Maine

[dowgirl71]

I've also been following threads on these collars and it seems that the majority of people who are having real success (instead of no change at best or fatality at worst) are those using them as training tools instead of just leaving them on.  They're putting it on the roo when he's crowing but when he's been quiet for a while, removing it and only putting it back on if he starts up again.  That means devoting A LOT of time to watching your roo to catch him in the act in order to "correct" his behavior. 

I can't have roosters where I live. So, I don't have any of this drama and no experience with these collars but just thought I'd mention it.

 

[lazy gardener]

Tnic: I'd love to go to a work shop to learn how to caponize. And that would make the process of raising meat birds much easier. But, the one roo I'm keeping now is my genetic pool for future generations of chicks on my little homestead. I know they say, don't put all of your eggs in one basket, and it's not wise to keep only one roo for breeding purposes... but given my limited space, and his penchant for crowing all day long starting at 5 AM, even that's stretching the good neighbor policy! Wouldn't it be great if we could get together as a group, and have some one come in and teach us how to caponize next spring??? If we had a workshop in the southern part of the state, it would also draw folks from NH, and Mass.

Island girl, I've also considered the benefit of training my roo to not crow. I think it could be accomplished with the benefit of a super soaker squirt gun. Of course you wouldn't want to use it in the cold months, but I think if you started early in his crowing career it would work. Especially, if you were able to pull it off without him seeing that you were the cause of it. Some folks say they are able to train their roos to verbal command re: crowing. I have my doubts there, and think that they may be blessed with roos who just aren't so much in love with hearing their own voice.

Then there's the one breeder who says he's breeding the egg song out of his flock. Choosing to not hatch eggs from the vocal layers. And he appears to be succeeding. I think that if there was a strain of birds that were bred to be quiet, there would be a lot of interest from the urban flockster.

 

[islandgirl82]

Tnic: I'd love to go to a work shop to learn how to caponize. And that would make the process of raising meat birds much easier. But, the one roo I'm keeping now is my genetic pool for future generations of chicks on my little homestead. I know they say, don't put all of your eggs in one basket, and it's not wise to keep only one roo for breeding purposes... but given my limited space, and his penchant for crowing all day long starting at 5 AM, even that's stretching the good neighbor policy! Wouldn't it be great if we could get together as a group, and have some one come in and teach us how to caponize next spring??? If we had a workshop in the southern part of the state, it would also draw folks from NH, and Mass.

Island girl, I've also considered the benefit of training my roo to not crow. I think it could be accomplished with the benefit of a super soaker squirt gun. Of course you wouldn't want to use it in the cold months, but I think if you started early in his crowing career it would work. Especially, if you were able to pull it off without him seeing that you were the cause of it. Some folks say they are able to train their roos to verbal command re: crowing. I have my doubts there, and think that they may be blessed with roos who just aren't so much in love with hearing their own voice.

Then there's the one breeder who says he's breeding the egg song out of his flock. Choosing to not hatch eggs from the vocal layers. And he appears to be succeeding. I think that if there was a strain of birds that were bred to be quiet, there would be a lot of interest from the urban flockster.

I think there's definitely something to selective breeding for quiet birds. My first rooster was wonderful with only 3 girls and crowed only between 7-7:30 am every day like clockwork and that was it. He would drop his wing and do the sideways dance to me which at the time I didn't understand what it was all about but I didn't like it so I'd shoo him away and after only a few times he gave up trying to woo me. I was devastated when I lost him but he died protecting his girls. I wish I'd been able to hatch out some of his offspring because to me, he was the perfect roo.

My second attempt at having a roo ended shortly after it began. Unlike my first boy, he didn't handle having only a few girls and was constantly running them. They were so stressed they stopped laying. His clock was also WAY off...his crowing would begin around 10:30 pm and wouldn't stop until about 3 am when I first got him. Then it was at all hours. He was too much of a liability for the health and well-being of my girls so I had made arrangements with a local farmer to have him done in (I couldn't do it myself) but when I brought him there they decided to try to keep him despite all the reasons I told them I was culling him because they thought he was so beautiful. A week or two later they realized that everything I had experienced with him was happening in their own flock and he hadn't even been integrated with them yet.

We did hatch out a solitary egg from my virtually silent SLW hen and him in my son's kindergarten class last school year. His voice is just beginning to change from the peeping to the crackly teenage phase. We've been VERY consistent about handling him since his hatch day (he spent his first week getting cuddled by a room full of 5-6 year olds) in the hopes of eliminating the potential of him chasing the rest of my flock away from us but I'm also hoping he inherited his mother's quiet nature. So far so good but again, he hasn't found his voice yet.

As for the voice commands, I have 2 pullets who sing the egg song whenever they even see an egg, regardless of who laid it or even if it's just a wooden training egg for that matter. Though I live in a neighborhood of mostly summer people and/or seniors, I don't want my flock disturbing anyone so I do walk out the door to hush them verbally and it does seem to work. As soon as they hear me, they quiet down and find something else to do. Now it's getting to the point that they quiet down just when they see me open the door to hush them. Hopefully it will work for my cockerel too when he finally starts in with crowing practice but I will try using a variation of the collar if need be. I won't go the squirt gun root because I discourage my children from taking aim at any of our animals and the use of weapons in general even if it is a toy but to each their own.

 

[liquidequis]

Newish here I live in standish and have a variety of chicks from the McMurray rare of rare package. 27 total. All but 4 are 16 weeks old. Just moved them into the new coup and they seem to be happy. Currently trying to figure out exactly how many pullets vs cockerels as well as what breeds I have. Latest count is 7 males. Most of which will head to the stew pot. They all seem to get along very well. No aggressive issues yet. Still have the temp run up in case I need to separate. I love them and collectively I call them the chickzees. Nice to meet you

 

[lazy gardener]

Welcome, liquidequis. Always nice to have a new person to talk to. Sounds like you have an interesting flock. What breeds have you identified so far?

 

[Branch Chickens]

Newish here

I live in standish and have a variety of chicks from the McMurray rare of rare package. 27 total. All but 4 are 16 weeks old. Just moved them into the new coup and they seem to be happy. Currently trying to figure out exactly how many pullets vs cockerels as well as what breeds I have. Latest count is 7 males. Most of which will head to the stew pot. They all seem to get along very well. No aggressive issues yet. Still have the temp run up in case I need to separate. I love them and collectively I call them the chickzees. Nice to meet you

Welcome!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

from Vassalboro.

 

[Tnic]

Welcome from Ukraine and soon to be Bangor.

Soon, no date yet, but Lord please make it soon.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Welcome from Ukraine and soon to be Bangor.

Soon, no date yet, but Lord please make it soon.

 

[Jazor]

Hey everyone, been a while! I'm on a mission:

I have three beautiful khaki campbell drakes. I want to rehome two of them, and get a few ladies for the one I keep. They don't need to be khaki's but something that's roughly the same size is necessary. Anyone want a khaki, or have ladies to sell/trade?

Thanks