Eclaire's adventures in chicken keeping.

[julie62]

It looks brilliant - you've worked hard the last few days for sure. You've put a lot of thought and effort in and they will love it.

[Linda S]

Lovely to see them all settled in with you Claire I love the name Camille its one iv picked for our next girls but will be a good while be fore that yet so hope you dont mind if i use it too if i stll like it
Lovely pics and your run is massive, did you buy it in a kit or don e it youirself Lindaxx

[eclaire]

Thanks both!

Andy came up with the idea for the run on Friday when he spotted the massive plastic pipes were relatively cheap. I'd already got the mesh (but not as much as I thought I'd bought- oops!) and we'd dug in short fat wooden posts on Thursday when we thought we were going to make wooden frames to attach to them. Changed this plan into screwing on the pipes joined by 90 degree connectors at the top.

After that it was basically like a tent, with 2 metre wide mesh going up and over - getting this bit done was a trial and a half!.

[Bridgets Mum]

I can't believe how much you've done in such a short time It looks great - lucky chooks.

[eclaire]

Well we've still got loads more to do but I've been having loads of fun!. Had 4 eggs a day so far, with the odd broken/softie one too. There's still a bit of chicken apartheid going on but more chasing than pecking. Nancy, the Speckeldy, has been hanging out with the rescue hens a bit.

I've renamed Camille because she is just so thick - she is now Britney S. Pearce. (Glee!) Every night this week, the other hens have had to come out to tell her to go to bed. She couldn't work out the ramp at all so we've been helping her. The so-called walk in run hasn't got a door yet so it's been a right pain in the bum as the current way in involves a bit of a climb. We should be sorting this out tomorrow though.

Today I went hunting for branches in the park behind the house and made the run a bit more interesting, including a bit to help Britney in to bed!Here's some pics from last couple of days, in no particular order. I hope I've been remembering Jackie's hens' names correctly!

Frankie, top hen (and I think it's Ginge on the left, Jackie's over pecked one, still doing fine- gonna give her a wash tomorrow and a proper look over to make sure):


Britney S Pearce:


Izzy and Amber:


3 rescuees and Nancy:


Roger trying out the new climbing frame (Ann Boleyn is in the middle-right, behind Izzy):


View from my favourite chicken watching chair:


This is as close as Derek's got to them. He usually tries to make me follow him to a chair or back inside:


Looks like I've no pics of Goldie she must be camera shy! Will rectify tomorrow. Oh wait she's at the front on the right ont his one from a few days ago:

[aceface]

what a great job you have worked so hard

[aishakali]

Your girls look like they have settled into their new home well

[eclaire]

Thanks all - I'm already planning extensions and future additions! At some point I want a large white hen (Orp maybe? don't see a lot in white) who will suit the name Camille a bit better and also I've become obsessed with getting a couple of Marsh Daisy's since they're from round here and were created in Southport just like me! All the breeders seem to be down south though, which is weird.

Britney gave me a huge egg this morning - quite round, she doesn't even know what an egg's supposed to look like! Roger's still laying softies. She was in a nest box when I wanted to do the poo pick, absolutely screamed at me when I stroked her, and gave me a peck! Gave a couple of meal worms to appease her, then I went in for a brew. Next thing, she's making a racket to tell me she's done - I thought it might be the first day with 5 eggs - nope - just a sloppy mess wasting a load of straw. She's great in herself though. Hopefully just putting the effort in to replacing feathers. She's also a bit naffed off cos fro a brief moment last Saturday Roger thought she was only going to live with only 2 other hens and be top hen.

Couple of questions:

How many softies from Roger before I should worry?
I've got some cat treats that are basically dried anchovies - cats aren't at all interested in them - too salty for chicken treats or handy extra protein?
I expected more poo - what would you expect from 9 hens? Could they be hiding it?

[Wellington Boot]

Wow. It looks like things are going really well! Well done!

Couple of questions:

How many softies from Roger before I should worry?
I've got some cat treats that are basically dried anchovies - cats aren't at all interested in them - too salty for chicken treats or handy extra protein?
I expected more poo - what would you expect from 9 hens? Could they be hiding it?

My understanding is that 1 softie is fine (and normal) but anymore than one and it could signify a problem. Was Roger one of your ex-batts? I know with battys it takes a while before all the battery eggs get out of their system, and they start laying lovely garden eggs (you'll see the difference) so I guess maybe the softie might just be a throwback to her previous life, or if she's Point-of-Lay then it sometimes takes them a while to get the knack. Are you giving them oyster gritt? Maybe see what she does tomorrow, and then see if you can up her calcium intake, if she's still laying softies.

I wouldn't personally want to give them anything salty, as I believe it could be poisonous for them, but that could be rubbish. (Basically, Im not sure, so errr on the side of caution) but I'm sure someone in Chicken Keeping will know.

As for poo, give them a couple of days, and see what you get. Sometimes battys aren't fed for the 24 hours before they go to be re-homed (farmers don't want to waste money on food, when they wont get any eggs out of it ) You might find that somedays you are inundated with it, and others the coop is pretty clean, also you'll find that there is a variety of colours and consistencies as well. As long as they seem well in themselves, I wouldn't worry.