What did you do with your flock today?

[agarnp]

Ooh! What sort of behavioural training are you doing with him? Welcome btw

Thank you! I guess I just shoosh them and push them when they get rowdy and start pecking at my hand. Its second year w chickens but my first year w so many. It was my husbands idea - and ofcourse when he got an incubator for Christmas he was definitely going to go through with it. I am more of an animal lover but hes more of "animals are here ti serve our needs" so I gotta work this situation out. I wish I had behavioral training for my husband

 

[LLR]

Ooh! What sort of behavioural training are you doing with him? Welcome btw

Thanks! I am just picking him up and giving him a few pets when I feed them. He comes over and looks for me when I come outside. Not sure if that is a good way to hopefully keep him tame or not. I'll find out!

 

[ChicksnMore]

I have hatched quite a few via broody moms- not all on purpose lol as I had some wild girls with hella instincts that were a bit of a pain. When I do get on board with my girls sitting, my best experience is locking mom in a broody coop (pen?) During her sit so other hens don't add eggs (opening up for dust baths daily till lockdown) hatch and till the babies are a few days old.View attachment 3441334View attachment 3441335View attachment 3441373I tend to override the mom on this one, she is ready to take babies out pretty quick but I am not as the Bigs will peck. One peck can mean death or worse.
I will let the flock out to free range and then let her and chicks out to have the run when chicks are about 5 days old. I sometimes will lock out the flock from the run as it is best when mom and chicks are alone the first few weeks. Basically more meet and greet through a fence. When I do keep run open I keep a good eye on and make sure they have plenty safe space to get away. View attachment 3441338
Muliti coop. I can remove a partition when they are ready to roost as a unit. Mom will abandon them after a few months and go back to her flock.
My whole back chicken area is partitioned off with fences and gates. Like mini horse corrals.

My day brooder/play pen has also worked well for the safe separate but together growing out of babies. Made from scraps cept the wire. View attachment 3441376
This was my first momma brooder grow out/ isolation/ intro coop made mostly from scraps. The theory really worked so DH improved on it.View attachment 3441383

Beautiful set up you have! I've been quite happy with mine...so much safer for chicks and a higher hatch rate then the mommas have. But this time I decided to let Hennie hatch a few...then the other ladies were making such adorable sounds as they peered into the nestbox...so I just kept watching. Then they were all acting so cute and protective with the babies that I still kept watching...lol.

I'm really impressed with how the whole flocks acting. Today I had doctor appointments so got home late. When I went out to give Hennie and her babies their bedtime mash, they were already in bed. Hennie heard me so kept craning her neck out but stayed put. Next thing I knew one of the other hens was down by the nest and mash and calling just like Hennie does. Sure enough, out popped a baby to have a bite. It was so stinking cute!

Hope I'm right in what I think I'm seeing. The one dead chick has me worried, but pretty sure it was the weather, not another chicken. I haven't seen any aggression at all so far so don't think I will.... My spangles are a small flock and very cohesive. If this goes well, think I'll forever let Hennie hatch any chicks I do of theirs from now on. Have another doctor appointment tomorrow, but I'll try to get pics of the cuteness this weekend.

My youngest wants a Tshirt about stoning naughty boys now btw

Thanks for the advice about the boys, all. So far, they are besties again and back to co-operating in looking after the ladies. I really do think Stan has just pushed Ferdy's patience to the limit and he's had to teach Stan it's not acceptable. I've attached some photos of them post fight. I need to get photos of them now as both have black eyes! They were both subject to a severe telling off from Gladys yesterday, it was quite comical to watch. I told her it was a bit late to start disciplining them now!
It was Gladys' 4th birthday yesterday too. I baked her a peanut cake with yoghurt frosting and she gave me an egg, first of the year for her.
The girls are now giving me 4 eggs daily and they're stacking up fast!
I made my mom a rose, raspberry and white chocolate meringue cake with some of the spare eggs. Definitely not up to Popo's standards but it tasted nice.View attachment 3441442View attachment 3441443View attachment 3441446View attachment 3441447View attachment 3441445

Wow...they really got into it! Hope they're done!
That cake is gorgeous!!! I've never developed a knack for beautiful desert making, but you ladies make me want to try! Making a mental note about rose petals on cakes

