Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

never_too_old

ionahenor2 wrote: »

Hi Shegirl,




Never too old are your girls laying now?




Yes my girls are laying now,3 eggs most days ( 1 each)had the odd day without one.I love my girls and would love more they have destroyed my grass and i move the run weekly but do you know what i dont care as long as they are healthy and happy thats all that matters:rotfl:

shegirl

Oh,I love The Egg:rotfl: That's brilliant!

ionahenor2 wrote: »

Hi Shegirl,

You might want to consider a plastic coup as opposed to wood. There are a few suggestions a few pages back (168) by Happymum.



You can pick up a bargain eglu on ebay. I have one with extra run space but have since built a new run and just have the house. They are great for 3 girls, easy to clean and move by 2 people. The only problem is if you get 'morechickenitis' as Heather mentioned. :rotfl:Then you will need a bigger house. They do seem to resell easily too

Never too old are your girls laying now?

Happymum how are your girls and new house?

Thriftkitten

a bit of advice needed plz... Marj and babies been out in run now for past 2 days, only problem is when it comes to bedtime or when it rains.... like today, mum just stays sitting in the run and babies go under her...
I was worried that the babies might get cold and wet so shooed her inside and scooped up babies and put them in too..... much to her disgust and flapping/squalking, I am at work for 7 hours tomorrow and am slightly worried as I dont want to leave the door closed all day but am a little worried incase it rains again, she does have a tarp covering the hutch and half of the run, but chooses to sit in the uncovered bit( dozy mare), am I right to worry about babies as they were only born on friday and sooooo tiny, or with babies be ok under mum out of coup, in run, will she shoo them all in if it rains too hard!!.... Love from paranoid granny!!!:rotfl:

HeatherintheHills

Thriftkitten wrote: »

a bit of advice needed plz... Marj and babies been out in run now for past 2 days, only problem is when it comes to bedtime or when it rains.... like today, mum just stays sitting in the run and babies go under her...
I was worried that the babies might get cold and wet so shooed her inside and scooped up babies and put them in too..... much to her disgust and flapping/squalking, I am at work for 7 hours tomorrow and am slightly worried as I dont want to leave the door closed all day but am a little worried incase it rains again, she does have a tarp covering the hutch and half of the run, but chooses to sit in the uncovered bit( dozy mare), am I right to worry about babies as they were only born on friday and sooooo tiny, or with babies be ok under mum out of coup, in run, will she shoo them all in if it rains too hard!!.... Love from paranoid granny!!!:rotfl:

Does she avoid going into the hutch completely? Does she stay in once you put her in there?

Could there be mites or other crawlies in the hutch? If there are any about she won't want the chicks to be in there. If the tarp has always been with that hutch check it too, it is odd that she isn't going under there at least.

Beetlemama

Well, after a wait, we have another baby, it's a WORLD of difference to the last baby that hatched and didn't make it, that one was weak and feeble and couldn't really stand and walk, we'd never had a baby before so we didn't know how different it should have looked....the new baby is BIG and bold and dynamic and makes a racket when it doesn't get what it wants

According to the online feather guide at 2 days old, it's a girl - but we're not betting any money on that we have a home ready if it's a cockerel. Baby hatched last Wednesday making it six days old, it's in the big indoor rabbit cage with Phantom the Bantam looking after it, she wanted the last baby so badly, and she wanted this one from the moment it hatched, so we gave her a shot at looking after it, it's own mother isn't the least interested in it and the girl who hatched it is still refusing to get up off the other eggs, which I have no doubt I will be throwing away in a few days.

They're both in the outbuilding so they are warm and dry, but I have a question please - how old should our baby be before we stick it in with the others? obviously it's four inches tall so it won't be for a while, but how many weeks do the regular breeders keep them apart if they separate? it'll be going in with two full sized females, our cockerel and Phantom will go back in with it.

Thanks xxx

Thriftkitten

Thanks for replying Heather, she spent the day outside again with the chicks, although I was nervous with being at work all day they were fine on my return, I left her til about 7 and then went in and told her to "Go in now and take yer babies too" hahaha!!! but she did and all 4 of them followed.
I don't think it anything to worry about, Marj was always the first out and the last in the coop at night (almost dark before she would go in) whislt the others had been roosting for at least an hour, she is probably just enjoying being out again as she was a firm brooder.
There shouldn't be anything in the rabbit hutch as I change bedding daily and have put diatomatious earth in shavings. It could be the tarp as she seems to sit in the sunshine which the tarp dosent cover and I have only just added it over the last 3 days.but I have it fixed down tight with tent pegs so it dosen't flap and scare her.

Thriftkitten

According to the online feather guide at 2 days old, it's a girl - but we're not betting any money on that


Beetle, can you tell me which site you used for the sexing of the chicks please ta oh and congrats on the little ones.... it's so much fun being a granny of the feathered kind!

Beetlemama

Thriftkitten wrote: »

Beetle, can you tell me which site you used for the sexing of the chicks please ta

This one - I suspect, as I said, it's a bit hit or miss, but worth a try, though I think yours might be a bit old? it said up to 2/3 days old (somewhere).

HeatherintheHills wrote: »

I personally am crazy about bantams

Us too Phantom is by far the nicest of our girls.

ionahenor2

congratulations Beetle, Sorry I don't hatch but getting quite broody now.

Jenny_Wren_3

Does anyone have any white egg layers please? I'm going to succome to morechickenittus and want white egg layers but I've heard that legbarrs and snowflake hybrids are noisy. Any experience welcome before I annoy the neighbours!