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

[Anniebee]

 

[Anniebee]

Quoted by MyHaven :

Cane toads run mad across my yard. We're stuck with them here I'm afraid. They go into the run and coop at night if there is any food left. That's one reason why I do not leave food out or feed scraps later in the day. If it can't be consumed by nightfall they don't get it.

You do have some egg mysteries. She is a lovely looking bird and I look forward to seeing the egg photos.

Thanks - yes, it is hard to exercise. When I was first recovering I lied about how well I was. I wanted to get back to normality. I have no flexibility or endurance.

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I am having trouble on here again, so can only hope this way works.

I don't think I could stand cane toads running riot across my garden. Can understand why you remove all food for overnight - and I just hope toads don't have a taste for chook woopsies. I know I would secure night time coops, like Fort Knox, if they were down south here. The poor chooks would be imprisoned.

Don't know a lot about toads, except that they are prolific breeders, have poison pouches somewhere, and if touched will exude poison from the warty things on their skin ? Don't know if that is correct - but cannot say I have ever had any urges to find out much about them

Yes - egg mysteries for sure. I think there are many more mysteries out there in " Fowlty Towers " ( which is what I called my first chicken coop ), and I will never solve them.

I can totally understand your responses to people when you didn't feel well. It saves a lot of uproar in the long run - and wanting to get back to normality, was your utmost priority. It must be very difficult at times, to push yourself to the limits of your endurance, especially when you have chicken problems and worries and no doubt the day to day concerns we all encounter from time to time. Admiration to you, coming from south of the borders.

Cheers ........

 

[LuckysMum]

I lived in Giru (near Townsville) 30 years ago, we backed onto sugar cane farm no fences between us. So we had snakes and cane toads. You could not walk on the lawn at night it was completely covered in toads. Disgusting things. I hope they manage to keep them out of WA. A friend of mine touched his face after throwing a toad out of his vege garden and is eye swelled so bad he couldn't see out of it for ages.
MyHaven Do you get heaps or just a few.

 

[User395221]

She looks clucky to me.

Thanks, I hope that's all that's happening. I just can't help worrying she'll drop dead of something...... She's only young, I don't see why she should be going all clucky. I hope the others don't get ideas. LOL
Quote: They've already found some up north, haven't they?

 

[LuckysMum]

They've already found some up north, haven't they?

Yes they have and I think the odd one turns up on trains and trucks. Hopefully everyone is observant and we keep it under control. I hope it is too cool for them this far south. But we seem to be getting warmer, I remember being colder. Though I wonder if its the extra weight I'm carrying these days, or maybe that stage in life were I have my own heat generator.

 

[Anniebee]

Her comb looks normal, she looks normal, she is a bit puffed up and her tail feathers are up in the air (but not quite as "floosie-ish" as your girl, not such a display, but very erect). Once I was out riding and the horse in front had her "girl bits" pulsating. I mentioned it and was told she was in heat. It was sort of like that, where she was "rippling", but all up her sides, not just her vent. That was yesterday, when she laid. She wasn't twitching/rippling today.

She went out and dug in the dirt and looked normal then, but then she went and plonked herself down in the nestbox again. She looks a bit "puffy" on her neck feathers, but I don't know whether that's how she usually looks because I've never really stared at her before she started "acting weird". And she was making funny little chirping/twittering noises/


This is her, today.

I agree with MyHaven .... I think she is entering 'cluckiness' .... and you mentioned she has laid eggs, so am presuming they were properly shelled eggs. No soft shells - water balloon looking things ? You most likely won't be getting any eggs from her for a little while - unless you break her cluckiness, and she doesn't go into a moult.

A chickens' vent moves a lot and does pulsate - as one finds out rather quickly when clipping dirty bottoms of feathers near the vent.

Chirping and twittering is a good way to describe some of the sounds they make when laying - or when going broody. I think they practice calling to the chicks they think they are going to have. Here is a YouTube video of a clucky hen - 'purring and chirping' ....

.... Must say I have never heard Mindy do so much 'calling practice' ... but Molly often does a bit of that when laying an egg.

You will know in a day or so - that's for sure. Be careful handling her - she just might become a bit nasty tempered. Her comb will go paler too, or might already be going that way. Her puffy neck feathers are her hackles going up, possibly a warning to anything coming near her ? Try not to worry.

Cheers .........

 

[sjturner79]

Too late, I'm afraid.  I've been worrying all the time.....  She's just sitting in there.  I just went out there to see where everybody was sleeping and she's still in there.....  I hope she's clucky and not sick.  

Speaking of checking on everyone after dark, the "silly" chooks are using the perch.  They were all scrunched up the end, instead of making use of the length of it.  What's with that?  They've got heaps of room, and they are sitting on top of each other.  

That is perfectly normal. They will use the space to get up and then bunch together to stay warm.

 

[User395221]

so am presuming they were properly shelled eggs.

Yes, her eggs are pretty, teeny-weeny little ivory coloured ones, very smooth.

Quote:
It wasn't her vent moving, I can't easily see her vent because she's got a fluffy bum. It was all of her, sort of like she might be in labour-type thing. The rhythm was sort of similar to the horse's pulsations, it wasn't like people labour on TV, but more like twitchy

Quote:
Thanks for the link, that was the type of noise she was making, I was afraid it was a pain thing

Thanks so much everyone, I'm not so worried about her now, it seems that cluckiness is what ails her. How long will she stay like this?

 

[User395221]

That is perfectly normal. They will use the space to get up and then bunch together to stay warm.

Thanks. I could understand them "cuddling up" if it was cold, but it's not. It just seems silly for them to have this big lot of room and then huddle up like that.

 

[LuckysMum]

Thanks. I could understand them "cuddling up" if it was cold, but it's not. It just seems silly for them to have this big lot of room and then huddle up like that.

I just went out to pick my son up. It's pouring down with rain and quite cool. I'd cuddle. Mine have all been cuddling up for ages.