Windy hill chickens - first flock(s) of my own

[kattabelly]

There's been snow on the ground for the last 48 hours but looking like that will be gone by the weekend, if not tomorrow. Yay, more water! There's already a small stream running through the chicken plot.

Moved the fence to give them access to a new section of the back strip of field but they were more excited about all the fresh snow to eat

Wen's looking better, putting more weight on her foot but starting to hurt or get tired after a while. She came out to the field with the others and then shouted at me to come get her once she was struggling to keep up. She's been enjoying our polytunnel trips. (I'd be worried about the state of her feathers here if she hadn't always been such a scruffbag.)

Eggs from all three regulars. Stragglers went to roost ss+40 tonight.

 

[thistlewick]

Orkney and Shetland have very high percentages of Scandinavian DNA, upwards of 50%

And down in the 'lower' parts of Scotland, anywhere from 10-25% is Scandinavian. This is everyone in Scotland by the way, who considers themselves Scottish.

When I did my own personal DNA years and years ago, and saw a very suspicious 12% "Scandinavian" DNA marker, I began my foray into my family tree.

I knew my father's side was half Dutch, half English. My paternal grandmother did ancestry. But my mother's side? When I went down that rabbit hole it's all Scottish, all the way back. Allllll the lines. Turns out that "English" side of my father's line is *northern* English.

Every boat that took my ancestors from there, to here, took off from Glasgow. All save my Dutch ancestry.

Uhhh, long way of saying Scandinavians did some Viking, sure -- they also did a lot of settling and marrying and intermixing.

Thanks for listening to my Ted Talk lolol

 

[Shadrach]

There's been snow on the ground for the last 48 hours but looking like that will be gone by the weekend, if not tomorrow. Yay, more water! There's already a small stream running through the chicken plot.

Moved the fence to give them access to a new section of the back strip of field but they were more excited about all the fresh snow to eat

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Wen's looking better, putting more weight on her foot but starting to hurt or get tired after a while. She came out to the field with the others and then shouted at me to come get her once she was struggling to keep up. She's been enjoying our polytunnel trips. (I'd be worried about the state of her feathers here if she hadn't always been such a scruffbag.)

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Eggs from all three regulars. Stragglers went to roost ss+40 tonight.

Limps. Very difficult to do much about if the problems not visible. The ones I've seen, I can't say dealt with because I have yet to have a chicken fully recover from a major tendon strain, muscular deep bruising and maybe even partial hip dislocation which would need an xray to establish.

I have to ask, is it possible for you to keep one with you where you live?

 

[kattabelly]

Limps. Very difficult to do much about if the problems not visible. The ones I've seen, I can't say dealt with because I have yet to have a chicken fully recover from a major tendon strain, muscular deep bruising and maybe even partial hip dislocation which would need an xray to establish.

I have to ask, is it possible for you to keep one with you where you live?

She had some bruising initially, and gentle palpation and manipulation showed two toes were clearly broken. No visible bruising or other injury, or pain response further up the leg. I just wish I knew how it happened.

She's already choosing/able to spend more time on her feet and with the others, though I'm making sure she has plenty of time to rest and also feeding her separately for now.

Officially I'm not allowed pets here, though I've ignored that in the past for incubator hatched chicks. I'd bring a very sick chicken home if I thought it would be in their best interests but in this case I think she's better off staying with the others.

 

[BDutch]

Limps. Very difficult to do much about if the problems not visible. The ones I've seen, I can't say dealt with because I have yet to have a chicken fully recover from a major tendon strain, muscular deep bruising and maybe even partial hip dislocation which would need an xray to establish.

I have to ask, is it possible for you to keep one with you where you live?

My Black was injured badly last year. I picked her up from a neighbour, sitting and not moving on top of a bin, 4 or 5 houses down the street. Probably happened escaping from a predator. I felt so sorry for her and I didn’t know what to do. But she did.

She went into a nestbox by herself, just standing, not moving. I gave her rest, water, chick feed and now and then some treats. She was standing for days, recovered slowly, but she did. After about 6 weeks she was herself again. She’s not limping at all and very quick for a 10 yo chicken.

 

[kattabelly]

Don't want to try moving her until after the chicks have hatched, so this morning I stapled a bit of shade netting over the front of the nest box as a very temporary fix to stop any hatching chicks getting pecked or trampled by nest invaders. Yellow Legs had already been out and she's been predictable enough so far that I expect I can just let her out tomorrow morning and then staple her in again, though she could easily push her way out if she wanted to. I know a lot of stuff is instinctual but I'm really not sure she realises her precious eggs are going to turn into tiny, noisy babies. Just have to wait and see what happens...

They screamed and shouted and whinged and whined for several hours but the shade net screen eventually worked to stop her sister and Bertha from insisting on laying in the same nest. Only those two laid today.

I left around ss+10 and no one was even starting to get into their pre-roost routines yet.

 

[kattabelly]

 

[Perris]

congratulations! new chicks in late November, yay!

 

[BDutch]

Conrats Congrats! This is amazing!

 

[kattabelly]

congratulations! new chicks in late November, yay!

New chicks in late November, under a first-time mum who was hatched in an incubator and has never even seen a broody hen, in a coop they'll have to be carried out of because they'd drown in the snow melt if she tried taking them off the nest herself in the next few days They can stay in the nest tonight and then I'll set up a rat-proof area in the greenhouse and get them moved over tomorrow.

I'm mostly just pleased she didn't try to eat them! She was vocal but otherwise fine about me pulling them out for a quick look, which to be honest isn't ideal if she's going to be like that with the other chickens too. I suspect she'll need to be fierce to protect them from Bertha (their actual, bio mum).

Have to say I was amused that after never having a problem with incubator hatches, the black one was slightly shrink wrapped and a bit stuck.