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

[Fancychooklady]

Never used them as I have too many chickens. They look great though.

I've had them for several months but they are still in the post pack they came in. My intention is to install a water tank for the main pens , that will water stock also. Hubby will run a line across the front of the main pens with 3 cups in each , with the provision to add more if necessary . Unfortunately it's ' order of importance ' here, for now it's time to get our daughter settled in Perth.

 

[K Spot]

Congrats on saving your hen, Birdman. Well done.

I've seen those waters before, but never bought one. I just have a big 15 litre waterer for my flock that I clean and refill every second day.

In other news, I came home from work yesterday afternoon to the pathetic crowing attempts from my NN frizzle bantam. He's just so adorable, but he cannot stay here as I already have two roos I've committed to keeping.
He stayed quiet this morning though, however he is going back to where he came from. I'll be sad to see him go.

 

[Outpost JWB]

well she is doing great...I tube fed her with pics on the link below...check it out for future reference if you might have a sick chicken....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/946493/need-help-with-sick-chicken

@birdman55 , That is great! Thanks for sharing.

I really appreciate @casportpony ! I have called on her a few times to help new members. She is so knowledgeable and always willing to help

Glad your hen is getting better

 

[satay]

I've had them for several months but they are still in the post pack they came in. My intention is to install a water tank for the main pens , that will water stock also. Hubby will run a line across the front of the main pens with 3 cups in each , with the provision to add more if necessary . Unfortunately it's ' order of importance ' here, for now it's time to get our daughter settled in Perth.

That's a big move Fancy. Is she going to uni over there ?

 

[satay]

Congrats on saving your hen, Birdman.  Well done.

I've seen those waters before, but never bought one.  I just have a big 15 litre waterer for my flock that I clean and refill every second day.

In other news, I came home from work yesterday afternoon to the pathetic crowing attempts from my NN frizzle bantam.  He's just so adorable, but he cannot stay here as I already have two roos I've committed to keeping. 
He stayed quiet this morning though, however he is going back to where he came from.  I'll be sad to see him go. 

Shame I don't live closer. I would have taken him for the cute factor alone . What's one more roo right .

 

[Fancychooklady]

We've had a little rain overnight. How's this for drinking cups? Btw these are my chook pen shoes.

 

[Fancychooklady]

@birdman55
,  That is great!  Thanks for sharing. 

I really appreciate @casportpony
!  I have called on her a few times to help new members.  She is so knowledgeable and always willing to help

Glad your hen is getting better

Kathy has a great mind. She is great with measurements and scales. Very resourceful.

 

[Fancychooklady]

That's a big move Fancy. Is she going to uni over there ?

Yes it's a long way away, but I think she's ready for it. Yes she's going to Edith Cowan.

 

[K Spot]

Shame I don't live closer. I would have taken him for the cute factor alone . What's one more roo right .

Exactly - but I don't have then hen numbers for 3 roosters

 

[tandykins]

Hrm. When my husband let the chickens out this morning he did not do a head count.

I did not realize that one of our hens, an Isa Brown named Bumblebee, was missing until later when I opened the coop and stepped inside to check on our newly hatched chicks. There was blood on the roost (I just cleaned the roosts and poop boards yesterday afternoon, btw...geeze).



I did not immediately think "predator" because the rest of my chickens seemed completely uninjured. Instead of immediately doing a head count I was looking for injured feet or combs on my chickens from pecking since we've been having some pecking order scuffles lately, especially with my Isa Browns who are newest to the flock. The blood was lower down where they tend to sit, there was little to none on the higher roosts where my roosters and top hens sit.

But then I realized that I could not find one of my Isa Browns, the one at the very bottom of the pecking order. The only gap large enough for any predator (including snakes) to get in is a 6 inch gap between the top of the walls and the roof.

I'm 1.6m tall and the top of my head is below the bottom of those windows.



The floor and walls are solid wood and there are no small gaps which snakes could fit through. The coop is elevated above a concrete foundation for air flow and drainage.

Those gaps will be covered with mesh tonight. This was the plan even before I knew a chicken was missing because I worried that a fox might be able to run up the wall and slip in through the gap or a raptor could slip through - but right at the moment because sparrows are flying freely in and taking chicken feed (and spreading parasites to my hens, no doubt).

Something about this just doesn't scream predator to me. Were it a fox, I'd expect most if not all of my chickens to be dead or at least injured. Were it a raptor, I would have thought it would have a heck of a time getting a fully grown Isa Brown hen out of the coop through that gap and one large enough to do it easily wouldn't be able to fit through.

So I just don't know. As she's at the bottom of the pecking order I wonder if someone tore her comb or waddles while they were roosting this morning before being let out and when my husband let them out she went off somewhere to hide and avoid further injury. She's very submissive and has been hiding away from the rest of the flock to avoid being picked on. The last few nights my husband has had to put her physically on the roost at night because she keeps trying to sleep on the door of our laundry.

I'm keeping an eye out for her, hoping that if she's simply injured and hiding she'll come out for food at some point.