Chickens, now she's done it! (cute chick content)
Discussion
A fun weekend, dealing with problematic rats. The greenhouse run has been knawed in to by the little barstewards in 4 places, and left droppings evidence. Bizarrely only one of the entry points was at ground level. The other three were top right and left of the hay loft - the former via the gutter, the latter via an adjacent tree. Lastly they'd scaled the veranda mesh, and knawed in by the front of the hay loft. I've spent all weekend beefing up the coop with welded mesh. the lino has been lifted, and mesh laid, the inner perimeter has about a foot tall of it along the walls, the doors been done, mesh nailed along the inner of the drain (a handy bonus is this will prevent leafs collecting) and where the roof meets the walls of the straw loft (where they entered) too. Basically anywhere and everywhere where they could get in is now reinforced. Also around the outside perimeter base has about 4 inches, and the corners about 10. They wouldn't get in, but they could make the coop a mess trying!
An old boy on the allotment, a dear man called Alan (he's always lovely to Sarah) has picked up on our (well, they live next door) rat infestation. He collared us today, and one of his friends has bait traps which he'll capture them in, and shoot them at close range. We'll be giving him a padlock key, and we hope this will get the numbers down. We've also put some poison blocks (smeared in rats favourite treat, Peanut Butter) around in bait boxes, but 4 days in and no joy yet.
The lower run coop is knackered, falling apart. It's been patched up, but frankly it's akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We've bought a couple of metal sheds, 1 8x4', the other 5x3. The former will become the birds (rat proof) coop, the latter food storage, and their current coop will become storage for straw, waterers at night (rats like water sources) and the like - it's one redeeming feature is it's water-tight.
Billy is still being chased by Enzo, and is hiding in corners behind nettles. Any advice on this will be gladly received, I feel for him. The only options are leave as is, put him back in the greenhouse run with Morph and the girls, or make him and Morph a new run, which we can accommodate.
Finally a few ideas from things we've seen. The girls find it entertaining to peck the metal sheeting on the boundary of the run, so we had an idea. I've bought them a few ebay second hand xylophones. Think we're mad...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0vDSxF0SD0
The last thing, S saw a chicken vid on Youtube, a quick easy trick to insulate the coop. Line the inner walls with cardboard, staple-gunned to the vertical batons, and pack behind them with straw. Two inches of insulation, and no more wind chill. Will be nice for them, it was -2 here last night. Come spring rip it all off, and put back up in maybe Oct 2020. My mate Theroux at the local cornershop will be texting me when he gets any spare big boxes.
An old boy on the allotment, a dear man called Alan (he's always lovely to Sarah) has picked up on our (well, they live next door) rat infestation. He collared us today, and one of his friends has bait traps which he'll capture them in, and shoot them at close range. We'll be giving him a padlock key, and we hope this will get the numbers down. We've also put some poison blocks (smeared in rats favourite treat, Peanut Butter) around in bait boxes, but 4 days in and no joy yet.
The lower run coop is knackered, falling apart. It's been patched up, but frankly it's akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We've bought a couple of metal sheds, 1 8x4', the other 5x3. The former will become the birds (rat proof) coop, the latter food storage, and their current coop will become storage for straw, waterers at night (rats like water sources) and the like - it's one redeeming feature is it's water-tight.
Billy is still being chased by Enzo, and is hiding in corners behind nettles. Any advice on this will be gladly received, I feel for him. The only options are leave as is, put him back in the greenhouse run with Morph and the girls, or make him and Morph a new run, which we can accommodate.
Finally a few ideas from things we've seen. The girls find it entertaining to peck the metal sheeting on the boundary of the run, so we had an idea. I've bought them a few ebay second hand xylophones. Think we're mad...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0vDSxF0SD0
The last thing, S saw a chicken vid on Youtube, a quick easy trick to insulate the coop. Line the inner walls with cardboard, staple-gunned to the vertical batons, and pack behind them with straw. Two inches of insulation, and no more wind chill. Will be nice for them, it was -2 here last night. Come spring rip it all off, and put back up in maybe Oct 2020. My mate Theroux at the local cornershop will be texting me when he gets any spare big boxes.
A busy weekend, battery rescue. 15 of the little ones, now taking our bird count to 55. Three of these are going to the allotment neighbour, to keep us at 49 - the max number of layers you're allowed before having to register them with DEFRA (the 'missing' 3 are Cockerels)
As per a recent post, Billy and Enzo fell out, so we removed Billy from the scene every morning - putting him in with the ducks, no parties minded, no animals were harmed etc etc. The problem came at night, when we'd find him in the morning, in a corner, head tucked down in between the drinkers. We felt for him, so change was needed.
