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

[Kooka]

We initially did only clip one wing.  It had no effect so we tried both - which also had no effect. 

We went into the Royal Woman's birthing unit young vital and fully awake, some 32 yeas on the sleep bank sent me a statement saying that I was now in credit.

It seems that we have no cares as kids, anxiety as teens and young adults, and less and less 'me' time as we get older.......

Non bastardom carborundum - Don't let the b******s wear you down.

Been thinking on some of the non chook posts......

There is an Eric Bogle song out of the prisons in South Africa, reputed to be inspired by a chant/song sung by the inmates for a prisoner on his way to hang.

As best I can remember now it goes:-

Courage brother you do not walk alone.
We will walk with you, you will not walk alone.
Courage brother, you do not walk alone.

Worth remembering when life turns to chook poo on your hair or whatever..........

 

[AussieChics]

Hey I just had an idea...try shade sail cloth or even a tarp for shade. Our old house had zero shade so we wired some over the coop and them set a sprinkler on kind of misty in there...it was actually really effective!

yeah have all that. Just doesn't get cool enough for my liking. And at the moment theres too many chickens for them to be locked in the run anyway. Couple more weeks and I can sell another blue one. But the silkies are goin to take forever. And I'd really like to sell my 2 brown ones but that would leave their friend lonely. Cant sell all 3 cos 1 is my sons lol

 

[Nu2chooks15]

Hey I just had an idea...try shade sail cloth or even a tarp for shade. Our old house had zero shade so we wired some over the coop and them set a sprinkler on kind of misty in there...it was actually really effective!

Good thought, have tried similar here before, due to extreme winds, heat etc which we get the shade cloth/tarps get shredded in no time and are very difficult to secure to start with. Hoping the trees will help soon but the girls get to stay inside if they want where it's fully insulated and have the fan going

 

[Sidhe13]

The sprinkler is a cheap useless piece of garbage and makes puddles everywhere because the ground is too dry to soak it quick enough...I have actually seen my chooks scratching and splashing like ducks...mental!!

Plant shade is definitely better than fake shade...I don't know why, but it is more effective. Find a fast growing vine!

As for the tarps...if you have a grain storage nearby, ask about using their ripped tarps pieces...they are heaps heavier and stronger for the winds and heat and the pieces that are too small for them to bother repairing are perfect for us to shelter our chooks! Bunker tarps they are called...the ones I got from the hardware store didn't last a week out here!

The fact that they can't get to their favourite shade spots in the yard, since I don't let them free range anymore, has given me some serious innovation moments for keeping them comfortable and happy...tonight I am hoping to fence off and start a fodder patch...

 

[cwrite]

Will get to discussing mite issues soon I hope, bed bound at the moment with a pinched nerve in my back. Can't walk, sleep or get relief.......it will pass ( fingers crossed)

Hope it passes soon. Somewhat lacking in mobility & in a bit of pain myself, I am reminded how lucky I am to have been mostly healthy most of my life. I just have no patience for this!

Having been raised on decaff I can't stomach 'real' coffee. However, vitamins are my go to pick me up. It's amazing what a difference they make to me.

We had such a large white thing on the lawn I sent my kids out to check if it was an egg. Nope - just a HUGE poop.

Hope things cool down for those of you struggling with the heat. It's hard to beat, but has to be better than dealing with frostbite.

 

[Fancychooklady]

It's as hot as Qld here the last few days. We just had a huge thunder storm go through but now the sun is shining and it is muggy. On the wing clipping, depends on the bird. Do one wing and if it does the trick leave it at that. If she still manages to escape do the other one.
Time to light the barby, we are having my sweet chilli and coriander chicken burgers and satay tenderloins. Our guests are young Chinese fruit pickers , they cooked us a feast last night for Chinese New Year , it was amazing. Bon appetite !

