Picture thread of my hens!

[Johnn]

LOL, you captured a great expression on Daisy's face. I also love the photo of your dog on the hill in the background from last week.

Thank you! Daisy was doing her egg song haha!

 

[Johnn]

These are posts that I have put on other groups but I can't post the recent one without the first one or yous wont know what I'm going on about:

Really worried as I have just went to the hens and one of the primary hens has a massive clump ripped out of her tail and Bella's mother is missing . It was passing down (and still is) but I still went and looked in all her favourite places but there was no sign of her at all. The fact that she's not with her chicks worries me too as there's not been one day when she isn't with them. Really hope she's ok. Going to go up before it gets dark to see if she's back.

Well I went to the hens and Bella's mother was still nowhere to be seen. It was still raining loads and was freezing and I went walking around the field calling for her and going to all the places I have seen her come running from in the past when I go to feed them. After a while I was getting tired and was wondering when to give up. I went back to the woods and imagined in my head what must have happened. The primary hen must have been attacked and escaped, what ever it was then went after the orp and got her and carried her out the field somewhere. But how could something carry a big orp over a wall? Well there was a broken down part in the woods so I looked over and she was sitting there! So lucky she didn't wonder off or I wouldn't have been able to find her in that field. She started talking to me so I took a quick pic and climbed over and picked her up. Her back is covered in bites and and a bit ripped up in places. I still have this blue spray left from when Bella was attacked by a dog so I sprayed her with that and put her in a little shed with Coco and one of her older chicks. Put some food in and she ate a bit, so I was pleased with that. Decided I needed to get the rest locked in so I gathered most up apart from the tree sleepers which were driving me round the bend, I was getting really angry! Their pen was flooded and my wellies had holes in so my feet were soaking and having to go round and round the sheds after them was not amusing! Eventually got them all in though. I had to put some bricks and stuff under the shed the injured orp is in as it has vent holes in the bottom which are big enough for a stoat to get through (which I think is a stupid design). I then set off home and after I walked down the big hill and got to the bottom I realised I didn't trust the other shed so had to go back up. Its one of those little sheds that have a slide door and I worry incase something pushes it open, so I had to take one of the nest box dividers out and jam it in so that nothing could push it open. I wonder what stopped what ever it was killing her. I'm hoping the horse who lives in that field got involved. Will be giving it an apple tomorrow just incase it was the horse who helped her!

 

[holm25]

Poor girl glad you found her.

 

[Johnn]

Poor girl glad you found her.

Thank you!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Oh my goodness, your persistence and reasoning really made a difference. Thank heavens the poor hen was still there alive. I hope the bite marks are not overly deep puncture wounds, considering those are so prone to infection. I wish her a speedy recovery.

 

[Johnn]

Oh my goodness, your persistence and reasoning really made a difference. Thank heavens the poor hen was still there alive. I hope the bite marks are not overly deep puncture wounds, considering those are so prone to infection. I wish her a speedy recovery.

Thank you very much

 

[Suzierd]

Oh no! I hope you can figure out what's attacking them. Poor Bella's Mom, so glad you found her she wouldn't have made it thru the night. Hope her wounds heal ok. Please keep us posted.

 

[Johnn]

Oh no! I hope you can figure out what's attacking them. Poor Bella's Mom, so glad you found her she wouldn't have made it thru the night. Hope her wounds heal ok. Please keep us posted.

Been really busy, so looking for all my pics and updates of her to post Thank you!

 

[Johnn]

Injured orp update: she's kind of giving me mixed signals as to whether she is getting better or not. She looked dead miserable when I opened up the hut today but once I got her out she perked up a bit. I had to clean the shed out so I decided to do her wound treatment and then let her into the field with the others to air her wound out. She got a few funny looks, but no one started on her luckily. Wouldn't have mattered if they did because I would have fought them for her haha! Henry (Bella's boy) was being a little arse, he kept tormenting her doing the mating dance and was trying to get her and he wouldn't actually stop until I chased him off and stood right next to her. She really wasn't happy about that. Then when she was cleaning herself I could see him running up behind her so I shouted to try and make her alert and she didn't look! So I had to run down and stop him. He was really getting on my nerves!! When I put her back to bed and put her food in she ate well so I was pleased. She's now tucked up in bed with coco. Being ill didn't stop her ability to do a good stink eye!

Think all of my lot will be throwing themselves to foxes if they see what breakfast the orp gets...

Poor injured orp has a couple of lower girls starting on her. Thought she would back down but she looked insulted and stood up to them and they ran off. That's my girl! I'm acting as her personal body guard with the higher ones come though!

Someone needs to stop me from killing this cockerel (Bella's son) (just joking), he does my head in!! He won't leave poor orp alone when she's out!

Enjoying pumpkin

Bella tasting the pumpkin

 

[Johnn]

Well I decided to make it my mission today to find the injured orps feathers to give me am idea of what happened to her. I managed to find them, not sure how I didn't see them before, but anyways I've narrowed it down to be a weasel/stoat. I originally thought she was took over the broken down wall further up, so I thought it could only be a fox. But in fact she wasn't dragged over it. She ran down the woods and went through the broken fence at the bottom and then realised she was cornered by the stoat the stream and the wall, so she went around the wall and squeezed through the fencing and got stuck so the stoat must have started ripping her feathers out until she pushed through and then it got her again and ripped more out and then something must have interrupted it all or the stoat give up and she made her way up to the broken down wall as it may have been familiar to her. And also a big clue is that when I was leaving the hens and set off walking down, a few meters from their gate there is a squished weasel/stoat on the road which would explain why I've had no bother since that day...

Btw its not my belly in the first pic, its just my jacket folded together sticking out!