Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Hi all :hello:
Glad your ducks are paddling about together edwink, and that you can start to think about rehoming some new ladies :j :j How is the fence coming along? And how are YOU coming along?

I was trying to spread a bit of cow manure on the space I'd just dug before I planted but honestly, trying to do anything with five chickens is ridiculous :rotfl: At one point I lifted up the space along with a pile of soil AND Rusty about four feet into the air :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Bless their little beaks Wouldn't swap them for the world They'll be cursing us tomorrow as we're out all day so they'll get a little wander in the morning but about 10am we'll have to shut them in the run (we're not back til about midnight). They will NOT be impressed :eek: Although they will have plenty of food and water, and I'm going to shove a small pallet and a pile of compost in there for them as they've been having great fun rootling round in my collapsed compost bin :rotfl:

The Fence is not coming along First quote £6,700 + VAT... OUCH!!! Had someone else who had a look last week but texted yesterday to say he is heavily delayed on the job he is doing now as has been let down by the guy that works with him so he has been working on his own and won't have time to fit it in as has another job already lined up. We did tell him the job need doing ASAP. Spoke to someone else yesterday and going to have another chat with them this afternoon and he definitely looks more promising

The fence is ok but half of it is trellis fencing which I have never been quite happy with, not because it is trellis fencing as it does look quite pretty but because of the safety of my girls. Its not the whole length of the fence but the half way bit which is opposite the coop and the length of my allotment growing area. It was put up before we moved in by our neighbours on our boundary with permission from our previous owners. So we could have changed it but didn't want any animosity with them as it was a fairly new fence when we moved in 10 years ago. They are moving now so out of politeness more than anything we have asked if we can change it and they have said yes fine we can as it is getting on a bit now anyway and a little wobbly in places.

Also we are having an additional tall fence put all the way along the back, not at the very top but 2ft behind where my greenhouses are as they are being moved at the same time. We cant move those until the new fence is put in as that would open it all up to our wooded area which we don't allow the hens in to now, we used to but after spotting a fox further up the bank one day we decided it wasn't safe enough for them to be up there which is a shame. There is another fence further back from where we spotted the fox behind but that is see through as is a chain link fence which actually backs on to the woods themselves. At the moment the greenhouses are part of the boundary fence along with other fencing if that make sense. So moving the greenhouses now would leave the area too open at the top. So we cant do one without the other which is a nuisance but safer for our two ducks if the new fence goes up first.

We have 3 greenhouses up there and can't work out where best to put them. Once all the glass is out of them all we can just move the frames about and position them where we think they will be best. But, got to wait on the new fence 60ft from the top as the greenhouses are part of the boundary fence 60ft from the chain link fence at the top. Blimey does that make sense or am I going round in circles?. just imagine a line of greenhouses and some fencing that would be easier and moving them would open up to the wooded area we have at the top. The new fence with gated access will close this off to the hens and we can move the greenhouses. Does that make more sense?

Next question... how am I coming along? Not too good I'm still reliving the whole thing loosing them. I miss them all so much as we had some of them here for over 8 years, that's the ducks. They all had their own personalities and I got so used to them being here. My dear little old ex batts were doing so well for their ages at nearly 6 years old that's fantastic for ex batts and then my two new girls that were only here for just under 2 weeks I find it all so sad. Having kept all mine for 10 years now its a bit of a shock to the system. I knew backing on to the woods could always pose a problem so did everything we could with the fencing by netting the tops therefore extending the height and especially their coop like cementing the chicken wire right in to the ground so nothing could dig underneath all the way around it, also putting a chicken wired roof on the coop made it fox proof at night. We thought it was so safe for them here but that fox beat us. It will take a lot to get over because my feathered friends were my world and I adored everyone of them. Just so wish I didn't have to witness what had happened but I had to be part of the clean up process which will take me sometime to forget. I miss my beautiful tame Cockerel, I loved that boy so much and he always had a stoke from either one of us every night at bedtime from the day he arrived here as a rescue boy. I just wish it wasn't me that found him because he was in such a bad way obviously he wanted to protect his girls but was no match for a fox.

Cheery we have had many a hen lifted up on a spade or a fork. Yes they are a bit of a pest when you are digging but just look at the enjoyment they are having. We always have a giggle about it once back indoors and finished outside for the day. We once had a hen in the wheelbarrow looking for worms and down flew our resident robin and stood foraging next to her. I wish I could have got my phone out of my dungaree pocket quick enough to take a pic of both of them together. You only had to dig up some carrots here for supper and you were descended on by 10+ hens at one time. Right old laugh we used to have with them all but boy does it make digging 10 times as long time wise :rotfl: Oh and Cheery don't worry about them being in the coop if you are out for the day. They have the time of their lives with you in or out. Its not as if you just put them in a cage for the day with nothing to do is it?. They have plenty to do inside and out and I am sure are thoroughly amused either way. So If I were you I honestly wouldn't worry about it because they have everything they need either way and a mum that spoils them. So don't be hard on yourself you are doing a great job with them and I am so sure they are so much more happier being with you than they were in the first few years of their life.

