Keeping hens and ducks chat.

Pyxis

Do you all take a pic of each hen that you get, to keep in an album of "Hens wot I have loved over the Years"?


I've now got visions of chickeny mug-shots against a height marker, full frontal and side profile views, like police ones!



Like this.......

Cheery_Daff

Ha pyxis :rotfl: I've been taking plenty of pictures of my hens, and am planning a kind of scrapbook of each one :rotfl:

Ooh, didn't realise you were in the market for a couple of new ladies edwink, I must not have been paying attention Glad you can take them in, sounds like you have a wonderful space there. Do you ever share pictures? I'd love to see your set up (and anyone else's!)

We've got three ladies arriving on Sunday - going on the principle that new ones should outnumber the old ones :rotfl: So we'll have five in total, which we still have space for in both run and house.

Mildred and Maud do still stick together when they're outside which is good. And mostly in the house too. I think perhaps they're just trying out new spaces :rotfl: We made them a nest box in a basket on its side, and they'd been both laying and sleeping in there (as they usually did in their own house, despite there being a perch that the other two slept on). One of them was still sleeping in there, but maybe the other one just got settled elsewhere and couldn't be bothered moving?!

Who knows what goes on in their little chicken brains. There's been no squabbling, they're wandering round together outside, they've both eaten breakfast, both seem fine (there was a watery poo this morning but I think we're just noticing that occasionally this week because it's on tiles rather than on the grass or in the bedding). Who knows.

Anyway, fingers crossed their house gets finished today! (Although as I say, not holding my breath...)

edwink

Don't think I actually mentioned too much on here about getting anymore hens Cheery except for the odd post saying I would like some more but was worried about my two very old ladies getting picked on. So I don't think you have missed any posts, Our idea is to get possibly 12 or more when Little Hen Rescue have plans in place for one of their ex-battery rescue dates. They ask for a £1.50 donation per hen which goes toward paying for feed and medical supplies for all the hens they rescue. Also they have a no cull policy on all adopted hens. Link below if anyone would like to have a look at them.

http://www.exbatteryhens.org.uk/rescuers/cambridgeshire-hen-rescue


http://www.exbatteryhens.org.uk/rescuers

Following on from the two hens we have been asked to take in, we have decided we will definitely have them and at the moment plans are in place to collect them this week :eek:. It's a bit earlier than what I would have liked but I don't want any harm to come to them if their owner gets impatient as she wants them rehomed now and not in several months time as I would have preferred. But, it's not a problem and we can manage it ok. We rehomed one hen on her several years back now. Some may remember the story behind her on here that we were asked if we could take her because a fox killed 16 of her pals. Obviously there were 17 originally and she was the only one that survived because she flew up on to the top of a 6ft fence and managed to avoid the fox that got in to their enclosure. She managed ok but was very, very traumatised. She spent the first few hours here perching on my dresser in our kitchen, she wouldn't walk around the floor, bless her she was too scared. Although ex-batts are all the same colour I always knew which one she was because for months and months she would always perch high somewhere when she was out and about. We have a log store by the house with an opening that has a shelf type ledge and she would sit up there for hours just looking down at the others. Obviously she felt safe just doing that, as being up high was how she got away from the fox. She slowly but surly managed to lose the fear of the fox and mixed in with the others but after a while I couldn't tell which hen she was. So to us it was a job well done as she became a happy hen again and spent all her time with the others instead of constantly perching and looking down at them so not able to join in. It was so sad to see at the beginning but she got there in the end, bless her.

I always "well up" when I tell little stories like that but I have to remind myself that they end up so very different to how they arrive here and that is nothing to be sad about.

I don't want to hog the thread as this post is long enough now but I have another story of the "one that got away". I must remind myself to put that one on here again soon for our new posters on the thread. I'll see if I can look back and find it and quote it so I don't have to type the story out again.

Edwink

Cheery_Daff

aw edwink, I love reading your stories about your ladies (and everyone else's stories too of course!) The more the merrier, especially heart warming ones like that. I can only imagine how traumatised that poor girl was Very glad she found herself again and felt safe back in with the flock :j

Maud and Mildred are currently pecking around under the kitchen table while I'm working :rotfl: They've been outside all day supervising Mr Cheery's work on their run :rotfl: :rotfl: but it's dusky now so I've brought them back in. Not quite dark enough for them to go to bed yet so they're marauding round in here pecking at bits we've dropped on the floor :rotfl:

At some point I'll herd them back into the study - it's never going to go dark in the kitchen as I've got the light on! :rotfl:

Made our donation for our new ladies - British Hen Welfare Trust are asking for them to be paid in advance now which is fair enough and saves faffing on the day. We've also got a time and place for collection so all exciting now.

