Does anyone on the forum make/sell Bantam nests?? Or, where might the best nests be purchased?? Which type nest is cooler?? Actually, I'd love to hear all about Bantam nests. TIA!!!!!
Bantam Nests
My Nankin bantams nest everywhere! Right now I have one that is brooding a dozen eggs in the top of a bale of shavings covered by plastic in the basement and another one in a dog crate in the backyard. They brood under the lavender, they brood in the weeds, they brood under cardboard boxes They are brooding fools. I think you basically want to make sure that they are safe and dry and protected from predators. They would probably even brood in a nest box....
Where is Lodi, that is, which zone?? My Bantams have a large yard, and some fly into my back yard; however, they are locked up in their yard/house, each night, because of predators, cats, opossums, I used have-a-heart traps and rehome the cats, but not the opossums. The ONLY reason my Bantams are fenced is because of predators. Our chicken house does not give the hens enough privacy, and other hens steal their eggs, we never know, for certain, whose chicks are whose. I want nests to see how they will work. I've had Bantams for many years & I love checking out new, to me, ways of making them happy & I've never used nests previously. Thanks for any and all suggestions...
We are Northern CA, Zone 9, with wet winters and dry summers. I do understand about the egg switch. I have a Sebright who will only brood standard sized eggs because the bigger hens always lay in her nest--she pushes her own out or moves herself and the big eggs to the other side of the nest box and leaves the bantam sized ones behind.
It sounds like you would have to contain the prospective mother, so that you know the eggs are hers before she starts to brood. Large plastic dog crates work well here. The broodies seem to like them and you can put food and water in far enough away from the eggs to keep things clean. Then just close the door.
That is a GREAT idea - it never occurred to me and I'm a Golden breeder, lol. Maybe I will use cat crates. One hen nested in one of those round, carpet covered cat 'houses' several years ago, but they are too hot in the summer. And, the plastic cat crates might be really hot too, I didn't think of that, which is why I was checking around to see what is available. I'd love hardware cloth crates but hate working with the hardware cloth - it tears up my hands. I think I'll check the storage section at Walmart too...thanks!
You can sometimes pick them up cheap at garage/yard sales, too. If you get the big ones they don't get too hot--my Nankin has been brooding in one all summer and it has been over 100 degrees.
This message was edited Jul 4, 2009 3:00 PM
Mine use a wine box.
OH... Are you talking about something like a trap nest so you will know who is laying what?? or to keep the hen inside? Or a broody nest?
I wasn't sure I was understanding the question..
Haystack mentioned the plastic milk crates and I thought that was a great idea.
I'm wrapping one of Catscan's big iron dog crates in hardware cloth right now.. (yeah, it's terrible on the hands) It would be easier to use chicken wire.. but I'm putting the Seramas in there and I don't want them to slip out or something to sneak in and eat them at night.. They are toooo tiny.
I built a box inside for a "coop" .. and am shading the whole thing.. The crate sits in a fenced off area so during the day they can run around in the dirt and grass. and when I close it at night.. there is no way anything can get to them.
I will not promise.. but will try to get a pic soon.
I have used those market baskets the low kind with the strap handle.
The straw doesn't slide around in those and they are portable when i candle i just take nest and all.
Any type of basket can be used as long as it's big enough for the hen.
I don't recommend anything with slick plastic it makes it hard to keep straw in the nest and the hens slip breaking the eggs.
You can also build a simple square box with a bottom in it drill some holes in the bottom for ventilation {:~)
I'm almost done! I'm cutting out the door now.. I'll go get some pics.
Yes, there were cuts and blisters.. but it's well worth it.. now it's totally safe and I won't have to worry while I'm gone!
Gotta get those babiez on the dirt ASAP!!!
ZZs, I don't envy you, building one on a wire dog crate did me in 4 ever re hardware cloth, that stuff is mean, lol...the hardware cloth is safer than chicken wire, for small babies, who can slip in between, whew. I'm wondering about using plastic hardware cloth that Lowe's carries. Something would have to chew through it and squirrels are the only ones *I* know if that will chew through stuff. That's a question...thanks!!
