Wednesday, July 8, 2009

5th Week of Freedom

Sunday, 5 July 2009

Total Eggs today = 2

After getting the girls up at 6am this morning I went back to bed for a couple of hours. Today is the Take That Circus concert at Wembley and knowing that it will be a very long day (and night) I thought I'd better get as much sleep as I could.

My Mum and niece, Ellis, will be hen sitting today.

The Take That concert was incredible.

These are some of the pics I took during the concert

After the concert, outside the stadium


Didn't get home until 12.30am so just as well my Mum managed to put them to bed.


Monday, 6 July 2009

Total Eggs today = 2

Awful weather today - torrential downpours, thunder and lightening - real end of the world stuff.

Luckily I'd covered the roof of the run with some tarpaulin I bought from eBay, otherwise the run would have been awash.


Tuesday, 7 July 2009

Total Eggs today = 1

More torrential downpours again today though by the time I got home it had stopped so the girls had a little bit of free time in the garden.


Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Total Eggs today = 1

When the girls were free-ranging tonight I noticed that Dorothy was holding her left foot up more than they usually do.

I managed to get hold of her and could see that the nail on her middle toe looked torn and was at a 45% angle.

There wasn't anything I could do tonight so I will call the vet in the morning.


Thursday, 9 July 2009

Total Eggs today = 2

I called the vet - Village Vet - and got an appointment for 10am.

He confirmed that it had been torn and said the best thing to do was to take it off. Birds don't cope with anaesthetic very well so he said he would take her into another room and while a nurse was holding Dorothy, he would just pull it off and put something on it to stop the bleeding.

I waited in the surgery and was expecting to hear some very loud clucking coming from the other room but I didn't.

He bought her back and we then discussed giving her some pain killer medication - Metacam which is a liquid pain killer usually prescribed for cats.

He worked out the dosage and showed me how to give it to her. It's a bit like giving a cat a tablet only trying to hold open the beak of a bird is slightly more difficult. I have to draw the liquid into a syringe type thing, then squeeze it gently into her mouth a little at a time. Easy for a vet to do!

After paying £47.01 for this visit I brought her home and gave her some food in the kitchen before putting her back with Ginger and Lucy.


Friday, 10 July 2009

Total Eggs today = 2

Giving Dorothy her medication this morning was an experience! I got my Mum to hold her in the kitchen while I tried to pry her beak open, put the syringe in and squeeze in the Metacam. As I said before, easy for a vet, very difficult for everyone else.

I stopped giving them the Denegard for the gut bacteria last Saturday but it hasn't cleared the problem as they've still been doing some yellow poop. I called Retford and they suggested trying the Denegard for another week to see if it clears the problem this time. Libby suggested getting some soluable multi vitamins to put into the water as I told her I wasn't sure they'd been drinking all the medicated water last week.

Tried to get some close-up photos of the chicken faces - they are constantly on the move so it's not easy. This is the best so far.....

Lucy emerging from her bath


Ginger and Dorothy


Ginger



Saturday, 11 July 2009

Total Eggs today = 1

House cleaning day. I mixed up some mash and yogurt for the girls to keep them occupied while I cleaned the house and run.

When I spoke to Libby at Retford yesterday I told her that I wasn't 100% sure they's been drinking all the medicated water last week and she suggested getting a soluable multi vitamin to disguise the taste so I went to my local pet shop today to see if he had any. He didn't but will order me some in the week.

While there I saw they were bagging up some wood chip like stuff. It turned out to be a type of horse bedding which they sell for birds and rabbits. I bought a bag to try in the bottom of the run as the girls are gradually scratching up all the grass and what with the pooping and spilling of food it is getting hard to keep clean and fly free.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

4th Week of Freedom

Sunday, 28 June 2009

Total Eggs today = 2

Got the workbench and angle saw thingy out again today. My brother is coming over with drill and tools to give a hand on the run and I needed to cut a couple of pieces of wood to attach to the house. I also cut some more angled pieces of wood to attach as struts on the panels for extra strength.

