LL's chicken keeping adventures

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sandy
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by sandy »

Sounds like a lot of digging, netting and cementing will be on the agenda, like you have nothing else to do LL yike*
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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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by lancashire lass »

Last week I got a new phone so spent yesterday setting it up and then was out testing the camera ... Scary decided a wander out of the run was an opportunity to go digging for worms, leaving Pearl very frustrated (I just don't trust her out of the run ... so flighty unlike the chilled out Scary)

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Cheshire Chick
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Love your photo's LL - what lovely girls you have. )like(
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KarenE
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by KarenE »

Your Lesley is the image of my Casper LL, when she was alive of course! Even down to the massive floppy comb {hug} Delightful little birds the white leghorns (Casper was a Coral Nick which is probably a variant of leghorn)
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
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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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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by lancashire lass »

lancashire lass wrote:
Going back a bit with the outcome of the rat poison last summer, but yes - after a lull in rat activity for a while, they are back with a vengeance. This time they have tunneled in under the Spice Palace coop run (from outside the run under the breeze blocks that raised the structure off the ground)

Meanwhile, there are mounds of soil in the White House run that have been dug up from somewhere (could fill about 2-3 wheelbarrow loads on top of the paving stones) so some serious earthworks going on.

And having a thriving population of rats on my property is worrying enough - what if they got in the house, what if my neighbours complained to the council? yike*


The rats were getting BIG (I'll swear one was the size of a cat - it was enormous) and I counted at least 7 and heaven knows how many I didn't see. And quite bolshy too - one had managed to get under the pond planter and I saw several tunnel entrances all over the place. They were scuttling across the chicken run roofs, doing a balance act on the fence and clearly becoming a serious pest problem. In broad daylight - who knows what activity went on during the night. And there was definitely a rodent smell in the runs.

I tried to get some more poison but the shop that I last bought it from never had any in. So a visit to B&Q and got 3 different types and put the bait down in numerous places - for a long while the rats were still just as active and after I'd put the last of the big tub of bait down I was contemplating on calling an exterminator. Then one by one, little corpses appeared (thankfully outside the chicken runs) and for the moment, there is no sign of them.

Even better still, the food and the drinker contents are back to pre-rat problem ... I was particularly worried about the water especially during the hot weather - often I'd come home to find the drinkers were bone dry despite filling them right up to the top (most of the water tipped over the ground) In the coming weeks the chicken runs will be getting a makeover and at the same time, more rat proofing installed.

Having a few days off work over the bank holiday weekend, I've spent quite a bit of time on the patio (pond tweaking) so Scary has been on the balcony a lot, using her wiles for attention and obviously tasty treats (there's now plenty of pellets so she has food) It was nice enjoying her company while I worked.
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kitla
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by kitla »

I'm glad you've got on top of the big scary rat problem. When they are that big they are a danger to your hens too, especially if they manage to get to them when they're roosting. (Beany came to me with a ratbite on her neck & lost several flockmates). Someone here passed on advice to pour Jeyes fluid down the holes to prevent new rats smelling out & reusing the old rat run.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by lancashire lass »

kitla wrote:Someone here passed on advice to pour Jeyes fluid down the holes to prevent new rats smelling out & reusing the old rat run.


)like( what an excellent idea, thanks. I was aware of the rodent smell myself and wondering how to "mask" it and it sounds perfect
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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by lancashire lass »

It's been nearly a year since I last posted - I was sure I had posted that I had lost the White Star (must be about a year ago when the weather started to get hot in early spring) but amazingly, Scary from the original flock is still around. She seems to have adapted well to being on her own as I don't think getting new chickens to keep her company is such a good idea especially after the failed attempt to put the White Star in the same chicken run. Meanwhile she has decided to be my alarm clock in a morning - nothing gets me up quicker than hearing her crow at 5.00 am in a morning knowing my neighbours are still in bed. And she doesn't stop until I appear with her breakfast. She has become a fussy eater too - I sometimes wonder if she eats any pellets at all these days - with sweetcorn and meal worms on the menu or there would be consequences. Having saying that, the quality of the eggs are very good so it must be okay.

