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[rebrascora]

@Yorkshire coop

Hi Kim

Any news yet?

Chicks are hatching as I type. At least 4 out already as I've managed to remove 4 shells and it appears I have a lavender, maybe a splash or mottled and a dark one but I'm really not familiar with these colours to know for sure how they will feather out. Frances is such a good broody, she's let me rake around underneath her without a mummer and fish out the empty shells and the odd chick to look at, but she's down pretty tight and doesn't want me lifting her which is fair enough, especially as she has that dicky tummy and I would hate for her to have an accident at this point!! No doubt by tomorrow, I will know the full tally. It's so tempting to keep checking though, so I've come home out of the way and she is probably breathing a huge sigh of relief that I'm gone!

The photos still aren't up on DLT's website. I know he had a busy few days because it was the cross country schooling weekend at Bywell on Sat and Sunday, so he will have had a lot of photos to process but I'm dying to see how wonderful Archie looks flying over those jumps and no doubt how shockingly bad my jumping seat is.

I hope you are starting to come to terms with the loss of Kipper a little and that the pain is easing.

Best wishes

Barbara

PS. I love the emoticon of Archie galloping to the rescue! That really put a smile on my face

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@rebrascora

Mornng Barbara

No news yet and they won't tell you over the phone so I have got nowhere with that

I have had a look on the DLT website but there are over 700 pics and I can't pick you out, what page number are you and Archie on? What you wearing? What colour is Archie? Oh goodness I sound like a stalker hunting you down!

Still sad about Kipper and it's all very odd her not being here but getting into a new routine with out her. Guess it will take a bit more time but I'm missing her so much. After 14 years it seems so final her being gone. I went to pick her ashes up on Thursday, that stirred a whole new set of emotions up
We are going to scatter them in the woods, one of her favourite places.

Weather pretty good here so Harry stayed out last night in the field, hope he's ok when I go down this morning. Bet he has the biggest wee when he comes in!! Always takes him a while to get going in the field when he first starts staying out. Think he likes privacy when he goes

How did the hatch go with Frances? Hope she has lots of little fluff balls under her
I'm going to keep the little Pekin pullet I have out in the shed and put her in with my frizzle mother hen as a permanent friend. I thought the female black tails would have sold by now :/ This little Pekin is ever so cute and so gentle too.

Have got the run up around the shed and they are enjoying being out in the fresh air ~

Hope you have a good day and all is well at your end.

Catch you soon

Kim xxx

 

[hannahxx]

Hey.
I am getting my first indoor baby ( duck) next week. I am so excited. However it would appear I am going to be the only uk indoor duck owner so am struggling to get advice and supplies. Pet shops I have been to pretty much laughed in my face

So looking for some duck mummas to chat to and help em out with advice.
Xxx

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hey.
I am getting my first indoor baby ( duck) next week. I am so excited. However it would appear I am going to be the only uk indoor duck owner so am struggling to get advice and supplies. Pet shops I have been to pretty much laughed in my face

So looking for some duck mummas to chat to and help em out with advice.
Xxx

Hi & the thread!

@deedee28 was looking for duck nappies just a while back. Maybe you could send her a message to see if she found any. If not getting them posted from overseas maybe your only option.

Are you getting just the one? Maybe a friend for your new ducking would be good so it's not lonely. Having one may also cause it stress when you leave it as they become imprinted on you.

Good luck

 

[deedee28]

Hi & the thread!

@deedee28 was looking for duck nappies just a while back. Maybe you could send her a message to see if she found any. If not getting them posted from overseas maybe your only option.

Are you getting just the one? Maybe a friend for your new ducking would be good so it's not lonely. Having one may also cause it stress when you leave it as they become imprinted on you.

Good luck

I still haven't found anywhere in the uk for duck nappies although I am in the middle of making some, your definitely not the only uk house duck owner lol, pop me a pm if you need any help at all xx

 

[rebrascora]

@Yorkshire coop

Hi Kim

I absolutely love your colour scheme. That blue and shocking pink is brilliant!

Archie is bay and had a green numnah on and I was wearing navy coat and jods but with green half chaps. We are the very first photos on page 3 of the second folder. We are also on other pages of folder one and two near the end as we were nearly last to set off, which worked out really well as we got the best weather. There were some pretty dreadful showers earlier on.

I ended up with 9 chicks from the 12 eggs. One was infertile and two were full grown and yolk absorbed but failed to pip. I'm blaming myself because I interfered quite a bit whilst they were hatching removing shells and checking for chicks etc. I was just far too impatient. I really should know better! There are 3 lavender and one may be brown mottled and then maybe a couple of splash or maybe laced ones and the rest are dark ....I'm really not sure how they will turn out though, they are mostly guessed apart from the lavenders.

I'm now onto day 2 of dry poulticing MeMe's hoof and I think she is much more comfortable. She is allowing me to pick up her other foot without trying to snatch it back, so I guess she is no longer in pain putting weight on the abscessed one. It's difficult to say if she is fully sound yet because I've put an old Mac boot on over the poultice, so she's got one clumpy boot, making her a bit uneven.

Keeping my fingers crossed for your results still. Hopefully, no news is good news!
I know you won't get over Kipper in a matter of weeks or months. It's a gradual process and crying is part of it. It's good that you scattered her ashes in the woods. We buried my friend's dog Jaffa on my land in a nice shady spot on the edge of the woods and I was over there the other day, planting some comfrey on her as I would like to cultivate a patch of it for my bees. My friend has just emigrated to Australia, but she was never a one to settle anywhere for long, so she knew Jaffa would have a good resting place with me. Jaffa would not have liked Australia anyway....far too hot for her and me!

