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Post by StepfordRenegade on Jul 13, 2014 17:50:43 GMT 10
I'm looking into rescuing a few battery hens, I've wanted chickens for ages but being in suburbia I've always talked myself out of it... plus, the neighbours absolutely destroyed their yard letting the chickens roam free which is a bit offputting.
I've done a fair bit of research online, but I would like any first hand experience, pros, cons etc. Last time we had chickens I was a kid so I don't remember much of it.
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Post by graynomad on Jul 13, 2014 20:41:38 GMT 10
I can't help but I also would like this info. We have friends who just bought two layers and I will be following their progress, they got a coop from Bunnings, bought the chooks and that was about it AFAIK. Apparently layers are hard to get right now, at least up here.
Oh, my friends bought 2 but apparently you should really buy 3 (or more I assume?) as there are fewer issues with pecking each other.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2014 22:27:16 GMT 10
Chickens (or maybe quail?) are on my to-do list. My family growing up always kept chickens and it seemed dead easy, but I'm still a bit scared going into it new again myself. I've been reading up a bit and everyone makes it seem so complicated! All I remember was throwing them scraps, a few handfuls of chook-food, clean the water bowl, collect the eggs and you're done. Oh, and lock them up at night so foxes/predators don't get them. That was it.
I've got a small, unused patch of garden I'm eyeing off for the hen run. It would be big enough for three hens, but I'm also toying with the idea of quail. They are meant to be slightly quieter, easier maintenance, and just as many eggs (just smaller! But you can keep more birds to balance out).
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Post by thereth on Oct 1, 2014 23:28:59 GMT 10
we got 5 chooks a few months back. They have been fantastic. we get 3-4 eggs a day, however the bob tails and mice have been getting them the last week or 2.
They are incredibly low maintenance and wonderful pets, we have them in a pen for the most part, but let them out for a dy or 2 every now and then.
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SM+?
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Post by SM+? on Oct 1, 2014 23:50:12 GMT 10
Quails have smaller eggs but they do less damage to the ground, also ducks have eggs about the same size or slightly bigger and again do less damage then chooks but ducks need a small water hole to waddle in. Geese have bigger eggs, are good guard pets but are noisy.
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Post by Whisperer on Oct 2, 2014 0:54:22 GMT 10
We have 12 chooks at the moment half of which are broody at the moment and sitting on eggs. These were either raised from scratch (incubated eggs) or purchased as young birds. I agree about having more than 2 but depending on your yard size no more than four. My chickens range over more than an acre so they do not do much damage at all but in confined spaces they can be destructive. I saw a story once on Gardening Australia where they had chooks in small mobile coops in gardens as weed control but if left to their own devices they will eat all your seedlings.
Ducks are messy but do like to eat our lawn. But if you want an interesting choice Guinea Fowl are a great idea as they are also very territorial and will gang up on snakes if they come near them.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 9:05:55 GMT 10
Quails have smaller eggs but they do less damage to the ground, also ducks have eggs about the same size or slightly bigger and again do less damage then chooks but ducks need a small water hole to waddle in. Geese have bigger eggs, are good guard pets but are noisy. Geese terrify me. They are vicious creatures! Definitely good guard animals, lol. Guinea fowl are lovely, quirky animals. We had a flock free roaming on our 8 acre property growing up. Not sure how they would go in an urban area as they can really fly and like to perch in high trees and TV antennas. Might have to be fully enclosed. Also they seemed to like hiding their eggs, so unless they are fully enclosed, don't rely on them for eggs. |
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Post by graynomad on Oct 2, 2014 10:59:05 GMT 10
We have at least 5 scrub turkeys that hang around, I can hand feed 2 of them. They dig up the wood chip a lot and I have to remind them that Christmas is approaching  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 17:54:22 GMT 10
Sorry SR, I can't help. I once levitated a goat but never raised a Chicken!  |
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Post by Whisperer on Oct 2, 2014 19:01:43 GMT 10
Yes they are undead chickens  |
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wolfstar
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Post by wolfstar on Oct 2, 2014 20:58:57 GMT 10
Battery hens need extra tlc, especially if they have barely any feathers, you need little coats sewn or knitted to insulate them. And from what I've heard they need to be taught to forage. Because they live in a cage eating pellets their whole lives until that point. I'm not sure what else but I will go find out what I can |
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Post by thereth on Oct 2, 2014 21:01:09 GMT 10
ours were a combination of the free range and battery, the 2 battery hens learnt well from the others, the only issue is that their beaks are little more than stubs and it seems to be a lot harder for them to get worms and bugs.
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SM+?
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Post by SM+? on Oct 2, 2014 21:48:12 GMT 10
I've had chooks and ducks and have found the ducks do better in same areas and vice versa. I guess you need to assess the where, what, weather and eggs, once you know the answer to these it makes it easier to choose.
- where your living ?
- what you want ?
- is the weather hot, warm, cold or freezing ?
- how many eggs produced each day per bird ?
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Post by Fractus on Nov 18, 2014 14:18:45 GMT 10
I have 9 rescued hens, 6 non rescued( all brown hyline) 2 barnvelder pol (point of lay) 2 very young leghorns and 4 geese. One borrowed rooster that has just started to attack me so it needs to go home.
Chooks are easy but do need to be looked after. Time is needed for feed water and clean area. Plenty of info on the net, what is not always explained is that chooks can be your best prep as if you have the room they free range and can get by without any food from you although that is not ideal.
If you don't have room to let them out of their hen house at all then they will just be caged hens which should be a last resort.
I am no expert by any measure but very committed to my chooks and have made a lot of mistakes so have learned quite a bit from my errors and love to share info.
Ps geese eat grass and not a lot else. If you incubate them yourself you are head honcho with them until they breed then they are temporarily angry teenagers for a while.
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Post by Fractus on Jan 8, 2015 14:22:49 GMT 10
Current poultry stock. 2 laying brown hyline and 11 isa brown. Not sure if there is any real difference? Lost one to the female goose who got it by the neck and held on. Plus we have 2 silver laced wyandotte hens which we intend to breed and sell as pullets. And of course we have the 2 geese which are lovely but pests at times. They follow me everywhere and they shit continuously. Every 5 minutes,,, plop plop.
Current plan is to put the Wyandotte over the layers as well. We want to try selecting for improvement to the wyandotte's egg numbers. Mostly for fun.
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VegHead
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Post by VegHead on Jan 8, 2015 16:20:06 GMT 10
We currently run Light Sussex (a very stupid breed with fab tasting smalls eggs), Brown Hylines (high protein food addicts that lay very large tasty eggs. We have a free range egg farm up the road that sells them for $5 each - a bargain), Blue and Black Australorps (our main dual purpose birds), black Leghorns (cutest little road-runners you'll ever meet, love to be cuddled and actually will sit on you for 45 minutes to an hour without so much as a poop!), and finally a motley collection of bantam hens as brood mothers (they cost us nothing and make fantastic brooders for your fertilised eggs).
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