Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Fancychooklady]

Just heard the egg song and had to go see. Yes the Pekins laid an egg finally and egg in the house other than quail eggs e

 

[K Spot]

@appps I'm glad Carl is slowly getting better. What a relief it must be for you.

Ahh worming, that reminds me, at the end of this month it'll be time to do my flock at the turn of the season.

Just heard the egg song and had to go see. Yes the Pekins laid an egg finally an egg in the house other than quail eggs

Hooray!! I think I have a new layer in the flock. I got a lovely pinky-brown egg yesterday, a colour I haven't got before. I'm thinking it came from my splash faverolles. She has reddened up in the face a lot in the past 2 weeks and is looking rather "layer-y" for a while, so I hope it's her.

Whoopi my new black silkie bantam is such a dear thing. Casanova loves her too, which is lovely to see. They call to one another across the yard (whoopi being in quarantine and all). But yesterday I caught Nova doing the deed for the first time with the BW Marans, however she is not laying yet.
I'm hoping to get some fertile eggs from him and hatch a few under Whoopi and Tinkerbelle when she comes of age, as that's why I bought them

I'm yet to actually crack any eggs and actively look for a bullseye, I might do that this week.

@Teila - hooray for Dusty and her laying. At least you aren't having to buy them at the moment.

 

[appps]

Arghhhhhh what am I going to do with this girl. Went to let them out this morning and Carl is up in the nesting box eating the hay in it. She ignored the door being open, I had to climb in their house and carry her out away from the hay. Last night I had to leave her locked up till dark because when I let her out as they were putting themselves to bed she started eating the wood shavings. What is that about!

Not sure what to do with her tonight. Thinking safest spot might be locked in the nesting box after I pull all the bedding out. It is very hard to help someone when they won't help themselves!

Thinking walking around is probably better for her digestion but I can't let her loose without her eating stuff she shouldn't. Thinking I might have to empty the house and run of all bedding and just keep them on a dirt floor for a while??

 

[sjturner79]

RIP cluck cluck passed after a battle to recover from a leg injury . Will be sorely missed.

 

[Anniebee]

Replying to appps -

My chickens adore white rice. It does not contain much goodness ( brown rice is better but less digestible ) .... discovered all that by default, as I had a whole lot of chopped up kitchen scraps ( yes I cut things up into tiny bits !! - even grass if I have to pick it from an area they cannot access

) .... to mix up and the boiled rice I had left over seemed to bind everything together into a mash.

So now, when I cook rice for ourselves, it is mainly a) for the chooks and then b) for us. I don't put salt in it while it's cooking - just take out the chooks lot, and then serve ours with some salt added. Anyway, they adore the stuff .. ( I use dog bowls - they can't tip them over ). Have tried just giving the chopped up scraps - or even bashed raw pumpkin - which I think the rats scarper off with, but my girls are fussy - yet they love a string bag of a 1/4 raw cabbage to pick at. Fussy ? - I think they are just plain spoiled rotten.

All of them have decided that free ranging is not much fun, even on the sunny days we had a few days back ( in Victoria ). Guess that's because of damp ground ( no dust baths ) ,,, and the ground is covered by wet leaves which they turn over and find worms and insects under, but a half hour later they are back in their run or coop - and remain there. ? Is that normal for winter months - there's grass out there ( under the leaves ) and I know there are more than plenty of grubs, insects etc in the damp conditions....

To Satay, Deej211 and Teila .... thank you all for your kind comments about my little Mindy Araucana. ...

She is a darling - but a very feisty darling. !

 

[K Spot]

Aww so sorry sjturner79

 

[Fancychooklady]

RIP cluck cluck passed after a battle to recover from a leg injury . Will be sorely missed.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Arghhhhhh what am I going to do with this girl. Went to let them out this morning and Carl is up in the nesting box eating the hay in it. She ignored the door being open, I had to climb in their house and carry her out away from the hay. Last night I had to leave her locked up till dark because when I let her out as they were putting themselves to bed she started eating the wood shavings. What is that about!

Not sure what to do with her tonight. Thinking safest spot might be locked in the nesting box after I pull all the bedding out. It is very hard to help someone when they won't help themselves!

