Chalet Girl's Girls

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sandy
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by sandy »

Hello this is Sandy the human here )wav(
I think Pepper,Mouse and Miss Kitty may need some suitable apparatus as we may need to know what it is like to live in The Ritz and enquire if there is any room for anyone else +f+
Gwen, whoops sorry Sandy
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KarenE
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by KarenE »

Do you know Sandy doesn't usually sign herself Sandy The Human... I think a covert Henpals invitation may have just been extended to the Chaletgirls' Girls there, which wouldn't surprise me as I hear they're on a recruitment drive. I don't know what they get up to on their private diary but I'm sure they are all very well behaved.

The girls' Chalet is a palace, a lovely piece of work there from you! Your girl's place make my girl's place look like a hovel! I hope the henpals don't find out about their palatial accommodations or we'll have more trouble on our hands :-D
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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chaletgirl
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by chaletgirl »

sandy wrote:What a fantastic set up, looks like a motel with the nice big house too )t' Hope the henpals dont sneak a look! Your ladies are so gorgeous and so lucky :-D


Yes Sandy...Lucky and extremely pampered!! :-D

sandy wrote:Hello this is Sandy the human here )wav(
I think Pepper,Mouse and Miss Kitty may need some suitable apparatus as we may need to know what it is like to live in The Ritz and enquire if there is any room for anyone else +f+
Gwen, whoops sorry Sandy


I'm sure the girls would make room and if we run out there's always a possibility to have an extension put on the palace...

KarenE wrote:Do you know Sandy doesn't usually sign herself Sandy The Human... I think a covert Henpals invitation may have just been extended to the Chaletgirls' Girls there, which wouldn't surprise me as I hear they're on a recruitment drive. I don't know what they get up to on their private diary but I'm sure they are all very well behaved.

The girls' Chalet is a palace, a lovely piece of work there from you! Your girl's place make my girl's place look like a hovel! I hope the henpals don't find out about their palatial accommodations or we'll have more trouble on our hands :-D


They have a full diary!! BUSY BUSY days of pecking, wreaking havoc in the flower beds and scratching up grass seed! They are well behaved but demanding little divas!

Thanks for all your compliments about the girls' new digs! I couldn't of come up with all of this if not for the help and guidance on this site! This place is a real well of information. Thanks to all who keep it going Richard of course and all the moderators!!
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chaletgirl
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

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UGH!! It's flooding where I have the girls! This is the third time in 6 months!As you can see from the photo they are loose (tearing up the garden) and we have no choice but to move them to higher ground. I'm actually considering an eglu Go UP for them with a three meter run. If you look on page 2 of this thread I had such a lovely set up for them in the summer....but I can't keep them where they are. I'm so upset about all of this! The garden is a MESS!!! For this week I will continue to 'ferry' them to their house at night then ferry them back to roam free in the garden in the morning but I'm pulling my hair out over this!!!

I value the input here and I'd be curious if you'd think about uping their current digs to a higher spot or if an Eglu Go UP might be a more attractive option.....at least I could move that around the garden but I don't know if three meters is enough space for three garden chickens.

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KarenE
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by KarenE »

Oh my god! That is indeed a biblical flood - I hope they weren't floating away.

I think you have to move them, or build up the entire area on stilts! Not sure an eglu go up would make that much difference, and wouldn't sort out the run (which is where they spend most time anyway). It's a pain I know, but is there anything stopping you from relocating the whole set up to higher ground?

Also - why is it flooding there? Can you build a soakaway or a french drain, something to divert the water away? I'm assuming it's draining to there.
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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chaletgirl
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

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KarenE wrote: I hope they weren't floating away. No worries Karen! The roost is high and we ferry them to another part of the garden in the morning. I do like to keep them in the coop at night. It's the safest place for them to get their beauty sleep.

I think you have to move them, or build up the entire area on stilts! Not sure an eglu go up would make that much difference, and wouldn't sort out the run (which is where they spend most time anyway). Good point about the run...I think the Eglu plan was a rash idea during the panic phase of all of this...I've plenty of materials to give them a proper run and house...in fact they already have a great set up (it's just under water at the moment)

It's a pain I know, but is there anything stopping you from relocating the whole set up to higher ground? Doing that today! I've got two other options for their 'des-res' location but then I can't see them as well from the house. Oh well...the most important thing is that they are in a healthy place.

Also - why is it flooding there? Can you build a soakaway or a french drain, something to divert the water away? I'm assuming it's draining to there.


Karen! Thank you for your post and for mentioning the soakaway and french drain! DH and I have been mulling this over for some time. As for why it is happening...could be global warming or could be that we built a garden house (Pilates chalet) last summer, could be that we recently cut a LOT of trees (most of them Birch) down, could be that our neighbors to the right of us built their property up about a foot...could be a combination of all of it.

The trouble we are having with sorting a solution is...where to direct the water. Here in Belgium the water table is HIGH so looks like we need to decide if this is something that will be happening more regularly and if so we should get some expert advice.

