the daydream fund challenge thread

alfie_1

rhiwfield wrote: »

Our hens have layers pellets in a gavanised trough that goes in a slot on the ground under the coop. Given half a chance theyd up-end it on the floor but a full brick weights it down nicely. Gets taken in nightly to reduce rat attraction. Going thru a full sack of pellets in about 6 weeks, so that works out at 6.5p an egg at current laying rate

cheap ![excuse the pun!] iv just paid £1.85 for 1/2 doz free range eggs! =30p an egg ! galls me to have to buy them when iv got fat, lazy, feathered, poor excuse for chickens eating theier way through my purse !
love em really.....

alfie_1

lostinrates wrote: »

Thats a great idea...how much are tent pegs? I'm wondering if I could use this as an ''enrichment'' idea for outside with just a couple of handfuls of stuff.

Been outside unexpectedly. Special horse realises I've been out a lot so is waiting in all the different places she gets fed hopefully:rotfl:. The chickens are bored of huddling in the dairy so they've shuffled out, waddled under a gate and gone past the hay barn into a pretty much empty barn with dirt floor where they can dust bathe. Its huge, the size of a cow barn, as long and wide as the dutch barn and open fronted with its own little paddock. would you say my chickens are a little spoilt with a cow barn, a paddock and a dairy:rotfl::rotfl:

aahhh! like your going to evict them out into the cold?? of course they are spoilt!

alfie_1

this is MABEL my "tiny" pig !! [this morning]

alfie_1

"GRUB UP "

Davesnave

Drove over in your direction today, Alfie, and saw quite a lot of snow in places, but we didn't venture off the main routes. Even the A35 had blown snow right across it in places. Here, we have a little, but it's nothing like that in Dorset, though no doubt Dartmoor & Exmoor are something else again.

Our hens had never seen snow & didn't like the look of it, so having tumbled out of the hen house early this morning, they shot back in again! We'd no time to fuss over them, so we stuck one feeder in the house and the other in its usual place under the corrugated pig ark and off we went.

"They'll be fine when they get used to it," we assured each other.

Returning at around 5.30pm, everything was in darkness, so DW closed the pop hole, as usual, and went around to the door to check the egg situation. Next I hear, "Hey, there's only five birds in here!"

It didn't take long to find the other six. They'd decided to roost on the roof! One ladder and a bit of squawking later and everything was sorted.....except the question, "Why?"

They have never done this before. Often, some of them will play silly beggars and get on the roof or into trees close to roosting time, but never six at a time, and they don't stay there. The culprits were the more adventurous birds, but I can't see what benefit they'd have gained from roosting 7' up on a freezing night. Do any of you more experienced folk have any ideas?

Anyway, there were 3 eggs to collect, so we know the Vorwerks didn't spend all day up there!:rotfl:

Rummer

Alfie1 loving the animal pics! The Shetlands look as if they will soon be under the snow!

lostinrates

Davesnave wrote: »

Drove over in your direction today, Alfie, and saw quite a lot of snow in places, but we didn't venture off the main routes. Even the A35 had blown snow right across it in places. Here, we have a little, but it's nothing like that in Dorset, though no doubt Dartmoor & Exmoor are something else again.

Our hens had never seen snow & didn't like the look of it, so having tumbled out of the hen house early this morning, they shot back in again! We'd no time to fuss over them, so we stuck one feeder in the house and the other in its usual place under the corrugated pig ark and off we went.

"They'll be fine when they get used to it," we assured each other.

Returning at around 5.30pm, everything was in darkness, so DW closed the pop hole, as usual, and went around to the door to check the egg situation. Next I hear, "Hey, there's only five birds in here!"

It didn't take long to find the other six. They'd decided to roost on the roof! One ladder and a bit of squawking later and everything was sorted.....except the question, "Why?"

They have never done this before. Often, some of them will play silly beggars and get on the roof or into trees close to roosting time, but never six at a time, and they don't stay there. The culprits were the more adventurous birds, but I can't see what benefit they'd have gained from roosting 7' up on a freezing night. Do any of you more experienced folk have any ideas?

Anyway, there were 3 eggs to collect, so we know the Vorwerks didn't spend all day up there!:rotfl:

I've only known ours do it in the warmth OR after they've been frightened by something. Its not an unnatural thing to do, just not a terribly healthy one, silly chickens don't cope well with draughts!

Alfie 1, I hope its allowed to be envious! You look like you are in the most beautiful spot!

edit: or if the door closes...chickens roosting that is, not about alfie's gorgeous fields.

choille

Dave - maybe you had a visitor in the house?

Do you have any preditors? If - say - a stoat had been in for a suss out they will be reluctant to go back in. Here. Martens will actually go in the house & wait for the hens to go in & some people have locked, shut the pop hole & the martens been inside. When they open the house in the morning the marten bolts out & all the hens are deid.

alfie_1

i have to admit that i got stuck in the snow today! i was STUPIDLY fetching hay in the van from one end of the field to take up for RUBY.... i drove across the snow fine but when i had to reverse [only about3 yds!] to get back ...hey ho, i was going no where!! thankfully it was not for the general publics eye...BUT i had to get a friends son with his all terrain 4x4 landy to rescue me. he had to WINCH me up the field! [he does the off road stuff and wants to do the european treks..so i told him id done it so he could practise his skills..] he and his friend just laughed and laughed and laughed....to say i felt a prat doesnt even come close!

alfie_1

funnily enough the little dutch bantams did the same but were sat on the roof of thier house and i guessed it was because they wouldnt walk on the snow? when i shooed them off to put them away they were like running on hot coals!
when i opened up the frizzles door in thier ark they went to pile out as usual and all stopped dead when they saw the snow and reversed back in thier house...ditto the silkies.
the pot pigs have a big rubber bucket for thier water and i emptied the ice out and put it right outside thier house and trooped off to get buckets of water to fill it. when i got back...bucket had gone?? knowing i was sober i was a tad confused till i looked in thier shed and they had dragged it into thier house!! obviously had no intention of leaving thier cosy home! i had to laugh, at least i wasnt going mad! [did that years ago ]