 

[Fancychooklady]

Man I love finding / being given injured animals and getting to doctor them. [/URL] My Ancona hen Kissybum has had a purplish comb since she reached maturity - it varies a bit and doesn't get any worse than this but I find it concerning. Should I be worried? She seems otherwise fine and has been like this for weeks without any other symptoms. As you can see she has blood on her hackle feathers - there have been several pecking order scuffles lately. I'm keeping an eye on the situation and it seems pretty well par for the course. The Ancona hens (the ones who haven't laid yet) are the newest hens and the ones copping the brunt of it. It's not really purple on the tips - more purple toward the back. The other issue I've been having lately is...*sigh* Ophelia - my other Ancona hen. Due to, I imagine, the pecking order squabbles - I find her on the roof of the coop every single night without fail. Last night she even managed to get away with sleeping up there because my husband was naughty and didn't do a head count. I found her wandering the backyard this morning before anyone else had been let out. I either entice her down or chase her down and put her to bed each night but I'm -very- worried that one of these times when flying down she is going to break something. It's about 2.5m off the ground. She's ridiculously good at flying for a chicken with both wings clipped (we clipped first one and when that didn't work tried the other as well (which also didn't work). With both wings clipped she can actually fly about a foot off of the ground for about 15m without landing. She seems to think that she's part eagle. I'm at a loss for how to keep her from getting up there. She's flying up onto our fence and then using it to boost herself up onto the coop about a metre away from it. Ideas would be hugely appreciated. I tried to get a photo of her up there today but I went out for my evening scratch feed (treat/bonding time - a small handful per chicken) and she came down to get her share. Since that happened so late she went into the coop of her own accord (this time) so there was no Ophelia on the roof when I went out with the camera. In other news, I've had a monstrous headache for the last three days - mostly tension related. It's making it difficult to keep up with my studies because I can't focus. I've been wandering around with a portable TENS unit strapped to my waist during my waking hours and that helps as long as I have it on. When I turn it off the headache comes back with a vengeance. *sigh* Hopefully the constant Panadol I've been taking will have that compounding effect my physio promises will happen if I take it diligently for a few days. Any minute now. Any...minute now?

Could be favus. Easily treated with an anti fungal cream. the purple points on the comb would usually indicate one of three things, frostbite, poor circulation or coronary problems. My very beautiful 12 month old light sussex died as a result of a 'suspected ' heart attack .

 

[Sidhe13]

Just gave my chooks a "cool" treat. I froze half a container of water this morning, sprinkled in some peas, corn, mealworms, and poultry pellets, added water and coconut juice then back in the freezer until it was juuuuust getting that icy crust on top.

When I set it down for them they were looking for a moment like "why is our food in water", then one pecked at it...twice to break through the crust....and it was on like Donkey Kong!
I figure while they play around "fishing" for all the yummy bits the ice in the bottom will keep melting adding a level of difficulty and keeping it all chilly...

 

[Kooka]

I need to either clip the girls wings or sell a few chickens so they can be locked up in the run all day again. My garden is being highly affected by their costant free ranging.


but on 40 degree days they need to be out to hide under the hibiscus where its nice and cool!

I use plastic drink bottles to freeze water so when we get a hot day I slip a solid block of ice into the water feeder. Melts slowly, cooled water sinks and seeps down and out into the trough.
I was told that chooks cool most effectively from the inside thus a supply of cold drinking water would be more effective than cool spray.
Can't say if that is right or wrong but since I started doing it just this summer my hens look heaps happier by the time I get home from work mid afternoon. If it's been 40+ may have to put in a fresh one.......chooks make a b line for the drinker as soon as I do it now so they obviously do like a cool drink.

 

[AussieChics]

I use plastic drink bottles to freeze water so when we get a hot day I slip a solid block of ice into the water feeder. Melts slowly, cooled water sinks and seeps down and out into the trough.
I was told that chooks cool most effectively from the inside thus a supply of cold drinking water would be more effective than cool spray.
Can't say if that is right or wrong but since I started doing it just this summer my hens look heaps happier by the time I get home from work mid afternoon. If it's been 40+ may have to put in a fresh one.......chooks make a b line for the drinker as soon as I do it now so they obviously do like a cool drink.

Yep I do that too. It usually melts pretty fast though