We bought a couple of metal sheds from the bay of E's, one for him, and one for the new batteries. These have been put on two adjacent runs, so Billy can see them and vice versa. In a week or two these two runs will become one, meaning Billy's run is 13/1 f/m, as is Enzo's, and Morph's greenhouse run 12/1.
A small problem encountered this afternoon. We had been told to not have perches for the batts for now. Their legs and wings would be too weak to use them. With this in mind we had a low herras between them and Billy. We returned to Billy's run to find one petrified batt being chased by big barsteward Billy trying to get his first shag in weeks!
A lesson learnt.
Anyway, some pics. All said they are in far better condition than I feared. Not too many missing feathers, some sores hear and there. Lots of thick straw to keep them warm at night, as well as a load on the run, for entertainment and to keep them clean.
As per a recent post, Billy and Enzo fell out, so we removed Billy from the scene every morning - putting him in with the ducks, no parties minded, no animals were harmed etc etc. The problem came at night, when we'd find him in the morning, in a corner, head tucked down in between the drinkers. We felt for him, so change was needed.
We bought a couple of metal sheds from the bay of E's, one for him, and one for the new batteries. These have been put on two adjacent runs, so Billy can see them and vice versa. In a week or two these two runs will become one, meaning Billy's run is 13/1 f/m, as is Enzo's, and Morph's greenhouse run 12/1.
A small problem encountered this afternoon. We had been told to not have perches for the batts for now. Their legs and wings would be too weak to use them. With this in mind we had a low herras between them and Billy. We returned to Billy's run to find one petrified batt being chased by big barsteward Billy trying to get his first shag in weeks!
A lesson learnt.
Anyway, some pics. All said they are in far better condition than I feared. Not too many missing feathers, some sores hear and there. Lots of thick straw to keep them warm at night, as well as a load on the run, for entertainment and to keep them clean.
Edited by Fermit and Sexy Sarah on Sunday 15th December 19:39
Edited by Fermit and Sexy Sarah on Sunday 15th December 19:40
Edited by Fermit and Sexy Sarah on Sunday 15th December 19:41
Sadly last night Billy had what we (and our vet, who we saw today with one of the dogs) suspect was a heart attack. Gutted, I'll write a bit more when it's not as sore.
So 15 rescue birds needing a boy urgently, and I came across this yet to be named boy, a Golden Partridge Brahma. A lovely temperament, pic when he was a bit younger, and less feathered.
Needed re-homing, as their neighbours were complaining about his noise. They're a farm FFS!
I'll post some more pics in due course, and RIP Billy, I'll miss him
So 15 rescue birds needing a boy urgently, and I came across this yet to be named boy, a Golden Partridge Brahma. A lovely temperament, pic when he was a bit younger, and less feathered.
Needed re-homing, as their neighbours were complaining about his noise. They're a farm FFS!
I'll post some more pics in due course, and RIP Billy, I'll miss him
Firstly the new boy is now called Sunny. We wanted a name that referenced his golden feathers.
A small update, we won this on ebay this week, for exactly the same price as the first play-house, £100. This will be restored and hen-i-fied (perches, boxes etc) and it will become the coop for sunny and his harem.
2020 is going to be all about beefing up and improving the allotment run birds, IE Enzo's and Sunny's runs. To make them fox dig proof we're aiming to slab the perimeter inside and out with two foot slabs, a fox digs in in a U shape, they don't tunnel, and ensure that they can't climb in. I'm thinking concertina barbed wire, like this.
A small update, we won this on ebay this week, for exactly the same price as the first play-house, £100. This will be restored and hen-i-fied (perches, boxes etc) and it will become the coop for sunny and his harem.
2020 is going to be all about beefing up and improving the allotment run birds, IE Enzo's and Sunny's runs. To make them fox dig proof we're aiming to slab the perimeter inside and out with two foot slabs, a fox digs in in a U shape, they don't tunnel, and ensure that they can't climb in. I'm thinking concertina barbed wire, like this.
I'll be updating this thread a fair bit more in the next week or two, with all the developments on the birds runs. This time locked down has been really useful to get lots of jobs done for the birds, and better their surroundings.
In the mean time, I wanted to post about the ex batts. They are coming along incredibly well. To say that most of them were missing a percentage of feathers we are now down to just 3 with feathers missing, all just in front of the tail. They must all weigh a good third more too. The biggest change we've seen though is temperament. They have gone from human scared and jumpy to gentle, receptive to human contact, even coming up to us for attention. They are so docile and sweet, more so than any of our other runs, including the original birds, raised from hatched eggs with lots of hands on. It's as if they appreciate the kindness after a s
t start, and we find it so endearing that they are putting their faith in us. One of them is poorly ATM, and she's being so good at letting us medicate her (she's at home with us) really willing her to pull through.
