Ribh's D'Coopage

[rjohns39]

Good morning Jeannie My girls are constantly complaining because I don't let them out anymore. I lost too many to a fox so all are locked up for now.

 

[Ribh]

How much land are you on?
Despite there being 12.5 acres here the chickens use about 4 normally; an acre a tribe in effect.
With regard to flock safety, well things are better than they were here.

We have 3/4 of an acre. The house is on the only really flat bit of land. Because the land wasn't managed well there are huge washouts hidden by ferns, & big holes all over the hill & it is very steep & uneven. It also houses huge monitor lizards. They like chicken. They're our only real predator & luckily none too bright. Our raptors are scavengers rather than hunters so not normally a threat.

Even when I was free ranging the girls tended to hang round the house. They liked under our verandah but had a propensity for visiting our neighbours. The neighbours didn't mind so I had to mind for them. They didn't quite believe me when I said our chooks would destroy their garden & wreck havoc on the lawn they were trying to establish.

I am considering running guineas lower down to take care of our tick problem but a super king tide submerges all our lower land & comes over the 2' wall @ the bottom so I have to work something out before I can do that.

There is a paddock across the road I have been considering using for free range but like I said...dogs. They're the worst predators & most round here aren't trained.

 

[Ribh]

Good morning Jeannie My girls are constantly complaining because I don't let them out anymore. I lost too many to a fox so all are locked up for now.

So you never got your fox? I thought you would but totally understandable your girls are now penned for their own safety.

 

[rjohns39]

I miss them free ranging, but keeping them alive is more important.

 

[Ribh]

I miss them free ranging, but keeping them alive is more important.

Definitely. Yours is a business proposition & losing birds is not economical.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

@Aussie-Chookmum I think noticing that something's amiss can be the hard part. I'm looking forward to hearing about the vent inspection tomorrow. Seeing as her egg shells are quite thin, you might want to be super gentle and careful.

In the longer term, is there a bird specialist vet you can take her to? We know she's ageing and a disruption to her customary laying habits is to be expected, but hearing that from a vet may give you peace of mind.

I'm sure she's ok, just changing fertility.

Thanks MJ

She had an enormous, long poo dag hanging off her butt , gluing her feathers together which I didn't see properly until I examined her. Her skin looked irritated and red and I had to snip off some of the feathers where it wasn't washing away. It smelled evil but the skin wasn't broken.

I checked up her vent but there was no egg this time. I gave her a squirt of lubricant just in case and she had some meal worms for being such a good girl

I washed Tsuki's butt too for good measure but there was only a little poo. The others looked pretty clean but they wouldn't let me catch them for a closer examination!

Can you tell I'm feeling paranoid?

I'll have a word with my chicken dude at the saddlery when I go to pick up feed next week.

Thanks everyone for your concern, support and suggestions.
Thanks Ribh for the use of your thread .

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Today's treat for spending the day on the mainland:
a couple of hours baby cuddling!​

View attachment 1940908
One of the things I wanted to do while we were picking up chook food was chat to our local produce people about my girls. We all know there's nothing quite like sharing with another fanatic but I did have some specific questions because a couple of the girls have quite pronounced keelbones ~ so much so I wasn't happy. I went over their diet in my head & came to the conclusion it was probably one of 2 things: worms or a deficiency. So my feed is top quality & my wormer is considered a really good one. Probably the only reason I noticed is that I mostly have pairs so I have a good way of comparing individual chooks & when 1 out of 2 has a pronounced keelbone I start asking questions.

So, the ADVICE ~ in case you ever have this issue: selenium. It can be bought over the counter @ the chemist, 1 tablet mixed in with their feed once a month to aide in vitamin & mineral absorption rates. Apparently they don't need a lot, but some birds do need a little help in this area.

Our produce store was out of whatever their product is so I ordered from our chemist & it will be here tomorrow. I will let you all know how we go.

She's so beautiful. They are angelic when they are asleep aren't they?

SURPRISE!
It is not unusual for boxes to be waiting on our doorstep when we return from a day out. Usually they are for the man so I didn't even look @ the one on our front step today. I assumed it was another plant order...View attachment 1940920
...It has your name on it, said the man...
So I opened it.
View attachment 1940921
View attachment 1940923
View attachment 1940927 View attachment 1940929 The egg basket is a handmade delight! And by accident or design it matches my kitchen perfectly! The walls are dark green... I won't show the name plate because that's a little too locality specific but the man has promised to nail it over the gate when we complete the run. I adore the tea towel. You know...chooks!

The basket went with me this afternoon to collect the eggs. *happy sigh*
View attachment 1940930
The best part was a lovely handwritten note from people I consider very dear friends. So very kind of you. So very much appreciated. More than you could have known! Thank you! ​

What a lovely surprise. So useful and appropriate too.

Someone is a clever chook friend

 

[MaryJanet]

It's just so hard to know if a chook is sick. I'd rather be worried than lose one when I could've done something. I know sometimes they just go like Pebbles and Kris's hen. But if the chooks give us a sign, and we notice it, then we can take action and have a clear conscience, even if the chook doesn't make it. So being paranoid and observant is a strength I reckon.

The really sad times are when there's no sign, or no hope.

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

G'day Bob