LOL - I've only just seen this Sandy. Going off topic, I've been offered as much well rotted horse manure that I can bag up if I wanted - I might just take that offer up.
Well, another week and the tally is 26 or could be 27 - I don't remember having a particularly disappointing week with regards egg laying, but I did manage to drop eggs ready for sale and one smashed and 4 got cracks in them. The girls finally got their boiled egg treat this week after all. Still, 4 sales and just enough money in my purse to buy a sack of layers pellets and a bag of oyster shell grit. I usually buy mixed but I had noticed since hanging up the grit box that they are very picky and taking the oyster shell so must need it more.
This week I gave the girls another louse powder treatment just in case eggs had hatched although I'm not convinced they had any in the first place but I'm sure the girls appreciated the thought. It was also an opportunity to do a careful health check, and I was surprised to find that all of them were a bit on the lean side. I'm not sure if this is just right or too skinny. They enjoy a lot of seed and grain which I sometimes think might be weight gaining but haven't been too worried with winter so maybe it's not as much as I think. They certainly wolf food down and they've recently been wormed, and have access to pellets at all times. In recent weeks they do seem particularly hungry for greens and eat them first (unless there is egg, fish or sweetcorn of course LOL) I've been giving them the celery tops from the allotment and I'm sure the last time I offered the leaves, they were not impressed but they really look forward to them now. Maybe their need for greens has overcome their pickiness?
This week with a lot of sunny days, temperatures inside the run shot up to 25oC ... the thermometers are on top and inside the coop so would get the heat coming through the roof but I doubt the floor area with the open mesh all round was anywhere near that warm. The coop eventually cooled down well before bedtime. In summer when the neighbour's tree is in full leaf, it will shade the run from about 2.00pm through to sun down, plus the apple trees in the garden should offer some shade. But it is a wake up call that I will need to put a cover on the roof to give them some shade during the midday sun - in the shed at the allotment I have a reed fence which I must remember to bring home and anchor to the roof ... it should look like thatching.
Today in the supermarket while picking up some greens for the week, a woman started to chat to me about the bag of spinach I had picked up. She had a strong accent so maybe she misunderstood when I said that I was buying the spinach for the chickens - she replied that if I put the chicken in the pot with tomatoes and other ingredients, adding the spinach at the end was very nice I didn't bother correcting her but I had a good chuckle afterwards. I also bought a chinese cabbage that had been yellow stickered.
This morning I harvested some of my own grown seedlings from the mixed corn (85% wheat) I'd spread out on a tray and dampened - they looked a lot like grass and they went down like a treat Now that lots of things are bursting into leaf, the honeysuckle opposite the run seems to get targetted as soon as the girls rush out of the run on opening the door, so I really must net that off sooner rather than later. Ideally I should move it but I really don't have anywhere to put it and would probably kill it in the process - as I don't have that many flowering plants in my garden, I'm a bit loathe to reduce it even further! This week I've been looking up edible weeds, and apparently cleavers (goose grass - the one with the sticky leaves) are an ingredient in Verm-X. So that will be another weed to dig up for them to eat. Interestingly on THIS CHICKEN WEBSITE, fat hen has been implicated as containing too much oxalic acid (as in rhubarb leaves) and should be avoided, as is Purslane (which is also high in omega 3 fatty acids and often eaten by people) I'm surprised as I've seen on other chicken sites that these weeds have been considered as suitable to feed to chickens .... all very confusing.
Finally, an update of Mr Rattus - on Sunday evening I put some DE and Bio Dri down in the run and the following day, noticed that the treatment was undisturbed. I had been wondering if he/they had moved out as there has been nothing to suggest there have been rats around so fingers crossed that is the end of that saga
You know my neighbour gave his girls rhubarb leaves a couple of years ago, I stopped him taking them in and he said they had had them all week Obviously they survived and I don't think he believed me they were not good for them! I love the misunderstanding in the supermarket Lets hope rattie has packed his bags for good.
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/
sandy wrote:Lets hope rattie has packed his bags for good.
