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[timon]

Have you checked them for lice? Lice actually live on the bird unlike the mites that live in the coop.

I haven't done.... But happy to - Just don't know exactly what I'd be looking for. She's not got many feathers, so should be an easy hunt.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I haven't done.... But happy to - Just don't know exactly what I'd be looking for. She's not got many feathers, so should be an easy hunt.

Yeah should be easy to see. Just part the feathers around the vent and this is what to look for ~

Living lice ~

Eggs stuck to the feather shafts ~

 

[rebrascora]

@timon

Congratulations on your success in the battle against red mites..... I'm still at war with them and have pretty well used the full arsenal, some more than once. It looks like I am winning one day and then a day or two later I am back to square one. I've used generic food grade DE, Deosect, Smite (branded DE), Nettex Total Mite Kill, more Smite and more Nettex.... Pretty much every day or certainly every other day, I'm hitting them with something. Really thought I had cracked it yesterday, but today the drop board had several downy chick feathers on it that were red instead of lavender! Arrgh!!

@Yorkshire Coop

Hi Kim

Get the flags out for me this time!!! I rode MeMe on Saturday just on our own and she was very good and then took her out again today and met up with Ian on Zak and we went through the woods and over a couple of logs and had a little canter round a stubble field. On the whole I was delighted with her and she palled up with Zak quite well both leading and following although she needed him to give her a lead through the mud and over the logs. Thankfully he is now confident enough to fill that role and Ian even put him at a bigger felled tree trunk that he hadn't seen before and although hesitant, he popped it twice and was more confident the second time, so I think Ian was really pleased with him too.

I didn't bother to get the farrier to come back out to replace Rascal's shoe as I knew I wouldn't have time to do any ridden work with him and my routine appointment with them is tomorrow anyway, so they will all be road worthy again then. I really need to keep the impetus going, now that I've made a start.

Well done finding homes for your chicks. It must be nice to have an empty pen!
I am going to make a concerted effort to down size as things are just silly at the moment. Two farmyard mutt pullets and two year old hens (one is their mother) are going to Ian's friend, but I need to actively find homes for some of the pekins and I need a grow out pen for the cockerels. I am also going to have to be firm with myself and deal with the non layers.... Henrietta in particular has not laid an egg for over a year.... and although she is top hen and in reasonably good health I am becoming a slave to my chickens and horses and it has to stop as I can't even go away for a night to visit family, because it is just too complicated to ask someone to look after them all and I'm spending £30 a fortnight on feed and sundries for chickens and giving away most of the eggs.
It's particularly difficult at the moment with battling theses red mites in the pekin chick coop and Portia has a major crop problem or more likely an impacted gizzard, which is taking a lot of additional care and support and probably not going to make it. She has a crop the size of a soft ball but she is skin and bone and very little is going through her system, but she's ravenous poor girl. I've had to isolate her in a pen on gravel and restrict her to 4 small sloppy feeds a day and no bedding whatsoever because she has eaten every last speck of sawdust that I put down (thankfully I only scattered a tiny amount on the poop board). She's getting 3-4 crop massages a day and it's nice and pliable but just not going down and it's so heavy it's tipping her forward. I've tried several times to vomit her but not had any success so far and really think the blockage is further down in her system but can only keep trying whilst she is mobile and alert. She is pooping a small amount but quite dry. At the moment, apart from her huge bosom she looks ok. Comb is maybe just starting to look a little dry today but still quite red and upright and she is bright eyed.
Just to make things worse, the Marans trio decided that they preferrer the adult pekin pen today, so they broke out, crossed the garden and jumped into the other pen and of course the Marans cockerel then proceeded to give the little pekin roo a right pasting. The first I knew of it was when I came home from riding and found the Marans strutting their stuff in the wrong pen. It was only once I got them out and back into their own pen that I found the little chap hiding under a scrub looking a bit bloody and missing rather a lot of his beautiful feathers. He sharp perked up once he realised that I had removed the imposter though and thankfully the baby chicks in that pen were all fine.
It's alright having so many chickens when everything is running smoothly, but once problems start to occur, it really upsets the apple cart, so I need to get rid of quite a lot and be able to enjoy just having a few again.

Have you succumbed to temptation as regards setting your incubator again and if so, what will you hatch?

