Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink

IT IS BISCUITS BIRTHDAY TODAY.
SHE CAME TO LIVE WITH US ON 13TH OCTOBER 2019.

SHE IS OFFICIALLY 6.5 YEARS OLD TODAY.  WE REHOMED HER HERE ON 13TH OCTOBER 2019 SO SHE HAS DONE REALLY WELL WITH PUTTING UP WITH SO MANY HENS NOT TO MENTION LUNERTIC DUCKS AS WELL. HOPEFULLY THIS PIC WILL GO ON HERE AS IT IS NOW MY FOURTH ATTEMPT BUT IT IS NOT THE LAPTOP I NORMALLY USE BECAUSE THAT ONE IS AT THE MENDERS AGAIN.

This was Biscuit this morning when we had a brief bit of sunshine. All hens like to sunbathe so she had a real treat today sitting outside for a while with the sun on her. Yesterday she was outside all day mainly by the house and she was treated to a whole day of sunshine which was good. That doesn't happen much in October as a rule.

Catch up with you all again soon.

Edwink x x x 

Cheery_Daff

Happy birthday Biscuit!! 😃😃😃 Have an extra handful of treats on your Auntie Cheery and Uncle Mr Cheery 😊😊😊 xxx

Look at her having a sunbathe 🥰🥰🥰 What a gorgeous grand old lady she is xxx

RainbowsInTheSpray

OH and I were looking at a potential target for a house move a few days ago.

The viewing was proceeding well - absolutely loved the place which ticked every box for us - and we were checking out the back garden when suddenly from over the fence there came this horrendous welter of loud - and I mean LOUD - quacking. I presume, provoked by our presence.

This was in a standard suburban garden behind a semi-detached bungalow. We're not talking rural idyll here.

We had wondered why it had been on the market so long.

Guess what?  End of interest.

Thought people might be entertained by the tale...

Nelliegrace

We registered our four hens, it was free and didn’t take long on the phone.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-as-a-keeper-of-less-than-50-poultry-or-other-captive-birds

The penalties seem excessive, £2,500 fine or prison.
All of those murderers, and violent offenders being released early to make room for the gentle pensioner with a pet hen.
There were 52 unregistered mallards on the pond in the park, but registering my bio secure hens will, somehow, eradicate bird flu. 

stuart45

RainbowsInTheSpray said:

OH and I were looking at a potential target for a house move a few days ago.

The viewing was proceeding well - absolutely loved the place which ticked every box for us - and we were checking out the back garden when suddenly from over the fence there came this horrendous welter of loud - and I mean LOUD - quacking. I presume, provoked by our presence.

This was in a standard suburban garden behind a semi-detached bungalow. We're not talking rural idyll here.

We had wondered why it had been on the market so long.

Guess what?  End of interest.

Thought people might be entertained by the tale...

They are probably Call ducks. Small ducks, suited to small gardens, but the females are really noisy. I used to keep them years ago until a fox got them.

edwink

A little concerned about our little Biscuit tonight as she wasn't quite herself today or yesterday.  I don't know it might just be me being over protective of her. She has been very quite this past couple of days and when I've given her a cuddle I've noticed that her crop is empty.  It's strange because as soon as she comes out in the morning she is straight to her food, no problem like always. We are going to monitor her food more closely now to make sure we know exactly the amount she is eating.  I took her up some sweetcorn this afternoon and her crop was completely empty which at around that time it really shouldn't be, so that's the worry right now.

As a rule hens eat almost constantly by foraging and fill their crop up throughout the day and they do most of their poo during the night.  They fly out in the mornings like complete and utter lunatics and like magic hey presto their crops are completely empty. 

I'll just have to see how she is tomorrow.  I'm obviously concerned about weight loss coming into the colder Winter months. I'd rather her be a little plump this time of year as they can and do lose weight over the Winter. 

If I feel it is necessary we'll keep her indoors with us all though she is not a hen who likes to be indoors we've noticed before when we have brought her down to the house.  Some hens love it and really enjoy the close company of humans but although she doesn't mind being handled at all she is not keen and prefers to be outside. Most hens would have a walk about indoors and then look for food or some treats and then park themselves under the kitchen table and perch on the wooden bar in between the table legs and have a quick nap but her, nope, bless her. Sit on my lap yes but under the table no 🤣🤣🤣  l'll keep a close eye on her, bless her heart.

Edwink x

Cheery_Daff

Aw,all fingers and toes crossed for Little Biscuit Edwink. How is she this morning? Xx

edwink

Cheery_Daff said:

Aw,all fingers and toes crossed for Little Biscuit Edwink. How is she this morning? Xx

Aww, thank you Cheery.

She is absolutely fine today. I hand fed her around lunchtime to encourage her to eat more and surprisingly she did very well and ate quite a bit. I gave her some mash potato with some cheese in it and some sweetcorn and she loved that.

I'm guessing at this stage that she is not unwell but just very old, bless her.  Of course I'll monitor her closely over the coming days. She is down by the house with us today and we have all the doors open so she can come indoors if she wants to. Funny little hen she is though because she isn't that keen on coming in whereas other hens never wanted to go back outside again. When she was in last time she had a dish of food so she ate some and then yelled the place down to be let out again. Odd creature she is 🤣🤣🤣

I'll update again.

Edwink x

edwink

Still ok with little Biscuit, thankfully.  Maybe she was having an off day the other day. 

We've kept a close eye on her and all I can say is that she is just ancient 🤣🤣🤣 bless her.

Edwink x