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Fur 'n' Feathers

Hens on the Horizon? - Update

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Well, we have to say that, since going to the hen party last weekend, we're COMPLETELY obsessed!.... and we hope to get our chickens soon. Just need to check our deeds tomorrow for any weird covenants, but sure they're okay from memory (we are in a semi-rural area, but people can do strange things when they sell parcels of their land!).

 

We're off on Monday to look at some hens at a local breeder. Their hens will be ready from 17 March and we're looking at 4 April as a prospective pick-up date, so we can get an eglu and spend some time settling them in. This is a dream come true for Feathers, who is 50 today!!!

 

We think we might just like a Bovans Nera, a Redcos and a Brown Nick. Has anyone else got these? What are their personalities like? :)

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Thanks for the birthday greetings everyone. It was great!! One year nearer endorsed eccentricity (not that I need an excuse!!!)- I wore lilac to get in the mood towards purple - Feathers.

 

Checked our deeds today. Only thing about livestock was we can't keep them if we're gypsies! (covenant dated 1927) So.....here we go. Definitely planning for 4 April as C-Day (Chicken Day!!!).

 

We're found the forum so helpful with the info that everyone is so willing to share. Lots of ideas and problem-solving comments. It gives us a lot of confidence.

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Thanks for the avatar compliment. Rascal (our cat's name) will be most pleased that he has yet another admirer.

 

He was Feather's 40th Birthday present and a rescue cat. We tried getting him a mate a few years back but he's such a woos that she kicked him out after lulling him into a false sense of security from her introduction pen. (Typical female?) He's a sucker for lurve and attention. Hope the hens will be kinder to him. He lets the pigeons & doves walk round him in the garden and has absolutely NO interest in the pond fish! However, show a hand and he's yours!!!

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:D:D:D We have ordered our eglu!!! :D:D:D

:D:D:D We have also reserved our chickens!!! :D:D:D

 

:idea: As we've decided to keep the hens under the BIG old plum tree during the summer to give them some extra shade, we're in the process of designing an eglu port for the run. This will keep wild bird poo off the run area (hopefully) and also keep them a little dry.

 

We've ordered the Bovans Nera, Redcos and Brown Nick we had been considering. We went to see them today. They are about 12 weeks old, so will be just right when we pick them up on 7 April. :P:P

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Thanks for the birthday greetings. My birthday seemed to last a week!! -Feathers.

 

Happy Birthday for today Fur !!(58 :wink: - !! te!! he!!!).

 

Your Brown Nick sounds lovely AJuff. We have plenty of slugs around the area so ours will be overfed if we're not careful. Once when walking back down our lane from the pub at night weshone the torch down & the lane was littered with them! Huge, some of them too!

 

Just one query - lots of postings about shredded paper in the nest. Is it okay to use shredded newspaper? We use this in our wormery on the advice of the organic wormery company, so we know the print isn't posonous any more.

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Well, the eglu comes tomorrow :):):P , plus some paraphenalia with it. We've decided to get the chicken netting as the photos on the gallery were clear and the reviews have been encouraging.

 

Bit of a disappointment that only one of us can be here to receive the eglu :( .... We were due to have builders start on some renovation to the old ulitity room, but one of the brickies has had a heart attack and although they tried shuffling things round they still couldn't get a plumber to fit tomorrow's schedule (we think the brickie's health is more important than the start date :pray: although it's thrown our annual leave out).

 

Anyway, it's meant cancelling annual leave until the end of April(the next point we can get time off), but this does mean we'll be able to spend a week with the hens after they arrive :wink:8) .

 

Have decided that we'll use them to scarify the lawn initially 8) and then locate them under the plum tree. Only 3 weeks and 1 day to their arrival :!::lol::lol:

 

Being complete Grecophiles we have no choice in the end but to name them: Miso, Kilo and Krasi :P:P (half kilo wine :!::!: ). Don't know who will be what yet.The sentence will grow as we hope to get more later :lol:

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The eglu will be green Keanie Bean.

 

Thanks re. the names Egluntine.

 

Bit of a question :?: We've been reading the threads on Verm-x v. Flubenvet. We've ordered Verm-x from Omlet but are now a bit concerned this may not work.

 

Rascal (the cat) was treated for lung worm as a precaution when he developed chronic airways disease 2 years ago :( . He didn''t have them, but because he collapsed (ever seen a cat in an oxygen tent :shock:) & we've not been able to get him off his steroids since (for a lung swab) they did it as part of the diagnostic process. The vet at that time said lung worm is uncommon, so what are the risks to the hens of using the Verm-x before buying Flubenvet :?:? . It seems wasteful to not use it. We aim to give the hens garlic powder and cider vinegar as well so their systems will be on the hostile side for parasites.

 

Any advice :?

 

As an aside the cat actually appears to react to the muck spreading that happens out the back twice a year :o . Apart from that he's fine on the steroids but has developed into "Steroid Boy" (or a grumpy old cat) compared with before. Nothing to worry about as he's a complete softie compared with others (see the avatar) :wink:

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one of the brickies has had a heart attack

 

Sorry to hear that. Reminds me, four years ago a young builder on his second day working at my flat (subsidence and superstructure repair, paid for by buildings insurance) had to be taken to hospital by ambulance when his stomach ulcer perforated all over the back doorstep. It was lucky that I was working at home and found him and called the ambulance. If he'd been here on his own, he would probably have died. He had to have emergency surgery at once because he'd been dosing himself with painkillers so the medication the hospital usually administer to such cases wouldn't work.

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Grief Hilda-and Evadne. It's a good thing you were there. :shock::!:

 

We are obviously concerned for our brickie and have sent our best wishes to him for a speedy recovery via the firm. We're being philosophical about the upheaval re. the annual leave. At the end of the day bricks and mortar can never take precidence over a life.

 

Anyway, Fur's gone off to work & I'm here awaiting the eglu arrival. Mare excited by the minute :drool: Only 21 days to the hens arrival. :)

 

Feathers

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Well.... only 2 weeks and 3 days to go :P:P:P to collecting Miso, Kilo and Krasi :dance:

 

Yesterday we picked up the last item on the list :!: - organic layers pellets. We found a store in Headcorn that will order it in and Feathers collected it on the way home from a course in Maidstone.

 

We've found the forum very helpful in deciding what would be useful to start.

 

E-mailed Lakeland as we use their lovely Tea-tree and Eucalyptus anti-bacterial cleaner in the kitchen. Wanted to know if it's safe for pets. They promptly replied, stating it was a natural product but that their technical department couldn't guarantee it is safe for pets. As other folks on the Forum use both tea-tree and eucalyptus products we have assumed this also should be okay. Feathers gets contact dermatitis easily & this cleaner doesn't affect her skin so it should be okay for the hens 8)

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