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

[megacakes]

I've heard pine needles are really good.

I love the smell of sweet hay, used to roll around in it as a kid. Straw leaves welts all over me, hay doesn't, but I've no idea why.

I buy straw when I can get to the shop, but use dry bamboo leaves when I run out. They seem to do the trick just fine, and they are free and bountiful, which is a bonus.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Finally finished the hedges. Only a month late but the weather has been all over the place. Time to start on the coops and lock up some waskally woosters.

 

[Teila]

Howdy Folks

AussieChics sounds like you have your very own wrecking crew which you should probably hire out

Steampunked I love your new gals; I want the Lavender!!

Lolz at your Belgians on the lounge satay

youngchooklover I am sorry to read that your troubles continue

Sidhe13 sounds like we will be celebrating bubs around the same time but yours are due a few days before mine.

Nu2chooks15 they sure are making you wait! What’s the saying “Lord give me patience but hurry!”

Kooka Mother Nature certainly can make life interesting!

Fancy beautiful picture!! Your garden etc is to die for!

So, I am posting mid week for a reason … had the most awful scare with Dusty! She is molting and Blondie is broody. So Sunday around 8pm I went out to make sure that Blondie had stayed on the roost and not mucked around trying to find somewhere to pancake. Anyways, Dusty had laid a soft shelled egg. Unfortunately, a good deal of the shell was hanging out of her vent. I removed it and cleaned her up as much as I could without causing too much angst while they roosted.

Monday morning Dusty was very unwell; moping, not moving much, very sleepy, not eating, runny poop. As I had to work I couldn’t do much for her during the day, just keep an eye on her and ensure she did not get worse.

Research indicated that they have trouble laying the soft shell eggs because they are hard to push out, nothing to grip and some oil may help.

Knocked off work spot on 4pm and dashed outside with a bowl of warm water and Epsom Salts and plonked her in it for 30 minutes gently massing. I managed to get some sardines into her (thank you Fancy!!) but had to put her up on the roost at bed time because she didn’t want to jump. She looked pretty bad and I was really concerned that I was going to loose her.

As I do, sent hubby out to check on her this morning, I was too chicken! He came back and told me she was in the run .. phew!

Overnight, probably due to either the bath or the oil in the sardines or a combination of both, she had deposited the rest of the shell which I found on the coop floor.

She is still a bit sad and sorry for herself today but the majority of that would probably be that she is a bit of a sook during a molt.

She was scratching around the garden at free range time and jumped up onto the roost by herself at bed time

I am keeping a very close eye on her!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Howdy Folks 

AussieChics sounds like you have your very own wrecking crew which you should probably hire out 

Steampunked I love your new gals; I want the Lavender!!

Lolz at your Belgians on the lounge satay 

youngchooklover I am sorry to read that your troubles continue 

Sidhe13 sounds like we will be celebrating bubs around the same time but yours are due a few days before mine.

Nu2chooks15 they sure are making you wait!  What’s the saying “Lord give me patience but hurry!”

Kooka Mother Nature certainly can make life interesting!

Fancy beautiful picture!!  Your garden etc is to die for!

So, I am posting mid week for a reason … had the most awful scare with Dusty!  She is molting and Blondie is broody.  So Sunday around 8pm I went out to make sure that Blondie had stayed on the roost and not mucked around trying to find somewhere to pancake.  Anyways, Dusty had laid a soft shelled egg.  Unfortunately, a good deal of the shell was hanging out of her vent.  I removed it and cleaned her up as much as I could without causing too much angst while they roosted.

Monday morning Dusty was very unwell; moping, not moving much, very sleepy, not eating, runny poop.  As I had to work I couldn’t do much for her during the day, just keep an eye on her and ensure she did not get worse. 

Research indicated that they have trouble laying the soft shell eggs because they are hard to push out, nothing to grip and some oil may help.

Knocked off work spot on 4pm and dashed outside with a bowl of warm water and Epsom Salts and plonked her in it for 30 minutes gently massing.  I managed to get some sardines into her (thank you Fancy!!) but had to put her up on the roost at bed time because she didn’t want to jump.  She looked pretty bad and I was really concerned that I was going to loose her.

As I do, sent hubby out to check on her this morning, I was too chicken!  He came back and told me she was in the run .. phew! 

Overnight, probably due to either the bath or the oil in the sardines or a combination of both, she had deposited the rest of the shell which I found on the coop floor. 

She is still a bit sad and sorry for herself today but the majority of that would probably be that she is a bit of a sook during a molt. 

She was scratching around the garden at free range time and jumped up onto the roost by herself at bed time 

I am keeping a very close eye on her!

Glad to hear that she is on the up and up. Are they getting calcium carbonate on free take?
Salmon is also good as it has soft bones in it. Just a little more exy.

 

[Teila]

Glad to hear that she is on the up and up. Are they getting calcium carbonate on free take?
Salmon is also good as it has soft bones in it. Just a little more exy.

Thank You!

I truly believe it was the sardines you recommended that helped save Cilla with her impacted/sour crop a few months back and they may just have done the trick this time also. I actually keep a tin in the pantry now just for the chickens!

Yep, they have oyster shell available, separate to their food which I see them eating, normally of an evening before roost time.

I wondered if the soft shelled egg could be because she is molting?

 

[cwrite]

Your garden is looking beautiful Fancy! I must get to my hedges because they keep turning into trees.

That's interesting about your soil Andrew. Ours might be similar. It looks sandy, but I know it's clay underneath so I've never been able to understand why it gets so dry so quickly.
some interesting possibilities to consider in areas I'm struggling with.

That's great that Dusty has passed the shell Teila - and a speedy intervention from you. I think I'm a sardine convert too.

 

[Teila]

Thank You cwrite, as I said, I am keeping a very close eye on her but she has certainly improved ten fold after passing the rest of the shell.

I took this picture of her on Sunday morning enjoying a sun-bake .. it is amazing how quickly they can go downhill; she went from this on Sunday morning to me thinking I would lose her last night:

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thank You cwrite, as I said, I am keeping a very close eye on her but she has certainly improved ten fold after passing the rest of the shell. I took this picture of her on Sunday morning enjoying a sun-bake .. it is amazing how quickly they can go downhill; she went from this on Sunday morning to me thinking I would lose her last night:

Telia I was only explaining to a friend yesterday that chickens are very stoic and that it is in their genetic programming not to appear weak or injured. They are brave little soldiers, God love em. I know that when my chooks turn their noses up at sardines , they are in a real pickle. We had wedding photos in the garden on the weekend and the state theatre group are coming this month , so there is no rest for the ' grounds keeper ' , that's me. :/

 

[C8yJayne]

Hi everyone I hope you are all well. I have a dilemma my broody chook has built her nest under my shearing shed I want to get her out to put her in the maternity ward with some fertile eggs. Any idea how I can get her out? With out breaking her

 

[Steampunked]

Hi everyone I hope you are all well. I have a dilemma my broody chook has built her nest under my shearing shed I want to get her out to put her in the maternity ward with some fertile eggs. Any idea how I can get her out? With out breaking her

I'm sure more experienced people can comment, but maybe setting up her nursery to be perfect (dark, quiet, comfortable) and using two people to move her and the eggs at the same time after dark?