Pets chickens

Mar 6, 2014
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Pretty sure it's day 21 today and can't hear or see anything, hmm..

Chucked the 2 little uns in the big pen for the first time this morning, despite the odd peck mainly from the older pullets they seem to be going alright in there.
Glad to hear the little ones are going ok. Fingers crossed for a hatching over the next 24 hours.
 
Mar 6, 2014
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Just the 1 Pekin trying to hatch out this arvo, hopefully some more start moving tonight.
Yay for Lil' Barlow!! She's died a hero!!!
You must be so rapt to have a bit of movement in the nest, Kram. Have you been up late tonight, checking now and again?
I hope you have a bit of luck with this hatching!
 
May 2, 2007
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Pekin made a small hole in its egg and another 2nd Pekin just started at its shell, but no others. A bit later than usual as tomorrow will be day 22, last couple of times they were almost all out by now but the eggs seemed solid so hopefully by tomorrow a few more have come good.
 
May 2, 2007
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2 Pekins haven't made much progress overnight but seem healthy, I'll try and resist the temptation to intervene at least for the moment and a couple of the Sussex eggs have started. Poor littly Runty must have let them cool down a bit at some stage so they are a little late.
 
May 2, 2007
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Well that's a surprise, one of the Pekins is actually black.. the other is Buff. Only 2/4.

3 Sussex have hatched, 3 Sussex eggs left unhatched and pecking sounds on one of them there so should end up with at least 4 of those.

Not that bad I guess, would have preferred more Pekins but he only had 4 eggs at the time
 
Mar 6, 2014
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Well that's a surprise, one of the Pekins is actually black.. the other is Buff. Only 2/4.

3 Sussex have hatched, 3 Sussex eggs left unhatched and pecking sounds on one of them there so should end up with at least 4 of those.

Not that bad I guess, would have preferred more Pekins but he only had 4 eggs at the time
That is really great- a bit of everything in that mix. It's as if Barlow has gone and picked an egg of each type and put those eggs in the middle under her.
 
May 2, 2007
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Well that's unlucky, one of the chicks about to break out this morning must have been completely rolled back exactly upside down on to the hole where it was getting for an hour or so after I put it back and looks to be dead now :( Must have strangled itself or something trying to twist back around..

Also the first chick that came out pretty sure isn't even Pekin because it has nothing on its feet and is the same colour as the others, must be either a cross or one from an unusually small Sussex egg :confused: Maybe from a pullet I guess.

That's a shame because I really wanted to replace the little Buff ones (although still very happy to have 1 little black chap) ah well maybe next spring. ****ing fox.
 
May 2, 2007
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Been taking them out to sleep in the laundry at night, will leave them in tonight with the others though. They've been quite fine in there with the older chickens. Fortunately I've pretty much not had any serious problems with fighting or bullying, well ever.

Probably wise for the others to be nice to them because eventually they will end up being far bigger than anything else in there hehe.
 

little graham

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We used to breed our own chickens for food. I remember cutting their heads off with a tomahawk, then watching them run and jump around. As they were growing up, we would look at the different personalities developing, to try and work out why some (headless) run and jumped further than others. We worked out the cleaner the cut, helped them along a bit.
 
May 2, 2007
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We used to breed our own chickens for food. I remember cutting their heads off with a tomahawk, then watching them run and jump around. As they were growing up, we would look at the different personalities developing, to try and work out why some (headless) run and jumped further than others. We worked out the cleaner the cut, helped them along a bit.
How different does it taste from the factory farmed stuff they sell at the supermarket?

I haven't eaten proper chook since a kid when dad culled some roosters, stopped eating the stuff from shops a few years ago.
 
Been taking them out to sleep in the laundry at night, will leave them in tonight with the others though. They've been quite fine in there with the older chickens. Fortunately I've pretty much not had any serious problems with fighting or bullying, well ever.

Probably wise for the others to be nice to them because eventually they will end up being far bigger than anything else in there hehe.

