Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink

From today its both you and I now playing referee Cheery. Hubby nipped off in between hospital appointment for friend and collected the two hens that had to be rehomed. So now they are here :eek: already :eek:. So what was Bertrude (yes Bertrude) and Beatrice is now Trudy and Beatrice. Both are settling in well and are currently in the coop which has access to the duck run so is huge and the others are currently out and about. Our coop is 20ft x 16ft so plenty of room for the new girls to walk around, have a scratch about and they have already been eating well, so all is good. Beatrice has only half a wing on one side as apparently a fox caught hold of her wing through a fence and lucky for her she was ok but the attack on her damaged her wing. They did take her to the vets etc. so she did receive medical help for the wound we were pleased to be told.

They are both very friendly with us which is a nice start. My two old girls went up to see them and just did a bit of strutting up and down but not feather flapping and just wandered off looking totally uninterested in them. Mr Cockerel went up too and really did strut his stuff and paced backwards and forwards eyeing them up through the chicken wire. Then he started pecking at the ground and dropping bits he had picked up as one of the new girls came to the chicken wire to see him. Looked as though he was offering her something to eat, bless him When he first did his !!!!-a-Doodle-Doo the new hens stood bolt upright as if to say "what the hell was that?". So its obvious they have never heard a Cockerel crow before. He continued to do it for around 5 minutes and then just carried on scratching the ground. He is only showing the new girls who is boss about the place, bless him. The girls have been handled a lot by the looks of it because I easily picked them up for a cuddle and they didn't struggle at all either of them. Popped both of them on to one of the perches and just waited to see if they would climb down the little ladder. Beatrice the one with half a wing is the bravest and came down first, sort of side ways but managed ok and then Trudy followed but wasn't so sure about the ladder but I was on hand to help her if needed. Happy to see they both managed it so that's a good start for their getting out the hotel in the mornings and good practice for tomorrow.

So, so far so good but they are not all together yet. We are going to put them all together tonight when they go to bed. That's when the fun and games will start or more likely in the morning, but, we will be on had to sort any problems out. My guess is our two old girls will eat breakfast and go out and about for the day as they really were not bothered with them on first meeting them through the chicken wire. The two new ones will probably hover about in the coop but I will be on hand to try and coax them out so they can free range but will stay with them just in case they get a bit rough with my old'uns. My guess is my old girls know the new hens are much younger and not worth fighting or arguing with but it could be a different story with the new girls.

The timing of this rehoming is not perfect at all but at least the new girls didn't come to any harm because that was our concern. More often than not if someone doesn't want their hens anymore that's it, they just don't want them full stop and will give them away to anyone who will have them. So at least they are safe with us now and I'm happy about that. I had second thoughts when we rehomed just that one hen some time ago as was terribly nervous for her as she was so outnumbered by all my others. This time two new younger hens at two years old and my very old 2 ex-batts at 5+. Just got to make sure my two old girls are ok which I definitely will.

The story behind our rescue Cockerel was that briefly someone hatched 3 eggs (didn't know what they were doing basically)and all 3 ended up being boys. We were asked if we could take in two Cockerels and we said it wouldn't be favourable to do but could take one of them. I asked about them and was told "oh we did have 3 but one was TOO NOISY soooo!! (I wont say what happened but I am sure you can guess, sadly) I tried and tried to find a home the other one and exhausted myself doing so but got to the stage I had no one else to ask and believe me I asked everyone and contacted some charities too etc. etc. This particular rehoming was through a friend of a friend and to this day I dare not ask what happen to that remaining Cockerel because I fear the same had happened to him as that of the TOO NOISY one. Sad story I know but I tried Of course that may not have been the case for him and they themselves may have found another home for him. But, as already said I couldn't bring myself to ask so I suppose I will never know

Will report back on progress when the girls are all tucked up snuggly and warm together later.

Crikey this post became longer and longer. Gotta go it's starting to get dark here so got to get them all in.

