The Hen Pen

The New Des Res

2011-11-20T05:09:00.000-08:00

We have had to buy this lovely little pink number as we found red mite in the old wooden coop.

While the Eglu is not immune to red mite there are far less nooks and crannies for them to hide in and if discovered you cn easily jet wash the eglu and rid yourself of the little devils.

The girls seem very happy with their new warm and cozy pink house and snuggle up together at night no trouble at all.

Jackie

Update

2011-10-04T00:23:00.001-07:00

Well all things have been quiet in the chicken run, the girls are all getting on so well since poor old Buttercup went to the rainbow bridge.

We might be expecting a few new arrivals soon, details and photos to follow if and when it happens.

Here's a couple of photos of Penny (yes we still have Penny, she has now enjoyed over 2 years out of the battery cages) and Primrose enjoying some corn on the cob, Bluebell was in the nest box at the time but she did come out eventually and there was plenty of corn left for her.

Dappled Shade

2011-07-03T05:30:00.000-07:00

This is my most favourite area of the garden. It's like a little oasis of calm on a hot sunny day. I just watered in some new plants and must have disturbed a nest of tiny little spiders, the water sprinkles made them scatter and they were like little golden fairies moving in the water, it was only a gentle flow so they didn't come to any harm.

This years peas and carrots

and runner beans

and broad beans

and finally my girls, first Primrose off to lay her egg for the day

and Buttercup and Penny having a well earned rest having just spent the last half hour scratching around on the lawn while their run was cleaned and re-surfaced with Nedz Bedz

I think Bluebell managed to hide from the camera today, maybe next time I'll catch her.

Peace has overcome the chicken run

2011-04-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo taken this evening they all seem to be getting on brilliantly. It's only two weeks tomorrow since the new girls arrived.

Well the girls are all in together at last, dividing fence taken down today and they seem to be getting on OK so far.

Bluebell runs squarking the moment one of the other girls looks at her, Primrose has taken to flying up on to the little house that the new girls sleep in and Penny and Buttercup are tolerating Bluebell and Primrose quite well.

Penny being her usual unflappable self is just letting it all wash over her, there's a chicken who's sure of her place in the pecking order!!

New Girlies Are Here

2011-04-10T07:04:00.001-07:00

The girls have arrived and are settling in, it has been lovely this morning to see them making their first attempt at scratching about and doing chickeney type things. I just went down to find they had both dug out little hollows in the straw and were flat out enjoying their first day in retirement - it makes you feel good I can tell you. They have both laid massive eggs today which is lovely but I hope they take a few days off laying to get themselves settled in and a little bit stronger.

It's all looking a bit tight in the run but they have plenty of room, it will be better when they are all in together but for now they are fine.

New Girlies Arriving Tomorrow

2011-04-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Can't wait 2 new girlies arrive tomorrow, they will be called Primrose and Bluebell. Mick has been at home today separating the run to keep them apart from Penny and Buttercup and the whole run has been cleaned out, discinfected and is all shiny new for their arrival. Just think two little girlies are sitting somewhere today in one of those horrible cages not knowing that they will become two treasured little girlies in our household tomorrow. Will post piccies tomorrow night once they are settled Jackie xx

Goodbye Rosie

2011-02-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

Rosie has gone to the Rainbow Bridge today, she has not been herself for a few days and although she was eating and drinking she was losing weight and becoming very weak. We took her to the vet tonight and he found that she had a growth, hence the weightloss etc. We had to make the decision to say goodbye to her.

We have had her since June 2009 so she did well to last so long after her dreadful ordeal in the battery cages. We are pleased we were able to give her a good life but will miss her dreadfully.

RIP my lovely girlie.

Sad, sad news

2010-12-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

Can't say too much as we are so upset but we have just said goodbye to my Poppy. She died this afternoon, we are absolutely gutted, we loved that little girl so much she was a character and a half, such a lovely chicken.

RIP my lovely Poppy.

New piccies of my girls

2010-11-30T00:10:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd update with a couple or so of new photos of the girls enjoying their newly designed run. as you can see we have raised the coop up and moved it to one end, this gives them so much more room.

We can't get Aubiose at the moment so the girls have Nedz Bedz on the floor of the run which is chopped straw, they love it. It's going to need changing more often as you can't poo pick so easily but they look so warm and cozy and they love scratching around in it.
This one shows Buttercup on the perch in the run, she has to climb everywhere. She's the skinniest little thing and the least feathered of all the girls but she eats like nothing on earth and charges the others out of the way when her porridge arrives in the morning.

It may be snowing outside but the girls are happy, warm and cozy in their run. Happy Girls, Happy Mum.

Piccies at Last

2010-08-14T13:05:00.001-07:00

I have finally managed to get a couple of photos of the newbies.

Firstly Poppy, who is absolutely huge and is fantastically feathered, she has lovely fluffy drawers and is the most beautiful colour. She loves anything shiny especially my painted toenails and our wedding rings.

