Chukar photos... need to figure out males/females... help?

[monarc23]

Quote:
very pretty birds Cuda!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Thanks Cuda... those are beautiful birds!! When exactly do they mature? I can't find anything online that says how old the hens are when they start laying eggs.

I have 25 birds in a pen right now, 9-10 weeks old. I need to thin them out for the winter, because they're starting to pick on each other in the close quarters. Some have developed bare backs practically overnight.

I'm going to keep about 15 of them in hopes that I have a good number of hens. The guy that's getting the other 10 suggested that I pull the 10 largest ones, as those will likely be males, and that sounds like sound thinking to me! LOL! I wish they were as easy as the coturnix!

 

[monarc23]

according to whati just read they mature at 16 weeks old. And according to what i just read a hen will lay eggs the spring after she is hatched.

I got that from: http://www.aviangenetics.com/Chukar_Partridge/chukar_information.html

 

[Mrs MIA]

Too funny... I just found it on a piece that I printed out earlier today! I totally missed it! Well, I'm still going to give it my best shot. I don't have any place else to keep them at the moment, and I'm not looking to build any more hutches until Spring. It's 26°F and falling right now... snowed all day. It's definitely time to downsize for winter.

Thanks for the help!
~T~

 

[CUDA]

These birds only lay in the springtime, to early summer, so it won't really matter what age they are because they will be ready by time season gets here. The reason the birds loose the feathers on their backs isn't from picking, it is from piling. Chuckars are very bad for this, and really don't take confinement well. You really need space for these birds if you want them to not pile, and that goes for adults too. One thing though, they are very hearty to the cold, mine stay outside year round, and never go into my shelter for them. They also prefer to sleep on the ground, not roost. If you keep an area that will keep the snow level reasonable, you will be fine from what I have seen here. I know you get worse weather than me, but I still think they will be ok, maybe put some straw down for them or something to help out, and provide some wind breaks too. Either way, even keeping a few in a small environment, they will still pile up, that is why it is best to get them on the ground. Hope this helps!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Thanks Cuda...

Can you tell it's my first time raising them?

They're on shavings right now, but I was tempted to put them on wire to keep their feet cleaner. I hate keeping birds on wire, but it seems necessary. I hadn't planned on keeping all of them, but winter came a little early and caught me off guard. It's in the 20s right now because of the snow, but we were at -2°F as a low for 3 nights straight about 2 weeks ago. If I give them a box to go into, and the straw, do you think they'll be ok outside? Hubby will kill me if I keep any more heat lamps on during the winter! I have a 3x5' hutch with 1/2" hardware cloth that I had kept the Coturnix in until I brought them in for the winter. Would that be enough space for them? I haven't seen anything that gives the space requirements for them.

 

[Mrs MIA]

OK... I found an article that says to give them at least 2sf per bird to avoid crowding, so I can only keep 7-8 birds in the 3x5' hutch. That's a start. If I split them between the 4x4' pen in the coop, and the hutch, they should be ok.
What do you do for water? Do you chip ice, or do you have a heated bowl?

 

[CUDA]

I wouldn't keep them on wire outside myself, or in a hutch. I have kept small quantities in 8x8x8 pens, and they still piled. I keep them all in 25x25 fly pens now, and that takes care of the problem. You will find they are very easy to raise once you get over the space issue. If you try to keep them in a small space, you will end up losing some, and having problems with them feathering out. I honestly thing if you provide them with a good wind break, preferably where the ground would be snow free, the temps won't be a problem. We get days well under 0 here as well, and I have never had any issues with them. They prefer to huddle all together on the ground, and all I have is a low angled lean too for them to get under. I can't stress enough though how they need space, and the right hen to rooster ratio. I use one rooster per around 20 hens myself, and get excellent fertility in my eggs.

 

[CUDA]

All my birds get the rubber horse dishes, and I break the ice out daily, and fill once. They get all the water they need after you fill it, before it freezes again.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Oh dear... well, I guess I haven't thought this out very well, then. I wish I'd picked your brain sooner.

I will have about 15 birds left, and the only thing I could do is put them in the far half of the chicken run, which is 8x16'. It's enclosed with 1" chicken wire, and there is a covered/sheltered area in the back that I could fortify. It would mean my hens would lose 1/2 of their run, though I'm not sure that they would mind because they don't like to stand in the snow anyway. I go out and shovel the snow out of their run to keep it fairly clear... sounds like that will do for the chukars that I'm keeping. It's 8' high, too, so they'll have a lot of room to stretch their wings.

One more question for now... because they have lost their feathers on their backs I'm worried about putting them out in the cold now. What are your thoughts on that? Maybe put out the ones that haven't lost a lot, and give the others a chance to grow them back a bit before putting them out? Or just give them an enclosure to go into?