Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

ginnyknit

Sorry about Bella, its always a wrench to lose an animal, I thought Bob would end up in free range heaven but she is doing ok, lots of new feathers ready to go. I got 2 eggs today but one rolled down the ladder and smashed. Not sure who laid the second one but it was big, Beula lays one small brown egg a day now. I added a dribble of cod liver oil to their pellets today as a conditioner and to help laying and they enjoyed it. Also have dropped a garlic clove in their cider vinegar and put a spoonful of the vinegar in their water every couple of days. the cod liver oil was 2 pounds - Tesco's own - and the bottle should last a while

jexygirl

aww mummy I lost one of mine the day after they arrived, but as others have said, will you be able to get anymore to keep your one happy? Or perhaps rehome your one if its too much?
Ginny, whats the garlic for? I am intrigued as I can easily pop a clove in the vinegar. Love the cod liver oil tip too, will do that tomorrow.
Frugal lol at chick cam refresh
Jex

diluvsdiscounts

Whats the cider vinegar for?

jexygirl

I read about the cider vinegar on here, not sure if it was from frugal originally, apologies if not, but it helps to prevent freezing water and encourages laying apparently as I recall!
Jex

ginnyknit

It seems that the garlic and cider vinegar keep the girls in tip top form and cures most ills - think I will start taking it myself :rotfl:unless it makes me squat in a warm corner and cluck:rotfl:Anyway as I have always been a fan of the ' prevention to save a cure' club thought I would try it. I will post some pics of the deranged mob before and after as soon as Bobs feathers all pop into sight. They love nettle tops too so we will all be wandering round with suspicious carrier bags soon, shaking our hands to get rid of the nettle stings, won't we!

mummy_knows_best

Thanks for all your kind msgs, thanks jexy iv been following your story from when you got yours,your one dying made me cry so you can imagine what ive been like today, my 3 year old wouldnt leave the vets as she wanted her chick chick back...I really dont think i want anymore as i dont think i want to go through this again so i think im looking to rehome her (dont know how though) because it doesnt seem fair her being all lonely,although the vet said as she is such a fiesty one she might be fine on her own....

jexygirl

mummy, I am so sorry for you and your little one
I think if you cant take any more, then rehoming is a good thing as they are very social creatures from what I read and the advice seems to err on 3 being a good number.
Perhaps a free ad in your local paper, that you can go check where she goes to first? Or there are rehoming centres if you google your area.
Dont rush into anything, you had a rubbish few days, think about it a little and see how you feel in a day or so maybe.
Huggles
Jex

Spirit_2

Sorry to hear of the loss of your chicken.

One of my chooks died on Sunday. She had had bumble foot - 2 trips to the vet (including an overnight stay) £108 in all, followed by us lancing it ourselves twice. The staph infection just wore her down and that was that. In all honesty I think we tried for too long.


On the bright side our little bantam is on a clutch of eggs - we use an old rabbit hutch as a broody coop - so we have fingers crossed for some new babies next week. She is an excellent mummy and has raised a chick in each of the last two years.

angelavdavis

Sorry MKB about your chook. I haven't lost any of mine yet as I have only had them a year, but I am sure I will be the same. When one of mine got really weak at the end of last year, I was sure she wasn't going to pull through, but somehow some fuss and being kept aside from the others and she is back in the coop now.

Jexy is right, give yourself some time before you make any decisions.

Spirit, good luck with the broody bantam.

Frugaldom

Hello,

Sorry to hear about the losses, it's always sad when something goes wrong.

On the shredded paper story, I only use it in the nest boxes, I still use shavings in the main houses. My Pekins, however, find it extremely funny to drag all the paper out into their run - every day!

Cider vinegar - I use it every day but alsi have the 'magic cure all' of cider vinegar, garlic and honey. It's supposed to be great for all sorts of human ailments but I'm adding a few drops into the hens' water. I also invested in some Citricidal. Not sure how well it works but it seems to help keep the sniffles at bay during the really cold, damp weather. Bit costly, but if it's helping them lay all these eggs, then it's worth it.

Can't wait to see some pictures of more chicks, fingers crossed for eggs hatching, Spirit. My 3 are growing really quickly and I met my newest neighbour today, who also has chickens - she has 3 chicks with her broody Silkie hen! :T I'm delighted that she's a chicken keeper as I was worried that our cockerels would upset her, but she has at least 2 cockerels of her own, so no problems there! :rotfl: