Hatching with 2 broodies

[Teila]

Can you tell I am not busy at work today?

As per every Friday, it is quiet and I have no inclination to don the work-hat and get stuck into it.

Tee hee 16 paws my hubby would welcome you with open arms and gladly step aside to let you help. He is actually not looking forward to it either but, like you, I am looking forward to hopefully making things ‘better’ for the girls and he has known all along that this was coming and the plan we have is actually his plan … he loves them just as much as I do

All we need now is for the weather to be kind, otherwise all this build-up and drum roll will be for nought!

Lol TG, no Cilla has not followed through yet .. she is just warming up! Cilla has this knack of turning the egg-lay into an epic .. she has the pre egg work up dance that goes on for a few hours, then she settles into the nest box for an hour or so and then, when the deed is done, tells the whole neighbourhood what a clever little bantam she is. The good news is, Blondie is following her every move so when she starts to lay, she can also create an epic but probably with a little Blondie-twist thrown in for good measure

Dusty, on the other hand, totally the opposite ‘Oh, time to lay an egg, nest box, deposit egg, back to eating' .. 10 minutes max!

Or, as is the current trend .. skip the whole 'egg' thing and just keep eating!

 

[Lesa Mae]

Teila,
Your kind response has brought tears to my eyes. I am so thankful to have someone that understands! You really do hold a special place in all our hearts here..... I look forward to your posts everyday and I know I am not the only one. Your response has really cheered me up and now I really feel I am doing the right thing. I feel like roos have a hard enough time in life, if I can make one or two a good home then I will. I have been thinking of selling this house and downsizing so if she makes me mad enough maybe I will do just that. Or maybe I should just stay here with the loudest roo I can find and let her move.


This thread has been so encouraging, uplifting, funny and a place to learn all we can about these crazy creatures.It is also a place to share our sadness when something doesnt go right and we lose one along the way. Keeping chickens has taught me alot and I am grateful to have nice people to share it with! I feel so blessed to "know"  all of you on this thread and I really want to thank everyone for just listening. 
Thanks to everyone...

Marie

I vote for finding the loudest roo and staying there!!! Here's a thought get a recording of a loud roo and crank it up !!!!! Rock on!!! Bahahaha

 

[Lesa Mae]

Said good bye to 2 of my little Sara's tonight. They moved to their new home but also so happy for them they have gone to live with 4 other silkies and have lots of room to run and discover all kinds of things

 

[Teila]

Tee hee LM yep, a recording of the biggest, loudest, meanest rooster known to mankind definitely sounds like the best plan

And, if 16 paws had an idea of if/when the chicken police were coming, hide the roosters except for the smallest, friendliest, cuddly, cutest, quietest one that she is allowed to keep and deny all knowledge of a loud rooster, "must be someone else's property, this little guy makes no noise at all"

Or there is always the fight fire with fire option .. surely she is not a perfect neighbour? There has got to be something that she could be doing to draw the wrong kind of attention? I know that probably most of us do not have the personality to be mean but sometimes we need to stick up for ourselves.

One of the reasons I do not complain about my neighbours is that I have the chickens and yes, Cilla can get a little excited at times. But, the first person around here who complains about my girls is going to see a side of me many people do not! Depending on which neighbour it is, they would certainly learn a few home truths about how living next to them is not exactly a pleasant experience either

Anyone get the idea that 16 paws's current dilemma has hit a nerve all the way over here is Aus? lol

I avoid confrontation at all costs and without talking myself up, I am definitely the most meek, forgiving, calm, easy going person I know but sometimes it really irks me that bullies, like 16 paws's neighbour, take advantage.

OK, climbing down off my soap box now .............

It is sad parting with the bubbies LM but it is nice to know that they are going to a good home and hopefully one that you will hear from occasionally with pictures and how they are going.

I get regular updates from Tommy's Mum, she loves him to bits and he is adorable and happy

Edited to Add: I didn't hear another peep out of Cilla and when I checked on her later, she was pecking and scratching in the run with everyone else. However, at free range time, I checked the nest boxes, no eggs but walking past the run, there was an egg in the run, just near the step down from the dirt bath. I do not believe anyone else laid it because no-one really seems ready. I am going to chalk that one up to Cilla as I think it may have got caught in her bustle and dropped out when she stepped down into the run.

In other news, Dusty was running across the garden at full pelt to catch up with everyone and when she came up behind Blondie, Blondie kind of half-squatted. I am not sure if this was a fright reaction or if Blondie may be thinking about laying soon. She turned 19 weeks old on 2nd July, so maybe? Tina is coming up for 9 months and nothing! LuLu is coming up for 7 months and nothing

 

[Sonya9]

It is sad parting with the bubbies LM but it is nice to know that they are going to a good home and hopefully one that you will hear from occasionally with pictures and how they are going.
I get regular updates from Tommy's Mum, she loves him to bits and he is adorable and happy

Yeah this is the first time in my life (and I ain't no spring chicken) that I have tried to breed anything! Have always done rescue and never bred.

The only reason I feel comfortable trying to hatchout a small clutch of eggs is because they are BB Red OEGBs. I would never consider trying to hatch out standard chicks because of the roosters. With BB Red's they are pets and the roosters are absolutely gorgeous, and they don't require a ton of space so I feel comfortable that I can find really good homes if I end up with too many (or provide for them here). Needless to say my birds are all pets with benefits, no meat birds at this house.