Edwink

Dizzy_Ditzy

We got our first egg yesterday :j it's a teeny little thing and we think it was the white Sussex who laid it I've briefly seen her do a little sort of semi squat a couple of times but it was a blink and you miss it kind of thing :rotfl:

The threat of putting a disposable BBQ and a box of stuffing in the run with them obviously did the trick :rotfl:

edwink

Aww bless my 2 remaining ducks, they follow each other everywhere. We have obviously been observing them very closely due to what happened and what they witnessed just to make sure they are ok. Hoppy she never used to go in to the pond much but stays in there a lot longer now if Pingu goes in there. Pingu was always one to spend a lot of time in there so much so at bedtime as it started to get dark we always had to coax her out of the pond. It was like "I'm not ready to get out, can have another 15 minutes please?". No Pingu it will be dark then please get out now. She was always the only duck to play up at bedtime because of her last minute swim before bed.

Just waiting on a price for the fences now, so at least that is some progress. Should see fencer on Tuesday so will know more then. He said he could start it in 2 weeks time so if price is good and roughly what we are expecting we will definitely get him to do the job as we have seen his work as he has just done the other side of next doors fence. Then I can get my greenhouses moved and start making the raised beds. Then shall check out dates for some more rescue hens. I do miss them so much. Wherever I went outside and sometimes inside they were around my feet. I do really miss them.

We have raised the fence that we believe the fox exited from. On that evening we found one of the hens dead at the base of this fence, so obviously it was too high for the fox to get out with her so had to leave without her thank goodness. So for the fox the fence was pretty high already but we decided to raise it any way.

I've taken some pics of my remaining 2 ducks so will try and get them on here in a while. I would put more pics on here but because I do it rarely I always forget how to do it and actually find it a real pain to do.

How is everyone else getting on?

Edwink

edwink

edwink

edwink

Cheery_Daff

Aw, lovely picture edwink :j I must learn how to do it myself, I take several hundred pictures a week of my lot :rotfl:

Well, we nearly had a cockerel this morning :eek: we'd been offered one weeks ago and been pretty non committal, although were slowly coming round to the idea.

This morning I saw the bloke who'd offered it who said 'I'll drop that cockerel round today'... I went along with it - but Mr Cheery wanted us to think about it properly and decide for ourselves (rather than just end up with a cockerel because we were too embarrassed to say no )

Anyway, I had to go back to the farm and apologise profusely and say no :rotfl: they were fine of course, and I did get to meet the chap who is a handsome chocolatey coloured speckled chap :j so we'll see in the future...

Rusty tried to steal a whole apple from Mr Cheery yesterday :eek: :rotfl: :rotfl: it was quite impressive how wide she managed to get her beak open :rotfl:

edwink

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Aw, lovely picture edwink :j I must learn how to do it myself, I take several hundred pictures a week of my lot :rotfl:

I use Postimages Cheery. I am pretty good with computers as previously to starting the Goodlife here 10 years ago I worked for Local Government and was on them all day nearly and went on several courses whilst there. But, for me trying to get pics on MSE I find it a nightmare to be honest. So I am sorry but I wont be able to explain how I've done it this morning but today it worked and sometimes it doesn't so then I just give up. Pyxis is the one to explain how it is done because she is the one that helped me originally. There are many photo hosting sites but I find Postimages the easiest of all the ones I have tried and believe me I have tried quite a few of them. With Postimages from what I remember and how I do it is you must click do not resize photo. Otherwise you get all these weird and wonderful sizes and some are way too small and others much to big to see on here. I remember that's what I was told about Postimages.

I hope this link might be of some help Cheery. Maybe have a look at it and if you get stuck I am sure Pyxis will be able to help you or give me a shout and I'll do my best to try and help.

https://postimages.org/

Edwink

Karmacat

Delurking to thank you for the photos, Edwink. The third one is very sad in some ways, but lovely to see all the same.

Cheery_Daff

Thanks for the picture posting info edwink :j please don't go out of your way to find any more for me - I'm sure I've done it before and will figure out how to do it again

Our ladies have had a lovely sunny day out in the garden - I've been shovelling cow manure onto my veg beds so they've been having a great time flicking it all round :j :j