4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[kaylis1980]

well first of all put the house together this morning to stain it & OMG i was SO angry. was sold as big enough for 9 birds- and wanted 6 so thought they would have a bunch of space i was so happy put it up and it is so small, the run especially really small... we were talking about keeping them in the house for today and sorting out the run and extending it, but still the house would be tight at night, especially as the nest box was missing!!!!! so i had to knock up a nest box out of old wood and put in the corner of the house.

 

so we could only take THREE ex batts im gutted, especially since this means now that i cant name one

 

they are very stressed out at the mo, i got 3 semi baldys lol, she asked if i had any preference- feathered, baldys etc, and i said "3 inbetweenys please"

 

they were very quiet on the way home except one *pooorr kooorrrr* that scared us all and one of them has a cut foot, there was blood on the box, so i willhave to try checking them out later but for now im keeping away from them so they can maybe drink (which only one has done so far)

 

anyway- wooooo theyre here

Edited May 26, 2008 by Guest

[*mummy_hen*]

Sorry it didn't all go as smoothly as planned!

We collected ours yesterday and they are doing great so you'll be amazed at how well they progress.

 

Make sure you post some pics soon!!

[Snowy]

Glad to hear they are settling in nicely, but what a shame about your house My friend bought a wooden house and run and was told it was big enough for ten. He has 6 in there and to my mind it is only fractionally bigger than the eglu, with half as much run space.

[Egluntyne]

Sorry for your disappointment re the house and the number of hens.

 

Still, you can enjoy watching the girls you have got recovering, and to them it will seem like a 7 star hotel compared to what they have been used to.

[SAB]

All the best for your girls - I am sure they will be no less loved for being less of them!

[Guest]

Sorry to hear it hasn't gone to plan - but still YOU HAVE YOUR GIRLS!!!

 

Piccies would be brilliant!

[kaylis1980]

i will take pics at the nearest oppurtunity i didnt want them to hate me like penny did because i flashy thinged her andfully intended to take pics this morning- but i was sidetracked by- the torrental rain and.... OUR FIRST EGG!! in the nest box no less and 77g

[Egluntyne]

Congratulations!

[kaylis1980]

thankyou!!

 

2 EGGS!!! (both in nest box) they had thrown the pastic one out too

[Snowy]

Clever girls!

Just look out for how their eggs change over the next week or so - going from battery to free range colour and flavour

[Rustyangel]

Congratulations on getting your girls!!!! I rescued my hens from a commercial farm too and they all had their injuries - one with just stumps for wings, two with dodgy legs, several pecked heads etc. It's so rewarding to watch them mend and flourish as the weeks roll past. Some of the injuries will never completely heal like the leg injuries but they are healthy happy birds now and give us eggs every day. Mine all had pale combs when they arrived and now they are vibrant red.

 

Try Stockholm Tar on the baldy ones - seems to realy work well. Mine are all re-growing on their bald bits now thanks to a dollop of that smeared on!

 

Best of luck with your new chooks

 

Debs

[kaylis1980]

Try Stockholm Tar on the baldy ones - seems to realy work well. Mine are all re-growing on their bald bits now thanks to a dollop of that smeared on!

 

ive never heard of that? what is it and where do i buy it?

[Rustyangel]

Hiya

 

Omlet sell it through their shop..

 

http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken%20Extras&sub=Health&product_id=485

 

Or you can buy it in any good equestrian shop. It's basically a hoof tar for horses but it has antibacterial qualities and helps soothe and protect the sore bit where chooks have pecked one another and lost feathers. One tin will probably last you a lifetime so maybe if you know any horse owners try to blag a little from them!

 

Debs

[abwsco]

Sarah, sorry to read that you couldn't get as many as you wanted but Congratulations on saving 3 from slaughter. What are the dimensions of the house? Any chance they've sent you the wrong one?

 

You do realise as well don't you that any worry free days are over - lol. We've had ours for 4 weeks now and and we're all still worrrying about the slightest things with them The egg count from ours is very variable but we've at least one that's eating hers as she doens't lay in the nest box and another one hasn't laid for over a week but we don't mind if they want a rest as we think they deserve it.

 

Looking forward to seeing the photo's of your girls soon

[Hen Watch]

Congrats on the eggs and the new baldy girls arrival.