This is the gorgeous Buttercup, she had more feathers than this when she arrived but has lost a lot of them while they were sorting out the pecking order, she is settled in well with the other now and only very occasionally gets pecked at by the others.

These new girls are full of character and naughtiness and we love them to bits, I am so pleased they came to live with us.

The Newbies

2010-07-26T02:16:00.000-07:00

We have new girls and they are gorgeous, really well feathered and really huge. Mick has separated the run off with a four foot high section wired panels and the new girls are frantic to get in with the others, I am sure we are going to have a new top chook by the way Buttercup is behaving. Poppy is the bigger of the two but I think she may be more docile, she gave Mick a scare last night:-

he went down at dusk to put them to bed and it was a bit dark in the run, he put the oldies to bed and went into the sectioned off part of the run to put the newbies to bed, slid across the door on their temporary coop and stood up only to come face to face with Poppy roosting on top of the panel section. I heard quite a lot of bock bocking as he lifted her down and put her in the coop with Buttercup, must say nearly split my sides laughing just imagining his face when he found this chicken 4' off the ground.

I will try and get some photos in the next couple of days and post them up.

We have Newbies

2010-07-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

on their way. Mick is going to pick up two new girlies on Saturday, can't wait.

We think Rosie and Penny are ready for some new additions. Mick has prepared the run for the onerous task of introductions that will take place over the course of a few weeks.

Watch this space photos to follow!!

I think we're out of the woods

2010-05-09T04:49:00.000-07:00

Rosie is back to her old self and is even trying to assert her authority over Penny, not that it does her any good, as I've said before Rosie's only top chook because Penny can't be bothered.

They are both eating and drinking and doing all the chickenny things that healthy chickens do.

We fear it was lack of calcium that caused all the problems and blame ourselves for the problems the other girls suffered but to be fair even the vet didn't know what was causing the hens to prolapse.

Here are the two remaining girls Rosie and Penny having just had their treat of chopped up grapes, cherry tomatoes all coated in some nice live yoghurt ...... lovely!!! they seemed to enjoy it.

We are going to put our names down for some new ex-batts hopefully from the June rehoming.

Things Got Worse

2010-04-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Lily prolapsed on Wednesday night and Geraldine on Thursday, we just can't believe that we aren't doing something wrong but we have been through everything with 3 different vets and they all assure us we are doing everything we can for the girls and they feel they are very well looked after.

We lost both Lily and Geraldine and are now left with Rosie and Penny and watching them like hawks, we are frightened to leave them for even a few minutes without checking them.

The vet has given them both a worming medication and a seven day course of antibiotics as a precaution but they can't think of anything that could be causing this.

We are absolutely devestated, we love our girls so much and now have four little leg rings hanging from the side of the run instead of the four beautiful little girls they belonged to running around our feet where they should be.

More Sadness in the Chicken Run

2010-04-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

This time with poor Bella. She has also suffered a prolapse and has had to be put to sleep.

We are so sad, this lovely little girl just never fully recovered from her ordeal in the cages and didn't completely get her feathers back, she was also very skitish and I knew something was wrong when I arrived home to find her sitting on the edge of the nest box having her head stroked by my brother in law, he'd phoned to say something was wrong and I rushed home straight away. Unfortunately, the vet couldn't do anything for her and we had to say goodbye to our little lovely.

Sadness in the Chicken Run

2010-03-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

We lost Daisy today, she had a prolapse and the vet thought we would be able to save her and treat her but as soon as he popped it back in it came out again and we had to take his advice and have her put to sleep.

She will be missed by Lily especially, they came together and were always side by side in the run, it seems strange that six are now five.

Jackie

Good Morning

2010-01-23T05:24:00.000-08:00

Just spent a lovely morning with the girls, giving them a good clean out. The run is all freshly aubiosed, the coop is filled with Cozy Coop, feed containers all sparkly clean and new hanging water container installed - all looking good but for how long, they really don't seem to appreciate a nice clean run.

Here's a few pics

Update on the Girls

2010-01-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry no photos but just to say that the girls are still doing fine. At the moment their run is covered in on three sides so they haven't got much of a view out but they seem to be happy scratching about.

We're getting soft eggs every day despite them having all the recommended supplements, I guess it's just the time of year and lack of good daylight hours.

My girls are just lovely, they get naughtier every day. Will post some photos soon.

Do Chickens Like Pumpkin

2009-10-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

I think so. Penny seems to like having her head inside and pulles out all the seeds and mush and then the others chase her around the run. I don't think the others like to get their heads all sticky.

Just a Quick Update

2009-10-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

Rosie has finally had her purple boot removed, her little foot is as good as gold, all the swelling gone down and it's healed up really well.

