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[beans2]

I make oat cakes for myself using coconut oil. If I made some rough, uncooked ones, with the steal cut rather than rolled, would that be okay to give one or two to her a day? Or would that be too much oil?

I've started weighing her daily now, so I can track her progress. Weigh in, then shares an eggy breakfast with me, then back out to range. It's a funny old life.

That would be perfect!
coconut oils are VERY accessible and manageable for all animals. They'll help her manage all the fats she consumes and the lauric acid will help temporarily boost her immune system while she's still weak.

I often cook porridge for my chooks in winter with full fat milk, oats, some linseed and coconut oil.

 

[Aerliss]

@beans2 I've been mixing a poached egg (just quicker than boiling) with some coconut oil, oats, and a little limestone flour and feeding it to her and one of the others who is also on the thin side and has had a couple of thin shells since the heatwave. They love it. She's really perked up over the last couple of days, and has her appetite back. Float test came back on the high end for all worms they test for so I've ordered a bag of premixed feed with flubenvet. Hopefully the antibiotics, tlc, and getting rid of the worms will get them all back in good health.

 

[JemimaP]

@Aerliss That’s good news!!
What’s a float test for worms?
@Aerliss and @Chickencountryuk Thanks for the advice on run flooring. I’ll get a cheap bale of shavings or something and not worry so much about the poop.
They’ve been in the garden a lot yesterday and today (they LOVED it!) and there’s miles less poop in the run hurray!

 

[Aerliss]

@JemimaP it's a faecal test. Detects intestinal worms; https://www.westgatelabs.co.uk/services/poultry-bird-keepers/worm-egg-count-service/

I went through the vet so they also tested for bacterial stuff like salmonella.

 

[504707]

@beans2 I've been mixing a poached egg (just quicker...

That sounds promising Shame about the worms, but hopefully Flubenvet will help

@Aerliss That’s good news!!
What’s a float test for worms?
@Aerliss and @Chickencountryuk .
They’ve been in the garden a lot yesterday and today (they LOVED it!) and there’s miles less poop in the run hurray!

Just be careful of the poop in the garden. It attracts so many flies -_-

We've finished the run today. I know I shouldn't use chicken wire for it but we do not have foxes around, just our and neighbours cats and they ignore the chickens. I'll be still making tweaks to the coop and run in the next few weeks, like putting more ventilation in and putting a run roof on.

 

[JemimaP]

That looks great @Nethielka
I’ve read about not using chicken wire but everyone I spoke to at our allotment site said it would be fine and they get a LOT of foxes down there. But everyone on the internet says the foxes will bite through it. Confusing lol x

 

[CCUK]

Wow! You have done a great job over the weekend @Nethielka! You should rightly be proud! That's some happy looking hens!

That looks great @Nethielka
I’ve read about not using chicken wire but everyone I spoke to at our allotment site said it would be fine and they get a LOT of foxes down there. But everyone on the internet says the foxes will bite through it. Confusing lol x

My run is done mostly with chicken wire. Fortunately we don't get raccoons and such like over here! I'm not sure how easy it would be for a fox to get through. Foxes like a quick and easy meal. So long as it is done well and stapled all around with no gaps anywhere, I don't think a fox would want to spend the time and effort to chew through it. I could be wrong, but this is my opinion. The only thing that can get through it is weasels and they can cause havoc. Welded mesh over here is expensive. It's all about risk assessment.

 

[Aerliss]

If a fox is desperate it will work at getting that meal. A late spring, a harsh winter, in an urban area an upgrade in bin security... these things can lead to desperate foxes. So if you're in an area where foxes have easy access to food and are never utterly desperate then they'll give up easy.

 

[504707]

Welded mesh over here is expensive.

It's insane the price of that. I took one look at it and went nope.

If a fox is desperate it...

That's the thing, we are quite literally in middle of Cambridge. 6ft fences, terraced house, cats and dogs in all houses all around us. I have never seen a fox around here. I suppose they congregate in the nature reserves. The biggest predator in our garden is either the chickens or our friendly hedgehog. And he never goes to visit the run.

 

[PouleChick]

Great job!

Has anyone ever asked IKEA to make a coop line?

Nope but we made our current coop entirely from IKEA futon bases - they were on special for €9 a bed and we thought that was a bargain for so much wood - I think we bought 4 of them! We used all of it too - screws and everything