Keeping hens and ducks chat.

CAFCGirl

Sorry to announce we lost one of our 4, Chicken Pie.

She hadnt looked well for a while, and i thought she was egg bound so treated her for that about 10 days ago. She passed an egg and seemed to perk up. We went away for a mini break, and she seemed to be ok whilst we were away. Then 2 days ago she started seeming really lame, her comb was pale, and she didnt seem to be eating much. She couldnt do the jump into the coop at night, and just seemed to sit all day. Yesterday she wasnt supporting her weight, so I thought maybe she was egg bound again. Gave her a warm bath and had a feel but couldnt feel anything, but she had her eyes closed the whole time. Wrapped her in a towel on my lap in the sunshine, and she gave a few blinks, felt her whole body relax. I put her in her coop, with water and food nearby, but an hour later she was gone

Pyxis

What a sad time for everyone. So many lost chooks.

The thing is, they spent their last few days outside, with restrictions lifted, and in the lovely warm weather.

No one could ask for a better way to die. :A

edwink

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Sorry to announce we lost one of our 4, Chicken Pie.:(

Aww bless her she was obviously quite poorly:(. Sometimes it is hard to know what is actually wrong with them. If only they could tell us eh?.

Just look back on Chicken Pie and the way you cared for her and how you looked after her in her final day with you. Having lost 2 recently myself I know exactly what it is like and how sad it makes us all feel:(.

I am sure you did all you could for her

How old was she? How old are your other 3? Were they all the same age?

Edwink

CAFCGirl

edwink wrote: »

Aww bless her she was obviously quite poorly:(. Sometimes it is hard to know what is actually wrong with them. If only they could tell us eh?.

Just look back on Chicken Pie and the way you cared for her and how you looked after her in her final day with you. Having lost 2 recently myself I know exactly what it is like and how sad it makes us all feel:(.

I am sure you did all you could for her

How old was she? How old are your other 3? Were they all the same age?

Edwink

They were all ex rescues so I think they were circa 12 months old when we got them. When we collected them to lady said they roughly last 12 months from rescue in the big open world - whether thats true or not I'm not sure but they've been here 18 months or so and she's the first one to go.

edwink

CAFCGirl wrote: »

They were all ex rescues so I think they were circa 12 months old when we got them. When we collected them to lady said they roughly last 12 months from rescue in the big open world - whether thats true or not I'm not sure but they've been here 18 months or so and she's the first one to go.

Some of the ex-battery hens are around 1 year old when they are rescued and others are 2 years old. They live roughly for around 18 months to 2 years after rescue. Sadly our first loss of a rehomed ex-batt hen was only 6 months after she came to live with us. I rang the rehoming centre in tears and they assured me they can die that early after being rehomed. I was so upset as I thought I had done something wrong and the centre assured me that the way we were caring for them was absolutely fine after I had explained everything whilst sobbing down the phone. She said it was just one of those things and they could easily die very young because most ex-batts have had such a difficult life before being rehomed and are often quite frail. It was this lady that said to me just look back at the life you gave her and even though it was for only 6 months of her life those 6 months would have been so much nicer than her 2 years in a cage. Hearing that made me feel so much better, it really did and that is why I always say that on here because I know how much better I felt after being told that.

Well done for caring for her so well and giving her the best months of her life.

Edwink x

edwink

How is everyone and their girls getting on with this really hot weather?

Sadly we lost another ex-batt on Sunday bless her. As you all know my ex-batts are really quite old now. At a guess from what we were told when we got them the ones we have left are around 4 yeas old or just over. As always with most hens she was quiet for a day and we went to tuck them in to bed and she was in the nesting box bless her. Checked on her throughout the day as usual but she just didn't want to come out.:(

Also lost one of our Cayuga ducks. She was the one that never wanted to go in the pond and have a wash. We spoke to our vet about her and she said just to make sure she was kept clean and to give her a wash from time to time which we did. She was the smallest of the 4 Cayuga's we have here. She was nearly 7 years old and we got her when she was only 8 weeks and quite tiny. I will miss her she was a scruffy little thing bless her. She went in her sleep last night.:( Cayuga's can live between 8 and 12 years old as a rule.

Thankfully we have a lot of shade for the ducks and hens here which has been great for them with the really hot weather. Personally I don't like it myself as it is way too hot for me. But, must not grumble as others are loving it and it makes a change from the constant rain we get here at times.

Hope everyone is ok.

Edwink

edwink

Where is everyone? Why is it so blooming hot? I like warm weather but this heat is way too hot for me. We are South facing so have the sun here all day.

The hens and our beautiful Cockerel are spending most of their time during mid day perching in a shaded bush somewhere well away from the direct sun. Lots of sunbathing going on here this morning with wings spread out and the odd foot sticking our here and there. I love it when they just flop down where they are and close their eyes and take in the rays of sun. They look so chilled out when they do that.

Ducks are mainly just sitting quietly or having a mad half hour splashing about in their pond and the rest of the time just sleeping. I love it when they all look so chilled.

How is everyone else getting on? All harmony in the camps I hope. How about the new hen keepers? How are you getting on especially in this rather hot weather?

Edwink

Pyxis

I think everyone's brain is melting!

Either that, or they've all got football fever!




Including the hens!

Cheery_Daff

Eeeek!!

Just had an email to say there's rescue hens available this Sunday :j :j :j

Eeeeeek!!!!

Despite waiting for this for months, I don't feel ready We never did get round to building our hen house - I don't think either of us ever thought it would actually happen :rotfl: and I'm actually already meant to be in two different places on Sunday so I'd have to cancel both of those

But CHICKENS! :j :j :j :j

Not going to agree til I've got home and had a proper chat with Mr Cheery, but really there's no reason why we should pull out at this stage - sometimes you just don't get ready for things until there's an actual DEADLINE.

Feel like I know even less than I felt like I knew before now this is a real prospect :eek: :eek: Where do I get food from?! (the hen charity I suppose to start with!) The COOP! BUILDING THE ACTUAL COOP so they have somewhere to live! What if they get eaten? What if they hate me? What if we put the coop in the wrong place?

Oh gosh.

(Can you tell I've never been responsible for so much as a pet hamster in my adult life before?!) Not sure I can handle the commitment!

Pyxis

I feel your pain, Cheery!


But you sound like you really want it, so go for it! :j.:j :j :T :T:T

As you say......CHICKENS! :T


You'll soon hear the little cluck of scratching feet! :rotfl:


Ooh! I'm getting excited for you!


And you must post pics! Straight away!