Poultry Lovers Club

[kopus]

Hahah! That sounds great! I always love little chicks. A while back last summer, my dad let his flock set on some Welsummer crossed with Silkie eggs and nobody knew about it besides him. One morning, he came into my bedroom and said, "hey, guess what? i have baby chicks." and I almost died. xDD then, later that day, he said that he just wanted to see what would happen even though he already knew. ^^ Most of them were roosters, so we brought the hatchet down on them, and they are in freezer camp right now. c; but we still have the two girls. We named them Duffy and Puffy because they can barely even see because their heads are so fluffy! lol. Enough with me though? Any chickens news besides chickies?

['Possum]

dad: we dont need anymore chickens!

please. I only have eight chickens.

this spring, im getting some chickies whether you like it or not. OuO

lol! That's Chicken Math I believe.
XD

We've currently got ten. Were supposed to have 3 or 4 EE hens. Hatched 3, I had a feeling they were all roosters so we hatched 2 more. Thought those were roosters as well. (In the end turns out I WAS right)

Went and bought 3 pullets, a Buff Orpington, White Leghorn, and a Gold Sebright. Realized one was a bantam and wouldn't lay very big eggs so went back and bought 2 more pullets including another bantam, Black Orpington and Silver Sebright. Now we've got 5 original EE's (all roosters) 3 good egg layers (Orpingtons and Leghorn) and 2 bantams (Sebrights) just because they're cute. And now 'da Hubby decides he wants chocolate egg layers (Black Copper Marans) and I STILL want blue/green/olive egg layers. So we decide to order 15 pullets from Cackle Hatchery. While looking 'da Hubby falls in love with Brahmas because they have floofie feet and are huge and puffy. They look like sheepdog chickens he says.

So I order 5 Black Copper Marans, 5 Light Brahmas, and 5 EE's. They call me, they're out of both the Marans and Brahmas till February, can they substitute something else? So I say, sure. So we get 5 Welsummers, 5 Speckled Sussex, and my 5 EE's. Keep 2 EE's, 1 Speckled Sussex, and 1 Welsummer. Give the rest to my aunt.

So we're now up to 14 chickens when we were supposed to have 3 or 4.
So I give 4 of the EE roosters back to my Aunt but we keep one because he's a special needs chicken, having a slightly crossed beak. And we still want those Black Copper Marans and Light Brahmas so this spring we'll be placing another order of 15 chicks, keeping one of each breed and sending the rest to my Aunt's. So I'm already planning for 12 in all when we wanted 3 or 4 at the start.

And what I've taken from all of this is that the best way to feed my addiction is to make 'da Hubby think it was HIS idea and that it's something HE wants. That way he doesn't even realize he's getting me more chickens till it's too late. ^_^

Show him Cochins.
They come in dozens of colors and are as tame as puppy dogs. Plus if he likes puff and feathered feet they will make him sit up and beg.

I have a Black Cochin hen and a Partridge Cochin hen, both are enormous and feathered from beak to claw.

Oh I know! When he first got his Gold Laced Sebright, like I said, we had no idea what they were. So on the way home he started trying to identify her by browsing the web on his phone. He did come across Cochins. And at first he thought she was a Gold Laced Cochin chick. I quickly realized she was way to thin and lithe to be a Cochin of any kind though. So we searched a little further and figured out she was a Sebright instead. Wouldn't take much convincing though I am sure to add a Cochin or two to our flock if we happened upon one somewhere.

The only reason we don't have a Mille Fleur D'uccles hen is because we'd just ordered chicks from Cackle and he convinced himself to wait till they arrived and grew up a bit. The Mille Fleur was sitting up on top of the run fence down at Country Junction following him back and forth as we walked around the petting zoo where they also house the chickens they have for sale. He kept telling me we couldn't get her. (Trying to talk himself out of it actually) Though he did keep trying to get her to fly down to him or even better, fly out the parking lot side of the run and if she happened to follow him to the truck she could come home with us even though we didn't need any more chickens. He is DEFINITELY a sucker for fluffy chickens. ^_^

[CrazyChickenDude]

Oh gosh! I have lots of exciting stuff to talk about.

