Take part in study on PFAS 'forever chemicals' in eggs

[mimi5]

So excited as today I finally went to collect some bantam araucanas!!! (a very long story!!! ) We have called them Lulu and Pom (don't know how I will tell them apart as they are both lavender!! ) They seem really healthy........but a little large! I have pekins bantams and maybe it's just me but they are 16 weeks and bigger than my cockerel . Also I have put them in my Ark with run but I'm worried they seem a bit large for it !!!

 

So will they be ok to add to the pekins in the cube with 3 metre run??? They are going to be quarrantined for atleast 2 weeks. The pekin babies are 16 & 14 weeks and in a wooden coop with run (arrgh currently treating it for red mite!) but once it's clear should/could I put the babies in with the adults in the cube and move the araucanas in to the wooden coop??? I read somewhere that hens should be over 6 months before being with an adult cockerel.

 

Feeling a bit wobbly as I want to do the right thing and not stress out the chicken anymore than is needed!! Will try and post some pics.......but need 1 son to help Thanks!!

[Redwing]

Bantam Araucanas should be pretty small...

 

Can you maybe put them in with the other youngsters once the two weeks is up?

 

Failing that I would put the Araucanas in with the older birds if they are the biggest of the youngsters. Cockerels seem to understand that a female isnt of breeding age, I have never has a problem with my cockerels hassling the youngsters until they start to show signs of maturity

 

Here is a fully grown 1 year old bantam Ara (far right, not a great pic) the rest of the birds are all youngsters the Silkies being small-ish large fowl and the frizzles bantams so you can see how small she is for comparison

 

[mimi5]

Thanks redwing. I think I may have been sold large fowl by mistake!! It's a bit of a story but the breeder was having some private family health issues and so didn't feel able to sell to private buyers here and there. So she arranged to sell her stock to a feed supplier local to her and let me know once a batch had been dropped off. She must have both LF and bantam and forgotten I wanted bantam!The supplier asured me they were bantam and only having seen pictures before I just wasn't sure! (ihad also driven 1hr&1/2!)

 

Oh dear, I really wanted bantam sized to put with the pekins! So now what.......should I try and sell these on?? Or have a go at mixing?? I don't have a huge garden and love trundelling the cube around so they have fresh grass and the lawn doesn't get trashed! Do you think I should contact the feed suppliers? I have e-mailed the breeder but she may not get back to me!

 

On the upside the araucanas seem very healthy & calm. Feeling woobly!

[Saronne]

It's up to you, but I have a mixed flock of bantams and LF hens and they all get along really well. My Araucanas are supposed to be bantams, but judging by what I've seen at poultry shows, they are something in between. They are, however friendly and inquisitive birds who never go broody and are about the healthiest birds I've ever had.

[mimi5]

Thanks Saronne,

 

The breeder did get back to me and insists they are bantams. But having done some research on the web apparently there is a hitch with only the lavender colour araucanas. Some small LF are being passed off as bantams, but as you say they are somewhere in between. Not sure about mine, but they do seem healthy and calm. My pekins have driven me made with their broodiness!!!!! So good layers would be great!!!

 

Apart from their size my worry is space. They are in an ark with run, which seems too small, but is only for 2 weeks.They are enjoying trashing the grass The cube has a 3metre run and 3 pekins in at the mo. Should I add an extrs metre? Also I have some pekins that I hatched and they are about the same age as the araucanas. Could I have all 8 together? I move the cube around the lawn and this works really well.

 

The garden supplier has said that I totally can take them back if I'm not happy. Just so confused!!

 

Can anyone clear up what size a bantam araucana should be????? Please!!!!

[zakjon-98]

A quick google has just said that a bantam aracauna hen should weigh 680-790g. I definitely think you should keep them and mix them as many people have bantams living with large fowl. Pekins are also quite fiesty so will hold their own and because you have a cockerel he will help keep peace amongst the hens. The fact that that you are putting large fowl to bantam also makes it easier rather than the other way around. I think you could have an 8 of the breeds you have in a 3m cube run if they had fresh grass to scratch on and other things to keep them occupied but I would not wan't to have anymore than that. A bigger hen would give you bigger eggs too. Good luck

[Redwing]

I'd keep them personally if they didnt cost a great deal (bantam Aras normally are more expensive) and if they are friendly and healthy thats more important than size as even large fowl Aras are not massive

 

I think you will be ok

[mimi5]

So Hi everyone,

 

I was going to keep the araucanas....then I wasn't, backwards and forwards in my head!!! They went mad for the grass and trashed the spot the ark was on, oops! They are so calm....well compared with my madam pekins But they do big poos!! Bit worried about the lawn not coping. I've had the pekins a year in a few weeks and it's coped with them trundling over it in the cube.

 

But I'm still not sure how to house everyone for the best!!??? Still battling redmite in the babies wooden coop and wanted to ask your advice. Spoke with my vet, who keeps chickens and he said in his experience the only thing that works with red mite is, aerosol fly spray in the coop(obviously not with chickens in!!!) NOT RECCOMENDING THIS, but has anyone tried this?

 

One of the babies is on baytril for a sneezy/cough thing and one of the peky girls seeme to have scaly leg!!! Never a dull moment!

 

Also, the Araucanas are really cramped in the ark, could I move them into the cube this weekend?? They seem really healthy and have been wormed. No pressure but we have a long weekend away at the end of the month and want things to be as simple as the can be for my pet sitter

 

Thanks for all your positive replies

[Redwing]

yes I would move the Aras to the cube

 

Yes you can use fly spray, it works quite well, most of teh red mite treatments do though its the regularity of the application that gets rid of the mites, every 4 days ideally for at least a few repeats.

 

Aerosols can be very costly though by the time you have done every crack and crevice in the coop

 

I'm loving a pump spray red mite product called Perbio at the moment, it seems to have a residual action (whether thats intentional or not I dont know) and so seems to help break the cycle more efficiently, its one of the strongest 'over the counter' treatments

[mimi5]

Oh Dear!!!

 

I sometimes feel doomed in my chicken adventures!!!! Milly my s.partridge pekin was looking a bit off colour yesterday, crop not full!!! So checked her over and she has a bit of scaly leg again (she developed it while siiting on eggs) and seems to be on and off broody, so out came the nettex scaly leg spray & nutridrops!

 

So after wortk tonight check on her, vurtually empty crop More drops and try to feed her in the kitchen, she did eat and has gone to bed with something in her crop. But Molly g.partridge also not much in her crop These birds have not been healthy since I got them and I DON'T respect the breeders where I got them from now after various situations I won't drone on about now. I lost the other girl I got from them in june, to a mystery illness. The vet and I did all we could. They have been a nightmare with broodiness and Molly only came out of the anti--broody coop yesterday!!!!! They have both hatched may/june and have moulted, getting new feathers now.

 

Could they be stressed about the araucanas??? They can see them and have free ranged around them. Apparently they were having a screaming match at each other after I left for work (pekins versus araucanas!)!!

 

So I am totally stressed out!!!!!!!! Couldn't even eat my dinner!!!

 

I have learned loads but it seems no matter what I do they don't thrive Really feel like giving up on chicken keeping tonight and I've been here before........I'm sure it shouldn't be so hard????

[JS1]

Hope things are feeling better today.