Advice on chooks - beginner in Vic asking

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by bearess, Feb 26, 2006.

  1. bearess

    bearess Guest

    We have 5 acres of land, mainly cleared but only a few spots of flat land and would like to get some chooks to supply us with eggs on a regular basis. I have done some reading and thought the Isa Brown's sound good (they are also the only ones I have heard of from buying biodynamic eggs). My questions are: which is a good breed for a novice to keep that lays a regular supply of eggs? any suggestions or plans on building a house for them? we tend to have foxes in the area, what must I consider with regards to those? One article said that I should buy chooks of different ages to ensure that they lay all year round, any suggestions where I can buy them (organic/biodynamic preferred)? Any other advice or sugggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sonja
     
  2. psychochook

    psychochook Junior Member

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    Isabrowns as a beginning chook

    Hi Bearess,

    I am not a chook expert, but I will try to answer some of your questions from my personal experiences.

    Isabrowns are a good chook for beginners. They are easy to handle and they are good layers. We had Isabrowns in our back yard and they provided us with eggs nearly every day (except when they went off the lay which I will explain shortly).

    Are you planning to have them as free-range? If you are, you need to be aware that they do scratch around in gardens quite heavily so you will need to set up some way to keep them off any parts of the garden you dont want them to destroy. Also, they do have large droppings so having them free-range will mean that you will have to watch where you step.

    My advise is to set up a fenced-off area for them to free-range in. The area does need to be fox-proofed. Foxes are very cunning so you will need to make the fencing hard to climb and also make sure that the foxes cant dig underneath. Ideally the fence should be about 6feet high as a minimum. Chicken wire will be strong enough as fencing, and the best way to make sure that the foxes cant dig underneath is to lay a run of chicken wire so that approximately 30cm of it is laying on the ground. The rest is then secured to the rest of the fencing. The portion that is laying on the ground is then buried so that it is lying horizontally just under the soil. The foxes will try to dig under the fence at the base of the fence but will be frustrated by constantly encountering the chicken wire. Because it has been burried the fox will not be able to work out that they need to move back a bit to start digging. (I hope that this makes sense).

    With respects to the house they need a shelter that they can get protection from the wind and rain. Ideally you want to have a shelter that has wood that they can perch on. Dont get thin wood for this. Something with a diameter of approx 3 to 5cm is better for the birds. A word if advice, dont have different levels for the perch. If you have different levels you will be encouraging fighting as the birds compete for the top rung. You also need to provide them with a nesting box to lay their eggs in. I used to use sawdust rather than straw in the nesting box, but whatever you use, make sure that you can access the box easily for cleaning (and egg collection).

    Finally, the advice that you saw regarding buying chooks of different ages to ensure eggs all year round is not correct. Chooks will take a break from laying (go off the lay). From memory mine used to all stop for winter. Creating an egg a day is very demanding on the chooks body so they need to have a rest to recover. This will always be the case, and during that time you just go without eggs. Make sure you provide the chooks with shell grit. They need to calcium for egg production and they also use the grit to help break up the seeds in their crop. If you dont give them enough calcium then they obtain the calcium from their own bones (which is obviously not a good thing).

    There is a book which I strongly recommend that you purchase. It is called "Backyard poultry — naturally" (ISBN 0 9585590 1 5) by Alanna Moore. It is an Australian book and I found it to be an excellent resource.

    Chooks are well worth having. You get to learn that each chook has its own personality and approach to life. Hours of fun can be had just by sitting and watching your chooks.

    Good luck

    Simon
     
  3. bearess

    bearess Guest

    Re: Isabrowns as a beginning chook

    Thank you Simon, excellent suggestions, I will have a look at the book you mentioned. It sounds like we will have to do some prep work before getting anything. Once I am set up I will report back on how it's going.

     
  4. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

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    :shock:
     
  5. Dani

    Dani Junior Member

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    Isa Browns and other commercial hibrids such as Highliners are popular as they a very common and are bred to be good layers. However, I have found that there are also some down sides to these breeds:
    - Some of the poultry farms they are bred in tend to be very large; and as a consequence some of the birds are not as well kept as they ought to be, you can end up with behavoural problems (usually from the overcrowding), trimmed beaks (very cruel, and can cause problems later on with pain and preaning), and you also have to becareful as some of these farms will try to off load the rejects that don't meet the quota or are defected in some way. In my experience (which is limited) these breeds can also have more general health problems this may be due to the environment they were bred in and/or their genetic make-up (don't forget these birds are bred to be very productive for 1 year, after that they are discarded. Also, some of the farms will sell/give away the hens after they have layed for a year, these hens are usually in poor condition as they have been stuck in a tiny cage or in an over crowed shed for their laying life. Another thing to remember is that the companies who design these breeds put alot of time and money into it and so don't want people to have these breeds for free; and as a consequence the general public cannot obtain a genuine Isa Brown rooster; and so you can't breed your own genuine Isa Browns.

    I have found pure breds (such as Australorps :D) to be more robust in general, also, to some people it is important to keep these pure breed lines going so they are not lost.
     
  6. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

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    HEAR HEAR!!!
     
