1. How
can I make nest boxes?
I find those 20 litre plastic drums to be a good size for nearly
everything. Just cut the side out of them and put in some shavings and
you have terrific nests. Often you can get these containers free or
very cheaply from the recycling section at your local rubbish tip. Be
careful though, make sure you know what was in the container
originally as you don't want those drums that have had harsh chemicals
or poisons in them. Those that have had detergent in them are perfect.
2.
How
to get and keep a clean shed and pen.
You can do a few things to help with this problem. Firstly, you need to
provide your birds with a covered shed in which to live and in
particularly damp weather, keep them confined to it. In the shed, keep a
thick layer of coarse wood shavings (local joineries and carpentry
suppliers can often help here) and you can add grass clippings to that
as well. The secret is to keep this material absolutely dry. Each six
months or so, change it (the used stuff makes a great garden mulch). The
system works on bacterial enzyme action, which destroys the ammonia and
smellies before they begin. In Autumn (fall) add dry leaves to the
litter in the shed. Your chooks will go crazy for days scratching
through them and they will get vital minerals and trace elements from
them.
Now, let’s go outdoors. I would not use straw at all as it will only
add to the mess when it begins to rot down. Try to remove the really bad
mud first. When it begins to dry out, I would use a liberal amount of
garden lime over the entire area. This may bleach the leg colour of your
chooks, but unless they are show birds, it won't matter. Next, place a
liberal coating of coarse wood shavings over the yard. Flaked pine bark
is another good litter. You may even like to use the old shavings from
the shed, though fresh is best. Ideally, keep the birds in the shed for
a couple of weeks and as the wet areas dry out, sprinkle some wheat and
oat seeds over the entire area and allow them to grow to about 6 inches
to a foot in height. Then let the birds out for short periods to graze
the area. If you like, divide it into two pens and keep one sown all the
time and rotate them as they graze each down.
3. What
is a Chook?
"Chook" is an Australian colloquialism for chicken.
4. How
long do chooks live?
As with
all living things it varies. I once had two Old English Game bantam
roosters that both lived to 17 years and we had Australorps, which
lived to 15 years. Those were of course, the exception rather than the
rule. A lot has to do with the breed of fowls, the particular strain,
how well they are looked after, the climate, how hard they are made to
"work" (make babies) etc.
5. What
are "vulture hocks"?
This the term
used to describe the trait where the thigh feathers (above the knees)
extend behind the hocks. It is a fault in most breeds, but in Sultans
and some Belgian breeds, it is required.
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