Daisy is back to her old self after her softie episode the other night, she did lay a softie in the end and was woken up with scrambled egg before being taken down and reunited with the other girlies. I do hope word doesn't get round that they can have a wash and blow dry, warm cozy bed for the night and breakfast in bed the next morning otherwise they'll all start looking a bit under the weather.

We have had a couple of softies since but I have added limestone flour to their feed and I hope this will help solve the problem. I would really rather they stopped laying for a while to get themselves recovered from their recent move. The number of eggs each day is going down which is good, I assume it's because of the shorter days.

Haven't posted for a while

2009-10-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy. Unfortunately, Mick's mum passed away on Friday evening and I don't think either of us quite realised how much there is to do, but we're getting there.

Daisy has been poorly today with some egg laying problems. I have bathed her in warm water to try and relax her equipment, dried her with a warm hairdryer and put her to bed in the dogs carry box in the dining room with a vetbed and hot water bottle. I think she has a softy on the way and it's making her feel groggy. I hope she will lay it overnight or first thing tomorrow and then she will feel better.

The chooks generally are keeping us amused, especially Bella who has finally discovered the ladder up to the top of the box I use for keeping all their cleaning stuff in. As she's taken the trouble to find out how to get to the top I leave little treats up there for her that the others don't know about!!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for poor Daisy.

Will try to get some photos posted soon.

What a difference a day makes

2009-10-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

Such a busy day yesterday that I didn't have much time for keeping the run clear of 'you know what' and boy does it make it hard work for the next day.

I have just been down to let the girls out and it took me so long to clear up, the extra hours in the hen house at night make that a major job each morning and the run had suffered because I didn't get down to do the last poo pick yesterday evening.

Mick's mum is very poorly and we went to sit with her for an hour or so last night, it meant the girls were already safely tucked up in bed when we got home and it was too dark to do much in the run.

I can see we are going to have to get some sort of lighting at the bottom of the garden sooner rather than later.

I am looking for a part time job and I can see that I won't have quite so much time to spend with the chooks, but hopefully I can get something working mornings and that will leave the afternoon free for chook time. I tend to leave them to it in the mornings and they have a good fill on their mash and lay their eggs without me bothering them.

Anyway a major clear up down there today and need to get all this evenings jobs done early so we can spend time with mum in law when Mick gets home.

A few photos of the girls and news on Rosie

2009-09-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

Photo overload I'm afraid to make up for the time I haven't been blogging.

Poor Rosie has bumblefoot and is having to wear this rather fetching little boot at the moment. Every evening we have to soak her foot in iodine solution for 10 minutes, what fun that is to keep a chicken occupied for 10 minutes. I found the ideal way, you just open a bucket of dried mealworms and in goes the head, 10 minutes, no problem, she'd stay in there until the bucket was empty if I let her.

The new girls are almost accepted by the oldies, Bella is the only one who really doesn't like them being about but she will tolerate them. Every now and then Rosie or Penny have a little feather pull but mainly peace has broken out in the Burton chicken run.

Here's a few of the latest photo's of the girls.

Rosie with her rather fetching purple boot

Rosie proving her poorly foot can still scratch at a fair old speed

The gorgeous Penny

The delectable Geraldine

Dazzling Daisy with the floppy comb

Daisy and Lily having a little get together (these are the newest arrivals)

and finally, bella Bella

Bella's comb was so pitifully pale until the new girls arrived and look at the beautiful colour now.

GOING ON HOLIDAY

2009-09-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

and leaving the girls in the capable hands of my sister and brother in law. Will take some photos and update my blog on my return.

Bye for now!

2009-09-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

Right now, the government is considering new EU legislation that may increase the number of chickens allowed in rearing sheds. Even at current minimum standards, each bird is given less space than a sheet of A4. It’s hard to walk or even flap their wings. But this legislation would allow yet more birds to be squashed in, cutting that space by almost a quarter.

We desperately need your readers to join us in urging Jim Fitzpatrick, Minister for Animal Welfare, to make the right choice for UK chickens and quash the squash, by sending an email via our campaign website at http://bit.ly/quash. Mr Fitzpatrick’s decision is imminent and we want 15,000 letters to be sent before he makes his decision.

Guilty Mum

2009-09-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

Every morning Lily does this thing where she stands in the nest box while I'm cleaning them out and looks out like a periscope, now usually she can't get out of the nest box through the hatch and won't go back down the perches to get out so I end up lifting her out.

This morning she did the same thing, so I lifted her out and she went straight back in through the door and back into the nest box again, so I put the lid down and took the other side of the house off to do the cleaning on that side. Watching her she took up a very odd stance and next thing I heard was a little thud and there lay an egg - bless her.

I put the egg on the shelf in the run so I could carry on cleaning. The girls had made a bit of a mess of the perches so I Poultry Shielded them and stood them on the shelf to dry. The blessed wind caught the perches and blew them over which in turn broke the egg and the perches ended up on the floor of the run catching Lily on the way down.

