MJ's little flock

[Ribh]

Sassy

View attachment 1997117

Oh! She's so pretty!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I use my bare hands.
Some of the lumps can set incredibly hard. I've had to resort to pliers to break a couple.
I break the lumps with my forefinger and thumb and then roll the feather back and forth to shake out the dust.

Thanks Shad. I might give that a go (I think I'll use gloves though! ) Tsuki's poos have been very runny and I may yet have to resort to a bath

This Donk, daughter of Dink, granddaughter of Cheepy. Donk is a complete nutter and gives me more stress than any other hen here atm. She's almost impossible to catch during the day, hardly eats commercial feed and makes nests and lays eggs out of the coops. She's a pro tree climber and incredibly difficult to spot in the undergrowth

She sounds like a throwback to her wild jungle ancestors!

This (L to R) Treacle, son of Cillin grandson of Otic, great grandson of Mini Minx.

Hurry, as above.
Fat Bird.
Tackle daughter of Fudge, granddaughter of Ruffles.
Cillin, son of Otic and grandson of Mini Minx.
Fudge Daughter of Ruffles is at the back.

Good lord! I don't know how you manage to keep all that straight in your head Shad. You are a prodigy!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Everything comes out of the coops here Bob. Because I build with ply sheets and the coops are small compared to many I'm left with a few seams in the coop to do. You can see on my coop page.
The nest boxes and perches can be done outside.
So, I do the joints, sometimes the floor if there has been blood or lash egg etc, but mostly if there is a Scaly Leg Mite problem. I haven't burnt one down yet.

You could post an instructional video for us Shad!

Of course, we won't be using your method here in Australia for a while yet

 

[Ribh]

That's a shame. I'm very grateful for my neighbours - the whole street is a friendly bunch.

Oh, our street is friendly! We're the anti~social lot. When I say *up the road* from us, I'm talking 1/2 a mile or more & then a very, very long driveway. They run a few head of cattle as well as ducks but their primary industry is commercial fishing. Their farm runs onto waterfront so they have plenty of entrepreneurial options.

 

[Ribh]

You could post an instructional video for us Shad!

Of course, we won't be using your method here in Australia for a while yet

Not unless you want to pick up a hefty fine & some jail time.

 

[MaryJanet]

Oh! She's so pretty!

She's such a good captain too And when she's laying, she really goes for it - remember when she gave me 9 eggs in a row? What a champ.

 

[MaryJanet]

Oh, our street is friendly! We're the anti~social lot. When I say *up the road* from us, I'm talking 1/2 a mile or more & then a very, very long driveway. They run a few head of cattle as well as ducks but their primary industry is commercial fishing. Their farm runs onto waterfront so they have plenty of entrepreneurial options.

Oh I see! I keep getting the impression it was a mildly hostile place to live - I'm very glad to be wrong!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

The paper is not going to be well received by much of the chicken world if it gets published, because it implies that a hen may plan her clutch when she lays that first egg. It also implies that the hen makes a risk assessment of her laying site with regard to sitting and hatching.
The 'oh for *** sake it's just a chicken', do not like any higher level of intelligence attributed to a chicken!

I've noticed that some people get very offended and defensive if it is implied that any other animal has intelligence. Especially if the animals are better at a particular "cerebral" task than a human.

Why do some people feel so threatened and insecure by this? For crying out loud, everything on the planet is part of the same biosphere, we all share DNA/RNA. Seeing varying amounts and types of intelligence in other creatures gives me a comforting sense of belonging, like we are part of a spectrum.

....ok, I'll get off my soapbox now...

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I don't have a lot of experience but the broody the man lost had a brilliant nest. She had made a small burrow deep into long grass & the whole nest was completely hidden even though it was actually out in the open. Ha'penny has tried twice. Her first attempt was a shallow nest @ the back corner of the coop ~ out of the way but not terribly well hidden. Yesterday...!!!! Half under a log, with a beautiful damp depression lined with leaves & really, really hard to spot. I hate to think where she'll try next. She's a clever little hen & learning fast!

You might need to bell her like a cat or implant a tracking microchip so you can find her.

Is there an app called "Find my hen"?

 

[MaryJanet]

I've noticed that some people get very offended and defensive if it is implied that any other animal has intelligence. Especially if the animals are better at a particular "cerebral" task than a human.

Why do some people feel so threatened and insecure by this? For crying out loud, everything on the planet is part of the same biosphere, we all share DNA/RNA. Seeing varying amounts and types of intelligence in other creatures gives me a comforting sense of belonging, like we are part of a spectrum.

....ok, I'll get off my soapbox now...

Mate, you are singing my song!