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Maria
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 Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2004 5:07 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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"Tony" <Rodney@10uk.net> wrote in message news:<c2apts$1ponmn$1@ID-156344.news.uni-berlin.de>...
[quote]"C.M.German" <cmgerman@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:teednadYGeE6etXdRVn-jA@adelphia.com...
Ahhhh, but if we could all be simple country folk we>d realize things such
as this in a flash ;>)
CM
Ahhhh, but I grew up in a city of 12 million people where I have learnt to
kick the legs out from under someone with a knife, get on a tube train that
is already three times overloaded, and grumble but with good nature about
spending £3.20 on a pint of beer!
However, with an animal that is a little ball of feathers and a brain the
size of a pea - I know nuffink :-). I>m here to be edikated.
Tony
PS: I rescued a new born lamb today from some barbed wire - very
satisfying.
[/quote]
Tony, have lost count of the times I sat in a stream holding a ewes
head out of the water whilst she lambed. VERY gratifying. We don>t
have to do this of course, as the sheep are the farmers responsibility
but they surround our small welsh cottage and we value and love the
countryside although struggle to cope with its harsh ways on times. A
smallholders way of life is the one for me :-)) |
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nuele
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2004 5:26 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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Maria <mparnell@ntlworld.com> wrote:
Hello Maria,
[quote]We have a approximately 40 bird including a Wellsummer, Orpington,
Faverolle, French Wheaten Maran, and Cream Legbar Cockerel (along with
3 'assorted' homebred cockerels).
[/quote]
that is 8 cockerels
[quote]All range over 5 acres of field
We decided to breed our trio of Legbars and separated them from the
flock - popped them into a luxury breeding pen
... took about 6 weeks
From the minute we returned the Trio to the flock - World War Three
broke loose!! Our Legbar Cockerel went on a rampage of carnage
physically hunting down and and slaughtering our other Cockerels
(although he only seemed to pick on the largest two?)
....
WHAT DID WE DO WRONG? He is a magnificent specimen of a bird and his
blood line comes from excellent stock....I can>t face getting rid of
him no more than culling him. Will he get over this nonsense if we put
him back to the flock, or will his killing spree continue.
I don>t want any of them to live in small pens, not now they have
known the freedom of 5 acres....what do we do now?
[/quote]
Removing a bird (especially a cockerel) from the flock hierarchy,
disturbs the whole equilibrium. Show breeders often find that when they
return from the shows, that even these few days have been enough.
If you remove one of them, there will be a gap in the hierarchy that the
others are only too eager to fill. You might even find wild fights break
out between the ones that stayed (especially if you removed the
strongest, and the others want to become Nr 1) . Of course,
reintroducing the one you removed will again disturb the new hierarchy.
I know some very good old breeders, and they all keep a number of males
together, old and young, which proves it is possible to reintroduce
cockerels from the breeding pens back into the flock. One told me, when
the breeding season is over, he just lets them all out together, and
then they all fight for a day and after that there>s peace again. What
is important is that they have *plenty* of space to run away, and plenty
of places to hide for the ones who give up!
But of course, these are all males of the same breed, all the same size
and condition. I guess the problem in your case is that there are
different breeds involved, and the boys are not equal opponents. The
heavier cockerels get tired so much earlier, because jumping a lot is
very exhausting, and then they have a problem. I have often heard of
Brahmas dying of heart failure when fighting with a bantam! As you said,
it>s your big Orpington boy that has had the biggest problems.
I>m not sure whether there>s an easy solution for the problem you>ve got
now. I can understand that you separated them all at once, but I would
suggest that you put them all together again as quickly as you can,
except the Legbars, because otherwise the other seven cockerels will
start to fight as well! Up to that event, they were all together, right?
You should not change that now.
With the Legbar Cockerel, it is more difficult. You could try those
"chicken spectacles" which prevent them from seeing what is right in
front of them. I>ve never used them, but I>ve been told it helps. You
put them on all the cockerels' noses for a few days, and they cannot
fight properly, because they can>t perform their rituals properly. After
a few days, they might have become accustomed to each other.
You could also clip one of his wings to give him a slight disadvantage
in fights, but that is a risk of course for a free-ranging bird.
