Pets chickens

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lol perhaps I should get an electric fence like my crazy mate did to stop his 50kg American Staffy from bursting through out into the neighbours yard :D

Maybe I should just try and improve it as much as possible and keep locking them in for the moment at least in the fox breeding season. Haven't had a problem here for 20 years and often been so lax with keeping them in, countless times I've even let them out loose for a run in the backyard and forgotten to shut even the front yard gate that night. Then woken up the next day and they've been wandering around on mine and the neighbours front lawn lol. Surprised that it's only been once that even a normal dog has got one with my slackness.

edit - and where they get locked in to sleep is waaay to small to be left in all day which is obviously a problem when I want to go to Perth for a few days.
 
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Kram81 said:
lol perhaps I should get an electric fence like my crazy mate did to stop his 50kg American Staffy from bursting through out into the neighbours yard :D

Maybe I should just try and improve it as much as possible and keep locking them in for the moment at least in the fox breeding season. Haven't had a problem here for 20 years and often been so lax with keeping them in, countless times I've even let them out loose for a run in the backyard and forgotten to shut even the front yard gate that night. Then woken up the next day and they've been wandering around on mine and the neighbours front lawn lol. Surprised that it's only been once that even a normal dog has got one with my slackness.

edit - and where they get locked in to sleep is waaay to small to be left in all day which is obviously a problem when I want to go to Perth for a few days.
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Yeah- I appreciate your problem. And I used to let mine go all over my yard when they jumped the fence, too.

I've only had foxes here around August. Your chickens were taken in Nov, weren't they?

If you lock them up for a short period with water and food, they will survive. Or leave them out for those few days and just have your fingers crossed.
 

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Well went out and had a look at 11pm last night and the silly thing wasn't on them and I had to physically put it back on, I don't think they are going to work unfortunately.. It's about 40+ for the next 3 days though. It still sort of seems broody when you try and get in there to look at the eggs, but you can't really pick them up to check them properly because in a small cage in just rounds around stepping on them and don't want them to crack.
 
Nah this one was safely away with most of the others in my newer pen. The mums taken were just in loose in the backyard and just 1 adult in the old pen that's easy to get into. Surprised it didn't go for the other adults in there actually, and also surprising that they didn't look too flustered about anything either when I found them in the morning.
 
Kram81 said:
Well went out and had a look at 11pm last night and the silly thing wasn't on them and I had to physically put it back on, I don't think they are going to work unfortunately.. It's about 40+ for the next 3 days though. It still sort of seems broody when you try and get in there to look at the eggs, but you can't really pick them up to check them properly because in a small cage in just rounds around stepping on them and don't want them to crack.
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Was going to suggest candling them- but there's probably no point now. They'll either hatch or they won't- sorry to be Mrs Obvious but that's how it is, unfortunately. I still have my fingers crossed that it'll be OK. We've had pretty warm nights and the brooder would have had to fan those eggs all darned day today, wouldn't she? What day is it now?
 
Teriyakicat said:
Was going to suggest candling them- but there's probably no point now. They'll either hatch or they won't- sorry to be Mrs Obvious but that's how it is, unfortunately. I still have my fingers crossed that it'll be OK. We've had pretty warm nights and the brooder would have had to fan those eggs all darned day today, wouldn't she? What day is it now?
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About 16 days I think. It's about 28 degrees here atm, just tried to put her on them then and it wouldn't have a bar of it. Try again later when it's dark.

There's actually another that's clucky and I would at least swap some over to that one but I don't have any other cages to put it in. Obviously cant put them under it now where it is in the big pen with all the others.
 
Kram81 said:
About 16 days I think. It's about 28 degrees here atm, just tried to put her on them then and it wouldn't have a bar of it. Try again later when it's dark.

There's actually another that's clucky and I would at least swap some over to that one but I don't have any other cages to put it in. Obviously cant put them under it now where it is in the big pen with all the others.
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Can you swap the clucky hen with the fickle dud hen when it's dark? Or do you think it'll just upset the applecart?
 
Teriyakicat said:
Can you swap the clucky hen with the fickle dud hen when it's dark? Or do you think it'll just upset the applecart?
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That will be a last resort I think, rang mum she reckoned maybe it's just feeling the heat.. Splitting them would have been ideal, 11 is too many eggs for them really anyway, they are small chooks.
 

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Just watched it sort of stand over the eggs for the last couple of hours as if it was trying to work out if it was cool enough yet to sit on them again. Just then I sat it down on the eggs and done it obligingly, I think it actually knows what it's doing should give nature more credit lol.

It's just unusual for us to see them look after a clutch full stop and never in this sort of weather. It has to get through one more stinker tomorrow and then it cools down, hopefully at least some work.
 
