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

[satay]

Hello everyone long time. Hope all is well I have been keeping myself busy.

 

[Fizzybelle]

Good morning folks

satay I hope the rest and meds are working and you are feeling better.

jessbonnitcha congratulations on the hatch .. I hope you get that rooster

Of 5 little banties I have 2 x broodies, Cilla & Blondie and 1 x moulter, Dusty.

Blondie spent the night planking on the nest box cover and Cilla spent the night sulking on the roost. Dusty does not usually moult until March but she has started dropping a few feathers the last couple of days.

The good news, with only Crystal likely to want to lay an egg, everyone has been kicked out of the coop and I will just let Crystal in if she whinges

Sounds like it should be fairly easy dealing with them this time. I've just gotten my girls out of their clucky moods. Esme despite her minor slip up yesterday is totally fine today, and back to herself. And now that Esme is over the cluckies, Beatrice who oh so coincidentally became broody when Ezzie did, is also no longer broody.

 

[Teila]

Congrats on being broody free Fizzybelle. Catching Cilla and Blondie early and locking them out of the coop for the day seems to have changed their minds but I know that is only temporary

I had a bit of a scare earlier.

As you know, I work from home and the girls free range the back garden all day; unless I am not home.

Anyways, I heard one of them squawking up a storm [danger alarm] and I raced outside.

Cilla was semi-flying down one side of the garden, across the back fence, back across the lawn, up the path and then hid under the BBQ near the gazebo, danger alarm the whole way. It really sounded like something had either tried to take her or something bit her. The others were all standing still, a couple growling.

It took me ages to talk Cilla out from under the BBQ and she was breathing so heavily she was wheezing.

I could not see anything in the garden and I have checked her over thoroughly and besides still being a bit freaked out, she seems OK.

I have them all locked up in the run for now until they settle and I finish work and can supervise free range.

 

[LuckysMum]

Hello everyone long time. Hope all is well I have been keeping myself busy.

 

[LuckysMum]

Thanks mate. I'm going along not to bad the pins and needles drive me mad at times but I am getting there.

Just make sure the pins and needles don't lead to numbness. That's what happened to me, by the time I saw a neurosurgeon, he wanted me to try different things. By the time he operated I was taking strong painkillers I couldn't sleep, stand or sit for long and I couldn't drive. It was about 18 months and carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand before he decided that I needed an operation. Thankfully once I healed I was pain free after 3 years. I'm sure if they are on to it early you will be fine.

 

[LuckysMum]

Congrats on being broody free Fizzybelle. Catching Cilla and Blondie early and locking them out of the coop for the day seems to have changed their minds but I know that is only temporary

I had a bit of a scare earlier.

As you know, I work from home and the girls free range the back garden all day; unless I am not home.

Anyways, I heard one of them squawking up a storm [danger alarm] and I raced outside.

Cilla was semi-flying down one side of the garden, across the back fence, back across the lawn, up the path and then hid under the BBQ near the gazebo, danger alarm the whole way. It really sounded like something had either tried to take her or something bit her. The others were all standing still, a couple growling.

It took me ages to talk Cilla out from under the BBQ and she was breathing so heavily she was wheezing.

I could not see anything in the garden and I have checked her over thoroughly and besides still being a bit freaked out, she seems OK.

I have them all locked up in the run for now until they settle and I finish work and can supervise free range.

I hope there are no lasting effects on poor Cilla, or you.

 

[appps]

This one I had to share! Blondie waiting to use the favourite nest box. She has been patiently perched for at least 15mins and apparently the other two boxes are invisible I hope for her sake Cilla is laying and not broody

Haha. Love the photo

We don't really have that problem because we don't have little individual nest boxes we just have one big one (sort of like if you got rid of your plastic boxes and just put hay where they were). I then can have up to four chickens all in there at the same time and broody ones don't hold up the line because they will just squeeze in as close to the favourite corner as they can but next to whoever is already in it. Unless penny the silkie is in it, then they just sit on her like she is invisible

Keep your eye out for aerial attacks too in case that's what set her off!

 

[Teila]

Gooood morning

Cilla is fine today and no signs of whatever it was that freaked her out so badly yesterday. I am definitely on high alert today.

Hey appps, I was just thinking yesterday how I have not seen you for a while.

Aaaw, poor invisible Penny lol

Today’s entertainment is going to be watching Blondzilla and GodCilla do laps around the closed coop. Only chicken likely to lay an egg is Crystal and she has already done that so I just shut the coop door.

 

[Fizzybelle]

Gooood morning

Cilla is fine today and no signs of whatever it was that freaked her out so badly yesterday. I am definitely on high alert today.

Hey appps, I was just thinking yesterday how I have not seen you for a while.

Aaaw, poor invisible Penny lol

Today’s entertainment is going to be watching Blondzilla and GodCilla do laps around the closed coop. Only chicken likely to lay an egg is Crystal and she has already done that so I just shut the coop door.

Ahh the laps around the coop. Well I hope they don't drive you too crazy today.

My girls have been on alert lately too, though I know the cause of the problem, we have a very bold, big rat. Our cat Lucy who passed recently was actually really good at catching rats, she presented me a few times with dead, furry gifts of love she took care of herself, but unfortunately she isn't here to help. I've been setting traps but all I've done is feed the sneaky little bugger. The coop is vermin proof and the feed in in a metal bin, so nothing is there for him at night, but during the day I've seen him come out into the open to eat stray grains the girls fling about. The girls cluck at him when they see him to alert me, and I hoped the larger girls might go for him, but they didn't. Any idea's on how to take care of him that's fairly safe around the chickens? I'm just concerned with using poisons as I have seen them eat bits of dead rat a crow dropped once before I confiscated it. We will be getting another cat in the future, just not now. Might just have to persist with the trap and using different baits on it.

 

[LoveInNature]

I found rats particularly smart when it comes to traps, however, he is old and probably quite bold now the cats gone. We can hire live traps which you bait with peanut butter. Once they are in the trap you put them in water and drown them or be creative with a pipe and cars petrol exhaust fumes. Not inside your garage of course!

I am only being brave on here. I have just bought expensive bait that only effects rats. I cannot bare the thought of accidentally killing anything else in a flow on effect.

Good luck!