How is your back and are you managing to keep up the ridden work with Harry? Hope so. Wish we lived closer, so that we could ride out together.

Must go now as it's getting dark and need to start putting everything away.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@rebrascora

I got you a flag Great to hear you got MeMe out with Zak, have you been since? Hope it's all going well and it sure sounds like you had a great time when you were out. Zak sounds like he is coming on great, especially giving you a lead. I hope you feel proud of all the hard work you put into him. Will Ian hunt him this season now you have worked your magic?
Riding has been sporadic on my part here but I've still got him ticking over. I feel that Harry is now feeling is age, especially since the weather has been a bit damp. He's not lame but you can tell he is stiff and he is a bit clicky in his joints. Some maybe might be my fault too as I was late getting some more cortaflex and buteless liquid. They do seem to help him but it's a right whack in the purse on the cortaflex No buteless liquid this time so rather than him not have anything I've started him on devils claw to see how that may help. Hoping they have more buteless next week. I've also been bad and not been using the magnet boots as often as I should either. The new farrier has been great with him and put him different shoes on to try and alleviate some pressure in his legs. He's given him more height on his heels to get his toe down and put a wider shoe on to try and spread the load through his legs better. He's still out at the minute and hoping to eek another week out before he comes in on a night time. Overall he's getting old and it's something we both need to come to terms with.
It is such a shame we are not closer to head out on the horses, I'm sure we would have lots of fun!! Consett was on the tv the other night but it was police interceptors and I'm more than sure you would not be on that LOL!

How's your little Pekin cockerel after the beating from the Marans? Does not surprise me at all that he came out like 10 men once you had removed the intruder. I've found the Pekin cockerels to be feisty little chaps. I know just what you mean about needing to be shot of the non layers, I have a couple right now. My most prolific layer Ginny the Amber has packed up laying this year. She's nearly four years old and this is the first time she's ever stopped laying altogether. I just don't have the heart to cull her. She's been so good so deserves a happy retirement? Heart is ruling my head again! Then there is mother hen, she was broody last summer and then did not lay an egg untill this spring when she layed five over a two week period and that's been it for fifteen months. She really is a chicken ornament.

I've been well behaved and not set any eggs, weather changing and brooding in winter is that bit harder so I've resisted temptation so far. Plus I've filled the shed up with loads of chicken accessories, feeders and the like to try and stop myself from hatching more. But I still have the guinea cage

Back is so much better thanks so I really have no excuse for not riding. I'm trying to go steady and think how I lift things so as not to set it off again. I could really do without another chiropractor bill right now as I could really do with Harry's checking out next.

Hope your having a nice evening Barbara.

Kim xxx

 

[rebrascora]

@Yorkshire Coop

Hi Kim

Thanks for my flag. Love it! Afraid I haven't been back out on horseback since Monday though and won't get out today as I am spending the afternoon with a friend.... cinema, shopping and a bite to eat. It was her birthday last week but she had family plans, so this is a delayed celebration. My sister and Helen are both coming tomorrow though, so we will hopefully get all 3 of mine out then..... it is several months since the lads were last ridden so my sis and I will have fun on them....NOT...I'm really getting too old for those sort of antics! I have every confidence that MeMe will be good for Helen though. Jo is bringing her friend's western saddle to put on Rascal, so that should give her a little more security and probably means it will just be me hitting the deck!

Pleased to hear your back has improved, but sorry to hear that Harry is feeling his age. Cora is the same. I think she put something out of place when she had MeMe and she has been stiff in her back end ever since. She is not in any obvious pain ordinarily but just struggles to turn around on that side and has to take her time. I'm starting to feel a bit the same myself! I also use a No Bute supplement for her and I think being out all winter helps her to keep moving. I draw the line at forking out for Cortaflex but since she is retired, I don't think it is so important. Interesting that the farrier is using different shoes on him to see if that will help. I suppose it may take him a little while to get used to the feel of them after being in normal shoes most of his life. Hopefully it will help him in the longer term. You must be happier with your new farrier service. It is so great having a regular and reliable blacksmith... and I'm even more lucky because I have two!!

Well done for resisting the urge to set more eggs. I know how tempting it is and at least you could justify it, since you got rid of your previous hatches, but it will be less fun once the weather turns cold and wet.