Firstly, guess what I'm getting? Another incubator! It's a Brinsea Octagon 20. I've been wanting one for months, and I just happened to cross an ad for one on craigslist. It's in almost perfect condition, is priced at $200 (half off what it is new!) and dad is gonna let me get it! I'm so happy.

And, another bit of news I actually just realized I think I forgot to post, I put in an order to Murray McMurray hatchery for next year's chicks and poults. I'm getting 31 total in the first order (15 poults and 16 chicks) and might end up having to put in a second order of 15 minimum because our friend wants me to buy and raise Red Ranger meaties for her. I don't know if you can edit an order, so I that's why might have to place a whole new one. I actually have to call them tomorrow, lol. But it's really exciting! This is my second year getting direct from the hatchery, I am so thrilled. Of course, when I added up all the chickens I have now, will have by then, and will get in the order... I'm going to end up with 70-80+ birds next spring... 0.0

So, does anyone have experience with hawks? I've been having a pesky Red Shoulder going after my birds. He's crashed down on the partial wire netting over my small run, and attacked my guinea keet (luckily she got away with just a little cut on her back). For the first day or two after that I sat out there with my air rifle intending on showing it a thing or two (yes, that's illegal, I know, but I hold grudges a very long time and take revenge plots very seriously), but it never showed up (that's ten hours of my life wasted... lol...)
So now my intention to fix it is to; A. weave string back and forth over the run, I saw it online and it seemed to work for other people; and B. Get myself a gamefowl rooster. I'm thinking probably a Shamo or Asil, 2-3 years old. Supposedly roosters will attack hawks and other small critters in order to defend their hens, and I figured a 8+ pound Asil or O-Shamo roo could certainly pack a punch, having been bred for fighting and all.
Of course, that brings up the dilema of having to build a whole new small coop for my bantams (after I tear down the old one in my small, to-be bantam run) because I have a banty roo I simply couldn't bear to part with, and he's way to fragile for the rooster pen.

Also... pigeons, anyone? I've been experimenting around with the idea of keeping some for meat and pets. I've been researching them a lot, too, but they seem to be far more complicated than chickens... even gamefowl... lots of terms, haha. But they seem quite neat.

PS. Sorry for any spelling mistakes and whatnot, it's kinda late and I needed to type this real fast so I could get to sleep. So I didn't go read over it either.

[Gà.]

First off, the hawk is just trying to live. DO NOT BECOME A GRUMPY FANCIER! I cannot tell you how many pigeon fanciers I've met that have said that hawks make their blood boil. Its just... bleh, grumpy old men, lol. Yes, because a beautiful bird trying to live is awful.
That said, I DO feel your pain, but try to stay understanding - it's winter and the hawk is hungry. A few shots to scare it should do the trick. Or a loud noise (trumpet, blow horn,etc)

As for pigeons, they're pretty easy, but I beg of you - DO NOT join the pigeon forum (there's really only one). They will ban you for talking meat about pigeons. Cause pigeons were domesticated for pets, not for food, totally. (Sorry I'm in a bad mood, lol)
So you need a loft - all fanciers will say you need a wooden one. I hate wooden. Harder to clean and have to clean every day. But if it gets below -20 where your at, then you'll need an enclosed area (and you need an enclosed area if it rains cold rain a lot, or windy). Just make sure you can take under it.
2nd, pigeons need grit. Now I haven't added grit to their diet... And they're fine. But, I wouldn't recommend it. Just a small bowl they need to stand on a perch or something to get to is easy.
Then, they eat food that has peas, corn, Etc in it. So they will pick out their favorites. You need to feed twice a day, or feed a pelleted food (I fed chicken food for a while, but then again, I wouldn't recommend as it could have long lasting effects,). I think it's 1-2 tsp per bird. Don't over feed or they'll waste food.
And they like to lay on they're perches, so it's recommended to have little cut up sections of 2x4's on the wall. I like to also take thicker tree branches and screw them in, so they can have another type of place to lay.
And then you need next boxes. Which means you need an enclosable box that will fit 2 pigeons and a nest bowl, and food / water dishes, for a week - 2 weeks. And that means they don't come out. Pigeons mate for life, so if you want to re-pair some pigeons, you need to enclose them together for a week or so so they mate and such.
They only have 2 babies per nest and will feed them 'crop milk', a substance they make in they're crop (its not actually milk).