I have very limited hatching experience but out of the 5 chicks I've had, Pru has raised 3 of them successfully from laying them to adulthood. Matilda was raised as a lone chick by me and Penelope murdered her younger sibling, who hatched a week after her.
Pru has done an exceptional job. When she hatched Ferdy and Penelope, I kept her on her own in the small coop but from hatch day I put a metal grille over the door so everyone could visit and get a look at the chicks during the day time. Once she was ready to take them out I made a safe area for them where the girls could look but not touch and by 4 wks they had the run of the garden with everyone. I was cautious about how much interaction I allowed when they were very small as I had 3 standard sized girls mixing with bantam chicks.
When Pru hatched Stanley, I wasn't even aware she'd had an egg stowed away until I lifted her off the nest in the big coop (she'd been broody for 7 wks and I'd decided enough was enough) and discovered couple of hours old Stan. I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to try to move her so I just let them be. The other girls were very curious about him and used to visit about 20 times a day! Sometimes they'd even bring treats for them. I was worried about Ferdy's reaction but he was amazing with Stan from day one. As soon as Stan was old enough to come out, he'd escort them everywhere! He made it his job to bring them both to the back door so they could have breakfast without having to compete with everyone else. He did the same at tea time. He hardly left their side. I put a mesh screen to separate them in the nest box from the ladies at night as Clara tried to evict Pru a few times. The only other 'issue' was Penelope's repeated attempts to steal Stan for herself. She would see him briefly unattended and plop herself down on top of him then look round in all innocence when Pru and Ferdy were frantically hunting for him. Stan spent his first 3 months being terrified of Penelope as a result.
I've never hatched in an incubator so I can't really make a comparison but Matilda was raised in the house on his own and really didn't want to go outside with the 'scary' big ladies . Ferdy and Penelope integrated well quickly, having had more exposure to everyone but i would say Stan, being mixed in with everyone from day 1, has integrated the best. Gladys has a history of being absolutely vile to cockerels but she took to Stan straightaway. I suspect it might be due to him being raised in the big coop with her.

Your flock is adorable. I know I don't want to keep any of these babies but suspect I won't have the heart to take them away. I step into the coop and I already have to watch careful because the chicks run towards me with their family and think nothing of my big feet plopping down right next to them

 

[PopoMyers]

No, 12 months the clock starts now. Or summer and anytime after spring.

How many girls do you have?

14. Ok, 1 year it is. Thank you for this time table. I might let them out and keep the girls in once in awhile just so they get some grass and bugs.

 

[PopoMyers]

I usually do a few days to week at a time...if no changes then back they go.

It was a puzzle challenge to let only the girls out, but succeeded, and then put up the separation fencing. They have a roosting bar, but no side walls.

 

[Vata Raven]

Did you know chickens are a liquid?

My garage door got stuck going a few inches up. Instead of waiting for me to fix the door, they turned themselves into pancakes to escape.

 

[PopoMyers]

Thanks for the advice about the boys, all. So far, they are besties again and back to co-operating in looking after the ladies. I really do think Stan has just pushed Ferdy's patience to the limit and he's had to teach Stan it's not acceptable. I've attached some photos of them post fight. I need to get photos of them now as both have black eyes! They were both subject to a severe telling off from Gladys yesterday, it was quite comical to watch. I told her it was a bit late to start disciplining them now!
It was Gladys' 4th birthday yesterday too. I baked her a peanut cake with yoghurt frosting and she gave me an egg, first of the year for her.
The girls are now giving me 4 eggs daily and they're stacking up fast!
I made my mom a rose, raspberry and white chocolate meringue cake with some of the spare eggs. Definitely not up to Popo's standards but it tasted nice.View attachment 3441442View attachment 3441443View attachment 3441446View attachment 3441447View attachment 3441445

Such a pretty cake! Great job! Looks delicious.

 

[TropicalBabies]

14. Ok, 1 year it is. Thank you for this time table. I might let them out and keep the girls in once in awhile just so they get some grass and bugs.

Oh sh*t! I was just kidding about the year
But enjoy the quiet! ♡♡♡

 

[PopoMyers]

I have hatched quite a few via broody moms- not all on purpose lol as I had some wild girls with hella instincts that were a bit of a pain. When I do get on board with my girls sitting, my best experience is locking mom in a broody coop (pen?) During her sit so other hens don't add eggs (opening up for dust baths daily till lockdown) hatch and till the babies are a few days old.View attachment 3441334View attachment 3441335View attachment 3441373I tend to override the mom on this one, she is ready to take babies out pretty quick but I am not as the Bigs will peck. One peck can mean death or worse.
I will let the flock out to free range and then let her and chicks out to have the run when chicks are about 5 days old. I sometimes will lock out the flock from the run as it is best when mom and chicks are alone the first few weeks. Basically more meet and greet through a fence. When I do keep run open I keep a good eye on and make sure they have plenty safe space to get away. View attachment 3441338
Muliti coop. I can remove a partition when they are ready to roost as a unit. Mom will abandon them after a few months and go back to her flock.
My whole back chicken area is partitioned off with fences and gates. Like mini horse corrals.

My day brooder/play pen has also worked well for the safe separate but together growing out of babies. Made from scraps cept the wire. View attachment 3441376
This was my first momma brooder grow out/ isolation/ intro coop made mostly from scraps. The theory really worked so DH improved on it.View attachment 3441383

Wow, quite a cool set-up you have there! You must have lots of room for your chicken city.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Anti-hawk balls? Maybe?

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram