Keeping backyard chooks
Submitted by Ashen on Sat, 2015-11-21 09:40
Hi guys. Sorry if this thread is not about crays or spearing fish! 
I have nearly completed our little chicken pen. It measures 4m long x 1m wide x 1m high. It will be finished in a few days. Looking at keeping 3-4 chooks, which hopefully will give us 2-3 fresh eggs a day. They will also be pets for our 2yo daughter. There are numerous breeds to choose from! Anyone here keep chooks and can recommend certain breeds? Im after breeds that are low maintenance, friendly and preferably doesnt stop laying after 12 months!
Cheers guys
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A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
once again you should have
once again you should have called me..... i have a stack of chook pens i need to get rid of hahaha
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
You know what, I had a very
You know what, I had a very good feeling you'd be one of the first to reply on this topic, mister "farmer vinesh!". Haha.
Pls pm me your number mate. Will keep for future reference!
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
nah not farmer Vinnie just
nah not farmer Vinnie just lots of useless stuff no one wants haha
dumper
Posts: 1027
Date Joined: 03/04/08
Got 4 isa browns and they're
Got 4 isa browns and they're great. Had em for nearly 3 years and they're still going strong. Usually get 3 eggs a day except for a cpl of weeks in the middle of winter. Got em on a strict diet of dhuies and Crays
kirky79
Posts: 1354
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Isa Browns
I keep 3 Isa Brown chooks. They are egg laying machines. For the first couple of years it's one egg per chook per day. Mine are now about 3 and have slowed down a lot so I've got 3 more young ones in a separate coop to take over laying duties
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Thanks guys. Do you think
Thanks guys. Do you think keeping different breeds together will be ok? Or does the group need to be the same breed?
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
Fathom
Posts: 619
Date Joined: 18/04/08
Different breeds are ok if
Different breeds are ok if you get them at the same time, I've found a newcomer gets hassled a bit for a week or two then settles in OK, have mixed ducks in with the chooks with no dramas, just ate 2 of my snail fattened ducks yesty and the day before.....mmmmm. Watch out for foxes, have a real smart one hanging around here for the last 2 months, think its a vixen cause a little cub got ran over last night 300mtrs from my joint, reminds me to go and re-set my traps for tonight.
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Yeah mate, willing be
Yeah mate, will be getting them at the same time. Probably as 18 week olds. Did abit of googling and might be choosing one each: Isa Brown, 3/4 leghorn and silver lace wyandotte. That should give us a good mix of colours for our daughter! Haha
However, have read that the Wyandotte breed can become broody?
I have never heard of foxes roaming around my area (Kiara), but the chook pen is built at the rear of the yard, along the fence. It sits on a patch of garden bed which has cement garden edging. It is also fully enclosed. Hopefully that should stop would be predators....!!
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
billy69
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 16/01/12
Foxes are everywhere in the
Foxes are everywhere in the Metro area. I have even seen them in the back alleys in the center of Perth.
Make sure you have a fully enclosed cage and you will be ok.
My oldies bought 4 Isa browns from place in Bellevue. They advertise on gumtree. Very friendly chooks.
burnz
Posts: 152
Date Joined: 19/02/15
Bantams haha. Can get an
Bantams haha. Can get an extra one then!
Justin M
Posts: 1207
Date Joined: 14/01/13
If you want stacks of eggs
If you want stacks of eggs go Isa Browns (as already mentioned). I had four of those for a few years and they kept on cranking out the eggs. Our laced Wyandottes were excellent layers as well. Same for Austrolorps, big black chooks that I found as pretty reliable egg layers. We had two, one a hatchling which the kids called 9-10...as in 9,10 big fat hen...All these chooks are low maintenance. Just kept them fed and watered, plenty of scratching space and the occasional free ranging fertilizer dump on my lawn and they were/are happy. We had ten chooks at one stage and the egg supply was outrageous as you could imagine.
And yes, our Wyandottes became broody. We decided to accomodate one and got a few eggs for hatching. Was cute watching little chicks following mum around the yard.
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Thanks for the info mate! I
Thanks for the info mate! I might rethink the Wyandotte and consider an Australorp.
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
ashen mate I breed pure
ashen
mate I breed pure australorps ,
black & blues , they are also egg layers of repute still holding the Australian record for most eggs layed in one year
they are also much softer nature than isa browns , not nearly as viscious and will tame like a dog to follow you &be picked up , especially good with little kids etc
currently I have 23 young ones , some at about 4 months old that should be laying by late jan early feb
pm me if your interested in more info etc
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Many thanks mate. You've
Many thanks mate. You've just covered one important thing and that is Australorps are good with kids!
