Pets chickens

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Kram81 said:
Thinking about it in that cold weather I doubt the flies would have gone for it, so it might have been a bit crook then maybe scouring a bit which gave the flies a chance to attack when it warmed up. Was actually one of my favourite chooks, it was the original one that introduced that 'hat' thing. I've still got its daughter and a grand daughter, it's actually annoying that I didn't breed more from it.
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It's always sad when it's a special hen. Glad to hear that you have some offspring of hers. :)
 
Teriyakicat said:
How's your fancy chicken coming along, estibador? has she started laying for you? Sometimes the fancy ones can be late starters and lay intermittently, so don't be disappointed if you're not getting an egg per day.
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She laid her first egg last week but hasn't laid again yet. My friend said her older sisters are good layers so I'm hoping she'll turn out ok.

For now I'm just happy the other chooks have stopped picking on her and are letting her into the laying box at night and the compost heap during the day. They were pretty brutal to her at first and she looked pretty lonely having to hang out down the other end of the compound by herself.
 

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estibador said:
She laid her first egg last week but hasn't laid again yet. My friend said her older sisters are good layers so I'm hoping she'll turn out ok.

For now I'm just happy the other chooks have stopped picking on her and are letting her into the laying box at night and the compost heap during the day. They were pretty brutal to her at first and she looked pretty lonely having to hang out down the other end of the compound by herself.
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That's good that it's turning out OK. She will probably lay better once she feels safe enough.

I always feel sad for the henpecked chickens. They do sort themselves out, though, and there are a few tips such as introducing them into the pen at night or having them run alongside the area you're putting them into, for a while, so they can get accustomed to each other. I've got a poor old rooster that gets a terrible time from a younger, taller one - he's always losing tail feathers as they get pecked out at every opportunity. Having said that, though, the little bugger always attacks me when I go into the chook pen, so it serves himself right, doesn't it? :p
 
The white little mongrel bantams I hatched last spring have started with their eggs and they are very good layers at least at the moment. For tiny birds the eggs they also produce a surprisingly decent sized egg. The younger sussex started earlier but are only laying the occasional one for some reason, I want to put a set under a clucky hen but only have 3 so far, really need at least 5 or 7. Hopefully get a couple more today as there were none yesterday.
 
Teriyakicat said:
If it's a Polish, they don't lay a lot of eggs. Probably about 100 eggs per year max. Mine don't seem to go clucky at all- they just don't lay. The little one lays about half of the amount of eggs that the bigger one lays.
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Kram81 said:
Yeah, the problem with some of those birds is that they have been selectively bred for many years for looks and not worrying at all about utility.
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No such dramas with this one guys. Now she's got into the swing of it she's laying as many eggs as the other three chooks combined!

They're only half the size of the others, but I can't complain about her productivity.
 
estibador said:
No such dramas with this one guys. Now she's got into the swing of it she's laying as many eggs as the other three chooks combined!

They're only half the size of the others, but I can't complain about her productivity.
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That is really good news, estibador! And eggs from little bantams can be quite tasty, too. Glad to hear your little one is going well.
 
estibador said:
No such dramas with this one guys. Now she's got into the swing of it she's laying as many eggs as the other three chooks combined!

They're only half the size of the others, but I can't complain about her productivity.
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Usually the younger ones do very well on their first stint. It's why the factory farms chuck them out after a year.
 
Teriyakicat one chook just left the nest after a few days, silly thing. But the other one is looking good and hopefully they will hatch on this weekend. Another pullet has been mad to sit on eggs but still has suspect feet.. don't want her chicks getting scaly mites.

Oh another nutter has been under the house on its own clutch, if Smokey is any good they shouldn't be too long away. Pekin cross hens should actually be good because it will turn them into decent layers crossed with mine but don't want too many as I imagine the roosters will very hard to get rid of...
 
Kram81 said:
Teriyakicat one chook just left the nest after a few days, silly thing. But the other one is looking good and hopefully they will hatch on this weekend. Another pullet has been mad to sit on eggs but still has suspect feet.. don't want her chicks getting scaly mites.

Oh another nutter has been under the house on its own clutch, if Smokey is any good they shouldn't be too long away. Pekin cross hens should actually be good because it will turn them into decent layers crossed with mine but don't want too many as I imagine the roosters will very hard to get rid of...
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Hopefully you will recognise the roos early and can knock 'em on the head... (Yeah, sure! Like I do!!)
Were you too late to shove those eggs under the other hen? Or didn't they fit?
I found 7 eggs hidden under the flap of a bag of alfalfa yesterday - from my black Polish, by the looks. :mad: Wondered why none of the chickens have been laying recent. I have two clucky silkies but have had no red hen eggs, only one maybe Pekin, perhaps Silkie, egg every second day and that's it- for the past few weeks. I think something is eating them. Probably a lizard. My egg drought often coincides with warmer weather, when snakes and lizards are out and about.
 