I've checked her over and she's fine but I feel awful for her, after all her effort to lay her egg in the right place my stupidity has wasted all her hard work and rewarded her with a knock from the perches.

Progress

2009-09-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

We've made huge progress with the girls this weekend and there is a tense sense of calm at the moment. Just the odd incident of squabbling and mainly from Bella and Rosie still but they do sometimes eat from the same feeder and can walk past each other without attempting murder.

Daisy and Lily are really naughty, I think this is because we have been spending so much time protecting them and they knew to run to us if the others were after them that it has made them so familiar. It doesn't matter what I try to do in the run they are under my feet helping.

Will take some photos tomorrow.

Settling In

2009-09-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

or not.

Well the new girls are settling in but Bella is still being a bit of a bully to Daisy. Poor Daisy now has a bald head and I have had to cover the remaining feathers on her head with vaseline so Bella can't get a grip on her.

We have refilled the dustbath in the hope this will distract Bella and Rosie (the main culprits) a bit and Mick is going to make a ladder for them to get up on the small hen house that still in the run.

A sort of peace is breaking out and the new girls are definately learning their place. Once again Penny is probably the least bothered by the new girls, bless her she has the most wonderful little personality.

Will try to get more photos later.

Day Two

2009-08-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Still loads of squabbling going on between the girls, well none from the newbies but loads from Bella and Rosie.

Lily and Daisy are so cute, when I go into the run they rush over and stand between my feet, it's like they know I'll protect them from those baddies on the other side of the run.

Here's a couple of photos from yesterday.

This is the the girls in their semi partitioned area, they could get out and the others could get in but they had somewhere to run to if things got to much.

and this shows how desperately the oldies had missed their dustbath, not so interested in handbags with the new girls, more interested in working out how they could fit 4 into the dustbath.

Introductions

2009-08-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well last night was the first night the girls were altogether in the coop. We waited until Daisy and Lily were asleep and the others were all settled then we gently lifted the two new girls and put them in with the others. We then spent a fraught few minutes standing outside in the dark waiting for World War III to break out but all was quiet.

We both got up and 6am this morning and what a treat we looked going down the garden in jammies and overcoats to let the girls out. Daisy came out with the other girls and was quickly picked up and put in her run while we waited for Lily to emerge which she did eventually, she wandered about amongst the other girls for a couple of minutes before joining Daisy in the separate run.

Saturday is D-Day when we will try them all in together in the run, hopefully there will be no handbags!!!!

Today's Photos

2009-08-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Busy day again. We decided that the dog crate wasn't very satisfactory for keeping the new girls in at night so Mick made a very temporary house for them to just sleep in and if necessary lay their eggs in, but to be honest I hope they stop laying for a few days to get themselves settled in to their new home.

We had three eggs from them so far, one perfect, one soft and one very odd shaped egg but it was OK inside.

They seem to be quite feisty and Daisy is the most feisty of the two, named after an aunt of mine who stood no truck from anybody! Lily appears to be the more gentle of the two.

I think they could end up bullying the existing girls as they are the ones pecking through the wire to the others.

They couldn't work out the water and food thing but having put the other girls water on one side of the run in a coop cup and theirs on the other side they must have copied the old girls and have found the water. We then did the same thing with the food and in no time they were eating really well, so really pleased about that.

I hope the introductions don't take too long as I want them to all have full use of the whole run instead of just the little sections they have at the moment. I know that the stress will start for us once we put them together but we might have a trial run next weekend as its a three dayer we'll both be here to keep an eye on them.

Yay the girls are here

2009-08-22T11:26:00.001-07:00

Arrived back with the girls at 4.30 and have been sitting watching them in the garden. Too tired to take photos tonight I'm afraid but photo overload tomorrow.

Eggcited or What

2009-08-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Two new girlies arriving from Henrehomers UK on Saturday. We have decided how we are going to section off the run to help with the introductions, the old girlies aren't going to like having a smaller area for a couple of weeks but the new girls have to be taken care of and build their strength before they have to find their position in the pecking order.

Camera charged for loads of photos of the new girls and I can't wait to meet up with some of the people from Down the Lane forum who, at the moment, are just faceless names.

Just took a treat of marmite on seedy brown bread down to the girls, all nicely wrapped in a napkin, pulled up a chair and thought I'd sit and feed them all sedately - Rosie had other ideas and snatched the napkin out of my hand, mini marmite sarnies all over the place and 4 chickens running around crazy all trying to get their share. This coupled with two dogs looking at me like I was crazy because I'd put a deck chair in the chicken run, the neighbours must think this is one made household - but who cares!!!!

Oh and by the way, Bella has signs of new feathers, I think we could be looking even more beautiful in the next couple of weeks!