Rats , Squirrels, Coons, Skunks, Possums, Weasels,and Owls can all tear open plastic hardware cloth i would use the real kind to be safe.
It does also depend upon how close together the bars of the dog crate are. And if you have additional protection for the hen to brood her chicks at night--like a covered box. If the bars are very close and you are primarily interested in keeping the tiny Serama chicks in, the plastic hardware cloth might work. They rarely gnaw their way through.....
I have had Rats Chew thru plastic hardware cloth and weasels too and go thru very small places i don't use plastic wire of any kind because of this.
Better to be safe than sorry i always say {:~)
Some dog crates have bars as close as small hardware cloth....I guess it depends on the materials you are using.
I'm DONE!!
I have one thing to say besides Ouch..
Yeeeeehaawwww!!
I have a wooden "coop" inside.. and I stuffed Alfalfa in the sides to keep the babiez from wandering in there and getting stuck..
I'm so tickled.. it was so worth it to get the babiez outside where they belong!
More pics after transport.. :)
It's a wrap!
Ha~Ha~Ha~Ha~Ha~Ha ;~P
Sherry, I would never use plastic, unless you plan on keeping the babies inside. Sorry but I have even seen where babie rats have even chewed through wood, so rats and anything else that wants to get to them will chew through the plastic!
SherryLike wrote;" Something would have to chew through it and squirrels are the only ones *I* know if that will chew through stuff."
Around here, that stuff seems to be used recreationally. I had a roll of it for the beans to climb, and it's been shredded :(. There wasn't anything inside the roll (unless maybe a small critter hid in there, but one morning I found it dragged out and riddled with gashes and chew marks. The only thing i could relate it to was me popping bubble wrap :). Kinda soothing in a destructive way. Maybe the raccoons were stressed and seeking relief....
I live in a neighborhood. We are fortunate, but we do not have rats, weasels, raccoons, and while squirrels do not harm live Bantams, they stole all the eggs, took them to the top of the towering trees and eat them like snow cones, as if they are clowns - our sense of humor disappeared. It's embarrassing how much I spent on bird wild bird seed, chicken feed, and the squirrels are the biggest consumers. When they started stealing the eggs, I said, enough. We counted 35 squirrels in one tree. The squirrels were thinned and now we have 9 chicks on their own, and one baby still in the coop with it's momma. I'm working toward squirrel proofing everything for the Bantams with hardware cloth, not enough hours in the day...
Oh wow Sherry! What a pain! I saw a squirrel running the length of the fence the other day, and I was thinking I bet the lil sucker is getting fat here!
That is a LOT of squirrels!
I can relate to the "not enough hours in the day" thing.. I hope you get some free time to tackle your project..
Catmad i have those recreation critters too i had a rat cut the cord i had holding up some dried bulbs i had hanging.
Then next night he ate a hole through my lattice to get to some spilled feed.
We catch rats on and off it's because we live deep in the woods can't even see my neighbors LOL
But once you come to your cages and see the heads chewed off your beloved animals you learn very quickly how to keep them out.
I am grateful, but have never understood why we don't have rats, we've never had them. Nearby, we have coyotes, fox, rabbits, then hawks, owls but they've never bothered my chickens, I guess our dogs keep them away. The dogs play with the chickens, but, I rehomed all the cats, none belonged to me, but I had them neutered when they were kittens, before they ever knew there were chickens here, the cats were well fed, always had food in their bowls and they still killed chickens. I'm told by locals in my area that cats are the biggest killers of chickens and that is true here, with opossums second, I think I caught 6 or 8 this year. I've lost count but I've never had a chicken or baby killed since I bought the have-a-heart trap, which is worth every penny in a chicken yard...I keep the trap baited all the time...
