Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink

As it was so hot today I put a couple of home grown cucumbers in the freezer for an hour or so and cut one in to big chunks for the hens to peck at. I found a nice cool shaded area and gave them to them there and they loved them and just wouldn't leave them alone. Cut the other one in to small pieces for the ducks and they scoffed them in no time. Aww bless them it was so hot out there for them all today. Just thought freezing cucumbers was healthier than ice lollies :rotfl:. Although I know from experience that hens love those too

Yesterday we fully jet washed the hens and ducks bedtime hotels, the two hen outdoor rain shelter huts, all their water containers and all their feed troughs too. Although water is getting short we knew rain was soon on its way so took advantage of the really hot weather because we knew the hotels would be fully dry by their bedtime. It is great when we can get that job done in one day and they looked like brand new again so we were very pleased with ourselves for getting those done this year. They were not jet washed last year because of hubbies serious accident:( Their hotels are much cleaner than our house now, seriously they are. Our house is not dirty but incredibly dusty especially so because we live down an unmade road/dirt track and every time a vehicle passes it throws up so much dust in this really dry weather. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it .

Hope everyone and their girls are ok.

Edwink

Pyxis

Did you get torrential rain last night?



If you did, will your hens be splashing about in puddles today, like big kids?








I misread your post and thought you had jet-washed the hens!

I had visions of hens being blasted into the air atop a jet of water! :rotfl:

edwink

Pyxis wrote: »

Did you get torrential rain last night?

If you did, will your hens be splashing about in puddles today, like big kids?

I misread your post and thought you had jet-washed the hens!

I had visions of hens being blasted into the air atop a jet of water! :rotfl:

We did get some rain but not a lot. But during the early hours of tomorrow and throughout the day it looks like most of the country is going to get a good old soaking. Our water butts will start filling up again hoorah!! I really do not like giving our feathered friend tap water

Love those little welly boots those hens have. Now I want a pair with spots on. Come to think of it I had a navy blue pair once that had pink spots on but they didn't last very long. In fact I've had several pairs over the years of different funky design welly boots and even ones with yellow ducks on but in the end I gave in a bought a real decent pair, just plain green but they have lasted and are still going strong. Well worth paying that much extra for them in the end especially with our lifestyle here.

I understand where you are coming from regarding jet washing the hens because I re-read my post and yes it does start to read as if I was saying that. As if I would do something like that to my ickle friends Pyxis

Edwink

Dizzy_Ditzy

Hey everyone!

I try and read the goings on with everyone, even if i dont post

I lost another one yesterday Apparently she had egg yolk peritonitis and vent gleet, the combination of both being too much for her

My noisiest, nosiest, greediest and funniest hen has left a huge gap in our little run. The remaining two girls are quiet ones anyway so its horrendously quiet there at the moment. She found a way of escaping a couple of times last week and found her way under the gooseberry bushes straight away, knowing that i couldnt get her out from there :rotfl:

Pyxis

Sad for you Ditzy.

I had to google those conditions, as I know nothing about poultry illnesses.

edwink

Dizzy_Ditzy wrote: »

Hey everyone!
I lost another one yesterday Apparently she had egg yolk peritonitis and vent gleet, the combination of both being too much for her

Aww Dizzy that is sad for you and your poor little hen, bless you both. Have a cyber (((HUG))) from me. You obviously did all you could to help her but sometimes it is just all too much for their little bodies to cope with

Very hard to explain to others on here what egg yolk peritonitis is in so many words so I have found this article, if others are interested, of what it actually is and what happens. This article explains the condition much clearer than I would be able to with just me waffling on about it.

https://www.viovet.co.uk/blog/p150-Common-chicken-health-concerns

Also this is a good article by the Hen Welfare Trust that explains about Vent Gleet.

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/vent-gleet/

Some articles I have come across over my time just go over and over the same thing and never really get to the point of explaining what a condition actually entails but these two are pretty good and straight forward.

