Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I can imagine it can get stressful at times.

Here's a funny.

I have mice in my pen area (which I imagine most of us do, but some have a better system, so maybe they don't). I have tried so many things to get rid of them or deter them from the area. Nothing works - the baking soda and cornmeal trick - I think they thought it was a treat and invited friends over to indulge. Supposedly they don't like crushed red pepper, it might not be their first choice, but it doesn't bother them like people claim - they will still eat around it. Also earlier this year, I waisted a lot of money on peppermint spray.

I don't like the mice as I fear it brings other maladies to my chickens and if mice can get in eventually so can other things. I put a 2' wide apron of 1/2" hardwire cloth only to have the mice tunnel under it. It has kept the rats out (I had that one episode prior to installing it).

Ok, so that's just the set up of the story and you might be thinking that's not funny ...

Here goes ...

Every night I go out to tuck my chickens and ducks in. Make sure they are all cooped up as they should be. Every night I put feed away and other things that I don't want the mice to be leaving presents in.
Every night after putting the stuff away, I tell my chickens "Bedtime". "Let's go, bedtime." "Come on Pearl it's time for bed."

As soon as I start saying this, I can spot mice coming out of their hiding areas. One night, I counted 8 (does that mean I have 30?)
Sometimes, I will be standing there and the mice see me and somehow I jump scare them. Now that gets me to giggle a little - as it's literally like watching a cartoon! Once in awhile, I will say to one of the braver ones, "I can see you - I'm still standing here."
So, the other day I'm standing there telling my girls bedtime. I see a few mice out of the corner of my eye. I'm like "hello - I can see you, you naughty things". Wouldn't you know one of them jumped up behind the chicken waterer and reached around with it's little head to take a drink out of the water nipple. I was like The audacity! I'm pretty sure that means I have pet mice. They are trained, they eat well, and have fresh water available. Sometimes that water has some good probiotics in it for gut health of course. These mice are having the times of their lives.

I told my husband about the mouse drinking from the waterer and he said that I could probably put one of those bucket traps out since they are so trusting. I asked him then what, I can't harm my pet mice.

The End.

Oh my goodness! Drinking from the nipple waterer is amazing! Such cheek! Long ago before the chickens, I actually did have pet fancy mice and they were clever little things. They were cute, too, but so hard to clean up after because they are just constantly going

I do think mice are an inevitability with chickens to an extent. I exclude them as much as possible by putting the feed up out of reach overnight and remeasuring it every day, which is a lot of additional work, but at least I'm not feeding as much to the mice that way. Of course, any time I forget a dish or someone spills feed that I can't efficiently clean up, sure enough there's mouse droppings and chewed up feed there the next morning. They say treadle feeders are the end-all solution to mice and rats, but of course those also require that you don't have tiny chickens like the OEGBs who aren't big enough to weigh down the treadle. Oh, well.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Just a quick check in because I have entirely too much to get done and entirely too little of this weekend left to do it in. Suffice it to say, school is keeping me busy!

I think Harriet is laying now because I've been getting a 6th blue/green egg every now and then, and only 5 of the pullets are blue/green layers. Harriet looks the most like she's laying right now out of the older blue/green eggers.

Pretty sure this loon isn't laying based on a vent check and the fact that she continues to crow every morning with the roosters like the loon she is Miss Fifi

Only other thing of interest to post is that I moved the OEGB girls back outside in that warm spell we had last week, though now of course I'm eyeballing tomorrow night's low and wondering if I wasn't a bit hasty in doing so... But they seem to be handling today's cold just fine so far, so hopefully one night in the teens won't do them any harm. They are less than impressed by their current accommodations, however.

Just one more random shot of Chicha deciding she could not wait for me to measure out the feed the other morning. She doesn't look close to laying to my eye, but she sure is squat-happy these days!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Happy Sunday, y'all After a busy couple of weeks, I finally have a Sunday with a very light study load and an abundance of time to just relax!I have next week's classes to get through, and then I have a week off for spring break that should also help me recharge and catch up on things. That's the half way point of the semester, too We're getting there!

Couple things to report with the chickens. I did end up bringing the OEGB girls back inside on Monday because Vega was not acting quite right. She was immediately back to normal once inside, however, so I suspect she was just being a diva and didn't want to be out in the chilly weather. We had a little bit of snow come down this morning and another night or two coming with freezing lows, but after that it's looking like spring at last, so they'll probably go back outside at some point this week and stay out there.

We did have another loss this past week, Mr. Roly Poly Roland. I'm not entirely sure what happened other than that he had always had a lot of health issues and I guess had just reached his time. I could tell he was cold Monday morning because he was hunchy and trying to cuddle with the others, but he still seemed okay so I had planned to set him up a hospital pen inside to warm up in when I got home from classes. By the time I did, however, he was breathing, but unresponsive. I brought him inside to the warmth and he passed just a few hours later. He had been named for the place I take my extra roosters to for processing because I always told him if he annoyed me too much he'd go there, too. Guess he never quite reached that point, even if he could be a bitey little butt at times. Poor little guy.

