Peeps in Europe!

[BDutch]

My neighbour used fertiliser on his lawn. My chickens have to stay in their coop/run now until its raining. Because they often slip though the fence to where the grass is greener and where they feel safe (the dog of the neighbour of the other side cant go there). I feel sorry for them having to live a quarantined life too now.

btw the neighbour doesn't mind if the chickens come in their garden.

 

[abpatchy]

I am happy that the numbers are looking better! I haven't been staying on top of the numbers here in Germany... just too depressing.

Well, the hens were a little strange after the roosters were gone. I made sure they didn't see the butchering but I am certain they did notice something was not right. They also had to make up a new pecking order again.... even though there wasn't any fighting. Yesterday I caught one trying to be broody.
I also tried to let the 4 week old chicks roam their run. They are not sure they want to come out yet. I opened the windows which reach almost all the way to the floor. They liked that (there is chicken wire in front of the windows). Some have gone out and into the run but they went back inside pretty quick. The small hatch with 11 chicks is now 2 weeks old and sharing the coop with the 4 week old chicks. Since I put them in the coop with the older chicks they had a growth spurt... wow!!! It's like they are trying to catch up to the bigger ones.
Next weekend is my last hatch for this year. So far only 32 eggs left (out of 70)... one might be a quitter... I'll be candleling before lockdown to find out. On the other hand... I think I'm happy I don't have that many chicks as planned... they do fill the room (coop) when they get bigger... lol If all 32 hatch I will have 94 chicks... minus 1 because he is going to freezer camp early June. Unless one of you would want a Bielefelder rooster...

Yesterday I posted the picture of the two butchered roosters in my what's app status. A friend of mine was like... Astrid, how could you... they were still like children! I explained to her, no they were my roosters. But also that the chickens you buy in the store... those are still chicks. That they did not have a nice life... but with mine I knew what they ate... how they lived... how they died. Because that is all in my control. No antibiotics. It kinda made me a little upset because as long as you're still buying chicken at the store... you are supporting a situation that is a lot worse than the chickens I am butchering. I feel like I want to call that out into the world!

enough ranting.... hope you all are well. Stay safe and healthy!!

 

[BDutch]

@abpatchy , I loved you’re ranting. What are you going to do with all you're chicks? Sell most of them? Keeping the pullets?

Broodiness
I check my girls every evening on broodiness after dark. Its easy to tell this way. If one is laying in a nestbox, she is broody. And I put her between the other hens on the roost. If I am lucky I only have to do this 2 or 3 evenings on a row. Sometimes I close the nestbox area just before dark.

Roosters
I couldn’t do what you did with you're roosters. But killing and eating you're own roosters is way better than buying meat in the shop.
Im just too softhearted for animals to kill them (exept fish, reptiles, insects and other lower life forms). That's why I don’t eat pigs and rarely eat other meat. Until now I could always pass my cockerels to someone else (for free).

Hatching and maintaining my flock
Last year I had just one hatch with 8 eggs and 2 broodies. The outcome was not so good. They hatched just one pullet and 4 cockerels.
I Sold one mother hen with 2 cockerels. The other hen stayed with 3 chicks. After they integrated with the flock I wanted to give another rooster away for free. But the guy who came for it wanted both roosters as presents for his sons (no hens). So I gave them both away. This was a mistake for the pullet. She didn't feel safe without her brothers and started to sleep in the nestbox again. To put here in between the adults every night didn't work. So finally I gave up. It took about 4 months before she roosted again.

So now I have no rooster for another hatch. But thats okay. This year I skip hatching. I have 8 tiny hens now wich is enough for my setup. And I don’t want to replace my oldies for younger ones if that means I have to kill them. The oldest one just started laying a week ago. I have more eggs than we can eat now. I don’t sell eggs or chicks. Maybe I buy some fertile eggs again next year for a broody to maintain my flock.

Buying feed
Just went to the Welkoop here. A shop for live stock, pets and gardening supplies. Its open , well stocked except for eatable garden plants (herbs, stawberry).
It had everything sorted out for safe shopping. Someone cleaned the carts. You had to go inside through the plant entrance. (Route). And at the pay desk they organized keeping a distance very well.

 

[abpatchy]

What am I going to do with all those chicks? Well since I am breeding for show, the best get to stay. I am planing on building 3-4 rooster runs... basically small coops with a small run attached to it. 1,2m by 2m. If I get the approval of the breeding club. But I don't think it's an issue. The rooster I keep for breeding will go in there while it's not breeding season.The rest either gets sold, if I can. The others will go into the freezer. I guess I will have to buy another one. And I will probably do some canning to save freezer space. I have a couple of people who already said they would take a butchered chicken and pay me for it.

I tell you though... it was hard butchering the first time! But if I want to keep chickens, I have to do this. I don't have any other place to keep chickens other than the breeding club. Therefore I have to breed. So before I became a member I made sure that this is what I really really really want to do. Can I live with this? So now I have to pay up... I got to. I tried to rehome the roosters...but no luck. It took me several weeks to come to terms with it. I was thinking of different ways to keep the roosters. But no matter the way I looked at it... I just always came to the same conclusion. They had to go. The one had white in his tail feathers... that's a no-go for breeding birds. I shouldn't have bred with him this year, really. And then there was the idiot who drove everyone crazy... me, the hens, the other club members. He forced his way onto the hens which is not nice. He freaked out when somebody walked passed and totally lost it when somebody came into the run. He'd fly up screaming like a banshee trying to get away. What a protector of his hens he was! NOT! He was just not a good rooster.

Here are my girls this morning. They are a lot more relaxed.

 

[Erba]

I buy my feed at Raiffeisen Market here in Germany and thankfully they are still open. They have markings on the floor at the cash, to stay your distance from the person in front. They also have plexiglas screens everywhere now, to protect the cashiers. It's all a bit surreal. My clinic has announced "Kurzarbeit". Have to wait and see if Housekeeping is also affected. Grave times folks, take care and stay safe!

 

[abpatchy]

I buy my feed at Raiffeisen Market here in Germany and thankfully they are still open. They have markings on the floor at the cash, to stay your distance from the person in front. They also have plexiglas screens everywhere now, to protect the cashiers. It's all a bit surreal. My clinic has announced "Kurzarbeit". Have to wait and see if Housekeeping is also affected. Grave times folks, take care and stay safe!

My feed guy is open as well.. and he is in Bavaria. He get's to stay open. Animal feed is considered essential so they get to stay open.
Yeah... it is weird. I haven't worked for 2 whole weeks. still don't know if we get paid or not. At least we don't depend on my little pay check. But my feed costs and other things for chicken and garden came out of my pay. As well as stuff for me. But I will survive... my hubby is picking up the feed costs until I can work again.
Good luck to you! Hopefully things will work out for you!!

 

[Papa John59]

I GOT WOOD!!! As I posted a few days ago, I was going to get some wood from work. Well I ended up getting not one, but two shipping crates! Each one measures 220x150x90cm and I plan to stack on on top of the other so the kids can walk in and do a proper clean up, not me, I'm to tall . So this afternoon, daughter#1 and I will plan out how it will go together (I know how, but its a good project in logical planning for her), cut out the windows, and design the nesting box and roost. Maybe tomorrow she can start painting everything and after Easter we can assemble the new coop.
Everyone keep safe and stay healthy!

 

[abpatchy]

I GOT WOOD!!! As I posted a few days ago, I was going to get some wood from work. Well I ended up getting not one, but two shipping crates! Each one measures 220x150x90cm and I plan to stack on on top of the other so the kids can walk in and do a proper clean up, not me, I'm to tall . So this afternoon, daughter#1 and I will plan out how it will go together (I know how, but its a good project in logical planning for her), cut out the windows, and design the nesting box and roost. Maybe tomorrow she can start painting everything and after Easter we can assemble the new coop.
Everyone keep safe and stay healthy!

Hey! I am so happy for you! Finally you got your wood!! Do keep us updated with pictures. Any tips for building? Once I got the ok to build my rooster pens/coops I will be at it as well.

 

[Papa John59]

Hey! I am so happy for you! Finally you got your wood!! Do keep us updated with pictures. Any tips for building? Once I got the ok to build my rooster pens/coops I will be at it as well.

I'm just putting the crates together, cutting out/frame up the windows, which I still have to find because everything is closed. Frame up a door, install the nesting box and apply a few coats of white paint (which I also need more of). I have already figured out the roofing and the vents, so that's one less thing to worry about. Mainly, I want daughter #1 to learn more about using tools, thinking out a project and knowing that a girl can build things by hand also. Just a good father-daughter project. Daughter #2, is too much of a "oh my hands will get dirty" and we can't have that! Plus she is only 7 and too young to be using power tools. But I'll try to get some pics for you all.

 

[abpatchy]

I'm just putting the crates together, cutting out/frame up the windows, which I still have to find because everything is closed. Frame up a door, install the nesting box and apply a few coats of white paint (which I also need more of). I have already figured out the roofing and the vents, so that's one less thing to worry about. Mainly, I want daughter #1 to learn more about using tools, thinking out a project and knowing that a girl can build things by hand also. Just a good father-daughter project. Daughter #2, is too much of a "oh my hands will get dirty" and we can't have that! Plus she is only 7 and too young to be using power tools. But I'll try to get some pics for you all.

Just remember one thing!! No drilling into fingers this time! Please!!!