Cats And Chickens

[drsmurto]

do chooks stay in the yard ?

i have a 5-6 foot timber fence all round the yard

would chooks jump it during the day if left to their own devices out of the "hen house" ?
i also have a pool with a standard ally pool fence, will they crap all in the pool or keep out of it ?

my little one wants a pet, i wouldn't mind 2 or 3 chooks...

They shouldn't be able to jump/fly that high in a single leap but they are clever creatures and will jump on something first, then another until they get to the height they want. I clip the wings on mine (just a few cm off the flight feathers - it's painless and they can still hop their way up to the top deck of their house to roost (~1.5m) and then when i open the door up in the morning to let them out they jump from that height and 'fly' down to the ground.

They will only jump into the pool once

My ISAs stopped laying at the end of last year as they were ~2 years old. 2 literally dropped dead. Perfectly healthy one day, stone cold dead the next. I guess that is where the saying 'falling off the perch' comes from. Thought we wouldn't get many eggs again so bought 4 new point of lay hens and when they started laying the older ones restarted. I could insert a comment about females and the synching of hormonal cycles but that would be uncool. All i know is that i now get 7-8 eggs a day from 8 chooks, 4 off whom are 'past it' and had stopped laying.

Agree with chooks and vegie patches, they will remove anything leafy and dig the roots out of plants they don't like eating. Once my summer crops are done I let the chooks have free roam of the vegie patch over winter. Can't be botheed growing winter veg and it allows the girls to dig up (rotary hoe), crap all over the place (compost/manure) and eat lots of bugs (organic pesticide) so that come spring i can rake over the vegie patch and plant the summer crop. Saves me weeding, digging etc.

 

[brettprevans]

talked to the missus. she said they got chooks when their cats were older adn they were fine. the cats apparently would sometimes chase the chooks when they were small but as soon as they were bigger they left them alone. so your prob fine (YMMV)

she also said to look at www.bookachook.com. its a rental/buy place in melbourne, but they also have info on their website about chooks.

 

[Fodder]

do chooks stay in the yard ?

i have a 5-6 foot timber fence all round the yard

would chooks jump it during the day if left to their own devices out of the "hen house" ?
i also have a pool with a standard ally pool fence, will they crap all in the pool or keep out of it ?

my little one wants a pet, i wouldn't mind 2 or 3 chooks...

Like the good Dr said, clip their wings if you're really worried. Only do one wing though, as it unbalances them and doesnt let them go where they want. If you clip both, they will realise that they are just limited to short hops, and will bunny hop their way up to where they want to be. Natural ladders/steps permitting ofcourse. Just like clipping your nails, doesnt hurt but they may flap about a bit the first few times till they realise your not actually trying to hurt them.

Mine get into the pool area often, but have never been in it, whilst they love to muck about in puddles, they wont swim, given the choice. They will kick the water bowl, to make a puddle specifically to dig up any worms that come to the surface though the little crafty buggers.

As others have said, look out for what breed you get. Some are specifically for laying, others for eating (broilers). Isa browns are great layers and should be giving you upto 300 eggs per year, per hen. This drops significantly after 2 or so years. If you get ex-batt hens, they may likely call them Hi-lines (I believe they were originally bred from isa browns & leghorns - both being considered the best 2 layer types)

Leghorn, Rhode Island Reds, Light Sussex, Plymouth Rock, Cuckoo Maran & Barred Rocks are all good layers.

Point of lay: a term used to describe a hen that is usually 16-20 weeks old and either just started or just about to start laying. They will cost you about $20-25. If you get younger chicks (say 10 weeks) they will be half the price and you can usually leave them outside without to many dramas. Any younger and you'll be looking at lots of nanny time, incubators and specifically designed inside containers to keep them warm, safe etc etc.

Do a quick google and see whats going on in your area. Theres heaps of info out there.

Also, not a bad idea to have a quick chat to your neighbours first as they can be a bit noisy, particularly when trying to pop one out. I never bothered with Council approval, but as long as my neighbours are happy (which helps when half dozen fresh eggs appear on their door mat) then its all sweet

 

[manticle]

My neighbour has a fat noisy wife, screaming grandchild, two yappy dogs and a fat guy whose relationship I can't work out who walks up and down in front of our house constantly doing foreign language business deals on the phone in arabic and thongs. Neighbour is Italian which is why I struggle to figure out the relationship but they all live in the same house.

Neighbour also runs a (possibly dodgy) panel beating and spray painting type business and often talks and sings on a CB radio that ocassionally manifests itself electronically through our radio or computer. Ocassionally he plays loud Italian folk music but I quite like that.

Pretty sure he'll be OK with the chickens as long as I don't kill his son in law/nephew/fat annoying lodger or call the cops about the noisy dogs.

Cheers for the other info - most useful.

 

[pk.sax]

My uncle's neighbours used to have a rooster. Quite unappreciated, the poor bugger.

One day he gave up tolerating and beckoned it through a hole in the fence with a little something and roast rooster for their family that night.

 

[egruz]

There is a young girl (about 15 or so) who sells chooks at the Lancefield (Victoria) market. We got our chooks from her. If you ask you can visit her farm and pick out what you want from her large number of chooks, all at different stages (chicks, pullets, point of lay, etc..)

She has large quantities of medium sized chooks - perfect for the average sized backyard.

• Australorp cross cross New Hampshire
• Rhode Island Red cross New Hampshire

Pretty cheap too, $20 a chook or something like that.
We've had ours for over a year now. Recommended.

Attached is a pic of our girls (one of each breed)

//Graham