|
For the last five weeks Daisy has been locked into her nest, broody as heck. Her nest sister, Bella, who normally slept in the Eglu nest was unable to turf her out of the prime spot. Then Wednesday evening, she did just that, kicked Daisy out of the nest. Daisy then spent a good half an hour out of the Eglu scratching around on the lawn in the evening light. This was unusual. We had started crop feeding Daisy a couple of days before, twice a day with a watery mix of critical care formula, as it didn't look like she was drinking much at all and it's been hot weather wise here. Anyway, Thursday morning with chicken up & out time and Daisy trots out of the nest along with Bella! Five weeks to the day! She's a little slow, is still a little sensitive to things going on around her, but it's like she is remembering all the things she used to do and eat. It does look like the broody-ness has finally finished, which is such a relief. Daisy missed the whole of June. She was weighed 3 days before going broody (vet check up) and weighed 2.15kg. She went down to 1.78kg, so lost about a quarter of her bodyweight. For five weeks she was like this:  Today: 
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 30, 2024 05:03 |
|
|
spookygonk posted:Today:  it's a miracle to me that ex-batts can even go broody. they're hatched in machines and raised in factories, she never even had a mum, but still she tries  babymy friend has a contraption he calls the space shuttle that's a mesh box suspended on a fence about a metre in the air, he puts chickens in there to break their broodiness because (like fb said) having empty space beneath them snaps them back to reality somehow. he only ever leaves them in there for a few hours at a time, which is good, because i saw the shuttle in action and they were the angriest and most indignant hens i've ever seen in my life lmao nankeen fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Jul 6, 2019 |
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:30
|
|
|
Norris, how's the one with the deformed beak? Was that Foghorn? How's she handling being out in the wild?
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2019 00:56
|
|
|
eating only apples posted:Norris, how's the one with the deformed beak? Was that Foghorn? How's she handling being out in the wild? That's Foghorn, yeah! She's doing okay. Eating, but still doesn't seem to get quite as much as everyone else since she's runty and not as fierce, so lately I've been making sure she gets some solo feed time. I'd like to keep her because she seems very interested in being my friend! I'm concerned that egg-laying will be too demanding for her body, so I'm going to look into one of those "birth control" implants to prevent that. If it all works out I think she'll be a good pet.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2019 01:33
|
|
|
spookygonk posted:For five weeks she was like this: O_O that's a serious brood. The only time I've had a girl go broody, I'd just reach under her and grab the eggs every day and she gave up after a week or so.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2019 13:44
|
|
|
my chickens are not very tame, i apparently didn't snuggle them enough as babies their indignation over being put away at night is hilarious, though, so at least i've got that going for me i'm going to make them even more indignant when i force them to become my friends
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2019 14:56
|
|
|
my cat is norris posted:my chickens are not very tame, i apparently didn't snuggle them enough as babies the first few broods i raised, there was always a moment when i looked at all the skinny wild half-feathered things that had suddenly replaced my sweet fluff dumplings and thought "oh no my chick are sick" but it was always just the beginning of their ugly phase, it corresponds with a rebellious phase, and then the roosters all start learning to crow and oh lord
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2019 18:49
|
|
|
I'M A GRANDMOTHER the extra quails I gave away to my husband's boss last summer finally laid a whole bunch of eggs and then they hatched and now there are quailings in the world again.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2019 19:00
|
|
|
my cat is norris posted:I'M A GRANDMOTHER the extra quails I gave away to my husband's boss last summer finally laid a whole bunch of eggs and then they hatched and now there are quailings in the world again.   more of them
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2019 19:59
|
|
|
mum said she saw a (native) quail crossing the road yesterday and when she came back the other way there was a young wedgetail eagle eating something on the ground exactly where it had been sun rise, sun set
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2019 20:01
|
|
|
I feel like if you designed a maze to test the intelligence of a quail, they would somehow catch on fire.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2019 23:56
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/HIYORATORY/status/1148450168661954560
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 13:20
|
|
|
 Daisy's having a good dirt bath this afternoon.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 14:48
|
|
|
Is there any kind of fast-growing ground cover-y type stuff that you'd recommend planting for chickens to eat/run around in/etc.? When building the coop, we had to clear out an area beside our patio to re-purpose the gravel, so now it's just bare dirt. Plain grass is boring and I hate it. I was thinking maybe clover or something - it's a partly sunny area. Anyone have any recommendations?
