Chicken Diary – August

Its Now Time for the August Chicken Diary,  As I live an New Zealand  the  Seasons will be in reverse order in some cases. We are now coming into our Spring time, so just try to use common sense when applying some of these Tips.

“OK Lets Get On with It.”

  • Check for Broody hens. If you want to try raising a Clutch of chicks then a broody hen is a natural incubator. How ever, during the time she is siting she wont be laying eggs.
  • You’ll need a rooster to get fertile eggs or you can buy fertile eggs off a poultry breeder. this is a great way to get colorful rare breed poultry onto your property. Breeders can and do send eggs all over the place thru surface mail  so there is very little  limit to the breeds you can choose from.
  • If you are hatching a clutch, remember you will be getting a 50/50 mix (or thereabouts)  of Males or Females, SO YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE A PLAN for what you are going to do with the Boys. Being poultry owner means having to make tough decisions on who lives and who dies, and it should never involve dumping roosters so that they become the problem of others.
  • If you have hens that have gone broody and you don’t want her to be Broody you’ll need to trick her hormones  to get her to lay again. To do this , place her in an all mesh cage with food water and shelter but no nest and keep her in a place with a draft. A barn, shed or garage are good but make sure she can see the sunlight – don’t keep her  in the dark. if the cage can be put off the ground a few inches perhaps up on bricks, all the better as the cooler air around her body will literally cool her hormones down she should stop wanting to sit with in 1 – 2 Days and resume laying.
  • The Longer the Hen has been broody the longer it will takes to cool her and get her back to laying, so keep an eye out and act quickly as soon as you see the signs of her being broody.
  • Brown and White shavers/Hylines Almost will never go broody all though it can happen.
  • Bantams (small coloured breeds) go broody at the drop of a hat, and make excellent mothers for any eggs you wish to incubate even duck eggs.
  • Layer hens should be on good quality layer mash or pellets that provide protein, Vitamins and other essential minerals and nutrition that a layer hen needs for good egg production.
  • Chicks should be feed a special – chick starter . Never give them layer feed as it is too high in calcium and can cause (fatal ) Damage to organs. A mother hen, if raising them, can safely eat chick Starter
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Raising Chicken Diary For ~ August, 7.0 out of 10 based on 3 ratings