Edwink

edwink

Ok so that went really, really well for the first night. We ushered the two new girls in but they couldn't work out where to go once in there and just looked at the ladder. So I picked them up and put them on the perches like we did earlier today. Then whilst I was standing in there both of the new girls climbed up the ladder and just perched next to them-ish with my Cockerel following closely behind them. He doesn't normally perch at night because he prefers the nesting box as he is a big lad. But, tonight he perched on one of the first perches with his bottom resting on the top rung of the ladder, bless him. One new hen sat down followed by another and then all four were seated. I gave them all a stoke especially the Cockerel as he gets a stroke from us every night anyway.

So that was easy, no shuffling about, no pecking just all neatly in a row and ready to sleep. Went up and checked on them to have a quick peep with a torch a little later and they are all still in the same position as when we left them but now a sleep. So pretty chuffed with that. But, tomorrows another day and will report back then

I honestly thought they would be swapping places, pecking each other but nothing, absolutely nothing. Hope it is not the calm before the storm

Must remember to change my signature and up the hen numbers now. I do miss not having so many about but was putting it off until my last old ladies had gone and then we would have got another 12 maybe 15 new ex-batts in one go asap as didn't want the Cockerel to be on his own. Well he wouldn't actually be on his own as such as we have the ducks but he is not keen on our two drakes so doesn't spend time around them plus the hens and ducks sleep separately so he would be on his own at night. We are still going to get some more ex-batts but not while my old ladies are still here as 12 or 15 would be too many for them to handle we feel. I imagined us not having any hens and then quickly getting in a large amount of ex-batts in one go. But, these two needed a new happy home, so here they are and nicely settled tonight so I'm happy

How are you getting on with yours Cheery?. All good in the Cheery hen household I hope? and another cup of tea I bet

Edwink

Pyxis

Lovely that their first night is happy, Edwink!


Had to giggle at the cockerel being duckist!

Who'd have thunk it? Duckism rife in the world of fowls! :rotfl:

Cheery_Daff

Yay, so pleased your new ladies are nicely settled with minimal fuss, long may it continue! :j you are SO kind to take them in when it's so inconvenient for you, you really are. Bless you for taking on Mr cockerel too, love it that you give him a stroke every night :j

All good here :j first time leaving all the ladies in the run together without supervision as I had to take Mr Cheery to the hospital (not drastic! They just wouldn't let him out after a sedative without a ride home).

Came back to five hens and still no bleeding :j Maud and Mildred were pleased to get out for a wander and we tempted the new ladies out too, and it was so warm and sunny I sat on the bench for a couple of hours reading while they pottered about :j

They're getting more adventurous each day :j Rusty climbed up the old wire barrier thing we'd propped against the wall and couldn't figure out how to get down again. Bessie came and sat on my knee again for a stroke, and Beaky later did the same to Mr Cheery :rotfl:

I managed to tempt all the of them back into the run as it was going dusky - they'd spent all day ignoring me whistling and rattling the food tub but they got it eventually... Not letting them roam properly unsupervised until they'll come running when i call them like the other two.

Still a bit of pecking going on, mostly of poor Rusty but it never lasts long and she's looking happier and healthier already, especially after being outside today :j

Still didn't follow Maud and Mildred into the hen house tonight (don't blame them given how grumpy they've been!! It's only three nights after all)

( Going to leave it there for now as I just woke up after writin g all that then falling asleep before pressing aunt :rorfl:

edwink

Thanks everyone. I am pleased they are now safely with us as I was worried about them to be honest.

Its mainly the Aylesbury drake that's not keen on the Cockerel. They are actually near each other quite a lot but I always see the drake shoo him away and all the poor man is doing is guarding the food bowl night and day so his poor starving (NOT) girls get to eat. The hens actually eat out of a homemade trough every morning and we scatter food around the place to keep the hens occupied during the day and not be a menace to the ducks who eat out of the food bowl but he will stand right next to it and guard the blooming thing. They never fight though it's just a bit of buzz off will you we'd like to eat something once in a while. Now as the ducks have got older they have started to eat fresh sweetcorn whereas before they never ever touched it. Maybe they are that starving they will eat anything these days.:rotfl:

Glad yours have settled Cheery, that's really good to hear. Its not too bad is it? Mainly a few feathers flying and some pecking. Mind you I've got my lot to referee for tomorrow so I maybe I wont be saying that tomorrow night. But, in all seriousness you just have to be there to sort any scuffles out that maybe get a bit rough and soon the pecking order is established with them. I honestly do think us hen keepers being there with them all stops anything getting out of hand and they are not silly they know we are watching and on our guard. You do need to be dedicated to that job and it obviously soon settles otherwise hen owners like use wouldn't keep rehoming these poor little waif and strays bless 'em.

It has taken our mind off things today I must admit. I would have more and more and more hens if hubby didn't reign me in a bit or a lot should I say.

Yep the Cockerel has a stroke every single night and I think he expects it now as we have done it every night since he came to live with us. We like to keep him on our side and fairly tame as he is a big lad. It's a lot harder to pick up a Cockerel than a hen as they are a lot more feisty, so we don't pick him up and cuddle him like the hens but are easily able to handle him like we had to when he had that pesky on-going mite problem last year. He trusts us, will eat from our hands willingly and is always happy to be standing next to us which makes it easier to treat him if he is unwell. Nothing worse I think than frightening him by having to chase him around the place in order to be able to pick him up if we need to.
There is a method to our madness with us stroking him


Edwink

Cheery_Daff

Look at that smiley :rotfl: bless your little man edwink, keeping his ladies safe and defending the food bowl from those pesky ducks :rotfl:

How were things this morning with your gang?

I didn't let move out til after seven and all was quiet when i got there so i think this might be the end of the 6.15 alarm clock for me, thank goodness :rotfl: no pecking over breakfast :j everyone seems relatively chilled.

Bessie was wandering about looking for somewhere to lay an egg, trying to get behind the hen house. I plonked her in the hen house itself, but after hanging round in there for a bit she clearly decided it wasn't to her liking and laid in the temporary nest box/basket thing we put in for the new ladies when they were separated. I must put the nest box partition back in the main hen house - it collapsed when one of the new hens tried to roost on it - Maud was NOT impressed as she was sleeping next to it at the time :eek:

Spotted Maud on her own this morning and Mildred wasn't in their favoured laying bush in the garden - after a bit of searching I found her in another bush, and when I went out later there were three eggs in there so clearly that's the new favourite spot now :rotfl: I don't mind, it's closer to the house than the actual nest box anyway :rotfl:

Older two are out roaming now, new three are happy shut in the run. All peaceful :j Sun's not shining today so I'm not going to sit out there with them for two hours I'm afraid!

Have a good day with your feathered friends :j

edwink

Nothing much to report from me tonight except to say last thing before hens were going to bed we introduced the new girls to the old'uns and of course the Cockerel. The new girls have been in the coop all day scratching about and getting to know what's what, so before bed time we let the old'uns go in the coop along with the Cockerel. There was the odd swipe and peck but nothing major and the Cockerel told half a wing Beatrice off for her few pecks aimed at one of the old'uns. So first meeting all together went well and we hope to get them altogether out and about tomorrow. Hubby home from work so if there is any hassle it will be easier to sort out as he is much quicker on his feet than I am at the moment as my back has been so painful this week and I'm walking about like a 90 year old and it hurts.

The two new girls went in first and managed to climb the ladder ok followed by the other two. Tonight the Cockerel decided he was going back to his old sleeping quarters in the nesting box and obviously thought they would all be ok up on the perches together tonight, bless him. Checked on them an hour later and they were all spread out along the perches in an orderly line peacefully sleeping and the Cockerel had as much space as he wanted, ah bliss!

Edwink

edwink

How is it going with your girls Cheery?. Still all ok and all being nice to each other I hope. You have certainly got yours settled by the sound of it although they may still have another couple of swipes at each other like most of my have over the years. I have to say I think you have done incredibly well introducing new hens although you are a newbie to hen keeping, you certainly are a natural to it that's for sure.