Lovely Evening

2009-08-12T12:16:00.001-07:00

I've just spent some time in with the girls poopicking, feeding etc. etc. and had a little sit with them to pass the time of day (well the footies on and Penny was talking to me far more than Mick is this evening). Anyway Rosie and Penny both came over and I know it sounds silly but I know Penny's little chirps now, I picked Penny up and stood her on my knee, she settled herself down and sat there for ages, happy to let me stroke her and have a crafty look through her feathers for anything that shouldn't be there, happy to say nothing found.

I was asked the question today, what made me get chickens? someone with that look on their face that said I must be mad. Well next to the dogs they are the most interesting little characters, and having delivered eggs to 2 lots of neighbours tonight and giving eggs to friends and family every week and seeing the look on their faces knowing they are home grown is answer enough to me!

Q: How many chooks can you fit in a small dust bath.

2009-08-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

A: Three with a fourth pacing round the edge trying to find a way in.

I have just found the Bella, Geraldine and Rosie in the dustbath together. Bella looks like she's in some sort of a trance and I notice everytime she goes in her breathing becomes really slow and deep and her eyes are sort of glazed over. She is absolutely black at the moment and I'm sure it's going to take a couple of days for her to come clean again.

I am so proud of Penny's new knickers and hate it when she goes in the dust as she comes out with anything but Daz clean knickers, they are a disgrace.

Just look at these for bloomers!

Just a couple of the girls enjoying their new space

How did I fill my days before chooks?

Last photos for now I promise

2009-08-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

My new slimmed down hen house

Some entertainment for the girls (not that they've sussed it out yet)

The outside view

and I just couldn't resist this little angelic face - What me - eat the chicken's mum -

only if they're roasted first!

It's Finished

2009-08-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

Mick has worked so hard today but it's all been worth it because the girls are in their new run.

The house is far too big for the run and as it's for 13 to 20 chickens and the maximum we will have is 6 Mick is going to cut it down from 6 x 3.5 feet to 6 x 2.5 feet, effectively cutting 12 inches off the back of the house. It will then be left with 2 good size nest boxes and will still be a fairly substantial house. We were worried that it might be too big for the chooks to keep warm in during the winter and were thinking of putting a large box filled with straw on one side as they don't use it at all. Cutting it down in size will hopefully mean that they will use both sides and will be able to snuggle up and keep warm in the smaller area in the winter.

Here's some piccies of how it is now, Mick will make the changes tomorrow, weather permitting.

The box in the corner of the photo will be their dust bath just as soon as it stops raining long enough for us to fill it up.

It's underway

2009-07-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

Mick got home in time to start putting the run together so here's a few photos of the build so far.

The temporary position

Not sure what he's doing in this one

New Girls Arriving Soon

2009-07-30T23:21:00.001-07:00

We have applied and been accepted to rehome 2 more girlies from the 22nd August rescue. Their names will be Daisy and Lily and we can't wait.

We know settling them in will be a bit traumatic, probably more so for us than for them, but we have it all planned as to how we will intergrate them with the other girlies over the course of a couple of weeks.

The build of the run should be completed this weekend, weather permitting, and I will post photos as we go. It will be so good to get the girls where they can get some height if they want to and also to be able to get the bottom of the garden back to some semblance of order again.

I do feel sorry that the girls can't free range in the garden but have to keep telling myself that what they have is a million times better than where they came from and they could have been luckier to have been rehomed with someone with loads of space for free ranging but they couldn't possibly have been treated any better or loved anymore than they are. I really hope the fun of our interacting with them more will begin once they have their new run.

Getting There

2009-07-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos of the progress so far

Woody inspecting the base for level

Rooney supervising the carpentry

Getting there frames nearly made

Even the girls are keeping an eye on proceedings

We have just put in an application for a couple more girls from the 22nd August rescue, so hope we are successful. We will be up to our limit of 6 then, the coop would hold more but the run isn't big enough for more than 6.

Work Has Commenced

2009-07-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

on the new chook run.

The timbers, weld mesh and slabs are all here and Mick has started to dig out the area where the run will go.

The finished run will be 15' x 6' with the chook house located inside the run (no more getting soaked when cleaning out in the morning). It will have a double row of decking around the bottom so the first 12" will be covered in to stop the little darlings kicking the base material out through the sides and they will have a 2' x 2' dust bath in the corner. It will be roofed over with wire topped with corrugated plastic sheets and have drop down tarpaulin sides for especially windy or wet days all stood on a slab base and slabs covered in auboise or hemcore for easy poo picking and for them to build nests in if they want to.

Finished off with a little shelf with a ladder going up to it so they can gain a bit of height and some branches put in as perches or maybe some purpose made perches instead. Their feeder will be suspended on a chain in the middle on a pully system so I can raise it right up at night an hour before they go to bed and they can clear up what they've thrown on the floor.

Can you tell how excited I am, I can't wait for them to have room to get off the ground if they want to.

I am only sorry I can't let them free range in the garden but I don't want the garden ruined and also the dogs are a problem. I have thought of locking the dogs in the house and letting the chooks out but can't risk one of the kids coming in and not realising the chooks are out and letting the dogs out my mistake. I know what the outcome would be chooks 0 - dogs 4!

