celeste Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I get mine from here Mallets, and it's only £5.99 ! You do need to wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive, as soon as the stuff comes in it's gone again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyboy Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 The remaining 11 chicks all seem fine today thankfully. All change in the garden. Firstly, the ex-bats are free ranging now with the big girls. Today is their first time unsupervised. They've been out a few times this week, no major fisticuffs and they have quickly learnt to stay out of the way of the others. They actually like me now At the first sign of trouble they head straight for me because they know I'll defend them from the meanies They carry on sleeping in their own coop for a few more weeks. I should imagine by the time Tiger Lily is ready to leave her chicks the dinner boys will be in the freezer so there'll be more room in the big coop and I'll try to get her in there at the same time as the ex-bats. And reluctantly on Sunday two of my ladies will be moving to a new home. Violet my Bluebelle is very very very noisy. The whole time we're in the garden she sqwarks like a seagull. I've tried everything I can to get her to quieten down but she will not be reined in and is just getting louder. My neighbours hate me as it is and even I would have to have some sympathy for them where she is concerned. I don't want it to get to the stage where I am forced to get rid of some or even all of my flock so I've been looking for a new home for her. It's not fair for her to go on her own so she's taking Freya Columbine with her. Again, Freya likes the sound of her own voice, she's not in the same league as Violet but with the pair of them gone my garden will be a much quieter place. Apart from a few who make egg announcements they are a very quiet bunch of girls who don't cause any bother at all. Violet has stressed me out so much recently so I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet. They're going to live with lots of other chooks and ducks in Swindon where they can shout to their hearts content. Daisy & Emily are now not talking to me though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted June 5, 2009 Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 Sorry to hear you'll be losing two, I know what you mean about loving the sound of their own voices, Lola and Kelly trumpet on for ages when an eggs due, neighbours on one side don't mind, being country folk, and the lot on the other side can whistle Dixie for all I care, they have very quiet hens, but a very noisy grandchild, so if I have to listen to them every day the suns out, they can put up with Lola and Kel .......and there is still the small matter of them knocking a ruddy big hole 2ft across through our back wall and not even telling or asking us , it was a few years ago and they did fix it, and it was to prevent their house from flooding, but I've got a lllllllong memory Guess what !..........I'm going to get two more hens come the winter that coop will be very cold as it's for 8 Orp's and has 5 hens smaller than Orp's in it......so I might get those Orp's after all, just been looking at temp housing on Flea-Bay, and seen one at £95, so I'll try and get hold of the person who's selling birds and take it from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 Excellent news about new Orps. You wouldn't want yours getting cold My coop is big enough for 20, it's got 17 in it at the moment and there's plenty of room for more The ex-bats have enjoyed their day out but I've just had the fright of my life when I went to close their run door. There was a toad in their run! He was merrily hopping about but if I'd closed the door he would've been trapped so I had to pick him up. Thankfully he didn't mind being re-located a few feet away. He was lucky he chose the ex-bats abode to hang out in, the others would've ripped him limb from limb! I'd been exchanging PM's earlier on in the week with the bloke in Swindon who is having my two but on an entirely separate matter. He is flogging an incubator, it's a better model than mine but a few years old so I was haggling a price. He then saw my post about Violet & Freya and agreed to my demands and offered them a home too. My incy is going on Ebay and I'm using the money to buy a shed. The new incy is dirt cheap and I'm struggling really hard to resist the temptation to see if it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegk68 Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 So sorry to hear about Violet and Bluebelle Cheryl. Sounds like they have a super new home lined up though I'm off in 10mins to go and pick up my 4 ex battery girls. VERY excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesB Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 Oh fab Helen. We need photos as soon as you get back though I've just been pottering about in the garden with my three, they are hilarious. The biggest one is really confident now. In fact she's slightly scary. She just ran over to me and pecked me really hard on the arm and it hurts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 Can't wait to see your girls Helen! Mine are getting along very well with the big girls. The big girls like getting together under one of the trees to have a good preening & gossiping session. This morning I saw that they'd allowed the ex-bats to join them It's amazing to think that just two weeks ago they woke up in their cages at the battery farm for the last time and now they're doing proper chickeny things and enjoying it I'll definitely have more ex-bats in the future. Old incy now on Ebay and I might have just sent an email to Jacqueline to see if she'll have any Silkie & Salmon Faverolle eggs available in the next few weeks, just to test the new one works of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 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. Thans for the advice Yes they are wormed reguarly, and they have oyster shells in with their grit which in turn I mix in with their mash. So I shall try the supplements as well. I wondered if the mash itself wasn't as good (I have tried a couple of brands), so might go back to the original one I used. Thank you so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegk68 Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 My girls arrived safely home yesterday afternoon. I have tried taking lots of *nice* photos but they don't seem very up to striking a good pose for the camera at the moment. However, now this is day2 I swear I can see their combs, which were almost white, turn pinker They've got more feathers than I was expecting, which is good. They're a little in awe of the World but finding their feet and seem to love eating grass and generally scratching around. Today is all about trying to pick off bugs as they fly past. They've laid two eggs already! 8O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Awww, Teg, they're lovely, be great to see them improve as the weeks go on, any names yet ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 They're my girls sisters Mimi, Maud & Meredith are the best of friends. They follow each other around the garden and it's unusual to find one out on it's own somewhere. What I have noticed is how hunched their backs are, I guess it's because there's no room to stand up straight in the battery cages And Mimi has quite a limp, she's fine in her slower paces but when it comes to getting out the way fast she kind of hop, skips and jumps. They've not been bothered by the rain and have had a jolly good weekend doing chickeny things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Primrose isn't feeling well today I knew the second I saw her this morning she wasn't right. Instead of bundling out the door with everyone else she hung back with her eyes closed. She then slowly wandered out but didn't join in the scrum for breakfast. I picked her up to check her crop, it wasn't empty but wasn't full either but I gave it a bit of a massage anyway. It felt soft so I was sure it wasn't that that was bothering her. I've been keeping an eye on her all morning, she's been doing a lot of standing around puffed up with her eyes closed. I put some vitamin drops on a piece of bread and she ate that then went and perched on a very low branch under a bush. A while later there was an egg on the ground underneath her, it didn't have a shell, just the membrane. I hope that was what was wrong and now it's passed she'll feel better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Oh dear, poor Primrose sounds a bit like what Cacky had last week, but there was no egg involved, although I don't think she's been laying since she was ill, just as well she's one of my favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Linky That's gigantic! Primrose is feeling much better I'm so glad it was just a manky egg making her ill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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