That's good to hear. They'll have forgotten about the fox in no time.

What's your total numbers now? Also are the chicks being looked after?
 

little graham

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How different does it taste from the factory farmed stuff they sell at the supermarket?

I haven't eaten proper chook since a kid when dad culled some roosters, stopped eating the stuff from shops a few years ago.

It tastes absolutely beautiful. Almost melts in your mouth when you chew.You don't get so bloated and your body recognizes its fuller, sooner. The eggs are again another level above. You need less to make cakes, patties, ect. Organic chook products build muscle better and you s**t better.

i have a metabolism that loves chicken. But I won't eat supermarket chicken products.
 
It tastes absolutely beautiful. Almost melts in your mouth when you chew.You don't get so bloated and your body recognizes its fuller, sooner. The eggs are again another level above. You need less to make cakes, patties, ect. Organic chook products build muscle better and you s**t better.

i have a metabolism that loves chicken. But I won't eat supermarket chicken products.

I saw a doco once that measured the amount of bacteria in a factory farmed chook which was slaughtered inside a "clean" abattoir and one that was slaughtered in a little outdoor "unclean" open wall shack and the factory chook had millions of times the bacteria.

I think it was Food inc.
 

little graham

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I saw a doco once that measured the amount of bacteria in a factory farmed chook which was slaughtered inside a "clean" abattoir and one that was slaughtered in a little outdoor "unclean" open wall shack and the factory chook had millions of times the bacteria.

I think it was Food inc.

One person would grab the chook, hold it down so its neck was against a slice of red gum and its flat edge. One swing and into the wood the blade of the tomahawk penetrated, holding its self there. The chook would run around and jump in the weeds, dirt and stubble. Sometimes we would catch the chook, bleed and gut it like a fish and place it in hot water to soften up the feathers. The only tools we'd wash, was the knife and the pots for hot water (normaly pots from the kitchen) the tomahawk and the wood we used as a base, or the brush to defeather, wouldn't get washed until feathers and blood built up on the handle. Sometimes months.
 
One person would grab the chook, hold it down so its neck was against a slice of red gum and its flat edge. One swing and into the wood the blade of the tomahawk penetrated, holding its self there. The chook would run around and jump in the weeds, dirt and stubble. Sometimes we would catch the chook, bleed and gut it like a fish and place it in hot water to soften up the feathers. The only tools we'd wash, was the knife and the pots for hot water (normaly pots from the kitchen) the tomahawk and the wood we used as a base, or the brush to defeather, wouldn't get washed until feathers and blood built up on the handle. Sometimes months.

I'm sure it was fine as long as everything was going straight into the pot. I think it's more about the environment the chicken was raised in. Good free range chickens have nothing to worry about and should be very healthy.
 
May 2, 2007
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That's good to hear. They'll have forgotten about the fox in no time.

What's your total numbers now? Also are the chicks being looked after?

Oh ffs the other last one died after hatching out :mad: So ended up with 4 Sussex and 1 Pekin, a little disappointing but better than nothing I guess. Hopefully get a couple of hens after all that..

Now overall have 5 adult hens of different ages, 5 pullet hens and 1 cockerel, 2 little un Sussex and the mother with 5 chicks.

Mother seems fine but doesn't seem to feed them as much as usual just eating herself.
 
Oh ffs the other last one died after hatching out :mad: So ended up with 4 Sussex and 1 Pekin, a little disappointing but better than nothing I guess. Hopefully get a couple of hens after all that..

Now overall have 5 adult hens of different ages, 5 pullet hens and 1 cockerel, 2 little un Sussex and the mother with 5 chicks.

Mother seems fine but doesn't seem to feed them as much as usual just eating herself.

Yeah can't be too happy with that given how many eggs there were. Still the flock numbers are coming back up which is nice.

Do you get special chick food? Not sure what makes it different, had no experience with anything younger than point of lay.

Planning to do some home breeding with the rooster?
 
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