I am about to set up my breeding room for the Autumn breeding season. I'm doing all the normal stuff setting up the cages, the thought occured to me will I or won't I use concaves inside the nesting boxes. I use a lot of sterilized sawdust in each box [ about three inches thick ] so maybe I won't bother with concaves at all this round. Thoughts?

I am about to set up my breeding room for the Autumn breeding season. I'm doing all the normal stuff setting up the cages, the thought occured to me will I or won't I use concaves inside the nesting boxes. I use a lot of sterilized sawdust in each box [ about three inches thick ] so maybe I won't bother with concaves at all this round. Thoughts?

 

bad move

thats my thoughts from experience

I havent used concaves for three years since I got my new nestboxes made by Daz. I have had no splayed chicks and no problems witrh the eggs. I have been using flaky bran for nesting materials......2 inches thick

I do and will be using my concaves but I do fill them with wood shavings but I do have hens that like to chuck the lot out, so once the babies hatch I fill it up again.

I do and will be using my concaves but I do fill them with wood shavings but I do have hens that like to chuck the lot out, so once the babies hatch I fill it up again.

If you use flaky bran or even quick cooking porridge oats both of which is finer than wood shavings, they dont throw the nesting materials out as its too hard to do

But Kaz I worry about extra vermon, bugs, moths etc, do you have that problem.

Last year I did try lucerne chaff but I found it seem a bit smelly after day from setting I guess.

But Kaz I worry about extra vermon, bugs, moths etc, do you have that problem.

Last year I did try lucerne chaff but I found it seem a bit smelly after day from setting I guess.

I have no bugs, no moths or anything like that and I havent even run my mozzie zapper either for two years. I had more trouble with moths and bugs when I trialled the deep litter system. So I didnt do deep litter again...the whole season I trialled deep litter I had all kinds of moths, crickets, bugs and french moult. Havent had it since.

I am about to set up my breeding room for the Autumn breeding season. I'm doing all the normal stuff setting up the cages, the thought occured to me will I or won't I use concaves inside the nesting boxes. I use a lot of sterilized sawdust in each box [ about three inches thick ] so maybe I won't bother with concaves at all this round. Thoughts?

I don't bother with concaves. I put a couple of inches of Fussy Cat Litter in, some hens remove the lot so if after a couple of top ups they insist on chucking it all out I just let them go and wait for all chicks to hatch before topping it up again. I breed in the wet season over here so I don't have a problem of eggs drying out. I do find that it makes keeping the nest clean a quick and easy job to do with minimum disturbance to the hen and chicks. Plus it clumps together so not so much gets stuck on the chikies feet and claws. I regularly pop a cup of seed in as well so the hen has something to pick at and the little ones soon get the hang of eating seed (a very good tip from Kaz).

Haven't used concaves since 2002, use a box within a box and lots of shavings. Used bran once and had a HUGE moth outbreak and have stuck with pine shavings ever since. This year Grant made beautiful soft pine shavings with a thicknesser for me but they are easy to buy at Better Pets and Gardens etc. If the hen tosses shavings out I let her go for it until she has laid and started sitting at which point she is no longer digging out the shavings. Topping it up a bit after that has never seen any of my hens resume digging the stuff out again.

 

I only use cat litter in boxes after the chicks have hatched if the nest gets too wet. I did originally use it in cabinets AND boxes but I really don't like drying out the nest at all during hatching, especially as we breed through the hottest dryest part of the year AND I found the cat litter too rough on the eggs.

Edited January 31, 201015 yr by nubbly5

I am happy with the use of pine shavings too

AND I found the cat litter too rough on the eggs.

 

Me too

Haven't used concaves since 2002, use a box within a box and lots of shavings. Used bran once and had a HUGE moth outbreak and have stuck with pine shavings ever since. This year Grant made beautiful soft pine shavings with a thicknesser for me but they are easy to buy at Better Pets and Gardens etc. If the hen tosses shavings out I let her go for it until she has laid and started sitting at which point she is no longer digging out the shavings. Topping it up a bit after that has never seen any of my hens resume digging the stuff out again.

