Ribh's D'Coopage

[drumstick diva]

Exactly, I even make it through a week that way but, can't recall what day it is?

 

[Ribh]

I'm very boring when it comes to most of the celebrations Ribh.
I'll do my late night rounds and annoy the birds, send my daughters and their mother an email and go to bed.
I've been cleaning up after the rat on and off all day.

I'm afraid I'm terribly anti~social, Shad. BYC is about as social as I get.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

It is a little concerning...but she is such a happy, busy little chookie it doesn't seem to be bothering her.



This is sort of embarrassing given our present fire crisis but here in Queensland they tend to totally raze building blocks leaving absolutely nothing! It's horrible ~ & on our block everything was baking & sooo hot in summer, so we let the block rejuvenate once we'd built. The result is @ least a dozen huge gums around the house [our gutters are impossible to keep clear] & a huge amount of leaf litter. Every time I rake the paths [yes, rake, not sweep!] I toss the leaf litter in the run for the girls. They love it! The run itself is on a small slope @ the top of the hill & they have almost leveled it up raking the mulch downhill! I toss their coop litter in there too & they break it down & mix it in. I just have to be a tad cautious with that as natives don't like chicken poop!


I feel truly blessed. The rain is such a relief! Everywhere needs it & we could do with a lot more ~ slow, steady, mizzling rain.

Thanks for the reply Ribh.

I love lots of tree cover and shrubs. It makes for good shade and habitat and it smells good and keeps things a bit cooler than a wall or shade cloth could.

I add my coop poop to the compost pile usually. I don't want to kill my natives or have the girls picking through it

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

They're back!
These three haven't been around much recently. They're with their tribe much more.
They are from left to right, Moon, Tap and Tyle.
It looks like Tyle is a bit light on nighttime sleeping. I had to nudge him to get him to move.
I've been a bit concerned about Tap. She's been considerably smaller than her sister until recently. She is the only one who has battled her way for a roost spot in their coop though, so she's a determined pullet. Judging from the picture she's catching up in weight a bit now.
Moon isn't too good at keeping up with the tribe, or her brother who is starting to take an interest in the adult hens.
View attachment 1990709

Beautiful birds Shad. Tyle's colours are particularly striking.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

There is one other thing that crossed my mind and that is she isn't coping with the heat well. It can get pretty warm here some summers; 35C on a regular basis and occasionally that critical temp of 42C.
35C is doeable for most breeds but at 41C or more the hen is unable to transfer body heat to the environment. Now I see you have shade and water care, but you've had some hot days from what I gather. It may be worth seeing if there is any correlation between hot days and lash eggs.

The temperature around here has been pretty unbearable the last few days. 44C (111F) in Parramatta yesterday and Mallacoota on the NSW/Victorian border, was badly hit by the fires yesterday, had a report of 50C (122F). You can really only stay inside, drink plenty of water and sweat. The hubby drove home from work and our little car couldn't manage the heat, so no air conditioning. His clothes were soaked by he time he got home (1 hour drive)

 

[Kris5902]

The temperature around here has been pretty unbearable the last few days. 44C (111F) in Parramatta yesterday and Mallacoota on the NSW/Victorian border, was badly hit by the fires yesterday, had a report of 50C (122F). You can really only stay inside, drink plenty of water and sweat. The hubby drove home from work and our little car couldn't manage the heat, so no air conditioning. His clothes were soaked by he time he got home (1 hour drive)

44-50C??? That is awful! If I had air conditioning in that weather I would have a living room full of livestock! Cows and chickens and maybe even sheep... that is insufferably hot, killer weather!

 

[Kris5902]

@Ribh I don’t think that Lottie’s egg is a lash egg, it looks to me like what Bob suggested, a dehydrated shell-less one. Heat could be a contributing factor, but I would definitely be trying some supplemental calcium... I don’t think it can really hurt too much.

As for an internal exam, I would hold off for now, but carefully monitor her. If you remember about how often she was laying, 1 egg a day or Every 2-3 days? That is helpful. I would try an internal if she gets too overdue or seems at all hunched up or uncomfy. Mrs B had a slight prolapse reoccurrence, and then a few days later I noticed she looked uncomfortable and was straining in the nest box. A quick finger up the vent and sure enough she had a broken inside her egg, thinly shelled. I helped her pass it and she has been laying fairly normally again. Of course she is a breed prone to reproductive issues.

If you get another weird egg try cutting it open. A lash egg will looks like a gross congealed icky mess. I can’t find my picture of the one Tippy laid but here’s a close example from google:

Spoiler: Lash eggs are gross!

This is an issue you get from coccidiosis

Spoiler: Icky photo

I think it’s just a shell-less egg, and hopefully she gets over it soon. They can be harder to lay I’ve read, like Mrs B straining herself in the beast box, or sometimes the chicken just thinks she’s pooping and will lay them while on the roost (that what my Tiny used to do).
Either way praying for your little gal.

Hope you have a nice New Years, though I think you’re already past!
edit to note: the lash egg didn’t really smell bad, but the coccidiosis thing did.

 

[Kris5902]

Of course looking for photos of my kitchen for an example of peel and stick tiles and I found the lash egg pics

Spoiler: Lash egg

 

[Ribh]

No, not a lash egg. Thanks Chris. It shrank heaps so I'm with Bob's theory of a shell~less, dehydrated egg. She doesn't seem to be in pain or uncomfortable, just laying weird eggs @ present. She's a late in the day layer too so I sometimes get smashed eggs dropped from the roost.

 

[drumstick diva]

every day is pretty much the same to me so I don't really celebrate New Years. Just have to learn the correct year for when I write checks.