Aussie Finch Forum

jusdeb wrote:Now thinking if we need to be building housing I might be better of with a couple of the smaller types of chooks .

Deb, I actually keep 3 pure breed hens - 1 x Gold Laced Wyandotte Bantams and 2 x Barred Plymouth Rock bantams.

(got hem off petlink - livestock & poultry). The goldie was $10 - unsexed / uncloured - I got 3, but 2 turned out to be roosters so they had to go. The Plyms were both coloured up so $30 each.

They live in a nice little coop I bought off the web for $120 which they love and they are free to roam my fairly small suburban block during the day.

They put themselves to bed in the coop every night and they make virtually no noise, no big mess, and never go into my garden beds!

I originally got them because I wanted the eggs for my finches (egg & biscuit mix) which they happily supply me with.

But now I have become so fond of them, I always refer to them as my "pretty little girls". They really do have personalities and are very endearing.

So you don’t need much space, and they are cheaper to feed than finches!!

I have three chooks too, nothing as fancy as dano though, just your regular brown chooks, they live at the bottom of the garden where the fruit trees are. They get any leftover finch seed, all the vegie scraps and in return the finches (and us) get their eggs. They do a grand job of keeping the weeds down under the fruit trees too.

Thanks Dano , my googling efforts had me thinking about bantams now Im convinced ...

As Dano says. Balancing what you can feed them in scraps and wheat, to what they produce in eggs and manure Bantums are probably better value. But not suitable for the avairys obviously. And you work on a 1 hen per person/avairy basis to get the right number of eggs. Some councils have restrictions on how many you can keep and many councils have restrictions on the keeping of Roosters, but unless you want to breed them this is not a problem. Jap quail can be kept in small parrott avairys without any trouble. My parents did this some years back for some years. They produce small tasty eggs, but are lousy parents if you actually want to breed them. So an incubator would be needed.
LML

Thanks folks the bantams sound like the way to go , separate from the aviaries is good and they would probably be good cleaners under the suspendeds ...now to suss it out with the other half .

When looking at bantams don't get sucked into Silkys.

okies .... i hear ya

Now everyone's going to tell you about their favourite chooks..... I've got 3 Isa Brown's for eggs for us and birds, but until recently had an amazing Pekin bantam who never scratched up the garden and used to love riding on the kid's shoulders. She'd also sit on your lap whenever you sat outside with a coffee. Only drawback if you want a steady supply of eggs is that a lot of the bantam breeds tend to go broody often but they make the most amazing pets.

Well I asked the builder of all things relating to animal housing and his reply ..."CHOOKS ARE A PAIN IN THE XXXX" so I guess thats that ( for now ).

Plan B ...forget to buy eggs for a few weeks then throw in the " see if we had a couple of chooks "

Plan C ...pull out some of his precious power tools and some of the really good pine he has stashed away for making name plates and then make a lot of noise in the shed , thats gotta get a reaction of some kind.

Flap, have you been coaching Jusdeb or visa versa ? Deb you'r giving away secrets to us fellas.
Cheers Greg.