Oh and did I mention that once the run is completed I hope we will be able to add a couple more girlies to our little group!

Jackie

I'm Getting a New Run

2009-07-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

Well not me personally, the girls are.

It's going to be 15' long and 6' wide with a corrugated clear plastic roof and space for a shelf and perches for them to fly up on to and rather than sticking out into the garden it will run along the fence with a lovely rose bed in front of it. The rose bed is where my Poppet is buried, my special little yorkie from Battersea and I know she would have taken special care of my girls and would love to have 'played' with them!!!!

The wood and weld mesh have arrived and the slabs will be ordered today. I think this will probably put the cost of each egg up to about £40 but to see my girls enjoying the extra height and for me to be able to look after them without getting soaked will be worth it. It will also mean I can have a couple more girls from a rescue. I would love to have a couple of fancy birds but I have always had a 'no puppy only rescue dogs policy' and think it's only fair to do the same with the chooks.

We will use hemcore or auboise on the floor of the run and it will have extra protection round the bottom of 2 widths of decking to stop the chooks kicking everything out through the mesh. They will also have a dust bath in one corner about 2' x 2'. I hope they will enjoy it.

Will post pictures of the build once we get started!!

First Chicken Bath

2009-07-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

Well I knew it would have to happen one day. I was watching the girls yesterday, just for a change and noticed they were taking an interest in Geraldine's knickers. On closer inspection I realised they were a bit dirty and what with it being a hot day I was worried about flies so thought I would have a go at bathing her.

Bowl of warm water, with Johnsons Baby Shampoo added, lovely pink fluffy towel and off we went.

Five minutes later, one soaking hen, one soaking me and she was all clean. As it was such a lovely warm day, I towel dried her and put her back in the run to finish drying off, turned around and this is what she did

first of all I was a bit worried I'd done something wrong, but then I realised the look on her face was pure bliss. Honestly, I never thought she'd come clean but this morning she is fairly fluffy again although she still needs a bit of preening.

Early morning rain

2009-07-11T07:57:00.001-07:00

This morning I had a taste of what the winter is going to be like with the chickens.

Off I went down the garden to let them out at 10 to 6. Came in 20 minutes later everything I had on was soaking and I looked like a drowned rat.

Mick is now costing out for a walk in run that I will at least be able to get under cover while putting their food etc. out for them. It will also give the chickens more height to have some perches. The run will only be 10 x 4 but it will be 6' high. The house will be outside the run with a little walkthrough into the main run for the chooks.

Just been down the garden with them making sure Bella is able to get her fill of wet mash mixed with mealworms. She's not thriving like the others and she's getting bullied by Rosie and Geraldine but mainly Rosie. So now we need to feed her up and hopefully her feathers will get a spurt on and she'll be more able to stand up for herself.

Penny is looking beautiful, her feathers have come on so well and she is now feathered better than Bella, she is no longer oven ready and she has the fluffiest knickers ever. I'll try to get some photos tomorrow.

Jackie
x

Chickens Enjoying the Sun

2009-07-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Just take a look at these three, Rosie, Bella and Penny having a dust bath. Bella got so dirty I never thought she'd come clean again but have just been down to check and she's as good as new.

I love the spaced out expressions when they are rolling in the dust, how lovely to see chickens doing what they should be doing. Geraldine didn't join in, she just kept looking at the other three like they were mad, I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon.

Update on the girls

2009-06-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well my girls are laying 3 or 4 eggs everyday now, so I guess they have settled in.

Penny's feathers are doing really well and she's beginning to grow her knickers, brazen hussy.

We've had a good clean out of the run today and spent loads of time with the girls. We're still trying to get them used to being picked up and handled so every day we figure if we spend a little time with the top off the run and sit there just stroking them that eventually they'll accept us.

Took loads of photos of them and I hope Sharon sees them, especially Penny who was the little baldie that she was hoping to get. She's well looked after Sharon and my what a character she's got. Rosie is trying to assert her authority on them and the only one she wouldn't dare to pick on is Penny, she'd put her right back in her place.

Penny's lovely new feathers

Penny's new knickers

Geraldine

Poor Little Bella

My poor Bella was the most feisty one when we got them but now she gets pushed around by Rosie all the time. We're trying to feed her up because her crop never seems full and she's quite tiny compared to the others, even Penny seems heavy next to her.

Four Eggs Today

2009-06-25T05:31:00.001-07:00

Well today the girls have each laid an egg, bless their hearts. Penny, Bella and Geraldine's are all lovely big eggs and Rosie is just starting to lay again so hers is really delicate. Apparently it takes them time to get up to usual size but I don't mind I think hers are rather cute.

They are loving their mash with natural probiotic yoghurt and a little honey, it's a battle to see who can get to it first. Bella really needs feeding up so I think she may be getting a ration all of her own where the others can't get to her.