Unbelievably, less than 24 hours after writing about his possible departure, I found 2 holes in and around the cherry tree roots I must have poured about 5 gallons of water down the holes and it never once filled up - I suspect that there is now a network of tunnels directly under the netting/paving stones I'd laid down in the main run. Strangely, there are no other signs of activity in or around the run so I could be forgiven of thinking he'd gone. I think it is time to give the snap traps another try ...
Egg tally for this week is down again - to 25. I'm still very happy with the numbers but there is a slight slowing trend this past month. From what I've read about egg laying, I think this is normal when young hens peak for just a few weeks (about 10) and then slowly tail off. However, and there is a but here - my fresh egg sales are gaining popularity and even more new customers are joining the orders book, but I can't supply them all. This week I've been looking at my plans to build the bigger run for the new chooks in September, and maybe bring it forward instead. It shouldn't cost as much as the last set up which I was starting from scratch (including all the bedding, feed, bins etc) I will have to go on a serious wood scrounge though, and maybe consider building my own coop - before I got the girls, I wasn't too confident of design and relied on a flat packed one but I've got a better idea of how to do it now. So watch this space ....
Last Sunday when I was at the allotment, I remembered to pick up the reed fence from the shed but when I opened the door, there was a bird's nest on top of all the canes that are laid across the fence. I didn't have the heart to take the nest down but at the same time, I'll be going in and out of the shed more often in the weeks to come so I'm wondering if I'd done the right thing now. Meanwhile, I rescued the bits of fencing I'd taken down from the back of the plot and could use those instead. When I got home, I put the reed fencing on the roof to give the run some shade - and gave all the girls the biggest fright of their lives. Apparently Ginger can fly the full length of the 10 foot long run and had landed on the coop roof The others were cowering in the coop run and were very vocal of this new threat. New lesson here - when making modifications to roof, make sure the girls are safely tucked away inside their coop "out of danger" before lifting anything strange on top LOL.
One of the girls had laid a softie earlier this week ... it might have been as a result of the fright on Sunday afternoon as they are all getting plenty of calcium but still, I did wonder about the amount of spinach I've been giving them - in wikipedia,
Spinach also has a high calcium content. However, the oxalate content in spinach also binds with calcium, decreasing its absorption
so I've reduced how much I've been feeding them (much to their disappointment) and will give it a miss this next week or two. They haven't missed out on all their treats and they got a little cod liver oil in their morning mash one morning, and some extra sardine in tomato sauce.
Mealworms - has anyone else noticed that these don't seem to be as easily obtained at the moment? I'm sure I could go online and buy some but I'd rather make cash purchases at the moment and they seem to be in short supply at my usual places. Perhaps DEFRA has declared the mealworms are not good enough for wild birds either.
This morning I was up a little earlier than usual and noticed daybreak at 5.30am this morning .... I can't wait for the clocks to go forward as I can't possibly let the girls out any earlier than 6.00am without disturbing the neighbours. Baby (the Amber) seems to be getting even louder these days and at one point I thought there was a goose running round my garden - very loud and not very chicken-like at all LOL. Talking of Baby, she seems to be a lot more happy these days and got over her pecked bottom which has healed up completely now. And I may have unduly accused Scary as being the pecker when I found Ginger going for a feather bite on more than one occasion. Ginger is definitely a lot more confident and cocky these days - usually one for ducking and diving out of trouble, she is almost at the stage of challenging Scary out of her top position. I said almost but I think even she knows her position in the pecking order.
I'm with you with the light mornings, roll on clock changing! And with the eggs, more demand than supply have a softie everyday, but a healthy one if you know what I mean. The girls do make me laugh at what they are frightened of. I cant believe you have an allotment as well, know wondered you need a lie in
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/
It's been a quiet but good week - tally this week is up to 27 eggs Unfortunately I dropped one in the kitchen so I scraped it of the floor and into the frying pan to cook up for the girls LOL. They had no spinach this week but I did treat them to some kiwi fruit that had been on special offer. I thought the fruit was too tart but I chopped into small bite size pieces and to my amazement was hoovered up as soon as I gave it to them. Sweetcorn though is still their fave food LOL.
Once again, orders for the fresh eggs are on the increase and word is definitely getting round and more people have been enquiring about them - one of my customers said she was mortified at the idea of buying supermarket ones now after tasting these. I wish I had eggs for myself but the income from the sales has been a godsend. I suspect if I did get more chickens, I still won't have any surplus for myself, nor any to give the girls for a treat. So ...
I've been considering getting some quail as a stop gap - eggs for myself (okay, I will need a lot of eggs for one omelette) and for the girls. They eat more or less the same as chickens although do need 20% protein feed and can be housed in a large rabbit hutch (stress on the large - from what I've seen on the internet, a lot of hutches are woefully small even for rabbits) I had hoped to buy a double hutch to make more floor space with a ramp between levels but from what I've read up on them - the building project on this SITE was a bit of a blow to my plans. So it looks like I'll have to give Project Quail a bit more thought.
One of my observations in the flock is poor Baby - she really is at the bottom of the pecking order but is learning to get out of the way a lot better now. The morning mash is the highlight of the girls day and they all rush to the bowl as soon as I let them out of the coop. The others dive in and peck out all the best bits first (a few kernels of sweetcorn) - Baby wants to join in but hangs back, so I started to take some of the mash out and dot around the run ... only to find the others rushing round to all the little piles and Baby still loses out on the treat but she doesn't go hungry and eats everything else. Other than that, she seems fine and since erecting the perches for easier access to the top run, has once again been enjoying the view (and the first to loudly let the others know when she hears me open the back door and is coming out to see them)
Today I stocked up on some dried mealworms and sunflower hearts - I can't believe I spent more on the chickens than on my own groceries. But hopefully these will last a while until I need to buy more. I also got some spinach that was yellow stickered and some baby beetroot leaves as I want to ease up on the celery tops this week for a change. No-one has said anything but it does worry me that strong flavours might end up in the eggs.
Spending more on the girls is something I tend to do too, makes me really happy though.
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/
Once again, a good tally of 27 eggs this week But moving the clocks forward has been very confusing ... on Monday morning I "overlied" and went rushing out to let the chickens out at 6.00am only to find it was still dark outside LOL. Then one evening I had it in my head that it didn't go dark until after 8.30pm - but I had started to watch something on tv and at 8.50pm suddenly remembered I hadn't shut the girls in only to find it was already pitch black. I think I've finally got my act together now
On the Wednesday evening I went down to the run to lock up and found them still running around. I stood outside the gate waiting while they stood inside telling me off for not bringing any treats with me ... so, against my better judgement, I let them out to have a wander. It was quite funny to watch them tentatively come out together as a group and then they got over the shock and immediately got stuck in to scratching and pecking. There was a small tuft of grass growing between paving and then there was none LOL. The evening was rapidly drawing in but the little madams were not for going back into the run without a lot of persuasion.
The additional perches in the run have been a great success although Ginger might not think so now that she no longer has the high rise run all to herself. At first Baby was joining Ginger and it was lovely to see her able to get up there again, but this week Posh and Scary have been venturing to the top run as well. Talk about crowded - there's plenty of space in the run but they all squeeze together on that tiny balcony However, Posh and Scary haven't quite got the hang of getting back down - Ginger and Baby hop and skip down the perches at different heights but the others are not sure what to do and take a flying leap off if they think they are going to miss out on a treat. I do hope they get better at figuring it out otherwise there'll be more modifications needed LOL.
They do like to huddle together don't they? At times like that I love the fact the bottom and the top girl will sit quietly with one another as if it is a sort of sanctuary! Clocks changing certainly alters things don't they, I now sacrifice Emerdale as I do like to tuck everyone up
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/
I forgot to mention last weekend that I have found a new treat for the girls - to cut a long story short, at work there had been a catering lunch set up for a seminar that was seriously over-estimated and a lot of food was not touched. After the gannets, sorry students, had moved in, there was still plenty of veggies and (plain) rice so I decided to take some of that home. The girls loved the rice and raced round the run scooping it all up. I was quite surprised by how much they enjoyed the little treat.
Generally, this week's tally is still a good 27 but there was a wobble at the beginning of the week. Last Saturday there had only been 3 eggs but after 10 days of an egg a day from each one, I wasn't worried and that was the 27 total for last week's tally. Then again on Sunday, only 3 eggs - surprising but okay, not a problem. However, later in the day when I went to check on the run and give them some greens from the allotment, I found a shell less egg in the middle of the run. It was covered in yolk but the egg itself was not ruptured. I was a little worried by this finding. All the girls however, seemed fine and begging for treats as usual but I decided to up their calcium. I checked the grit box and I noticed that all the oyster shell was gone, just leaving the flint grit. I'd only topped the box up with just oyster shell the weekend before so I filled it up again - I must keep a better eye on that. Every morning mash has had a good dollop of limestone flour added, and one day they got a bit of cod liver oil for good measure. No ACV in the water this week either, but I added some Orego Stim instead. On Monday, again there was only 3 eggs but since then they have all settled down and been productive - presumably the one that had laid the shell less egg had a day off. I counted the shell less egg in the tally even though it was useless.
Orders on the other hand are up again and I was almost apologetic that I couldn't supply eggs for everyone. With Easter looming, everyone are trying to get their orders in as I have booked holiday for the week after .... I'm just looking forward to be able to eat some of the eggs I never have after sales LOL
Food wise, I have been clearing weeds from the garden and the goose grass (cleavers) are another welcome green they enjoy. A colleague at work asked if the girls would eat some fruit as she had bought a bag of apples that she didn't like and was going to throw them away In the bag was also some cabbage so the girls have been enjoying a variety of foods this week with their pellet feed.
Project Quail is back on the agenda I managed to acquire some pallets from work and I've been eyeing the area opposite the run - I plan to build the quail house butted against the shed (so the shed wall becomes the back of the run) Basically it will be a big rabbit hutch at waist height. I want to get some more bits and pieces together and make a proper start on it during the holidays, and fingers crossed, go and get the quail by the end of that week. I'm getting quite excited by this new project.
Busy as usual LL, quails sound interesting, bet you wont be going away on your week off?
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/
sandy wrote:Busy as usual LL, quails sound interesting, bet you wont be going away on your week off?
Just being off work for a week is a holiday in itself It's also busy on the allotment at this time of year so going away is not really an option, not that I mind. Just doing my own stuff when I want to without trying to squeeze it in whenever I have time or feel up to it.
Not a lot happened last week other than the egg tally is a max 28 eggs! And since I won't be selling eggs this next week, I get to use the surplus It's been ages since I last had some for myself.
My friend gave me a few more apples and a bit of cabbage for the girls. Even a box of cheap weetabix - I crushed one of the biscuits into a morning mash with a load of other goodies and it went down well, but it's not something I'll do too often as the idea of the mash is to make sure they get to eat the pellets.
As for Project Quail ... isn't it just typical that the weather should turn cold, wet and windy during the holidays. Alright, just a few showers this morning - a welcome relief on the allotment as the soil was starting to take on that baked look - but not the sort of weather to try and put the quail house together. Also, somehow I've managed to lose my cordless drill Where on earth could I have put it? It's not exactly a small item that could have slipped behind a cushion seat either.
Check the ingredients list of the weetabix. I don't know how much salt is too much, but people here warn against it. (If you ask in the Chicken Health section someone might reply)
I expect if it was me I'd just give smaller portions and less often, but I don't know.
Mo wrote:Check the ingredients list of the weetabix. I don't know how much salt is too much, but people here warn against it. (If you ask in the Chicken Health section someone might reply)
I expect if it was me I'd just give smaller portions and less often, but I don't know.
I did a quick google - I think the issue of salt is a bit blown out of proportion and the consensus is that no salt is best. True, too much salt can be toxic, as this research into levels of salt fed to chickens showed that
The minimum lethal single dose of salt for birds weighing from 3 to 5 pounds was found to be close to 4 grams per kilogram of body weight.
Therefore 1 biscuit weighing about 18.5g will contain about 0.305g. Mixed with mash and fed to a flock of 4 chickens means the salt content will be well below a lethal dose. As you say, I think an occasional treat should do no harm.