Way to go Sherry, I was going to suggest a live trap. You can always take them away from your property then and drop them off.
You had cats kill chickens? WOW, we have never had that here. Our leghorns walked a cat out of the yard when they found one, as if they were telling it, "you don't belong here".......LOL
Neighbors cats have come to visit us, and don't even look at the chickens. (I'm talking full grown chickens here). When there chicks, nothing has a chance to get to them :)
Friends that have chickens have fround a opossum in there nexting box taking a nap, after killing some of there chickens. We did have a hawk land at one time, and almost got one of our girls when they were allowed to roam free. My boyfriend acted fast and he went after the hawk and it took off.
We have seen coyote foot prints in the mud by the chicken coops. They came in at dark to check, but couldn't get to any of our girls :)
A fox that was building a den about 50 feet from us, well lets just say, he is no longer around.
We have rabbits around, but I really don't think they would bother the chickens.
And I have never seen a rat there, but that doesn't mean they aren't around. Most places that raise chickens will have them because the food draws them.
Oh, and we have chipmunks, but they never bother the chickens or the eggs. They are just there for the food, and they like to plant it, because at times we have a corn growning in the middle of the lawn.
This little girl never would have botherd the chickens. She was checking to see what it was, but she never would have hurt it. She was 16 years old.
I think cats, like crows, have different cultures. Here, even though we are overrun with cats, no cats ever kill the chickens--who regularly run them out of the yard. And these are thin and miserable, feral cats. But in other areas cats do kill chickens.
I've read that cats learn to hunt as kittens from watching their mothers. And that it is rare for a cat to be a successful hunter if it doesn't have that experience--although most cats will "play hunt" instinctively. I wonder if in neighborhoods where cats do kill chickens if it isn't something that is being handed down from mother to kitten?
Remember those two cochins you gave me Catscan? They were not tiny.. but they were a cat's lunch here..
The cats get dropped off here all the time... and resident's feed them.. so they breed like cockroaches.. One time, in a two week span, I hauled 13 to the shelter.. Usually just two or 3 a week though.
Could possibly be... A house cat that rarely has had the opportunity to hone it's hunting skills will be a poor hunter those are the ones you see abandoned and starving.
They have no idea how to feed themselves being fed in a nice safe environment where there is no need to look for food.
A cat raised outside was taught by the mother to hunt for meat she brings them live mice to teach them to kill.
They kill the mice and have their first taste of a kill they will be very good hunters and will kill to survive.
These types do not starve and will seek food wherever they can find it thats why they attack chickens it's the hunt and the kill instinct from kitten hood
i have used the plastic hardware cloth on what I call "day pens". It works well but during the day I have nothing that's going to be getting thru the pen other than a roo wanting to be nosey. Our squirrels don't bother the chickens, the weasels only hunt at night here & the rats.. well... i have cats. A rat wouldn't think of venturing into the yard. The plastic kind was very easy to work with. I bought garden fencing, shaped it to what size pen i wanted over wood frame then stapled the plastic cloth to it. Its lightweight, no sharp edges & i survived the work. The normal hardware cloth was mean, I lost a week of work due to that nasty stuff. I wouldn't use it (plastic) on a full time pen, just the day one i use to separate the younger chicks in temporarily.
What a great job you did ZZ's. I love your I can do attitude. Some other women could learn a lesson if you know what I mean.LOL Hay
Some other women could learn a lesson ?!?! Hmmmmmmmm {:~O
Haystack wrote;"I love your can do attitude. Some other women could learn a lesson.."
Interesting that you'd limit that to women. In my experience, it's the MEN who need significant motivation to get things done. Sure, they all think they CAN do it. My question is in whose lifetime :(
I've learned if I want something done, I'd best do it myself. However, when I make a deal (I'll do A, if you'll do B) and B doesn't even get started (or stalls before completion), I can make a horrific fuss and just tick everyone off, or resign myself to waiting. And waiting more.
Agrees with catmad ;-)
Very much!