Have not put mine all together for the whole day yet as they have only been here for 2 days so far but plan on doing that tomorrow or possibly Sunday. They took a few swipes at each other again at bedtime tonight the same as before, which I expected anyway. I'm being cautious with these two new girls because they are quite big and feisty and my old'uns although not frail for their age they are old for ex-batts and I don't want them to get hurt. At over 5 and a half years old, well 5 years and 38 weeks to be exact, I know the new girls will get the better of them, so just need to make sure the old'uns are ok really. I'll do the normal in the morning and get them to spend a little time with each other and see how it goes and then shoo the old'uns out for the day if I need to, that's if they haven't scarpered already.

Will update tomorrow, wish me luck

Edwink

Cheery_Daff

Good luck!!

Love to hear about your cockerel :j very lovely that he got his sleeping space back :j :j

All going well here than goodness, although yes, still a few occasional swipes.

Eggs all over the place today :eek: :rotfl: two in the hen house when I let them out, plus a weird little soft shelled wobbly thing about a third of the size of an egg. Mildred and Maud both laid in their new favourite bush - and then at lunchtime Beaky started making an "I'M LOOKING FOR SOMEWHERE TO LAY AN EGG!" noise :rotfl:

After wandering for a bit she did actually go and lay in the hen house :j

So that's FIVE eggs plus a dud today from five hens :eek:

Got 23 eggs sat in the kitchen now :rotfl: bit of a shock after depleted stocks over the last couple of weeks :eek: fortunately we have visitors coming on Sunday

More progress today:

- Rusty ate some corn from Mr Cheery's hand :j Both Beaky & Bessie have been quite affectionate so far but Rusty has been shy & cautious so this is a breakthrough

- Beaky went into the hen house to lay an egg for the first time (they've laid before I've let them out, but none of the new girls have gone back in until now

- Bessie actually took herself to bed in the hen house for the first time :j our last lot of hens were a lot quicker to do this and had got the hang of it after two days - but then the hen house at that point didn't already contain two older chickens who had spent the whole day chasing them :rotfl:

Still, Bessie was happily ensconced on the perch with one of the other ladies, and once I'd put Beaky & Rusty in they eventually settled down on the floor with the other one.

Other progress - today was the first day that the new ladies objected when we let Maud and Mildred out of the run but not them :rotfl: clearly they've discovered the concept of 'outside' and weren't impressed that I wouldn't let them out :rotfl: but they've not shown enough obedience to me rattling a feed bucket or doing a chicken impression and until they can come when they're called reliably like the other two, they're not roaming free when I'm not there else I'll never find them again!

Still, progress :j It's only been five days after all :j

Hope your integration activities go well tomorrow edwink :j thinking of you, and of the rest of you with feathery pals :j

edwink

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Hope your integration activities go well tomorrow edwink :j thinking of you, and of the rest of you with feathery pals :j

Integration was perfect and went like a dream. One of the best so far I am happy to report. Just allowed the new girls to wander slowly out of the coop just watching to see what happened and they wandered about around the outside of the coop then walked down to where the others were. Walked around the Daffodils on one of my flower beds and just calmly wandered around. One swipe from one of my old'uns but nothing much to worry about. So sat outside with a cuppa and just observed then moved further away and waited but nothing just a lot of foraging going on. I am most happy to say harmony in the camp:j

They are all down at the house mostly this time of year as we have a lawn down this end and the new girls were happily chomping away at it and standing next to the old'uns who were also having a good old chomp. We removed the other two lawns further away from the house years ago sadly as they became like mud baths because of the ducks. So we always allow them down by the house in the winter but also because it gets a lot of Winter sun as we are south facing. Lucky little hens sunbathing in March, oh and Feb this year too. They slump up against the French doors because I think the glass reflects the heat from the sun back onto them. Just as well that we have 2 lots of French doors otherwise we would have to go out the front door and come round the side to gain access to the back. I must remember to try and get some pictures of them all lined up sunbathing. Took some pics today but the girls never stand still long enough so I'll see what they are like first once I download them. I would put more pics on here from time to time but I do find the faffing about getting them on so annoying to be honest. If only we could just attach photos it would be so much easier.

Anyway up at silly-o-clock again with Sciatica but better to try and get at least some sleep as want to get the greenhouses sorted tomorrow and re-sieve all the soil for the girls dust bathing fun time. Can't have dirty hens around here can we?.

Edwink