  7. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

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    Not to mention the lack of ethics behind the patenting of these strains (They are not breeds!!!) by the companies that OWN them. It's like the whole Monsanto argument/situation. Why should the profits from 95% of the entire world's poultry/egg industry be going in the pockets of 1 of the 5 companies which supply these strains. Oh, I could go on and on and on, but I won't.

    There are quite a few threads on this forum on this exact subject Dani.


    Tam
     
  8. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

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    Murray, I think this thread should be in 'Permaculture Chat'. It could be missing out on some constructive discussion lying here out of sight. Any chance of moving it?

    Tam
     
  9. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    Its funny how chook breeds gets people going.If you ask 10 chook persons what they reckon for chooks,The newbies dont know and the oldies are a bit wiser.A wise buyer ,would of course take into account,Egg shell colour,Egg Numbers,Ability to handle the purchasers individual climate,and circumstances,Chook Colour,Adaptability to the new change from exsisting Premises.Their freindlness to children and the new owner,The ability to survive and Produce eggs in a Backyard situation,
    People often get confused about Isa,s heritage.Why do we blame the poor old hen,who has slaved for 18 months,being hassled,had beek clipped,toes removed,feathers yanked out by closeneighbours.AND fed huge amounts of
    manufactured feed,Its not the chook that is bad, its the money hungry Egg producers,If people realised that orpintons are used as caged birds as well..
    Im certainly not advocating the Acceptance of mass produced birds by multi national companies.I dont agree for one moment with their practises,And beleive that caged birds should be swapped with the shed owners for 6 months,just so the kind hearted farmers can see what life is like.
    The popularity of Isa,s is probly due to the fact that 8 out of ten egg buyers prefere brown eggs,NOT that we prefere supporting BIG buissness.

    If people are so keen on buying chooks that lay eggs(brown) maybe we permies should find another brown egg laying bird to satisfy their needs..

    I recomend the Rhode Island Red,They were originally used in the breeding to make a cross with Leghorns resulting in Isa browns,

    I belive the average Permie wants chooks for various reasons,With the number one reason,possibly being they want lotsa nice yummy organic,orange yoked eggs,There are those who are chook fanciers,and who may wish to keep Bantams,Feather foots,Naked necks etc etc etc,
    ALL chooks arnt created equal,Some chooks only lay to breed,some lay 1 a week,some need 6 just to make an ommlete.Its everyones Personal tastes(excuse pun)..........If you buy chooks for egg laying purposes,well a variety that is a proven layer is required,If you want a certain coloured egg,well u need to choose wisley

    Terence
     
  10. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    most of our chooks are wild island kine, with a few araucanas and other things in the mix... they all lay heaps of eggs, some are brown, some are white some are kind of blue green...
    we did have these enormous white ones that were donated after their previous owners moved into a non-chook friendly rental - these chooks were twice as big as all the others. Since one turned out to be a rooster we thought about trying to breed them on and get these collosal meat birds. Unfortunately, my all natural bamboo fencing was no match for maruraudering neighbourhood dogs, and we lost meaty and sister meaty...
    But, one of our wild island birds, "Henny" who is a brilliant mother, and has already given us two flocks seems to have quite independently hatched out 7 little ones, all of whom must be carrying some of meaty's genes, so it wasn't a total loss. It will be very interesting to see how this next generation turns out.
     
  11. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    Jst goes to show dont it,ANYTHING can work if your not worried about it much
    Well Done Ricky.....

    Maybe your anteater is Helping with the Collosull fertility.....See i cant spell
    either..

    Terence :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
     
  12. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

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    Oh Tezza, still on about the chooks, hey?
     
  13. Greenearth

    Greenearth Junior Member

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    bird forms...

    (and their eggs)...are sacred and should not be eaten!

    blessings!
     
  14. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    mate, brocolli flowers are sacred to brocolli's too aren't they? i eat them too. :lol: the circle of life is all about death, so get used to it, eh?
     
  15. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    I can spell if I try hard enough. :lol:
     
  16. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

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    Tezza,

    I purchased a trio of Barnevelders at one time. A heritage chook, nice big brown eggs, a good breed for we permies.

    I also sold them on about 4 months later. They were as dumb as dogshit, I have never attributed chooks with any intelligence but these things even made turkeys look good.

    They couldnt find their way out of a pen or back in, They continually got lost in the long grass and I had to find them with the dog, they didnt see m to ever find a nest box to lay in either.

    Yes, the eggs were lovely and brown. I think it was their one redeeming feature. The next owner had them about 4 months too on a property and they died. This guy was trying to develop a business supplying purebred stock to the hobbyfarmers. He had the same thoughts I did.

    I would be interested to hear from any Barnevelder breeders if they are under the same impression.

    For mine I am hooked on bantams, particularly the soft feathers although I always wanted some Malay or Indian Game but the 'board of directors' [wife] wouldnt have them.

    Cheers

    floot
     
  17. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    Yeah you know me Tam "Allways a chookie man"...Actually I got none at moment but will buy some next week at our Farmers Markets Or maybe have a call in from all those who ive given chooks to and fill my incubater with their offsprings eggs..

    Glad you still visit in here,

    Its such a shame our 2 highest Posters dont seam to visit in here much..

    Oh Well

    Terence
     

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