Think that's all my news for now. Haven't ridden since last Wed and that was Ian's little horse .Zak. So much work to do when the weather is fine and bees now needing attention. First swarm of the season is not far away I think. Just not enough hours in the day!

Hope you have had a good weekend.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@rebrascora

Hi Barbara!

Thanks on the colour scheme I would have liked to do the shed in the pink as well but the other half was having non of it so we compromised on the pink run and not quite so bright for the shed

I'm loving Archie Both he and yourself look really well and jumping too!! Love the pics! Have you ordered any?
Yes those showers were pretty bad down here too, same agian here now. Such ashame after we had such a lovely weekend. It's like musical rugs right now!

Not a bad hatch there from your eggs, hope they are doing ok. Will be interesting to see how they out. I must admit I was hard to control when my hen was broody, the urge to look is certainly overwhelming.
I day 14 candled my eggs last night and had to remove 10/18 eggs as they were clear. I really would have thought more would have developed so I'm going to email them to see what their fertility is like now. Always a risk though getting them posted. On a plus note one of the Orpington eggs is looking good

I'm loving the little Pekin chicks out in the shed, I'm going to keep the little girl. She is just like a ball of feathers with a head ~

How's MeMe getting on? Anything come out yet? Fingers crossed the poultice is/has worked.

Any how's think that's about it for now, I'm going to have a nice cup of coffee!! Work/business side of things have been pretty busy so it's been on all hands on the deck to get things done but it's been interfering with my BYC time!! Started at 7 this morning and finally got to sit down at 6 this evening, my chair has been missing me.

Have a lovely evening Barbara

Kim xx

 

[rebrascora]

@Yorkshire coop

Hi Kim

Things have been rather traumatic here over the past few days. Rebel colicked again Mon night. A new vet from my practice came out by which time he was dripping sweat and having spasms every few minutes. She gave him a shot of buscopan and bute and sedated and did rectal exam and tubed him a bucket of fluids and said to walk him once the sedation wore off but that should fix him. 10 mins after she left the sedation wore off and he started spasming again and it got worse. Ended up being admitted to horse hospital at midnight for surgery but thankfully he had settled a bit after ride in trailer and in the end it was decided to put him on a drip and monitor. I must confess that I had more or less decided to have him put down as it was killing me watching him suffer and I didn't think he would manage a journey in the trailer in the state he was in let alone surgery at the age of 19. So pleased my sister talked me into a third opinion as he is almost back to his old self and may be coming home tomorrow.... it's been a real emotional roller coaster.

Thanks for kind words about photos of Archie and myself.... Archie definitely deserves them because he's a star!

Shame about your poor candling results. That is very disappointing! Had forgotten you were getting Orpingtons. Hope it's not a cockerel! I'm really pleased you are keeping the pekin pullet. I'm still loving mine. One of them went broody but she was left on one egg while I sorted out what I wanted her to hatch, but in the meantime other things took priority and so she has been left with that one pekin egg so I hope it hatches, as I feel it is too much to ask her to start again at this stage. To be honest I can't even remember when she went broody, but she's over a week into it. I also have a farmyard mutt pullet that has gone broody today and is on a nest of 17 eggs in part of an old shed that I can't access but I can see her if I put a ladder up and look down through a hole in the roof. She was off this afternoon and I could count all the eggs but she has not gone into the hen house to roost tonight so the clock has started!

Think that's all my news for now. Oh yes, thank you for asking, MeMe's abscess looks to be sorted. I took the last poultice off yesterday and she seems sound, but her mother looks to have one now! Arrgh!

Will update when I have more time and hopefully things here are back on an even keel again!

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Barabara,

Oh goodness I can only imagine the roller coaster you have been on with Rebel Colic sure is scary, I hope you are able to bring him home today
Is the hospital far from you? Our nearest is Minster vets at York. I too believe your decision would have been right to put him to sleep if no improvement was made and all other options had been tried. At 20 I would do the same for Harry, if he was younger I would certainly give the surgery a go but not now. I have a plan set out in my head already for most scenarios should anything happen to him. Good on your sister for talking you into another opinion

Fingers crossed on those abscess'
That must be your three medical things over with now, I really hope so. As they say things come in three's!!

I really hope Rebel is on the mend and back home soon, keep us posted.

Kim xx

 

[Rudies Roost]

Hi all, thought I'd check in on this gloriously sunny evening, currently enjoying a well earnt G&T in the garden with my chucks and ducks. A lot has happened here......the hen with Mareks has made a remarkable recovery and is back with the flock. Sadly, a **** daytime fox killed 6 of my chickens 2 weeks ago, including my gorgeous rooster who my name is after (Rudy), he defended his ladies till the end. I lost 2 silkies, 2 roosters and 2 of the friendliest backyard hens you could meet. I also lost a lovely Legbar hen last night to an egg bind......i tried but i was too late. My salmon faverolle was got by the fox too but has somehow survived a broken leg and damaged wing, she too is now back with her flock......remarkable creatures they are.

@rebrascora Sorry to hear of your woes with your horse, i used to find laminitis the biggest battle this time of year, colic, fortunately i never had to deal with it, sounds dreadful. Fingers crossed for a recovery

Hope all of you are well and im on the look out for sone L/F silkies if anyone knows of any recommendations! Off to tend to evening duties now with the birds and must get the greenhouse under control...the "good life" can be a tough one xx