Chicken (Poultry) Addiction Anonymous *Chat Thread*

[Muggsmagee]

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Knock on wood, I have not had a mean rooster. I won't tolerate it. The thought that I could eat one of my own chickens would come from the first mean rooster that crosses my path! The lavs I have are sweethearts. The Wheaten Ams seem to have postured in a way I didn't like, and I put the stop to that real quick by grabbing the roos and holding them while doing my chores. No matter how much I love my roos, I won't ever turn my back on them. You just stand your ground and let them know who is boss. I have thrown a roo out of the coop for starting a fight with another roo under my nose. They know not to mess around when I am in there with them. What does your roo do? Charge you? Do you bring a stick or something in with you when you collect eggs and feed them? I would push him out of the way with it. Use a stearn tone of voice and remind him you are in charge of the entire flock!

As far as the ducks...ugh...they ARE so messy. Someone told me I could house chicks and ducks together in the same brooder! BIG MISTAKE! The chicks were drowned rats within a few hours from the ducks flinging their water everywhere. My DH put a barrier between them, but we ended up buying another brooder (big horse trough from TSC) to keep the ducks separate. I love them, though. They are so cute and make me so happy just watching them. The tail wiggles are the best!

My friends loaded me up this weekend with all sorts of eggs...I hosted an egg swap. I have "Chuckie eggs" from Sonew...he is a crested magpie over khaki campbell/runner girls, Lovins gave me crested cayugas, and AmyJ gave me pure Khaki Campbells. I'm also hatching Mallards for a local lady. I need to brood them for a few days while she goes on vacation, but I don't mind when they are still in their cute phase! This will be my first time hatching ducks, so I'm a little nervous. I hope the Brinsea does it all without me interfering. We'll see!

 

[daisychick]

My rooster started out just posturing toward me and at that time I did grab him and hold him. Then he slowly started charging at my legs when I would go to walk out of the coop. I then took a manure plastic rake in with me and push him back. And now he charges me through the rake and runs around it and over it and really comes at me. I have batted him away really hard, I have tried to grab him and he comes at my face. He only does it with me!!! My DH can walk in there and the roo will stay a huge distance from him. Today was the worst ever!! HE came at me I pushed him back with the lid of the feed pail. He then jumped up at my chest!!! I tried to slam the coop door on him so I could get out and he seriously pushed his way out the door and came at me out in the yard!! He has huge spurs so I am afraid of him. HE has bruised my shins before. I need him right now for my few LAV hens or else he would be chicken soup!!! I hope I got a Lav or Lav Split roo out of my chicks so I can replace him soon! It makes me not want any roosters when I have one like him! I am going to make my breeding pens different from now on so I can actually walk into my layer coop and enjoy my hens and relax!

 

[daisychick]

Oh and brooding the ducks is crazy! I tried for one day to brood chicks with them and the chicks were soaked! Now in their separate brooder, I try all kinds of things to keep them a dry spot in the shavings to sleep but they have them all soaked in a day! I can't wait until they can go out into their dirt floor pen and make all the messes they want! I do love their cute tail wags and they have such great personalities!

 

[IdealisticRoo]

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Thanks for the intervention call today!

I went to 2 Big R stores, the second was getting their chicks today "at 5PM". The lady on the phone said they were getting 800 chicks today!

I wanted to see what 800 chicks looked like! I waited almost an hour for the chicks to arrive!

I did not buy any chicks, but ONLY because the chicks never showed up!

I wish I could claim will-power or intervention from a friend helped me not buy chicks, but it really was just a lack of chicks to buy!

I tore another shirt today, climbing into the juvenile pen to put my 40 STUPID 6-week olds into the house, for some reason they have been bedding down in a huge pile in front of the door!!!!

So I have to shovel handfuls of sleepy, chirping birds through the pop door, just so I can close the pop door, then put 40 sleepy, dopey birds onto the roosts, only to have them fall off again! Has anybody else had this problem with juveniles that won't go back into the house to roost?

Sigh, I love my chickens!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Muggs, I've tryed sending you PM's, but I guess your PM box if full.

I would like you to book me for some Ameraucana eggs ( an assortment if possible ) for April/May.

PM me and we can work something out, thanks.

Well today I got some gorgeous Olive Egger eggs from a Real life and a BYC friend, I met him on BYC and then met him etc..anyway I have my 1588 Hova-Bator stacked full of eggs, I have 48 in a 42 turner.

I have 7 Bantam AM eggs in my Mini Advanced, but those must move because I have other eggs that shipped out this morning coming this week. So I've spent all day trying to make a quick and easy homemade incubator using a cooler. I'm so close to getting the 'temp right..but it still gets too hot!!

I have 5 broodies, and they are very annoying, I want to give them some 'bator eggs, but I don't trust them at all!!

I'm going to get myself another Hova-Bator in the next month or now, I can not live with out at least 3-4 incubators!!

My plan for this coming winter is to get rid of my mutt flock which is around 70-80+, I have around 15 roosters that need to go to freezer camp and I need to make a ton of brooders for my new biddies. The list goes on and on and on...

I'm really hopeing our Jersey milkcow, Bessie, will have her calf soon! She keeps getting out in the wheat field by the house and stealing the other momma cow's calves!!

Poor thing, she was so upset when we made her give the babys she stole back to their rightful mothers. I'm looking into getting some Mini Jerseys, they cost a fortune, but I think it would be worth it.

Okay, enough rambling...

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
Thanks for the intervention call today!

I went to 2 Big R stores, the second was getting their chicks today "at 5PM". The lady on the phone said they were getting 800 chicks today!

I wanted to see what 800 chicks looked like! I waited almost an hour for the chicks to arrive!

I did not buy any chicks, but ONLY because the chicks never showed up!

I wish I could claim will-power or intervention from a friend helped me not buy chicks, but it really was just a lack of chicks to buy!

I tore another shirt today, climbing into the juvenile pen to put my 40 STUPID 6-week olds into the house, for some reason they have been bedding down in a huge pile in front of the door!!!!

So I have to shovel handfuls of sleepy, chirping birds through the pop door, just so I can close the pop door, then put 40 sleepy, dopey birds onto the roosts, only to have them fall off again! Has anybody else had this problem with juveniles that won't go back into the house to roost?

Sigh, I love my chickens!

My Seramas went down to the bottom of their hutch and didn't come back up the ramp to go into their nice warm sleeping spot, instead I had to try and catch them.

Once they get older I think they get used to roosting and all that sort of thing. I had around 40+ juveniles and they would never roost on the roost and therefore a coon or something would come by and just yank their heads off!

 

[GammaPoppyLilyFlutter]

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I'm not sure whether to be totally insane or shower those chicks with treats! So darn cute- you could make them into a mattress!

I'm sorry to say I haven't had that experience

The 4 big Ladies often will go to bed so late that they can't see their roosts so I have to put them up there, but they don't fall off. Aspen and Quinn like to sleep huddles in a corner of their A-frame instead of roosting, though

But they don't fall off either.

 

[Muggsmagee]

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I'll see what I can do to send you a bunch of Lav and Split eggs. You should NOT put up with that rooster you have. He's nuts! Have you ever charged him first? Get him on the retreat? Spurs or no, it is time for him to go.

I wish he wasn't such a tool.

 

[daisychick]

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I'm not sure whether to be totally insane or shower those chicks with treats! So darn cute- you could make them into a mattress!

I'm sorry to say I haven't had that experience

The 4 big Ladies often will go to bed so late that they can't see their roosts so I have to put them up there, but they don't fall off. Aspen and Quinn like to sleep huddles in a corner of their A-frame instead of roosting, though

But they don't fall off either.

My layers (the 24 week olds) did that until they reached the age of about 18 weeks old!!!! Always in a pile in the corner or right outside the pop door. I actually lost 2 of them to smothering at the age of 15 weeks because they insisted on sleeping in piles! Then one night something clicked and we had the mad rush to see who could get on the roost first!!!! Just BAM like that they decided to roost. Crazy girls! but I love them.

 

[daisychick]

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Oh trust me, he is just around until I find him a replacement! Maybe when you send the Easter Hatch eggs on Monday you could sneak a few Lav eggs in with the OE's and I could hatch me a nice Rooster