I>m afraid the easiest and safest way would be to keep him separate, and
wait until you see what your chicks are like. Then keep the best
cockerel and find a new home for the old boy, with some of the spare
ladies.
In the future, I would suggest that you separate the ladies only, and
add the cockerel you want to breed from for a few hours every other day.
That is enough for fertilization, and doesn>t disturb the flock
hierarchy. (some even say every third day is enough. Nicer for the hens
if it>s only a small number, not having to mate so often.)
The last thing I would like to say is that fighting is an absolutely
normal behaviour in chickens. Your Legbar is not necessarily an
extraordinarily aggressive bird, I only guess that he had been the boss
and the others did not want to accept him again. Cocks don>t usually
kill each other under normal conditions, that is: equal opponents in
plenty of space with places to hide for the loser, plus other cockerels
to participate in any quarrels. The boss usually keeps control of all
the others, and prevents them from getting too serious. It>s important
to provide such a flock with perches in different heights, so the losers
can show they accept their position by staying on a lower perch.
Injuries happen, of course, and comb and wattle injuries can look
spectacular - most often it>s not as bad as it seems. (Always keep some
styptic lotion ready in your cupboard) It helps if you keep the spurs
trimmed a bit so they don>t have sharp points. A lost eye is a sad
thing to happen, but it does happen occasionally even under normal,
everyday conditions! I have one hen, a small one, too, but with a big
comb which gives her some authority. She always looks for trouble. She
lost one of her eyes in a fight with another hen one day, and I felt
terribly sorry for her. But she gets on very well with that one eye now,
and hasn>t stopped to bully her bigger sisters - she would be the first
to beat up new ones!
HTH. Good luck, and don>t despair.
Nuele (D)
--
to mail me, replace the fowls in my address by sap to avoid the spam
trap |
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Tony
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:54 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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"Jill" <farm@removethisbitkintaline.co.uk> wrote in message
news:01h2c.16139$h44.1736399@stones.force9.net...
[quote]
"Tony" <Rodney@10uk.net> wrote in message news:c2apts$1ponmn$1@ID-
However, with an animal that is a little ball of feathers and a brain
the
size of a pea - I know nuffink :-).
LOL
I would hazard a suggestion that none of us know half what we think
and they know a lot more !!!!!
I>m here to be edikated.
Tony
PS: I rescued a new born lamb today from some barbed wire - very
satisfying.
Well done you - its a good warm feeling when you see them back under Mum
isn;'t it?
Are they yours or a neighbours?
--
[/quote]
They are a neighbours who rents some land but lives about ten miles away -
I>m a computer systems designer by trade - and know even less about sheep
than I do about chickens. Poor little thing was caught up in my fence wire
however - the sheep like to try and come over to our fields because the land
is underused and the grass really is greener :-).
He looked like a duracell toy with the back legs constantly kicking to try
and get out - luckily I found him shortly after it happened I think and he
just ran over to mum who was glad to have him back.
Tony |
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Tony
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:55 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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"Maria" <mparnell@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:bcaeb214.0403060307.24c10b58@posting.google.com...
[quote]"Tony" <Rodney@10uk.net> wrote in message
news:<c2apts$1ponmn$1@ID-156344.news.uni-berlin.de>...
"C.M.German" <cmgerman@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:teednadYGeE6etXdRVn-jA@adelphia.com...
Ahhhh, but if we could all be simple country folk we>d realize things
such
as this in a flash ;>)
CM
Ahhhh, but I grew up in a city of 12 million people where I have learnt
to
kick the legs out from under someone with a knife, get on a tube train
that
is already three times overloaded, and grumble but with good nature
about
spending £3.20 on a pint of beer!
However, with an animal that is a little ball of feathers and a brain
the
size of a pea - I know nuffink :-). I>m here to be edikated.
Tony
PS: I rescued a new born lamb today from some barbed wire - very
satisfying.
Tony, have lost count of the times I sat in a stream holding a ewes
head out of the water whilst she lambed. VERY gratifying. We don>t
have to do this of course, as the sheep are the farmers responsibility
but they surround our small welsh cottage and we value and love the
countryside although struggle to cope with its harsh ways on times. A
smallholders way of life is the one for me :-))
[/quote]
Whereabouts are you in Wales? I>m near Montgomery.