 

I only use cat litter in boxes after the chicks have hatched if the nest gets too wet. I did originally use it in cabinets AND boxes but I really don't like drying out the nest at all during hatching, especially as we breed through the hottest dryest part of the year AND I found the cat litter too rough on the eggs.

 

Not trying to be rude, as I know all states of Australia are vastly different, but why do you breed in the hottest part of the year? It would appear to defy nature. Here in central Vic. I wait till after the first late summer rains, the birds natural instinct tells them to come into condition as the rain means the grass will grow and provide food for the offspring. Question not criticism. clearwing

No worries clearwing! We get cold wet winters and looooong hot dry summers similar to Vic but probably less summer rain - no summer rain is more like it. So the choice is to breed in the wet (when it's cold and manky) or in the dry when most of the time it's warm with some really hot days. It does seem to change over like that too with not much of a spring or autumn to read about.

 

Now when I first started I was told that I should be putting my birds down in April after the first rains (often we don't get a winter break (first winter rains for those non-agi's) here until May either) and I did just that only to find that by the time the chicks were hatching out it was getting seriously cold and rather nasty. The birds condition never held out and the breeding results were ****! Then as soon as they hit September and it started to warm up BINGO breeding results would pick up. I was really hesitant to run them over the heat of summer at first but even in a tiny little metal 3x3m garden shed chicks hatched out and things were smooth. Each time I tried autumn breeding the really early first round was okay-ish and then terrible.

 

So really it's been trial and error, finding the time of year that best suits our set up and environment and it's only been based on previous breeding results. Until the birds tell me different I'll continue breeding at this time - this year has been the best ever results I've had so I don't think they are telling me to change yet. Also if you look at when the birds breed in the North when it's wet it's hot and when it's dry it's cooler so my assumption is that they should be able to stand some heat whilst nesting and they definietly do, although when the temp gets around 38 I will run my cooler and open the north and south side shutters for full air flow AND we have very nice shade from two pretty large trees.

No worries clearwing! We get cold wet winters and looooong hot dry summers similar to Vic but probably less summer rain - no summer rain is more like it. So the choice is to breed in the wet (when it's cold and manky) or in the dry when most of the time it's warm with some really hot days. It does seem to change over like that too with not much of a spring or autumn to read about.

 

Now when I first started I was told that I should be putting my birds down in April after the first rains (often we don't get a winter break (first winter rains for those non-agi's) here until May either) and I did just that only to find that by the time the chicks were hatching out it was getting seriously cold and rather nasty. The birds condition never held out and the breeding results were ****! Then as soon as they hit September and it started to warm up BINGO breeding results would pick up. I was really hesitant to run them over the heat of summer at first but even in a tiny little metal 3x3m garden shed chicks hatched out and things were smooth. Each time I tried autumn breeding the really early first round was okay-ish and then terrible.

 

So really it's been trial and error, finding the time of year that best suits our set up and environment and it's only been based on previous breeding results. Until the birds tell me different I'll continue breeding at this time - this year has been the best ever results I've had so I don't think they are telling me to change yet. Also if you look at when the birds breed in the North when it's wet it's hot and when it's dry it's cooler so my assumption is that they should be able to stand some heat whilst nesting and they definietly do, although when the temp gets around 38 I will run my cooler and open the north and south side shutters for full air flow AND we have very nice shade from two pretty large trees.

 

Thanks Nubbly, I think its great for people to read as you have said it is a case of horses for courses. It is indeed the birds that must dictate when we breed, not us or the show calender. I have two short breeding seasons Autumn and spring, too hot in summer temp upto 45 degrees, too cold in winter down to -5 degrees, so I have no choice. But you would be amazed at how many breeders still try to breed to the calander. Cheer Clearwing

Edited February 1, 201015 yr by maesie
Fixed quote

No worries - happy to share!

 

AND I was very happy with the ring change as you might imagine - it fits perfectly with the Sept to March breeding season for me!

Edited February 1, 201015 yr by nubbly5

I use both... I have a 40mm timber with a concave and then add a large handfull of sawdust... Old habbit I supose. Some hens throw all the sawdust out and use the concave some don't.