UK Members Please Say HI

[scifisam]

Hope she pulls through, Rudi.

Your birds are lovely, GGBear! And the baby, of course

My Elvis is doing really well! She's walking almost completely normally and laying eggs regularly again. During the day I put her into her run when it's not cold (it has a raincover)and give her the run of the garden while I'm out there. Next weekend we should be able to get two new rescue chickens to keep her company.

We're growing extra fond of her due to having her around so much - she gets so excited when I bring her porridge and she comes to me when I call her.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Wow she is big! Very pretty, both of you
Nice birds, looking forward to your new bird pics!!

@rebrascora

Many thanks Barbara for the advice. Somehow, she is hanging on in with us this morning, i have just done as you suggested and popped her out with the flock in her isolation cage as so far it's a nice sunny morning here. I noticed her "gaping" her mouth this morning so i do hope she's not got gapeworm too, as i mentioned, they've all been treated with Ivermectin in the last few days so hopefully it'll act against any potential nasties. Can't believe that I go away for 1 whole week and i have to come back to this.....never going away again!!

How's she doing today?

Hope she pulls through, Rudi.

Your birds are lovely, GGBear! And the baby, of course

My Elvis is doing really well! She's walking almost completely normally and laying eggs regularly again. During the day I put her into her run when it's not cold (it has a raincover)and give her the run of the garden while I'm out there. Next weekend we should be able to get two new rescue chickens to keep her company.

We're growing extra fond of her due to having her around so much - she gets so excited when I bring her porridge and she comes to me when I call her.

I'm so pleased to hear she is doing well
I'm sure she will really enjoy the company of new hens when you get them, although I'm sure she is loving all the attention right now!!

 

[rebrascora]

@Rudies Roost

Hi

Just wondering how she is doing and hoping that weekend of sunshine picked her up a little.


@scifisam

So pleased to hear that Elvis has got over her ordeal and is enjoying all that tlc. Be prepared for some scuffles when you get her some new companions, as I have a feeling she might not be too keen to share her morning porridge and special attention with anyone else. It is definitely better for her to have some more poultry companionship though. Good luck with that.

@GGBEAR

That is a lovely mother and daughter photo! Gosh, she really is growing fast though! Your photos of your ducks remind me why I must not be tempted to get some. Much as they are cute, they are never happy until they have made a muddy mess. Not that I am in any way particular about cleanliness but more that I teeter on the brink of descending into total mayhem and they would undoubtedly be the final straw.

@Yorkshire coop

Hi Kim.

Lots of news!

I met that girl on Sat and she came and rode yesterday. I put her on MeMe and just walked out on foot with her and I think it's going to work, She's really nice and the first thing she told me was that she had taken out insurance but it wouldn't be valid for the first 7 days of policy commencement. Although my horses are covered through my BHS gold membership when I am out with them and I wouldn't dream of letting anyone take them out without me, I was really impressed at such a responsible step. She's also keen to learn about carriage driving so Ian may get another helper out of it. And she really loved MeMe, although it will take time for them to fully relax with each other.

The new girls are still churning out their diddy little eggs and as of last night, it looks like I have my first clocker of the season. Frances, my silkie/pekin broody was in one nest box yesterday morning. I removed the eggs from under her including one of her own and left her there, when I returned later she was in a different nest box which made me wonder considering that she had already laid an egg. Then last night she was still there happily cooking 5 of the other girls eggs and her breast is plucked. I left her four of them last night but the plan is to give her the new pekin eggs once I'm sure she is committed. Of course the new girls may have been running with other cockerels prior to me getting them but the new lad has been doing his job here, so we will see what happens. He does seem to favour the older mixed colour birds over the lavender pullets he came with so I wonder if they are hatchmate siblings. They weren't sold as unrelated, so I may have to see if you are interested in swaps at some point in the future!

Hope all is good with you and all your chicks are thriving. I assume those final two eggs didn't make it. Did you get out on Harry over the weekend? It was such glorious weather. I rang my sister yesterday and she was out on Jack and whilst we were talking on the phone, she was trotting and cantering!!!! Apparently, after our phone call ended she set him away at a gallop and according to her app. they topped out at 29 miles an hour and that was in a western saddle so she thinks there was still a bit more speed still available with an English saddle which is considerably lighter and where she can lean forward.... not bad for a cob eh!! She has some great country and bridleways to ride out on where she lives. We have lost a lot here where land has changed hands and new owners are not as accommodating or downright difficult... which is such a shame.

Anyway, that's all my news. Must crack on and get some work done now.


Best wishes to all

Barbara

 

[Rudies Roost]

@rebrascora

Hi Barbara, thanks for asking.....she's still with us, drank a little by herself and nibbled a bit of grass over the weekend. She has no control of her legs now the poor thing so she is pretty much confined to the cage but seems to be ok with things at the moment. Lord knows what i do next, she's such a fighter.

 

[rebrascora]

@Rudies Roost

Hi.

