BYAP goes chooky

Faye · **Posted:** Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:19 am

Ducks I guess and maybe wine grapes, what do ya rekon?
You did say no to goats yeah!

fizzyj · **Posted:** Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:16 am

Food&Fish wrote:

Also google rollaway nest boxes

Brilliant F&F - just what I needed.

Faye · **Posted:** Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:43 pm

We received some new arrivals today, so far the office sounds like a friggin bird cage, in a beautiful but piercing way. We have some "ever so cute" babies. Joker is beside himself, yet again, not knowing whether he should visit the rabbits or the chooks, or just stay in here with the fluffy yellow things.
We need help though! After being told that these are roosters we are trying to determine their fate. I didn't believe that you could tell the sex at 9 days. Apparently they are hylines and the others that hatched had brown feathers and were said to be the females, I am not yet convinced. Here is a sneaky peak, any help would be greatly appreciated. Don't think we can put up with the noise if they won't lay eggs and you can't eat them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. For sale at the right price$

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Axl · **Posted:** Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:01 pm

Is Joker choosing his supper?

Faye · **Posted:** Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:36 pm

Joker had udon noodles, and no he is not having chicken. Thinking if they are roosters Ercia may like them!

Simo · **Posted:** Sat Jul 02, 2011 3:17 pm

Who told you they were roosters? I thought that due to the auto sexing by colour the breeders disposed of the roosters as soon as they hatch, if they were rescued from this fate or they come form a small breeder they may be roosters, but if they came from a large commercial breeder I would doubt they would be roosters.

According to the 5th paragraph down here:

http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and- ... ckens.html

The roosters are yellow in that breed, but when I have had Isa Brown chick in the past they were yellow and they turned out to be hens.

Here is a nother interesting like on sex linked colour breeding.

http://www.chickencolours.com/Chicken%2 ... Basics.pdf

Faye · **Posted:** Sat Jul 02, 2011 6:11 pm

Thanks for those links Simo, looks like an excellent read for a cold/ wet winters afternoon.The chicks were incubated at a school as a lesson to special needs children and because I did not believe it when I was told they were roosters I accepted them. I just thought you could not tell at such an early age, now if it is true that they really are roosters, then we have to decide what to do with them. I have a couple of thoughts, does anyone else have any suggestion? They really are very cute.

Peasants · **Posted:** Sat Jul 02, 2011 8:36 pm

It looks like now could be a good time to try it out whether you want to breed animals for food!

You could grow them out and see if they are roosters or hens.... and if roosters....then......you know what.....then ....roast chicken dinner.....
Will you give it a go??????

Food&Fish · **Posted:** Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:09 am

Rooster pizza

Faye · **Posted:** Sun Jul 03, 2011 3:30 pm

Highlines are definately not meat birds, cause they are all bones. (So I believe, correct me if I am wrong.) :dunno:

I don't that whether Joel can stand the chicks chirping and Jokers excitement in the office too much longer. They need regular changes of water, feed and newspaper, the smell is phew!

earthbound · **Posted:** Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:34 pm

They aren't in the office any more....

Hope they are right over night in the workshop, they still have their light and they are in a foam box.. I think we are probably better off getting a known quantity, like fertile eggs or young chicks of an all purpose bird, then if some are roosters, at least they will have a bit of meat..

The chooks are performing well at the shop now though, for the past few days we have had 4 eggs a day from the 4 chooks..

Burnsy · **Posted:** Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:27 pm

Joel, try the Kelmscott High School Ag facility. They raise highline chicks as part of the primary program and then sell them when they are not cute anymore (about 15 weeks I think). All are sexed and the good thing is they are use to being handled by dozens of school kids so make nice chickens. I have some at home and they are great.

earthbound · **Posted:** Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:05 pm

We got a monster today...

The poor girl who laid this one must have had a bit of a hard time... 92grams and far to big to fit into any of the boxes... The white eggs are from the gold lace winedots, the browns are from the Isa browns or hilines or whatever they..

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earthbound · **Posted:** Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:00 pm

Next round of chooks here.... Yay... Faye went and picked up some Australorps, I've been wanting to try them for a long time, very hard to get them at any decent size, you just have to get the few day old chicks...

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Very cute little ones they are...

Though of course there are the downsides of having them at this age, constant feeding, constant cleaning of the cage, keeping them warm etc..

earthbound · **Posted:** Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:40 pm

The little yellow chicks from the picture in my earlier post have grown quite a bit... We were given some nice galvanized stands which were used as paving brick displays, a quick bit of welding of some mesh on either end and they make a good planter for growing wheat and other green herbs in where the chooks can browse at them from the outside.

One minor problem at the moment, they are small and can still get in there.. That won't last long though...

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We've built 2 new pens, second hand aviaries are great for this, you can usually pick them up for under $100 then instal a perch, a bit of chicken wire, add a gate and your laughing.. We now have three pens, one for Gold lace wyandottes, one for the Australorps, and one for the "egg laying machines" (hyline/isa browns).

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BYAP goes chooky

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BYAP goes chooky

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Bringing food production home