Another two eggs today

2009-06-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Penny laid one and I'm still not sure which of the other girls are laying, will have to keep an eye on them tomorrow, like I need an excuse to sit down the garden and watch them for hours on end.

I have given them a piece of brocoli hanging up in the run this afternoon and Penny's had great fun heading it until bits dropped off, they really are so amusing to watch.

My Clever Little Girls

2009-06-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Well we've had 4 eggs in 3 days, not big ones, not even the size of a free range medium from the supermarket but we are so pleased with them and had them made into cheese omelettes for tea tonight with home grown salad leaves.

Bella and Penny seem to be doing all the laying, Penny is laying everyday, she is the absolute baldie of the lot with Bella running a close second. The two that are really well feathered, Geraldine and Rosie aren't laying at all, but they're having such a good time digging in the new grassy extension I don't think they've got time to think about eggs.

The girls were so funny tonight when I was doing the evening poo pick, I moved the ramp in the main run and a worm just poked his head up between the slabs, Penny ran so fast and snapped him up in seconds, closely followed by Rosie, we then had a free for all round the run and the extension with all the chooks chasing poor old Penny. I think she managed to eat some of the worm but Bella ended up with it.

Penny has also taken to making a little whistling noise whenever I go down the garden, I think she's calling out for mealworms cheeky little madam, she's so sweet.

The Extensions Complete

2009-06-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well today we have given the girls a new 4'x4' run extension to their existing run. So now they have 10' x 4' in all. At the moment the new section is grass inside but we hope to put some slabs down once they have had the fun of scratching about in the grass for a little while.

We have retained the little doorway in the old run as it is completely set on slabs so is more secure for night time and we can open the door up to give them access to the full run during the day. Mick has put a 12" skirt of wire round the new enclosure to deter Mr Foxy at night but even if he got in, he'd have to get through the closed gate into the main run as well.

We've had an egg from Penny today which means that both the baldies are laying and the other two beautiful feathered girlies are taking a break.

Here's some pictures of the new run.

Just a Quickie this evening

2009-06-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Got to go down and take the chooks food out so they can clear up any spillages before going to bed.

Great excitement here today, Bella disappeared into the hen house for about 15-20 minutes, we heard a little announcement from within the house and once she came out I checked and she had laid the most beautiful little speckled egg. It feels really delicate and was still warm when I picked it up. What a clever little girl.

No sign of anything from the others but there's always tomorrow and if there's no eggs then nevermind I'll get some free range from Tesco's on Friday. I almost feel guilty eating the girls eggs cos they put so much hard work into laying them.

Anyway off to do the evenings chicken chores.

The Little Darlings .........................

2009-06-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

have only put themselves to bed tonight and when we lifted the lid on the egg box to make sure they were OK two of them were in the nest boxes and just poked their little heads out, so sweet.

I am absolutely besotted with these little girlies, they are so cute and I think I'm going to have to get one of the bibby tents fishermen have so I can sit in it and watch them when it's raining. They were eating dried mealworms out of my hand this afternoon and have really calmed down now when we pick them up they sit quite happily tucked under our arm having their necks and backs stroked.

Can you tell how great I think they are?

We have an Egg

2009-06-15T00:39:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the shell was so thin it broke when I picked it up so I have upped the amount of oyster shell grit in their feed, but hey they're trying and that's great.

Penny is getting even more quills coming through all round her little parsons nose, she's going to be beatiful real soon.

Little devils wouldn't go to bed again last night. I'm sure there's nothing lurking in the house, there's so much red mite powder dusted everywhere it doesn't stand a chance. I think perhaps we are just trying to settle them down a little too early, we start putting them to bed at about 9pm perhaps tonight we'll give them another 15 or 20 minutes. Mick eventually got them in by putting a torch in the house and they tootled in straight away. Rosie is still acting strange at bedtime, walking about looking up at the top of the run. Perhaps she's just saying "Too early dad, look there's no stars yet!"

Saw the rat again yesterday under the other shed this time, I know Woody is just desperate to catch it and to be honest it must have been about for about a month as Woods has been studying the floor of the shed for some time, we now know why. Off to phone the chicken man at Environmental Health today for some advice on what to do about it.

A Day of Sunshine

2009-06-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

The girls have had a lovely day in the sunshine today. They've all had mealworms for a treat this afternoon and we've picked them all up had a little stroke and look through their feathers for any nasties. They've been dusted carefully around their necks and nether regions with a little red mite powder, I have to say it smells rather nice.

Look at Penny's new quills, her back was pink and oven ready last Sunday and look now at her beautiful crop of new quills.

Geraldine and Rosie taking in the sun

Penny and Bella enjoying a few rays

We are so attached to these girlies and have spent the whole afternoon sitting by the run with them instead of working. Nevermind the work will keep until tomorrow or the next day or even the next.