Have you checked under Scary's wing for your drill?
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/
sandy wrote:Have you checked under Scary's wing for your drill?
I did finally find the drill (in an obvious but apparently not memorable place) and I made a start on the quail house on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday's weather was not nice so much of what got done was between the showers. I really pushed myself on Friday as I still had to finish off at the allotment on Sunday. So, not completely finished ... and there's more.
Anyway, a photographic record of progress. This is to be the site of the quail house - the chickens make a bee-line for the honeysuckle every time they "escape" the run, so it was going to be dug up anyway. I'd acquired a few pallets from work, and a crate broken up into plywood panels:
After day 1, I'd got the roof on and the uprights in place plus 2 pallets as walls. I had some trays I was going to use as a base so was just testing how it would look:
Day 2 involved dodging the showers and finishing the walls. One of the pallets, a chipboard as seen above leaning against the pallet wall, was the perfect fit and slotted in well but I had to cut wood for the other side with a gap for a vent - not so much for air as the front will be open - but let a little sunlight in as I was a bit concerned the quail house could end up in permanent shadow.
I wanted it to be bright, so have painted the inside white:
Day 3 - Friday's weather was just so cold and damp, but there were moments when I could get outside and get on. I was convinced I was going to buy the quail on Saturday so I really pushed myself. I stapled the wire mesh over the vents, and tried to construct the doors - I had the idea of having sliding doors which I lifted up and would automatically drop down to avoid any accidental escapees. However, my wood working skills seem to be okay on big tasks but not so clever on smaller projects and it didn't work out how I had envisaged. So I've decided to put hinges on 2 of the doors, and screw the 3rd door to the frame:
I decided to put feather boarding on the south side of the quail house as this would give additional protection from the weather:
And I used the green debris netting I'd bought for the allotment and stapled it taut just below the ceiling part - apparently quail can take off vertically when spooked, so this will act like a soft barrier and avoid hitting the hard roof.
Now, I had planned on having "2" quail houses like a double rabbit hutch but have decided the one I've built is ample big enough for what I need. The space underneath was starting to bug me ... what could I use it for? Maybe somewhere to dry my onions when they are harvested, or as a (feed) bin storage. The more I looked at, the more I realised I was looking at a prospective new chicken coop. I will have to cut a window and a door in the plywood pallet and extend the run to the side of the shed next to the greenhouse - there's definitely room for 3 chickens I had hoped to get a couple at Easter but the coop and run I had in mind was a lot more complicated and I had dismissed it. So I may be getting the chickens and quail a lot sooner than I aexpected after all! Watch this space
I did manage to drop eggs ready for sale and one smashed and 4 got cracks in them. The girls finally got their boiled egg treat this week after all. Still, 4 sales and just enough money in my purse to buy a sack of layers pellets and a bag of oyster shell grit. I usually buy mixed but I had noticed since hanging up the grit box that they are very picky and taking the oyster shell so must need it more.
I didn't bother correcting her but I had a good chuckle afterwards. I also bought a chinese cabbage that had been yellow stickered.
Now that lots of things are bursting into leaf, the honeysuckle opposite the run seems to get targetted as soon as the girls rush out of the run on opening the door, so I really must net that off sooner rather than later. Ideally I should move it but I really don't have anywhere to put it and would probably kill it in the process - as I don't have that many flowering plants in my garden, I'm a bit loathe to reduce it even further! This week I've been looking up edible weeds, and apparently cleavers (goose grass - the one with the sticky leaves) are an ingredient in Verm-X. So that will be another weed to dig up for them to eat. Interestingly on THIS CHICKEN WEBSITE, fat hen has been implicated as containing too much oxalic acid (as in rhubarb leaves) and should be avoided, as is Purslane (which is also high in omega 3 fatty acids and often eaten by people) I'm surprised as I've seen on other chicken sites that these weeds have been considered as suitable to feed to chickens .... all very confusing.
Obviously they survived and I don't think he believed me they were not good for them! I love the misunderstanding in the supermarket 
It's been ages since I last had some for myself.
Where on earth could I have put it? It's not exactly a small item that could have slipped behind a cushion seat either.
