By Halves' Chicken Diary!

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Katiee
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by Katiee »

that's a real positive, Annie, when they start getting "fussy" with their nest!! :-D

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sandy
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by sandy »

Yep rearranging the bedding is a good sign )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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By Halves
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by By Halves »

Phoebe's comb has been quite red for a while now but it still looks small, although I think the fully grown rose comb is pretty small anyway. (I think Rainbow's comb might have been slightly bigger but as she was black it was black rather than red so hard to tell.) Angel still has a teeny little pink comb so I'm not expecting her to lay for a bit!

Looks as though Phoebe is now top hen. No sign of pecking or chasing away from their food bowl but I've seen her give Angel a little word of warning a couple of times.
~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildren
Spongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Rags
lovely bantam girl Phoebe
and retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

RIP little Rainbow and beautiful Angel xxx
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KarenE
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by KarenE »

The henpals do usually work their way up the ranks very swiftly I have found! It's like they get lessons or something...

Good to hear everyone's settled down into the new pecking order. You might get eggs off Phoebe soon, my 3 are all laying really well and have done all through winter which is great but odd. You can tell if Phoebe is coming into lay - does she do the weird wings-out-crouch-down thing whenever you come over her? It's a sign they're getting ready for the cockerel to mount!
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
bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi Karen ,did not know that they go down for that reason , I thought it was because of fear ,natural chicken move ,bit like me when a huge bloke comes near me or Karen(who must be obeyed.) bob
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By Halves
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by By Halves »

I can't actually get near enough to Phoebe to see if she'll squat for me :?

Got home after the girls had gone into the coop yesterday but they were still chatting so I rushed to get them some mixed corn for their supper and took it to the coop. I was going to let them eat in bed (more than I'd ever let my kids do...) but Angel stepped on the bowl so I put it in their hall and held the torch so they could see to eat it. Only problem is that this evening when I went to check if the girls were tucked up warm Angel saw the torchlight and came running out of the bedroom to see if it was time for a midnight feast again {rofwl}

No, they didn't need a midnight feast tonight as after school the kids and I cleaned out the coop and raked over the run and the girls had a bit of time to come out and potter (and do a bit of flying) round the garden while the kids gave them their corn, sunflower seeds and mealworms for supper, it sounds like a lot but it's only 2/3 of an eggcup between them! I had a good look at Angel to check there were no lice or anything as her feathers haven't been looking very fluffy recently but nothing there so it must just be the weather. Couldn't catch Phoebe to check hers but I'm not worried enough to stress her out over it as she looks pretty normal.
~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildren
Spongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Rags
lovely bantam girl Phoebe
and retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

RIP little Rainbow and beautiful Angel xxx
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PixieDust
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by PixieDust »

I am so sorry I have only just caught up with the sad loss of Rainbow. I understand how it feels. So glad the other 2 are settling down :-D
4 Girls Arrive 15th November 2014
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By Halves
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by By Halves »

I'm rather worried about Angel. She's acting normally and her eyes, nostrils and the thing inside her beak that I can't remember the name of are all clear but if I hold her up and listen carefully she sounds as if she's a bit wheezy so the upshot is that they're back on antibiotics again. I hope she's going to be OK as I don't want Phoebe to have to be on her own.

On a cheerier note they are nearly at the end of the 5kg bag of growers pellets that I bought when they first arrived so I've ordered them some layers pellets. Lets hope it works as a hint...
~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildren
Spongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Rags
lovely bantam girl Phoebe
and retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

RIP little Rainbow and beautiful Angel xxx
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By Halves
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by By Halves »

The antibiotics seem to be doing their thing and Angel doesn't seem to have been wheezing the last couple of times I've had a chance to check but I'll keep it up for a couple more days to cover any possible stress caused by builders in the garden. I've been lacing their food and soaking treats in it as they never seem to drink much so they've been getting a good dose of it.