Juggalo Balla said:
I'm trying to have a quick google read up about it.

Apparently high temperatures are worse than low.

36 degrees C shell temperature is the low end of what you should have. You can check with an ear thermometer apparently.
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Yeah, I was trying to find info as well- I thought I read somewhere that the hens will stand over the eggs and fan them. I remember mine standing up rather than settling on the eggs when it was very warm but mine were hatched in Dec, I think.
There's a particular desired humidity, as well, and it's recommended that water is kept fairly close to the hen as she uses it to keep the eggs at the desired humidity.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y5169e/y5169e06.htm
 
Read 36-39.5 was the ideal range I think. Apart from this and the 2 that got killed these are the first time since about 20 years ago as a kid I've actually been able to watch them closely. They've always disappeared under the house. Heck one I didn't even notice was missing until it just emerged with 14 babies lol.
 
Kram81 said:
Read 36-39.5 was the ideal range I think. Apart from this and the 2 that got killed these are the first time since about 20 years ago as a kid I've actually been able to watch them closely. They've always disappeared under the house. Heck one I didn't even notice was missing until it just emerged with 14 babies lol.
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So you're acting just like a mother hen?? lol
I totally understand- we were very excited when ours were hatching as well :)
(If I could guarantee hens every time, I'd hatch over and over and over. Pity I've got a poor strike rate and a soft heart so I can't get rid of my roos :()
 
lol now it stood up again, I don't know.. Usually if they were just mongrels I wouldn't care that much either way but I've gone to such effort these. Little Pekins were the worst to lose just got given them as a bonus but got very attached to them and want a couple more. And that old brown sussex to start laying eggs again go clucky for the first time at 8 years old sit on a nest for 2 months after us trying about 10 times to kick it off, actually get one to work and then be a great mother was just so unusual thing. Then get killed..

I did laugh when the old bloke said no matter how often you do it you never really like having to slaughter any animal to eat or whatever. "But I actually get great pleasure in catching and killing a ****ing fox."
 
Kram81 said:
lol now it stood up again, I don't know.. Usually if they were just mongrels I wouldn't care that much either way but I've gone to such effort these. Little Pekins were the worst to lose just got given them as a bonus but got very attached to them and want a couple more. And that old brown sussex to start laying eggs again go clucky for the first time at 8 years old sit on a nest for 2 months after us trying about 10 times to kick it off, actually get one to work and then be a great mother was just so unusual thing. Then get killed..

I did laugh when the old bloke said no matter how often you do it you never really like having to slaughter any animal to eat or whatever. "But I actually get great pleasure in catching and killing a ****ing fox."
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Every fox you kill will do humankind a great service, Kram- remember that! And the farmers will all thank you from the bottom of their hearts. I don't know what the average stock/poultry loss per fox would be but you certainly lost a few in one hit- s/he probably kills once a week on average (just guessing here) so that's a hell of a lot of kills in one year. (I know I lost 6 chooks in one night :() If you could kill him and prevent those stock/poultry losses, you'd be a local hero!
 
Well you feel bad about your Rooster yesterday Teriyakicat this is far worse. Poor little runty is about dead this morning, frail from sitting and the heat yesterday took its toll. And it's all my fault :(

Dumb, dumb, dumb should know better :( Worrying about the poor things eggs when I wasn't even thinking if it was ok itself, it was one of my favourite pets too.
 
Juggalo Balla said:
Give her a cold bath if there's still time.

Hope you can save her :cry:
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lol mate it's still breathing but it's knackered. **** I'm sick of burying hens this month and they've all been my favourites. Maybe I shouldn't beat myself up too much its cage was in full shade under a massive tree, any normal chook not weak from sitting would've been fine. But what I should have done is dug up some earth next to the nest and really soaked it in for it to sit in that keeps them cool. Also usually it wouldn't have been locked away all the time like that and allowed to roam the yard during the day but the fox..
 
Kram81 said:
Well you feel bad about your Rooster yesterday Teriyakicat this is far worse. Poor little runty is about dead this morning, frail from sitting and the heat yesterday took its toll. And it's all my fault :(

Dumb, dumb, dumb should know better :( Worrying about the poor things eggs when I wasn't even thinking if it was ok itself, it was one of my favourite pets too.
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:cry:
Oh no! Poor little thing!
Good luck- maybe put her in your bathroom or laundry today if you can. Dip her in water if she's hot and try and use a syringe or dropper to give her a little water perhaps mixed with a bit of honey for energy. Don't syringe too much into her or it'll go down the wrong way and that will end badly.

If you don't have those things just try dropping a bit off a spoon into her mouth. If she's feeling sick, she might not drink by herself and it sounds like she desperately needs rehydrating.
 
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