Mine go broody in winter, I have a better hatch rate in winter than summer. I only have 1 girl laying still. I only have 4 girls left but 5 or 6 was just about right for the two of us. But I have enough for a batch of biscuits this weekend.

Early spring, like BV said, August-Sept, even early October [for the hatch date not setting date]. I hatched my last lot last Oct [9th I think it was], and they started laying Easter this year. I'm still getting 3-5 eggs a day.

I think Winter brooding is uncommon, but the weather has been pretty nice for the Autumn/Winter season so far.

There's going to be a frost tonight & they're predicting a very cold winter here so I'm unsure about chicks hatching in 3 weeks from now if they're outside.

I'd think they'd be fine, as long as the mum is a good mother.

Only just looked at the calendar & realised my first batch of eggs in my new incubator are due to hatch on Friday. Yaaay! although the automatic incubator is somewhat temperamental with it's turning so I'm not sure how many I'll get out of 17 eggs in there.

We had a few unusually warm days in a row. I'm hoping it might prompt one of my girls to sit.

RIP my lovely Blue Australorp, Fifi. She wasn't well on Sunday, wheezy, and I had to be away for two days.I hoped she would pull through but wasn't very hopeful.I leave the dome open if I'm away and the poor girl had died in the nest box. I guess she was unable to get up on the roof to roost as per usual.

We always seem to lose our favourites.Fifi was just the best mother and I would have kept her for ever as a broody.Just hoping none of the others get sick.I am really going to have to learn to dispatch sick birds.Has anyone had experience using a cone?

Oh no BW. I'm so sorry to hear about Fifi. I loved reading your updates about her. She was a special chook.

I've not used a cone but it's something I think I'll do one day. Not looking forward to it, but it's one of those things I should be able to do.

I currently have a chook, Feather Feather, living in the house in a washing basket. She's been in here for 2 days. Yesterday morning she couldn't walk, her feet were curled up under her & it seemed she either couldn't straighten her toes or lift her leg high enough to straighten them. She was like a little ball of feathers, head pulled right in, tail down. Her eyes seem bright though & she's now standing okay & eating and drinking, but she is still unwell as she's not once tried to hop out of the basket which has no lid on it. Not sure what's wrong with her or what to do about it. She's one of our older ISA's. She has no scales left on her legs & her feet are very red. Any thoughts?

Thanks BV.Had I been home I would have had a go at saving Fifi but I doubt I would have been able to.She had been having a big moult and I guess they are more likely to get sick when moulting.I just cannot justify the expense of taking chooks to the vet when the minimum cost would equal half a dozen day olds or three POLs.But the principle is not a dollar issue so I must get the dispatch issue sorted because I don't want to let any more suffer like Fifi would have done.

I do hope you can find some answers for your Feather Feather.

Blue wren: sorry about your sad news. Chooks can get so I'll so quickly - she would have snuggled down warm in her favourite spot and dozed off.

Our vet only charges $25 to see a chook - but almost always says "put her to sleep".

It never ceases to shock me how rapidly a chook can go from 100 percent to dead.

No change for Feather Feather, so unless she tries to jump out of the basket tomorrow, I think we'll need to put her down.

On a happier note, we've had our first hatchling a day early in the new incubator! There are 4 eggs rocking & one is pipped. Love new chicks!

BV.good luck for feather feather And also hope your new 'hatchlings' come out nice and strong .. cant wait for the pics

BW, sorry to hear about fifi Using a cone would be easier said than done.. i have meant to set one up for ages 'just in case' but have always waited for DH to finish work and he does the chop. I know deep down that if I own chooks ( or any animals) that I need to know how to stop them suffering if push comes to shove.. and hopefully one day ill be able to say i can deal with it all,but yeah.. it's tuff

No news is good news here.. all mine are coming out of their moult looking lovely.. had no Mr fox visiting, No chooks getting out. AND.. no more mites means that all my bantams have FULL leg feathers and awesome big tails.

I have a girl that stands perfectly still - refusing to eat or drink... Unless she is inside in front of the fire then she snaps out of the trance and behaves almost normal. This has been going on for a week.

Edie, that sounds bizaare!

Chooks are very smart! Perhaps she likes being in front of the fire!! In today's Courier Mail there's a pic of two chooks on leads - it seems they can be trained to walk to heel - and there's an animal training mob holding a camp where they will train 30 chooks! That I would like to see.