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 19:06
|
|
|
In my experience the chickens are going to pick the ground bare and there's nothing you can plant that will grow faster than they can tear it up.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 19:17
|
|
|
Halloween Jack posted:In my experience the chickens are going to pick the ground bare and there's nothing you can plant that will grow faster than they can tear it up. I don't mind that they tear it up, but quick-n-easy (and not poison) would be a bonus so that I can keep replanting. It's just a part of the yard, they'll have lots of other areas to practice being destructive as well.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 20:03
|
|
|
I've replaced most of the grass with clover, and it's basically crack for chickens (and bees)
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 20:27
|
|
|
Do they like mint? Most animals seem to avoid it, and invasive / fast growing as all hell
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 20:28
|
|
|
Chickens do love grass, however, especially when it has a chance to go to seed. We have a 4x1x1 box in the run, like a planter with chicken wire stretched over the top so that they can't reach the dirt with their feet. I don't seed anything specific in there, but weeds and grasses come up, and the birds pick at it. They also like wild strawberries a lot (potentilla).
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2019 21:38
|
|
|
Those are a good way to have some greens at the ready, My girls took two days to annihilate a fully planted run
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2019 08:30
|
|
|
interestingly, guinea fowl barely touch greens at all. chickens are more omnivorous, guineas eat mostly bugs (and reptiles and rodents if they can get them), so they do very little damage to a garden unless they're hungry enough to start eating leaves. the only damage mine ever did was by dust-bathing under saplings and uprooting them accidentally
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2019 10:51
|
|
|
nankeen posted:interestingly, guinea fowl barely touch greens at all. chickens are more omnivorous, guineas eat mostly bugs (and reptiles and rodents if they can get them), so they do very little damage to a garden unless they're hungry enough to start eating leaves. the only damage mine ever did was by dust-bathing under saplings and uprooting them accidentally What do guineas think of green panic? Not only is it apparently the food of the gods for chickens, horses, and cows, but apparently also for carnivorous cats and dogs. Even most humans seem unable to walk past a fresh juicy patch of it without taking a nibble.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 12:26
|
|
|
If you ever wonder how chickens managed to survive in the wild, just remember that horses exist. We had a retired working pony who would regularly have to be locked in his limited-hay-only-no-grass run because apparently there's nothing a horse loves more than to eat so much grass that their hooves start turning to mush.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 12:29
|
|
|
Chickens, like most humans, are narrowly smart. That is, they can display surprising intelligence in specific contexts but in other cases can be rather baffling. In general I think they're more intelligent than given credit for, especially when they can exhibit their natural behaviors.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 14:06
|
|
|
Also, we've been selectively breeding for some 8000 years to be fat and/or full of eggs and okay with being in close contact with large mammals who like to handle them and grab their eggs, and have transplanted them all over the world from their natural jungle habitat. They are good at many things that would keep a chicken alive in the jungle, with the deliberate exception of things that would be inconvenient to a hungry human.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 14:16
|
|
|
I really like letting the chickies out of their home in the morning and watching them do the flapflap stretch of their wings and legs. It's adorable. It's also when the boys decide to be all cheeky with each other, which is cute in its own way.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 16:22
|
|
|
the guineas never really even ate the green panic, although they'd take a nibble when it was seeding. the most unusual grass-related guinea thing was that we had a bank of waist-high kikuyu in our paddock and the keets immediately knew what it was, as soon as the sun went down they'd head straight for the kikuyu and eventually got good enough at hiding in it that even my dog couldn't flush them out. i never lost one after a night in the kikuyu, either. it's native to the same regions they are, so it must have been instinct!my cat is norris posted:I really like letting the chickies out of their home in the morning and watching them do the flapflap stretch of their wings and legs. It's adorable. It's also when the boys decide to be all cheeky with each other, which is cute in its own way. i love it when they chest and kick at each other. i've said this before but wait until they all start to crow. it makes everything worthwhilewhen i let my quails out to free-range (obligatory note to all, do not do this) they celebrate by jumping up and down on the spot three or four times really quickly while whirring their little wings
