Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink · 11 October 2016 at 5:04PM

Hope everyone is ok and their hens, ducks and geese too.

We now have a drop in eggs because of the colder weather. The hens have just started to grow new feathers for the colder months. I always worry more about my ex batts when the weather gets cold especially during the real cold months of January and February. I have a couple of hens, not ex batts, that are 5 years old now and they have definitely slowed down this year. Fingers and toes crossed they all fair ok this winter.

Been rather quiet on here lately. Hope everyone of you are still enjoying keeping hens, ducks and geese.

Let me know how you all are if you get a minute. Always love to hear from you all and hear your stories of your brood.

Take care all.

Edwink x

edwink · 24 October 2016 at 11:55PM

Hi everyone

My girls are slowing down a bit now on the egg laying front now the weather is getting colder. Quite a few of them are moulting ready to grow new thicker feathers to keep them warm.

One of my girls accidently landed in the pond today. She saw me and flew over to see me but her landing was a bit shorter than she thought so she got very wet. I took her indoors and wrapped her in a towel to get the worst of the water off of her then sat her in front of the stove so she could get herself dry again. I gave her some food to munch on while she was warming herself and she appeared to have got over the initial shock of the cold pond water. We put her back outside with the others once she was dry. Bless her!! I don't think she will be flying over the pond to come and see me again. Lesson learnt I hope.

I hope everyone and their feathered friends are all doing ok. Let me know how you are all getting on when you get the time. I know how busy it can be when keeping poultry.

Take care all

Edwink x

vjm63 · 27 October 2016 at 11:56AM

Hi all,

Love reading all the stories, even if I do not add to them much! One that might bring a wry smile of understanding though: I've been letting my girls into the veg patch for the last month as things in there are going over. Normally they are in a fairly large run, but they love the extra freedom. First they discovered that there were not just worms etc, but a few late raspberries - happy chucks! Then they soon realised the sweetcorn was there - and within a week we were hardpressed to find an untouched cob for ourselves! I had planted a lot, so did not mind, and it was great to see the corn tops shaking on a no-wind day , and think - 'ah, there they are ...'

Now the corn is over and pulled up, to their mild confusion because they still head over there just in case, they have discovered my wild grape vine on a fence. The grapes are small and pippy, but apparently that does not matter. Seeing simultaneous jumping from chickens is hilarious, and they love exploring the ground beneath! Yesterday, however, Dodo excelled herself - she jumped and flapped just enough to get a good three foot up and land on a stem! Puzzled teetering, and then trying to pick grapes, before she eventually came down ... Crazy girls!

Anyway, I have a question. I am shortly to get three more girls, so what is the best way of integrating them? Same breed, and they would not be far off POL, so a similar size. I have a new temporary coop and feeders on order, plus we can block off part of the existing run they have so it can be two runs and they can see each other through the wire. I had thought to keep them separate for two or three days, then let them join together and see ho it goes - is that best? My current girls are my first hens, so I have never done this before - so any advice and things that have worked for you are appreciated!

edwink · 28 October 2016 at 11:56AM

vjm63 wrote: »

Anyway, I have a question. I am shortly to get three more girls, so what is the best way of integrating them? Same breed, and they would not be far off POL, so a similar size. I have a new temporary coop and feeders on order, plus we can block off part of the existing run they have so it can be two runs and they can see each other through the wire. I had thought to keep them separate for two or three days, then let them join together and see ho it goes - is that best? My current girls are my first hens, so I have never done this before - so any advice and things that have worked for you are appreciated!

Hi vjm

I would do exactly as you are thinking of doing. That should work a treat. I have done the same every time I have introduced extras to my brood. So yes that will be fine.

The only thing you will find is that they will have a bit of a spat between each other through the wire which is a natural thing for them to do as will need to find the new pecking order between them.

When you let them all out together you will have a few fights on your hands. but, it often looks worse than it actually is because of a few feathers flying about. I stay with mine for an hour or so just to make sure things don't get out of hand and get too vicious. Then you can basically leave them to it. They will have a few scraps but it will normally be between the bosses of each lot. The pecking order is normally established quite quickly over a couple of days so just keep an extra eye on them during this time. It will all settle fairly quickly.

Basically the above is the worst that can happen sometimes it goes much smoother than that. As I have said I have introduced many more to my brood over the years and mostly it has been a little pecking, a few feathers missing and bullying then things settle.

We have found that now having a Cockerel has made adding more so much easier because he sorts the fighting out and tells them off. Bless him he is such a good boy.

Hope that is of some help to you. Just don't worry too much, most of it is just nature as hard for you as it might look at the time. They always, always settle and things will be back to normal in no time.

Hopefully others will come along and offer some advice too. But, lately the thread has been really quiet. Half term with children doesn't leave much time for some of the mothers to post. Plus others being away on holiday etc..

Take care and please let me and others know how you get on with them all.

Edwink x

ali-t · 29 October 2016 at 7:42AM

It has been all quiet on the hen front here. They are just clucking along nicely. Egg numbers are dropping with winter coming but all good. Hope its the same contentedness for everyone else.

Better_Days · 3 November 2016 at 4:17PM

All quiet here too. Getting 3/5 eggs most days. My neighbour sells the spare ones for me and then we make a donation to the BHWT.

Hermione is still a bit of a bully, but there is plenty of space for the other hens to get away from her. OH cleaned out their coop yesterday so they have nice fresh shavings now.

Local tree surgeon popped round with a load of wood chip last month so they have lots to scratch in now which they love. Also stops the run turning into the Somme when it is wet.

edwink · 7 November 2016 at 5:07PM

Better_Days wrote: »

Local tree surgeon popped round with a load of wood chip last month so they have lots to scratch in now which they love. Also stops the run turning into the Somme when it is wet.

Great idea Betterdays. Our run was laid with stones years ago but now there is not a stone in site because they have all been buried. It gets so wet in there that my husband turns over the soil from time to time to help it drain. It is a nuisance when it keeps raining because it gets so soggy. Their run is quite big so that would be a lot of chippings just to cover the wet soil for us. We are unsure what to do for the best to be honest. Still thinking on it though. They are out and about in the garden all day so their feet stay dry thankfully.

Nice to see you posting as the thread has been so quiet lately. I was missing everyone and their stories of their feathered friends etc.

Take care

Edwink x

Better_Days · 8 November 2016 at 6:56PM

The wood chippings are just waste product as far as the tree surgeon is concerned edwink and I've found that a 'back of the truck' full goes a long way. Hens currently on a couple of inches of woodchip. Maybe worth exploring with local tree surgeons, they may drop of a load every time they go past yours until you have a enough. Really does help with the soggy ground.

The tree surgeon here lets me have the chippings for free, very moneysaving

Just costs Mr BD's effort to barrow it round to the run.

Hens are doing well atm and don't to have been unduly concerned by the few fireworks last weekend.

suki1964 · 8 November 2016 at 10:02PM

We use wood chips as well

Unfortunately it's not free, but seeing as you have to take your own bags to the lumber yard and fill them yourself, it's not too dear

We fill a ton bag for a tenner. Lasts around 4 months before needing a top up

vjm63 · 9 November 2016 at 12:27PM

Well we got our new three girls two days ago, and (so far) it is going better than but not quite as I expected!

Put them in their mini run with feeders and mini coop, and thy got on with exploring it whilst the older girls stared, approached, and got a bit stroppy in one case - Dimples spent ages almost crowing at them, most miffed! So Monday night we put them into their little coop and shut the door, the older girls just put themselves to bed as usual.

Tuesday morning, let everyone out, and after a couple of hours I notice there are more chickens visible in one area than I would expect. Go out to check. Their first day they had been flying up onto the mini coop and a platform we have in that area, fine - but obviously someone had done that, then flown over the sturdier barrier and pushed the upper netting off that was separating them - and the other two followed! So, we decided to take the barrier down, and just let them get on with it.

Bravo, who is the leader of the older girls, was striding/running at the newbie group periodically, so I think she has got it sorted she is the top hen. The two groups were still staying apart, though, generally. Last night (in the rain!) the young ones wanted to follow the older ones into the big coop - so we let them, despite some pecking happening and quick exiting several times. So we shut them all up together.

I opened up this morning, to find Dimples on the ground of the coop with the newbies, giving the odd peck, but nothing bad. Let them out, and it seems to be Dimples and Dodo doing the "I'm in charge" acts now, Bravo has done her bit. They are mingling a very little bit, but so far we have had no feather fights I have seen or major tantrum bar Dimple's vocal one on Monday.

So, so far it seems okay. Of course, they could have a major barney tonight or in the next day or two, but it seems to have gone okay ... Still sort of two flocks not one, but getting there.

Sorry to bore you all with that - does it sound good, that it will work out okay?

Keeping hens and ducks chat.

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