Will try and post here again soon - got concrete floors into the hen houses now - need to get bird netting for the top to keep the wild birds out!
Dad is building me a poultry palace in preparation for getting more Silkies - is starting to look really good!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Friday, June 4, 2010
It's been a while........
I haven't done much posting on any of my blogs lately, attack of life is my excuse and I am sticking to it!
Sadly, we ended up losing all our Silkies we bought from the breeder last May. The last one passed away about 1 month ago. The 3 roosters (which we think may be crosses) that we bought at the auction over 12 months ago are still doing fine. The one we had with the Silkies now has a new harem of about 6 hens from the other pen and the other two are in the bigger pen with about 15 hens. We are getting about 8 eggs a day at the moment - not bad considering we don't know how old the hens are! Custard (one of the ones I hand raised) is doing well and seems to be laying now too. Most of the hens are Isa browns that we bought at a local auction. Funnily enough, the ones we buy at auction we seem to have more luck with - go figure :-)
I'd really love to get some more Silkies but I think we will wait a while. There is a local breeder I'd like to talk too and I really need to learn more first as they seem to be quite sensitive. What ever killed them all hasn't bothered the other chickens at all!
Sadly, we ended up losing all our Silkies we bought from the breeder last May. The last one passed away about 1 month ago. The 3 roosters (which we think may be crosses) that we bought at the auction over 12 months ago are still doing fine. The one we had with the Silkies now has a new harem of about 6 hens from the other pen and the other two are in the bigger pen with about 15 hens. We are getting about 8 eggs a day at the moment - not bad considering we don't know how old the hens are! Custard (one of the ones I hand raised) is doing well and seems to be laying now too. Most of the hens are Isa browns that we bought at a local auction. Funnily enough, the ones we buy at auction we seem to have more luck with - go figure :-)
I'd really love to get some more Silkies but I think we will wait a while. There is a local breeder I'd like to talk too and I really need to learn more first as they seem to be quite sensitive. What ever killed them all hasn't bothered the other chickens at all!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Quick update
Sadly we have only one Silkie hen left now, one of the black ones with the cutest pom pom! We have called her Daisy - the pen is lonely now with just her and the little Modern hen. We are debating on whether or not to put one of the roosters with her - she has been laying eggs which is awesome!!! Fingers crossed she stays well! I really don't think the hot weather is agreeing with them :-(
The other pen is going well - we lost one chook around Christmas but the rest are going strong - we get between 6 and 12 eggs a day at the moment. Thanks girls!
The other pen is going well - we lost one chook around Christmas but the rest are going strong - we get between 6 and 12 eggs a day at the moment. Thanks girls!
Monday, November 2, 2009
It's been a while
Life continues on at an increasingly hectic pace which has meant no time or energy for keeping blogs updated - there are simply not enough hours in the day and other things that are higher on the priority list :-)
The silkie toll has increased - we lost poor Miss Violet sometime Saturday night - she was an old chook so not unexpected but still sad. We now have only one Rooster and 3 Hens left of the 16 we bought back in May. We did get an autopsy done on one which didn't show anything unusual but the cost for the pathology was a lot more than we were prepared to pay. If we happen to lose the rest, we will clean out and disinfect the pen and leave it empty for at least 3 months before we try again.
On happier news, we bought about 30 Isa Brown hens at the Ballimore Auction last month of differing ages. We lost one but she seemed to have a tumor or something on her foot. The rest are going well and we are getting between 6 and 15 eggs a day at the moment! They are the funniest things and follow you everywhere! When mum is gardening they go right up to the fence waiting for the weeds that she throws to them :-)
The three Silkie cross(?) roosters are still going great guns - they are sweet guys and we hope to pair them up with some hens in the future.
The Silkies have been laying an egg about every second day or so. We have about 15 now - we were hoping to hatch some if they were fertilised. Not sure that is going to happen now.
The silkie toll has increased - we lost poor Miss Violet sometime Saturday night - she was an old chook so not unexpected but still sad. We now have only one Rooster and 3 Hens left of the 16 we bought back in May. We did get an autopsy done on one which didn't show anything unusual but the cost for the pathology was a lot more than we were prepared to pay. If we happen to lose the rest, we will clean out and disinfect the pen and leave it empty for at least 3 months before we try again.
