Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink · 8 August 2019 at 11:32PM

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Aw, have a lovely image of Hoppy splashing round in a nice bowl of clean water:j You wouldn't think ducks would mind a bit of pond water but maybe some just have more refined tastes!

All chickens good here :j Beaky is definitely back to pesky self, crop seems fine and she had a telling off today as she just wandered over to poor old Bessie and gave her a good peck for no reason :eek: naughty chicken.

She never gets in to the bowl although she could if she really wanted to. She just doesn't like getting her body wet we reckon because she has always been the same. We've witnessed her on many occasions standing at the front of the pond just splashing her head in and out just washing her face. We do need to give her quite a lot of encouragement to actually get her in the pond everyday or she would only just stand there and wash her head all the time. She has always been that way with the pond even when it has all been thoroughly cleaned out. Silly duck!

Glad Beaky is ok now, that's good to hear :j Naughty girl though pecking Bessie's head, poor Bessie. They do it to show dominance over the other hen sadly. It's as if they are saying "Oi you get out of my way, I'm boss around here you know". I've had quite a few here over the past that have pecked another hen on the head and to be honest it has always looked quite painful because it is in no way a playful peck but a pretty hefty one. Not much you can do to stop it though sadly. If Bessie were to do the same back it might stop it happening.

Edwink

edwink · 23 August 2019 at 3:18PM

Hi everyone

It's so nice to be back to our semi self sufficient lifestyle after being away. We decided to pop over to Ireland to see a friend who moved back over there in March this year. Some of you may remember that we regularly looked after Poppy the Cockapoo for her mum whilst she was working. Sadly for me they moved to Ireland and I missed them so much. I became so attached to Poppy and was so sad when they left to go to their new home. Sadly for me they left the same month that that fox got in and killed our hens and ducks so it was a blow on top of another for me. Long story short but was invited over to Ireland and during that time for a few days Poppies mum came back to England to see family and friends so we got to spend time looking after Poppy which I absolutely loved. We only had to pay for the ferry to get over and the 10 days we were over there we stayed at our friends which was lovely. We managed to put our feet up to take in the scenery and the lovely beaches our friend now lives near. Was sad to leave as will miss them all over again but hopefully we will go back over there and see them again or they will come to us. Why do we get so attached to animals eh?.

Our lovely hen and duck sitter came morning and night to see to Hoppy and to make sure she was ok. Plus a neighbour friend called round to see her twice a day so she wasn't on her own all the time. We have a nice bench in our coop so anyone that comes round can sit and have a chat with them like I always do. She has definitely been spoilt with Meal Worms that's for sure. Couldn't believe how much the gigantic bag had gone down whilst we were away :cool: Left 2 cucumbers for Hoppy too, one chopped up ready and another in the fridge if needed. So she was definitely well looked after, bless her. We have had our hen sitter for 5 years now and we are always happy that she is 100% reliable. She texts me to let me know how Hoppy is which is lovely and reassuring for us.

The plan now here is to get started again with the garden from Monday next week. decided to start on the raised beds now the netting is all done. Got 4 really large ones to make as no longer going to grow veg at ground level because of my Spondylosis in the top and bottom of my spine. During this time we will make arrangements to get some more rescue hens. That reminds me I must have a look on Little Hen Rescues website to see what rescues are coming up.

Hope everyone is keeping well and enjoying the summery weather we are currently having. It's a bit too hot for me that's why we have decided to get our skates on and start on the garden from Monday next week.

Will update on the hen situation as I know more, Yay more hens :j Can't wait :j

Edwink

Cheery_Daff · 23 August 2019 at 3:23PM

Yay more hens indeed! :j

Really pleased you got some time away edwink

we miss the dog we used to look after too - he's only an hour away from us now but we still rarely see him. Must make more of an effort.

Tis indeed warm today, I'm sat in the shade plotting and scheming with Beaky and Rusty hanging around hoping for treats :rotfl: love the gentle little clucking noises they make as they wander about :j

edwink · 23 August 2019 at 9:35PM

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Yay more hens indeed! :j

Really pleased you got some time away edwink we miss the dog we used to look after too - he's only an hour away from us now but we still rarely see him. Must make more of an effort.

Sadly my little Cockapoo friend has moved all the way to Northern Ireland and I'm down in the South of England. So it is quite a long journey to see her now

Hopefully they will come over here at some stage so I can see them both again.

I love those little clucking noises hens make although I can't hear the sound that well now because of my hearing loss. If I go up close to them to listen to them they normally start pecking at my hair or whatever they can peck at. Funny little creatures, bless 'em.

The break away was lovely and we both feel rested and ready to start all over again now.