 

Stockholm tar is in the Omlet shop (see below) or get it from a horse supply shop.

 

http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken%20Extras&sub=Health&product_id=485

 

Whoops....edit to say didn't read page 2 to see that this question was already answered, but congrats on the new girls all the same

[kaylis1980]

typical when i ordered some omlet stuff last week and its been dispatched

 

so how do i apply it?? ive just seen one on ebay comes in a spray, would that work?

[Rustyangel]

I've never tried the spray but I would worry that it was less controllabe that way and might go in the hen's eyes. I applied it with my fingers - just smeared some across her bald bit. It was a very messy job but I figured my hands would be easier to clean than a paintbrush and it came off ok.

 

Debs

[kaylis1980]

ok cool, i will have to place an order this week

 

still raining so still no pics, but i have a third egg- in the nest box!! good girls

[kaylis1980]

i have *some* pictures. its HARD to take pictures of unwilling girls in the rain, through chicken wire

 

first 2 eggs, both in the nest box (we dont know who laid them it was just that the kid who was with me claimed their hen had laid. (i have big hands too)

 

the 79g egg was enormous in the pan! (i have since cleaned my hob )

 

later joined by a third egg.

Ruby sitting in the nest box keeping the plastic egg warm although considering the weather was probably the nicest place to be!! notice the house covered in mud spashs after one single day!!

 

Matilda has no knickers just a bare bum Ruby is like her too.

 

showing off her (quite sp"Ooops, word censored!") knickers.

 

this one is daisy- shes the darkest and moodiest she gave me a peck today and i was just being nice

 

what happens when 2 hens rugby tackles the feeder we watched them from the dining room an i went out and they all pegged it up in the house must.buy.grub. (and pellets)

[kaylis1980]

so much for spent hens! got another 3 eggs today!

 

ETA: also my hens dont seem very friendly i mean i know theyre scared or something but i am just having a bit of anticlimax i so want to be a good chook mamma but they wont take treats i get a hiss and venom and get a peck if i try and stroke one (i just want them to get used to me i suppose) any help / advice??

[Cooks]

That piccie of the tackled feeder maid me giggle..

[kaylis1980]

yeh ill need to clean that up tomorrow still hasnt stopped raining.

[*mummy_hen*]

We sat in the run with them and let them wander around. They started off walking around you but soon that turned into walking over you. After 45 mins they were eating out of our hands and after 3 hours, they were sitting on our laps. I definitely think the key was just sitting in there with them for all that time. I try to sit in there for half and hour whenever possible and now they get really excited when they see us. Also.... they go absolutely and i mean absolutely mental for sweetcorn!!!! the first time they enjoyed it, the second time they went mad fot it and now they go ballistic!!!!

 

p.s. We started lightly brushing their wings and back with the back of our hands lightly as they walked over us. Slowly that turned into more of a stroke and now 3 of them let us stroke them like you would a cat!! 2 are still a little nervous of touch though and that's after 3 days so it doesn't happen over night.

 

hope this helps and that they are leaping over you soon, it is such a lovely experience and they have me laughing so much!!

[BeckyBoo]

All they need is time. They've had horrendous lives so far, the only contact they will have had with humans will have been rough and not very pleasant. Then they've been taken from the only life they know, put into crates, handled far more than they are used to and then put somewhere very strange. They have no way of knowing what they've just been saved from. But they will soon learn to associate you with treats and kindness. Maybe give them a gentle cuddle when it's dark, it's less stressful for them than being chased around. Gradually introduce treats, mealworms or sweetcorn usually work well and if you always have treats in the same bowl or pot and always say the same things when you bring them out, then they will VERY quickly come running as soon as you appear with these signals. (Pretty soon they'll come running as soon as you appear FULL STOP )

And I agree, if the house seems SO small, are you sure they haven't sent you the wrong one? It does sound MUCH smaller than it should be. But in any event, three hens is three more saved from the compost heap. They will soon learn to love you! (Chooks are led by their stomachs I reckon )

 

Congratulations,

 

Mrs Bertie

[mayflower]

Yes, I agree with what has been said. I have a walk in run, and at first I just got on with cleaning up the pooh and collecting eggs...and ignoring them, just like you do with a new kitten.....being there but not pushy. Now they run up to me...on me..over me...you get the picture. Your hens will come round and see you as their loving carer in time.