On happier news, we bought about 30 Isa Brown hens at the Ballimore Auction last month of differing ages. We lost one but she seemed to have a tumor or something on her foot. The rest are going well and we are getting between 6 and 15 eggs a day at the moment! They are the funniest things and follow you everywhere! When mum is gardening they go right up to the fence waiting for the weeds that she throws to them :-)
The three Silkie cross(?) roosters are still going great guns - they are sweet guys and we hope to pair them up with some hens in the future.
The Silkies have been laying an egg about every second day or so. We have about 15 now - we were hoping to hatch some if they were fertilised. Not sure that is going to happen now.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Time for a post
I haven't been posting much on anything lately - work is super busy so I don't feel like doing much when I get home.
We haven't had much luck with our silkie's - we have lost ten of the 16 we bought back in May. Really don't know what is happening and they are going one at a time :-( Not good. Hopefully things will start settling down.
I'll try and get a photo or two on the weekend as a couple of them have the best top knots :-)
We haven't had much luck with our silkie's - we have lost ten of the 16 we bought back in May. Really don't know what is happening and they are going one at a time :-( Not good. Hopefully things will start settling down.
I'll try and get a photo or two on the weekend as a couple of them have the best top knots :-)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Not having much luck with chickens lately......
The one with the sore leg had to be put down, another Silkie broke a leg and died, and a third one appears to be not well. We also lost Shadow the Chook (one of the three I hand raised). Found her dead on the ground in the hen house a fortnight ago - very sad.
On the upside - we got three eggs today!
On the upside - we got three eggs today!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Chickeny goodness
Well, not much news has been happening here - I know it is the oldest excuse in the book but I am just too busy to be posting. I usually remember when I am just drifting off to sleep and I am not dedicated enough to get up and say something! LOL
We have gone from 18 Silkies to 17 - we had one of the grey ones die about ten days ago. I suspect she went out of the hen house in the cold and couldn't find her way back in and froze - or, she jumped out of the tree and killed herself. This is not as odd as it sounds, you see, our new lot of silkies are rather energetic and love to chase each other around the pen playing games. There is one particular tree in their enclosure that has a sloping branch from the ground that they like to climb. They then wait until another chicken walks underneath and they jump on them. It is hillarious!!! (However, potentially dangerous.) So, not sure if the cold got our little hen or if perhaps she had a misadventure when playing in the tree. Or the third option - was she pushed?
So, now we put a board in front of the opening to the hen house to ensure no little rascals go out in the cold at night. They have feed, plenty of straw and little hidey places to sleep. I just need to get a self waterer in there! Part of the delight with this is I get to let them out of a morning. They cheep to me when they hear me coming and the more I talk to them, the more they cheep. It is rather sweet actually - then there is the race for who is out the door first! LOL They follow me everywhere ;-) The funny thing is, the bigger chickens in the other pen follow me along the fence line and 'talk' to me too. I must admit, it is one of my favourite things to do each morning! I know, I'm a bit clucky - just call me the chicken lady!
We also have a broody hen in the large chicken pen - not sure that she is sitting well enough to hatch them though. We have let her keep four eggs and will see how it goes although I am not sure there is much of a chance for success........
We have gone from 18 Silkies to 17 - we had one of the grey ones die about ten days ago. I suspect she went out of the hen house in the cold and couldn't find her way back in and froze - or, she jumped out of the tree and killed herself. This is not as odd as it sounds, you see, our new lot of silkies are rather energetic and love to chase each other around the pen playing games. There is one particular tree in their enclosure that has a sloping branch from the ground that they like to climb. They then wait until another chicken walks underneath and they jump on them. It is hillarious!!! (However, potentially dangerous.) So, not sure if the cold got our little hen or if perhaps she had a misadventure when playing in the tree. Or the third option - was she pushed?
So, now we put a board in front of the opening to the hen house to ensure no little rascals go out in the cold at night. They have feed, plenty of straw and little hidey places to sleep. I just need to get a self waterer in there! Part of the delight with this is I get to let them out of a morning. They cheep to me when they hear me coming and the more I talk to them, the more they cheep. It is rather sweet actually - then there is the race for who is out the door first! LOL They follow me everywhere ;-) The funny thing is, the bigger chickens in the other pen follow me along the fence line and 'talk' to me too. I must admit, it is one of my favourite things to do each morning! I know, I'm a bit clucky - just call me the chicken lady!
We also have a broody hen in the large chicken pen - not sure that she is sitting well enough to hatch them though. We have let her keep four eggs and will see how it goes although I am not sure there is much of a chance for success........
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