Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

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tosca100
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Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by tosca100 »

After a comment from Sandy I have decided to transfer the story of Milly, Molly and Mandy to the diary section. So for the beginning of their story I will copy from the original thread and then carry on from today.

The 'Scrawnies' as my OH so nastily calls them, have been with us since 12 February.

This morning we went to the market and bought three new girls. They are ex-commercials but in not too bad condition. One hen has a touch of frostbite to the tips of her comb which seems quite common here, but apart from that and being very pale they seem OK. They were about £7 for the three.

So please say hello to Milly, Molly and Mandy.

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Don't know who is who yet, but Mandy is the one with the big comb and bossy nature.
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tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by tosca100 »

The first evening my OH's heart was softened and he took this picture

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OH opened the door and they are all piled in a cardboard box looking worried. I'm sure they will come out eventually, they are survivors.

Edit; Bless them...there is too much Space in this room, there is too much Light, too much Green and Blue on the other side of the door. There are Hens Totally Overderessed out there. And there is a very noisy Man! So we will stay Safe in our little box.
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tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by tosca100 »

Their first steps into the big wide world. Anybody remember the 'Ministry of Funny Walks'? Poor little things, we shouldn't laugh but they are so unco-ordinated and cheerful with it.

OH has sworn off commercially produced eggs. I will remind him of that when winter brings an egg drought and he can't have Yorkshire puds or cakes!


Postby tosca100 » 13 Feb 2014, 09:06
They're really sweet, they have come out into the big wide world and into an open building with sandy soil base so they can scratch when they want to, which we have not seen them do yet. They seem a bit weak on their legs but excercise might sort that out. Sevi is beside himself, it's a good job he doesn't know you can fly over a fence if you are a chicken, you don't have to try to go through it! I'm afraid he will not be having the pleasure of their company, as soon as the two boys have gone we will be re-organising the flock into his and hers, and my laying ladies are going to be manless...unless they all start fighting. Sevi will be boss of OH's shumen flock
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tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by tosca100 »

Well, there has been major upheaval in chicken towers the last few days. Our four young cockerels have all gone to their new homes, one with two girls in tow, so all three groups were mixed this afternoon. The only squawks coming from one youngster with twisted feet who Sevi decided was worth having a go at, but she is fine. The youngsters all filed in to see the new ladies (who OH has named the Scrawnies) and after a brief hello ate their food. The Sevi went in and made up to them but soon got bored. They later came out and all was well. At bed time all three groups went to their respective rooms which is fine for now. Tomorrow we will see what happens.

Meanwhile old habits die hard, and though the perch has been tried and approved in principle, being squeezed into a box is still the way to go.


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tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

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27 February 2014
The chickens have all been re-distributed now that all last years boys have gone to their new homes. There is the Shumen breeding group and the layers....or misfits. My hens. These are made up of the scrawnies, Darcy, a shumen with two dodgy feet who dances everywhere so she can keep balanced, Pearl who is too pale and very pretty, Chubba, a huge hen who also has a twisted foot and was Sevi's favourite as easy to catch, and Cagney and Lacey, brown hens, Lacey being a bit quiet and subdued today.

So now that they are getting used to their new mates, the scrawnies are showing their characters. They are all friendly, tending to follow you around. All have enormous appetites. Mandy with the floppy comb is a bit dim and can usually be found on the opposite side of the fence to the others (pen within a pen) Molly is inclined to get herself into tight spaces and need rescuing, so a door has had to go on the feed room, and area no chicken has bothered with before. This morning they were all waiting to get through the door first, the others coming out fifteen minutes later. They still sleep in a box together.

Milly and one other have laid their first eggs today. We were around when Milly laid her's, but the other was dropped in the pen. Milly, like a true battery hen, needed company and pushed herself in behind a rather put out Lacey to lay her egg!


Molly and Mandy doing what they do best....eating.
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Egg no 1 found in the run
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And Milly's offering
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tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

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Weheeeyy we have a hat-trick today! Milly and Molly laid yesterday for the first time and today Mandy laid. A smaller egg with more bloom. Three eggs in one day! Creme caramel for us tonight.
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I say laid. Actually, one was laid. Molly and Mandy just dropped their's where they stood, As Dave has been working outside he has been keeping an eye on them (he's besotted!) so has seen the two of them pause and drop an egg then carry on learning to be chickens. So we have two cracked eggs but I am sure they will get the message eventually.

The ladies have all had sods of nice juicy grass to peck at today, as well as broccoli leaves. They have adapted to having green stuff very well, but of course chickens being chickens the grass is (and broccoli) is always greener on the other side of the fence! Just as well it s not switched on during the day.
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Dave has started on a new door to keep them out of the feed shed. He is not an experienced DIYer, most of what he knows has been learned 'on the job' since coming out to Bulgaria. He does a brilliant job though and nothing is too much trouble to keep the ladies safe. Two ladies are enjoying the sun while keeping an eye, Milly is scratching around the house looking for who knows what.
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Molly is walking much better now but the other two are still doing the Russian soldier walk, Mandy still seems lame but is certainly not slow. They all have immense appetites which is fine at the moment as they are all growing new feathers and rushing around all over the place. Are these the same three scared, aggrophobic little ladies we brought home just over two weeks ago?
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KarenE
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by KarenE »

Hi Tosca

Great start to your diary, and it's lovely to see how well your girls are coming along. The picture of them in their box is great )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.
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Chicken drumstick
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by Chicken drumstick »

Hi

Welcome .....Milly, Molly and Mandy :-D

I love these diaries , keep up the good work they have a very loving home now {hug}
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by Kuikentje »

Lovely to follow this story.
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tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by tosca100 »

We had a bad chicken day yesterday, with two ladies seemingly egg bound.

Ex-att Molly suddenly went quiet after acting (for her) normally all day. I have to say I was quite upset that there should be two with problems, the other one being a maiden shumen. The shumen was already in the dog crate in warmth so poor Molly had to go into a box...which actually pleased her, she feels secure in a box. So both hens had the indignity of a steam bath and lube, warm oily mash and peace and quiet except when being gently prodded.

After an anxious night (don't sleep well at the best of times.) we came down at 5am to find no change, though both had pooped OK, but after coffee and toast Molly managed to pass a strange egg. It is very fragile and rough and it seems the outer coating is all bunched up one end. Hopefully that will be it for her, she is back to her usual perky, greedy and inquisitive self. )t'
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Can't say the same about her beautiful shumen girl friend, her egg seems stuck just ready to come out. {cry}
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KarenE
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by KarenE »

Hi Tosca

Sorry to hear about your girls - it's not uncommon to have egg laying problems with ex batts. At least Molly has sorted herself out. Your shumen though - have you tried giving her a belly bath? Put some warm water in a large bowl and make sure there's enough to cover her belly and vent, and then leave her in there for as long as you can. The warm water helps to relax the muscles, which may help her to pass the egg.
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
tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by tosca100 »

Hi Karen. We've tried the steam bath first as the weather has taken a turn for the worse and we didn't want to soak her, but that will be the next thing to try. We do not possess a hair dryer so she would have to sit by the fir in the open plan kitchen/living room where we and the dogs are. She is still perky at the moment but very unsteady.

Molly, on the other hand, is trying to fit her body through thhe mesh again to get at the broccoli, so she is feeling fine. There are broccoli leaves in the run!
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KarenE
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by KarenE »

Hi Tosca

Are you sure she's egg bound ie can you feel the egg stuck? I had to take my hen into the vets when she got an egg stuck - I could feel a lump quite clearly next to her vent, and I saw the start of a prolapse. The vet had a good feel/poke around and eventually the egg popped out so if you think she really is egg bound and a hot bath won't cut it (although you could try a warm hot water bottle if the weather's not favourable to baths) then perhaps a trip to the vets (or a lot of hand scrubbing, lube and very very careful feeling about)

perhaps though it isn't a stuck egg - maybe something else is wrong with her?
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
tosca100
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by tosca100 »

Definitely feel an egg. She has not started laying yet and I thought her sister would start first, she has looked ready for a while. The vets here are not like in the UK, if you have something wrong you can buy antibiotics or whatever over the counter, but no-one would take a chicken to a vet unless they want a postmortem and then only commercial farmers. There is only one use for a crook chook, and it's not tlc! yike*

I might try a hottie tomorrow, it always makes me feel better!
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sandy
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Re: Diary of three ex-batts in Bulgaria 2014.

Post by sandy »

Tosca what a lovely place they have to explore )t' We are sending your eggbound girlie lots of >fi< to pop that egg out!
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
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