Author Topic: Chickens at home  (Read 68475 times)

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Offline Fox67

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #200 on: July 25, 2020, 06:45:50 AM »
We don’t wash ours except to wipe off any poo with a damp cloth.

If I think there are any rats around (always some somewhere) I set a trap or carefully select an area to place a bait. Or use them for target practice as I have no close neighbours.
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Offline Wazza999

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #201 on: July 25, 2020, 01:24:41 PM »
Do you guys have a problem with rats now that you have chickens??  I know rats are a part of life, but since our neighbours got chickens myself and another neighbour are now seeing rats or hearing our dogs chase the rats during the night.
I haven't had chickens since leaving home nigh on 50 years ago, but yes chook food and rats went together. That's how I learnt to shoot. Bit of bread as bait, corrugated tin chook house behind, camouflaged under the house air rifle ready. After I'd knocked off a few, a quick whistle to the neighbours Labrador who'd collect them, play with the carcasses then bury them. Simples and simpler times, don't reckon that approach would go down too well nowadays . Bloody rats would attack the hatchlings as well.

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Offline #jonesy

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #202 on: January 01, 2021, 07:50:33 PM »
9 more baby chickens of various breeds.  I got "day olds" and popped them under a couple of broody chooks.  Some outgrew the adopted mum in a few weeks.

I also got 2 ducks as something different.  Turns out they poop a LOT.

I also picked up some automatic water troughs off Facebook for 10 bucks so that takes away one of the daily chores. 
I even grabbed one for the dogs water bowl.
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Offline Wazza999

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #203 on: January 01, 2021, 08:41:13 PM »
'also got 2 ducks as something different.  Turns out they poop a LOT.'
You're not wrong, it's waddle, waddle, poop... repeat ad infinitum. I was given a couple of ducks as a kid, chooks are a model of decorum in comparison. Duck eggs are quite a different taste, we used them in cakes.
I'd like to get chooks again but they'd be too difficult to care for when we are away, plus there are lots of urban foxes around where we live.

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« Last Edit: January 01, 2021, 08:45:49 PM by Wazza999 »
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Offline GGV8Cruza

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #204 on: July 12, 2021, 03:36:43 PM »
Bloody Foxes

Lost 3 chooks yesterday morning, let them out around 8am and had to go to soccer. The fog rolled in and must have gave the local fox a bit of cover, lost 2 to him and left one in the pen on the ground. That will teach me to trust the buggers. Now have to start the layer process again, still have 2 left at the moment but they are a bit skitish, one came up to the house and hung out on the deck for the day which is not normal, foxy scared them good.

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Offline Fizzie

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #205 on: July 22, 2023, 10:24:07 AM »
Here you go, chook owners, just teh thing that your chooks want! ;D

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Offline corndog

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #206 on: July 22, 2023, 12:10:04 PM »
Don't recall ever seeing or evidence of rats around our place for 30 years. That was until the new neighbours out the back moved in. With them came their dog, that was OK,  Dolly the lamb, but that only made it to Christmas, chooks, still around, and an open compost heap that they still keep going. Now we got 20 odd Indian Myna birds, no i won't call them common myna to be politically correct. And rats most of the time, even been in my roof space. Now both side neighbours and I grow vegetables and fruits, but one neighbour have been doing it for decades and complains to me that now he has rat problems. All 3 of us have seen and trapped plenty of rats. Forget birds eating your crop, try stopping the rats. I got 8 this year in my back garden beds so far.

Offline 2010banditsa

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #207 on: October 31, 2023, 03:16:44 PM »
'also got 2 ducks as something different.  Turns out they poop a LOT.'
You're not wrong, it's waddle, waddle, poop... repeat ad infinitum.
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you forgot sip of water, poop, sip, poop... makes for very wet poops as well.
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Offline Harbourmaster

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #208 on: October 31, 2023, 09:47:28 PM »
Don't recall ever seeing or evidence of rats around our place for 30 years. That was until the new neighbours out the back moved in. With them came their dog, that was OK,  Dolly the lamb, but that only made it to Christmas, chooks, still around, and an open compost heap that they still keep going. Now we got 20 odd Indian Myna birds, no i won't call them common myna to be politically correct. And rats most of the time, even been in my roof space. Now both side neighbours and I grow vegetables and fruits, but one neighbour have been doing it for decades and complains to me that now he has rat problems. All 3 of us have seen and trapped plenty of rats. Forget birds eating your crop, try stopping the rats. I got 8 this year in my back garden beds so far.
We just moved to WA & inherited 4 chooks & an unknown amount of rats. Down to the hardware, bought some wax blocks to poison them. Got 2 in the shed, 1 in the fowl yard & another in the house roof. Don’t know if there were anymore but no sign of them for 4 weeks, and cobwebs growing were they once roamed. There is alway 2 baits set so I can keep an eye on things.
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Offline austastar

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #209 on: November 03, 2023, 08:49:24 AM »
Hi,
   Check the baits won't poison owls if they eat a dead rat .
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Offline Harbourmaster

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #210 on: November 03, 2023, 09:27:26 PM »
Yes We always look for dead ones. Problem can be mice wehrn in plague, so many to pick up.
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Offline GGV8Cruza

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Re: Chickens at home
« Reply #211 on: November 04, 2023, 03:20:22 PM »
We lost an Isa Brown out of nowhere, no sign of it anywhere, not even a feather. 2 days later its only other brown mate passed away as it was lonely. We now have 6 blacks left, all starting to lay like crazy

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