I am one of those folks that expects photos if I adopt an animal out, and I send photos to the person I get animals from.

 

[16 paws]

I vote for finding the loudest roo and staying there!!! Here's a thought get a recording of a loud roo and crank it up !!!!! Rock on!!! Bahahaha

Lesa Mae,

If I have to get rid of my roo because of her maybe I will just do that. haha

 

[Pooman]

But 16 paws, there rules say your allowed to have one. So make sure you keep the loudest annoying roo you can, and re locate him close to their house but in a bullet proof coop so they can NOT get him.

Stuff them, just follow the rules and ignore them.

Could suggest changing your answering machine message to the rooster crowing and stop answering her calls. If she really needs to get a message to you she can send a letter

What a pathetic excuse for a human. If she doesnt like it go somewhere that roosters aren't allowed.

 

[16 paws]

But 16 paws, there rules say your allowed to have one. So make sure you keep the loudest annoying roo you can, and re locate him close to their house but in a bullet proof coop so they can NOT get him.

Stuff them, just follow the rules and ignore them.

Could suggest changing your answering machine message to the rooster crowing and stop answering her calls. If she really needs to get a message to you she can send a letter

What a pathetic excuse for a human. If she doesnt like it go somewhere that roosters aren't allowed.

Thanks Pooman, I love the idea of the answering machine, what a hoot!!!!

 

[16 paws]

Said good bye to 2 of my little Sara's tonight. They moved to their new home but also so happy for them they have gone to live with 4 other silkies and have lots of room to run and discover all kinds of things

Lesa Mae,

Its hard to part with them but it sounds like they are going to a good home.
Take good care....

Marie

 

[Teila]

Howdy Team

Apologies in advance, this one is a bit 'photo heavy'.

As planned, we got the coop remodel done today. Started at 08:30am and 7 hours hours later while not quite finished, it is usable and keeping them dry, warm and safe. There are a few 'touch ups' required here and there but we were exhausted and it was time for their dinner and getting close to their bed time also!

OK, I am the first to admit that it is not pretty but it works well and I am sure they do not mind that it does not qualify for the front cover of Chicken Coops Monthly

This one is the 'before' photo. You can see the Chateau at the distant end of the run and the nest box you can see in the foreground is the Ranch:



In this one we have removed the Ranch and are about to start moving the run which we had to dig out of the ground. The not so good looking black structure in the run is the 'rain shelter' I built for them, complete with tree-branch perch. Obviously they have coops to shelter in but they are way to silly to work that out!



The run has gone and as you can see, Cilla is helping:



This is the back of the Chateau. To the left is the dirt bath. If you look closely on the left hand side of the Chateau you can see the little door down the bottom, it is now open but when we have bubbies, it gets closed and this is what segregates them from the rest of the flock until they are ready. They have a small run off the front of the Chateau which I am not sure if you can see in any of these images. Oh yeah, and Cilla is still helping:



This one shows the detached run and of course, Cilla still helping!:



Cilla helping some more:



The hole has now been cut in the back of the Chateau. What no Cilla helping?:



Cilla helping to smooth off the newly created hole in the back of the Ranch:




Here we have the matching hole in the back of the Ranch and apparently, it was such a big job Cilla needed to bring in Dusty and Blondie to help her help us:



We now have the Ranch and Chateau together; unfortunately the roofs did not quite match up height-wise and the coops would not join without a gap, so we had a Plan B which I will share later. No Cilla?! Must have been on her lunch break



So this is the view from the Chateau nest box into the Ranch and of course, Cilla has donned her 'quality control' hat and is checking out the feng shui



This is Plan B, a 'sky walk' between the two coops with the holes lined up:



OK, so you can see the small A-frame run on the front of the Chateau which is what the broody and bubbies get to use. The little door leading onto the dirt-bath is what we close when we have bubbies. Obviously we have jumped ahead a couple of hours now as we have dug holes and repositioned the run. If you look close, you can see my 'rain shelter at the far end and the little lean-to structure with the colorbond roof is what I put their food under to keep it dry:



So from another angle and I see you have a better view of the small A-frame run the bubbies will have. Currently everyone has access to that. So, with the current set up, they can go from coop to coop without going 'outside'; they all have access to all areas from both coops or they can go front to back, back to front outside of the coops also, via a small passage off the dust bath. When the Chateau is needed for bubbies, the little door gets dropped and the 'sky-walk' gets shut down via wire dividers so everyone can still see and talk to each other but no injured bubbies:



As I said, not pretty but definitely functional, I still have easy access for coop cleaning and egg collection, feeding etc.

So, what did they think at bedtime? To be expected, there was some confusion and instead of sleeping in the Chateau as per normal, Dusty bunked down with Tina and Lulu. Tina was a little reluctant to go into the Ranch but seemed happy enough once she was in there and saw her bed

Time will tell; there was, however, a definite improvement in that Cilla and LuLu were not running up and down the run as they have been of late; LuLu because she wanted to sleep with everyone, not just Tina and Cilla because she appeared to not like some of her charges too far away.

I will keep you updated on how they go

Thanks for looking