Show me your gardening Progress

[The Brew Mentor]

I figured I'd shove some copper tubing into the ground and see what happens.
I'm sure the difference will be hard to determine

 

[west1m]

I remember electrocuting the ground to bring up worms.

 

[RoadRoach]

Thought I'd share this with you all!

we got some little Chick's!

Cute little buggers. Very gentle and docile hens to let you handle the chicks (and them) that way. One of our Australorps and one of the Barred Rocks just started laying this week. The two Rhode Island Red roosters are ENORMOUS compared to all the girls. Still hunting a home for at least one of them, preferrably both. They're big boys at 16 weeks and are only gonna get bigger. One of them can peck at my belt loops without jumping.

 

[RoadRoach]

I remember electrocuting the ground to bring up worms.

Another way is to drive a piece of broom handle in the ground and scrape it with a knife to make it squeak. The old magnetos from telephones were once used for doing what you say with fish, though. VERY ILLEGAL though, unless it's a private pond.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Near Got taken out by this Big woppa gumtree yesterday going to get the Chook Eggs

 

[Zambi]

Ouch...

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

You are one lucky man Ben!

 

[GFHomebrew]

Ouch...

yup scared the crap outta me!

so glad Me and Matilda wernt in the chook Pen.

actually there were no chooks in there because I'd just let em out for a graze.

soo lucky and minimal damage considering the size of the tree

 

[RoadRoach]

Near Got taken out by this Big woppa gumtree yesterday going to get the Chook Eggs

Glad it got the chook pen and not the people pen. Got lucky on that one. Go buy some lottery tickets, NOW!

 

[Donoroto]

I remember electrocuting the ground to bring up worms.

Me too.

 

[Donoroto]

Near Got taken out by this Big woppa gumtree yesterday going to get the Chook Eggs

Holy crap! Damned lucky there Ben, God smiled on you. I know that’s in the bunyip swamp, but I recon they (the town) won’t come out to clean it up.

 

[RoadRoach]

I gotta get a photo of the roosters that were supposed to be pullets. Those boys are HUGE. One gets really contrary when I pick it up, though. Gotta be a good 10 pound bird. Maybe I can do that tomorrow, but Deb and Makaila are both working early shifts, so might have to wait a few days.

One is asserting himself at the other, and wouldn’t let it come in the coop with him and the girls. Can’t let these two guys start fighting. They’ll do some serious damage. Time to add onto the run and build an isolation coop to separate them from the hens.

Two are laying now, though one is very intermittent. Can set your watch by the one that started laying first. She laid one on the ground and we put the nest boxes on the coop. Next morning I heard her cackling and found her in the nest. 2nd one laid on the ground as well but she also laid the second egg in the nest. Hope all of them are that easy to teach them not to lay on the ground.

As opposed to teaching them to go in the coop and get on the roosts at night. It’s like putting 8 toddlers to bed. I finally caved in and set the door to close at 6 PM rather than letting it close at dusk, well and truly after dark. I have it set for minimum light which SHOULD be dark enough for chickens to be on the roosts. The idiots still won’t go in the coop unless I leave a light on until after the door closes. Maybe they think monsters are under their bed (roost). I tried using the light on a timer and let it go until well after dark, but the nitwits still insist on getting stuck outside after the door closes. These birds like to stay outside until they simply can’t see anything but the light inside the coop. That’s not a good thing if I ever intend to free range them. They’ll get caught out and become varmint fodder.

 

[RoadRoach]

@GFHomebrew, did you get fertilized eggs to hatch and brood, or do you have a rooster? None of the breeds I selected are known to be good brood hens (I got them for layers, not brooders), but your two Australorps are proving that to be a fallacy.

 

[GFHomebrew]

@GFHomebrew, did you get fertilized eggs to hatch and brood, or do you have a rooster? None of the breeds I selected are known to be good brood hens (I got them for layers, not brooders), but your two Australorps are proving that to be a fallacy.

got em from a chicken farm online
She was selling bantam eggs as well as mixed breed chicken eggs I'm sure the two black ones are Austrlorpe as for the two brown ones I honestly havnt got a clue.