Petzilla got back to me yesterday to say that I didn't need to return the 20kg bag of fancy organic layers pellets that they accidentally sent me instead of the 5kg of more ordinary ones that I'd ordered so this morning they had a tablespoon of layers pellets mixed in with fermented growers pellets and antibiotics. I imagine the ABs cancel out the probiotic effect of the fermented food but the fermented flavour (think sauerkraut) makes the ABs more palatable so they actually eat it.

Of course 20kg of pellets would last two tiny bantams about 16 months so I'll really have to get some big chickens asap after I've moved to my Mum's...

Phoebe's comb is positively glowing with redness now so I want the days to hurry up and get long enough... even Angel's is getting redder but without having developed the bumpiness of the other girls'. I've always thought she must have been from a completely different line of breeding as her build is different quite apart from being a different colour. I think the guy I got them from imports day old chicks from France so presumably they're from some huge breeder originally.
~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildren
Spongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Rags
lovely bantam girl Phoebe
and retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

RIP little Rainbow and beautiful Angel xxx
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KarenE
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by KarenE »

How is Angel doing now - is she over her cold yet?

And almost as importantly - have you had any eggs yet??
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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By Halves
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by By Halves »

Angel seems OK, thanks for asking, back to the occasional sneezing that she's always had but I've no idea if it's anything bad. No eggs yet but their teeny combs are positively glowing so I'm certain we're just waiting for a bit more light in the days. Apparently they lay once or twice and then go broody which would have been a good thing if we were getting our place with a bit of land to breed chickens on but probably not such a good thing now we're moving in with my Mum.

I've been a very bad chicken Mummy this last week as I've barely had any time to let the girls out and I had to leave them food twice as I went to see my Mum for three days and then stayed a couple of nights at my OH's place. I was a bit worried about their water freezing the nights I was away but they had other sources of liquid as they have wet food and I left chopped tomato too. They also had a head of broccoli to keep them occupied and the run was on the grass because of the scaffolding but I didn't leave them any dry food to make them thirsty.

Speaking of the scaffolding, it was taken down today while I was at work so in the hour or so before the light went I let them out of the ark with a child to play with them and dragged it back into place and shovelled the sand and easibed that I'd filled a big black dustbin with in the dark the night before the scaffolding went up back into their run. I was ably supervised by Angel. Goodness knows how she managed to avoid getting buried under the flying shovelfuls but her close attention paid dividends as she found several tasty mislaid seeds that had sprouted in the last two weeks. Phoebe sensibly stayed out of the way of the shovelling and arranged the coop bedding to her satisfaction as I'd pushed it about a bit while putting everything back in. Once it was all done the kids hand fed them their (extra nice because they'd been missing out) supper of mixed corn, sunflower seeds and mealworms while I raked up the poop and spilt bedding on the lawn and they retired to their bedroom at about 5.00.
~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildren
Spongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Rags
lovely bantam girl Phoebe
and retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

RIP little Rainbow and beautiful Angel xxx
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KarenE
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by KarenE »

I find gardening to be a real chicken occupational hazard and takes three times as long due to having to be really careful with chicken heads and feet in the way of the spades and secateurs and forks. But they love to be helpful in the garden, it's not their fault they usually are the opposite! :-D

Glad to hear all is well with Angel )t'
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: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by HenPen »

That's good news about Angel. It probably isn't relevant but I was so worried about things like sneezing and head shaking after mine had an upper respiratory thing, but I have noticed that quite a few things cause them: sneezing after eating wet food like dewy grass, grapes and juicy pears, for example, and head shaking when the sun is low and the light is hitting their eyes at a odd angle, or when I am talking or singing in too high pitched a voice :oops: !

I had a helpful gardener called Cupid, who sadly was the first chicken I ever lost to the Rainbow bridge. You had to be super careful with her, as not only was she in danger of decapitation or de-toe-itation, but she would jump on the spade or fork while you were using it and was in quite a bit of danger of being accidentally stamped on. She was a tiny little thing and such a character.
bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi ,My girls do better all of your tricks plus they tell me where to dig. Not always where I want to .
Bob
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sandy
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Re: By Halves' Chicken Diary!

Post by sandy »

Just catching up on diaries, is Angel a well girl now?
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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