Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[ozexpat]

Mrs Oz is highly allergic to cats. She carries adrenaline in her purse for those unexpected contacts.

I respect peoples decisions to have cats but like any animal, they have needs and a lot of owners are clueless.

The biggest threat to Australia's birds are cats. God knows how many are killed each day by peoples outside cats.

On the egg laying front. I asked AnnaLou to squeeze our quail to see off an egg would come out but she thought it was not such a good idea. I guess they read the text message because they started to lay..... well just. We have four layers out off one hundred total quail. It should pick up to forty a day in the next three weeks.

Our kids are very excited to have quail eggs for snacks.

If you want me to talk to your birds been I can send you a voice file. I have a good stern voice. Lol

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I am purposely allergic, I wasnt raised with any so I guess I shouldn't judge.
But my dogs have good character and they dont like them either

 

[Bens-Hens]

I grew up with a cat in the family, but I am not really a 'cat person' that's not to say I would be mean or cruel to one.

The way I see it, this kitty is upsetting people so best if I sort it out before someone else takes matters into their own hands. I have heard those plans and my method with a drop door cage and re-homing is best for the cat!

Still no eggs from the new girls, but two from our older eight. Poor Curly looks the worst of any if our moulting girls.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I grew up with a cat in the family, but I am not really a 'cat person' that's not to say I would be mean or cruel to one.

The way I see it, this kitty is upsetting people so best if I sort it out before someone else takes matters into their own hands. I have heard those plans and my method with a drop door cage and re-homing is best for the cat!

Still no eggs from the new girls, but two from our older eight. Poor Curly looks the worst of any if our moulting girls.

Pictures or this great molt does not exist

 

[Bens-Hens]

I will try get one tomorrow to share, she has some new feathers on her wings, just the small fine ones so far.

I will get one of Cleo too, she is a light sussex in moult, and she looks rumpless with no tail feathers hahahaha

 

[Bens-Hens]

Okey dokey, as I mentioned I got some pics. They look even worse now as some of them decided to stand in the rain, I have been trying to shoe them to the covered area's without much luck. Weird chickens they are, I suppose some of them have never seen it before.

Mr Sav's for sale pic.


Curly, she now has the little feathers on her wing's (which you can just make out), they were big grey patches. I have seen worse in the moulting comp thread, but this is the worst of our flock.




'Rumpless' Cleo


and since they were walking past, Rosie's baby Rocks and not so baby any more. They are 17 weeks today and the youngest of the flock.


This is the converted bird cage I am using as a sliding door trap. I use the small twig to hold the door open and thread meat onto the twig. When the kitty eats the meat it moves the stick and I have to get out of bed! First time I caught her it was with polony (luneon, devon or sandwich meat depending where you are from), she didn't fall for it the second night so I swapped to leg ham which also didn't interest her. last night I threaded hot dog meat onto the twig and moved it to our front door area (a local cat hot spot for toilet stops, fighting, mating and general games of "Let's turn the mans sensor light on every 10 minutes". Again, no luck, so I might put the cage away for a few nights and try again another time.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Okey dokey, as I mentioned I got some pics. They look even worse now as some of them decided to stand in the rain, I have been trying to shoe them to the covered area's without much luck. Weird chickens they are, I suppose some of them have never seen it before.

Mr Sav's for sale pic.


Curly, she now has the little feathers on her wing's (which you can just make out), they were big grey patches. I have seen worse in the moulting comp thread, but this is the worst of our flock.




'Rumpless' Cleo


and since they were walking past, Rosie's baby Rocks and not so baby any more. They are 17 weeks today and the youngest of the flock.


This is the converted bird cage I am using as a sliding door trap. I use the small twig to hold the door open and thread meat onto the twig. When the kitty eats the meat it moves the stick and I have to get out of bed! First time I caught her it was with polony (luneon, devon or sandwich meat depending where you are from), she didn't fall for it the second night so I swapped to leg ham which also didn't interest her. last night I threaded hot dog meat onto the twig and moved it to our front door area (a local cat hot spot for toilet stops, fighting, mating and general games of "Let's turn the mans sensor light on every 10 minutes". Again, no luck, so I might put the cage away for a few nights and try again another time.

Now if you cover it so its a box, put a nice goosedown pillow in there with food water and a few homemade feather toys hanging from above you would have kitty!

 

[lindz8504]

Ben,
Actually, covering it may not be a bad idea! She fell for it one time, and had a bad experience, so she probably won't go into it again. If you throw a towel or some cardboard over it, she may take the bait again.

ETA.... If you feed her for a few days without the trap, and then put the food in the trap and camo it , she might be more comfortable.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Thanks, I will give that a go in a couple of days when the rain clears up

I was just down the cubby house and happened to see a certain non laying (but 11 months old) Silver Pencilled Wyandotte in a nest box...could it be getting close to time for her? I will believe it when I see an egg there!

 

[lindz8504]

for you!

I candled our first incubator full of eggs tonight! I'm excited! We set 33, there were 3 definite clears, 5-6 that we couldn't see through, and the rest had veins!