My attempt to keep chickens.

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi Karen ,bit late only 2 slices today dropped a plastic container of pellets on the wire roof . last flap jack water . With a warning to the girls of a excise routine whilst in run .... Noise they made not happy . back to coop for a group discussion .... I am in trouble now when Penelope gets a beak to them .
All in all I listen to your advice and photos I have loading them I cannot . looking for help when she who must be obeyed comes back .
1 egg when I got home so 8 yesterday . Happy with that
Have a good day Karen .
I can take a ribbng and a good laugh. Bob

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi all , Just got back and the girls and boys are well in not moaning .They are fighting to get to the top branches in the run so peak the treats as I drop them in .Put some on the wire daggling so they have to stretch and think how to get it.Trouble was the first up and down with a sizable piece of crust . followed by several others . Penelope has the hump as she could not get into the coop when I was cleaning it out so could not escape. When I opened it up ,the poop hole she was the first in and the noisest. I love the way the girls sit on the nests and select straw and add to it .Never right ,They dont seem to mind me cleaning up .
8 eggs today gone in seconds at work with where is the other 4....Seems 8 regulars laying /mix of chickens . Should the eggs be the same if I can compare them would it be possible to confirm that it is 8 are varying.
I seem to get white eggs large ones brown little ones all sorts in the 8 .Only have a problem as they never stay 24 hours to compare .
Weekend overtime reduced to a Sat due to a few problems abroad , so will take the time to chill,ride my bike and enjoy the girls and boys.Bob ( I need It )

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi ,it is 5.00pm and hopefully the girls and boys have gone to their coops .It has started snowing /sleeting . So they should miss it till morning . bob

[KarenE]

I love to see them arranging their nests, they are so particular. Did I read some of your girls have started pulling their chest feathers out? My Remie did that earlier in the year as she was thinking about whether to go broody or not, so maybe your girls are about to as well.

I can't see how you'd tell the difference between all your eggs! I can tell my 3 girls because 1 lays white eggs, my little ex batt lays thin eggs and Remie lays big fat ones. I couldn't tell if there were any more though. They are pretty much the same day on day though (apart from when I get a double yolker or someone's feeling a bit off colour) so I can tell whose is whose so you may be able to tell whether they're coming from the same 8 birds.

Your white egg layers should have white ears, maybe white beaks too - at least that'll narrow it down a bit!

Be interesting to see how all our madams react to snow tomorrow morning, if they haven't seen it before. Mine haven't and it's just been snowing a little.

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi Karen , Got home last night and 2 more eggs together in Cluckingham Palace . Penelope is not bold on her chest but lighter and not really feathery .She is just the one to decide another route for special treat ment. If she does decide to go broody (first experience of it . Should I stick the wooden eggs under her .Certainly (although I loved to do it ) not going for chicks -Know garrantee of s.ex and enough Cockerals unwanted in the world to start producing more.So 10 eggs out of 22 girls is not too bad .Have a chance as not working weekend to get a few eggs couple of dozen for monday maybe 3days worth.Lads will be happy for sure .
No snow this morning a bit of rain . I left the food bowl of Pizza crust (left overs from work ,not mine ) sweet corn beans /tomatoe sauce a whole sauge and meat balls at the bottom .4 slices of bread (Breakfast ) spread around the run .
I think the girls in cockerel a dood1e hall are clever as they now the routine and they come out first .7/15 split still .Runs all shut and out come Clinkingham Palace -These dont seem in a hurry and drift out as they see fit .+I am sure most of these girls are not in the same click and do not get told when treats are around . Plenty of pellets and I will give some corn scratchings this afternoon .They are covering the bowls of water with ground materials in their search for worms and things . Plenty of other supply so no big deal .Tomorrow new girls and I am sure the girls will be trying to get back into the med ward unfortunately they cannot. More later Bob ( I have some white checky girls so I know who lays them but they cluster the eggs and go from one coop to the other and lay in it . strange )

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi all , just come back from letting the chocks out . Flock of chickens following me everywhere . First time for a week fit enough to study them and watch.
Found a hen looking rough . She has always had sticks for wing feathers since got her . Now really rough looking . She was standing next to me just asking for help I am sure . I picked her up on checking her out mites /lice ??? big enough to see and white ones. Put her on the table and told her to wait . Straight indoors powder -plastic cup ,back to her . She was still there waiting . Powdered rear top wings under her wings stomach chest she changed colour to white . Fortunately she is still eating well . Tomorrow I will have time to sort the problem out fully.
I have decided that she needs my special treatment in the kitchen for a little while so tomorrow after picking up the new girls I will leave dog cage up and put her in it and feed her and powder her and may give her some of the medicine from the vets .I hope that with a bit of personnel attention she will pull round and get some feathers and health back. Poor girl . Have to as well give the coops and deep clean with disinfectant and general scrub down . That should fill the weekend up. Good job I am feeling better as I could have missed this and lost a poor girl .
7 eggs today probably more later . Managed to get the girls back in run fairly easy .
One thing that I cannot become is laid back and non observant as a missed sign or cry for help , could lead to more upset . Monday will be the day for news on this latest sickness /hen . one ring light green right leg original girl from first 6 obtained from Fresh start for hens . Hoping for a good outcome . Bob

[KarenE]

You do make me laugh with your chooks diet. Meatballs, beans on toast and sausage? What, no egg?

Your girl with the lice/mites - not sure about them being white (the ones I found were light brown) but if you've found something on one more of the girls may have them. 1 drop of frontline for cats on the back of the neck can do the trick nicely too and maybe a bit easier if you need to treat a few of them (I did mine in the dark once they'd all gone to bed) or if you've got time, order some harpermectin. Yes, keep her indoors in the warm, especially in this cold weather as she'll need her strength to go into getting better rather than keeping warm.

Here's a link that might help you identify what she's got:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/0 ... ation.html

Hope she picks up

[bikesandbirdsbob]

hi ,Karen, managering a few in work this morning hence writing . I have some cat flea but not sure how much if a drop then i dose will do plenty .
The powder de does the job but when the eggs hatch you got to do it again .
I grabbed a girl last night ,I thought was the one .powdered her up stuck her in dog cage gave tuna cat food very nice mixed corn water of course . happy enough other than wants company (other than my big cat and dog watching her ) , She looked good so I wandering if I got the right one . This morning I will be home and i will start checking them all out and throughing the saw dust and bedding out -Disinfectant and any other remedie I can thing off.
On the case now so hopefully a good out come .More girls this afternoon ..
Bob

[KarenE]

Hi Bob

Yes, just 1 little drop should do it. It's worth treating your new ones as well as long as you are doing it - I think my last girls brought them in and they were straight out of the cages. I had figured ex batts would have been treated but not always apparently. Dust their bedding and dustbathing spots too, then you probably won't have to worry about dusting them again.

Good luck with the new girls! Lucky things won't know they're born, specially when they get their full cooked english breakfast in the mornings

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi , The catch up .
Sat Spring cleaned the Med WaRD ready for the new arrivals ,moved to a new location All set 11.10 just like a expectant father off to the collection point . Picked up chocolate de stresser . Arrived and a surprise 100 plus( 170 more like ) chocks waiting to go to new homes...A narrow street so did not want to hang about and cause traffic problems . Boxes to the garage ,open up and would I like to choose ???? ,How can you pick one from another , so I said grab 4 . While I was looking the other way there was a hell of a noise and you would have thought that a death was happening . I turned round to see flapping wings and a beak staring at me . In she went ,First charactor . 2nd no feathers on the back saddle in she went .A big fat orange girl twice the size of the other two and the fourth had a coomb that flopped over her face ,pink in colour .
That done and signed for ,said thanks to all and away I went a lump in my throat to see so many chickens being given a new lease of life be it for a questionable time . I got home and I opened the nest box ( the girls had been out in the garden all morning rumaging and now following me around with dogs in hot pursuit .I pulled the first one out and blow me she let the world know she was not happy . hanging on to the cat box for her life . I had to crow bar her out with all the noise . This has now startesd of the cockeral and a mass run for the run and cockerals sensing danger letting the girls now xcome home... Some to busy did not respond ...Well I put her in and she quitened down the next three struggled but went in .I shut the nest bozx then opened up the poop hole so they could go into the run .
By now I was cold and wanted a coffee .I sat by the back curled up by rad and feeling ill .I waited now for the first beak to appear and waited . Just like the first foort steps.Bob

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi continued. QWell patinence was worth it out popped a beak and checking it out then down to food and water . no problems there she will do . had to wait ages for the next one and she was turning around and going back looking for her friend ,in the end both came out and three eating and walking around and first taste of bread....4th one did not come out until after 4.15pm so was leaving it a bit on the late side .
Now it is 5.00pm the old school went of to bed 7/15 set .New girls was not having it for sure . I thought leave them they will soon sort it out . 6.00pm and only one left out there , bold bum . She was not happy about going back in , probably a fear of other chickens and the freedom was to much for her to give up .
I poked her from the run to the run with coop she would go up the ramp .Opened the sidedoor and grabed her and pushed her in and she then came out with a beak behind her .Pushed back and slid door shut . Off to bed and quite was found in the garden .
Sunday morning food water let the girls out into the run . Daaylight and into the garden . Left over sausages and beans ,Appertite is off . Dogs over the fields ,grass for the girls . Cleaned out the coops pulled everthing , furniture , saw dust , straw , boxes kitchen sinking the hole lot . This took a large ammount of effort as still under the weather .. Whole bag of saw dust , bale of straw (mostly in my front room/kitchen .Not going there as another problem could have done with out . They all went off to bed without prompting .
The new girl big orange one is facing off to a few of the old hands through the wire and ping ping ping could be heard pretty often .The cockerels have introduced them selves and dancing and showing off . New girls are not over impressed ,but then they come from a convent ......I am sure these girls will fit in well and I am surprised there legs are so white. combs are floppy and how she got so fat remains a mystry .All cage girls so here goes.Bob

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi I took photos of the new girls , their first beak into freedom and walking around the pen .Lots of photos jusy got to do something with them .
Bob

[KarenE]

Bob - she's not fat she's just big boned

Richard's done a thread about posting photos. You need to open up a photobucket or flickr site to host them on, then you link to them in your posts on here. It's quite easy once you get the hang of it

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=46297

[bikesandbirdsbob]

I am going to show you pictures ,4 eggs today not sure if there will any when I get home.New girls have giveen me 5 now little darlings .Have left them out in the garden so they should be going to bed soon .....Lettuce and half a loaf of tiger bread a neighbour supplied .Mix corn scatchings . Bob

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi, I had a closer look at the new girls last night when put to bed .What did surprise me was the fact that all 4 was sitting where only 2 older ones would sit. I think they must be a good deal under weight for my flock.Have to put them on my fat fighters regime . Sweet corn , cakes and toasties. I will get some weight on them before I let them loose with the others.They seem happy and floppy combs makes a difference as the legs .Soon get dirty as well . Bob