Teriyakicat said:
Hopefully you will recognise the roos early and can knock 'em on the head... (Yeah, sure! Like I do!!)
Were you too late to shove those eggs under the other hen? Or didn't they fit?
I found 7 eggs hidden under the flap of a bag of alfalfa yesterday - from my black Polish, by the looks. :mad: Wondered why none of the chickens have been laying recent. I have two clucky silkies but have had no red hen eggs, only one maybe Pekin, perhaps Silkie, egg every second day and that's it- for the past few weeks. I think something is eating them. Probably a lizard. My egg drought often coincides with warmer weather, when snakes and lizards are out and about.
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Not just crows? Sneaky ****s! The other day I had some under a heavy rug on a chair under the patio and they were flying in and lifting it up to get to them underneath!

95% of the time 3 Sussex hens every day all laying 1 each, mongrels dropped off a touch but still laying well. (must ask if the neighbours want some)

lol the one with its own clutch although it runs out for a mad feed in the morning I have ZERO idea where's it's cozy little nook it has hidden itself under the house. And mongrels unless you have had the same breed a few times are very difficult to sex. I'm quite happy if she's had 4 or something just don't want like 12!

Sussex roos are easy as to pick but that doesn't matter anyway because the Roos are easy to give away.
 

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Kram81 said:
Not just crows? Sneaky ****s! The other day I had some under a heavy rug on a chair under the patio and they were flying in and lifting it up to get to them underneath!

95% of the time 3 Sussex hens every day all laying 1 each, mongrels dropped off a touch but still laying well. (must ask if the neighbours want some)

lol the one with its own clutch although it runs out for a mad feed in the morning I have ZERO idea where's it's cozy little nook it has hidden itself under the house. And mongrels unless you have had the same breed a few times are very difficult to sex. I'm quite happy if she's had 4 or something just don't want like 12!

Sussex roos are easy as to pick but that doesn't matter anyway because the Roos are easy to give away.
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Yeah- could be crows or maggies. I sometimes wander out 10 times during the course of the day to check for eggs but there's nothing. They are all getting on, though- some are about 4 y.o.
 
Not sure what type of chickens we have, but we got them from our niece and nephews year 2 class after hatching them.

Fast forward 4-5 months, we had our first two eggs the weekend just gone, since then no more eggs, is this normal? Do we need to be concerned?

I have put it down to being young still. Hope i am correct.
 
JohnW said:
Not sure what type of chickens we have, but we got them from our niece and nephews year 2 class after hatching them.

Fast forward 4-5 months, we had our first two eggs the weekend just gone, since then no more eggs, is this normal? Do we need to be concerned?

I have put it down to being young still. Hope i am correct.
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My guess is would be that they are just young. My Sussex started just laying the odd one initially at around 6 months, kind of almost completely stopped (when I was desperate for eggs to breed from of course) now they pretty much have been laying on each now every day for a couple of months. Although spring atm is the absolute peak laying season I'd just wait they are very young still.

Can you post a picture of them?
 
JohnW said:
Not sure what type of chickens we have, but we got them from our niece and nephews year 2 class after hatching them.

Fast forward 4-5 months, we had our first two eggs the weekend just gone, since then no more eggs, is this normal? Do we need to be concerned?

I have put it down to being young still. Hope i am correct.
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Schools here often have red chickens. Hope your chicks are all hens :)
Hylines, maybe?
Young chooks lay sporadically. They can also sneak off and lay around the place in unexpected places- even under a raised nest, inside a bag of hay or under the folded-down flap of a bag of alfalfa, as I discovered a few days ago. :(
 
JohnW also keep an eye out for any really large eggs. Before you break it open, get the kids to watch because it might be a "double yolker". My kids used to love watching me break them open to see if there were two yolks.
One day we hard boiled one to check it out.
 
The first egg was small but was a double yolker. We have looked around their enclosure and they are not hiding them anywhere. I will post a picture ASAP. Cheers guys.
 
I would think so. If you go to City Farmers and pet stores, Hylines would be what they sell, though 10 years ago it was ISA Browns. Both are hybrids. They are machines!! I reckon they'd lay 300+ eggs in their first year, then that would drop to .. I guess maybe 75% of that or so in their second year, then another drop off after that. I've got 4 year old chooks that lay occasionally but I'm not a head-chopper unless they are seriously sick.

If you look at some of the poultry forums, you can ask questions - or go and visit your local stock food place or pet shop. They usually have someone to ask if you're worried about anything to do with the chooks.
Backyard Poultry is one good forum that you might like to look at. Or Australian Poultry.

Or Google :) Here's a little bit of info to start you off. Don't get too stressed about the doom and gloom stuff, though.

http://www.suburbanchooks.com.au/information-sheets/isa-brown-information/

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/pets/pet-road-tests/birds/hybrid-chooks/#.VgOH9Nkayc0

And enjoy your eggs!!
 
Thank you! Will hopefully post regularly. Looking at getting another 2 but will do so when this lot is around 1 year old, as I don't want to end up with 4 chooks that all stop laying at the same time.
 
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