Keeping hens and ducks chat.

Dizzy_Imp

Evening all :wave:

Still having a rough time of things here as my Grandma died on Monday, after a short illness. We were all on standby over Christmas, which put a damper on things and sadly for my dad, the anniversary of my grandad's death (many moons ago now) was yesterday. End of December won't be a good time for him now

Boy Pup continues to harass the hens despite being chased round the orchard with a fly swat and being yelled at. He's a hound, so he is always going to want to chase and catch things, but I'm darned if it's gonna be my girls. :mad::mad:

Weather remains rainy and miserable but not cold. Still getting an egg from each of the remaining hens each day, which are a struggle to use as the kitchen and cooking facilities in the static caravan are useless...one can get tired of pancakes...

skipton

Hi All,

Sorry to hear about your Gran Dizzy.

Little Cara is still wheezing but eating like a horse. I'm giving her lots of carbs to try to stop egg production internally. Her tummy is still quite hard but she is venturing out more into the kitchen. I have to check where she has been as she leaves little poo presents....luckily we have a tiled floor and I have a spray bottle of bleach ready and waiting.

The bath was ok for the first 5 mins then she had had enough....I think the water had cooled by then. She didn't mind the hair dryer too much either.

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope 2016 is a better year especially where the weather is concerned.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Sorry to hear about your gran dizzy

I've got three girls losing feather now. One from her head and two from their fluffy bottoms :eek: they're still laying though so I can't complain :cool:

I'm going to go fetch a few bags of straw to take to them tomorrow as the edges of their run turn into mud baths when it rains. I'm hoping that laying some straw down will help soak up the mud and give them more dry ground to chicken around on

Hope Cara is on the mend soon skipton

Dizzy_Ditzy

Does anyone else's chickens make human noises?!

Few months ago, we were "treated" to a show of burping and farting noises from them :rotfl: :rotfl: seriously. Guess you can figure out what goes on round the allotments :rotfl:

This afternoon one of my girls stood by the gate and sneezed like 'im indoors. Proper full on sneezes that sounded like she was saying "get me" really fast. As soon as she had done three, she was gone, back off chickening.

Happygreen

My condolences to you, Dizzy. What a hard time for you....

I've had egg nr. 2 this morning, the first a couple of days ago. Same hen I suppose that has started gifting me with her little wonder. I'm always so grateful for the first few weeks, lol .

edwink

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Still getting an egg from each of the remaining hens each day, which are a struggle to use as the kitchen and cooking facilities in the static caravan are useless...one can get tired of pancakes...

Hi Dizzy

Good to see you on the Happy Hen thread again.

With regards to being fed up with pancakes why not try what my husband calls Eggy Bread. I Think it is really called Fisherman's toast. Just scramble up some eggs with some salt and black pepper. Drop a slice of bread in it and when it is soaked in the egg take it out carefully so it does not break up and fry it on both sides until it is golden and crunchy. This can be served (as we do) with freshly sliced tomatoes on the top. All you need is one frying pan to cook this up. It is like fried bread and fried egg all in one. We always blot ours on kitchen paper before serving to make sure it is not too oily. Makes a really filling breakfast, lunch or supper.

Hope that is of some help. So sorry to hear about gran Dizzy x

I have to say I do admire your cheerfulness in your posts. Nobody would realise what you are having to deal with because of the floods. Well done you that's all I can say and keep up the good work.

Hope your hen is ok Skipton. Poor ickle thing.

Hope the straw makes a difference to the hens run queen of cheap. Ours is now turning into mush so I think we might have to do the same soon.

Can't say that my hens make any human noises. They do chirp non stop though especially when they get some porridge for lunch. Maybe they are just saying thank you mummy.

When I let them out of their run in the morning they run down the garden like lunatics. Some of the older ones have slightly stiff legs now and don't run so well. They are so funny to watch as they want to keep up with the others. Might see if I can get a little video on here of their morning exercise run.

Edwink x

Dizzy_Ditzy

My run got partially flooded out yesterday :eek:

I didn't have the car, the local shop where I normally get my hay and straw was closed so all I could do was take out as much water as I could, dig a few drainage holes and put loads of sawdust down. Predictably, no sooner was I putting it down the girls were digging through it :rotfl:

This morning we managed to get some straw the sawdust did its job so I cleared most of that then put straw down. Well, I've never seen my girls so happy! Digging through it looking for the cabbage, mealworms amd corn I put down in it too

Think I'll be continuing with the straw for the foreseeable - it keeps them entertained and helps dry up and clean up at the same time

skipton

Not had eggy bread for ages but it is yummy with tinned toms then a slice with maple syrup. A different pancake can be made with mashed bannana and an egg. I add a little almond flour so I can make it slightly thinner like a normal pancake. OH loves these as he can't eat wheat.

Cara still coughing a little but I daren't put her back too early in the damp field. I wish the dammed wind would drop. It had them running sideways yesterday and today it nearly took a wing off one of my older girls ( a bit like the wind catching a car door)....poor thing.

I'm off to plant some spring bulbs I got cheap at the garden centre yesterday. Trouble is, as fast as I'm planting them the squirrels are digging them up! I'm sure they are watching me from up in the trees. LOL

Better_Days

Clucky new year

edwink

Happy new year everyone and good health to all of our feathered friends

Edwink x