Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Gigervamp

Oh right. Maybe give them slightly less if they're not eating it all. Any food left on the ground will attract rats and mice.

Personally, I wouldn't eat an egg from a poorly chicken because she could be poorly due to a disease. If the other girls are ok, then their eggs should be fine though.

Gigervamp

Forgot to add, it might be an idea to steel yourself. In my experience, poorly chickens often die I'm afraid.

Mumof2_2

Thanks for the warning - Betsy is my 5 year old son's chicken so not good at all . Not sure what to do about the eggs as they all look the same and I never know who has laid which one .....

Beetlemama

Mumof2 wrote: »

Betsy is my 5 year old son's chicken so not good at all .

We told our son that they had to go and live on a farm, it was two days before Christmas and a fox had eaten them all in the night, feathers everywhere and an egg half way down the path. I can't bear to imagine....

If you can't face telling him if it does happen, you could lay some groundwork and start saying she might need to go to a chicken hospital in the country - then if she pops off, you can say she went and they said she liked it so much she wanted to stay but she wanted him to get another chicken just for him and make up something specific to distract him, like she said she thought you would like a chicken that lays blue eggs (some do).

When Sasha died we had to tell him the dog died, and we all cried for the week - but it didn't seem necessary or kind to tell him his chicken died, it was an easy cover up.

Gigervamp

How is Betsy?

Beetlemama

And on to our new bunch several years later....

We got two little baby chickens last year and one started laying and one didn't - we thought she was just a bit slow until she started crowing on New Years Day 2012.

So we had to get some more girls, we were going to swap the cockerel but the longer we had him, the more we liked him. He grew up over night, from a chicken looking youngster to a huge fine cockerel in just about a week, there's no mistaking what he is now when you look at him.

So, we have one little black Bantam (Phantom the bantam), two cuckoo maran ladies (Edith and Ethel) and a cuckoo maran rooster (Rooster Cogburn - that was my husbands idea...) and they are so cool!

The two new cuckoo girls have just stated laying this week, great big speckled eggs, and little Phantom lays teeny white eggs. Rooster does crow, but fortunately he's like a chav rooster, he doesn't get up and go out until at least half past nine in the morning, so I don't think we're going to have any problems with the locals.

spirit

ionahenor2 wrote: »

I can recommend the eglu but wish I had a cube. They are easy to clean, supposed to be red mite proof, and quite easy to move about except if you have run extensions which again I would recommend.

The Go's are a little cheaper.

I have a Cube and also a Solway hen loft. they all prefer to sleep in the Cube. they are not red mite proof. Someone on another forum had them in hers. they are just easier to remove with a blast from a hose and fewer places for them to hide.

When I had mine on the grass with the 3M extension, I found it quite a fag to move actually. Probably ok if there are 2 of you to do it. Now i have mine with a permanent 15 x 6 x 6 WIR which is miles better.

Mumof2_2

Gigervamp wrote: »

How is Betsy?

I'm afraid she died - I went to let them out this morning and knew it had happened as Tikka, Mabel and Peckish came rushing through the Cube door. I opened the nesting box door and found Betsy on the roosting bars . The others seem absolutely fine; no signs of being off colour at all and very perky.

We told DS Betsy's gone to chicken heaven; he didn't get upset as we said she was poorly and had just died in her sleep. She was a little red Warren and so friendly; he'd like another one.

How easy is it to integrate a new chicken? I can't seperate them at all as we just have the Cube; nothing else. Is it possible? I stupidly told him you can get some that lay blue eggs and he's very keen on that idea .

sb44

Sorry if someone has posted this earlier as I haven't looked through all 70+ pages.

How cute are these at the Green Meadow Animal Sanctuary, Pattingham, Wolverhampton.

Beccatje

sb44 wrote: »

Sorry if someone has posted this earlier as I haven't looked through all 70+ pages.

How cute are these at the Green Meadow Animal Sanctuary, Pattingham, Wolverhampton.

LOLOL!!!

TOO funny!