Keeping hens and ducks chat.

Beckyy

Awwww!

:j

jac99

Vjm63, those chicks are so lovely. I was offered some fertile eggs last week but thought it would be too cold to have chicks outside now. Think it may definitely be something we try next year though.

edwink

Good old thorough clean out done with our girls and boys hotels today. Weather was a lot milder here so took the opportunity to get in to all the nooks and crannies for that extra clean. Just hope they all appreciate it when they are tucked up in bed tonight. Also thoroughly washed all their buckets and feed containers in hot soapy water so they look sparkling now.

I'm still struggling a bit with the back end of the virus, so I had the easiest jobs to do and hubby did all the mucking out and raking of the ground in their coop. Lovely to see it all done today and now we are back indoors waiting for our homemade veg soup to cook on the kitchen stove. Ah bliss!

Hubby just put them all to bed which seems really early but now the nights are drawing in we have no choice. We do let them out earlier in the mornings now to make up for the shorter time they have outside which I am sure they do appreciate.

Our poor little man Cockerel still has his mite problem but luckily the 3 hens haven't. When we first noticed the problem we powdered him quite a few times which didn't get rid of them, next have used 2 whole bottles of Manna Pro Poultry Protector over a period of time. But, he still has some mites left on him which just wont go. So now have ordered some Ivermectin which we really didn't want to do but feel we don't have any choice now. Ivermectin is so easy to use and can be purchased without prescription. Just a drop of the solution on the back of his neck once a week for 3 weeks, so going to give that a try and will report back to let you all know how that goes. Poor little fella! The main thing is he is ok in himself and runs down to see me with the hens ok, he is eating well and his wattles and comb look lovely and red so I'm not overly concerned but obviously would be happier if he didn't have them at all.

How is everyone else and their fury friends? All healthy and happy I hope. Don't forget you can give your girls some porridge in the colder weather either loose as flakes or add hot water to make a mixture, they will absolutely love you for it. Try adding some raisins, apple, herbs and things like that for extra flavour.

Edwink

Pyxis

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Are hens scared by fireworks?




Edit. Talking of fireworks............. Hen laying egg firework:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k8dLPtr9W0

It won't embed for some reason, so here's the link......

https://youtu.be/0k8dLPtr9W0


It's very silly, but it might amuse you!

edwink

just thought about this but should have provided a link which explains what Ivermectin is and what it does. Found this for a short read this morning so if you are interested, load the page and scroll down to the part for veterinary use. Its only a very tiny bit to read but useful to know I suppose.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin

There has been some controversy over using this product over the years as it can be very toxic if not used exactly as stated. So as a first time user when it arrives I shall be as careful as anything and fingers crossed it does the job of getting rid of his mites.

As already said he is ok in himself but the little blighters will spread all over him again and we will be back to square one with it all. The spray we have been using has worked to a certain degree and has kept the number of mites down but not getting rid of them completely especially around is bottom. He certainly doesn't like being caught and sprayed and we have had to do that so much to him lately in order to try and get rid of the blooming things. With the harsh winter weather approaching we need him in the best health possible.

Will keep you all updated.

Edwink

edwink

First dose of our little mans Ivermectin treatment given tonight just before he went to bed, bless him. He has got to have the treatment once a week for 3 weeks and I am so hoping that it is going to do the trick for him. Thankfully it was very easy to do as you just count the drops that go on to the skin really, really carefully. Was very confident in doing it myself as have had to give injections of antibiotics and anti inflammatory medication in the past and this was much easier than doing that. Hoorah

Will keep you updated on his progress, bless his little heart.

Three very old hens still doing ok thankfully, which is great. Getting 1 egg a week approximately so there goes our weekly egg and chips until we get some new girls here:rotfl:

Edwink

Cheery_Daff

Your poor fella Edwink! Really hope this does the trick for him.

One egg a week?? Crikey. Lovely that you're still looking after your ladies We're still on 3 or 4 eggs a day here, our girls showing no signs of slowing down!

I'm away for work (at the seaside!) this week so Mr Cheery is on chicken duties. By all accounts they are getting on fine (well, by Mr Cheery's account anyway - I don't have a direct line to the chicken coop :rotfl: )

We've given them a bit more shelter, it's kind of like a scrap version of those walkways with columns you see in posh places sometimes :rotfl: but REALLY not posh :rotfl: their food and water is under there too which stops the food getting wet and has so far stopped the water freezing too so it must be a little warmer than outside at least!

