odway
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Posts: 7
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Jan 28, 2009 23:50:45 GMT 8
Post by odway on Jan 28, 2009 23:50:45 GMT 8
Hello team WA poultry trader, I'm odway from the northern suburbs. I'm new to this forum but also to chickens etc, I'm hoping I'll be able to get some help here to set me up properly right from the start. I appologise in advance for the "noob" questions I'll be asking! I've just moved on to a 10 acre property and my housemates and I decided we'd like to give keeping chickens a go, but before jumping into it we want to do some research and reading, hence why I am here I think that's it from me, looking forward to seeing what this site is like! over and out odway
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Jan 29, 2009 6:36:15 GMT 8
Post by lakelands on Jan 29, 2009 6:36:15 GMT 8
Hi odway welcome to the site. I am sure you will find every one here full of information and will be a lot of help getting you started. plus no doubt offer you endless entertainment. Every one here like lots of photos so will be great if you can keep us posted with your progress I am also in the Northern suburbs so if you need any help I should be close by Cheers Carolyn Carolyn
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Jan 29, 2009 6:45:32 GMT 8
Post by Cluck N Waddle on Jan 29, 2009 6:45:32 GMT 8
Hi Odway, Welcome to WAP Dont apologise for 'noob' questions, we were all new to chooks at some stage and asking questions is the best way to learn. So fire away with the questions! Good luck with your chookie endeavours Steph
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Jan 29, 2009 7:15:32 GMT 8
Post by fluffychook on Jan 29, 2009 7:15:32 GMT 8
HI Odway, glad to have you and your housemates with us.
We all have questions, even the more experienced of us. I have had chickens on and off for about 27 years, but most of that was just getting a few ex battery hens and hoping for the best.
My sister gave me some silkies and pekins a few years back, but unfortunately we had a bad run with foxes, so hubby said no more chickens until I sort my shed out. Well I told him the shed is a project that seems to be getting put back as something always comes up.
Then around April last year my sister was going cull these gorgeous silkies and asked me if I would like them. I battered the eyes at hubby and he gave in (shed put back again...lol). It was then with the help of the internet I discovered the wonderful world of silkies.
There are so many breeds to choose from, you just need to decide what you are wanting from your chooks.
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Jan 29, 2009 10:37:29 GMT 8
Post by chooksrus on Jan 29, 2009 10:37:29 GMT 8
Welcome odway This is a great site and you will find it very informative as well as entertaining. Good luck with your venture into the world of chooks. They're certainly a lot of fun.
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Jan 29, 2009 10:43:35 GMT 8
Post by plink on Jan 29, 2009 10:43:35 GMT 8
Hi Odway and welcome. This is a great site to learn about poultry and to have a little fun with games etc. There is a "Forum" on this web called library where members do reviews on books they've read, it might be able to assist you in what you want and need to know. I only started last December with an incubator and eggs, now i've got 10 chookens just over 5 weeks old. Once you get started it can become addictave very quickly. LOL Plink
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odway
New Member
Posts: 7
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Hello!
Jan 30, 2009 9:53:15 GMT 8
Post by odway on Jan 30, 2009 9:53:15 GMT 8
Wow thankyou for the kind welcome! Very encouraging (and thanks Carolyn, nice to know there is help nearby!). I've read a few books (must check out the library thanks plink!) but in my experience there is nothing like getting information from people who know first hand how to live with chooks, looks like team WAP will be of much help to me! Great! Thanks again for the lovely welcome. You said fire away with questions so here goes, I hope you dont mind reading! Firstly some background: I checked with the council and we are ok to keep birds, there are two chicken farms on our street as well. We have decided not to have roosters though and just want hens and have told our neighbours. We have a lot of space to keep chickens (10 acre property) and there is already a half finished run that was here when we moved in -approximately 5m squared, 2 meters high and dug another 2 meters into the ground. My plans were to put the hen house in there, and then let them into that run during the day, with the whole lot predator proof. Occasionally they could go into a portable run during the day, we cant let them out free because of the dogs and alpacas that we have. Question 1: Is that enough space to keep a handful of chickens? There are four of us in the house, half of us like eggs sometimes (like would eat maybe 2-4 per week) and the other two of us really like eggs. We also like the idea of sending people home with a carton of fresh eggs when they come over, or taking some back to our parents every now and then. Question 2: how many laying hens do we need? Question 3, 4, 5 : My housemates would like to rescue battery hens. Will these provide us with enough eggs? Is their life expectancy shorter? Are they vaccinated? I would like two "pet" chickens, some eggs would be a bonus but they'd be more for handling and letting the kids cuddle. I worked with chickens previously and have a soft spot for silkies and belgiums. Question 6: Would it be possible to keep one silkie and one belgium in with the standard hens? I think that is it for the moment. I did warn you! THANKS!!!
