MJ's little flock

[CrazyChookChookLady]

I grew up with boats so I just shouldn't cast aspersions. I think I'm one of the few Girl Guides to get their Bo'suns badge. I could sail & row almost before I could walk. Not so long ago I took a friend's sailing dingy out with OD aboard & shocked everyone because handling a boat is still 2nd nature. Not quite as lithe & limber as I once used to be but I still know what to do.

I'd love to see that picture!

Memory is a powerful thing! Did you see the video of the once prima ballerina, now in her 90's with Alzheimer's disease, starts to move gracefully upon hearing the music again? It's amazing!!

 

[MaryJanet]

My dear old friend continues to hold the fort against the onslaught of peer group pressure.

 

[MaryJanet]

Meanwhile...

Although I'll say this much for Ivy: she got herself off the nest today!! Independently of Mary and Peggy!

Unheard of. She'll be wanting a car next.

 

[LozzyR]

Memory is a powerful thing! Did you see the video of the once prima ballerina, now in her 90's with Alzheimer's disease, starts to move gracefully upon hearing the music again? It's amazing!!

Scientists are discovering that music can do amazing things for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s sufferers. We saw part of a doco at uni and it was astounding!

 

[Louwin]

Have you sorted this out? I have a young hen who sometimes has trouble making egg shells. I was direct dosing her with calcium citrate plus D3 made for humans a few days each month, snd that seemed to solve the issue. But then the calcium therapy stopped working, so I did some more research. I read a manganese deficiency can cause brittle eggs, and hapened to be growing zucchini last summer, so I shredded some for her. I kid you not, every time I provided zucchini, she laid a shelled egg. It doesn’t seem they could be correlated, since it takes so many hours to make a shell, but somehow it seemed to help her. She lays shelled eggs most of the time now, but pops the odd softie now and then. I have noticed thst this particular hen loves egg shells, but not ouster shells. I provide them as often as possible.

Hi micstrachan, thanks for your post. Sorted it out by reducing household scraps and dosing water daily with calcium and D3. I am now back to only a weekly addition of calcium and she is doing very well. No more soft shell eggs for 2 weeks now. Zucchini is a great idea. They love it and i have it growing so can easily add some in to boost the manganese. I should try crushing the eggs shells and see if they like that better than shell grit. Do you bake the egg shells first?

 

[Louwin]

Impressed with the kayaking mj. It does look beautiful and peaceful.
Your chickens are very entertaining. I cant believe they are happy sitting on top of each other like that in a south australian summer!!! I think Janet is the smart one!!

 

[RoyalChick]

Hi micstrachan, thanks for your post. Sorted it out by reducing household scraps and dosing water daily with calcium and D3. I am now back to only a weekly addition of calcium and she is doing very well. No more soft shell eggs for 2 weeks now. Zucchini is a great idea. They love it and i have it growing so can easily add some in to boost the manganese. I should try crushing the eggs shells and see if they like that better than shell grit. Do you bake the egg shells first?

I do, but mainly because it makes them so much easier to crush when they are really dry and it burns off all the organic stuff so I can store them in jars indefinitely without worrying about mold or bugs.

 

[Louwin]

I do, but mainly because it makes them so much easier to crush when they are really dry and it burns off all the organic stuff so I can store them in jars indefinitely without worrying about mold or bugs.

Great idea, thanks for sharing. I like the idea of storing them in a jar and it will save some money on buying the grit.

 

[RoyalChick]

Great idea, thanks for sharing. I like the idea of storing them in a jar and it will save some money on buying the grit.

I give them oyster shell as well and let them choose which they want. As you would expect with chickens they have strong preferences that change without me understanding why. So I just let them have free access to both.
One bag of oyster shell does last a very long time. I have only ever bought one bag and they have consumed maybe a third of it in nearly two years.

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks