So, after 2 weeks of converting a 3m freight box into a chook house, I have finally joined the good life.
We have got 2 Sussex and 2 Wyandottes. Naming rights are yet to be conferred, but it seems rude not to consider 'Hove Actually' as a possibility for one of the Sussex pair (and by extension to call the other Brighton...?)
Anyway, thought this thread would be a good starting point for all of you other 'good lifers' to share tips. This is our first forray into egg production - I'd be happy to access the meat, but the Hotspur clan are less convinced.
Apparantly new chooks should spend a week or two in the chookhouse acclimatising, before we let them run 'free range' in our run. Any observations?
We have got 2 Sussex and 2 Wyandottes. Naming rights are yet to be conferred, but it seems rude not to consider 'Hove Actually' as a possibility for one of the Sussex pair (and by extension to call the other Brighton...?)
Anyway, thought this thread would be a good starting point for all of you other 'good lifers' to share tips. This is our first forray into egg production - I'd be happy to access the meat, but the Hotspur clan are less convinced.
Apparantly new chooks should spend a week or two in the chookhouse acclimatising, before we let them run 'free range' in our run. Any observations?
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Yes.
Felicity Kendall. In her day, quite cute.
Felicity Kendall. In her day, quite cute.
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Yes.
Felicity Kendall. In her day, quite cute.
Felicity Kendall. In her day, quite cute.
Richard Briers, not so much
Apparently I'm apathetic, but I couldn't care less.
"Being a Partick Thistle fan sets you apart. It means youre a free thinker. It also means your team has no money." Tim Luckhurst, The Independent, 4th December 2003
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Felicity, Felicity, you fill me with electricity...and I'd like to plug into your socket!
Can't remember whether that should be attributed to Ade Edmondson or Rik Mayel's alto egoes from the Young Ones
Can't remember whether that should be attributed to Ade Edmondson or Rik Mayel's alto egoes from the Young Ones
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Good on you HarryHotspur, hope it goes well, I've been told they have great personalities. Can I ask where you got them from?
And if people can please sign this e-card against battery hen cages that would be fantastic. I'm sure there must be a few SNAG's on here with big hearts 
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Yes.
Felicity Kendall. In her day, quite cute.
Felicity Kendall. In her day, quite cute.
Richard Briers, not so much
VYVYAN: NO!! No! We're not watching the bloody Good Life!! Bloody bloody bloody!! I hate it!! It's so bloody nice! Felicity 'Treacle' Kendall and Richard 'Sugar-Flavored-Snot' Briars!! What do they do now?! Chocolate bloody Button ads, that's what!! They're just a couple of reactionary stereotypes, confirming the myth that everyone in Britain is a lovable, middle-class eccentric - and I - HATE - THEM!!
-
[collapses on the couch, exhuasted]
RICK: Well, you can just shut up, Vyvyan. You can just about bloomin' well shut up! Cause if you've got anything horrid to say about Felicity Kendall, you can just about bloomin' well say it to me first!! All right?!
VYVYAN: Rick, I just did.
RICK: Oh! Oh!! You did, did you?! Well, I've got a good mind to give you a ruddy good punch on the bottom for what you just said! You're talking about the woman I love!
NEIL: Yeah, and me! I love her too.
NEIL'S DAD: yes, well, I agree with the spotty twerps on that one. Felicity Kendall is sweetly pretty, and just what a real girlie should be. Why, speaking as a feminist myself, I can safely say this: that Felicity Kendall is a wonderful woman, and I want to protect her.
VYVYAN: [sarcastic] Well, it's the first time I've ever heard it called that!
"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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Good on you HarryHotspur, hope it goes well, I've been told they have great personalities.� Can I ask where you got them from?
�
And if people can please sign this�e-card against battery hen cages�that would be fantastic.� I'm sure there must be a few SNAG's on here with�big hearts�
�
�
�
Staglands. Seemed half the price compared to Trade Me Sales. Easy to drop in to the sawmill on the way to pick up wood shavings for the chookhouse too.
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Good on you HarryHotspur, hope it goes well, I've been told they have great personalities. Can I ask where you got them from?
And if people can please sign this e-card against battery hen cages that would be fantastic. I'm sure there must be a few SNAG's on here with big hearts
Staglands. Seemed half the price compared to Trade Me Sales. Easy to drop in to the sawmill on the way to pick up wood shavings for the chookhouse too.
Surely the wood shavings would be beneficial when you smoke the feathery b**tards?
We're the WELLINGTON Phoenix
And this is our Home
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Anyone know how you convince the buggers to get on a perch for the night without having to do it yourself? It's been 3 weeks now, so you would have thought they would have got into the routine.
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There's the Norwegian Blue technique...
"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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Very similar to the "Jesus of Nazereth" method
We're the WELLINGTON Phoenix
And this is our Home
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Dress up like the Swedish Chef and run aound their coop!
That oughtta work. If not at least you got to say Bork! Bork! Bork!