Just need that run finishing!! :eek: Poor Mr Cheery, he's been getting very cold and wet doing it I'd offer to help, but I'm sat at a computer working away - mostly to pay for chicken accessories at the minute :eek: :rotfl: :rotfl: I'll help him with the final push tomorrow I think, give these girls a few days to settle back in outside before the new ladies arrive.

Pyxis

You're not hogging the thread, Edwink!

It's great to hear all these stories!

You really should write them all down into a sort of blog/manual/hen diary because they are so interesting, and amusing as well as poignant.

I mean, if I, who is a hen ignoramus, find them interesting, I am sure that people who are thinking of being, about to be, or in the first stages of being hen owners would find them invaluable, as well as being reassuring.


I mean, I hadn't thought of a hen being so traumatised by a fox attack, that she couldn't come down to ground level for some time.
Poor little mite.

Even Cheery Daff's recount of how her two were traumatised was a revelation.

You just don't think of hens having that much emotional capacity. It really rubs it home how cruelly we treat them by putting them in batteries for the sake of cheap eggs.
I feel quite tearful, now.

Cheery_Daff

Aw pyxis

My two were a revelation to me too It's been just over a fortnight and I'd say today is the first day they've been properly back to normal, although they've been much better the last few days. Today is the first day they've actually been getting under our feet rather than cowering out of the way when we tried to walk past.

I was shocked at how much it affected everything - the way they stood, they didn't make any little noises for over a week, wouldn't eat much (and then only when we held food out in our hands), barely any droppings, not moving about at all, only occasional eggs. Really was awful to see them

Now though they are parading round as normal, thank goodness, eating whatever they can get their beaks on, trying to get in when they're out, and out when they're in, pooing all over the kitchen floor whenever they like :eek: and creating all kinds of noises when I was on a teleconference earlier :rotfl: very glad to see them so improved!

We've ordered crumb feed for the new ladies - hope it arrives in time else it'll mean a trip to the agricultural supply shop on Saturday.

I tried buying our last bag of food there rather than ordering online - it was much cheaper than BHWT (although not the same food). The pellets are really quite big and hard compared to the BHWT stuff though, and they won't eat it unless it's mashed up with water. Bunch of fusspots!

So I think I'll keep that for porridge, and use the crumb stuff for all of them for a while (I'm going to worm them all together when the new ones arrive), then slowly bring the BHWT food back in again I think.

Definitely not buying corn from the local place any more - it's much cheaper but the BHWT stuff is actually all corn, whereas this seems all cracked and broken and has lots of 'bits' in.

You live and learn I suppose!

Pyxis

Just giggling at the thought of being on the other end of a teleconference call and hearing all these strange querking noises going on in the background! :rotfl::rotfl:

Cheery_Daff

I was trying to shooo them out of the back door but it was raining and they were having none of it :rotfl: :rotfl: I would have fessed up but we were on a tight deadline and had lots to talk about without me waffling on about chickens :rotfl:

Pyxis

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

I was trying to shooo them out of the back door but it was raining and they were having none of it :rotfl: :rotfl: I would have fessed up but we were on a tight deadline and had lots to talk about without me waffling on about chickens :rotfl:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

edwink

Talk about me writing a book or blog or whatever. Our Cheery should do the same, honest she should.

By the sound of it we are very much a like with the things we do for our hens and for me it is heart warming Cheery to hear of you embracing your new life in the country. Especially as you have said you have never had a pet before and was somewhat hesitant and nervous about keeping them but now look at you, you are a proud hen owner and like I did 10 years ago took the plunge and said yes ok I like a challenge I will get some hens and give them a good decent retirement home. You should be so proud of yourself Cheery you have done so well and to have suffered the loss you did several weeks ago, you didn't let it beat you and now you are going to give some more rescue hens a new retirement home. You are too cute for words and such a hard worker.

Forgot what else I was meant to add about todays posts after waffling. Better pop and read the posts again to have a recap. I've enjoyed our hen thread this week with lots of chat about my favourite feathered friends so that has been really nice.
Thanks everyone

Edwink x