The Pekin cockerel still has a blood stained comb and has lost a lot of his finery, but doesn't seem to care.... as you say, they have big attitudes although he's no problem with me. I'm having difficulty keeping the Marans cockerel and one of the pullets in their pen though. Thankfully he hasn't gone back into the pekin pen since, but it may only be a matter of time. I'm assuming they are flying out but I haven't actually seen them. I blocked the gap I thought they must be getting out of where the fence meets the hedge, so coming over the top is the only other option. I don't like to clip wings in case they need to escape a predator as my garden will never be totally predator proof. I don't like to keep chickens in when the weather is nice but I'm concerned that there will be more carnage when I come back tonight if I let the Marans out today. I really need to make a better job of that pen, but I just don't have time right now. I didn't want those Marans in the first place (Arrghh!) but I must confess I like their pretty eggs and since I am getting very few from my other hens now, they are a welcome addition and the one that is laying gives me 6 eggs a week, so I can't complain on that score and the other one will be laying soon as she is reddening up noticeably now.

Anyway, I must head out and get some work done before I take the afternoon off.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Rudies Roost]

Hi all, and a good evening for everyone I hope? I failed at the Game Fair last Sunday, I caved in when I saw "The Chicken Man" (as i call him!), I've had many off him over the last 3 years , they are in good health always and nice and young. So, as I lost my lovely Buff Orpington last week, I couldn't resist a replacement. Just the 1 though so I was well behaved by my usual standards! I too have been throwing DE about the place with wild abandon, I find it works a treat along with Ivermectin drops directly on the chucks every 3 weeks or so.

More sad news....My White Leghorn passed away this morning, bit upsetting as she was 1 of my original 4 chickens (only 2 left of them now) that I have ever owned so it was the end of an era....she laid an egg EVERY day since we got her 3 and a half years ago so I guess she burned out, no signs of illness at all. I found her yesterday, late afternoon, in the nest box very quiet, she never sits on eggs, just laid and went so I knew she was not good. She hung on till this morning, I told her she could go now and 20 minutes later she gave in whilst I was cleaning the coop. Bless her, she was a lovely hen, hated being touched or picked up but a joy to have about so RIP Luna and thank you x

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Hi all, and a good evening for everyone I hope? I failed at the Game Fair last Sunday, I caved in when I saw "The Chicken Man" (as i call him!), I've had many off him over the last 3 years , they are in good health always and nice and young. So, as I lost my lovely Buff Orpington last week, I couldn't resist a replacement. Just the 1 though so I was well behaved by my usual standards! I too have been throwing DE about the place with wild abandon, I find it works a treat along with Ivermectin drops directly on the chucks every 3 weeks or so.

More sad news....My White Leghorn passed away this morning, bit upsetting as she was 1 of my original 4 chickens (only 2 left of them now) that I have ever owned so it was the end of an era....she laid an egg EVERY day since we got her 3 and a half years ago so I guess she burned out, no signs of illness at all. I found her yesterday, late afternoon, in the nest box very quiet, she never sits on eggs, just laid and went so I knew she was not good. She hung on till this morning, I told her she could go now and 20 minutes later she gave in whilst I was cleaning the coop. Bless her, she was a lovely hen, hated being touched or picked up but a joy to have about so RIP Luna and thank you x

I'm really sorry for losses. What breed is your new replacement chicken?

 

[Rudies Roost]

I'm really sorry for losses. What breed is your new replacement chicken?

Thank you....I replaced an 18 month old Buff Orpington that died 2 weeks ago with another 14 week old Buff Orpington....love the breed. I now need to replace my Leghorn that passed today...other half will be pleased (not!!)...I'll just sneak one in!!!!!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@Rudies Roost

Hi Sasha
Sorry to hear about your losses Your leghorn sounds like she had a very peaceful passing, I know it's horrible them dying but I would much rather it be like that rather than long and drawn out.
Great going on the self restraint at the game fair! Now for the leghorn replacement, as you were so good last time you deserve at least 3 more now LOL.

How's your daughter settling in at secondary school? Hope she is enjoying it but I bet it's quiet for you now during the day. It sure is here now Charlie is back at school. He's decided he might want to go in the army when he leaves school, not sure how I feel about that one :/

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@rebrascora

Hi Barbara

How did it go with riding? Did you get out on all three of them? I sure hope you have not hit the deck! Good afternoon yesterday? Sure sounds like a good way to spend the afternoon