Tony |
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Hankinson
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 12:45 am Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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Old Molly, you are being unfairly harsh. No research can prepare a person for
all the problems that can arise, including dealing with chicken pecking
orders...that>s why someone who>s done it is smarter than someone who>s read it
(and I>m a reader like you). E.g., I put a young cockeral in with two hens, he
was just learning to crow, I thought they would fall in love, but the HENS beat
the living hell out of him! Had to rescue him. I>ll not do the same thing
again...but I>m not cruel and neither is Maria.
Burl |
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Tony
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 1:08 am Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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Hankinson wrote:
[quote]Old Molly, you are being unfairly harsh. No research can prepare a
person for all the problems that can arise, including dealing with
chicken pecking orders...that>s why someone who>s done it is smarter
than someone who>s read it (and I>m a reader like you). E.g., I put a
young cockeral in with two hens, he was just learning to crow, I
thought they would fall in love, but the HENS beat the living hell
out of him! Had to rescue him. I>ll not do the same thing again...but
I>m not cruel and neither is Maria.
Burl
[/quote]
Hi Burl,
What was the problem here? Was/can the cockeral be too young? Were the
hens introduced to the cockeral when they were too old? Sounds like the
kinda setup the Jerry Springer show would be interested in :-).
Tony
PS: Is 'Burl' short for something?
PPS: Am I right in saying a cockeral is a male bird under 1yo and then they
are cocks? |
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Bird!
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:30 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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On a similar note. After reading Marias plight, I remembered reading about
the problems of separating chooks.
Just in time I feel, thanks Maria for bringing this to my attention.
I am Still! in the process of building the brooding pen but now I>m
wondering if it>s such a good idea to raise the chicks in a separate run.
The area is right next to the adult run and covers just over 2 square
metres.
The reason for building a pen for the little tots is to get them out from
under big feet at feeding time not to mention their mums who will sit on any
eggs laid with their clutch. Then there is that hierachy thing where the
older bolder chooks will pick on the babies if they take offence to little
beaks getting too close to their food.
I>m all at sixes and sevens with the plan now. I don>t want to mess it up
with them but I also don>t want bullying to the point of injury, which is
what was happening. The slightly older babies are losing tail feathers now
and then to the older birds but no real damage.
The problem I have found with a lot of the books I have got from the library
is the lack of pictures on pests, mites, ticks and so on. They discuss them
but a picture would really help. The other problem I found was that most of
the books come from overseas and have heaps of diseases and pests that we
just don>t have here or are very very rare. It>s enough to turn a body
into a hypochondriac on behalf of the chickens in their care.
I have found the easiest way to check my lot out is to go into the chook
house at night with a torch and scrutenise each one. I have a little look
under their feathers and study their combs and around their face. I usually
get a beady eye locked onto me for the duration of the examination but they
don>t get uspet.
At present I have to lift Doris and her 4 babies into a nest each night
because the nest boxes are too high for the babies to get to although they
have no problem getting down. The brooding pen will have lower boxes and
ramps and is also going to be totally encased in wire netting to keep
unwanted ratbags out. I>m also going to put a roof over part of it for
shelter from the rain for the boxes, which will be inside the chook house
but with no access to the adult house and run.
Sorry, this is probably getting confusing. The question is, is it the right
way to keep them safe or will it cause introductory problems later...... how
long should they be in the pen or how big should they be when they do go
back in with the adults.?
Zayle.
Ps, I>ve called a chick, which I believe to be Dusty Springfields, Kiri..
(It>s the spitting image of Dusty) |
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Maria
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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"Tony" <Rodney@10uk.net> wrote in message news:<c2chie$1o3a9a$1@ID-156344.news.uni-berlin.de>...
[quote]"Maria" <mparnell@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:bcaeb214.0403060307.24c10b58@posting.google.com...
"Tony" <Rodney@10uk.net> wrote in message
news:<c2apts$1ponmn$1@ID-156344.news.uni-berlin.de>...