Anyway, all's well otherwise. I'm getting eggs from all over these days! Opal and another Cochin in the mixed flock have started laying. I've gotten two eggs about every other day this week from the blue coop Cochin girls, and I'm watching Duckling in the red coop as her comb has flushed up pretty suddenly recently! Not that I can hatch at the moment or anything, but... It does feel like the first signs that hatching season is on the way, at least

Oh, and on the topic of eggs, I was totally sure that Chicha was nowhere near laying based on her comb, but I'll be darned if she didn't lay her first egg on Tuesday! Hers is the one in the middle, sort of off-white in color. She's laid 2 more since, one about every two days.

Still no comb or wattles to speak of! I guess you can't rely on that with Sumatras

Other pictures from this week. A mole has decided to dig up the green coop pen during the warm weather. I guess it'll give the birds some soft soil to dig in

Many attempts to get a decent picture of the blue coop girls, each foiled by their insatiable desire to dust bathe instead of paying any attention to me

And Poly trying to avoid me while I was trying to take her picture

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Oh my goodness! Drinking from the nipple waterer is amazing! Such cheek! Long ago before the chickens, I actually did have pet fancy mice and they were clever little things. They were cute, too, but so hard to clean up after because they are just constantly going

I do think mice are an inevitability with chickens to an extent. I exclude them as much as possible by putting the feed up out of reach overnight and remeasuring it every day, which is a lot of additional work, but at least I'm not feeding as much to the mice that way. Of course, any time I forget a dish or someone spills feed that I can't efficiently clean up, sure enough there's mouse droppings and chewed up feed there the next morning. They say treadle feeders are the end-all solution to mice and rats, but of course those also require that you don't have tiny chickens like the OEGBs who aren't big enough to weigh down the treadle. Oh, well.

I had a treadle feeder and mice were still getting in it. At the time, I had younger chickens and polish and had to keep it looser to open easier. I don't know what happened, but the feeders just sit in my shed empty. A waste of money. I do put feed away and I have to do things in order, or I forget things and leave feed out. Lately I'm trying the cayenne pepper at like 90k potency around the areas where food might be on the ground or around the exterior of the run where the mice run and in any holes I see. So far, the mice are still there.
I think I mentioned this, but just in case I put up a skirt barrier of hardware cloth and they just dig under. I think some can come through 1/2" holes as well and I haven't found a good strong 1/4" hardware cloth to use. The ones I find are very weak imho. If I can bend it with my bare hands, it's weak. Lol
My other issue with the mice is that some are getting into the Omlet cube that I have. There's no food in there, but mice will eat poo of course. I will adjust things and make sure it's level once the ground thaws as the legs are stuck right now. But, I know there are areas where I can stick my fingers in which means mice can get in as well. I posted in an Omlet group and they are acting like I don't know what a mouse turd is or that I'm doing something wrong. It's a fan club apparently. I finally shut the discussion off and was like I will figure it out. I'm thinking of getting the 1/4" cloth and fixing it to the bottom frame somehow, but again I need it to be warmer.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Just a quick check in because I have entirely too much to get done and entirely too little of this weekend left to do it in. Suffice it to say, school is keeping me busy!

I think Harriet is laying now because I've been getting a 6th blue/green egg every now and then, and only 5 of the pullets are blue/green layers. Harriet looks the most like she's laying right now out of the older blue/green eggers.

View attachment 4301759

Pretty sure this loon isn't laying based on a vent check and the fact that she continues to crow every morning with the roosters like the loon she is Miss Fifi

View attachment 4301762

Only other thing of interest to post is that I moved the OEGB girls back outside in that warm spell we had last week, though now of course I'm eyeballing tomorrow night's low and wondering if I wasn't a bit hasty in doing so... But they seem to be handling today's cold just fine so far, so hopefully one night in the teens won't do them any harm. They are less than impressed by their current accommodations, however.

View attachment 4301763

Just one more random shot of Chicha deciding she could not wait for me to measure out the feed the other morning. She doesn't look close to laying to my eye, but she sure is squat-happy these days!

View attachment 4301764

Chica looks like a crow. What breed is she again? Never mind, I see she's a Sumatra.
Sorry to hear about Roly.