Roped my Mum in to paint the wood with preservative - I couldn't ask Ellis to help as she has a new laptop and is busy playing with it! Plus, she would get covered with paint.

My son, Robert's Dad came over today and I got him to help me move the hen house slightly so that it could be put onto paving slabs. This means that there is now a paving slab under the house so it will be easier to clean.

The girls were out for most of the morning but we'd put them away just before Steve came which was just as well as they are nosy little things so would have got in the way.

Steve also attached the hinges to the sections which will open so now all that's left to do is connect them together, put the paving slabs down and attach them to the hen house and then I won't feel quite so guilty about leaving them shut in when I go to work.

However, I've taken this week off work. My intention is to paint the back wall of the house but it really depends on the weather. The forecast is for hot, hot, hot weather with occasional storms.


Monday, 29 June 2009

Total eggs today = 3

My Mum and her friend Vi are going on holiday for a few days and I drove them to the coach pick up point in Enfield Town. Then went to B&Q and bought the hasps to attach the run to the house and also bought a gate latch.

It was so hot when I got back that I let the girls out and just sat under the sun umbrella and it wasn't until later that I finished fixing all the additional little pieces to the frames.

I've also now dug up all the potatoes that were growing near the hen house, which the girls enjoyed as they were finding lots of insects and worms to eat.


Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Total eggs today = 2

Despite my intention to paint the back of the house I decided today that I really must finish the chicken run. I started by attaching the hasps to the side panel and and then fixed the panel to the house.

I then attached the front panel to the side with a cable tie. It was only when I added the other side piece that I realised that the first two panels were in the wrong place so had to start all over again.


Now I attached the small side panel and door. I've tried to put all the panels onto paving slabs but the lawn is so full of lumps that they mostly all wobble so I've had to put some of the slabs into the run - which is ok, because they will be easier to clean.


The finished run with the top opening panel fitted.



Wednesday, 1 July 2009


Total eggs today = 0

No painting today either. Instead I made a mesh frame to hang on the gate into my Mum's garden. For some reason she doesn't want the chickens to get into her garden and up until now we've been propping an old rusted piece of mesh against the gate which has to be moved to open it.

All the time while making the run the chickens have been curious - standing on the panels, generally getting in the way. It was only when making this frame that Ginger decided to really take an interest - either that or she was checking out my tools.




Thursday, 2 July 2009


Total eggs today = 2

Still very hot and so I decided to not do any painting! Sat in the garden under the umbrella while the girls had a scratch and peck about amongst my plants until it got too hot! So I set them up with their own umbrella and retreated inside until it cooled down a little.



Friday, 3 July 2009

Total eggs today = 1

Let the girls out for a little while this morning, but as I was going to meet the coach bringing my Mum and her friend Vi back from their holiday.

To keep them amused I peeled and cored an apple then threaded some string through it and hung it in the run. After a few tries they worked out what to do, though it was swinging about for quite a while. However, it made any awful sticky mess of the mesh so I will have to try hanging the next one in the middle of the run.


Saturday, 4 July 2009

Total eggs today = 2 (2nd one was definitely from Dorothy because I saw her go into the nest box)

The girls have been having an antibiotic since last Saturday, which will hopefully cure their "yellow runny poop". I've been adding it to their drinking water but am not sure they've been getting it all as they have been knocking their water container over (it's now tied to the run so that can't happen again). I've not seen any any "yellow runny poop" this week so am hoping it is cured, but just to be sure I gave them one more dose today. I have to contact the laboratory, Retford Poultry Partnership, next week and let them know how things are. If it doesn't seem to have gone I will probably have to send another sample for testing :-(

Today was house cleaning day. Since the run has been attached there is less poop in the house which is good because I had to get down on hands and knees to clean it out, but it meant that cleaning took a little longer as I now have to make sure the grass and paving inside the run has been de-pooped. Although I've been doing this every day, now that I had the bucket of dettol I could also scrub the paving.

Retford also sold me a powder called Mistral. This is supposed to stop any bacteria on the ground from re-infecting them and I have to sprinkle it over the flooring of the run and house. I've been sprinkling it in the run since it was delivered on Tuesday and added it to the ground under the house today after cleaning.