Now, what breeds do you want? Pigeons will breed 12 times a year if you let them, lol, but I'd say 4-5 clutches is fine. But provide lots of extra calcium, otherwise you can have egg binding and such. 3 clutches is ideal, but if you really want to stock up your freezer, so long as you give a month or so (2-4 weeks) rest between clutches, then it'd be fine.
By the time they're fledging, then they're about the size of their parents. But I go by - if underneath the wing the feathers are still blood feathers, then wait. If they're normal feathers, ready to butcher.

Feel free to PM me... I love love love my pigeons, and they taste wonderful. Dark, rose wine color. Sorry if I didn't answer all your questions - it's hard with such a broad question, haha. Also, don't forgot to have an aviary for them to stretch they're wings. Do you want to fly your birds? If so then that hawk will be a problem

[CrazyChickenDude]

Yeah, and the worst part is the hawk OUR fault. My mom works with the local wildlife rescue, and this was OUR hawk. We rehabilitated it after it had a run-in with someone's swimming pool. And we didn't think about the fact that it was a chicken hawk until after we released it on our property. So yeah. Dilemmas.

Really? Wow, I know that not many people keep pigeons for meat, mostly just racing, but I don't really get that so... yeah.
I've kind of started planning the loft. I was thinking, "OK... so we have bears. And there is no way dad is spending $1000+ again on a bear-proof place to keep poultry". So I started thinking... we have this shed. It's an oldish, rickety thing, but it was built sturdy enough that most of it's still intact, and it's tall enough that there is no way a bear could get to them. It has an old water tower built on top of it, also still pretty much intact. The tower is homemade, and basically just a rectangle shaped wooden frame with a wooden roof, and it has this big metal thing on top of it for water (I'll post a picture of it later, because it's kinda hard to describe). I intend on knocking that off that top of it, taking down two boards that are just kinda screwed on sideways and seem to have no purpose whatsoever, and then using Oriented Strand Board to build the walls. I was looking and craigslist, and am thinking that I will probably just buy a used house door, something ugly but still in good condition because ugly is cheap, and use that as the door into the loft.
Now, the tower is about 5.5 feet wide and 10 feet long, and the shed itself is a 10 feet wide and about 20 feet long. I was intending on putting up another basic wooden frame around the entire roof of the shed, and then turning it into a small aviary for them to fly in. I was looking at hardware wire, but that is crazy expensive, so I am thinking chicken wire, since my only predator worry that high up in hawks, and they can't get through it, flimsy as it is. Then I was intending on using a wire screen door for the door into the aviary. I'll try drawing this up sometime, cause it's kinda complicated to explain.

Now, there is one hitch in my plan for that, but it's kinda a large one. The roof of the shed is an a-frame. Now, it's very gently sloping and is very close to being flat. It would definitely be easy to walk on and all. However, I am not sure exactly how I am going to put the frame for the aviary on because on this. It's clearly possible to build a frame on top of it since the water tower is there, but looking at the way it's been built, I'd have to assume it took a lot of time, effort, planning, and of course money.

I've heard they needed grit, after doing some research. That won't be a problem, I've been meaning to get grit for the chickens anyways. But what kind of grit? I know that chicken grit could be a bit big since they are pretty small birds, should I maybe get them chick grit?

As for feed, I've been researching it and am thinking that since my birds will be basically doing nothing but hatching and caring for squabs (I think that's what you call them?) and flying around their aviary a bit, I was thinking I might feed a 50/50 mixture of chicken feed and cockatiel mix, along with treats and such. I have heard mixed stuff about feeding chicken feed, some people say it's OK, some people don't seem to, but it seems like most people say it's OK as long as you aren't feeding it to high-performance birds like Racing pigeons, since they're expected to do a lot of flying and such. And cockatiel feed seems to have a lot of the stuff pigeons are supposed to eat, millet and oats and such. I've also heard they should be fed wheat as well?