My oegbs do not like these temp changes. I haven't put them in the coop for a few weeks now and they seem fine. Of course they are still young.
I have gotten some eggs lately. Rosie Posey (the sebright) is laying as well as one of the oegbs. And... Yesterday, I had a regular sized egg on the small side, but it had a really good shell. I'm not sure who is laying it though, but at least I'm getting some eggs.
Also, one of the chickens kept pecking at my boot the other day and when I finally was able to look - it was Rosie! She's so funny, but I dare not touch her.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I had a treadle feeder and mice were still getting in it. At the time, I had younger chickens and polish and had to keep it looser to open easier. I don't know what happened, but the feeders just sit in my shed empty. A waste of money. I do put feed away and I have to do things in order, or I forget things and leave feed out. Lately I'm trying the cayenne pepper at like 90k potency around the areas where food might be on the ground or around the exterior of the run where the mice run and in any holes I see. So far, the mice are still there.
I think I mentioned this, but just in case I put up a skirt barrier of hardware cloth and they just dig under. I think some can come through 1/2" holes as well and I haven't found a good strong 1/4" hardware cloth to use. The ones I find are very weak imho. If I can bend it with my bare hands, it's weak. Lol
My other issue with the mice is that some are getting into the Omlet cube that I have. There's no food in there, but mice will eat poo of course. I will adjust things and make sure it's level once the ground thaws as the legs are stuck right now. But, I know there are areas where I can stick my fingers in which means mice can get in as well.

Ah, yeah, any kind of smaller bird that requires it be loosened makes treadle feeders ineffective. I have used cayenne every now and then as well, and it works for a bit, but they always seem to learn to ignore it if it's used constantly. Sounds like you have a tough case, wish there was more advice I had to give on it!

I posted in an Omlet group and they are acting like I don't know what a mouse turd is or that I'm doing something wrong. It's a fan club apparently. I finally shut the discussion off and was like I will figure it out. I'm thinking of getting the 1/4" cloth and fixing it to the bottom frame somehow, but again I need it to be warmer.

There are a lot of groups like this in chickens, unfortunately. A lot of stubborn people keep them, I guess! I used to be pretty hard-headed on a few subjects with regard to these birds as well, though over time I realized that other people have other experiences and live in other climates... There is no such thing as a one size fits all solution in poultry!

My oegbs do not like these temp changes. I haven't put them in the coop for a few weeks now and they seem fine. Of course they are still young.
I have gotten some eggs lately. Rosie Posey (the sebright) is laying as well as one of the oegbs. And... Yesterday, I had a regular sized egg on the small side, but it had a really good shell. I'm not sure who is laying it though, but at least I'm getting some eggs.
Also, one of the chickens kept pecking at my boot the other day and when I finally was able to look - it was Rosie! She's so funny, but I dare not touch her.

I think my OEGB girls just know how to play the poor, pitiful little chicken card on me I know they do just fine in temps like we were having last week, but Vega was acting off just enough that I didn't want to risk it. They're back outside now and doing fine, as expected.

Glad to hear you're getting some good eggs again! Hope that means your girls are out of the woods for whatever was causing them problems

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

It's spring break, y'all! Woohoo!! I spent much of Friday just hammering through homework that was imminently due so that I wouldn't have to worry about it this weekend. I do still have some projects to work on over break, but no classes to go to, no competencies to worry about, no immediate stress for one whole week! Yay!! This past week has been a particularly busy one, but the last three days or so I was able to get a lot of pictures to share.

First bit of news, though. Priscilla in the corner coop passed away suddenly yesterday. I'm not even sure what happened other than that she had been a bit iffy about eating for a few days beforehand and seemed particularly unwell on Friday. No outward symptoms to treat or anything. Poor sweet lady.

Now my corner coop is just a pair, Gus and Duckling. Hopefully I'll be able to replenish that group with the hatches I have planned this year.

In more positive news (or maybe scarier news considering how early in the year it is for this!), yesterday I got my first full dozen eggs in a single day for the year! Aren't they pretty?

Some of them were really speckly, too! I tried taking a picture of them with flash to show those speckles, but I'm not sure they showed up any clearer than they had without flash

Oh, we also had kind of a weird event this past week where the birds were freaking out when I got home from class, so I ran out there in my school scrubs to see what was going on, only to find this:

... HOW did Flint end up on the wrong side of the net??? Not sure even she knows, judging by the blank look on her face

Other than that, we've had a couple nice days of free-range and that was when I took most of the pictures I got this week.

Unnamed Cochins, aren't they pretty?

Same girl in both of the following pictures. She's a green bander hatched last year. Pretty sure she's a keeper, too! I just have to think of a name

Chicha shining despite the overcast that day

Ida clearly saying NO thank you to pictures!

The lovely miss Freia Notice the look on her face--this was mere moments before she came over to me to see if my fingers were edible

Birch was feeling particularly big and tough as he watched over his girls free-ranging, so he flapped right as I took a picture and this is what I ended up with

Then, of course, a certain nosy Fifi bird had to get between me and Birch before I could retake that shot

The last shot for the birds was yesterday afternoon by the door of the coop... Sheesh, you give them a couple days of free-ranging and all of the sudden they expect to be let out every time you go out there