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Thread ID: 115148	2011-01-04 21:07:00	Chooks	FoxyMX (5)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1167050	2011-01-05 05:15:00	We had pet chooks as a kid - a Bantam and a Chinese Silkie. They basically had a backyard to wander about and a large hut on stilts to sleep in. The hut had no base, just perching sticks in a variety of sizes and a ramp. The nesting boxes with straw was attached to one side. This basically meant the chicken poo ended up underneath the hut so it was easy to rake up. If you need to lock them up at night, then you could have a wire mesh for the base of the chicken house. Ours were very much pets and used to come into the house to explore. Great characters and you could watch them for hours. The Chinese Silkie was thick as two planks and used to stand out in the rain. We were forever towel drying her. They were feed a mixture of chicken mash, corn, grit and greens. Occasionally one got egg-bound and that involved a bit of lubrication with oil. :xmouth: The biggest threat is neighbours dogs chasing them. Dogs got them both in the end.	Jen (38)
1167051	2011-01-05 07:08:00	Having chooks is a life goal. Easier than World Peace too.	allblack (6574)
1167052	2011-01-05 18:58:00	We had silkies untill a dog got em... then the dog turned up dead, apparently it tried to take on our neighbor's sheep. Good fun, just keep the enclosure away from the house a bit and if you plan on having a garden with delicate flowers and tamed shrubbery... forget it if you plan on letting the chooks roam everywhere. We confined ours to the front acre of the house section. My mate does the same. the house and garden area is off limits to the chooks but they get the rest of the property to pick around in.	The Error Guy (14052)
1167053	2011-01-05 19:54:00	We had silkies untill a dog got em... then the dog turned up dead, apparently it tried to take on our neighbor's sheep. Good fun, just keep the enclosure away from the house a bit and if you plan on having a garden with delicate flowers and tamed shrubbery... forget it if you plan on letting the chooks roam everywhere. We confined ours to the front acre of the house section. My mate does the same. the house and garden area is off limits to the chooks but they get the rest of the property to pick around in. Yep the dogs start with pets and get away with it. They then progress to sheep. Luckily you can then shoot them on sight like looters with no warning.	prefect (6291)
1167054	2011-01-05 20:30:00	We have a couple of Brown Shavers. Egg laying machines, but as destructive as hell. They sleep and lay in a small chook house, but are free range on the back section during the day. They have had to be fenced off to only part of the section because they would have ripped up all the garden instead of just half of it. There are four raised vege gardens and a greenhouse in their part of the section. I cannot leave the greenhouse door fully open, and have had to build covers for the raised gardens to keep them out. As it is, they still manage to grab any vege leaves that are too close to the mesh of the covers. They also try to rip up the lawn, particularly around the edges. They adore strawberries. You wouldn't believe how much poo two chooks produce. Each little pile attracts flies, so I have to get rid of it quickly or the flies come into the house. We also don't want to infest our neighbours' gardens and houses with blowies. When they started laying, they produced one egg each a day; sometimes we got three eggs a day from two chooks. Then after about six months laying, one started laying soft shelled, then totally deformed lumps of gluck, and she hasn't laid anything for months now. Economically speaking it has been a vast waste of money when you take into account chook feed, and the defensive warfare to keep our garden safe. It was my decision to get them because I loved looking after the chooks when I was a child/teenager. Some nostalgia should remain just that...	John H (8)
1167055	2011-01-05 21:24:00	Yep the dogs start with pets and get away with it. They then progress to sheep. Luckily you can then shoot them on sight like looters with no warning. I would have shot the mutt myself but he was gone before I could get him. we had another come up and we took him down to the SPCA to deal with since we had a couple of little cousins round and didn't want to shoot. The silly buggers gave him back to the owner. Last I heard he was involved with some sheep as well. Once they get a taste of blood you can't stop 'em.	The Error Guy (14052)
1167056	2011-01-05 21:36:00	I would like to borrow a couple to roam around my section and peck out the oxalis, apparently they do a fantastic job in that department. We had them years ago when I was a child. I never minded feeding them and collecting the eggs, but we had a lot of land and they had their own very large run and house. My sister was scared of them, she would throw wheat, or whatever else their food was down one end, run up to collect the eggs and be out of the gate before they had finished eating. If we had them here they would probably roam down the drive, visit neighbours, maybe get run over, etc. I've never checked the local regulations to see if we are even allowed to have them.	Marnie (4574)
1167057	2011-01-05 21:56:00	My neighbour keeps chooks in town but he lets them roam free in the railway spud garden behind our houses. They are curious creatures, always following me around when I am digging up the free spuds & scratching around in the loose soil.	Greven (91)
1167058	2011-01-05 21:59:00	If you had chooks in town I think you will find you can't have a rooster. Check out your council bylaws. :)	Trev (427)
1167059	2011-01-05 22:35:00	If you had chooks in town I think you will find you can't have a rooster. Check out your council bylaws. :) That will probably be why my neighbour doesn't have a rooster. I did wonder about that. I imagine I would probably get used to hearing a rooster if they were allowed, just like I can sleep through all the trains thundering past in the middle of the night.	Greven (91)
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