Edwink x

edwink · 31 August 2019 at 10:51AM

All ok here with little Hoppy. Bless her, it's strange just having one feathered friend here especially after having 30 at one time. She appears happy so that's all that matters really and doesn't seem too bothered being on her own with just us for company from time to time.

Just in the process of putting a door and frame between the chicken coop and the duck run. We opened it up some time ago with the view of doing this but other jobs just got in the way. I think you live with something for a while then see the bonus of changing it but it's getting round to making that change. Got to have a hunt around later to see if we have an old door stored somewhere, if not hubby will make one from some of the wood that gets dropped off here. We have piles of the stuff all over the place just in case we need it for something. I do like my piles of wood for some reason :rotfl: I always think wood is expensive and it would be a shame to cut it up for the stoves if it can be used for something somewhere. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :dance:

How is Beaky now Cheery? Still ok I hope and your others too

Being their normal pesky selves I bet. It's surprising what hens get up to it really is :rotfl: Naughty springs to mind most of the time.

Edwink

Cheery_Daff · 31 August 2019 at 5:14PM

We are amassing large piles of wood too

:rotfl: So easy when you have the space! We've asked the builders not to quote for rubbish removal when they do our kitchen so that's going to generate even MORE stuff :eek: but also YAY to floorboards and joists that can be used in the garden

:j :j

Glad Hoppy is managing ok :j When is the date for your new hens? Will you give all 20 of them names?! How on earth will you remember?!

All fine here, although we had a fretty moment this afternoon - went out to sit on the swing seat with them and only Rusty was there :eek: Even after a load of shouting and rattling treats. We checked all the way up the drive, in the compost, in the chicken run, the windbreak, Chicken Mountain (a kind of grassy bank that they like), behind the house in the nettles, behind the other side of the house under the trees, in the chicken dust bathing area, in the muddy patch between the field gates - all their favourite places, but nope, no chickens :eek:

Eventually Mr Cheery found them - they'd wandered quite a long way through the nettles, then it had started raining, and they'd sheltered in the old pig sty area around the stable block :rotfl: No reason for them NOT to be over there of course - but they do usually hear us and come running back at the prospect of treats...

Mind you, we've been out twice today and NOT given them treats (trying to stop them accosting us every time we open the door) so maybe they did hear us and just thought they wouldn't bother :rotfl: :rotfl:

edwink · 2 September 2019 at 9:24AM

I actually love our wood piles here to be honest

as long as they are stacked in individual neat-ish piles

and not in untidy heaps like my husband keeps them. I sort them in to different piles so when we need wood for any job we are doing they are to hand unlike hubbies piles that are all over the blooming place. I get my way eventually and get them in some sort of order. We don't have the fields and the space you have Cheery but still have a fair amount of space for storing things. Currently have about 10 organised piles of wood that are de-nailed and ready to be used for something. We are making raised veg beds soon because gardening is taking its toll on our backs so I am sure my husband will be very grateful that the floorboard pile and fence post piles are very organised. I can't believe I've managed to waffle on so much about piles of wood

:o I guess I'm just a little obsessed about not wasting anything :rotfl:

Because of my waffling I've forgotten what else you mentioned in your post Cheery. Have to go back and have another read in a minute.

Edwink

edwink · 2 September 2019 at 11:24AM

I' m back :rotfl: Head like a sieve springs to mind with remembering what I am meant to be posting about after a lot of my waffle.

No date yet for rehoming some ex-batts

. Didn't realise until last week that my local-ish Little Hen Rescue had closed

. There is another one but it's miles away from us and too far to transport little hens in my view. So am going to rehome through the British Hen Welfare Trust this time I think. I remember you saying it was a bit of a faff though Cheery. Had a look back to see if I could find the posts where we are talking about BNWT when you first got yours but I can't locate it at the moment. Will have another look later. Think you said you had to fill in an on-line form and then ring them, is that correct Cheery ?. Not rehomed through them before so will have a look at their website later today.

Aww bless your little hens sheltering from the rain Cheery. The trouble with calling them and not giving treats is that they can and do ignore you in the hope that several hours later you call them again and when they come running you have something tasty like meal worms or sweetcorn because you have been hunting high and low for them :rotfl: They are cleverer than humans give them credit for

. It is a worry when they go further afield than they normally do though

. I remember the days when we had 20+ and had to do several head counts as a few had wandered off.

