BDutch's bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 🪺 🪺 and #6

[BDutch]

Yesterday I asked @abpatchy : “Do you have any idea what gender the chick is from this photo of Tintin. 12-13 days old. “

She has been breeding Sulmtalers and suspects its a little boy.

 

[BDutch]

I have been discussing the boyhood and what to do with Tintin if he’s is a boy.

The hens wont mind if I keep Tintin when he is young cockerel

This creates 2 new possibilities:
1. buy 6 hatchery eggs in May if I have another broody (and try to please someone else with a young cockerel).
2. keep Tintin til he’s old enough to fertilise some eggs. And try to hatch his offspring mid august/september. A bit late but not impossible. (nice to keep him as long as no-one gets bothered by his crowing).

For the reactions go to … Peeps in Europe
A summary will follow below.

 

[BDutch]

When Tintin grows up to be a young/teenager boy:
Its a possibility to keep Tintin in the large nestbox/mini coop overnight where he sleeps now with his mothers. I have a roost for that mini-coop. And I could add some sound isolation to the ceiling muffle the crow a bit.

If I pick him up from the roost as soon as he starts to roost with the adults he probably won’t know any better.

 

[BDutch]

Wonderfull news and stupid news about Ini mini.

Yesterday something stupid happened when I was mowing the lawn (small grass field) when the 4 not broodies were free ranging.
I had a mower-container filled with grass clippings to ad a bit of fresh grass in the run and the coop. When I passed the coop Ini mini was coming towards me and that very moment the container fell down on her. I had only the handle of the container in my hand and Ini mini squeaked loudly. She walked away from the coop but squeaked on and off for about 5 minutes. She must have had pain, but she seems all right. Still walking normally.
The click system of the handle on the container is very flimsy and it just couldn’t take the weight. FYI: its a Bosch mower with charging system we bought last year.

The good news is: Ini mini is laying again! Next month she will be 10 and her winter stops get longer every year. I suspected that she was laying before but yesterday I was certain. I had 4 small eggs from 4 small chickens! One slightly bigger from Janice, one more creamy from Pearl and 2 small white ones from Ini mini and Black.

I had seen her in the lobby in front of the preferred laying nest, probably waiting her turn to get to the preferred nest.
Gathering eggs I had 2 small white ones before. And small white ones a few days in a row (the eggs of Black, Pearl and Ini mini look the same). And because Pearl is separated with Katrientje and Tintin, I suspected Ini mini was laying too.

Ini mini is always very quick in laying, and in the past I rarely saw her in labour. Janice is the opposite. She often sits in the nestbox for an hour and sometimes even longer.

Black and Tintin

 

[NanaK]

The good news is: Ini mini is laying again! Next month she will be 10 and her winter stops get longer every year.

Yay for Ini mini!

Must be something in the air. Spring!
My Cream Legbar Dixie just turned 10 yrs old in February. She has given me a few pretty blue eggs over the last couple weeks. Good shell too!

<<< for the older ladies!

 

[ManueB]

When Tintin grows up to be a young/teenager boy:
Its a possibility to keep Tintin in the large nestbox/mini coop overnight where he sleeps now with his mothers. I have a roost for that mini-coop. And I could add some sound isolation to the ceiling muffle the crow a bit.

If I pick him up from the roost as soon as he starts to roost with the adults he probably won’t know any better.

Is it a problem to have a rooster in your neighborhood?
Do you know your neighbours sufficiently to ask them ?

 

[BDutch]

Is it a problem to have a rooster in your neighborhood?
Do you know your neighbours sufficiently to ask them ?

Roosters are no problem as long as there are no complaints in my town.

And yes, we have a good relation with all the neighbours. The neighbour who found the previous cockerels a nuisance, often look after our chickens when we are on a vacation. When they are on vacation I often care for their cats . They don’t mind a crowing rooster during the day. But hate it when they wake up from one at 5 am.

Others neighbours don’t mind/dont complain. One neighbour even loves the sound of a crowing rooster.

 

[fuzzi]

Roosters are no problem as long as there are no complaints in my town.

And yes, we have a good relation with all the neighbours. The neighbour who found the previous cockerels a nuisance, often look after our chickens when we are on a vacation. When they are on vacation I often care for their cats . They don’t mind a crowing rooster during the day. But hate it when they wake up from one at 5 am.

Others neighbours don’t mind/dont complain. One neighbour even loves the sound of a crowing rooster.

My rooster was crowing after dark yesterday. I was surprised, went outside to see why, and then I heard our neighbor's children screaming as part of their play outside, sounded like shrieking. No wonder Samuel felt he had to reply!

 

[Shadrach]

View attachment 3528376View attachment 3528375

4 weeks now.

MDH and I considered and discussed to let the mama’s and chicks free range if we are in the garden as wel. But the bantam chicks, especially the Dutch are still so tiny that we are afraid that the cats, jays and magpies that all live here are too big a threat. My bantams probably would chase away the magpies and blue jays if they come near but not fierce enough to chase away cats. They were always too afraid to step into the run when a cat was inside.
On the other hand, it would be healthy for them and a way to learn how to be careful while they free range.
It still is a dilemma from my point of view. Give the bunch a natural surrounding and being very sad if a chick gets killed? Or protect them and keep the chicks confined for another 6 weeks in a run. MDH chooses the last option. But maybe I can convince him to try around 6 pm. That way they stay outside an hour before bedtime and they will return by themself.

Advice, especially from people who had bantam chicks with free ranging bantam broodies is welcome. If you know anyone who has. Please tag.

I had a bantam tribe free ranging in Catalonia along with Marans and crosses. They made a very solid and stable tribe. They took in one Marans cross when the Marans threw her out and Harold, the senior rooster made one very obvious invitation to another single hen a few years later. I liked them. I thought their social skills excellent. These were good foragers and more predator aware than the crosses in particular.

I don't know the cat and I don't know your chickens. What I do know broody mums don't care how big and scary you are and when they kick off it's something to see. They are fast. Faster than any rooster of the breeds we had. I did have some die defending their chicks. We had dogs, sheep, donkeys, muscovies and all sorts of predators. Mum was usually out with the chicks on the land on day two or three.

Niether you nor I can keep these creatures coming to harm.
You won't get free range benefits in your garden, it just isn't big enough. On the other hand the dangers are considerably less. I would let everyone out when you are there to supervise.

 

[Shadrach]

These are excellent tips. I'm going to give the rolls a try and if I find any lice, I'll use the cardboard traps shown in the video.

You could pop in at night with a clean white tissue and run it along the underside of the roost bar. You'll get red spots (mites On the tissue) if there are any there.