Keeping hens and ducks chat.

smallholding_antics

We had another one last night so that's 8 now. Some are sex linked and so far we seem 50/50 but the last couple are buff orpingtons which we won't know yet . They are gorgeous and are the start of our new flock so it's a really big milestone for us. Self sufficiency here we come!


Now for the geese to start laying!

Pennysmakepounds

Hi Everyone,

I'm interested in keeping chickens and i have a question.

I really want to breed chickens (I love them little fluffy soft creatures )not sure what i would do with them when they got bigger but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

My question is do corals make allot more noise then hens?

e.g. do they really sound 'the wake up alarm' in the mornings at sunrise - so to speak.

or is that just a myth??

edwink

Pennysmakepounds wrote: »

Hi Everyone, I'm interested in keeping chickens and i have a question. I really want to breed chickens (I love them little fluffy soft creatures )not sure what i would do with them when they got bigger but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

My question is do corals make allot more noise then hens? e.g. do they really sound 'the wake up alarm' in the mornings at sunrise - so to speak. or is that just a myth??

Hi Pennysmakespounds

Welcome to our very friendly hen, duck and geese thread. Fire away with any questions you may have. We all have to learn somewhere and this is a great place to start.

With regards to Cockerels yes they can sound the morning alarm early if they are in daylight. So obviously if they are tucked up in bed in the dark as they really should be in the early hours they will be quiet. I think the thoughts on Cockerels being noisy first thing comes from those that are kept on farms when they let themselves out of a morning as soon as it is light. Then they start crowing away to their hearts content. We have a Cockerel and he will start crowing for a little while as soon as he is let out of his hotel in the morning at 8am. He will have another bout of crowing around lunchtime and then again before bed when I think he is calling his girls in for the night.

Some Cockerels are really quite quiet whilst others are just noisy full stop. If you are thinking of getting a Cockerel I would speak to your immediate neighbours first just to check what their thoughts are on you keeping one. If you are very rural it wouldn't matter too much unless you have immediate neighbours.

HTH

Edwink x

Pennysmakepounds

edwink wrote: »

Hi Pennysmakespounds

Welcome to our very friendly hen, duck and geese thread. Fire away with any questions you may have. We all have to learn somewhere and this is a great place to start.

With regards to Cockerels yes they can sound the morning alarm early if they are in daylight. So obviously if they are tucked up in bed in the dark as they really should be in the early hours they will be quiet. I think the thoughts on Cockerels being noisy first thing comes from those that are kept on farms when they let themselves out of a morning as soon as it is light. Then they start crowing away to their hearts content. We have a Cockerel and he will start crowing for a little while as soon as he is let out of his hotel in the morning at 8am. He will have another bout of crowing around lunchtime and then again before bed when I think he is calling his girls in for the night.

Some Cockerels are really quite quiet whilst others are just noisy full stop. If you are thinking of getting a Cockerel I would speak to your immediate neighbours first just to check what their thoughts are on you keeping one. If you are very rural it wouldn't matter too much unless you have immediate neighbours.

HTH

Edwink x

Thanks for that.

My immediate neighbors actually keep hens and ducks too, on one side.

The other side are an elderly couple. So will have to make sure the Cockerel does not make too much of a racket first thing in the morning, as soon as its light.

Maybe i can get some pre-seeded eggs...hmmmmm

Anyone offering any.....lol

Dizzy_Ditzy

Hey fellow hen keepers

I had a hell of a shock when I went to see my girls this morning. We have a perch the runs the length of the run which is about adult waist height. My bullied girl goes up there when we take greens and corn in, which is fine with me because it means that she'll actually get some munch

Today, she slipped at the point where it forks and she fell through the gap, ending up hanging from it by her neck :eek: :eek:

That forky bit has been sawn off now. She was ok but I'll keep an extra special eye on her in the next couple of days to make sure she's ok

edwink

Hope your hen will be ok queenofcheap. That must of been a shock for her and for you finding her like that. Aww bless her.

12 eggs for us today from 26 hens and no ducks eggs yet.

Edwink x

Dizzy_Imp

Evening all - popping in to catch up on all the news

Hope your girlie is OK queen of cheap :eek: poor thing!

Had a long thin egg from one of the hens today, which is odd. Does anyone know what causes the shape to change? I did accidentally disturb one of them quite early and shooed her out of a nest box to check for eggs (since stuffing them with straw, some of the hens seem to be sleeping in them - is that normal too?) then went round the other side to check for eggs and clean the tray and there she was in that side! Not sure if she was trying to lay at the time of interruption, but when I took their treats out at lunchtime, there were two more eggs, including this thin one. Any thoughts?

skipton

hi all
6 eggs from 8 girlies. My little white leghorn is poorly again.....softie eggs. I don't know what to give the 2 older girls. They already have baked egg shells, shell and grit mix, milk in their porridge and a bit of yoghurt now and again, broccoli and cauliflower leaves. Anyone have any further suggestions please. It makes them so ill when a softie is on the way.

Hope your little one is ok Queen of cheap.

suki1964

Thank you for all the hugs

We buried her in the garden, and the other three girls came and showed their respects, or should I say came to eat on the insects dislodged by the digging

Which is more respect then they showed her when she was lying waiting hubby's return from work. He lifted her, and two eggs were tucked in beside her lol

So Tuesday we acquired three new girls, two bluebells and a white Suffolk. Too young to lay, and seem so tiny compared to our older girls They are also not used to being out and are staying put in the warm. However one bluebell put the fear in me yesterday. Went to clean them out, one was missing. I was out there in the rain and snow for 3 hours looking for her till I found her wedged in behind a large pot. Soaked through she was so bought her in for a wee cuddle and warm before putting her in the coop
How lucky small holding to have chicks. DH has a notion of getting another roo and going that route, but after the fun and games we had with the previous Roos I'm putting my foot down

Hope your hen is OK queen of cheap

Our three laying girls are giving us one egg each every day or so. They are on strike ATM because of the new arrivals but I'm hoping they will settle down again soon as I do want to start baking again and there's no way I can use shop bought now

smallholding_antics

One of our chicks is losing her will to live, she's gasping for air and we've done all we can to help. If anyone reads this tonight, any advice? She hatched late, day 24 but seemed fit and healthy. She was on her back when I found her. I've segregated her and gave her a bit of sugar water for what it's worth? Don't worry if no one gets chance to answer.