Keeping hens and ducks chat.

lovelifer

@edwink so sorry to hear that. I've got older animals and dread what's coming. will have 3 more lives to worry about soon too. 

our hens are due to be picked up 19th august. There's limited distribution points near me so I have to be patient

starnac

Aw Edwink I'm so sorry to hear about your hen. They do become part of the family don't they?

edwink

Thank you for your kind words, everyone. It is horrible losing any of them, especially the ex-battery hens but if you give them a nice life with fresh air, freedom, love plus anything they need you have done your very best and that is all you can do really. I adore my hens. I am down to 2 now, at one time we had 21 hens and 9 ducks and I loved it. Everywhere I looked there was one of my feathered friends. In total, we have had 80 hens and 9 ducks (so far). After the last two have gone we have decided to have a break from keeping them. Only for a while so we can go away and have a few breaks by the sea and to see some friends etc. We have lost our hen sitter who we relied on to get them out and put them to bed which allowed us to go away for a few days at a time which was nice but we would like a 2 week holiday now or maybe 3 weeks. We have friends in Ireland we would like to visit and friends in Dorset and Cardiff too so not having any hens for a while will allow us to do this. 

I love this thread and often read back on it if I have a free afternoon.  I'll get some more pics on here soon and if anyone else has any pics please post them as we do like a pic or two on here.

Thanks again, everyone.

Edwink x

Cheery_Daff

Aw edwink, I didn't realise you were down to just 2 feathery pals now. Gosh, that must be quite different for you from 21 hens and 9 ducks! You're right about giving them a good life of course, but it's still sad when they go. 

As you know, we're having a break too, and while we miss them terribly, it is good to be able to go away for a few nights. Xxx

starnac

Aw Edwink, that must be a big change to go from 21 to 2. We only have 5. At the time we thought 5 would be too many but some days it looks like nothing when they are all wandering off in different directions. 

I get what you mean about holidays though. We have realised it's not so easy to go away for a couple of days. I'm debating setting up a spare bed in the library upstairs so that we could invite my sister or my mum to stay for a few days to make it easier than popping back and forth everyday.

Last time we went to visit my inlaws my mum rang me not long after we had left and asked if it was okay for her to stay. Thank goodness I always change the sheets on our bed before we go away!! It meant that our dog got to stay in our house (the plan was that she would come and check on the chickens and take the dog with her when she left) and my mum got a few days "holiday" too. To be honest I think she enjoyed it. I know my sister came over, they lit the fire and ordered a takeaway! My dog was so spoilt! On the upside I had loads of chicken and dog photos while we were away! 

StarShapedPeg

I agree about holidays. I’ve always had to rely on my parents or my brother to come and feed the hens whilst we were away but circumstances conspired against us this summer and we all happened to be away at the same time. As we’ve just moved house, I felt it was too much to ask our new neighbours so advertised on Facebook. Found a very lovely lady who cleaned and fed them and gave them cuddles! 

I’ve got six hens now (the most I’ve ever had at once) but two are diehard broodies so likely won’t see them till the end of August. I’m very impressed with the way they’ve all gelled together, they move as a pack, where one wonders they all faithfully follow! So funny since they’re all different characters.
Fully support taking time out to have holidays and days away though… life is short😘😘😘

edwink

The best job in the world is helping a hen have a dust bath on a hot day. I think I went a bit over the top but I'm sure she felt cooler under all that soil because she sat there for ages, bless her. I gave her a back massage too, lucky hen🤣🤣🤣

sammyjammy

edwink said:

The best job in the world is helping a hen have a dust bath on a hot day. I think I went a bit over the top but I'm sure she felt cooler under all that soil because she sat there for ages, bless her. I gave her a back massage too, lucky hen🤣🤣🤣

Thats mad! Bless her x

edwink

The start of her dust bath without my help, they are old but still keep themselves clean, bless them x

starnac

edwink said:

The start of her dust bath without my help, they are old but still keep themselves clean, bless them x

Mine do this. I never thought to cover them over. Thank you. I will try it