Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink · 26 February 2016 at 7:44PM

smallholding_antics wrote: »

One of our chicks is losing her will to live, she's gasping for air and we've done all we can to help. If anyone reads this tonight, any advice? She hatched late, day 24 but seemed fit and healthy. She was on her back when I found her. I've segregated her and gave her a bit of sugar water for what it's worth? Don't worry if no one gets chance to answer.

Hi smallholding

On reading your post my first thought is maybe dehydration. Can you dip her beak in to some water to see if she will drink anything? did she drink any of the sugar water you gave her?

You could check around her vent see if she has any trapped droppings which is making her a bit blocked up and uncomfortable. Also have a look at any of her droppings to see if they look normal. Make sure there is no blood there.

Hope that is of some help. How is she today ?

Edwink x

edwink · 26 February 2016 at 8:35PM

Hi Dizzy I replied to your post on previous page, post no580. You might of missed it as it is right at the bottom. Didn't want you to think I had forgotten you when replying to recent posts on the thread.

Got 14 eggs today out of 26. And still no duck eggs

Edwink x

Dizzy_Ditzy · 27 February 2016 at 4:16PM

I had another shock when I went round to the girls this morning - feathers everywhere :eek: there are no visible bare patches on any of the two they could have come from but on picking them up, they both have bare bellies. So now all five of them are oven ready from their butts to bellies. I'm really at a loss as to what's causing it

I've checked all 5 for lice and crawlies, there are no signs of red mite in the run either.

But what even stranger, is that my bullied hen wasn't running away when the mean one got within a couple of metres of her. Usually she has eyes in the back of her head and knows by instinct when to run away but this morning, there was nothing.

We're down to 2-3 eggs a day at the mo too.

Little beasties are an enigma aren't they?!

S_A i hope your little chick has perked up

I'm sure we'd all love to see some pics of your chicks if you're able

Hope everyone else and their feathered friends are doing well

Happygreen · 27 February 2016 at 10:54PM

Hello all,
Back from a few days with mum, OH and DD2 actually did give our elderly duck the eye drops while I was away! One eye has improved, the other not so much, so she will stay in the hospital wing for a bit longer. Everybody seemed happy to see me and have their water changed first thing, lol. There was only 1 more duck egg since I reported the first

Either it's the cold that made her change her mind or the new presence of the magpies is the cause. I'd been expecting them to settle for a few years now but am not very happy now that the egg robbers have decided to do just that! The crows were bad enough, pecking at the randomly laid duck eggs and leaving them for the chickens to finish off....Someone said you either have magpies or pigeons which makes me even sadder. Haven't seen a pigeon here for weeks now and although they ate my cherries last summer I came to like watching them from my window. Maybe my presence in the garden once the weather gets warmer will deter the magpies but I doubt it....

smallholding_antics · 29 February 2016 at 10:43AM

I hope you get to frighten the pesky magpies off. That's not nice for you

No geese eggs yet though they are very frisky and feather are everywhere as they are quite rough with each other.

We sadly lost the chick, we gave her water and she took a bit. I think she hadn't fully formed insude if I'm honest. She couldn't get enough air and seemed in a lot of discomfort after 48 hours so my husband did the kindest thing. It's sad but it was the right choice. We did all we could and it's our first loss of the ones we raised from egg. Kids were gutted but they understand.

This morning, talking of soft eggs, we had one that was almost clear, cling film like shell. Too soft to handle and split on touching. Another one, normal one, had been smashed so I'm not sure what's going on there. This was at 6:45am and wasn't there when they went to bed last night. Will keep an eye on them as it may be an older girl laying.

Also they have found a spot outside that they seem to be getting a bit broody and sitting on a pile of leaves refusing to move when the others peck her. She's fine though, up and about as normal when she's not sitting. She's never done that before!

We've been told a local farm shop that is selling goose eggs to eat has actually got fertile eggs. Someone put 6 in the incubator and they hatched, so we may give this a whirl!

Unrelated to ducks etc but I wanted to share. We got our CPH number through ready for pig keeping

. This is fabulous news!

edwink · 29 February 2016 at 11:54AM

smallholding_antics wrote: »

We sadly lost the chick.

Unrelated to ducks etc but I wanted to share. We got our CPH number through ready for pig keeping . This is fabulous news!

Aww so sorry about your little chick. I am right behind you in the fact that it was the kindest thing to do. It is heart-breaking seeing them struggle. Not an easy time for you so sending you a big ((((HUG)))).

Now to the pigs. Can I have one too. I love pigs they are so squidgy I really want one, please. Hubby says no. Bah humbug!!!!

Edwink x

smallholding_antics · 1 March 2016 at 2:01PM

Thanks Edwink - I know it's a controversial subject with some but we do what we feel is right and sometimes that's hard to do, thank you for the hug, much appreciated as it's still hard even though right.

I need to figure out how to post pics of them.

We're in the process of getting the pig's palace ready lol, but there's more to it than when we did the chickens as pigs are notorious escape artists! I'm keeping an eye on local adverts and they are starting to filter through so hopefully we will be able to get soon as soon as we're ready.

The geese are still very active but no eggs yet, 3 from 4 chickens.

We're hoping to rehome around 12 chickens in a month as our local (well, closest) rehoming centre has its next lot then. We would need more accomodation for them if we took more.....I'm working on that

. 18 months old, never seen daylight before, never eaten a layers pellett in its poor life (they feed them layers mash but it's a first come, first served basis) and never had interaction with any other free range birds.

Hopefully doing my bit for them and they in turn will hopefully lay for us once settled. They are classed as end of life at 18 months old.

Horseygirl123 · 1 March 2016 at 2:17PM

I love pigs too smallholding_antics though I wouldn't be able to eat my own. It doesn't help that one of my liveries works next to a pig farm and she's always got a tale of woe about some poor little piglet:(

I've also got my name down to rehome 10 hens from Fresh Start in March. I've got enough room but I'm dreading the introduction to the existing hens:eek:

edwink · 1 March 2016 at 2:32PM

smallholding_antics wrote: »

I need to figure out how to post pics of them.

Hopefully doing my bit for them and they in turn will hopefully lay for us once settled. They are classed as end of life at 18 months old.

Hi again

With regards to the photos I didn't know how to put them on here until one of our chums on here explain the process to me. I have an idea but think I have forgotten some of it. Lets hope they come back on and kindly explain again. Roughly you need to download your photos to somewhere like photobucket and then upload them from photobucket on to mse. Confused ? Me too cos it is a long while since I put some photos on. I will go back through the posts and find my photos and when I have found them I will definitely find the instructions because they are a few posts before them.

With regards to the rescue hens be prepared that some of them may be in a bit depressed and looking in a sorry state with missing feathers etc. Once being looked after properly they will soon start to gain their feathers back and start chirping away when they see you.

Keep up the good work. You seem to be really enjoying yourself.

Edwink x

Happygreen · 2 March 2016 at 8:51AM

Good morning,
As promised I'm reporting on egg production - 4 duck eggs yesterday! These are the youngsters who obviously inspire each other to get going

none in the house where most ducks are elderly or maybe it's the boy that's making them nervous.
My eldest hen has started gasping again. Last year the wormer worked perfectly to cure it so I must assume she has picked up the same gapeworm again or maybe it had never completely gone....

Keeping hens and ducks chat.

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