"C.M.German" <cmgerman@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:teednadYGeE6etXdRVn-jA@adelphia.com...
Ahhhh, but if we could all be simple country folk we>d realize things
such
as this in a flash ;>)
CM
Ahhhh, but I grew up in a city of 12 million people where I have learnt
to
kick the legs out from under someone with a knife, get on a tube train
that
is already three times overloaded, and grumble but with good nature
about
spending £3.20 on a pint of beer!
However, with an animal that is a little ball of feathers and a brain
the
size of a pea - I know nuffink :-). I>m here to be edikated.
Tony
PS: I rescued a new born lamb today from some barbed wire - very
satisfying.
Tony, have lost count of the times I sat in a stream holding a ewes
head out of the water whilst she lambed. VERY gratifying. We don>t
have to do this of course, as the sheep are the farmers responsibility
but they surround our small welsh cottage and we value and love the
countryside although struggle to cope with its harsh ways on times. A
smallholders way of life is the one for me :-))
Whereabouts are you in Wales? I>m near Montgomery.
Tony
[/quote]
Down South - between Bridgend and Cardiff (Mid Glamorgan) - yeah they
do look like little duracell toys and I got a shock the first time I
picked one out of our fence, it felt like a brillo pad!! |
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Maria
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 6:51 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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hankinson@aol.comspamfree (Hankinson) wrote in message news:<20040306134557.15038.00000824@mb-m18.aol.com>...
[quote]Old Molly, you are being unfairly harsh. No research can prepare a person for
all the problems that can arise, including dealing with chicken pecking
orders...that>s why someone who>s done it is smarter than someone who>s read it
(and I>m a reader like you). E.g., I put a young cockeral in with two hens, he
was just learning to crow, I thought they would fall in love, but the HENS beat
the living hell out of him! Had to rescue him. I>ll not do the same thing
again...but I>m not cruel and neither is Maria.
Burl
[/quote]
Burl...thank you! I love my hens to bits and would never have
subjected them to any form of danger. I do understand the compassion
with which Old Moll came out of her hole spitting feathers (excuse the
pun)...but in my humble opinion unwarranted. M
www.iim4quality.com |
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Maria
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 7:17 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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fowls@nuele-online.de (nuele) wrote in message news:<1ga84yt.13wcxa39se6dcN%fowls@nuele-online.de>...
[quote]Maria <mparnell@ntlworld.com> wrote:
Hello Maria,
We have a approximately 40 bird including a Wellsummer, Orpington,
Faverolle, French Wheaten Maran, and Cream Legbar Cockerel (along with
3 'assorted' homebred cockerels).
that is 8 cockerels
All range over 5 acres of field
We decided to breed our trio of Legbars and separated them from the
flock - popped them into a luxury breeding pen
... took about 6 weeks
From the minute we returned the Trio to the flock - World War Three
broke loose!! Our Legbar Cockerel went on a rampage of carnage
physically hunting down and and slaughtering our other Cockerels
(although he only seemed to pick on the largest two?)
...
WHAT DID WE DO WRONG? He is a magnificent specimen of a bird and his
blood line comes from excellent stock....I can>t face getting rid of
him no more than culling him. Will he get over this nonsense if we put
him back to the flock, or will his killing spree continue.
I don>t want any of them to live in small pens, not now they have
known the freedom of 5 acres....what do we do now?
Removing a bird (especially a cockerel) from the flock hierarchy,
disturbs the whole equilibrium. Show breeders often find that when they
return from the shows, that even these few days have been enough.
If you remove one of them, there will be a gap in the hierarchy that the
others are only too eager to fill. You might even find wild fights break
out between the ones that stayed (especially if you removed the
strongest, and the others want to become Nr 1) . Of course,
reintroducing the one you removed will again disturb the new hierarchy.
I know some very good old breeders, and they all keep a number of males
together, old and young, which proves it is possible to reintroduce
cockerels from the breeding pens back into the flock. One told me, when
the breeding season is over, he just lets them all out together, and
then they all fight for a day and after that there>s peace again. What
is important is that they have *plenty* of space to run away, and plenty
of places to hide for the ones who give up!
