Question about caging birds

[User635240]

Hi, a couple of situational questions about caging chickens:
1) A new hatch of 18 mixed breed chicks is in a stock tank right now. A neighbor pre-ordered 8 pullets for May from this bunch. If longer tails on these one week old chicks mean females, then there are 8 females exactly. Will this sexing ability disappear shortly? If so, would it be beneficial to place poultry netting down the middle of the tank, and separate the males from the females? My concern would be that the males might not learn how to get along with females. In any case, the males would likely go to the fryer.
2) I have a young adult pair of Black Ameraucanas from Cackle, who intermingle with the rest of the flock. The female is extremely quiet and low-key, and the male is a horny bully. Would it be OK to place these two in an XL dog crate for a couple of months, to get purebred Ameraucana chicks, and give the other hens a break?

In neither situation would I plan on constructing a special outdoors run.

 

[NatJ]

2) I have a young adult pair of Black Ameraucanas from Cackle, who intermingle with the rest of the flock. The female is extremely quiet and low-key, and the male is a horny bully. Would it be OK to place these two in an XL dog crate for a couple of months, to get purebred Ameraucana chicks, and give the other hens a break?

Do you have other males with the flock?
If yes, then the female needs to be separated from the "wrong" males for about a month before you start collecting her eggs for hatching.
If you have no other males, all you need is to recognize her eggs.

I would not cage one hen with that male 24/7. That might give the other hens a break, but she would almost certainly be miserable. If he mates with her 2-3 times a week, she should lay fertile eggs all the time, so limited visits or a few days a week should be plenty.

If you have other males, I would put her in the dog crate, but only put him in occasionally. If you have no other males, you could do the same thing. Or you could put her in after dark each evening, and let her out after she lays her egg the next day. That lets you know which egg is hers, lets her be mated by the rooster when she's out, and lets her stay acquainted with the rest of the flock. But if you have other males, it does not work for having her produce purebred chicks.

1) A new hatch of 18 mixed breed chicks is in a stock tank right now. A neighbor pre-ordered 8 pullets for May from this bunch. If longer tails on these one week old chicks mean females, then there are 8 females exactly. Will this sexing ability disappear shortly? If so, would it be beneficial to place poultry netting down the middle of the tank, and separate the males from the females? My concern would be that the males might not learn how to get along with females. In any case, the males would likely go to the fryer.

That might work. I don't know whether the long tails actually indicate gender, and I don't know whether you will still be able to distinguish those chicks later.

But if the neighbor wants them in May, and this is February, they should be old enough to sex easily at that point. The males will probably have big red combs, and may even be showing pointy saddle feathers, while the females will have combs and wattles that are much smaller and more pale colored.

But if you are concerned about identifying them again, rather than divide the brooder, I would probably just mark those chicks. Legbands (or zip ties) can work well (remember to check them frequently, and change them as the chicks outgrow each size.)

I've also marked chicks by clipping the flight feathers of one or both wings (the same way people try to prevent flying), and then I re-check every week or so, and clip again each time they grow new feathers. It's a bit of a bother, but I think no worse than checking & changing legbands. And if I forget to re-clip, the chickens are healthy but no longer marked (unlike legbands, were letting it get too tight means injury to the chick.)

You can also mark chicks by toe-punching (I've read about it but never done it. It makes permanent changes to the webbing between their toes.)

 

[3KillerBs]

Would it be OK to place these two in an XL dog crate for a couple of months, to get purebred Ameraucana chicks

What are the actual dimensions of the crate in question?

I would not put two birds into a space less than 28 square feet (4 square feet of coop + 10 square feet of run each), for more than a short time. Space is one of the keys to good health.

I would not cage one hen with that male 24/7. That might give the other hens a break, but she would almost certainly be miserable. If he mates with her 2-3 times a week, she should lay fertile eggs all the time, so limited visits or a few days a week should be plenty.

This!

Some people successfully keep pairs and trios, but it takes knowledge, experience, and the careful selection of birds.

 

[User635240]

Do you have other males with the flock?
If yes, then the female needs to be separated from the "wrong" males for about a month before you start collecting her eggs for hatching.
If you have no other males, all you need is to recognize her eggs.

I would not cage one hen with that male 24/7. That might give the other hens a break, but she would almost certainly be miserable. If he mates with her 2-3 times a week, she should lay fertile eggs all the time, so limited visits or a few days a week should be plenty.

If you have other males, I would put her in the dog crate, but only put him in occasionally. If you have no other males, you could do the same thing. Or you could put her in after dark each evening, and let her out after she lays her egg the next day. That lets you know which egg is hers, lets her be mated by the rooster when she's out, and lets her stay acquainted with the rest of the flock. But if you have other males, it does not work for having her produce purebred chicks.


That might work. I don't know whether the long tails actually indicate gender, and I don't know whether you will still be able to distinguish those chicks later.

But if the neighbor wants them in May, and this is February, they should be old enough to sex easily at that point. The males will probably have big red combs, and may even be showing pointy saddle feathers, while the females will have combs and wattles that are much smaller and more pale colored.

But if you are concerned about identifying them again, rather than divide the brooder, I would probably just mark those chicks. Legbands (or zip ties) can work well (remember to check them frequently, and change them as the chicks outgrow each size.)

I've also marked chicks by clipping the flight feathers of one or both wings (the same way people try to prevent flying), and then I re-check every week or so, and clip again each time they grow new feathers. It's a bit of a bother, but I think no worse than checking & changing legbands. And if I forget to re-clip, the chickens are healthy but no longer marked (unlike legbands, were letting it get too tight means injury to the chick.)

You can also mark chicks by toe-punching (I've read about it but never done it. It makes permanent changes to the webbing between their toes.)

Thanks for your insights. What you wrote makes a lot of sense, particularly about not caging the male and female together.

 

[User635240]

What are the actual dimensions of the crate in question?

I would not put two birds into a space less than 28 square feet (4 square feet of coop + 10 square feet of run each), for more than a short time. Space is one of the keys to good health.



This!

Some people successfully keep pairs and trios, but it takes knowledge, experience, and the careful selection of birds.

Ok thanks. The crate is 3x4 with no run. I will have to rethink how to house these two.