I've had a rare weekend to garden. I work most Saturdays so and entire weekend is precious to me. So it drives me mad if the weather stops me being able to get out in the garden. All weekend we have had scant patches of sun before the hailstones or driving rain have soaked us through. It has allowed me lots of time to locate new Wyandotte bantams to replace our dear old Shakira and keep Buck Bucky company. We've now found a breeder who has lavender 7 week old chicks for sale although there is no guarantee that they will be female as they are difficult to tell apart at such a young age.. The breeder has agreed to change them over if they turn out to be cockerels. We just can't risk upsetting the neighbours with dawn crowing nor do we want to breed from them. We just want to run a small flock of hens for their eggs and the pleasure of seeing them scratching around in the garden.
Today we put together the small hen house and run that we wanted to use for Quails. As the chickens we will get are still young they will need warmth so we have built the house in the greenhouse. As long as there is plenty of ventilation so it doesn't get too warm or muggy it should benefit them to be in there and it quarantines them from our hens. Introducing any new animals to existing groups must be done carefully for both parties.Our old hen, Buckser was vaccinated as a chicken but the new chicks haven't been which is a shame. However, their new home is ready for them, dusted with red spider mite powder, carpeted with fresh wood shavings suitable for birds in their house and deep compost in their run. If it all goes well we will introduce the new chicks when they are bigger. We've a way to go yet and still have to check the new chicks over before buying them. Until we have checked out how healthy they are and how well they are housed we won't know for sure if they are suitable for us. There's no point risking the health of our existing hens.
It's been very time consuming finding suitable bantams and I must have contacted about ten breeders and have only been able to find year old pullets (young hens up to one year old) in Mille Fleur which is a very rare and unnusual colour for Wyandotte bantams. buff laced and gold laced two week olds (I've seen the photos and think only the buff laced is female but still there is no certainty) and finally the breeder who has our longed for lavender bantams.
We are hoping to pick them up on Wednesday afternoon then, once checked over, we will get them back as soon as possible and put them in their new house. They will stay in the house to settle them down for a day or two (obviously with food and water) before the door is opened and they can investigate the run. We will do everything we can not to stress them out as this can cause them to be susceptible to fatal diseases. It will be strange to have tiny tweeting chicks again with baby blue eyes and undefined feather patterns.
We'd have loved to have had Shakira for longer but we now want to ensure that Buck Bucky gets some new company and gets to be top of the pecking order again.
Today we put together the small hen house and run that we wanted to use for Quails. As the chickens we will get are still young they will need warmth so we have built the house in the greenhouse. As long as there is plenty of ventilation so it doesn't get too warm or muggy it should benefit them to be in there and it quarantines them from our hens. Introducing any new animals to existing groups must be done carefully for both parties.Our old hen, Buckser was vaccinated as a chicken but the new chicks haven't been which is a shame. However, their new home is ready for them, dusted with red spider mite powder, carpeted with fresh wood shavings suitable for birds in their house and deep compost in their run. If it all goes well we will introduce the new chicks when they are bigger. We've a way to go yet and still have to check the new chicks over before buying them. Until we have checked out how healthy they are and how well they are housed we won't know for sure if they are suitable for us. There's no point risking the health of our existing hens.
It's been very time consuming finding suitable bantams and I must have contacted about ten breeders and have only been able to find year old pullets (young hens up to one year old) in Mille Fleur which is a very rare and unnusual colour for Wyandotte bantams. buff laced and gold laced two week olds (I've seen the photos and think only the buff laced is female but still there is no certainty) and finally the breeder who has our longed for lavender bantams.
We are hoping to pick them up on Wednesday afternoon then, once checked over, we will get them back as soon as possible and put them in their new house. They will stay in the house to settle them down for a day or two (obviously with food and water) before the door is opened and they can investigate the run. We will do everything we can not to stress them out as this can cause them to be susceptible to fatal diseases. It will be strange to have tiny tweeting chicks again with baby blue eyes and undefined feather patterns.
We'd have loved to have had Shakira for longer but we now want to ensure that Buck Bucky gets some new company and gets to be top of the pecking order again.
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