Keeping hens and ducks chat.

Dizzy_Ditzy

edwink wrote: »

Hi queen of cheap

Could you put a large container like a cat little tray in there for them. If you put some dried compost and sand in there they will love that. You could try and put an umbrella over it by sticking the handle in the ground and putting the tray underneath. Or some temporary tarpaulin over the tray. We did this when we first got some of our new girls because the older girls did not let them dust bathe in the dusty holes they had made.

Edwink x

I tried that and they took no notice of it. I even put a sandpit in there filled with compost but they weren't having any of that either :mad::rotfl: they prefer their dusty holes, which are currently sodden

edwink

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

I tried that and they took no notice of it. I even put a sandpit in there filled with compost but they weren't having any of that either :mad::rotfl: they prefer their dusty holes, which are currently sodden

Look here naughty fussy chooks listen to your Auntie Edwink. When your mummy provides you with somewhere to bathe when the weather is wet and windy please make use of it. We don't want dirty chooks do we? And don't forget to wash your necks.:rotfl:

Hope that is some help to you queen of cheap.

Edwink x

skipton

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

I tried that and they took no notice of it. I even put a sandpit in there filled with compost but they weren't having any of that either :mad::rotfl: they prefer their dusty holes, which are currently sodden

LOL

I have a big shallow trug which mine ignore. They prefer to dig in the woodchip/bark in the big covered pen. It's gradually turning to compost over the time it's been there and mixing with the soil under it. When the wind blows in at the front the top layer gets damp but the chickens just roll in it anyway. The white leghorns are very grey with mud streaks. The dust baths outside they have made at the base of the trees are full of water which take an age to drain.

Our main area is still quite firm as it is on a slope but it has a mud slick on top which is like walking on ice - very slippery. I'm sure I'll end up on my bottom by the end of the week.

Dizzy_Imp

Sorry to hear the weather hasn't been kind to anyone It really is dire isn't it?

I've been using straw by the baleful but I still lost a welly yesterday and teetered precariously for a while before regaining said lost boot. The mud is about four inches deep and totally water-logged here. I've never missed my astro-turf lawn from my Sussex house quite so much...

There is NO chance of dust bathing for my girls. Mud baths - oh yes....

edwink

Miserable day here being dark and damp with some rain all day.

Our lawn is resembling an ice rink now and has become slippery under foot. The girls don't mind though. I have picked lots of kale and sprouts for them today to munch on plus given some kibbled corn because they love that.

Egg production is still pretty good at the moment with between 4 and 6 a day between 12 of them with 3 of them being OAP's (old aged poultry's).

How's everyone's egg production going?

Edwink

stumpycat

We've had 6 inches of rain in January so far... :eek:

I've been experimenting with different stuff for the chicken run & have been most impressed with coir & wood pellet cat litter (both from Home Bargains)

For some reason, their compressed coir blocks are a fraction of the price of anywhere else - they're not on the website at the moment, but individual shops may have them in stock:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/eco-block-home-bargains-1-79-50-l-2x25l-2181198

I chuck a block into a particularly wet area & it gradually swells. The chooks seem to like having a good rummage through and it stops the surface from turning into that horrible, trampled-down slimy mud. It also lets the water evaporate from the surface better.
Assuming we ever have a dry spell!

Dizzy_Ditzy

4/5 Monday, 5/5 yesterday and 3/5 today. I can't complain

The girls love having new straw in there

Their feet are so clean :j

The weather is meant to be more seasonal next week so that'll be a new experience - my girls haven't done proper cold yet. For selfish reasons I want it to snow but not looking forward to going and knocking the snow off the roof of the run :eek:

Better_Days

Egg production has gone up to 2/5

Happy with that it's enough so we don't have to buy any.

Plus I've a few supermarket eggs left over. I'm going to make them some warm oats, mix in yoghurt and scrambled egg - last time I offered this particular delight there was excited clucking then complete silence while they tucked in as fast as they could. :D:D

Run is a bit muddy, but have a combination of gravel and woodchip down which helps. And late morning I let them out into the whole of the garden which luckily isn't too bad. Soggy but not waterlogged - yet - it's tiddling down today again.

Happygreen

Today is mucking out day, whatever the weather....
I will expect my feathered friends to show me some gratitude for this sacrifice! And when will they learn to do it themselves ??? LOL

edwink

Happygreen wrote: »

I will expect my feathered friends to show me some gratitude for this sacrifice! And when will they learn to do it themselves ??? LOL

I have often wondered that Happygreen. I have shown my girls time and time again yet they still do not get the hang of it. They look at what I am doing then walk away as if to say "Too complicated mum too complicated". I'll keep working on in though. :rotfl: