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Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

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Comments

  • What is the frugal site - down the lane? Where can I find it?

    Weeze x
  • jexygirl
    jexygirl Posts: 753 Forumite
    hey all!
    So many new faces since I am AWOL!
    The new 2 have settled in, and since i read about the amount of nest boxes, i added 2 more (still only 4 for 16 girls!) but it seems that they like 3 of them!
    I am sorry to not name, but I just spent time catching up and forgot who posted!

    To pooing in nest boxes, are the boxes looking more comfy than beds? Mine sleep in a different area of the house to where they lay, but it used to be all sawdust. Since my sawdust supply dried up, I got hay for the boxes, and sawdust remains where they sleep, and suddenly the nest boxes are warmer and comfier! hence, I now have hay everywhere, and we have reverted to sleep areas and nest areas!

    To laying, I read somewhere that it takes 26 hours to produce an egg - not sure if thats correct, but it makes sense as we usually get a "slacker girls!" day or two, and they apparently also wont lay so much if they are ex batt, go into moult, just been moved, weather is crap etc. Always wise to watch though so far we have been lucky, but good advice here if it happens to us.

    Good old worming... I got the flubevent, (thank you to the person who posted the link for it) i used the pot in a week (it said a scoop daily for 7 days for the amount of girls) my guru tells me this is to ensure that everyone gets some, not because they need to eat it every day.

    My girls dont seem to recognise slugs, worms and bugs, even when i get excited and point, having moved a stone for them to look under... (dont pretend you didnt do it for them!).

    Hope everyone is well, and enjoying their girl time :)

    Jex
    Savvy_Sue wrote: »
    I will pay jexygirl the compliment of saying that she invariably writes a lot of sense!
    and she finally worked out after 4 months, how to make that quote her sig! :rotfl:
  • moominyak
    moominyak Posts: 245 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    WEEZE210 wrote: »
    What is the frugal site - down the lane? Where can I find it?

    Weeze x

    It's at http://www.downthelane.net/forum/index.php The third section down is 'Chicken Matters' :)
  • Thanks for the link, have been to have a look - very interesting!
    A quick question, what is everyone's experience regards soft shells?
    I came home to find two eggs outside the sleep area, one is darker brown than any we've had before and the other is tiny, light coloured and has a soft shell. Florence is a Hybrid and is our champion egg layer. Doris is a light Sussex and not sure if she's laid yet, she's bigger than all the other chickens, Mable has deffinately laid a few eggs and she deffinately laid one early this morning, I'm thinking Mable is a Moran as is Gertrude. Mable is quite a bit bigger than Gertie and looks older, to me anyway! Could one or both be Gerties first?
    Thanks, I'm off to do some surfing but thought I'd also ask everyones opinion on here.

    Weeze x
  • Gigervamp
    Gigervamp Posts: 6,583 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    My bluebelle occasionally lays soft eggs, in fact, there were two in the coop when I let the girls out yesterday morning. I know they were Tabithas because her eggs are smaller than the other girls eggs and she's only been laying for a few weeks so is still getting into the swing of things.
  • My Sussex has done a few softies but I put a cup filled with grit on the mesh in coop, hoyed a couple of mealys in for her so she realied it was there and hey presto she helps herself when she wants, Although it'd been there all the time I don't think she knew what it was for, sometimes the ladies need a little point in theright direction.
    RIP Floyd - 19/04/09. I know i'll see you again my best friend forever.

    19/06/2013 T12 incomplete Paraplegia, down but not out.
  • Spirit_2
    Spirit_2 Posts: 5,546 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    One of my elderly chooks, a light sussex, was huddled in a corner of the hen house this evening, so I have put her safely in a seperate run within an adjacent stable on some hay, but I do think she will be "gone" by the morning. Does'nt seem to be in any pain just slipping away.
  • Fruittea
    Fruittea Posts: 957 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts
    So sorry to hear your news. It's always very sad when one of the chokes has to go. One of mine just went on Christmas day - just went to sleep - all the others were fine. Just keep the happy memories about their silly old ways.

    Hugs
    Fruittea
    Spirit wrote: »
    One of my elderly chooks, a light sussex, was huddled in a corner of the hen house this evening, so I have put her safely in a seperate run within an adjacent stable on some hay, but I do think she will be "gone" by the morning. Does'nt seem to be in any pain just slipping away.
  • Fruittea
    Fruittea Posts: 957 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts
    Hi Weeze210 Glad someone posted the link for you. I've only just got back on the site. Yes really useful site. About softies - it is quite common when they are young and also after a molt. Growing new feathers uses all the keratin (I think). I save my egg shells (sounds gross but it's not) when I swtich the oven on I pop them in nd bake them - then bash the shells around in a pessell and mortar. They can peck at the crushed eggshell if its in their food - it will be recycled and help with the softie problem.

    Regards

    Fruittea

    WEEZE210 wrote: »
    Thanks for the link, have been to have a look - very interesting!
    A quick question, what is everyone's experience regards soft shells?
    I came home to find two eggs outside the sleep area, one is darker brown than any we've had before and the other is tiny, light coloured and has a soft shell. Florence is a Hybrid and is our champion egg layer. Doris is a light Sussex and not sure if she's laid yet, she's bigger than all the other chickens, Mable has deffinately laid a few eggs and she deffinately laid one early this morning, I'm thinking Mable is a Moran as is Gertrude. Mable is quite a bit bigger than Gertie and looks older, to me anyway! Could one or both be Gerties first?
    Thanks, I'm off to do some surfing but thought I'd also ask everyones opinion on here.

    Weeze x
  • skipton
    skipton Posts: 676 Forumite
    Fruittea wrote: »
    Hi Weeze210 Glad someone posted the link for you. I've only just got back on the site. Yes really useful site. About softies - it is quite common when they are young and also after a molt. Growing new feathers uses all the keratin (I think). I save my egg shells (sounds gross but it's not) when I swtich the oven on I pop them in nd bake them - then bash the shells around in a pessell and mortar. They can peck at the crushed eggshell if its in their food - it will be recycled and help with the softie problem.

    Regards

    Fruittea


    A quick way to cook the egg shells is in the microwave....they don't smell either.
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