Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink

Cheery_Daff said:

No, we've not used ping pong balls - we have those hanging drinkers, and if it's really cold we just bring them in overnight, or add warm water in the morning. They don't tend to freeze though, our run is really sheltered inside and usually quite a bit warmer than outside. 

Our boot dip only froze on the top - I just stomped my foot through the ice 😁

It wasn't you then Cheery but perhaps it was a suggestion on this thread at some point by another hen keeper. Our boot dip was frozen so we were stomping our feet through it initially and it did work but not long after that, it appeared the whole container was solid ice so we started a new container off and when that froze we took a hot kettle out with us to defrost enough to dunk our wellies in. Everything has started to defrost here today and now everything is dripping but it is better than being frozen, I guess.

Because of having Menieres Disease and balance problems I'm always very cautious in the icy weather and can't wait for it all to thaw. We always use one of those builders buckets for our boot dip, I think they are called gorilla buckets. Because they are deep we don't get disinfectant water going over the edges so the area outside their run door doesn't get slippery from the splashes.  Then it is safer for me underfoot. I do miss my hens being out and about but hopefully, they will lift the avian lockdown soon. That would be nice.

Edwinki x 

SisterAnna

sammyjammy said:

edwink said:Hi e veryone

Hope you are all well and your furry friends are too.  I don't know about anyone else but I'm getting somewhat fed up with this cold and frosty weather. Our lockdown disinfectant boot dip is frozen solid every morning and no matter where we put the hens outdoor water container that freezes over too. From our weather forecast, it looks as though this weather is here with us until around next Wednesday. We have been taking a boiled kettle of water up with us in the morning to defrost a section of the boot dip so we can at least stick one welly boot in it at a time. Now their outer door has expanded and it is a bit difficult to pull it shut behind us when we leave their run.

I tell myself not to grumble because Spring is on its way 😀

Edwink x

 Oh Edwink you've not had much luck with hens and ducks lately, hopefully everyone will have a fit and healthy 2023.  Have you tried floating things like small balls in the hens water to slow down the freezing process, not sure if that would work.  I live next to a city farm and every day they have to empty out the buckets of ice and refill them in the field, due to trees and the time of year the ice buckets are all lined up and not melting during the day!

Cheery-Daff your new girls look lovely, hope they settle in ok and Daisy perks up a bit x

I agree with you sammyjammy that edwink has not had much luck. But, I think their hens are aging for ex-battery hens. I was sad to read that Hoppy had gone but she was a ripe old age for a duck and had a very good life with the edwinks. I think they got their ex-battery hens in 2019, maybe someone will correct me if I am wrong. Wasn't it before Covid lockdown?. I am not 100% on that. 

I love hearing about Cheery_daff's old and new hens. Great pictures of the new ones. I hope the new ones are settling in ok and they have been able to mix now. 

edwink

Hi everyone

Yes, it was 2019 when we got our last lot of rescue girls. Where does the time go? it really doesn't seem that long ago. The girls I have left are almost 4.5 years old now having got them when they were 18mths old in early October 2019.

So glad the weather has cheered up a bit here, not by much but enough that it isn't slippery underfoot anymore, hoorah!

Edwink x

Cheery_Daff

Evening chicken chums 😊

Bessie has been to the vets today 🙄 Always a slight palaver as we take her to a specialist vet which is about 1.5 hours ago. Utterly ridiculous but there we are. Anyway, she has a rattly chest and inflamed reproductive system, but nothing obviously serious. Antibiotics, a new implant, and another trip next week - and £305 😱

I think once Bessie is gone we really do need to find a more local vet and wean ourselves off the specialist... We say this every time, but it's hard to know where to draw the line now we know what is available 😕 Anyway, Bessie is 5.5 years old now, and will continue to get treated like royalty til she dies, or until our house gets repossessed as a result, which at this rate may come first 🙄

edwink

Afternoon everyone

Article from BBC news online regarding Avian Flu spilling over to otters and foxes etc. This is worrying, to say the least. I can't see this lockdown ending anytime soon sadly. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64474594

Edwink 

SisterAnna

edwink said:

Afternoon everyone

Article from BBC news online regarding Avian Flu spilling over to otters and foxes etc. This is worrying, to say the least. I can't see this lockdown ending anytime soon sadly. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64474594

Edwink 

I think you could be right edwink  😪😪

edwink

Hi everyone

I hope you are all well and your feathered friends are too.