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 20:30
|
|
|
CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:What do guineas think of green panic? Not only is it apparently the food of the gods for chickens, horses, and cows, but apparently also for carnivorous cats and dogs. Even most humans seem unable to walk past a fresh juicy patch of it without taking a nibble. Ah that's what my dog keeps eating
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 20:52
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB_dlkxyCPM
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2019 23:53
|
|
|
Electric Sugar posted:Is there any kind of fast-growing ground cover-y type stuff that you'd recommend planting for chickens to eat/run around in/etc.? Two ideas that I've done myself. I replaced much of my lawn with microclover. It is a form of white clover that is shorter and works better as a lawn. I even got one of those old fashioned reel mowers and I was able to catch it as I mowed it and dumped it in the run. Chickens went crazy. The other thing is comfrey. I planted a small cutting that I got off ebay a few years ago and it has spread like crazy. I want to separate it out again and move it right beside the run. That ground is now super high in nitrogen, which comfrey loves. It is a pretty plant too. I wish I took pictures of it flowering, it produces pretty purple flowers. The kind I got is sterile, doesn't produce viable seeds, so it will spread but won't take over your yard. It is supposed to be something like 25% protein.  I've seen people online who say its toxic and it might be if that's all you give them but mine like it and have never had a problem
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2019 01:15
|
|
|
Some people have a skin reaction to the little hairs on it and should wear gloves but I don't think it's really toxic in any sense. I got a bunch of it as well and yeah the chickens go for it. Also great for compost or topdressing.
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2019 13:50
|
|
|
after three days apart, frida and felafel are friends again. he is allowed back in the coop and has resumed his guardianship hell if i know what happened there
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 01:36
|
|
|
Lover's quarrel. I'd watch the heck out of a quail soap opera.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 08:39
|
|
|
Enfys posted:Lover's quarrel. I'd watch the heck out of a quail soap opera.  
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 09:58
|
|
|
Enfys posted:Lover's quarrel. I'd watch the heck out of a quail soap opera.  ) and hot chip was introduced to chateau felafel, but after a few days alone they're now bathing together and grooming each other and everything. maybe frida planned it that wayi'm now down to losing a quail about every six months or so, which i think is a rate of almost natural attrition
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 11:24
|
|
|
(obligatory reminder not to free-range your quail, you will lose them, i'm doing it because i specifically want to design refuges for quail-like native endangered birds as a living and need to experiment)
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 11:28
|
|
|
it's emotionally easier when it's a rooster. poor lillypilly couldn't get a go at hot chip, who seemed to know she was his sister, or frida, who belonged to felafel, so it must have been a frustrating life for him. i like to think that when he flew over the fence he immediately struck out to find his own hen, and his mind was focused firmly on the sex as he marched off into the pre-dawn darkness and was immediately taken by an owl
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 11:32
|
|
|
These chickens... my chicks are just 3 weeks old now. For the last week or so, at the end of the day the mom has been flying up to the highest roost in the run (about 6 feet off the ground, it's not as far going from other roosts) and seeing if the chicks could follow her (only a couple could), before heading back to the nest on the ground for the night. Last night, all the chicks managed to get up there, and my two other hens did as well and they all spent the night! I was worried that the chicks wouldn't be warm enough or might fall off in the middle of the night but I let them do their thing and they're all fine this morning. I guess putting in a ramp to the coop and a special low roost in there was pretty unnecessary... Just hope they all start going back in there when winter comes along again. I just never would have thought that 3 week old chicks could happily spend the night roosting 6 feet off the ground. (I'm still a little unsure about it myself, honestly...) You can see one of the chicks on mom's back in this very blurry photo, to the left of the two hens. I know I need to do something better w/ that cord, it's for the camera in there. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 13:01
|
|
|
My chickies put themselves to bed in their coop last night and I didn't have to do anything to encourage them or fight them and I'm so pleased and proud.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 13:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 30, 2024 05:03 |
|
|
this thread has the best parenting skills on the whole site lol
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2019 13:09
|
|