My niece, Ellis, came today and went straight into the run with the chickens.


I mixed their layers mash with some live yoghurt today and they really seemed to like it, so I did another bowlfull which Ellis took it into the run with her. We are concerned that Dorothy isn't eating as much as the other two because of her little twisted beak so Ellis tried to make sure Dorothy got a fair share of it.

We let them out later in the afternoon and they came to where we were sitting on the patio and made a couple of dirt baths between the big plant pots and then had little naps while Ginger (who I've yet to see dirt bathing) sat down near us on the paving. Ellis is trying to get them all to sit on her lap but so far the only one who's willing is Ginger - she even settled down and closed her eyes a couple of times.

There won't be much to report tomorrow as I'm going to see Take That at Wembley Stadium - YAY!!!!!

3rd Week of Freedom

Sunday, 21 June 2009

Cleaning out time today so let the girls out of the house and run while I set to work with the rubber gloves, bucket of soapy water and brush.

The girls are really enjoying their new found freedom and are quite at home in the garden. Lucy and Dorothy in particular enjoy having dirt baths.

This is Dorothy


And this is a video of Lucy





I started to put the wire mesh onto the frames today.

It was harder than I thought as the wire is rolled up and as soon as the wire ties holding it together were un-done it sort of up-wound itself and shot off down the garden! My measurements were all wrong so I'll be cutting pieces to fit each section rather than having one large piece per frame.

Definitely a 2 person job - one has to staple while the other holds the roll and cuts - so it was just as well Robert's dad came over.

Found a fresh yellow poop sample (which hadn't been trodden in) so I managed to get some into an (un-used) cat wee sample tube I had from the Vet. The Ex Battery Forum has details about a laboratory which tests poultry poop samples and supplies medication. I'll contact them tomorrow.


Monday, 22 June 2009

6am - woke up with a cracking headache. Took the morning off work and after feeding and watering the girls I went back to bed for a couple of hours.

Called Retford Poultry (the lab for poop testing). The told me to send the sample to them with a brief history of the hens. They'd then test it and let me know what bacteria was found and what meds would be needed. It was already in one plastic bag and after wrapping it again I put it in a small padded envelope with the letter and took it to the post office on the way to work. Sent it 1st Class Recorded Delivery I bet they don't get much chicken poop pass over their counter!


Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Went out after work tonight with friends so this was my Mum's first "hen sitting" session. She let them out for a little while but had trouble getting them back in the run.


Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Called Retfod Poultry - the sample arrived today - so much for 1st class Recorded Delivery then! They asked me to call again tomorrow afternoon when they should have results.


Thursday, 25 June 2009

Called Retford Poultry. My yellow frothy poop contains Brachyspira - a form of Spirochaetes. She said that she usually sees this infection in large flocks but is increasingly seeing it in smaller ones.

She's sending me some antibiotics and antiseptic powder which I should get on Saturday.

There are occasions when I really wonder what I did before the internet came along, however, for matters such as this I scared the life out of myself when I googled spirochaetes. The bug itself is related to syphilis and lyme disease!

In the same search I found a picture of someone's leg with a huge red blotch on it and I've recently been bitten by a mozzie and have a similar, though much, much smaller, red blotch on my leg. Then one of my friends wondered whether this bug could be caught by my cats.

So it was another call to Retford to be reassured that this is a poultry version which can't be transferred to other species. That's a relief then.


Friday, 26 June 2009

My supply of Denagard 12.5% solution-Tiamulin Fumarate arrived from Retfords today. It says 2ml Tiamutin to 1 litre of water.

So I'll be adding it to their water tomorrow. However, they do make one hell of a mess in their waterer (cleaning their very dirty beaks in it the little minxes!) . I usually tip out the dirtied water replacing it with clean but they will have to live with it until they've finished their course of meds.

Saturday, 27 June 2009

Another hot and sunny day - ideal for cleaning the hen house day. Let the girls out again as it's much easier to do without them poking their beaks in. However, Dorothy kept coming up the ramp when obviously wanting to get into the nest box - she probably wants to lay and egg.

