Nacktschnecken omlet Cube

[Janina Butterworth]

All this advice is so reassuring and has calmed my nerves some what.

 

I'm going to try the citronella spray which sounds good. We may invest in the stalosan F powder too. I'm a very house proud person so my routine of cleaning will take place with the girls home too!! Once the girls go to bed we rake the wood chips back in place and the poo seems to disappear. I've already cleaned the tray in the house and probably will do that every day, then the whole house will be cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis. We've also sprinkle diatom powder about too. Hopefully this will keep the flies at bay and the girls happy and healthy.

 

Petunia took a few grapes from my fingers this afternoon as a treat so I think we are making progress!

[txswanie]

I was such a mess for 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after the girls arrived. I freaked out at every noise and was completely paranoid when one of them started to sneeze (I thought she was about to die) I watched them constantly convinced that I was a terrible mother and they would all die. When one stated to bully the others I was crying for days (silly) and wished that I hadn't got them in the first place. I cleaned the coop compulsively, sure that if I left poop in there they would catch some horrible disease. I spent a fortune on security (even installed night vision cameras-we have coyotes) and didn't want to leave the house in case something happened to them.

 

3 months later and I am completely in love with my girls. I no longer constantly fret that they are ill but just watch for anything obvious. 2 of them are very friendly and 2 are still shy but we are working on that. The bully still bullies but a squirt from a water pistol sorts that out if it gets too much. I now clean the trays 2 times a week and the whole coop once a week. I do still pick up poop when I see it but it doesnt freak me out as much.

 

I know that you will feel like we are all terrible liars or its just you that is doing a bad job but its not,many of us feel like this in the beginning. I have always had dogs and can cope with any dog emergency you can throw at me but here come 4 little chickens and I am acting like a complete girl. Crying and freaking out. I think the way I was behaving made me feel ten times worse. It does go away and you will become a normal human again..

I promise you they will settle down and so will you, they will sort out a sleeping time which suits them (sadly it doesn't always suit us but mine now sleep from 8-8 so I am grateful for something) You will love them and be so happy when they begin to lay. The first cuddle is so wonderful.

Colette.

[Mercedes55]

I am so looking forward to having a cuddle with mine, thanks for the post Colette.

 

I guess everything you put is very true, it's just all very new to us all and until a few weeks ago I knew nothing at all about chickens so can't expect to pick it all up overnight.

 

I also have a parrot, apart from my dog, and I remember when I first got him and how I worried about every little thing he did. However a parrot is in the house so you are able to control the environment a lot more and don't have to worry about flies and lice and red mite and smells and well you get my drift

 

We have already seen that our 4 have worked out who is in charge and funnily enough Mia our hen with the limp seems to be No 3 and it's quite funny seeing No1 decide it's time they all went to bed and she starts to round them up like she is a sheep dog instead of a hen

[Janina Butterworth]

Had a much better day today with the girls. Ariadne has been taking mealworms from my hands today which is great progress.

 

Nerves are now calmed (well almost!!)

[Snoxy]

[Mercedes55]

Had a much better day today with the girls. Ariadne has been taking mealworms from my hands today which is great progress.

 

Nerves are now calmed (well almost!!)

 

That's brilliant

[cathybc]

perfectly normal feelings - mine were going straight back on the first day! but things soon calm down and I couldn't imagine being without chooks now x

[Seagazer]

Totally normal reaction. I asked the Omlet man not to bother bringing them in to the garden as I thought I'd made a terrible mistake in ordering them. I actually made myself ill with worry before they came, after they arrived though it was absolutely fine.

 

There will still be times when you worry about them, I'm sure most of us have never had chickens before but you get so much help on here, there is no need to worry too much.

[debsygooch]

Hi Janina, I keep the run on the grass and I have to say the only way to keep it clean (and relatively fly free) is to get down on your hand and knees (a kneeling pad is highly recommended ) and with a long handled rake drag the surface and s"Ooops, word censored!"e up whatever you can and then with gloves on lift the poopy stuff out. NOt sure how this method works with bark or bedding material but I am sure you could s"Ooops, word censored!"e it out filter it (sorry gross I know) and then pop the clean stuff back in. Hope this helps