Keeping hens and ducks chat.

Aww bless them. Got this short video today sent in an email from The British Hen Welfare Trust. You must watch the little ones dust bathing awwww!!. And all off to a new home. * Warning though* it does show them in their previous cramped battery hen conditions first.

Sorry had to remove the link as was showing personal details from my email account. Will try and put the link on again..... Have tried without my details but it keeps adding them back on again. Oh well. If any of you got the email today from The British Hen Welfare trust maybe you would have more luck than I have getting the link on the thread.


Anyway much nicer weather here now so the girls have been doing a little bit of sunbathing on the South side of their coop today when the sun came round that way this afternoon. We had a few stretched out wings taking in the warm rays which was nice to see for a change. Just can't wait until they will be allowed out again.

Edwink

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Gosh, I hadn't realised they were all still cooped up! I've seen several wandering free round here so assumed they weren't...is it about keeping the hens away from wild birds or just their food?

Hi Cheery

Its about keeping the wild birds away from the hens and their food. It is only the second time in the past ten years that keeping them undercover has been required AFAIK. Basically last year this happened for around 3 months and this year for around 2 months so far.

Basically they must be undercover where no wild birds have access to them or their feed. So covered over somehow to stop any wild bird droppings or the birds themselves entering the hens coop/enclosure.

Ours have a very large coop so have plenty of space which is great but covering the roof of a large coop has not been without its problems. Although we have a metal bar that goes across our coop both ways and the roof is covered with chicken wire we are getting huge puddles of rain collecting in the four main sections. Its fairy easy to push it off but we have found it a little worrying when the rain has gone on and on. Hubby has had to go out and push all the rain off before we go to bed and then again first thing in the morning. I am sure the roofing bars can cope with the extra weight but there is always an off chance I suppose that it could collapse . Hubby says I worry too much and as long as we keep clearing it, it will be fine.

my brother kept hens for over 14 years and I don't remember there ever being a ban on letting them free range when he had his.

Just one of those things I suppose that hen keepers need to make provisions for should the ban on free ranging hens happen again in the future. We planned on putting a permanent roof on the hens coop this year which would solve the problems we are having with tarpaulin on the roof. But, sadly this round of Bird Flu beat us to it. As soon as we are permitted to let them all out again that new roof is going straight on. We are looking to build a roof that can be opened up and closed again if needed. Still in the planning stage but hubby has assured me he is working on it

So when you do get yourself ready for your new hens it maybe worth keeping in mind that they may be required to stay undercover for a while at some stage although it may not happen again. If you factor that in when building their coop you will be well prepared if the free range ban comes in to force again in the future.

Edwink

Pyxis wrote: »

Edwink, regarding the link......... I'm no techhead, but what about if you go to the link's page on the web, and then copy its address from the address bar, and then paste that on here?

That should get round the personal details thing.

No sooner said than done Pyxis thank you. Now why didn't I think of that???


Deleted AGAIN


Mmmm!!! I was confident that that was going to work but again it included my details. Mmmmm!!! Back to the drawing board me thinks


Ok so tried another way by copying and pasting from the address line at the top and that does exactly the same.


Answers on a postcard please!:D

Edwink

Pyxis wrote: »

How very, very strange!

Right, try this.........google the website of whoever it is you're trying to link to, and get to them that way, then find the page you want, and copy the address bar from that.

I defy it to have your details on it, doing it that way!

Ok will do. So ok here is a good start. Just saw this soppy face not to mention that floppy comb on their site so just had to post that first. Come on Edwink concentrate, concentrate.

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/information/spoilt-hens-february-2017/

Right now off to find what I am looking for to post on here. Will be back.

Sorry just couldn't resist posting this one too.

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/information/spoilt-hens-september-2016/

And another

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/information/spoilt-hens-january-2018/

And another

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/14.-Barbara-Hammer-Frieda-1.jpg

Ok so I can managed to copy and paste those but I can not find the article they have sent me. Will keep on looking. Meanwhile I found this little girl. Meet Doris. Awww bless her.



Edwink

Pyxis wrote: »

Aw!!

Looking at the February one, why is its beak like that?

Looks as though she had her lower beak trimmed bless her. They do that when they are really tiny actually a few days old. It is done by infra red and then about 10 days later the end section will just drop off. So called "farmers" of huge flocks do this to them stop the hens from pecking each other. They will still peck but do not draw blood so much. These hens in huge flocks are never kept occupied properly so get rather bored with their surroundings and each other so quite a bit of bullying goes on.

Some are very against this happening to hens but others feel it is safer for the hens in the long run if they are be kept in huge numbers. This is because if they are to be kept together in huge and I mean huge flocks they are not able to peck each other so much therefore there are less injuries and less die from these injuries.

The trouble is hens will go after anything that is RED. So if a hen is bullied and gets frequently pecked at she will obviously be showing a fair amount of blood on her skin. With blood being red she is pecked at even more sometimes until she becomes badly injured. Hens can and do bully each other but in the correct environment they will all live happily besides each other with no problems at all. This sort of problem is most often seen in huge flocks and I am talking in their 1000's.

When hens are first introduced to each other there will always be a little arguing and fighting until the pecking order has been established. Once the pecking order has been established they should lively happily together and make friends with each other. There will always be a top dog when it come to hens and when she ages and realises she is no longer strong enough for the top dog position she will start to take a back seat and another hen with soon replace her.

My little Bluebell hen was top dog for about 4 years until recently. She is 6 this year bless her and she has really slowed down now. She just lets the others get on with it now and spends most of her time sunbathing when the sun is out or sitting somewhere having a mid day nap. They don't bother her and she doesn't bother them. I do like it when there is harmony in the camp I really do.

Edwink