COCKADOODLE DOO

[mick]

Well it does not take long to enter the realm of Ma and Pa Kettle.
Its a bloody circus. But I have the best eggs in town for 50 years.
More to follow.

[mick]

All are still alive, no mites, no worms touch wood.

We managed to create the first traffic jam in Seaspray history, well two stupid women did.

What is a chook supposed to do when its being honked at from both directions. I would have sat down too.

They all sat down, all 8 of them. Olly must have taught them that, when hes confused he just sits too.

A bad day is 5 eggs, a good day is 8 eggs. 8 maybe once a fortnight, usually I get 6 a day.

One is worse than a dog, its got a green leg band, as soon as my back is turned its in the house,

The rest, take a minute, this one, well I guess it just knows where the food is.

There is one that is clever, it flattens itself when I want it. I like that one, its the lightest colored one, maybe the smallest.

It is interesting to see how lilttle they weigh, all that food and the energy goes into eggs.

I suppose ive picked half of them up and given them a nurse for a few minutes. Usually when I am hunting them out of the house.

I remember a study that said chickens have only two "calls" treat from above, threat from ground level.

Stupid people in white coats. I reckon I could list a dozen different noises they make to me.

They are now on $10 a week of greens from the grocer as well as their pellets and grains, but the eggs are amazing.

Ah some mince steak and eggs in there too. They wont eat the shell grit I collected for them but they love the ancient shell grit they dig up

from the paddock next door, I give them the last 30 minutes of the day out the front as I know they come back, Its easier.

Just so golden and rich.

The largest so far is 99 grams.

They spend a lot of time under the house as its been very windy.

If I was to start again, I would just get a shed for them to sleep in not a convoluted chook house.

Altho0ugh this ones very easy to clean, they get clean and fresh material every day, its so easy to do.

I need to build a box to get all this grass and straw composting. Ive decided its easier to remove all the grass each morning

under that is wood shavings from which I remove the wet areas. I think the chooks appreciate the effort.

I have trained myself to get up in my sleep and let them out when I hear the first magpie and go back to sleep.

All great fun. Hope all is well at your end.

[crazy8s]

Sounds like you've adapted well to country life.

[PinkDiamond]

Yes, sounds like you're really doing well with them, and what a riot that they caused the first traffic jam in town.

That used grass and wood chips will make very rich soil for you, and I just threw mine in a pile and let it sit, turn it once in a while, and the most beautiful brown soil is left that things grow very well in. Also, if you're giving them any seed feed, many will fall to the ground and sprout so you can let them grow and harvest your own seed, or pull them up. I gave them both pellet feed and seed feed with corn in it so they had some variation in their diet and could choose either or both.

I agree a shed would be easier, which is why I designed a walk-in coop I could move about in freely, that had small doors along the sides to let the ducks out into each breed's run, so the ducks mostly stayed in the runs and house during the day to avoid males fighting and breeds getting mixed, while the chickens of all types roamed freely.

I miss my birds, and I don't see that hawk much anymore, but I know it's still around and I don't trust that it's safe yet to try getting more birds. I also miss the exercise I got every morning tending to them and cleaning the coop, so hopefully I can start up again with more of them soon. In the meantime I'm really enjoying your chook tales, mick.

[kjsspot]

Hmm... I think a vacation for an Aussie omelet may be in order...

[mick]

Plenty of room no worries.
Funny you mention hawks. I dont notice these chooks looking up much but yesterday they all ran under the house and I looked way way up in the sky and sure enough there was an eagle. clever girls. they not fooled by the fake owl on their coop, neither are the sparrows.
time to get creative.

[mick]

We have a saying here pussy whipped, well i think i am chicken whipped.
Up at sparrows fart to let em out, more vegies than a vegan xmas, daily excursions, change of sheets every day.
No wonder they now weigh twice as much as when I got em. They have gone from feeling like a pigeon to a solid chook, not meat chook
but heavier than the usual battery model the ISA brown is.
I like it when i give em mince and then after I say are you happy chooks and they all coo in unison.
They are as smart as a dog I reckon.
When I call them 6/8 come cackling to me.
I bought a dine a chook feeder, they are getting used to it. '
As much as I like casting feed for them, its now spring and tooo many vermin birds to do that.
So now they have to learn to stick head in pipe.
So far, in a few days, Im using a 1/4 of the feed I used to.

[PinkDiamond]

LOL mick! We have the same saying here, so your analogy was not lost on us.

You're definitely up to your ears in chickens now, and tell you the truth, I actually miss the exercise I got every morning tending the 45 ducks and chickens I used to have, although I was not a stickler for letting them out at the crack of dawn. Instead, I left them until I was ready to tackle the work and start my day, which means in winter they'd go out after the sun warmed things up, and if I had to leave for the day, I cleaned them, but didn't let them out because of the predators if I couldn't be here to watch them. Even before the predators got any of them I often put them inside if I went out in the afternoon, just in case I got back after dark because although most of them would be waiting inside the coop by dusk, some would fly up into the trees, and try to roost there, where they're prime targets for owls to pluck from the limb and carry them to their nest for a tasty chicken dinner.

I've never seen a feeder they had to stick their heads into a pipe to feed from, though, so can you show me what that thing looks like? I'm trying to picture how this pipe works, but haven't shopped for feeders for years now so I'm not really getting how it works.

Mine had a top container that held the feed, which dropped into the base with pecking holes in it (or no holes on some models, just the tray) that they fed from. I also kept their feed inside the coop, and even scraps would go into a bowl so other critters wouldn't see them, although many can smell them anyway, which is why Cyclops always raided the coop.

You said you change their sheets every day; what are you using for a substrate? I always used hay, which I removed daily and composted, so I got some really rich soil to add to my garden, too.

And yes, they are pretty smart, which is why Maverick was able to live in the house, and he ended up being a great pet, both inside and out. He would follow me into the garden and stand there waiting for me to dig up a worm or slug to give him, and it's amazing because you can actually develop a personal relationship with these birds; especially if you have a special one that comes to you on its own.

I'm enjoying hearing the saga of your venture into chickens and egg laying, and I'm so happy this is working out so well for you that you've become big a fan of them. You're actually the alpha chicken to them; they know your form, and your voice, so they'll come to you when you call, but ignore others doing the same thing. That, and you're eating really well because of them since it's a symbiotic relationship; you give to them, and they give to you. What could be better?

[mick]

The other morning I got up and there were two rabbits in the backyard, chooks waiting to get out and a fox in the paddock, a little one. It ran, came back, then ran away. As long as there are rabbits my chickens are a bit safer.

Here is the dineachook in action

Now I can monitor how much feed they are eating too.

It holds 11 cups, I think they eat 4 a day but too early to tell yet.

The plan is well its underway, to plant the boundary with a 1 metre wide strip all around, about 75 metres sides and back.
The straw and grass and pine shavings from the coop will cover this strip. Its a great way to use up the waste you see.
Instead of buying mulch, I get two uses from the stuff I buy for the chooks.

I got 150 tubestock plants to go in.

I put down cardboard in the nesting boxes, then pine shavings then grass. They make the grass into nests and all the froppings go into the grass.
I remove it each day, and wet pine, when the cardboard it wet, the whole lot goes out. The cardboard is my guide.
The area between boxes, shavings and straw.
On the ground, in the coop cage area, just straw which I rake out.
I move it each 2 weeks to let grass grow back.
They dont spend much time in there, during the day, they go under the house if they want a rest.

[mick]

I forgot to tell you we got another saying here, we call some blokes Christmas Trees when the woman is in charge.
Their balls are just for decoration.