But of course, these are all males of the same breed, all the same size
and condition. I guess the problem in your case is that there are
different breeds involved, and the boys are not equal opponents. The
heavier cockerels get tired so much earlier, because jumping a lot is
very exhausting, and then they have a problem. I have often heard of
Brahmas dying of heart failure when fighting with a bantam! As you said,
it>s your big Orpington boy that has had the biggest problems.
I>m not sure whether there>s an easy solution for the problem you>ve got
now. I can understand that you separated them all at once, but I would
suggest that you put them all together again as quickly as you can,
except the Legbars, because otherwise the other seven cockerels will
start to fight as well! Up to that event, they were all together, right?
You should not change that now.
With the Legbar Cockerel, it is more difficult. You could try those
"chicken spectacles" which prevent them from seeing what is right in
front of them. I>ve never used them, but I>ve been told it helps. You
put them on all the cockerels' noses for a few days, and they cannot
fight properly, because they can>t perform their rituals properly. After
a few days, they might have become accustomed to each other.
You could also clip one of his wings to give him a slight disadvantage
in fights, but that is a risk of course for a free-ranging bird.
I>m afraid the easiest and safest way would be to keep him separate, and
wait until you see what your chicks are like. Then keep the best
cockerel and find a new home for the old boy, with some of the spare
ladies.
In the future, I would suggest that you separate the ladies only, and
add the cockerel you want to breed from for a few hours every other day.
That is enough for fertilization, and doesn>t disturb the flock
hierarchy. (some even say every third day is enough. Nicer for the hens
if it>s only a small number, not having to mate so often.)
The last thing I would like to say is that fighting is an absolutely
normal behaviour in chickens. Your Legbar is not necessarily an
extraordinarily aggressive bird, I only guess that he had been the boss
and the others did not want to accept him again. Cocks don>t usually
kill each other under normal conditions, that is: equal opponents in
plenty of space with places to hide for the loser, plus other cockerels
to participate in any quarrels. The boss usually keeps control of all
the others, and prevents them from getting too serious. It>s important
to provide such a flock with perches in different heights, so the losers
can show they accept their position by staying on a lower perch.
Injuries happen, of course, and comb and wattle injuries can look
spectacular - most often it>s not as bad as it seems. (Always keep some
styptic lotion ready in your cupboard) It helps if you keep the spurs
trimmed a bit so they don>t have sharp points. A lost eye is a sad
thing to happen, but it does happen occasionally even under normal,
everyday conditions! I have one hen, a small one, too, but with a big
comb which gives her some authority. She always looks for trouble. She
lost one of her eyes in a fight with another hen one day, and I felt
terribly sorry for her. But she gets on very well with that one eye now,
and hasn>t stopped to bully her bigger sisters - she would be the first
to beat up new ones!
HTH. Good luck, and don>t despair.
Nuele (D)
[/quote]
Hi to everyone again, and a big thanks for all this fabulous info
that>s pouring in.
To both Jill and Nuele - your advice very much appreciated. Thank you
GOOD NEWS!!! Big boy Orpie has not lost his eye - although its
difficult to tell when I am bathing him every day, whether he can
actually see out of it? It>s functioning as normally as the other eye
and looks the same, but he seems to only view things from his left and
tilts his head up/down or around accordingly.
The cuts are healing nicely and he>s starting to look his old self.
Never thought I would be injecting chickens with antibiotics but the
vet instructed and now I am proficient :-)
As for the problem - if I were honest I knew we were collecting too
many cockerels but every time we bought new hens, we were told "you
have to have a trio" - like all 'newbie>s' we fell into this trap
innocently. I now know different.
We also think we have come up with a plan - we have limited housing
area, it>s only thanks to the kindness of the farmer that we are
allowed to let the girls roam the 5 acres + of his land.
What about this for an idea - if anyone thinks it won>t work, for
heaven>s sake shout soon because I have to sort this problem out.
We will re-home old boy Zack Wellsie and Honey the Orp plus the
homegrown breeds. This leaves us with Mr Legbar, Mr Faverolle and Mr
French Wheaten.
