Chooks!
#61
Re: Chooks!
It depends on which council area you live in. On the North Shore I believe you can have 6 chickens but no roosters in urban areas.
#62
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Wellington
Posts: 217
Re: Chooks!
Sounds really good! I only want a couple of hens -a rooster would end up in my famous coq au vin the first morning it woke me! I do need my beauty sleep and will let no male disturb it...
#63
Re: Chooks!
here's mine ( sorry to hijack but I can't resist posting pics of the chooks!)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26...e/IMG_1610.jpg
the black ones are looking very messy and bald just now
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26...e/IMG_1607.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26...e/IMG_1153.jpg
This is Gladys my lovely boy
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26...e/IMG_1610.jpg
the black ones are looking very messy and bald just now
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26...e/IMG_1607.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26...e/IMG_1153.jpg
This is Gladys my lovely boy
#64
Re: Chooks!
thank you!
You know what, you really get used to the crowing. We sleep through Gladys now so unless we're awake already sleep right through his racket, and he's only about 10m away from our bedroom!( I hasten to add we are very rural so don't have any near by neighbours to disturb!)
How are yours doing Wiz n Ton? Mine that look similar to yours have started crouching which means eggs any day ish! You got any eggs yet?
You know what, you really get used to the crowing. We sleep through Gladys now so unless we're awake already sleep right through his racket, and he's only about 10m away from our bedroom!( I hasten to add we are very rural so don't have any near by neighbours to disturb!)
How are yours doing Wiz n Ton? Mine that look similar to yours have started crouching which means eggs any day ish! You got any eggs yet?
#65
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 0
Re: Chooks!
thank you!
You know what, you really get used to the crowing. We sleep through Gladys now so unless we're awake already sleep right through his racket, and he's only about 10m away from our bedroom!( I hasten to add we are very rural so don't have any near by neighbours to disturb!)
You know what, you really get used to the crowing. We sleep through Gladys now so unless we're awake already sleep right through his racket, and he's only about 10m away from our bedroom!( I hasten to add we are very rural so don't have any near by neighbours to disturb!)
#68
Re: Chooks!
One of our 'babies' laid her first egg just now!
Not in her bed but right in the middle of the run, but who cares!! Well done, Abigail!
Not in her bed but right in the middle of the run, but who cares!! Well done, Abigail!
#69
Re: Chooks!
Ah, congratulations Pixie-Dust!
Our local paper had a short article about hens. It basically says the shortening day length brings on a moult and egg laying is dramatically reduced or stops completely. A hen will stop laying between 8 weeks to 4 months over the moulting period. Once the moult is over they start laying again but won't be as prolific although eggs may well be larger.
We fed ours a hot mash throughout last winter though and they continued to lay, although not as productively.
Basically, being female, I think they'll do as they please in their own damn time thank you very much
Our local paper had a short article about hens. It basically says the shortening day length brings on a moult and egg laying is dramatically reduced or stops completely. A hen will stop laying between 8 weeks to 4 months over the moulting period. Once the moult is over they start laying again but won't be as prolific although eggs may well be larger.
We fed ours a hot mash throughout last winter though and they continued to lay, although not as productively.
Basically, being female, I think they'll do as they please in their own damn time thank you very much
#70
Re: Chooks!
We have 5 chooks and one has been poorly for the last week or so...worms we think. So I've dosed her up and a couple of days later she started to look as though she was getting better.
However the big problem is the other 4. I guess it's a survival of the fittest thing, but they are being really......and I mean really .....aggressive towards her. Jumping on her in a gang, pecking and just generally laying into her like she was a spotty oik outside a grubby bar in Manchester at 2am Sunday morning. She really is going downhill - we're trying to keep them seperate but it's difficult 1st thing in the morning and at dusk as we've only one coup for sleeping.
It's got to the stage where she's lust lying down all day and refusing food and water. We may well be at the neck under and axe stage soon unless we gat any divine inspiration.
However the big problem is the other 4. I guess it's a survival of the fittest thing, but they are being really......and I mean really .....aggressive towards her. Jumping on her in a gang, pecking and just generally laying into her like she was a spotty oik outside a grubby bar in Manchester at 2am Sunday morning. She really is going downhill - we're trying to keep them seperate but it's difficult 1st thing in the morning and at dusk as we've only one coup for sleeping.
It's got to the stage where she's lust lying down all day and refusing food and water. We may well be at the neck under and axe stage soon unless we gat any divine inspiration.
#71
Re: Chooks!
Biddy, L and I knocked up a wee house in an afternoon when Maude went broody and that's where she stayed to bring up her babies.
It's also come in incredibly handy as a sick bay. We had 2 roosters from the eggs we hatched and one day they had an almighty fight ( it was an accident waiting to happen and we did get a new home for one of them) but Bert spent almost a week in sickbay to recover and get strong again.
I can pm you a pic if you want - it was really really simple and it's a very good thing to have if you need to separate them for any reason.
Failing that do you know anyone that brought a cat over from the uk? and if so do they still have the crate it came in? We've used that too as an emergency, and if she's feeling crook and not moving about it'll have enough room for a few days.
Poor chook
It's also come in incredibly handy as a sick bay. We had 2 roosters from the eggs we hatched and one day they had an almighty fight ( it was an accident waiting to happen and we did get a new home for one of them) but Bert spent almost a week in sickbay to recover and get strong again.
I can pm you a pic if you want - it was really really simple and it's a very good thing to have if you need to separate them for any reason.
Failing that do you know anyone that brought a cat over from the uk? and if so do they still have the crate it came in? We've used that too as an emergency, and if she's feeling crook and not moving about it'll have enough room for a few days.
Poor chook
#72
Re: Chooks!
Unfortunately poor chook is now a very dead and buried chook.
I made a shelter for her last night but it was obvious she wasn't going to make it.
We had a little ceremony this morning and the kids have made a 'gravestone' to go alongside 'Wendy' who died this time last year.
Very sad.
I made a shelter for her last night but it was obvious she wasn't going to make it.
We had a little ceremony this morning and the kids have made a 'gravestone' to go alongside 'Wendy' who died this time last year.
Very sad.