Although these two conditions can be rare-ish they sadly do happen even in little flocks . Just remember Dizzy you did all you could to help her and make her as comfortable as possible. It is so sad when they are ill and go so quiet especially if they were one of the more noisiest hens in the flock because you do miss the little bizarre noises you are used to them making.

Talking of noises one of mine was making an awful noise sitting under one of our large shrubs yesterday. I thought I should go and investigate and couldn't believe my eyes when I lifted some of the lower branches to find her leaping up off of 5 eggs in the shade. Thought the amount off eggs being laid in their nesting box was low for the 4 hens but put it down to their age and the heat at the moment. Little did I know they had boycotted their clean and fresh hygienic nesting box and made this little nest in the soil surrounded by dead leaves. Back to the normal summer egg hunt for us here now as per normal

Edwink

edwink

Lots and lots of sunbathing going on here with my hens then they are finding it too hot and spend the rest of the time under a bush in the shade. Bless 'em!

Ducks are behaving quite oddly here because I thought they would spend more time in the pond in this weather. But, they are having the odd quick dip and splash about then sitting in the hens coop. Our Indian Runner (my avatar) is the only one that spends the day swimming about and constantly ducking her head under water. It looks so cute when we see just her little legs sticking out of the water. Our ducks have spent a lot less time in the pond since they have aged. It is not that the pond is difficult to get in and out of I think it is just an age thing maybe.

Not long now Cheery and you will soon be the owner of 4 little chooks. How is the coop and run building going? Maybe you have left that for a while as you have 100 and 1 things to be getting on with instead right now. Are you counting down the days?

Going to be cooler from tomorrow here which will be much more manageable for us. We face the South and boy it is so hot out there. I'm actually looking forward to the cooler weather because trying to sleep at night has be so difficult.

Edwink

dizzybee

Looking for some advice please only been looking after chickens for 3 weeks,rescued 3 but two are picking on one really badly so have separated them, has she is so scared manged to get hold of her tonight and she feels really hot, she has been eating, drinking and pooing normally but just worried has she feels so hot.she is currently resting in a cat basket in the shed. cant find a vet local that looks after chickens,

edwink

dizzybee wrote: »

Looking for some advice please only been looking after chickens for 3 weeks,rescued 3 but two are picking on one really badly so have separated them, has she is so scared manged to get hold of her tonight and she feels really hot, she has been eating, drinking and pooing normally but just worried has she feels so hot.she is currently resting in a cat basket in the shed. cant find a vet local that looks after chickens,

Try not to worry too much dizzy. Easier said than done I know but your hens are sorting out their pecking order and it looks as though she is at the bottom of it. Then the other 2 will decide between themselves with the odd bit of fighting and pecking to establish which one of them is top dog.

If your little hen is eating, drinking and her droppings are ok that is really good. It is possible that she is just really stressed because the other two are bulling her. If you were to pick up either one of the other two you will see that they are fairly warm too especially in this hot weather. I am not sure where you are in the country but if your area is hot at the moment that could well be the cause of why she is so hot. I wouldn't worry too much as hens rarely overheat in hot weather.

How is she today? Obviously she will be a lot less stressed now you have moved her away from the other two. But, moving her away from them could prolong the bullying I'm afraid. Sometimes it is best to try and find time to play referee with them all and keep a real close eye on them or just sit near them so the bullying doesn't get out of hand. We have had real punch ups here introducing new hens but after a couple of weeks and sometimes just days it all settles down completely, thankfully. There has only been a couple of times where it has continued for a bit longer but they settled in the end. Once the pecking order is fully established the bullying should stop.

Please let me know how they are getting on!

Edwink

Pyxis

That reminds of when people say they can't get a dog because they have a cat.

Well, when I got my first pup, I had two cats! Ok, yes, at first there was lots of hissing and spitting and raised hackles and faces being batted by paws (dog's face, cats' paws), and this went on for a few days, but gradually settled down.

Eventually, of course, you could find them all snuggled up together, fast asleep!

The dog had been put in its place, i.e. the lowest of the low! :rotfl: