aishakali wrote: OH put some rat pellets in a plastic bag near where we saw the rat emerging. The little ugger thought he was being clever pulling the bag into his nest, then he suddenly disappeared Not such a clever rat!
All suggestions gratefully accepted - the poison I ordered has arrived, I have decided to wait till we've finished our own dinner before I handle it, even with gloves! It's a question of deciding exactly where to put it. The plastic bag idea sounds like a good one - rodents seem unable to resist plastic bags.
Not posted on here for a bit - complaints about the mud get a bit boring after a while. I went to the local builders' merchants this morning to get some gravel, the bark chippings having been a complete waste of time. Apart from slightly annoying me with their assumption that I am not perfectly capable of lifting a 25kg bag of gravel - and after all they were probably just being polite - they were very helpful. One of them said I was spoiling the chickens. One of them said it would keep their 'paws' dry .
I put 3 bags of gravel in the run and it looks like just the job, but I think I underestimated how much I'll need - it's cheap enough though - the girls were not impressed. They rushed out from under the coop, where they've been sheltering, to have a look, and then walked around trying not to stand on it, lifting their feet up like old ladies trying not to stand in something nasty.
We still haven't caught any rats. I've got some big traps now but the rats seem to avoid them.
Ditto mud, ditto rats, please tell me you havent put bark chippings in the run though?
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/
I have, Sandy, before I read all the Awful Warnings about bark chippings. No harm seems to have been done and I won't do it again - they were a waste of money anyway as it has been consistently wet since I got them and they never dried out to that nice, dry surface that i was expecting. More gravel going down on top today.
Well, what a kerfuffle. My panic about Little Dot has subsided a bit now that I realise that she seems to be moulting. Why did nobody tell me this would be so sudden and dramatic? She seems fine apart from looking like a partridge with a vulture's neck. One of our neighbours also says it sounds like a moult. If this is the end of the laying/moulting cycle, then the others should follow suit, in the order they started laying, and I would expect Lottie to start any time now. They have certainly almost stopped laying over the last few days. Today was the first warm, dry day we've had for ages and they were able to free-range for most of the day.
It is a bit of a shock isn't it when it starts. At least yours has had a dramatic visual to go with it - 2 of mine dragged themselves round the garden like death warmed up and then moulted about 5 feathers each. Not even a bald patch. But one of mine has been moulting for nigh on a year, going through bouts of misery and feathers so it's probably better they get it all done in a short space of time even if they do look oven ready.
It sounds like such a simple thing - a moult. It obviously isn't! Not sure why there aren't bigger warnings, as it really can knock their health, which can really panic us chicken keepers.
Hopefully Dot and the gang will get theirs done quickly and get back to normal
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
Thank goodness Dot is moulting and nothing really bad They do moult at weird times, sometimes twice within a couple of months and , sometimes they take over a month to re feather and then one of mine, did moult, feathers out, 7 days time growing back and then back to normal in 10 days!
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/
And here she is, her neck starting to feather up again:
My nerves wouldn't have taken much more - I'm glad you have all told me about how unpredictable and alarming the moult can be. She is fine in herself apart from being at the bottom of the pecking order now.
Oh dear, looks like a group moult might be on the way - better stock up on mealworms and sardines and extra eggs (not forgetting the for you!)
If Dot has only lost feathers from her head and neck, then the bad news is she may have more moulting to do - which means she'll be out of sorts again at some stage (and so will your others if they moult the same way.) At least this time though you'll know what to expect.
Definitely prepare for it by getting well stocked on
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
Oh Dot is absolutely adorable All hens should moult like my Olive, it should be a rule to save their mummies so much worry.
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/
when my Violet moulted i thought a cat or hawk had got one of my girls as there was feathers everywhere in the garden... she dropped half her feathers within a couple of days and was a rotten bad tempered article
Dot will look glorious when she gets all her new feathers back ...so shiny and glamorous
Vi wont really eat sardines , fishy cat food etc...but loves sunflower hearts so that was her treat when she was moulting .
I hope you get the rats sorted ... we dont even get birds in our garden since we got chickens!
When my two bantys moulted their tails fell off and they looked like quails for a bit. Their new tails soon grew back in though and they were soon fully feathered again. They stopped laying for months though but have just recently started again.
Well, Alice is fine again now, she was just having an early night. Dot is much brighter and happier despite the bald patches on her chest. We haven't seen any evidence of the rats for a couple of weeks now.
The girls are hardly laying at all at the moment. We still have plenty of eggs, though. Last night my neighbour popped round to see if he could borrow an egg because he had just dropped his last one on the floor. Obviously that equates to two banty eggs, but that looked mean so I ended up giving him half a dozen, and there are still plenty for my husband and me. They have laid pretty well through all the short days of winter so I am assuming that a group moult is on the way. If Dot finishes first, she can re-assert herself as one of the top hens, as they have all been taking advantage of her and aiming pecks at her since she hasn't been feeling 100%.
Glad Alice and Dot are better Can I borrow an egg? Will he replace it with a SHOP BOUGHT one Or maybe lay one? Lets hope your rats have gone on a long vacation
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/