Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

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sandy
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by sandy »

Ooh thats a bit awkward isn't it! Good job you realised before you put it in unlike me who had to get it all out after it had been rained on! Glad to hear my favourite girl is doing well, I just love that photo of the wonderful Wiggy {hug} Wonder if Miranda is upto something +f+
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/

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HenPen
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

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Well, for Christmas the girls got roast potatoes, apples, sweet corn lollipops and... On the fifth day of Christmas they got WORMS. So I dug out the flub and all I can say is that they will have to dream of all the treats they have enjoyed over the Christmas holidays for the next week. What a shame. Sigh.

Having suffered at the beak of )de: Amber the Phantom Bottom Pecker, Ginger's bum is now feathering up very nicely. Cupid's bare bum, however, isn't re-feathering so quickly and her head is still bald. Both are very purple, which clashes badly with Ginger's colouring, but looks rather fetching on Cupid.

Yesterday I put some anti-peck on Ginger, Cupid and Wiggy and was rather chuffed when, a few minutes later, Amber went in for a peck of Ginger's behind and spent the next few minutes trying to get rid of the taste by sneezing and rubbing her beak on the ramp to the coop. She seemed quite horrified. Serves her right, the naughty girl.
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KarenE
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

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Sounds like a very good Christmas... apart from the worms of course, and I'm sure they'll be fine with the abrupt ceasing of their treats. You'll hardly hear a word about it +pinn+

Do you know why Amber is being naughty? I assume she's getting plenty of protein and is just being a naughty chicky? Sounds like she's a right terror. Perhaps Cupid's just slower to feather up, especially if she's a good layer - some seem to take ages whereas others seem to have sprouted fully formed feathers overnight (my Gabby sprouted a massive tail without me even noticing within 2 months of being here whereas Nugget took a year to fill in her Cadfael bald spot)

Roast potatoes though? Lucky things. I hope word dosn't get out - mine have only had potatoes once in their lives and they weren't roasted!
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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sandy
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

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Well lets hope Amber has now bitten off more than she can chew!
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
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KarenE
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by KarenE »

HenPen, how is the marvellous Wiggy doing? is she feeling any better?
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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HenPen
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

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Hi Karen, thanks for asking - poor old Wiggy and her moult... She still has a very teeny and sad looking, pale, dry comb (it doesn't look anything like it does in my avatar photo of her at the moment). If I didn't think it would traumatise her, I would rub something on to moisturise it. Apart from that, her feathers are no longer coming out at such a rate and she is far more cheery .. I think that is down to lots of extra treats. I am now restored to being a Good Human in her book )w(

I have been giving them all sunflower seeds, which they love, and they have now decided sardines are ok after all (especially Wiggy and Ginger). I have added a bit of bran to the fish, which was what really got them interested in it, they wouldn't eat it without. But I am not bonkers and I am certainly not after MORE poo - oh heavens, no - it was on Perchy's protein list, honest.

Despite all the extra protein, while Ginger is pretty much fully feathered again, Cupid's bum is still almost completely bare. I did see two of Ginger's nice new feathers on the ground the other day, so the feather pulling continues. Ginger won't stand for it though, she does tend to peck back, so perhaps that is why she is feathering up better than Cupid. Greedy Cupid is quite feisty when riled, but tends to be so focussed on rooting around for food that she rarely swipes back at anyone, just sidesteps and carries on with her endless search for yummy stuff, so perhaps she is a softer target.

Miranda, like Amber, is very shy and keeps her distance, won't pass me in the doorway etc, but she is always the first to come back into the run after a bit of free ranging to chat to me while I am cleaning. She asks me where the treats are. Sounds wierd to non-chook folk, but there is definitely a query in some of their pkkkk-aaaa noises, isn't there? It's a really specific sound that she only does in that situation. And if treats are not forthcoming immediately, she pootles back off outside.