Cheery how is Bessie now?  I do hope she has improved since your visit to the vet.  You mentioned that you had to take her back this week so how did that go? I do hope she has improved and is back to her old self, bless her.

I've had a poorly hen this week so we've been to the vet with her.  She was quiet and a bit wheezy so I thought it best our vets check her over. They have said she has a sinus infection and she now has antibiotics. I'm to phone the vet once she has finished the course. So fingers crossed it does the trick. 

All my others seem ok thankfully but I'll still keep a close eye on them. I've put her all snuggly in Hoppys old hotel to keep her away from the others for a bit.

I'll update soon.

Edwink x

Cheery_Daff

Sorry to hear about your poorly hen Edwink. Hope she gets better soon. Do you have tablets or liquid medicine?

Bessie has had her check up and been given a clean bill of health, thank goodness. We do find giving tablets quite stressful, although we have it down to a fine art now! It does take two of us though, which means I have to engineer work round tablets, which is ridiculous 🙄

We tried a bit of supervised mingling with the new ladies yesterday. It was ok, but they did give Sunshine and Budgie a few pecks. I was expecting Sunshine to peck back, she was right bolshy when she first got here, but apparently not. Normally we would have integrated them properly by now, but with Bessie having tablets twice a day we didn't want to cause any more stress. They're all in the same run, and they can see each other, just not get at each other. 

We'll do more mingling soon, and it would be good to have them all properly in together by next weekend. It's harder as they're all shut in the run - normally we'd let the older ones outside while the new ones got used to the run, then let them mingle together while free ranging, but it's a bit more intense when they're all shut in. 

Hopefully it won't take them long to settle. Mr Cheery doesn't like to see them upset so he's reluctant to leave them together unsupervised, whereas I think I'd be up for just opening the doors and letting them sort it out themselves!

edwink

Hi Cheery

We have been given tablets for her and they seem to be doing the trick.  Hope I have not spoken too soon. Her wheezing has definitely lessened already. I sat with her on my lap this morning and she definitely seems better in herself because the other day she got a bit cross with me when I picked her up. Fingers crossed it goes, bless her.

I'm so glad Bessie is better now, bless her.  Great that you have the tablet giving down to a fine art now and yep it takes 2 of us here to give them to one tiny chicken who doesn't want one. Personally, I think it is kinder to the chicken for 2 people to give the tablet and I think it is so much quicker. 

I agree it is much quicker to get them all together when they can free range. When they are stuck in their run you never know I guess so need to supervise a bit or sometimes a lot. Once when we introduced some new hens we let them free range mix the following day and I have to say that was the quickest ever that they got used to each other. But, I know with these "now" regular lockdowns this is not always possible. There were a few spats but nothing major especially if free ranging and one chicken could run faster than the other.    

Did you see the BBC link I posted a couple of posts back?  From reading that I think this is going to be a long long long lockdown but hope I am wrong about that. I jolly well hope not. 

Edwink x

edwink

Hi everyone

Pleased to say that my little hen is back to her old self so much so that she kept jumping up on my lap and didn't let any of the others near me. I don't know but she may be saying thank you, who knows? Can't get much cleaning up done in their run with a hen on my lap though 🤣🤣🤣  Took me twice as long this morning but I didn't mind because I always like a hug from a hen anyway. 

I just wish they were allowed out of their run especially as it is a nice sunny day today. Oh, and I've now got a leak in one of my wellington boots. I blame the disinfectant for loosening the sealed seams or whatever they are called. I still dip both my wellingtons in the boot dip but have learnt to be quicker with the leaking one. Mr Edwink said he'll try some super glue on the loose bit and see how that goes. It may have been due to breaking the ice in the boot dips and nothing to do with the disinfectant, perhaps I'll never know the culprit.

Edwink x