I've been considering the nest boxes and perches... how big should nest boxes be, approx.? I intend on building them from scraps of wood from around the property (the house we bought and live in now was only like 3/4 done when we got it, so dad finished building it and added two porches- so there's a lot of left over wood to choose from for stuff like this.) As for perches, I'm thinking I'll just buy some wooden dowels and put them in the loft for them. How thick should they be? Like maybe 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch?

I intend on just letting them breed as much as they want, since I want them mainly for meat, and I want plenty of it. When I actually did the math of how much feed would cost a year, I think I did it under the assumption each pair would have 10-12 breedings a year.
I have been looking into breeds, and am thinking I will keep three pairs of White Kings for breeding squabs for meat, and maybe one pair of Birmingham Rollers as pets. Are the Birmingham Rollers pretty tame? I heard they were, but I'm not sure.

Also, one question. The thing that actually got me thinking about pigeons in the first place, was that my friend Midnight Wings (she's actually on this thread, lol) found a white pigeon that had been either released or lost. It was pure white with feathered feet and a small crest on the back of it's head, and I was wondering what breed it was? I'd love one of those! It ended up getting spooked and flying away, but she said it stayed on her arm and was very tame during the few hours she had it.

And I intend on possibly flying the Birminghams around some, but I'm not sure, because of the hawk. I probably won't.

[•~Mrs.MellarkOdair~•]

Username: •~Mrs.MellarkOdair~•
Why are you joining: I was a part of the old one and I want to be in this one!
Favorite poultry bird: Chickens! The breeds Phoenix, D'Anver & D'Uccle & pretty much everyother bantam.
Other: I have about 70 chickens

[Gà.]

Ooh you got to rehibilate a hawk? COOL!

Hmm, not sure. That'd be for you to decide. If it will protect from a bear, and doesn't have any holes in it, then it should be fine for pigeons.

For grit, I just buy the pigeon grit at the feed store. That should be fine for chickens, too.

You really need to regulate the breeding, as they WILL tire themselves out. For 2-3 years that might work, but you'd need to feed a HIGH protien and high calcium food, otherwise they will lose body condition, become less productive, less fertile, etc. not healthy.
That said, they might not breed a bunch. But once they start breeding, they likely won't stop unless you make them. It's pretty easy - either put fake eggs under them, or boil the eggs and let them sit on them until they're done.
You'll be overrun with squabs in a short time, no issue if you have 3 pairs, that's 6 squabs a month. If you give each pair a month break after each set of eggs, then that's 4 squabs every month.
Or you can let them only raise 1 squab, then a 2-3 week break. However you should give them at least a solid 3 months break every year. You can regulate it so that its only one pair on a break, and 2 more breeding, so you'll always have squabs on the way.

Personally I like Swiss mondains. But kings are a great breed as well.
Not sure about Birmingham rollers. I like English tumblers. Very cute little birds, I own a cock right now and he's just a tiny thing! Doing great is the cold, too. My swallow pigeon isn't though - had to bring him inside.

A white bird with a crest and muff... Hard to say. Have to have a pic. But, crests and muffs- a muffed pigeon = a pigeon with feathered feet, but in this case I think that birds feet would be called grouse feet. Grouse feet is less feathering, muffed has a lot more feathers - isn't hard to find. Sounds like a roller. Perhaps a Birmingham roller!

You need perches they can lay on. 2x4s screwed in would be sufficient, but pigeons like to lay on their perches, and dowel perches aren't good for they're feet anyways.

And any pigeon can be tame. You either handle them a lot in the nest, or hand raise them. And if your breeding babies, its good to have some Kaytee Exact on hand at all times in case you ever need to hand raise a squab.


Best of luck!

['Possum]

I am just soaking up all of this pigeon info here. ^_^

[Gà.]

Lol, call me the pigeon master xD

Here's some photos btw


This is an old english tumbler.. Lovely bird

Sisilian swallow pigeon we got from the pound. Can't stand the cold.


Here's a squab fledgeling

A Linnie parrot grooming the squab


More old english pics. This type of eye is called a pearl eye

A feral cock I have

A homer cock I have



The feral paired with this homer hen I have. Their first clutch was infertile, haven't gotten any more clutches from them due to winter

[muskox]

Aww, those pigeons are so cute! I've never owned pigeons before, are they docile? Can you pet them?