychological damage.

Parrot stuff is a good idea. I'll need to start searching online, because the stuff at Petco wouldn't last 10 minutes with a chicken. It's all soft, colorful wood blocks and dangling strands. My birds will hammer into pressure treated wood like freaking woodpeckers.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

I think mites are more problematic if you have a nest. The birds eventually vacate, so the mites look for new hosts. You'd think any on the chickens would stay on the chickens. Who knows. It's the risk of bringing livestock indoors, I guess. Mites aren't as bad as bed bugs, but it's close and does some real psychological damage.

Parrot stuff is a good idea. I'll need to start searching online, because the stuff at Petco wouldn't last 10 minutes with a chicken. It's all soft, colorful wood blocks and dangling strands. My birds will hammer into pressure treated wood like freaking woodpeckers.

I can imagine. I'm a neat freak and I clean obsessively. I could not do bugs like that in my house.

Lol yeah you need some heavy duty parrot stuff, it sounds like.

My husband built an incredibly basic roosting bar from leftover ends of the 2x4s he used to build the coop frame. But it's about 2 feet high, which is what height I read a lot of bantam breeds like to roost at, but we'll see.

 

[thecatumbrella]

My husband built an incredibly basic roosting bar from leftover ends of the 2x4s he used to build the coop frame. But it's about 2 feet high, which is what height I read a lot of bantam breeds like to roost at, but we'll see.

That's about what my pole tree is set to. If things are too high, there's a risk of bumblefoot from hard landings. 18-24" seems to be a sweet spot for mine. High enough that Poppy can't pick at your poopy bum feathers (thanks for the heads up, Poppy), but low enough to get up and down easily. They use it quite a bit!

And for anyone that doesn't know, it's suggested to leave an equal amount of clearing in front of the roost for landings. So 24" high roost = 24" deep landing pad in front of it. Chickens can kind of plop down directly, but again, it's better to use their wings to soften the landing.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

That's about what my pole tree is set to. If things are too high, there's a risk of bumblefoot from hard landings. 18-24" seems to be a sweet spot for mine. High enough that Poppy can't pick at your poopy bum feathers (thanks for the heads up, Poppy), but low enough to get up and down easily. They use it quite a bit!

And for anyone that doesn't know, it's suggested to leave an equal amount of clearing in front of the roost for landings. So 24" high roost = 24" deep landing pad in front of it. Chickens can kind of plop down directly, but again, it's better to use their wings to soften the landing.

I figure I'll watch mine closely, and if the roost bar heights seem too much at first, we'll build a couple that are lower until they grow.

And yes, great information to add. They need an LZ, lol.

 

[BDutch]

Thank you for sharing! Sexing by color is definitely my preferred option when it's possible.

I seem to have gotten pretty lucky with straight run this year. But I'm not clueless enough to think I'll be that lucky every time. My neighbor had awful luck with her straight run RIRs. 7/7 are male, and they are mean.

FYI:
I bought bantam Amrock eggs last year. Thinking it would be easy to sex them after hatch. But it wasn’t.

Reading more about sexing Bantam Amrocks I learned that these are harder to distinguish than the normal sized Amrocks.