What did you do with your flock today?

[ChicksnMore]

I just got up my bravery and let my 8 week olds leave the run today for their first free range experience. It went a lot different than I imagined.

I figured that once the door was open I'd have to chase them down, and they'd lose themselves in the woods, 30 yards away. Quite the opposite.

They were pretty much afraid to stray far from their known surroundings. I think the furthest any of them got away from the run was about 6 feet. They seemed hyper-cautious, and sure didn't want to range very far.

They did some things I didn't agree with, like eating a bunch of young sword fern leaves, and long blades of grass. But they have plenty of grit so I hope it won't be a problem. If they get sick, then maybe they'll be more discriminating about what they eat. LOL

A funny thing. I tossed an empty beer can into the wheelbarrow and they all went into "freeze" mode from the sound. They didn't move for quite a while. But when I said "It's ok. You can move now.", they started milling around again. I guess they trust my voice. LOL

They finally started heading toward the run door, so I shooed the rest of them in and figured that was enough free ranging experience for the first day. It was probably 30-45 minutes in all.

And of the 8 chickens, all but one left the run. One of them didn't have the bravery to jump out through the door. She will eventually, I think.

Anyway, it was a fun experience. I didn't know how they'd react to freedom, but they did pretty good and didn't get out of control.

I'll give them some free time tommorow, too.

Chickens are fun!

What a fun first outting! I've got mine on lockdown again because we found an ill sparrow with swollen eyes and grounded by sickness. After this last winters illness problems and seeing that sparrow, I'm feeling nervous about letting the birds out right now. A little freedoms so good for them though.

Love that your birds know if your calm they can be too

 

[ChicksnMore]

Hi everyone, just thought I would share the luck I've had these last three days with my chickens. My buff orpington started going broody a couple of weeks ago, I really wasn't ready for that to happen but it did. I tried the cold water bath a couple of times and it didn't work, put her in "chicken jail" for a few days and that didn't work either. None of my hens were laying fertile eggs because my bantam rooster couldn't do them any good. I knew of a guy that had a bunch of games so I went to his house to see about a few eggs. Come to find out after talking to him a while I knew where his stock came from since I had known the previous owner for at least 45 years. An extremely good strain that had made him lots of money over the years. I made a deal with the new owner if he would give me a few eggs I would give him back all the roosters from what hatched. So I got the eggs home, marked them and put them under my hen. He gave me eight total. Yes I was as proud as could be. The next day I was gathering eggs from mine and checked under the he to see if any of mine laid in that box too. I eased her up to look and six of the eight eggs were gone. No shell pieces, no liquid egg in the nest, nothing. Needless to say I wasn't happy about that. the next morning (yesterday) I went out to feed and water and when I checked under her the last two was gone. That's eight eggs in two days just disappeared. I went and talked to the guy I got the eggs from and he wasn't just real happy either. I looked around in the coop to see if I could find anything where something may have got in, nothing. This morning I go out to check on them and the hen was dead on the nest. Now I'm Pissed Off !! I got her out and she had a good size hole in her right side. I started moving nest boxes around and under one I could barely see a big chicken snake, I got my .22 pistol with shot shells in it, moved that box and shot that big you know what three times !! I drug him out and could see egg lumps in him. He was just a little over six feet long. I've seen small snakes here before but nothing near that size. So over the past three days I lost an outstanding hen and eight high dollar game eggs. What a day : (

O that's awful! I'm so sorry for your loss but glad you got the bugger!

 

[ChicksnMore]

Candled my Java pea eggs and the third egg laid is growing

I'm so tickled!

 

[Maddcatter]

I gave a duck a bath...

Yesterday I saw blood on her beak from her nares. No idea why that happened... But she got a bath then, too.
Today she's way more playful in the tub.

 

[Mr Spot]

O that's awful! I'm so sorry for your loss but glad you got the bugger!