My husband and I will be moving the house to a dryer location today. I'll put up some netting so the girls are contained on a side of the house that we don't use. This will keep them dry for the time being. Later, in the spring probably, we will move the fencing, ect to a more permanent location where I can still see them from the house. :-D
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KarenE
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by KarenE »

Could be global warming... it does look like it's a little dip there. I would be tempted to get some expert advice, the weather's only going to get wetter by the sound of it. Are they fields at the back of you - could you divert to there? Or turn what you have now into a pond area could be a nice view from the pilates chalet and very tranquil, a lovely water wildlife habitat).

If you're relocating the girls - I think from your current set up you don't have a roof on their run, so just mind out for overhanging tree branches that perhaps a fox could climb in 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
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chaletgirl
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

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Ok! Girls were moved yesterday and they seem very happy with the new location. They have a good space (no overhanging trees :-D ) and plenty of bushes to scratch under. I'm not sure I'll keep them where they are because I can't see them so well from the house bcause they are tucked around the one side of the house with no windows.

I.m happy today that I have them housed in a heavy Wendy house and NOT an eglu! It is VERY windy here and supposed to get worse over the next couple of days. An Eglu would've been blown around today...I'm sure of it.

Thanks again for the advice @KarenE! Hubby and I are planning on speaking with the neighbors (they have flooding problems also) and, if we see that this is going to be something that occurs on a regular basis we will need to seek expert advice. Maybe we can go in with the neighbors on a solution that will benefit us both.
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KarenE
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by KarenE »

Judging by the weeather here, I think I might have to join you in anti-flooding measures {mr.angry} The girl's run has old screw holes in the roof which are now leaking..

Anyway - don't know if it's any good but I found this:

http://www.highpeak.gov.uk/sites/defaul ... ooding.pdf
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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chaletgirl
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by chaletgirl »

I'm copying the following from another thread just so I have it in the 'girls' journal:

OH DEAR! I think we are going through our first moult!! Yesterday when I came home there were feathers all over the chicken run. I was worried something had got at them but they all seemed very fine. Today I cleaned out the coop and I had enough feathers to make a pillow! So...I'm off first thing on Monday to get them some different feed.

They've not been on laying pellets for about a month and as a result all of them stopped laying. Would the lack of minerals, etc. in the feed make them moult? Would it be typical for all of them to moult at the same time? Right now only one of them is at it!!

UGH! How often do chickens moult?

You know...despite the constant moving, and worrying I do enjoy them and can't wait for better weather so I can be outside with them more.
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Mo
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by Mo »

Usually jusy once a year. Though if they have some sort of stress that might trigger it - one of mine was broody for weeks and then moulted before starting to lay again.
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KarenE
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

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Just to add to the advice you've had on moulting - it really does take it out of them so make sure you up their protein as they'll need loads to regrow feathers. If they are moulting laying will stop - they can't pump protein into eggs and feathers. Dried mealworms are a good source, sunflower seeds (not too many as they are fattening apparently), cut back on the corn and other treats if you give any. Sardines in tomato sauce are also good for protein. Or you could add growers pellets to their layers, they have a higher protein content. ACV in the water. You don't need other food for them unless you want to mix in the growers.

You may be right about the stress, coupled with colder, shorter days may have kicked them into a moult. I would've thought yours were a bit young (my 2 young girls haven't started yet) but maybe they will be early moulters. The lack of pellets and eggs may have been a coincidence if they were moving into a moult anyway, they will stop laying. I would get them back on the layers as they will need all the vits and minerals and protein.

So yes, you may find they moult at the same time, or they may not. Some may be slow moulters and may drag it out for ages, others may do it really fast and look oven ready for a while. My Tigger has been mnoulting for a while and is now losing her flight feathers. Some may sail through, some may look really unhappy and ill for a while before they even start moulting. Chickens are individuals!

Keep the best conditioned feathers as a memento! I have kept flight feathers of some of my girls and have them in my bedroom (Nugget, Weeps and Rexie) and the rest in the greenhouse.
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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chaletgirl
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

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The girls had a hens equivalent to a pillow fight!! }hairout{ The two clean spots are where the nest boxes were. My bag of extra wood shavings got wet during the flood and haven't dried out yet so I took the nest boxes into the basement for the day to dry the wood shavings out for them.

Image

Seriously! It's something new everyday :-D Yesterday Miss Kitty was found under an ornamental grass. She's made a nest there and left an egg there...so I guess she's not mouting.

This is the new location. A couple of pics of the girls under their covered run. That's the ringleader Miss Kitty in the front...the grey one in back is Mouse...she's the one that's molting.

Image

Image


I know the fencing isn't great right now but it has to do for the time being until we can get them back to their normal digs. They really like it here since there's plenty of bushes for them to scratch under.

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KarenE
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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by KarenE »

Looks good and I bet they're loving the bushes. Especially if it makes a super cosy nest. I found a huge pile of eggs under a fern in my overgrown wooded area (sounds very posh, it's a canopy of lilac, roses and spirea) - casper and remie had made themselves a nice little nest there }hairout{ so you do have to keep an eye on them.

Miss Kitty looks a right little tinker ;)

And as for your pillow fight - why, that's hardly any feathers! Wait till they really get going :-D
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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Re: Chalet Girl's Girls

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi what is the white stuff on the floor?????
My rear yard , refuse to call it agarden now is just brown and wet.
Bob

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