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Jan 30, 2009 10:12:20 GMT 8
Post by Cluck N Waddle on Jan 30, 2009 10:12:20 GMT 8
No we dont mind reading Answer Q1: Your pen is 5m squared right, so thats 2.5 x 2.5... ok well thats pretty small so I wouldnt keep very many chooks in there. It would be different if they were only in there at night and free ranged during the day but if they're in a pen that size 24/7 there isnt much room. Personally (everyones opinions will be different), I wouldnt keep anymore that 3 chooks in a pen that size. That also depends on whether you're wanting large breeds or bantams. Answer Q2: How many laying hens do you need... well, as I said above, with a pen that size you wouldnt be able to keep very many birds. So I'd say no more than 3 layers for that size pen. Answer Q3,4,5: I've had a couple of ex-battery hens and they've been pretty good layers. They would be vaccinated. As you're probably aware, they look absolutely shocking when you get them but with a couple of months of TLC they will look good. This is a good time of year to get ex battery hens because their lack of feathers actually works to their advantage with the heat. If you buy them in winter, they can really struggle and quite often people have them dying on them because they get too cold with their lack of feathers. Answer Q6: If you are intending to get ex battery hens, its highly unlikely that you will be able to keep banties with them. Ex battery hens are very dominant, bullying, aggressive birds towards other chooks especially bantams. I definately wouldnt keep a Silkie with an ex battery hen because Silkies are very docile gentle natured birds that can be easily stressed to death especially by being chased around and attacked by a larger chook. I cant speak for Belgiums as I havent had any. If you are wanting a laying chook that can mingle with bantams I really wouldnt recommend ex battery hens. Go for a calm good natured breed. There are members on here who keep laying breeds that will be able to advise on some good ones. Hope that was of some help
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odway
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Posts: 7
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Jan 30, 2009 11:25:58 GMT 8
Post by odway on Jan 30, 2009 11:25:58 GMT 8
woopsy, I mean each fence is approximately 5m (or maybe more, I will go out and measure it today!). Maths was never my stront point Thanks for that info! Hmm, I guess we may need to keep the bantams seperately then... I was hoping we could keep them together for simplicities sake. Would it be possible to keep another laying breed in with the bantams?
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Jan 30, 2009 11:37:34 GMT 8
Post by Cluck N Waddle on Jan 30, 2009 11:37:34 GMT 8
Lol no thats ok odway, maths wasnt my strong point either Yes, you can keep large breeds with bantams. For example, in my 'laying hen' pen I've got a pair of frizzled banties in with rhode island reds, brown leghorns and even geese and they all get along happily so yes it can be done As I mentioned above, some members on here breed large birds so they will be able to recommend which breeds would be best to mix with bantams.
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Jan 30, 2009 17:21:02 GMT 8
Post by lakelands on Jan 30, 2009 17:21:02 GMT 8
Hi Odway I am in agreement with Cluck on all of the points particulary the ex battery hens. While they are pretty good layers they do have a tendancy to peck at other birds in with them. That's because all they had for entertainment in the smal cages was pecking at their neibouring chook. You would need approx 5 square meters per bird if they are going to be kept entirely in the cage. So if your cage is 5m x 5m thats 25 sqaure meters which means 5 hens total. Wyandottes and plymouth rocks are supposed to be very docile breeds. I have just got my first Wyandottes so I hope that this is right. If you do get the battery hens maybe you could get a smaller portable chicken coop for your pets.
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odway
New Member
Posts: 7
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Hello!
Feb 4, 2009 21:51:31 GMT 8
Post by odway on Feb 4, 2009 21:51:31 GMT 8
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Feb 4, 2009 22:10:19 GMT 8
Post by lakelands on Feb 4, 2009 22:10:19 GMT 8
Wow Looking good. I would recommend that you use Bird netting over the top as you will be able to stretch it round that tree trunk. That's what I've used on all of mine. you can get it from Bunnings or Knights in Wangara The extension that you are adding would not need to be quite as secure as that can be the day chook run and then you would lock them up securely at night although I would still recommend some bird netting over the top if you are going to have any babies at some stage. Just to keep the crows and hawks out I have attached a pic of one of our chook runs with the bird netting on top. There's a big banksia in the middle of the run and the bird netting is stretched around it and tied to the wire fencing to secure
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Feb 5, 2009 6:41:19 GMT 8
Post by Cluck N Waddle on Feb 5, 2009 6:41:19 GMT 8
Looking very good odway The bird netting is probably a good idea. At the least you wont have to worry about crowing nicking your eggs like they do to me . I dont have netting on the top of my pens because theres trees in the pens so its a bit difficult. How much does that bird netting cost Carolyn? I've been thinking about that stuff for my new Silkie pens so the crows cant steal the precious eggs.
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Feb 5, 2009 7:13:41 GMT 8
Post by lakelands on Feb 5, 2009 7:13:41 GMT 8
I think the bird net cost about $8.00 - $10 per meter I bought it a while ago for my fruit trees then changed moved it to the chook pen. It streches a long whay so if you get the length of the pen it will probably cover the width easily
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