Started them on their antibiotics. One of the people on the Ex Batts Forum recommends that you don't eat their eggs whilst on medication and for a week after, but suggests cooking them for the hens. It wasn't Dorothy who laid today it was Ginger, so I scrambled it for them but they didn't want to eat it.

Finally finished putting the wire onto the frames. Now all I have to do is put them together, put the paving slabs down and it will be done.

While doing this the girls were wandering around the garden. I looked up and could only see 2 of them - Dorothy was missing. She appeared the other side of the gate and had managed to get into my Mum's garden - this is off limits to chickens due to their "garden wrecking" habits.

There is a big gap at the bottom of the gate that separates us and we've been putting a piece of old wire mesh in front of it. Ginger also managed to figure out how to get through the gap so I will have to make something better to block the gap.

The weather was lovely today until about 5pm ish when the sky opened and dumped another load of rain on us.

Ellis is here this weekend and we retreated inside and watched "Chicken Run".

It didn't stop raining until about 9pm so the girls couldn't come out again

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Saturday, 20 June 2009 - 2nd Week of Freedom

My Mum and I visited our friend Lorriane for lunch today - which was nice.

On the way home we went food shopping in Morrison's and I found a box of dried meal worms - not for me I hasten to add!

According to the Ex Battery Hens Forum hens go crazy for them so I thought I give them a try. They haven't shown much interest in the other suggested treats - spaghetti with olive oil, mashed potato, sweetcorn or grapes - so far.

I put them into a little dish and after some initial suspicion Ginger and Lucy appeared to like quite like them.

Dorothy is very careful about eating things unless she finds it in the dirt so I scattered some for her to find.

They are all becoming much calmer and are obviously getting used to us now and becoming quite curious about what we are doing. Even eating a sandwich and drinking a cup of tea brings a very nosy Ginger quickly over with her neck stretched to it's maximum to see if she can have any!

I got the work bench and angle cutting thingy out to saw some more pieces of wood which I then glued and stapled into place. There are now only a few more pieces of wood to be cut and nailed into place to add extra strength, as I don't want the first strong wind to blow it over, and then it just needs the wire and hinges to be attached and Voila! Hen House Run Extension is Finished!

I will start on an extension for my house next ;-)


According to the Forum you have to be on the look out for odd poop from hens -yellow frothy ones in particular. I've spotted a few but have never seen which hen does it and it's usually been walked through.

My Mum saw Lucy do one today so I took a picture (to post on the forum for advice - I won't subject this blog to poop pice you'll be happy to know!).

I will put the pic on the forum tonight and await advice. I think though that they will tell me to get a sample and send it off to a lab for analysis.

Friday, 19 June 2009 - 2nd Week of Freedom

Another egg today. I still don't know which hen is laying but I think it might be Dorothy as she spends most time in the house.

Finally got a decent photo of Dorothy today. It meant laying on the grass (which I thoroughly inspected for poop first btw)


The wire mesh I'd ordered arrived today.

Thursday, 18 June 2009 - 2nd Week of Freedom

Another egg today. I'll soon be able to open a stall in the front garden. Eggs and Chicken Manure!

Gave the frames another coat of paint.

The chickens have discovered the potato plants ....

Wednesday, 17 June 2009 - 2nd Week of Freedom

My Mum got up at about 5am this morning and saw a fox in the garden. It wasn't near the hen house but was sniffing around in her garden. She'd found a kipper there yesterday and it's possible it had come back to look for it.

She knocked on the window but it just looked at her and when it went to go into my garden she opened the window and clapped her hands and it just ran off.

So, they know there are chickens in the neighbourhood - I shall have to be extra careful when the girls are out now. I think(hope) they are secure in the house - it has padlocks on the doors and has paving slabs and bricks all around it so I don't think a fox could dig under, but just to be sure, once I've finished building the run I shall have to move the house and put slabs under it too. It will also make it easier to clean too.

2 eggs today!

I gave the wooden frames a coat of wood preservative while the girls were exploring the garden.