"Ive just re-visited this and once again realised that C-Diddy is a genius - a drunk, Newcastle bred disgrace - but a genius." - Hard News, 11:39am 4th June 2009
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"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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We gave naming rights to our daughter who called them Chooky and Lucy. How old are your chooks HH? When we first started we got a couple of 8wk old ones who got eaten within a week of being free range (when they were 10 wks), so we got some older ex battery chooks the second time and they've been free (within the run) since day 1.
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They'll be about 16weeks now. Big Buggers too. Emotional attachment from the Hotspur Clan means there's next to no chance of them surrounding Paxo even when they stop laying.
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Last night was the first time one of the flock jumped onto a perch for the first time unassisted.
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congrats HarryHotspur. How many do you have now? Hens are cool, have you taken photos of them? post them here please!
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'Flock is a gross exaggeration - we still have four. The two Wyandottes jumped up of their own volitian this evening. I'm putting it down to development as they are 3 weeks older than the Light Sussex pair.
Had to laugh at the photo in the paper of a hen named Chictoria Pekham t'other day.HarryHotspur2011-05-25 19:44:33
Had to laugh at the photo in the paper of a hen named Chictoria Pekham t'other day.HarryHotspur2011-05-25 19:44:33
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Sorry Oceanic6, even if I get the file size below 35K it doesn't seem to want to upload.
Breaking News: All four jumped up on their roosts today. It's a tuakana-teina thing I suspect :-)
Breaking News: All four jumped up on their roosts today. It's a tuakana-teina thing I suspect :-)
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that's a bummer about the pics. Good to hear they are behaving!
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From VIz Top Tips:
"TAME BUDGIES and parrots easily by replacing their grit with iron filings. By holding a large magnet, they will sit hapilly on your hand for hours.
Debbie Forster, e-mail"
Debbie Forster, e-mail"
"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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Well, woke up this morning to hear one of the Chooks Crowing. Yup, that's right, this beauty aint ever going to lay eggs.
I suggested it going into the pot, but the Hotspur whanau were non too impressed. So, not wanting to incur the wrath of the neighbours, this Sussex cockerill (and possibly the other one, now a 50/50 bet that it is also a boy) is off to a breeder tommorow. HarryHotspur2011-06-24 09:12:53
I suggested it going into the pot, but the Hotspur whanau were non too impressed. So, not wanting to incur the wrath of the neighbours, this Sussex cockerill (and possibly the other one, now a 50/50 bet that it is also a boy) is off to a breeder tommorow. HarryHotspur2011-06-24 09:12:53
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I got told off for suggesting the same thing about my 2 yo chooks. Buy them at 16 week 'arry, then you already know it's a girl and it'll only be 2 or so weeks away from laying. 
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Apparantly the Sussex breed are notorious for being difficult to identify. And heritage breeds of that type are more likely to be nearer 30 weeks before they lay. But I totally get your point!
Still, we have arranged a swap, and will be the proud owners of Plymouth Rocks.
I find that amusing since for the last 3 seasns the guy in the FZ who I stand next to is a Plymouth fan, and the one behind me a Brighton Fan.HarryHotspur2011-06-24 17:06:39
Still, we have arranged a swap, and will be the proud owners of Plymouth Rocks.
I find that amusing since for the last 3 seasns the guy in the FZ who I stand next to is a Plymouth fan, and the one behind me a Brighton Fan.HarryHotspur2011-06-24 17:06:39
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The spy swap took place in a desolate car park (how else can you describe Paraparaumu pack 'n save?).
I think the Sussex spies were the equivalent of James Bond. The new three more like Mr Bean...and are currently being bullied without mercy by the Wyandotte incumbents. HarryHotspur2011-06-28 19:56:15
I think the Sussex spies were the equivalent of James Bond. The new three more like Mr Bean...and are currently being bullied without mercy by the Wyandotte incumbents. HarryHotspur2011-06-28 19:56:15
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Yay! First egg today. Caused a reet commotion in the henhouse. Beautiful yellow yolk, I wanted it fried, but was out voted 3-1 on boiled. Hopefully the other four hens are not too far behind as the days start to get longer.
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My two died in the snow last week. I'm not too fussed though neither of them had laid a single egg in the last 3 months or so, and they're both about 2 1/2 years old. Time to invest in some new chicks.
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Well, woke up this morning to hear one of the Chooks Crowing. Yup, that's right, this beauty aint ever going to lay eggs.
I suggested it going into the pot, but the Hotspur whanau were non too impressed. So, not wanting to incur the wrath of the neighbours, this Sussex cockerill (and possibly the other one, now a 50/50 bet that it is also a boy) is off to a breeder tommorow.
I suggested it going into the pot, but the Hotspur whanau were non too impressed. So, not wanting to incur the wrath of the neighbours, this Sussex cockerill (and possibly the other one, now a 50/50 bet that it is also a boy) is off to a breeder tommorow.
HH - I can't believe you given your cock the flick!
Still - as it's Sussex I guess that's alright. Would be disappointed if you did that to an N17 one.
"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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Egg # 2 today ...she's on a roll...
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I'm popping up for a giggle and see if I can scrounge a run.
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Sweet c you there (Andy F was trying the same last night!)
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