Nicki Payne

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josie555

josie555

In the Brooder
Jul 10, 2015
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My name is Nicki Payne and I live in Devon, South West England. I have 3 bantams, 1 Australorp, 1 Orpington and 1 white sussex. I am new to owning chickens and hope by joining backyard chickens I will be able to gain more knowledge and share any problems and tips that I pick along the way with other chicken owners. My bantams live in the back garden in a static area with enough room to keep them healthy and hopefully happy. Look forward to meeting and chatting to other chicken owners as a member of Backyard chickens.
 
Very nice to meet you Nicki, hope you will enjoy Backyard chickens as much as we do. We have many members from the UK. Have you checked out the excellent Learning Center?
 
Welcome to BYC, Nicki. Glad you decided to join our flock. You have a nice mix of breeds. Australorps are my favorite standard breed. I've raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds), and they are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children and granddaughter made lap pets of them), and excellent layers of large, brown eggs. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
Thank you Michael for welcoming me into the BYC forum, I am sure I will have lots of questions to ask as I am a novice in looking after bantams. I made the first mistake of going to a local market where I saw this bantam all on its own, that was the white sussex so I bought her. I then went and bought a suitable chicken house and run to fit into my garden it is big enough for 5 bantams or 3 large fowl so I then bought the australorp and Orpington so she has company. The coop is a static one and have added two extensions to make it bigger they all seem to get on but the australorp is definitely the boss. I do get eggs from them but so far have not had three eggs in a day, I have had two then one and the last couple of days nothing. They have layers pellets available to them every day and some greens and a small handful of mixed corn late afternoon. There is also grit available and I sometimes put apple cider vinegar in there water. Am I giving them too much or is there anything I can give them to help with egg production or is this behaviour natural for them. I don't really mind as I look at them as pets with benefits. Nicki
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josie555 said:
Thank you Michael for welcoming me into the BYC forum, I am sure I will have lots of questions to ask as I am a novice in looking after bantams. I made the first mistake of going to a local market where I saw this bantam all on its own, that was the white sussex so I bought her. I then went and bought a suitable chicken house and run to fit into my garden it is big enough for 5 bantams or 3 large fowl so I then bought the australorp and Orpington so she has company. The coop is a static one and have added two extensions to make it bigger they all seem to get on but the australorp is definitely the boss. I do get eggs from them but so far have not had three eggs in a day, I have had two then one and the last couple of days nothing. They have layers pellets available to them every day and some greens and a small handful of mixed corn late afternoon. There is also grit available and I sometimes put apple cider vinegar in there water. Am I giving them too much or is there anything I can give them to help with egg production or is this behaviour natural for them. I don't really mind as I look at them as pets with benefits. Nicki
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You're welcome. I think I misunderstood the makeup of your flock from your opening paragraph. I was thinking you have 6 total birds (3 bantams + a standard sized Australorp, Orpington, and White Sussex), but if I'm reading you correctly here you only have 3 bantams and the Australorp, Orpington, and White Sussex are the three bantams, not standard breeds. If this is the case bantam breeds do not lay as often as their standard sized counterparts; only about half as many eggs. A standard sized Australorp, Orpington, and White Sussex together would typically lay about 12 eggs per week which is almost 2 eggs per day, however the same 3 breeds together in bantams will only lay around 6 eggs per week, which is just under one egg per day. Based on the numbers you gave me, you got 3 eggs over the past 4 days which is a little under an egg a day. I would keep track of their lay rate over the next few weeks and as long as you were getting 5-6 eggs per week from the three of them I wouldn't be concerned. There are some things you can do to maximize their lay rate. First, make sure that you have all hens. If there is any doubt in your mind, post their pics on our What Breed or Gender is This? section at https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this and let our experts there confirm their gender. A lot of BYC members want to know why their hens are not laying only to discover that they are in fact roosters when their pics are posted. Second, make sure that your hens have access to plenty of light. It is light striking their pineal gland that stimulates them to lay. If their yard is heavily shaded that will cut down on the number of eggs you're getting. Third, protect your hens from stress. Stressful circumstances like sudden changes in their environment, predators in the area, barking dogs, etc. will reduce their lay rate. Fourth, if your hens are molting, they will stop laying. Fifth, improper nutrition will affect their lay rate. Treats such as the mixed corn and greens should make up less than 10% of their diet. Layer feeds are specially formulated to meet all of a laying hen's nutritional needs. Too much starchy treats (such as corn) is especially harmful and will make them fat and unhealthy as well as reduce their egg productivity. It's the equivalent of us eating potato crisps and candy bars.
 
welcome-byc.gif
glad you have decided to join us.
 
josie555 said:
Thank you for making me feel welcome, what chickens do you keep?
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You're welcome. Up until a few weeks ago I had 25 hens (7 Black Sex Links, 7 Black Australorps, 4 Buff Orpingtons, and 7 Easter Eggers) but I sold them to a friend in preparation for a move to; we thought Alaska at the time but now it looks like it's going to be Montana. I have dozens of various breeds and hybrids over the past 50 years, and will certainly get another flock after we get moved to Montana.
 

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