Rat and Fox

2009-06-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

No this is not the name of the newest pub in town. The boys discovered a rat under Micks shed and I saw a huge fox walking up next doors garden this morning. The fox made no effort to come into our garden so I hope the 6' high fence surrounding us coupled with the dogs will be enough of a deterrent to keep it away. The rat has probably been about for some time as our neighbour sees them regularly in her garden but again the boys will flush it out or we will have to put down dog and chicken friendly bait.

Still no eggs from the girls but I'm hoping with everyday they become a little more settled we may be lucky but if not it doesn't matter, I'll just keep buying free range from the supermarket.

Penny has got loads of new quills coming on her back she's gone from being really pink to having hundreds of little black quills poking out, so feathers soon hopefully.

I am spending loads of time with the girls but they get so spooked when we try to pick them up so any tips on the best way to get them used to being handled and to us would be much appreciated, we don't like stressing them by chasing them round the run too much.

Off to spend a few more minutes sitting and talking to them before they hopefully put themselves to bed tonight.

Photo Gallery of The Hen House

2009-06-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Unpacking and checking it's all here

Mmmmm looks easy enough

Rooney supervising

Red Mite Powder in all the joints and crevices

Woody had totally lost interest now and was making sure

the packaging didn't blow away

Don't think much of this for a kennel

Getting there

and they're in and investigating their new home

With the wet weather cover on

and bathed in sunshine with the wet weather cover removed

They're all having a fab time digging about in the bark chippings and little Penny looked like she was in heaven having a dust bath in it. Mick has made it so secure I hope they will be alright, the run is fixed to the concrete slabs and lined around the edges with decking boards, the tops screwed down and the doors screwed shut until we can get more substantial bolts on it. I hope my little lovelies will be safe down the bottom of the garden.

I will miss them, I've got so used to them being in the conservatory, peeking out at me over the top of their temporary run but at least I can go back to having my breakfast out there now, it smelt a bit too chickeny to eat out there while they were in residence. A good clean and scrub and it's all back to normal now.

We will have to extend the paving and then make the run bigger but for now I'm sure they'll be OK.

It's Here

2009-06-11T04:59:00.001-07:00

Their new home has arrived finally. We have been putting it together this morning, dusting every joint and crevice with Red Mite Powder during construction, just adding the finishing touches to the run and then we can introduce our ladies to their new home. I have taken photos of the whole process so photo overload to come later.

We will have to adapt the run later on to give them more room as they can't free range much in the garden due to the dogs being about, but I am sure that for now they will be more than happy with what they have.

Latest Pictures of my girlies

2009-06-10T10:40:00.001-07:00

I have taken a few photos of the girls in their temporary run. We are promised their permanent home first thing tomorrow morning ...........................

Rosie and Penny

Penny's poorly little red bottom

Penny, Rosie and Geraldine

and finally Bella

of the four, Bella and Penny are the most fiesty and strangly enough they are the two with least feathers.

Am I surprised - No

2009-06-10T10:39:00.001-07:00

With the luck we've been having lately I am not surprised to find that our chicken house instead of being delivered yesterday has gone astray and was last logged as being in Crewe!! it's supposed to be in Seaford. We are getting really aggravated with this whole business now as it's a week tonight that I placed the order on ebay and everyone was saying in the feedback that their goods had arrived in 24 hours, a week later we are still waiting, I know it's not the sellers fault but our worry is that it will be damaged when it does arrive because of the amount of handling it's had.

The chickens seem quite happy in their makeshift run in the garden but goodness knows what the neighbours are thinking, its a bit 'The Good Life' if you know what I mean.

Awaiting a new home

2009-06-10T10:38:00.001-07:00

for our chickens.

Should have been delivered by now but hoping it comes today. At the moment I have 4 chickens living in the conservatory, in a run and on polythene and newspaper they are not literally free ranging in there.

We have names for two of them Penny is the one without feathers and Bella is the next baldest one, we haven't decided on names for the other two girlies yet, we really want to wait and see how the personalities unfold once they have their own proper home.

They're Here

2009-06-10T10:34:00.001-07:00

My little feathered (or not) friends. Just got back with our ex-batt chickens, we were lucky enough to get four, two well feathered and two not so well, but they are all beautiful.

No sooner had we got back than it started to rain heavily, we had covered the temporary run, made sure they had food and water and made a dash for the conservatory to watch them. Mick made up a run in the conservatory and went down to bring their food etc. up into the house and was greeted by a perfect little (well the equivalent of a large supermarket one) lying on the grass.

I think the dogs are going to take some getting used to them but they will never meet, the chickens will never be out in the garden when the dogs are about, they will stay in their secure run.

I would like to thank Sharon for helping us get our little girlies, she has done so much emailing and sending messages and I am sure she knows it was worth it just to see them.

Here's a couple of pictures

2009-06-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

Work in Progress - Hopefully active in the next few days

Jackie