Really pleased and amazed to hear that she is still alive as she is obviously very ill. It's always a good sign when they are prepared to fight. Getting her to eat and drink is the most important thing now as her system is shutting down.... the green smelly poop tells you that. If you can scatter food around the cage so that the other chickens come and feed next to her, I've found that helps stimulate them to eat. Have you tried making a sling to support her in an upright position particularly overnight Through the day, if she is eating a bit of grass I would leave her free to do so though..
To make a simple sling or hammock you can put an appropriate size cardboard box inside an old t shirt and cut slots in the t shirt for her legs to go through and another where her vent is for any poop to fall out (you can even put a container underneath to catch it), so that when you put her in it, she is suspended in the box with her legs hanging out underneath her. If you gather the t shirt up at either side as well as the open end and clip it with clothes pegs or fasten it with cable ties, you can adjust it so that she is suspended with her feet just touching the floor, but the hammock is holding her weight. You can either make further holes in the t shirt near her head and push empty yoghurt pots into them to hold food and water within easy reach or fasten them to the sides of the box with cable ties. If you do a search for images of chicken slings you will get ideas of what you are aiming for. This helps prevent them soiling themselves and putting pressure on organs by being in a lying position all the time.

Also. if you can get some multi vitamins into her drinking water it may help but make sure they don't contain iron as I think I've read that that can be detrimental. Also keep trying her with favourite foods like tuna or porridge and fruit and bread soaked in the vitamin water is sometimes a good way to get calories and nutrients into them and yoghurt and scrambled egg of course, but soaked bread sometimes works a treat... keep any foods you give her moist rather than dry as dehydration is a real problem when they get that ill.

I really hope you can bring her back from the edge. I've had a couple that have made miraculous recoveries, especially those ones that showed fight. Don't give up on her until she does.

Good luck.

Barbara

 

[Rudies Roost]

@rebrascora

Great tip thanks...about to google one then I'll start fashioning one. Thanks again x

 

[GGBEAR]

@rebrascora thankyou for your kind words.
On the point

of the ducks I have to stick up for them and say the mud is down to the chickens mainly the first ones I had before the fox attack

and then the ones from now that's why we fenced them off.
The reason I put the first picture

of the ducks in there is it you look at what is happening the word rape comes to mind he is at it all day every day and my 3 chickens just stand observing lol

A funny

thing happened today I had the back door

open and my 3 year old let the birds out on to the promise land ( aka ) our side of garden

Aiyla was in her bouncy chair

by the back door and started to cry and my light Sussex ( Casper ) came running down

and started pacing outside the door making weird noises not loudly though quite low pitch and after each time she made a crying

noise she come back down cute really
What you make of that??

Love to everyone xx

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@rebrascora

Hi Barbara

Sorry I'm so late in replying, I'm naughty I know!! A few crappy things going on right now, I will send you a PM. That's fantastic news about the girl coming and having a go on MeMe, she does sound very responsible with taking out some insurance I hope things work out with her, it sounds like it will and you will have super fit horses!! I have still not got out on Harry, the bleeping farrier has still not turned up, he is like my backside!! Best covered up and out of sight!
I might just try him in the new school but he's a bit foot sore and it's a mess so I'm in two minds. He really is no good without shoes on, I'm sure he will be one who will need them till the day he croaks it. I really do need to make the effort now or what's the point, he's an expensive field ornament? I'm sure the excersize will do his arthritis some good too and get things moving better.

How's it going with Frances? Is she committed to broodiness? Would be great if she is so you can hatch some eggs Sounds like your new ones are not stressed at all with the move they have had, your doing a good job of making them happy and comfortable. Think I'm going to sell the little pekin I hatched and the female black tails, I'm wanting to keep some of the Tolbunt so I'm going to have to sell some of the pullets I kept from last year too. Wish I had more room to keep everything. But if I want to hatch more to feed my hatching addiction a few are going to have to go I'm afraid

Think that's about it for now, hope your having a good day today

Catch you soon

Kim xx

 

[MandS]

Hi from Reading (UK)

Just joined BYC and been invited to joint this thread by Yorkshire coop. As you can see I too am UK based. Have five hens. Not sure of the breeds as two were eggs, hatched by my daughter for a science project, they are similar to Rhode Island Red the classic brown chicken on the egg boxes. We have a Duchess Blue, a light Sussex and a black speckled hen with iridescent blue patches in the sun called a Lady cuckoo. They love a good dust bath and anything green to eat.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Mands and welcome.

That sounds like a nice little flock. Have they started laying yet?

BYC is a great place to learn and find answers when things don't go quite to plan or emergencies arise as they occasionally do. There are some very knowledgeable people here who freely offer great advice based on extensive experience. I've learned a great deal in the 2 short years I've been a member. I hope you find it equally as helpful.

Do you have any other animals or hobbies? I have horses, bees and cats as well as an ever expanding mixed flock of chickens....my first broody of the season is on day 2 with 12 pekin eggs.... so exciting as I only just got the pekins a couple of weeks ago and they are cute as buttons and laying amazingly well, although it will take half a dozen of their eggs to make a decent omelette!

Hope to get to know you better soon.

Best wishes

Barbara