Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[LolaLayla]

Seems that at regular intervals I get an attack of Morehens I have my original two Isa girls who have now stopped laying and my large foul Silkie Estelle who probably lays 5 eggs in a good month. I would love to get some more eggs again. I realise I can only get one more girl in the eglu and was even thinking about getting one Isa to join them. I know this would be fraught with difficulties as I had horrendous integration problems with my (at the time) two Sikies.

As I was mulling this over with OH he suddenly said why not set up another coop for a while and get two more So I have found a supplier with some Isa's but he also has some other hybrids, Black Rock, White Star, White Sussex and Speckledys. My initial idea was for Isa's as they are great layers and no broodiness which I have had enough of with Estelle She is easily forgiven as she is a lovely girl but one broody is enough! The supplier has told me that the other breeds are hybrids and the broodiness is bred out of them.

Any thoughts would be welcome

[sparkysmum]

Would you not like some coloured eggs My araucana is nearly 5 and looks as if she might come into lay again. reliable layer, gorgeous blue eggs over a reasonable season. very approx late Feb to October. Maybe a sussex for guaranted eggs too. They would also look good together A pretty flock is always a bonus. Or give some ex batts a home Axx

[gavclojak]

Ex-batts...or commercial girls, every time if it's a consideration for you then I would seek advice from BHWT re the keeping of vaccinated & unvaccinated birds together.

 

My ex cage fighters have not stopped laying, even through the winter, the egg production has dropped, from the four girls I am getting one egg one day then two the following day in that cycle......to be fair I would rather they didn't lay through the winter and to give their little bodies a rest

[LolaLayla]

Not sure if there are any ex batts locally Alli, I think I will go for one of the breeds I listed as those are the ones available at the local supplier but blue eggs sound

[Mrs_B]

As I was mulling this over with OH he suddenly said why not set up another coop for a while and get two more :shock:

 

Ohh I like this!!

 

How exciting to be planning to get more birds. I have a White Star and she is very flighty and a strong/bossy personality. Sussex as a breed is really lovely and I love the colouring of the feathers, too I have to say though that two of my original 5 hybrids went broody (although only for a short while!)

 

Have fun! Can't wait to see what you decide

 

x

[LolaLayla]

As I was mulling this over with OH he suddenly said why not set up another coop for a while and get two more :shock:

 

Ohh I like this!!

You could have knocked me down with a feather Which hybrids that went broody I really want to avoid the broodiness

[Ain't Nobody Here]

How exciting .

 

I've never had much broodiness with all my hybrids (apart from one, a Pied Suffolk, who only did it twice and a broody cage sorted that out quickly!).

 

Have fun choosing .

[LolaLayla]

Well it's taking my mind off this rain

[merlina]

None of my hybrids (other than my goldtop) have ever gone broody

Do they have copper blacks? Mine is a good layer and lays the most gorgeous really dark brown eggs

[LolaLayla]

None of my hybrids (other than my goldtop) have ever gone broody

Do they have copper blacks? Mine is a good layer and lays the most gorgeous really dark brown eggs

Thanks that's interesting They only have the hybrids I mentioned.

[Chickabee]

I had a Miss Pepperpot from omlet who used to go broody. She's sadly no longer with us. She was evil in her broodiness I'm now more of a collector. Although I do have 4 exbats who I love to bits. My 2 arancunas are gorgeous and my Welsummer pullet has just come into lay. Her eggs are beautiful, as is she. She thinks she's a bantam though. The biggest of my girls and she chose to live with the silkies and my pekin frizzle

[Mrs_B]

As I was mulling this over with OH he suddenly said why not set up another coop for a while and get two more :shock:

 

Ohh I like this!!

You could have knocked me down with a feather Which hybrids that went broody I really want to avoid the broodiness

 

My Columbine has been the worst broody wise for me - any sudden rise in hot weather and she's on that nest and puffed up - but hot weather in general doesn't trigger broodiness so it's not been a huge issue. Other than that, my Sussex has been broody twice but that was very brief, she only sat on the nest for two days - squawked a huge amount and then got on with her normal antics without much convincing. The Columbine on the other hand needed removing and separating from the nest for a few days to stop her broodiness.

 

I'm actually new to pure breeds (Orpingtons) so this coming year will be interesting on this side of things...

 

x

[Chickabee]

orpingtons! You lucky thing. They're next on my list. Just haven't got the room. Considering buying a cube just so I can get some

[Guest]

My White Star although not friendly (not aggressive just not cuddly) has been a trooper she is almost 3 years old now and despite doing a slow moult she laid all through this winter, slowed down bit but still kept going. My Black Rock has been very good too and she is 4 years old so her laying is almost over but she still pops out a couple of eggs a week.

 

The Columbines are still on strike

[Valkyrie]

We have an evil buff Sussex that is only delightful when she is broody! I'm quite happy for her to go in that mode! So are the rest of the girls!

Still no eggs from my girls. Fingers crossed that next week might bring a present when I get my newbies.

[LolaLayla]

I have really been so lucky with my original two girls. They have only just given up laying in the past few months. They managed to virtually lay all year round only slowing down round each Christmas time. In four years I have only had to buy a couple of boxes of eggs so I am finding it hard to accept now

[mimi5]

If you're able to upgrade to a cube, you'll never regret it Then once you've finished with your classic you could sell it ...... or not Great for hatching, hospital and intros

 

keep us posted

[Valkyrie]

Yup, upgrade to a cube - even if you don't have a walk in run - in hindsight that would have been a relief to the Quasimodo appearance I take on after clearing them out. But the eglu run is worse! Had that for intros and the run is used as a veggie patch protector when not in chook use and the eglu is detached for extra nest box duty. Currently quarantining 2 chooks and I realised how hard it is to get them into bed as they wanted to sleep outside in the run.

[LolaLayla]

Apart from my classic (which my girls are in) I have an older one which my rabbits used. I also had it set up when introducing my Silkies so it is just a matter of unearthing it from the back of the shed and setting it up. I do remember when dismantling it that OH was quite determined never to set it up again so I was really surprised at his comment I think a walk in run would be good but I do move the run about the garden to try to avoid too much wear and tear to the grass etc

I would love a cube but really could not justify the cost I am really, really missing the eggs! I am hoping to get some work done in the garden in the next week or so and then I will be off to the supplier I cannot trust myself to look yet as I know I would definitely come back with a box

[LolaLayla]

Shock horror Spring must be coming. Estelle is flopped down in the run looking broody and there was an EGG from Layla who hasn't laid for months......and there was me thinking she was past it!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Funny, my Layla started laying again recently too .

[Valkyrie]

still freeloading here!

[LolaLayla]

What a roller coaster ride chicken keeping is. My notion that Estelle had gone broody was totally wrong. I noticed later in the day that she was out the run but still sitting down. Normally when broody she would have quickly gone back into the coop. On checking her out she seemed to have difficulty walking so I had to take her to the vet. Apparently the vet could feel a lump inside her and thought it may be an inflamed oviduct which is not good news She had 2 injections. One an anti inflammatory and one antibiotic and I have some tablets to give her too. If there is no improvement by the end of the week I have to take her back. The vet said she could have scans etc if I want but I wouldn't put her through all that so we will just need to see what happens.

[mimi5]

What a roller coaster ride chicken keeping is.

 

Yep that says it all Well done for spotting your girlie wasn't right......do we evolve an instinct for when our girls are going poorly

 

Best wishes for your girlie

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Oh dear, that's a shame . Fingers crossed she perks up enough so you don't have a horrible decision to make .