celeste Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Thats very kind Cheryl Don't worry too much about the hens not liking you, they just don't know any different, we used to get ex batts in every year at the city farm, and it took on average two weeks for them to start thinking people weren't scary, try some dried meal worms on them, might win them round. You'll be missing Brandon tonight, he's waiting for me upstairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 After a whole 24hrs of expert nursing from me Cackypants has arisen from her death bed, to rejoin her homies in da' hood, and is stuffing her face, and throwing insults to anyone passing by ......I may have to rename her Lazurus the comeback kid , or Lazurina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickentikka Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 yay for Cacky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted May 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 I am looking for a bit of advice from all you chicken experts please Henry our Blue haze is laying quite fragile eggs (the shell is quite thin in parts). I have added more shells to their layers mash but this doesn't seem to be working. I have three hens, Tilly is broody and not laying and Rocky's egg are fine (really thick shells), so was wondering what else it could be. Also to add that Henry's feather look 'greasy' and when it rain she get soaked, unlike the other two where the rain forms droplets and roll off them (if that makes sense). Any advice please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted May 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 There are a number of things you could try. First of all, have they been wormed recently? I use Flubenvet every six months and Apple Cider Vinegar goes in their water almost daily. Thin shells are usually cause by a lack of calcium so try offering oyster shell with their usual grit. Limestone flour is a good source of calcium and I used to mix a spoonful in with their pellets. I'm now trying Zocal-D which is a liquid calcium supplement on Valerie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 Poor Caroline did not have a good day today, there she was being very brave and walking across the bridge in the garden to where I was, when who should come barrelling through but Daisy, in her haste to get to me Daisy blootered into Caroline and Caroline went, wheeeeeeee, sploosh !, into the stream, I raced over (luckily with all this hot weather it wasn't deep) and there she was, looking very bewildered and getting her knickers wet....poor love she was fine, just a bit soggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 :laugh: poor old caroline :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyboy Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 RATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Saw a little beady eye in the corner of the chicken run last night as it got dark, followed by a little head which popped down when it saw me. I've blocked up the hole it came out of and later (cos naturally I am hard at work now, not looking at any forums at all) I will have a scout round the edges and check for any more BUT while I am happy that the run is 99% fox proof (unless they can unlock the gate) obviously there is no way I can make it rat proof short of glazing the sides and concreting the floor. I really want to be able to leave the door for the girls to get in and out when they want so that if I go away for the weekend I don;t have to rely on late rising neighbours (middayish) to let them out...... I can put their food away at night while I am here but it will have to be left out when I am away. However are the rats likely to climb up and attack the girls if there is no food to stop them on the way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 They're more than likely to eat the eggs than the girls themselves but there's always a chance. Now that you know there is a rat problem you should either pay the council to come out to get rid of them or invest in some good bait & bait boxes to get rid of them yourself. We did it ourselves because we knew where the rats had got in, knew where their paths were and knew why they were coming. Little sods had chewed a hole in the bottom of the wooden door on the side of the garage to get to the sacks of food Mrs Rat and her family of baby rats were living in the garage. We never saw her but saw the babies. We spent a day clearing out absolutely everything from the garage. Ella despatched quite a few escapee baby rats, the cats got the rest. We then moved all the food into the house, blocked up the hole in the door and left a bait box along the pathway they were using from next doors garden to our garage. Problem solved. We've not seen any since. They're creatures of habit and will not deviate from the paths they use so if you use a bait box or trap it has to be in the right place or it's useless, they'll go nowhere near it. I've been busy this morning taking chick pics The Dorkings have wings like bats! They're the most confident of all the chicks. The Aras are very quiet. And my baby blue Poland isn't a frizzle, it's sods law it'll be a boy now aswell just to disappoint me further. S/he is sooooooo cute and so tiny! I'll go out to the garden to get baby Brahma pics later, they're massive! Ickle baby Blue A group shot, minus one Araucana that was being cuddled Black Silkie Blue Orp & an Ara Various Look at those baby bats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyboy Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Thanks for the advice... looks like I know what I will be doing this week!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Found our baby Dorking girl dead this morning, the other two Dorkings are boys Sleep well little girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyboy Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Sorry about your baby Dorking girl. The girls have a big run with chicken wire plus trellis or fence panels and overhead netting and I am confident it is 99% fox proof. Inside that is the original coop/run where the door between the big run and the inner one is fixed open just wide enough for a chicken to get through. Then the nest box where they sleep is up a ramp and again the door is wedged to just wide enough for them to get in and out. As soon as it looks as if it is going to get dark one of the girls goes up to bed and when it is twilight the other 3 follow her. Since seeing the rat I have been in and taken their food out of the outer run overnight, last night I had been to an AGM so it was late and I was wearing decent clothes instead of the normal scruffs. So why was it that in the dark last night at 11.10 I was wrestling a hysterical chicken who was trying to climb the fence in the outer run and shoving her into the inner run…. And then when she stood in there shouting her head off having to unbolt the door and climb inside there (in decent clothes) to wrestle her again and force her into the nest box?!?!?!?!?!?! I can only assume the silly bird had got carried away scratching around outside and frozen in place when it got dark. When I went in to move the food I let Jed come in with me – not that I think he would actually catch a rat but if there were any it would give them a fright. The doors were still only just open so Jed could not have got his head through the first one, let alone the rest of him to get into the second one. Presumably his instincts or his eyesight told him she was out there because when the screeching started I chased him out and he spat out a feather. Again he did not damage her other than 1 feather missing and her pride as this morning all 4 girls were out demanding their food was put back. Mind you she must have scared the others when she told them what happened as the nest box this morning was covered in s**t, not just the few piles there are normally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 R I P little Dorking As well as Eradibait poison I use stuff called Ratty, which is a rat deterrant, stinks to high heaven but seems to do the trick, it's a powder that you use for a few weeks to convince the rats there's a predator about, it costs about £8 for a small tub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyboy Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Where do you get Ratty from please? Did a quick search but could not find anything useful...... as obviously the rats do not think 4 dogs are predators?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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