:j

Right, must get up and avail myself of the hotel breakfast :j Not interested in cooked breakfast, never have been - it's the vast array of cereals and different types of jam that gets me :rotfl: :rotfl:

jac99

Good morning,

Hope your little man is starting to improve Edwink.

Cheery Daff, I have to admit I am partial to jams and marmalades as well. Tried some new recipes this year but wasn't really organised enough I think. When I had fruit I didn't have jars, or had the empty jars but no time to make things.

I have also tried to provide some cover to my run. The hens seem to like to have a dry area and spend a good bit of their time there as I have also put some bedding out on the floor and tried to enclose the area a little to make it cosier. However I think my inexperience has shown as it has also made the whole area darker, I have been told that this is likely to stop the hens laying? So I think that I need to try and reorganise this area over the weekend!

edwink

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Your poor fella Edwink! Really hope this does the trick for him.

One egg a week?? Crikey. Lovely that you're still looking after your ladies We're still on 3 or 4 eggs a day here, our girls showing no signs of slowing down!

I'm away for work (at the seaside!) this week so Mr Cheery is on chicken duties. By all accounts they are getting on fine (well, by Mr Cheery's account anyway - I don't have a direct line to the chicken coop :rotfl: )

We've given them a bit more shelter, it's kind of like a scrap version of those walkways with columns you see in posh places sometimes :rotfl: but REALLY not posh :rotfl: their food and water is under there too which stops the food getting wet and has so far stopped the water freezing too so it must be a little warmer than outside at least! :j
Right, must get up and avail myself of the hotel breakfast :j Not interested in cooked breakfast, never have been - it's the vast array of cereals and different types of jam that gets me :rotfl: :rotfl:

Thank you Cheery we are keeping fingers crossed that it will finally get rid of them. Flipping nuisance they are. I just think of him itching all over and not able to get a good nights sleep. They feed on the blood so make tiny sores which must be so distressing for him. Am doing all we can to help the poor little fella. Just re-sieved the greenhouse soil to make it finer for dust bathing hoping that will encourage him to go in there more. We carried him up there yesterday and made him stay in there, wicked owners we are, with some lovely sweetcorn to eat and help keep him amused whilst in there. Trouble is with mites they are all over the body and dust bathing more often than not coats the underside of them unless they flick the soil up over their backs which he never does

Hope Mr Cheery is managing ok with his hen duties and spoiling them as much as you do

Enjoy yourself by the seaside. I know it is work related for you but the sea always looks lovely and the fresh air is always good for us :dance:

Edwink

edwink

jac99 wrote: »

Good morning,

Hope your little man is starting to improve Edwink.

Cheery Daff, I have to admit I am partial to jams and marmalades as well. Tried some new recipes this year but wasn't really organised enough I think. When I had fruit I didn't have jars, or had the empty jars but no time to make things.

I have also tried to provide some cover to my run. The hens seem to like to have a dry area and spend a good bit of their time there as I have also put some bedding out on the floor and tried to enclose the area a little to make it cosier. However I think my inexperience has shown as it has also made the whole area darker, I have been told that this is likely to stop the hens laying? So I think that I need to try and reorganise this area over the weekend!

Thank you Jac I am trying my best to help him so hopefully he will be on the mend soon

I'm another one who is rather partial to homemade jams etc. Some years we manage to make loads. But, this year we didn't make any because we had a plum tree bursting with plums ready to pick and also bought the sugar ready for doing the job. We went away for 3 days and when we got back, I am not joking when I say this THEY WERE ALL GONE except 10 of them . We were gutted to say the least. Even had all the jam jars cleaned and ready for a change this year. We can only think that as we were away and obviously there was no human movement in the garden except for letting hens and ducks out and putting them away at night, that the squirrels and the rats helped themselves to them. I just stood there we I noticed they were gone with my mouth open, I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. So will have to wait for next years crop now until we can make some There must have been around 200 plums or so on the tree at least before we went away . Maybe we could swap some recipes on here next year. My ones are really old fashioned and so delicious.

With regards to helping hens stay a bit warmer it is always difficult not to block out the natural light in some way. You certainly will get a drop in eggs if it is too dark as we all naturally do over the winter months when there is less daylight because of the shorter days. Maybe try some clear Perspex to see if that will allow some more light in. As a rule though hens are pretty good at keeping themselves warm and they retain their body heat very well so rarely get too cold unless it is absolutely freezing outside. Then porridge is the best for helping them stay warm.

Edwink