Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink

suki1964 wrote: »

I did find red mite a month ago and treated both the girls and the coop. However since then I've had a broody sitting so can't re treat ATM

Yes I expect not the patter of tiny feet this weekend, but the patter off webbed ones . She's sitting on duck eggs as that's all I could get hold off. There's five under her and last we candled all were viable, 3 stronger then the others

Have you still got a broody hen Suki? Have you been able to carry out another red mite treatment yet? Those red mites are an absolute blooming pest, they really are.

How is the patter of tiny webbed feet going? Any news yet on that front? A photo would be nice if you have the time:D cos we do like our pics on this thread.

Edwink

edwink

ali-t wrote: »

We have restocked and bought another 13 hens at a poultry sale last week. I finally got silkies - well silky crosses but I'm happy with that. We got more red hens and some black Rock hybrids too which takes our total to 17 but none of them are laying yet. As they were all from different places we decided to put them all in together and thankfully there hasn't been much fighting which is great.

Great that you have now got some more hens and little Silkies too. Fantastic that they haven't been fighting too much. As you know that will always happen and it doesn't matter if you put 2 new ones together or 22 they will still have a bit of a scuffle to sort out a new pecking order.

Will you have homes for the all eggs you will be getting when they start laying. I had eggs everywhere once but I soon found neighbours were happy to have them and I put the money towards my girls bedding, feed and worming. So all in all worked out really well for us. Plus in this house a favourite supper is egg and chips or a homemade quiche so having our own eggs is great for us.

Please let us know how all your new hens are getting on.

Edwink

ali-t

We take the eggs into our workplaces and sell them for a nominal price to cover the cost of the food. We generally can't keep up with demand as we are cheaper than the spermarkets so no worries on that front. At the moment we are only getting 3 eggs a day so barely enough for us never mind the masses lol.

they are all settling in well and loving the grapes, �� and other fruit and veg they are getting.

edwink

ali-t wrote: »

We take the eggs into our workplaces and sell them for a nominal price to cover the cost of the food. We generally can't keep up with demand as we are cheaper than the spermarkets so no worries on that front. At the moment we are only getting 3 eggs a day so barely enough for us never mind the masses lol.

they are all settling in well and loving the grapes, �� and other fruit and veg they are getting.

Glad they are settling in well. Spoiling them already I see. Well done! Any names yet?

Edwink

suki1964

We had babies last night

3 baby ducklings brought into the world by Honey our oldest hen aged 3

ali-t

edwink wrote: »

Glad they are settling in well. Spoiling them already I see. Well done! Any names yet?

Edwink

No names yet. We have had lots of suggestions but I can't tell most of them apart yet. Must try harder lol.

edwink

Lots of sunbathing going on here with my girls today and lots of dust bathing too. Lovely for them as it has been so wet around here on and off for a while now. Best thing ever to watch is ex batts flopped on the ground with wings spread out with their eyes closed taking in the warmth of the sun. Bless them!

How are your new girls ali? All harmony in the camp I hope

How are the new arrivals Suki? :cool:

What about everyone else? All good I hope. Anyone know what has happened to oldandhappy? she used to post some lovely posts on our thread and some really good photos too. Maybe she is just having a break from MSE.

Edwink

suki1964

We have had torrential rain for two weeks now. The hens pen was totally waterlogged so we scrapped it all out and put down fresh chippings. Two ton bags for £6 wasn't too bad. They love the fresh stuff as its full of bugs for them to hunt for

Luckily where they bathe is sheltered by trees so remains dry

We got the ducklings and honey moved into the greenhouse. She would not be moved with the eggs before, she's top hen and obviously didn't want to lose rank but as soon as they hatched she was happy to stay with them. DH is just setting them up a seed tray to paddle in. They are making a right hash of their drinking water

I'll post more pictures when I can get some, they are still nervous and run to 'mummy' if we go in. 'Mummy' is leaving the nest herself now and moving around and eating. It's so sweet watching her try to feed them. She likes her crumble as it comes, they like their wet lol

vjm63

I realised I ought to do an update on my little mob. We have had a shortage of eggs for a couple of months now, despite having 9 girls - 4 are only 18 week old Rhodebars, so are excused, but the others ... well! Of the two oldest girls (2 1/2) the dominant lass Bravo is laying, despite being semi bald - she started moulting in the spring, and has not refeathered, so looks mighty weird (imagine bald undercarriage and missing a good half of her fluffy bum feathers!). Still, she is producing eggs 66g or more most days, which is good going. Her sister gave up laying about a month ago, no reason that I can see - she still sits some days, but not an egg. Still, she is fine and healthy, eats plenty, so I am not really concerned.

Baby, who who is a year old has been really down for several months lately, comb shrinking, submissive pose a lot, and I think was downgraded in the pecking order by the two newer girls in with them. But she has perked up in the last couple of weeks, which is good.

The two who are maybe 24 weeks have possibly been laying for a couple of weeks now sporadically-only yesterday did I get the two brown eggs to know both are laying! Speckles the Sussex used to be shy, but is certainly not now - she chatters as much as Bravo, can switch from rearing up if I go to stroke her to the crouching posture in less than a second, and has figured that because she is so tall she can reach higher up treats, especially if jumping. Brownie the Rhodebar cross is beautiful and soft, and sometimes tries a VTOL to reach treats, or flies up and over a bar in their run to get there. When they have been out in the garden she will fly six inches off the ground to catch up with the others if she is behind, not run.

It seems that the younger ones adapt to new treats more quickly- small pieces of apple were loved by the Rhodebars immediately, but the older girls were unsure. All are happy with sunflower seeds, though, and when I give them raspberries they go frantic! :rotfl:Not so keen on strawberries, but I think the raspberries beat mealworms in the popularity stakes.

edwink

Last night I felt so sorry for the hens and the Cockerel as they were completely and utterly soaked through to the skin. The Cockerel was just standing there on the spot and not even moving an inch. I went up and spoke to him to see if he was ok and he just stood there looking at me. A couple of minutes later my hubby asked if he was ok because he just was not moving. So my hubby went over to him and also asked him if he was ok and again he didn't move an inch and was just standing there like a statue. We were washing down the paths and one of the hens stood by the Cockerel and he just turned and jumped on her. After all of our worrying about him eh? rude boy he is.

Am happy to say today that most of them are taking in the suns rays and are flopped anywhere in the garden where it is the sunniest. The weather is so different to how it was yesterday here thankfully. I did feel so sorry for them yesterday, bless them.

What a difference a day makes eh?

Edwink