Keeping hens and ducks chat.

Dizzy_Ditzy

My girls are the same with the cleaning. I tell them they can scoop the poo with their feet and get it all in one place for me, but no, they're too bone idle :mad: :rotfl:

They're all fighting between each other at the mo Hilda spends her day running away from Gloria, Gloria has now started having a go at Mabel, Mabel has a go at Hilda, Vera has a go at Gloria and Mabel and Elsie has a go at Gloria and Vera

I dread to think his bad it is at bed time :eek: :rotfl:

Happygreen

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

My girls are the same with the cleaning. I tell them they can scoop the poo with their feet and get it all in one place for me, but no, they're too bone idle :mad: :rotfl:

They're all fighting between each other at the mo Hilda spends her day running away from Gloria, Gloria has now started having a go at Mabel, Mabel has a go at Hilda, Vera has a go at Gloria and Mabel and Elsie has a go at Gloria and Vera

I dread to think his bad it is at bed time :eek: :rotfl:

Oh yes, the squabbles...springtime coming makes it worse but the good news is that once they are done for the day they are sleeping at night, not arguing!

Dizzy_Ditzy

Girls all lovely and happy this morning - preferring to scratch around in the new straw I'd out down instead of the spinach I gave them :rotfl:

Egg count this week - 4/5, 5/5, 3/5, 3/5, 4/5, 5/5

My bare bottomed girl now has a lovely new layer of fluff :j

The one who had a bald patch either side of her head now has a single bigger bald spot :rotfl: it's got gradually bigger in the last week or so. I don't know if I prefer slow gradual moulting or all in one go

Better_Days

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

Girls all lovely and happy this morning - preferring to scratch around in the new straw I'd out down instead of the spinach I gave them :rotfl:

Egg count this week - 4/5, 5/5, 3/5, 3/5, 4/5, 5/5

My bare bottomed girl now has a lovely new layer of fluff :j

The one who had a bald patch either side of her head now has a single bigger bald spot :rotfl: it's got gradually bigger in the last week or so. I don't know if I prefer slow gradual moulting or all in one go

Our Doris took a while to get her bottom fluffed up too, but she is now looking much warmer than the previous al fresco style, not much fun in December I suspect.

Egg production now up to 3/5 :D:D

Bloody neighbour using power tools again. It goes on for hours and hours.

edwink

Our girls have got soaked by the rain again today and Mr Cockerel is just sitting in the rain looking most fed up. Most of the hens have had the sense to go in to the open ended log store to shelter but not Mr Cockerel. silly boy.

Egg production this week is 6/12, 5/12 for the rest of the week. Today 4 so far.

Made lovely roasted vegetable quiche when family came over yesterday. They commented on how much the yolk of our eggs resembled the sun. Lovely comment I thought.

Keep dry everyone (if you can that is) x

Edwink x

edwink

The weather has certainly got colder here these past few days. Had a real drop in eggs and only got 2 today.

How is everyone's egg production going.

Dizzy, how is everything? Are you managing to get your home dried out ok? I do hope you are coping ok. How are your little hens coping now? Lots of questions I know but I felt so sorry for you with all of the flooding you have had to cope with I often wonder how you are. We have had lots of rain but nothing like you have had to deal with. Hope you are managing to get back to normal.

Edwink x

suki1964

My girls have been moved into their new home. A new super dooper insulated shed with electrics that hubby built. its been placed on a gravelled area but we can open the gates to allow them on the lawn or the veggie patch

Just in time as the first snow has fallen and frozen

Happygreen

I'm still getting one every 2 or 3 days but a different girl has started to have shell-less accidents...so far she's not eaten any of them. Fingers crossed she will settle into normal laying soon!

edwink

It was so cute here this morning. We woke up and everything was covered in layers of snow. We let the girls and boys out but some of them just stood in the entrance of their hut. Some of them saw snow for the first time in their lives. The Cockerel wouldn't walk on it and stayed up the top of the garden with some of his girls whilst some came down albeit very slowly following me.

I collected our elderly Speckled hen and put her next to the outdoor stove with some breakfast to warm her up and she stayed there for ages. I had to collect a few of the others elderly ones too and put them by the stove. The poor Cockerel spent the first hour crowing by their hut as he really did not take to the snow very much. Even the ducks didn't want to come down today.

By the end of the day though they were all out and about thankfully although some were treading carefully and lifting their legs really high when they were walking. It looked so funny.
The ducks have not started to lay again yet. We got 5 eggs from the hens.

Edwink x

Dizzy_Imp

No snow here...boo...I love winter. Just rain, rain and more rain...I can imagine how funny your hens looked Edwink. Your description made me giggle. Wussie cockerel though! Just like most male creatures - all show :rotfl:

We've moved the girls to a better area in the orchard, raised their co-op and small run up and its much drier. They seem happier and it certainly is less muddy. Mousetraps have been working overtime in this cold weather. Poor things are only looking for corn, but they mess in the chicken food if they get in, so sorry squeakers, but you've got to go. We caught a mighty fat rat last week too!

Still getting an egg a day from each of them, so 5 lovely big brown eggs every morning (still feel rotten about Clive's sad demise). Been very very cold overnight and the door to the coop was frozen shut this morning, but the hens all seemed cosy when I lifted the nesting box lid to let them out. I have stuffed lots of straw in the boxes to insulate the house a bit.

This might be a silly question, but is it OK to put tumble drier fluff in the co-op? It's lovely and soft and would be warm to snuggle in, but not sure about the fibres or detergent residue? I used to save it for the wrens who nested in our trees at my last house until I saw a blooming grey squirrel nicking it and running off to it's drey with it! Cheeky tree rat!