In the mean time, I wanted to post about the ex batts. They are coming along incredibly well. To say that most of them were missing a percentage of feathers we are now down to just 3 with feathers missing, all just in front of the tail. They must all weigh a good third more too. The biggest change we've seen though is temperament. They have gone from human scared and jumpy to gentle, receptive to human contact, even coming up to us for attention. They are so docile and sweet, more so than any of our other runs, including the original birds, raised from hatched eggs with lots of hands on. It's as if they appreciate the kindness after a s
t start, and we find it so endearing that they are putting their faith in us. One of them is poorly ATM, and she's being so good at letting us medicate her (she's at home with us) really willing her to pull through. An unexpected update....
Sarah's allotment neighbour Hailey a few weeks ago told us she wanted to hatch some fertile duck eggs. S, having two broody bants volunteered to let them sit them. A few hours ago, over our allotments, heard a cheeping from under the two of them. Lifted them up to reveal the following baby. Queue 'that's not a f*%#ing duckling!'
She neglected to count how many eggs they were sitting
Meet un-named two hour old bantam chick.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Eg9hWLmT[/url]
Sarah's allotment neighbour Hailey a few weeks ago told us she wanted to hatch some fertile duck eggs. S, having two broody bants volunteered to let them sit them. A few hours ago, over our allotments, heard a cheeping from under the two of them. Lifted them up to reveal the following baby. Queue 'that's not a f*%#ing duckling!'
She neglected to count how many eggs they were sitting
Meet un-named two hour old bantam chick.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/Eg9hWLmT[/url]Edited by Fermit and Sexy Sarah on Saturday 22 May 22:17
I miss mine so much. And Ducks are equally as wonderful. Enjoy x
Mikebentley said:
Fermit good to see you still posting fella. Was worried about you last year. Poultry are great fun and very relaxing. We’ve had birds for 15 yrs now and I kept chickens as a child. You can’t get better than your own eggs.
Indeed, we also have locally an allotment shop, who buys eggs off us, along with Rhubarb at £2 a kg. That keeps the birds in food!And thanks for the well wish.
The quandry continues.
Popped in to the coop with the dog coop within (homing new chicks and ducklings to be....) said hello to the two egg sitting bants, and new born, then this one popped their head out from under the wings of one of the surrogate mummy's. FFS women!
Please be girls, please be girls
(Hayley taking the duck babies said she will take a cock if needs be, but she's 6 times married, so that is pretty obvious)
And their gorgeous IRL Mummy, Clarabel (confirmed by her blueish egg shell)
Watch this space!
Popped in to the coop with the dog coop within (homing new chicks and ducklings to be....) said hello to the two egg sitting bants, and new born, then this one popped their head out from under the wings of one of the surrogate mummy's. FFS women!
Please be girls, please be girls
(Hayley taking the duck babies said she will take a cock if needs be, but she's 6 times married, so that is pretty obvious)And their gorgeous IRL Mummy, Clarabel (confirmed by her blueish egg shell)
Watch this space!
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:
(Hayley taking the duck babies said she will take a cock if needs be, but she's 6 times married, so that is pretty obvious)
Gretchen said:
Talking of cocks... This handsome one lives with his ladies on an island in the marina where my other half’s boat is moored.
Still miss my own but at least I get to spend time with these guys and collect fresh eggs
Indeed, he is very handsome. And some lovely Rhode ladies he has there for *ahem* company. Still miss my own but at least I get to spend time with these guys and collect fresh eggs
Gretchen said:
Talking of cocks... This handsome one lives with his ladies on an island in the marina where my other half’s boat is moored.
Still miss my own but at least I get to spend time with these guys and collect fresh eggs
Sammy darling. The last pic suggests that at least one of your (or your fellas) girls has a blight by the name of scaly leg. Not fatal, or contagious, but it's bloody irritating for any bird which has it, More here - https://www.bhwt.org.uk/hen-health/health-problems...Still miss my own but at least I get to spend time with these guys and collect fresh eggs
S has sorted it on numerous birds, if you want her numb to discuss how to deal with it PM me, it's not hard work, but will ensure your birds aren't irritated by it,
Vaseline is your friend here, applied liberally it will kill the mites whom cause the ailment.
the saga continues! Three more arrivals, so now 4 in total, last one born last night not photographed, but nye on identical to the the last dark chick. Fairly confident we have three girls minimum, various things suggesting so.
In other news, the cluckers (the originals) are two today
Photos.....
In other news, the cluckers (the originals) are two today
Photos.....
Edited by Fermit and Sexy Sarah on Sunday 30th May 18:19
Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff