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[Yorkshire Coop]

I have mainly polish, 11 of them also 3 hybrids, an 8 week old Pekin cockerel, an 8 week old Orpington and a frizzle polish X hen.

I got these Pekin and Wyandotte eggs from a breeder near to me.

I will probably keep a few and sell any others.

 

[Athaid]

Oh okay. You must get through a lot of feed. We're hoping the chickens we get will be able to get a lot of their food from foraging and kitchen scraps. I hope they like slugs because there's a total infestation here.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

It's no so bad on the feed front I like to make sure they get good quality layer/grower pellets as this way I know they are getting all the nutrition they need to keep them healthy and to produce lots of eggs when at laying age! I sell my excess eggs so that puts some money back into the feed pot. As does selling chicks and growers.

I have found that not all my birds like slugs, one of my hybrids Ginny just devours them along with snails
The little polish are not so keen but that maybe because they can't see them

 

[Athaid]

Hah, well I certainly hope ours can see them.
I hate stepping outside after it's been raining. Slugs everywhere.. You'd have to be blind not to see them. Some of them are a foot long
We may get ducks at some point; apparently they like eating slugs more than chickens do.

Also, we're still going to buy feed for them. I was thinking we could ferment it and then mix it with table scraps and sprouted grains.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Kim

Congrats on the hatch so far.... they're looking great.

I've had an eventful few days, particularly with my poultry. I think I mentioned that I was trying to integrate Frances and her female chicks into the coop with the pekins, so that I would have all the bantams together. Well it has not been going well. One of the lavender pekins particularly has been giving Frances a hard time and the cockerel has been having a real go at the chicks which are now half grown. They are ok in the coop but as soon as they come out into the run they get targeted. I've made a safe area for them but most of the time they stay in the coop out of the way, which is dark and dusty and hot and obviously the more they stay in there the less integration is happening, So I decided since this has been going on for a week, perhaps a little free ranging in the garden may help. Well, whilst my back was turned Frances decided that she didn't like it down at home and would try to find her way back to the yard with the main flock. When I realised she was missing I started searching all the (many) overgrown nooks and crannies in the garden and then heard a car peeping on the lane. By the time I got out onto the lane they were herding her away from me down the lane and into the old playing field where everyone comes to walk their dogs. She took off across the field and into a densely overgrown hedge with a pigwire fence up it, so I couldn't get to her and she was too frightened to come to me. Spent a couple of hours with my brother and Ian trying to coax her out. Went back for one of her chicks in a cat carrier to see if that would tempt her out but by then she was quite enjoying her freedom and of course, she has pretty much case the chicks off so that didn't work. The field on the other side of the hedge is waist high with grass and weeds and eventually we lost sight of her and had to give up. I was certain I would never see her again and a dog or fox would get her.
Then Ian had the brainwave to ask a local lady we know who trains gun dogs, to see if she could find her. She brought one down, put it into the field and within 15 mins it located her and unfortunately after pointing a couple of times at an area of grass that we could see nothing in, it pounced and suddenly had a mouth full of feathers. Thankfully Frances wasn't seriously injured and is now back in the bantam pen. She spent all the flowing day sulking/recovering and then yesterday morning she stayed in the coop with the chicks but I put the cockerel out and left them to it. When I went back, Silvie who was the mildest mannered and prettiest laced pekin was lying dead in the run (no marks of a struggle or any obvious injury) but Frances was down in the run with the chicks and looking a lot more confident and the two lavender pekin were standing next to her looking non plussed. Nothing could have got into the run so either she flew up and hit something and broke her neck (I couldn't feel anything) or had a heart attack I just don't know. When I think about it, when I was cleaning the coop out around the back I kept hearing a bird flying up and fluttering at the wire and I just thought one of them must be having difficulty getting up onto the roost bar.... perhaps she was having a fit. Anyway all very odd but hugely thankful to have Frances back as she is my second favourite and No 2 broody (only by a whisker) to Tasha.
Hoping that the pekin eggs I set hatch as they were mostly Silvie's eggs. Since I got her a few months ago I had the impression that she was a little bit dim/slow.... maybe she had a brain tumour.

Rode out with Ian this morning and he got very cross with Zak because he absolutely would not jump over a log that we have been over before. Ian rode him out on his own yesterday and he totally refused it then which was a surprise but he thought he would follow Archie over it today..... no chance! Ian got off and tried to lead him over it as it was not difficult to step over, but no, he completely refused. Ian eventually had to give up and skirt round it,. but he was absolutely seething and talking about selling him. I eventually got him calmed down and we found another jump of similar height that he popped over no trouble at all, so we rode on a bit further and then came back the same route and he popped the jump, two ditches and the log in question on the way back without hesitation. I personally thought the log was more tricky to jump heading home but whether the direction of travel was the incentive he needed, I just don't know. I do think part of it is a confidence problem though and once Ian gets cross he just gets stubborn.

