I had two of them & not one chicken (standard or bantam) would use them ~ later only if we left the treadle open continually would any bird use them but that defeated the ratproof feature! No amount of suggested training would work.
Dodo birds!
Each bird is different. Of the Rockettes, BoPeeps is the only one who NEVER has laid an egg!Welbars say 200/year & Welsummers 220-230/year. I pay no attn to projected claims though... each bird is different. Each year hens lay 20% less than their pullet year, & 20% less each successive year.
As we are aware, hybrids are egg-exhausted usually by age 5. They use up all their egg cells fast/early in their laying career.
Broody heritage breeds lay less eggs per year but will lay well into age 8 to 9 years ~ even if it be only a handful by then. Our broody Silkies have layed into their 7th year. Our long-lived Silkies usually stop laying by 6th year. Bantams are not prolific layers. Even some duck breeds only lay 50 eggs/year. But that's a plus for less health issues.
Each pullet chick hatches w/a certain number of egg cells & a hybrid layer exhausts those eggs early in her career while a less prolific layer won't lay prolifically to exhaust all her eggs till much later in her lifespan. My friend's Australorp layed a stray egg at 8 years. No telling what cycle each individual hen has till she's in our possession.
We had to re-home our bully Marans & wanted to replace w/ Wellies or Welbars for dark eggs but timing was never opportune. Beautiful, mostly calm birds.
Welbar ~ such pretty hens
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AKA Fluffy McNugget
Also flufferbutt, fluff fluff, and Ms fluffy butt McNugget.
I hope you get that new coat you wanted for Christmas
Oh that is Fluffy McNugget, of course!AKA Fluffy McNugget
Remember, now, names are interchangeable!
I had to use hair conditioner in its stead.
That's so awesome! I'm so glad!Great news. Elsa has returned home. She was next door, but climbed a tree to fly back over the fence. She’s a rascal!
Yup, Hattie would have a rough time with that setup.I thought it was a cute idea except... an ailing or senior bird may not be able to jump or flap up to the platform ~ good way to starve an old bird? I was just thinking about how hard it was for our birds to be mobile when they were getting older/stiffer. I had older birds that could barely walk up an inclined ramp.
I definitely will. It's not surprising that there will be snow because it just seems to be either getting colder each day or no change in the temperature. I remember last year when temperatures in my area were in the single digits, even reaching the negatives.