I was actually perusing Google yesterday on Chicken breeds trying to spot a match on the brown chicks I've got.

the lady no longer has her add up and can't remember the breeds she used...

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I've bread mine a few times, the issue is the rooster will kill the chicks so planning is needed my hens are all black white and orange, the roosters are red and this turkey who thinks she's a mom to all chickens lol

 

[RoadRoach]

got em from a chicken farm online
She was selling bantam eggs as well as mixed breed chicken eggs I'm sure the two black ones are Austrlorpe as for the two brown ones I honestly havnt got a clue.

I was actually perusing Google yesterday on Chicken breeds trying to spot a match on the brown chicks I've got.

the lady no longer has her add up and can't remember the breeds she used...

Maybe Rhode Island Reds? The hens are usually a good gentle bird, temperature tolerant, and fantastic layers. The roosters however get quite large, nearly as big as turkeys, and have a pretty nasty disposition to go with their size. Looks like we're going to have to cull ours because they're quite violent with the girls. They haven't started fighting each other yet, but that's a matter of time, and not very long from now. They do their best to intimidate me when I go in the pen, especially if I pick up one of the hens. They don't seem to understand the real pecking order thing or recognize what opposing thumbs and sharp tools can do to them. They gotta go. They're being real bullies now, and I don't need that. Next photo of those two may be on a dinner plate.

 

[RoadRoach]

I've bread mine a few times, the issue is the rooster will kill the chicks so planning is needed my hens are all black white and orange, the roosters are red and this turkey who thinks she's a mom to all chickens lol

Other hens (not the mama) will also kill chicks, especially breeds that aren't broody. I only wanted 6, but wound up with 8, but I have two roosters I need to get rid of, so that'll put me right where I want to be. I'm going to weatherproof my brooder box and move it out next to the pen so the others can see them growing up, then one night put the new ones on the roost with the existing flock. I'll probably get a couple chicks each year and start culling the hens at 2-3 years age. Gonna have to be a lot more careful about buying pullets. Roosters don't contribute anything toward the investment except poop.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

Other hens (not the mama) will also kill chicks, especially breeds that aren't broody. I only wanted 6, but wound up with 8, but I have two roosters I need to get rid of, so that'll put me right where I want to be. I'm going to weatherproof my brooder box and move it out next to the pen so the others can see them growing up, then one night put the new ones on the roost with the existing flock. I'll probably get a couple chicks each year and start culling the hens at 2-3 years age. Gonna have to be a lot more careful about buying pullets. Roosters don't contribute anything toward the investment except poop.

and a rooster that crows "all the time" and bugs the crap out of you lol

 

[GFHomebrew]

Maybe Rhode Island Reds? The hens are usually a good gentle bird, temperature tolerant, and fantastic layers. The roosters however get quite large, nearly as big as turkeys, and have a pretty nasty disposition to go with their size. Looks like we're going to have to cull ours because they're quite violent with the girls. They haven't started fighting each other yet, but that's a matter of time, and not very long from now. They do their best to intimidate me when I go in the pen, especially if I pick up one of the hens. They don't seem to understand the real pecking order thing or recognize what opposing thumbs and sharp tools can do to them. They gotta go. They're being real bullies now, and I don't need that. Next photo of those two may be on a dinner plate.

good Luck with that.
I rekon I've got some rooster on my hands in the little flock of chicks I've got.

will tell with time. I've got one taker for a rooster.
I just hope it don't go your way and I end up using the Axe

if I go for the dinner plate I'll slow cook em this time round...

 

[RoadRoach]

good Luck with that.
I rekon I've got some rooster on my hands in the little flock of chicks I've got.

will tell with time. I've got one taker for a rooster.
I just hope it don't go your way and I end up using the Axe

if I go for the dinner plate I'll slow cook em this time round...

Yeah, if I had a smoker, that's the way I'd go with them. I'm not real big on roasted chicken. Pretty much won't eat the dark meat at all, especially roasted/broiled. I'm a breast man, what can I say?