UK Member Please Say HI

[PouleChick]

I’m fine, just aching legs.

Glad you are OK, that is the main thing. We have a hard frost the morning adn -4c when I did the school run - there was a car coming towards me and then a stupid little dog appeared on the side of the road. I had to brake hard but it was fine - made me realise how easy it could be to crash in the ice though!

 

[CCUK]

Hello there!!
I'm Avril from Cannock Wood on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. UK
I wanted to have 3 Cream Bars but I felt guilty not rescuing Batteries when they are desperate for rehoming so I decided to have them instead. Not got them yet but I am on the waiting list. I hope to have at least one CLB at a later date if I am successful and the little ladies are happy.

Thank you for your encouragement.
I am very eggsited about getting going again after so many years but I feel the need! I paid £5.00 each for mine but it was a donation really to the Charity that tries to rehome batteries and barns. How long should it be before they get their feathers back?

Hello @StaffordshireLady! Nice to have you on the thread. Good on you for getting some ex batts. I got 6 from the BHWT in August '17. They were in a poor state when I first got them but with that little bit extra care they will bounce back soon enough. There feathers will almost immediately start to grow back but it will take some months for them to be fully feathered again. I have one that still hasn't grown her tail feathers back! Sadly I lost one just before Christmas and I have another that I think will pass tonight. She has been ill for some time. If you can keep them healthy there is no reason that they can't have a reasonably long life but as with all commercially bred hens they aren't bred for longevity. They are by far the most inquisitive of my hens and follow me everywhere! If im cleaning out they are in the bucket! If im building something they are in the tools! Raking the run they help! The only other hens I've got this friendly are my araucanas but they just want to perch on me!
I paid £5.00 for mine. The required donation was only £3 but I'm a keen supporter and £30 for six hens didn't bust the bank! Let us know how you get on when you get them. Two things I would recommend when you do is to give them battles poultry tonic. It is great stuff. It has vitamins and minerals that help promote feather growth and well being the other is don't get chicken jumpers! They will impede and damage feather growth and they could possibly get stuck or caught in one. So long as the coop is draught free with plenty of clean bedding they will do fine. They generate alot of heat!

Yup... crashed my car in it! Hit black ice at 5AM Friday, span my car and hit a barrier side on at 30mph. Bent front and back panels, broke break light and I may have bent my rear axle, undrivable. The damage doesn’t look too bad! The wheel looks like \ that though. Insurance company is coming to collect it tomorrow, hope it’s repairable.

Wow! Glad your OK. Black ice is so dangerous. My truck is rear wheel drive so I have to take it so carefully or it has a tenancy to go sideways. At least it seems to have warmed up a bit now. Did you get to set any eggs yet?

 

[CCUK]

I lost Hope last night. Went to check on her this morning. She was on the floor. Bless her. Her life ended better than it started.

 

[PouleChick]

I lost Hope last night. Went to check on her this morning. She was on the floor. Bless her. Her life ended better than it started.

Awwww sorry for you loss. So lovely that she ended her life loved and happy xx

 

[Perris]

ditto

 

[Sneebsey]

Sorry, @CCUK. Was she the one you took in with bumblefoot, or am I confusing things? Regardless, I'm sure she ended her days in a better environment with you than before.

 

[StaffordshireLady]

Very sorry to hear about your losses. I do hope that it wont happen to me at least not to start with. I am so looking forward to them. I have put the poultry tonic on my list to get before they get here. I haven't got any wormer yet either but apart from those items I have everything that I need I think. I keep reading all the comments and it seems that you never stop learning something new. You have given me lots of relevant advice. Thank you.

 

[CCUK]

Sorry, @CCUK. Was she the one you took in with bumblefoot, or am I confusing things? Regardless, I'm sure she ended her days in a better environment with you than before.

No. That is speckle. I had her at the vet last week and it turns out she had a broken leg. Not sure if it was the mud ball that caused it or the broken leg caused the mud ball. She is still limping around but can get around very well considering. She has a friend now called millie.

Both enjoying a scratch around in the garden. They are both living in my living room!

Very sorry to hear about your losses. I do hope that it wont happen to me at least not to start with. I am so looking forward to them. I have put the poultry tonic on my list to get before they get here. I haven't got any wormer yet either but apart from those items I have everything that I need I think. I keep reading all the comments and it seems that you never stop learning something new. You have given me lots of relevant advice. Thank you.

Thanks. This is the reality of selective breeding for high egg production birds. Sometimes they are lucky and don't really have any problems but sadly I've never had one live much over 3 years. I wouldn't worry too much about worming them straight away they should be pretty clean as they haven't been exposed to any real environment. Just watch for coccidiosis this can cause more immediate problems. They will adapt fairly quickly. Within a couple of minutes of letting mine out for the first time the one that had no feathers, I called her
dinky, was in the dust bath!

 

[StaffordshireLady]

Very sad photo's.

 

[boskelli1571]

Hello all - glad to see everyone survived the snow! We didn't get much snow here but the temp was -30F (-34C) for a couple of days - bit chilly! Needless to say the ladies would not stick their beaks outside the barn.