Anyway, that's my trials and tribulations of the past few days. I'll have to keep my eye open for my chicks hatching in a few days if yours are popping out now. Really hoping I get some little girls from Silvie's eggs. I now need Tasha to start roosting with her chicks so I can have the sideboard free to move the new babies into when/if they arrive (trying not to count chickens before they hatch)

Keeping my fingers crossed that you have a really high hatch rate.

Best wishes

Barbara.

 

[laurita1510]

Hi everyone, I'm in maidstone kent. I'm getting pretty jealous of all these little chicks popping out. Do any of you have any advice about when different breeds will lay/mature? I have 2 booted Peking bantams 1x18 weeks, other unsure age, but she's still peeping! 1 20 week Orpington, 1 22 week old brahma and a 20 week old polish bantam cockerel! I love the fact that harmony is reigning in our coupe, but I'd love to know when they're likely to lay, mate etc?

hey Maidstone too! Where about?

 

[Rudies Roost]

Greetings I am in the west midlands. I picked up 4 nice hens at the weekend and am already enjoying lovely poached eggs on toast. I'm pretty new to this game, but have kept ferrets, lurchers and a goldfish before (the goldfish was called Bob, cus he kept saying it through the glass at me). The first night they didn't wanna go into the coop but have settled now and go in and out quite freely. If this goes alright the missis might agree to keeping a few quails... but time will tell. here's a pic

Hi there...I'm in Solihull, not far from B'ham airport. I have 24 chucks, 5 chicks and 5 ducks (at last count!). How fab to have someone relatively local x

 

[SKIP DIVER]

HIya Rudie,
I'm close to you, those jets from BHX do a sharp right over our back yard.

But the chooks are used to it now and are laying well.
I'm pretty new to this game but have kept all manner of things in the past. I can't believe how relaxing it is watching the chooks have a scratch around the yard.

Mi 2 Rangers will now come readily to hand but the big blue and the barred are still a bit flighty... until the corn comes out !
Hoping to add a couple of legbars soon, but getting hold of em is like finding rockin horse poo

No sign of "ginger" sniffing round yet but I'm very much prepared for him

we have foxes out in our road fairly often so I'm a bit para about them.
Do you have much trouble with them?

Thanks for the reply Rudie

Skippy

 

[Gge23]

Hello again everyone!
Out of interest, at what age do you let momma take her chicks out for a stroll with the rest of the flock? Mine are three weeks now but they're still a bit scrawny, I'm putting it down to them not having much to forage for and want to let them out on the grass, and momma seems to be getting a bit anxious to roam around again now. I just don't want the others bullying them that's all.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

hey Maidstone too! Where about?

Hi and welcome to the thread

HIya Rudie, I'm close to you, those jets from BHX do a sharp right over our back yard. But the chooks are used to it now and are laying well. I'm pretty new to this game but have kept all manner of things in the past. I can't believe how relaxing it is watching the chooks have a scratch around the yard. Mi 2 Rangers will now come readily to hand but the big blue and the barred are still a bit flighty... until the corn comes out ! Hoping to add a couple of legbars soon, but getting hold of em is like finding rockin horse poo No sign of "ginger" sniffing round yet but I'm very much prepared for him we have foxes out in our road fairly often so I'm a bit para about them. Do you have much trouble with them? Thanks for the reply Rudie Skippy

Neat pics and great you have some one close by in Rudies roost

Hello again everyone! Out of interest, at what age do you let momma take her chicks out for a stroll with the rest of the flock? Mine are three weeks now but they're still a bit scrawny, I'm putting it down to them not having much to forage for and want to let them out on the grass, and momma seems to be getting a bit anxious to roam around again now. I just don't want the others bullying them that's all.

I believe Barbara lets hers raise them in the flock. I've only had one broody and I kept her separate untill the chicks were about 6 weeks I think. Unfortunately 3/4 chicks were cockerels so they had the chop and I let the hen and the remaining chick out in the garden with the others. There were a few caffuffles but nothing really bad. They sorted a new pecking order out and everyone settled in the end. Can you put a pen on the grass for the hen and chicks? Maybe next to the others so they get used to each other before being fully introduced?