Pm keenly sent!
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
Lamby
Posts: 3145
Date Joined: 04/08/09
Bloody hell Hezz you are one
Bloody hell Hezz you are one resourceful bloke, might be doing another rendezvous at work for australorps! Need to knock up a pen for the back of the property, got a fair bit of space for the henrietta's to roam. What homesteads you got at yours Vinnie?
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
lol lamby , its cause im an
lol
lamby , its cause im an old school greenie mate , let me know if you want fertile eggs or some hens /rooster combo etc
back in the day when most families lived on/lived off a 1/4 acre block having chooks and garden was normal , same as catching all types of fish to eat
if we wanted asunday roast we killed it in the back yard , pretty simple really ,
long before kfc etc came along lol
old habits die hard , they keep us in eggs easily & I always have fertile eggs as well for incubating which are good for young kids to enjoy as well
my show stock blue Australorp rooster [walshy ] cause he comes from Adelaide & crows , I had him flown over to bring in a different blood line to my hens ,
also used to breed light sussex ,great looking chickens but they don't lay as well as the australorps
hezzy ,
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
petermac
Posts: 2946
Date Joined: 03/03/10
not allowed chooks
not allowed chooks where I live , chooks are terrific pets, I had a bantom rooster that was my best mate when I was growing up when I was about 7 yo to 10 year old Cheepee would go any 1 that got next to me (as my sister found out ) when I lived in fothergill st freo he would wait out on the front on the wooden fence until I would get home from school
karlos 22
Posts: 52
Date Joined: 10/11/11
light sussex
I find light sussex the best with my kids Issa browns are smaller breed and very good but lay a massive amount of eggs. You will be surprised about foxes guarantee they will be in Kiarra.
Fathom - what types of traps are you setting I'm setting large dog traps and have never had any luck using sardines or dead chooks as bait.
Fathom
Posts: 619
Date Joined: 18/04/08
Illegal traps work best
Dont want to convict myself, lets just say that they also work well on Rabbits. My cage trap has got a couple, you have to make sure the bottom of the cage is buried in the ground as they dont like walking over the mesh and you should wash it real good after you catch the neighbours dog to get the scent out.
Cant wait to get another rooster, me old mate Junior was huge and I raised him from a egg, when he saw me coming down the driveway after work he'd run out of the paddock and jump up on the bullbar and yell "cockadoodle doo". sometimes I'd take him for a ride around the paddock, he'd spread his wings and pretend he was flying. Awesome bird. Fucking fox got him
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
got 3 x 3/4 lehorns, close
got 3 x 3/4 leghorns, close to 2 years old now, and i get 3 eggs daily. Good chooks too very friendly
Got them as chickens from a place in herne hill.
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
My flock
Just thought I'd update this thread. Might be useful for anyone thinking of keeping backyard chooks.
I now have 6 chooks:
3x Hylines, 1 silver-laced wyandotte x araucana, 1 light sussex x araucana and 1 bantam Australorp.
The friendliest would be the australorp. Very placid and docile. Follows my daughter around and loves to sit and chill on human laps. The 3 hylines are good but not as friendly. The light sussex hates humans and wouldn't come near anyone, even with food in the hand. Best layers so far has been the wyandotte and sussex. Have never missed a days laying in Winter.
As far as eggs are concerned, they definitely taste nicer than store bought eggs. Creamier and fresh! My daughter usually only eats half her plate of scrambled eggs. But ever since having backyard chicken eggs, she would demolish her brekkie of eggs and asks for more! Haha
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
Yep, can't beat fresh eggs from your own flock, I just had isa browns down Busso, they followed me around like dogs.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
catchalittle
Posts: 1875
Date Joined: 04/09/08
Get yourself some turkey's
Get yourself some turkey's once youve tried turkey eggs you wouldnt eat another egg from a chicken they are much richer and a lot bigger Ive got 4 females and 1 yound male I get about 8-12 eggs a week and they make awesome pets
Nathan
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Interesting!
Can Turkeys be kept with chooks? Similiar dietry requirements?
Also, do you breed them?
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
catchalittle
Posts: 1875
Date Joined: 04/09/08
Can keep turkeys with chooks
Can keep turkeys with chooks havnt had any youngsters yet and the male Tank is only 6 mths
Nathan
Doc
Posts: 691
Date Joined: 29/05/16
Met plenty of people on the
Met plenty of people on the road who have 2 or 3 chooks on board. Keep them in a little fold up pen. Also met a couple who kept a couple of geese. Nobody went near that rig without them going off.