Chicken Intervention for Joz

[baymule]

Joz, it looks like locally you have a great assortment to choose from. I started out with 2 hens and I got SLW's. They are so pretty. Then I got 3 black sex links and 3 red sex links-going for the big brown eggs. I got some more at Christmas, mostly red. You are right......booooring! Since you are limited to how many you can comfortably accomodate, get a colorful assortment. it makes it so much more fun.

Post pics of your staircase! Instead of a "stranger's room" you'll have a chicken room!

Stranger's room was typically found under the stairs of plantation homes. Hospitality in the south was even extended to strangers that arrived late at night and found lodging in a small room under the stairs.

 

[MontyJ]

Ya gotta get an Australorp rooster, put him under the stairs and name him Harry Potter!

 

[joz]

Joz, build the nestbox so you can access it from the outside.

I had to pull this out, lest my plan for nestboxes get buried in the rest of the thread.

I think what I'm going to do is use the nook under the end of the stairs, the most likely hen-preferred area for laying, as the nesting box(es). So, I kinda thought I might make a flip-up stair tread to access the eggs. I just don't know if I want to put padlocks on that... but it needs raccoon-proofed, as there are a bunch of the nasty beasts in the area. And opossums.

Here, have an Elevation (not to scale):

 

[canesisters]

Ya gotta get an Australorp rooster, put him under the stairs and name him Harry Potter!

Good one! YES! Potter, the roo!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

heh, i don't think she would appreciate a roo so close to the house crowing at 3:30am! at least that is the time mine have been going off lately. :/

i've had polish, in fact that is what Chickie is supposed to be. he's the only one i've kept since he's my first baby i hatched-was a loner and ended up imprinting on me. a very bad quality polish but don't tell him, he still thinks he's beautiful and only has eyes for me! spoiled brat rooster thinks he's my arm candy and wants to cuddle but won't get along with any other chickens-chases the hens for getting to close (not trying to mate them), and gets thrashed by my other roos that get along with everyone else but not him! the hens will gladly go out in the yard if he's the only roo since he doesn't want to jump them for mating, but they learned to keep their distance from him so he doesn't attack them. he's also trained not to crow before 7am! whenever he's been in the house he won't crow till i come to wake him up and most mornings that was at 7am!

i've had a few polish crosses, at least i think they had some polish in them. i have to say i do love those that are crossed with this breed!

i had Raven the black hen who had a small puff on the top of her head with 1 white feather, she could see everything around her clearly! she had 5 toes though so i thought she could have been crossed with a Houdan or something else. she had a wonderful personality and sense of humor to go with it! she would pick the highest spot in the coop to roost and try to jump down on me when i entered with treats. she used to be the first to get into my garlic in the spring. and paced the run back and forth when i would get home from work, expecting me to go out and sit with all of them. she would stand behind me if i crouched down and pick at the back of my pants to get my attention.
Raven playing in some of my hosta next to some garlic that had sprouted up in the same spot.

currently i think my Faverolles looking roo has a bit of polish in him, he's got the salmon faverolles male colors but has a small tuft of black feathers on the top, he's a frizzle and they curl forward. one of his daughters has that same puff. Jet, my roo. you can see the black tuft on him, unfortunately i have a beard plucker in my coop so he doesn't have his at the moment.

his pretty daughter Sugar. she's filled out and looks much better since this was taken a few months ago. she seems to have a harder time seeing around her puff now.

if you ever come across the brabanter breed i would suggest those too! a friend of mine had a comical pair a few years ago. i happened to be at her house visiting and as i walked by their pen i felt a tug on my shirt. i turned around to be greeted by 2 sweet faces looking for treats. there was enough room between the fencing for them to poke their heads out and stare at me. they were very friendly and inquisitive. from what i read they do need to be handled a lot or they can become flighty.

 

[bj taylor]

i'm now in the situation of trying to figure out the best breed to try for a rooster. I want a rooster that is a good protector, gentle with the girls, not prone to human aggression, good at foraging (mine are mostly free range) and a heavy breed so I can breed for dual purpose. also heat tolerant.
wow, that's a lot of parameters isn't it?

the chick roos I've got coming up are 1. Delaware, 2. buff orpington, 3. silver laced Wyandotte, 4. red sex link I wonder if any of these will fit the bill.

I had read on backyard chickens a review of orpingtons by beekissed. I value her opinion a lot, but she doesn't post anymore I don't think. anyway, she said orpingtons were not good foragers & tended to be too fat. I have yet to have a fat chicken. my problem is the opposite - they are too thin. they ignore the feed in favor of foraging. Charlie the australorp was very very big. I think he was around 12 pounds, but it was all meat. he was not fat at all.

 

[so lucky]

bj, If you find a roo with all those qualities, let me know, cause that's what I want, too. AND I want him to be tolerant of little human girls who are by nature always hopping around and screeching.

 

[canesisters]

BJ, I've not heard a single bad thing about cochin roosters. In fact, everyone who has them can't seem to say enough good things about them. They are heavily feathered though so I'm not sure about the heat. I have heard that feathers can actually insulate them against the heat...

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i think it would be neat if someone could do a survey to find out what each state has for chicken breeds and then rank them by the most to least popular in each state. this might help get an idea of which ones will thrive well in those southern states that have heat or humidity issues that can be a concern for chickens in summer. i know that some people have misting systems to help cool their birds during high temps but its not practical here in the north for the few days a year we get over 90 degrees.

eta: i do love my bantam cochin roo Sunny. i haven't regretted keeping him all these years. he's good with the girls and keeps they younger boys in check if they approach an unwilling girl. he also is a good protector and will stand on guard watching the sky and surrounding areas. Sunny's been great around chicks too. though he does fuss when i try to check him over for bugs and any issues. he's so fluffy that sometimes you have to feel through a lot of fluff. though if you want to use a cochin roo for mating you may have to trim some feathers from below the vent. Sunny doesn't seem to have this issue.

 

[baymule]

Joz, love the drawing! Is that in the back yard and how much room do you have in the yard? Do you plan on letting them out to roam the yard or keep them in the coop? I kept mine in the coop and run for a long time because my Great Pyrenees was a chicken killer, but we have moved past that and now she is a wonderful guardian for them. Now they are cooped and will be for at least a month or more because I am sodding the back yard with grass. Would love to see pictures of your house and coop!