And embarrassingly, the other day I didn't see the food in their feeder had run out )sh between the early morning visit and the lunch time clean up (they love their layers pellets, which seems to make them practically unique on DTL, and they are eating for Britain at the mo). So Miranda, in her role as head girl, came into the coop and craned her neck forward and stared me straight in the eye - definitely saying "OI, Useless, stop cleaning out the coop poop and fill up the food thingy".

Almost every day, Wiggy and Ginger check out the coop during or after my clean up, to see if it has all been done properly, and if I leave the lid of the nest box propped open, it creates great excitement and everyone has to see the new exit to the coop!
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sandy
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by sandy »

Glad to hear Wiggy (my fav) is feeling better )t' They certainly have a whole vocabulary range don't they! Of course they are going to want to check out what you are doing with their nestbox, it's their bedroom {rofwl}
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
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HenPen
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by HenPen »

Wiggy must be feeling a lot better because she hopped on my lap to warm her feet up today- well, one foot, for some reason she was doing a flamingo impression! She stayed there for a little while and even sat down for ten seconds, before realising she had been abandoned and all the other girls had gone outside in the sun (SUN! Hooray!), so she jumped off my lap to join them. It is the first time she has been cuddly since the the moult started, so I was really chuffed.

I popped into the place where we got our hens this afternoon to pick up some wood chip (very cheaply), and couldn't resist getting myself this...
Image

:-D

Can't wait to put it up!
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sandy
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by sandy »

Now where are you going to put it? I have a beware of the chickens on my front door +f+ Glad Wiggy is better(still one of my absolute fav girls) )t'
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
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KarenE
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by KarenE »

I love that sign!

I'd have to have about 30 copies and put them up all over the garden!

Good to hear Wiggy is getting back to her old self.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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HenPen
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by HenPen »

Today we had the fewest number of eggs to appear in the nest box since October... just two.

)c( )pty )c(

So why am I celebrating?
'Cos one of them was blue!!

Oh yeah! Wiggy's back!


What a clever girl )app(
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sandy
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by sandy »

Go Wiggy go )t' Sooo glad the Wigs is on the mend {hug}
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
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KarenE
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by KarenE »

Well done the Wigster! )c(

You are so lucky your girls are still laying. Mine have all packed it in - I'm in serious danger of having to buy eggs }hairout{
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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HenPen
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

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Yes they're good girls. I got five and a softie the other day. But mostly it is three or four. We have now had four Wiggy eggs since she started up again, and she is back to her old Wiggy self, which is lovely.

Well I don't know about the brain power of your lot but I don't rate mine. The roof at the end of the walk in run has snapped and blown off. Less than a quarter of the run has been left roofless but that is the part if the run which has always been the cosiest and driest up until now, so that is where they go on horrible days like yesterday. And apparently the fact that it is now the wettest and coldest part of the run hasn't changed a thing for the girls. So Cupid, Ginger and Amber were absolutey soaked (Wiggy and Miranda were ok, so they must have gone elsewhere, but as they are the most non-confrontational, they usually avoid the crowd).

Poor Cupid, she still has a bald bum and head and is so tiny, I was a bit worried as the evening drew in and apparently I wasn't the only one. I peeked in at bedtime and was gobsmacked. Cupid, as usual, was on the end of the perch, then Ginger was next to her, and she had her wing slightly up and over Cupid, for all the world like she was cuddling her to warm her up!

Ginger also intervenes if Amber tries to stop Cupid getting in the coop - think I've mentioned that before. So we appear to have an altruistic hen!

Image
St Ginger, mother hen
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KarenE
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Re: Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

Post by KarenE »

Bless St Ginger )b(

They can be sweet when they want to be, why they are such terrors is beyond me. When Gabby was ill Nugget and Toffee stuck by her side the whole time, only breaking off to insist on treats from me, and they were so sweet. Why can't they be like that all the time?

I hope Cupid is okay, maybe she's feeling a little out of sorts with the rain. Could she be coming into moult?
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper

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