Sues Cluckers

[little brown hen]

My story starts in 2008, when my lovely husband bought me a omlet cube and a large amount of netting for Christmas. I must have done something really right that year.
[imghttp://gallery.cheltenhambears.co.uk/img/gallery/chickens/lg/IMG_7646.jpgmg]

Clara and Clarice at the front, Spice and Henrietta with Daisy prowling round the outside.
My four girls stayed in their run for almost two weeks before I plucked up the courage to put up the netting and let them out. They to a while to get up the courage to stay out. They rather took over my life because I wanted them out as much as possible, but only when I was there to watch over them, so my allotment suffered, the cat got jealous, and the house work. whats that? I got them an extra piece of run, then hubby said he'd build them a big walk in run. He was knocked off his bike just before he was meant to start this, so our son Hamish came and hammered in the metal spikes for the wood to sit in, and when I returned from a few days away there was a lovely wooden frame waiting for the wire to go on. We spent a happy weekend hammering wire on. The chickens watched with interest!

The new run with the cube wired in.
So with a bit more space I got 3 new chickens. I put the omlet run inside the walk in run for them so I could introduce them slowly. My original girls went ballistic. The noise was awful, but hubby was putting the roof on that weekend and while he was in there the girls stayed quiet, at the end of the weekend all was peaceful again.

Alice

Bramble

Belle
After a while I put up some of the omlet netting and Henrietta kept hopping in with them. She wasnt after hurting them, or them her, and after a couple of months they were all in together, but it was three months before they all snuggled in together.
Spice became ill just before Christmas 2010. She had a huge growth in her backside, and was put to sleep. 2011 Clara succumbed to the same problem and was pts.
I had various visits to the vet with a couple of hens, and then I decided to get three more hens, mainly because the warden at the allotment was cutting down on chickens, so

Biscuit, Cookie and Bourbon arrived.
They settled in after a month or so.
Cookie was one of the friendliest hens I had every had, and I was devastated last summer when she badly hurt her leg, and had to be pts. So 7 hens, all getting on reasonably well, and at the end of last year I added two more girls,

Holly and Ivy.
As yet they are still separated, occasionally Holly escapes, and when it was warmer I gave them 30 mins to mingle. Hopefully when it warms up I will give them longer together and by Feb I hope they are all in together. And that is where my chicken keeping is up to.

[perchy]

Aww how lovely, gorgeous girls

[Mrs B]

A lovely description of your life with chicken so far.

I have always loved your run and set up

[Annie]

Hello Sue,
They are so worthwhile having in your back garden but isn't it so sad reading everyone's stories and learning of the losses - never realised they were so prone to illness and so fragile. We wouldn't be without them though, would we ?

[julieann]

Lovely pics of your girls, look forward to hearing more of your chickeny stories.

[sandy]

Sue what lovely girls I am sure Holly and Ivy will soon be in with the group with your patience. I love how you have positioned you cube thats very clever I think my neighbour would have preferred me to have had the green one. Its so sad when we lose them but so nice to see photos of them remembering the great times they had

[aishakali]

Love the way they are eyeing up Daisy

[aceface]

lovely story so far looking forward to the next instalment and the photos are great a good looking bunch of girls

[little brown hen]

Its a few months since Ive posted on here.
Holly and Ivy have settled in really well, and they have remained very tame and friendly.
In February Bramble developed a cough, so I took her to the vet and got Baytril for her. I have been taught how to inject my hens, so we had a 5 day course, but it didnt do the job properly and she was breathing noisily, so we had a 7 day course and that sorted her out. Then Biscuit got it, so back to the vet, and this time they sold me two 6 day courses, very expensive! and she had one of them, then Alice got the cough, so she had the second course. They all seemed to be doing well, none of them were laying, so that was ok.
Then at Easter Alice was having breathing problems. I bought her in to try and get her eating, and on the Monday after Easter she died in my arms, I think she'd had a heart attack, she was on her side in the sick cage flapping her wing, and as I picked her up her neck went floppy, and she was gone. Now Biscuit has been poorly again, and is on baytril, (I think I should take out shares!) She just has one more to go and she is looking better so fingers crossed she'll be ok, but Im not holding my breath.
Ivy likes to step out of the gate when I open it to give them treats, while Im catching her and putting her back Holly and Bourbon dash past and the others make a break for it too, so Im going to put a barrier around the gate so they cant make it to the grass! Little dears.

[sandy]

Aw Sue I remember reading when you lost your little Alice We are sending to Biscuit. Injections never been offered those by Rowes Vets. Cant understand why your girls want to get at the green stuff

[aceface]

im sorry too that you lst this little girl the abs do the trick and she gets well soon

[little brown hen]

Sadly Biscuit hasnt improved, she very thin, and just sitting around, occasionally pecking at the food and having a drink, so I have just taken her over to the vets to be pts. Its the first time Ive not stayed while the deed is done, but they are very busy today, and it just cant be helped. RIP my beautiful girl.

[Annie]

Such a sad part of hen keeping Sue as it always seems to arrive to soon, when we say goodbye.

[little brown hen]

You're so right Annie, I feel as though Im just waiting to see who will be next.

[sandy]

Aw Sue so sorry you have lost your Biscuit, what a beautiful girl she was