General Chicken Thread - Post your pics and set ups here...
- Thread starter huntsman
- Start date
Caponize?
I'll look that up later, but it sounds painful!
I received him as a gift SS, so have no idea of age, but damn he was a tough old bugger! I doubt if boiling him was a good idea either, but that's how the locals traditionally ruin a good chook, so I suffered in silence. Never again, though!
Your pressure cooker sounds like the way to go...
Hey!
I'm a granddaddy! To three tiny lil' chooks that were born last night. Actually four were born, but once has 'disappeared' overnight.
Congratz on the new chicks.
A capon is a castrated rooster.
If he's the leader of the local chicken gang is he called Al Capon?
It's pronounced kay pon.
Argh!
My hens are having a brooding competition -
One is sitting on 21 eggs and now another is on a clutch of seven!
Shall I leave all 21 in place, or remove some? Problem is, I have no idea how old each one is, though we have now marked them all with a permanent marker and will certainly remove any new ones.
We have two babies, now ten days old, who seem to be doing really well. One is a pale cream, possibly an Orpington and the other is mostly Koekoek, both of mixed parentage. They're in with the flock and have never been picked on like the others we have added over time.
My hens are having a brooding competition -
One is sitting on 21 eggs and now another is on a clutch of seven!
Shall I leave all 21 in place, or remove some? Problem is, I have no idea how old each one is, though we have now marked them all with a permanent marker and will certainly remove any new ones.
We have two babies, now ten days old, who seem to be doing really well. One is a pale cream, possibly an Orpington and the other is mostly Koekoek, both of mixed parentage. They're in with the flock and have never been picked on like the others we have added over time.
Wow!! No hen can possibly adequately cover that many. Sneak out there at night and move some under the hen with seven, but that's still a lot for just 2 hens to manage.
Build them a little coop and a few nests for laying and you'll be in business laz.
Chooks grow faster than peppers, but the two combine to make some tasty meals and the fresh meat and eggs are exceptional.
Chooks grow faster than peppers, but the two combine to make some tasty meals and the fresh meat and eggs are exceptional.
Build them a little coop and a few nests for laying and you'll be in business laz.
Thats what I am talking about. I used to live on a farm when I was a kid and had some chickens. Cant wait to give this a shot!!
Surfer:
We will try this today. Five of them have hatched already but the hen seems to have lost her ability to protect them: Two have been stolen and killed by other hens...
Is this what you meant when you said the hens will not manage? They can hatch the chicks but not protect them? Or is there something else?
We will try this today. Five of them have hatched already but the hen seems to have lost her ability to protect them: Two have been stolen and killed by other hens...
Is this what you meant when you said the hens will not manage? They can hatch the chicks but not protect them? Or is there something else?
No, what I meant was that number of eggs couldn't be covered/kept warm by one hen and hatched. It's good you have some broody hens, I've been using an incubator.
When a hen is setting it's best to give them an area isolated from you other chickens. Chickens have a pecking order and often don't play well with new chicks, so until the chicks have gained some size and the ability to make a speedy escape I wouldn't mix them in with the rest of your flock.
There will be plenty more eggs to hatch in the future and I'm sure you'll not want all of them to hatch or you'll soon be overrun with chickens.
Good luck with your new chooks.
When a hen is setting it's best to give them an area isolated from you other chickens. Chickens have a pecking order and often don't play well with new chicks, so until the chicks have gained some size and the ability to make a speedy escape I wouldn't mix them in with the rest of your flock.
There will be plenty more eggs to hatch in the future and I'm sure you'll not want all of them to hatch or you'll soon be overrun with chickens.
Good luck with your new chooks.
Much appreciated!
Apparently there was another one hiding under her wing, because when I moved them today, I found four healthy chicks. Sweet!
I've moved her to a 4 x 4 x 3' cage made of chicken wire and timber, which I have placed right next to the main run. It has a removable lid for easy access and no bottom, which allows the chicks to scratch about.
Jeez.....sounds like I live in a trailer park...!
Had my first eggsplosion whilst we were moving the hen. O...M....FFFFFF! I sell stink bombs at my store and they smell like air freshener compared to this stench! The hens had all been kept away during the day and were really keen to pop their eggs out, so when I opened the door of the coop, they all stormed in and were soon populating every possible laying spot. One of these happened to be the box with all of the eggs I have been trying to hatch, and one broke.
I swear that I have no idea how my son and I avoided puking..! I quickly pulled the offending hen out of the box but had her wipe dead egg on my arm. The more I washed, the more I retched!
Apparently there was another one hiding under her wing, because when I moved them today, I found four healthy chicks. Sweet!
I've moved her to a 4 x 4 x 3' cage made of chicken wire and timber, which I have placed right next to the main run. It has a removable lid for easy access and no bottom, which allows the chicks to scratch about.
Jeez.....sounds like I live in a trailer park...!
Had my first eggsplosion whilst we were moving the hen. O...M....FFFFFF! I sell stink bombs at my store and they smell like air freshener compared to this stench! The hens had all been kept away during the day and were really keen to pop their eggs out, so when I opened the door of the coop, they all stormed in and were soon populating every possible laying spot. One of these happened to be the box with all of the eggs I have been trying to hatch, and one broke.
I swear that I have no idea how my son and I avoided puking..! I quickly pulled the offending hen out of the box but had her wipe dead egg on my arm. The more I washed, the more I retched!
Congratz on the chicks.
Yeah, rotten egg is odor that will make ya barf.
Yeah, rotten egg is odor that will make ya barf.
Right!
Another eggsplosion, though thankfully a smaller one, resulted in me tossing out all of the eggs we were trying to hatch, just in case. Of course, when we tossed them into the bin it transpires that two were growing fine and near hatching! SHIT! This farming stuff is hard on the heart and with no-one in my suburb to give me advice, I'm making more mistakes than sense. SHIT SHIT!
On a lighter note, here are some pics of my banty, Rashida, her lover Farouk and their little week old chicks...Farouk's the pure white, though good luck with the pics - the little bastards never seem to keep still!
Our first egg!
Farouk...
Polly (Head Roo!)
Rashida and chicks...
Another eggsplosion, though thankfully a smaller one, resulted in me tossing out all of the eggs we were trying to hatch, just in case. Of course, when we tossed them into the bin it transpires that two were growing fine and near hatching! SHIT! This farming stuff is hard on the heart and with no-one in my suburb to give me advice, I'm making more mistakes than sense. SHIT SHIT!
On a lighter note, here are some pics of my banty, Rashida, her lover Farouk and their little week old chicks...Farouk's the pure white, though good luck with the pics - the little bastards never seem to keep still!
Our first egg!
Farouk...
Polly (Head Roo!)
Rashida and chicks...
Cool looking chooks and the chicks look fine and healthy.
When you're unsure of the viability of an egg you're hatching you can candle them.
When you're unsure of the viability of an egg you're hatching you can candle them.
Chicks @ 13 weeks. About ready to turn em loose with the others.
I have a mean rooster and some domineering hens, so better late than sorry.
The cage is within the chook's fenced area, so they get to observe each other for a while b4 the close encounters and a realignment of the pecking order.Yes, the same five chicks that were incubated and posted in this thread.
No, far left is a hen. Second from left is a rooster, far red right is a hen, the other two I'm not 100% sure of yet.
It's a cross, the mother was a Barred Rock and the father was a Rhode Island Red.
For candling I use a piece of cardboard tubing lined with mylar and a bright Mag-Lite flashlight.