Scary (a Bluebelle) is over 6 years old now and yes, amazingly still laying. It seems to be very much a seasonal thing - almost an egg a day since February but I am expecting them to stop appearing any time soon until, if I'm lucky, this time next year (IF she is still around, bless) So I'd say Scary would be considered a pet as I think her days would be numbered if she was in a commercial flock. Because she has been laying every day, I've have managed to "sell" some eggs (a total of 2 dozen so far but still, that's £4 contributed towards her board & lodgings LOL)

As for the rat problem, it seems to have disappeared. There was definitely a resident in the run and I had put poison down (about June 2018?) but it never touched it and then I never saw it again. Maybe a cat had got it when it was on one of its excursions? Or it thought the poison was a bit suspicious and decided to find a new home? Very odd but at the same time, I'm not complaining. It's certainly been less stressful worrying about poor Scary having to share her run with a rat family.
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Good to read you are doing well and long may it continue .
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sandy
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by sandy »

it seems years, and of course it is, 6 to be exact when you posted the first photos of the Spice Girls so its amazing and heart warming that Scary is still zig a zag zigging )like( I thik she has every right to be a fussy eater bless her. Its so good to hear she is doing so well on her own, just like HP's Wiggy. Maybe its because they are grand old ladies and they've been there and done that and our content with their new phase of life?
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: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by HenPen »

Wow, aren't our old girls doing well? Funny to see how they adapt to being on their own. Sounds like Scary has done so by becoming part cockerel and being a bit of a diva about her food, whilst Wiggy has adapted by developing a multiple personality and being a whole flock all by herself! {rofwl}

I did hear that hens will often fade away if left on their own, but Wiggy has blossomed. I'm so glad to hear Scary has too.

Good news about the rat problem resolving itself without too much trouble on your part )like(
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Lovely to know that your Scary is doing very well and at the grand old age of six. That's a brilliant accomplishment - the oldest hen I have had was only 4 years. She is obviously a very happy and well cared for girl. )like(
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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

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Surprisingly Scary has been laying eggs almost every day since February (easily 5-6 out of 7 days) and I have managed to gather enough eggs for a couple more sales but this past week there has hardly been any - either her seasonal egg laying is finishing or the combination of weather (dull at the start of the week, very warm at the end) has interrupted the cycle.

I just had to write about her reaction to a few shrimps I had given her yesterday afternoon - concerned about her fussy diet (I'm almost certain she isn't eating the pellets), I have been giving her a little treat in the evenings. As I also feed the pond fish when I get home from work, she is fully aware that I am home and makes a point of jumping up onto the balcony in the run and looking pathetic until I offer her some food. Not much but I think it is the company she is after - the cherries on the tree finally ripened and one branch hanging over the patio has been saved from the scavenging blackbirds and pigeons. However, the combination of a dry spring (after a relatively dry winter) followed by the week long heavy rain, had caused many of the fruit to swell up and split so didn't look appetizing. So I picked a few off the tree and offered them to her through the mesh which she eagerly picked.

Yesterday afternoon I decided to give her a few shrimps and a bit of cucumber (left over from my Saturday salad) She made the strangest noise as she tucked into the offering - it actually sounded like "yum yum" as she picked the shrimps out first {rofwl} This morning she got the rest of the shrimps out of the packet with her breakfast ... I hope she doesn't think this will become a regular thing. I was disappointed with the shrimp (value pack) and not likely to buy any more.
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Oh bless her. She must have really enjoyed those shrimps, what a treat!!! My girls go mad for the fish pellets when my husband feeds the fish. They will follow him around the garden for them and he always gives in and treats them. He said the other day "they must really love me to follow me like this and it's you that does all the work". Think there was a bit of sarcasm there!!!! It's amazing what these girls will eat.
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sandy
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Re: LL's chicken keeping adventures

Post by sandy »

LL always good to hear news about the old zig a zag girlie Scary :-D Hens should never be left alone they are flock animals, how many times have we heard that! Little Rosie who passed on here was alone for quite awhile and did well, another original henpal Wiggy Woosworth (who i believe used to correspond with Scary) has an excellent life and Scary is another good example so take heed waggy finger people , it can and does suit them very well being single.
Now you gave me an idea LL bought some basic small shrimps today as Charlie was under the weather, took them down this afternoon and OMG , unlike Scary they didn;t make any noise, they were too busy shoving them in their mouths {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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