Me too

 

[Nomadicus]

Put a saddle on one of a Delaware pullet. Not a year old yet but.... It turns out that she is the broody that is trying to brood in the rollout box. I brought her to the house to engage my wife's help in getting her saddle and then returned her to the flock. She tried to run away from that saddle. She tried to scratch it off she tried to kick it off but tonight while putting the kids to bed I found her with 3 eggs in the rollout hunkered down for the night. I took the eggs. I'd rather she wait until a little older in a better coop that's got some privacy and better security.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Sitting outside just listening to the birds sing...with a goofy puppy sprawled across my legs and a grumpy Chihuahua tucked up against me.

I keep thinking that I should get rid of some more chickens but when I made my morning rounds I look and I want to keep them all. And breed this one to that one just to see their babies down the road. I'm spending more on feeding chickens then the horse and goat combined though. Amazing.

Everyone looks healthy and happy. Today's a gardening day so trying to decide if I'm going to let one of the coops out to join me. I love my garden but in our dry climate it certainly attracts a crazy number of wild birds. Makes for beautiful bird concerts, but maybe a higher chance of disease too. Think I'm going to let the dwarfs out to play today none the less.

Hope everyone's day is beautiful

 

[TropicalBabies]

Happy Aloha Monday!!
It is a beautiful sunny day and I hear we are going to get our Tradewinds back this week!

Mazie has been in isolation for a few days. She was breathing a little heavy and hanging back, just a bit more tired and solo than usual. I won't keep her long, just long enough for closer observation, vitamins, extra food if she needs. If she is closer to her end I want her with her flock. Yet, everything seems fine, weight, feather condition, crop, comb etc. She looks like she is just older. Maybe her bones hurt from age and the dog attack a few years back. Maybe her sight is not as good as it used to be. I get that, just want to make sure it is not more or maybe help her with a boost.
Interesting how she and her sister BR are no longer the matriarchs. I'm sure if push came to shove they would be the ones who would make sure there is order, but somewhere along the way they have stepped back. Maybe it was a peck or scolding from Spider, but I hope it was a polite, respectuful nod, or just that the LB's are younger and more willing. Whatever it was I did not see the ask or tell, I just saw the slowing down, no longer the first in line, no longer the roosters lead, no longer the voice or keepers of the flock.
I'm not sure who is matriarch now. Think it may be one of the Light B's with less experience and class than Mazie or Indie. I will have to watch harder.

Yesterday, I cleaned and rearranged my sewing area so I am no longer facing the garden. In exchange for my view I'm hoping to have better light. We shall see. It was easy enough to move the light furniture and a clean always feels good. Today I have to finish. The tuff stuff. Cleaning out my chicken 1st aide, tossing saved boxes and other misc stuff. As much as I like to reduce, reuse and recycle ... I also like to be organized. Hard to do in a little home.

We have a voracious rat in the shop who has managed to gnaw a hole through the scratch food safe. DH repaired and it easily chewed another. I put the fresh $42. new bag of scratch in a metal rubbish can... the rat then chewed a huge hole in the dog's food safe. Well, me thinks these food safes ain't so safe anymore. I bough 2 non humane traps. I need to get all potential food out of shop and set traps with cats locked in the house for the night (s). Till then, I have a pregnant or nursing mama rat, I'm sure.

 

[Nomadicus]

Moving about 30 that I hatched out of an indoor brooder into an outdoor brooder coop. I've got one injured 3 mo old pullet that only eats if I hand feed her. I can put her down in front of a pan of feed and move a few feet to a chair and she will look at the feed and then fly up to my lap and sit and wait for me to pick up the pan and sit down with it so she can eat properly. I know why she is doing this. She is being picked on by the rest of the flock and she has found security in my lap.

 

[Smokerbill]

I put an old broken oak chair in the run to give them some new "mental stimulation". LOL

Then I mixed up a quart of mash and gave it to them, which was a welcome treat! They snarfed it down. Piled a bunch of big rocks at one corner of the run that wasn't as secure as I wanted it to be. It'll take a strong, persistant animal to move those rocks out of the way.

I might let them out of the run for a little while again today and see how far they'll range from the run. First day no farther than 6 feet. Yesterday, 10 feet. I think the open sky frightens them.

I do know they have a genetic knowledge of sky predators. A few days ago one saw the shadow of a crow flying over in the grass outside the coop. I heard the warning call and they froze. Interesting!