Thinking walking around is probably better for her digestion but I can't let her loose without her eating stuff she shouldn't. Thinking I might have to empty the house and run of all bedding and just keep them on a dirt floor for a while??

Must something whispering in her ear to ' eat more roughage ' , who knows ? Yes I think you should remove the hay or make up a ' make shift ' coop for Carl.
I like this idea.

 

[appps]

Must something whispering in her ear to ' eat more roughage ' , who knows ? Yes I think you should remove the hay or make up a ' make shift ' coop for Carl.
I like this idea.

Hmmm got an ols swing set in the backyard ;-). Think hubby would kill me though lol

 

[Anniebee]

Arghhhhhh what am I going to do with this girl. Went to let them out this morning and Carl is up in the nesting box eating the hay in it. She ignored the door being open, I had to climb in their house and carry her out away from the hay. Last night I had to leave her locked up till dark because when I let her out as they were putting themselves to bed she started eating the wood shavings. What is that about!

Not sure what to do with her tonight. Thinking safest spot might be locked in the nesting box after I pull all the bedding out. It is very hard to help someone when they won't help themselves!

Thinking walking around is probably better for her digestion but I can't let her loose without her eating stuff she shouldn't. Thinking I might have to empty the house and run of all bedding and just keep them on a dirt floor for a while??

appps -

I don't ever use hay, have read where it is not always good for chickens to eat ( see more further down ) - only have straw ( pea straw ) and they pick at the tiny seeds from that, and lay their eggs on straw - however, they all love to eat fresh wood shavings. Doesn't seem to have done them any harm at all - they are all still happy and well ( so far ) .... and are going on 3 years of age now.

Have often wondered if it might be because it helps break things down in the crop, like shell grit does - however, having said that ... it really makes no sense, as surely the wood would soften in the crop ?

What I am trying to say is, I wouldn't worry about the wood shavings. I am not an expert by any means, but your girl sounds as though she needs something specific - hence the grass eating, and hay picking ( grown plant product ) and whatever she is getting from that. Wood also is from grown plant. She may be seeking more cholorophyll which is extra good for many things that ail people, and is apparently ( from what I have just read ) part of what is so good for chickens when they eat grass and greens. Any left over ( washed thoroughly first ) kale, cabbage, peas, cooked beans - not raw, broccoli, etc. and a bit of colour from carrot, ground up in a food processor and mixed with some boiled white rice which 'glues' it all together ( I think you said she enjoyed rice ? ) .... feed her ( by herself initially ) 1/3 cup of this mash, twice a day and then a 1/2 x 2 as she improves. If she prefers to pick at things occasionally in the company of other chooks, then try that - although they would get 90% of the food before she would.

Rummaged around until I found what I had been looking for about hay :

" Hay must not be used for bedding as it soon gets damp and can cause fungal spores to grow that can cause aspergillosis. This disease is contracted by inhalation when there is a high spore count in the air which can happen in a relatively short period of time given the right conditions. Nest boxes for hens are usually an exception and hay can be used if available but you must ensure they are kept clean. "

So as a precaution, I think I would give hay a miss for a while at least. It's ok for nesting boxes, as long as they are absolutely dry - but in this current wet weather, dampness could occur in empty nesting boxes ( they rarely lay overnight ) and would not be good. Mouldy hay has made many an animal very ill.

Separating her to check on her poop is a good idea, cos if she is able to deliver that automatically overnight, it means something is being properly digested and passed through to the bowel to empty.

My little Mindy, when going into a moult, does not eat much at all ( except her wonderful rice and goodies mash ) .... and I find her overnight poops decrease markedly in amount. I can do this because she lives by herself in a separate coop. Poops increase a bit after a mash feed. Largely I let her get on with her moult. ( All of them look like skinny little runts during their moults and are not inclined to eat much of their layer pellets at all ) .... but must add that my chickens' crops are ( so far ) very efficient. Fill up and empty quickly.

I hope this helps somewhat. Good luck with your girl and her strange eating habits !!.

P.S. .... I have just read another post that indicates that she is improved which is excellent news. Bit difficult to find various posts here at times, as a reply always goes to the end of the queue !!! ... I must keep a notebook handy in future - to jot down page numbers etc.