I'm sure I've told this little story before but lovely to remind everyone what my pesky lot used to get up to:rotfl:. During one winter when ours were down in our garden area and on the patio I sensed one or two were missing somewhere and I was right. Hunted for her but couldn't locate her anywhere only to later open the front door and find her standing on the front doorstep. She looked up at me, just calmly came in, went along the hall and through the kitchen and out of the back to join the others. She had gone down the side of the house and somehow got under the tall side gate and up the steps and waited by the front door to obviously be let in. Why she didn't have the sense to turn round and go back the way she came I'll never know. Pesky creature :rotfl:

Yes I will name them once they have gained their feathers back but will they all keep their original names I have given them to start with? Probably not because as they are all the same breed it can be difficult to tell them apart. Some will be slightly darker, some lighter and a few will have distinct markings on them. Probably out of 20 only half will keep their original names. If they stood still once in a while it would help tremendously with identifying them though:rotfl:. It gets more difficult with ours as over time they end up with nicknames too or double barrelled names. I just can't help myself can I? :rotfl:

Making progress here bit by bit which we are pleased about. Have now got a door between the duck run and the chicken coop which was another job we wanted to get done before rehoming some more hens. If we need to go out they will definitely go back in the coop for a while as we still don't trust that blooming fox sadly. With Hoppy being the only duck I obviously wouldn't want her being picked on by the new hens so she will be safe next door to the hens in the duck run but not on her own as we have chicken wire all the way down the 26ft length of it, if that makes sense. The coop and the duck run are side by side so she will have the hens for company if we are out. Going to be more difficult when we are home and they are all out and about because Hoppy will be so outnumbered. We have decided to get round this by getting Hoppy out and in to the pond in the morning whilst leaving the hens in their coop to eat their breakfast. Then after Hoppys swim we'll get her down to the lawn in our garden and then let the hens out in to their garden and the allotment area. Then hoppy can go for another swim when the hens are finding their way back to the coop for their supper. By the time she has had her little swim the hens will be locked in to their coop so she can waddle back to her run.

Edwink

edwink · 5 September 2019 at 4:30PM

More work going on here but making progress little by little. Decided as we now only have Hoppy that we are going to try and lower the height of her hotel to make it easier for her to waddle up and down the ramp. We have noticed lately that Hoppy has had the odd stumble whilst waddling up the ramp at night. The hotel is on 4 legs raised off the ground so we could keep it clean underneath and it always gave the ducks somewhere to shelter under cover without going back to bed. We are not 100% if the height can be reduced yet because we are not sure of the weight of the hotel as some of the structure like the doors were added once the main shell was in place when it was being built. It might mean that we will need to remove the ramp/door and the other door to lessen the overall weight of it. We can remove the heavy inner bed platform which would reduce the weight by a lot and see how we go from there. We will also completely clear the roof of leaves etc. every little helps I guess. Will update on progress over the next week or so.

Just trying to make life as easy as possible for little Hoppy now she is on her own before we get any new rescue hens

. Also it is pretty useless, as Cheery well knows, to try and work in any area where hens are mooching about :rotfl:

All getting exciting here and nearer to getting my hens :cool: YAY!!

Edwink

Cheery_Daff · 6 September 2019 at 8:23AM

Excellent progress edwink! :applause: Do you have a date yet?

It really wasn't that much of a faff going through the BHWT. You do have to register online, and then ring them up to confirm your specific dates. Details here:

https://www.bhwt.org.uk/rehome-some-hens/

(I did probably complain about it at the time though - it looks like they've streamlined the website now to make it more obvious what to do in what order). Second time I just had to ring up as I was already registered with them (you can register any time, it basically puts you on the mailing list in your area, and then when an announcement for a date comes, you ring up to book your hens).

Grey and rainy here today. We've been spraying Beaky with blue spray (we got it from the BHWT and it's blue, rather than purple, but simliar stuff) and some of her feathers do actually seem to be growing back :j She does look ridiculous though

:rotfl: Punk Chicken

But Mildred is still taking a swipe at her when she passes, and Mr Cheery spotted her pulling a feather out yesterday, despite the blue spray :mad:

There are often a couple of blue-tinged feathers lying around in the run, and this morning when I let them out (at 7.15, so not late), there was a pile of little feathers in the nest box (not blue, but she's not *all* blue!)

So I don't know what's going on. Is Mildred pulling them all out, and if so, why isn't she doing it to anyone else? Is Beaky pulling them out herself? Why? Are they just falling out, or not growing back properly in the first place? Everyone else's bare patches have feathered over now, and most of Beaky's have too, except this one place on her back.

The plot thickens... She doesn't seem distressed, and they're roaming free most of the time so they're not cooped up. Just have to keep an eye on them I guess (and Mr Cheery keeps giving Mildred a stern talking to, just to show her she's not in charge...)

Keeping hens and ducks chat.

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