We could then rotate these gents so that only one Mr is roaming the
fields with all the hens at any one time. If I were to put a timescale
on it, perhaps 2 Mr>s could be coralled for a month whilst the third
one roames? If my maths serve me well I reckon this means one of the
Mr>s at any one time will be penned for 8 weeks and out for 4! And of
course they will be in separate pens. It>s the best we can come up
with - during the penned time we could of course introduce the
relevant hens for company?
I>m losing sleep trying to configure this lot out.
talk soon. M |
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Tony
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 11:10 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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Maria wrote:
[quote]"Tony" <Rodney@10uk.net> wrote in message
news:<c2chie$1o3a9a$1@ID-156344.news.uni-berlin.de>...
"Maria" <mparnell@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:bcaeb214.0403060307.24c10b58@posting.google.com...
"Tony" <Rodney@10uk.net> wrote in message
news:<c2apts$1ponmn$1@ID-156344.news.uni-berlin.de>...
"C.M.German" <cmgerman@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:teednadYGeE6etXdRVn-jA@adelphia.com...
Ahhhh, but if we could all be simple country folk we>d realize
things
such
as this in a flash ;>)
CM
Ahhhh, but I grew up in a city of 12 million people where I have
learnt
to
kick the legs out from under someone with a knife, get on a tube
train
that
is already three times overloaded, and grumble but with good nature
about
spending £3.20 on a pint of beer!
However, with an animal that is a little ball of feathers and a
brain
the
size of a pea - I know nuffink :-). I>m here to be edikated.
Tony
PS: I rescued a new born lamb today from some barbed wire - very
satisfying.
Tony, have lost count of the times I sat in a stream holding a ewes
head out of the water whilst she lambed. VERY gratifying. We don>t
have to do this of course, as the sheep are the farmers
responsibility but they surround our small welsh cottage and we
value and love the countryside although struggle to cope with its
harsh ways on times. A smallholders way of life is the one for me
:-))
Whereabouts are you in Wales? I>m near Montgomery.
Tony
Down South - between Bridgend and Cardiff (Mid Glamorgan) - yeah they
do look like little duracell toys and I got a shock the first time I
picked one out of our fence, it felt like a brillo pad!!
[/quote]
Yeh, solid little things aren>t they.
Tony |
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Tony
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 11:13 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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Maria wrote:
<snip>
[quote]We could then rotate these gents ...
[/quote]
When I first read this I thought you said you were going to 'roast' them.
Would have been a solution I spose :-)
Tony |
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Jill
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 11:26 pm Post subject: Re: What did I do that was so wrong? |
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"Maria" <mparnell@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
[quote]GOOD NEWS!!! Big boy Orpie has not lost his eye
[/quote]
Great news
They cope extremely well
and time will probably prove that
[quote]
As for the problem - if I were honest I knew we were collecting too
many cockerels but every time we bought new hens, we were told "you
have to have a trio" - like all 'newbie>s' we fell into this trap
innocently.
[/quote]
Why do breeders do that?? its really unfair on people.
If you are breeding you should just accept you are going to have too many
boys and deal with it.
[quote]We also think we have come up with a plan - we have limited housing
area, it>s only thanks to the kindness of the farmer that we are
allowed to let the girls roam the 5 acres + of his land.
What about this for an idea - if anyone thinks it won>t work, for
heaven>s sake shout soon because I have to sort this problem out.
We will re-home old boy Zack Wellsie and Honey the Orp plus the
homegrown breeds. This leaves us with Mr Legbar, Mr Faverolle and Mr
French Wheaten.
[/quote]
What are your hens ??
Which do you want to breed?
What you are suggesting would seem to be a good idea as you will have birds
with different coloured eggs so for each 2 week egg collecting block you can
set the corresponding eggs only and eat the rest.
Then you swop - have a 2 week no setting and a 2 week setting of the next
coloured eggs
Sounds like a plan to me
If you can find anyone with an old raspberry cage you could divide it in
half - grow fruit and you can make a richer environment for your boys in
captivity.
They would also be able to see folks outside
--
regards
Jill Bowis
Pure bred utility chickens and ducks; Housing; Books, Gifts
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine nursery
Holidays in Scotland and Wales
http://www.kintaline.co.uk |
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