Washingtonians

[hallerlake]

Quote: I have seven spitz/spitz/brabanters.

Awwww. They're cute! I have a 3'x4' dog crate very similar to yours that we'll use for our grow-out pen. They work great, don't they?
They do. I also use them outside to introduce the chicks to the yard and big chickens when they're old enough. I'm thinking about putting the crate up against the door of the brooder, so they can have a little more space than just what is inside the brooder.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: I will pick out the best cockerel to put with my older Spitz hens, and the pullets will possibly be put with Uncle Otto. The extra cockerels will go to Monroes Farm and Feed. I'm thinking maybe Uncle Otto should go to Monroe, too. He's got that deformed toe nail I need to breed out of my flock. In which case, the pullets will just be egg layers.

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

I will pick out the best cockerel to put with my older Spitz hens, and the pullets will possibly be put with Uncle Otto. The extra cockerels will go to Monroes Farm and Feed. I'm thinking maybe Uncle Otto should go to Monroe, too. He's got that deformed toe nail I need to breed out of my flock. In which case, the pullets will just be egg layers.

Monroe just takes cockerels? What do they do with them?

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: Sell them I imagine, but I don't really know.

I think it's easier to introduce new members to a flock if I mess up the pecking order at the same time. I don't have room to add birds without removing birds in any case. When it gets too crowded in the brooder, I will take Franz and Otto to Monroe, and add the new cockerels to that pen leaving the brooder to the new pullets.

 

[Hinotori]

I have a question. How far should I move the quarantine pen from the other runs? Would 100 feet be enough? I'm thinking on moving it to the front side of the house. I'm moving it north so wind wont blow from pen to pen.

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Wow, that is a giant pain the butt. Have you tried putting them away before they go up there? Ours are going to have to learn eventually to put themselves to bed in the coop, or risk being picked off one by one from the tree. We are busy. My BF spends about half his time at my apartment, and none of the roommates at his house are very interested in caring for the chickens (and we can't live together for a variety of reasons). That's why we're going to build an automatic door onto the chicken mansion when we finally get it built. How big is your tree? The pine tree ours like to roost in is probably at least 100' tall, so once they decide to go up, there's nothing we can do about it. There are several other tall trees in the yard, too. Now I'm starting to feel pretty hopeless about it. I just wish that an adequate coop had been built for them from the start, then we wouldn't be having any of these problems, but that was all before I had any involvement. I feel pretty hopeless about it right now.

Oh yah - sometimes I catch them before - but most of the time they beat me up there.

We have two cedar trees, probably 40 or 50 feet tall? The bantams have almost gotten out of reach of my stick - but none of the others.

Tonight, I was unable to find one of my bantams =( I know she's in the tree somewhere - but I just coudn't see her. Looked for a very long time, even after dark with flashlights. Hopefully she stays hidden.

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote: I have seven spitz/spitz/brabanters.

Oh they are so cute!

Love their little crests!

The outdoor brooder sounds great!

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote:
They sell them, the majority end up as food (or so I have been told.)

We will be having a freezer camp here soon for the three cockerels we have. It's just not worth it to feed them for three months and then have someone else eat them.

But if someone wants a nice EE cockerel for their flock guardian, let me know. I have three you could choose from.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: I have seven spitz/spitz/brabanters.

Oh they are so cute!

Love their little crests!

The outdoor brooder sounds great!
Mr Hallerlake doesn't really like me brooding them in the house. They throw so much dust and get stinky since he doesn't like to clean up after them and I can't. So, after the dog died, I figured out how to repurpose the doghouse.

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Congratulations to Grandma! Chickielady!