BlueSilver Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Our hens have arrived today; a Sussex Star, a Warren, a CouCou Maran and a Blue Maran. Son now naming them after Lego and Hero Factory characters, and I've already dubbed the CouCou as "Henzilla." Photos when they come out of the Cube and investigate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Ooooh lovely. Can't wait to see your pics And I loved your subject title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSilver Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 here's the first few images Child has named the white Sussex Star Misoku (something from a lego movie or summat). The warren is currently one of the Un-Named Henz. they're all being scared-y henz and still not wanting to venture out of the Cube but the CouCou (who has actually not been that bad now) has decided she wants to know where the food is, and is sticking her head out to examine new surroundings. She may feel it's too early for her to be greeting her adoring public just yet. I'm assured her people will call our people; until then, she isn't releasing her photo for publication until rights have been secured (and she stops hiding behind the Blue). The Blue Maran gave me a dubious look from inside the cube - she didn't want in the transport cage. She didn't want in the box. She didn't want OUT of the box, she didn't want in the cube, she didn't want in the nest box. And she may end up winning the Henzilla title. But we shall see how things go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Ahh I love looking at people's new arrivals Exciting! Love the name Henzilla Your girls look lovely! I have a Sussex and she's a great character x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSilver Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Cheers all, son was getting rather cross that they were huddled all in da Haus but now it seems the Henz realise there is this thing called Outside, and they're craning their necks to get a good look without actually having to step out of the Cube yet. Child has contributed full names now: The CouCou is now Lucy. The Warren is Venus (this is possibly a bit optimistic for a hen, but we'll roll with it!) Henzilla has sort of stuck now with the Blue. I suspect I'm gonna regret it later! So that's the currently named Henz, and I'm hoping they come out for a bit of a bite and sup before the skies open again (it's looking a bit stormy in the valley, which doesn't bode well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 They are lovely - hope they settle soon and what great names - love Henzilla - a diva chuck in the making me thinks. I had a lump in my throat when I saw your Sussex. Sadly i lost mine this week. Amazing the names kids come out with - my sons were far more exciting than mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Lovely new ladies. Yup, DD came up with Jiu Jiu - pronounced like Za Za - zshoo zshoo! At least she redeemed herself with Merry and Pippin. I am rather liking Venus! Tis a good name - a stunning warren!!! But aren't they all! Henzilla terrific! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquiefrost Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Great names, hoping they venture out soon for a proper photo shoot session! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSilver Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Put your wings in the air! And flap 'em like you just don't care! Da Henz decided to come out for an outside foray. And they're finally starting to act as if the Outside isn't so bad after all. Son has been giving me ten-minute updates on what the hens are doing (as one does). It's a dreary day but da Henz are scratching and exploring rather than huddling in the cube in horror. So progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Loving your running commentary . Pretty henz and great names . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Blueribbon you sound a very funky chicken mum/dad. I think your girls will be rapppers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Loving this post. Keep coming with the updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSilver Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 For da Henz, some people will rob their mother, for da Henz.... In a strange fit of foresight and intelligent planning ahead (a sometimes rare occurrence for me), I eyed the Cube before I bought it and wondered if it would truly be enough space. While I had originally planned on "just getting two hens" (stop laughing) I figured it would be fine, but my plan was to slowly add to the flock yearly, to allow for a regular supply of eggs. Although the Cube certainly is big enough, I wasn't so sure about the run, and we live in a very rural area open to the wood - not a great place to free range considering the amount of dogs/foxes/badgers/buzzards in the place. I decided I would get the run extension and hold onto it for the Just-in-case. My bank account wept, but I gave it a consoling pat and promised I'd be good to it for a while if it did just this one thing for me. Today we had a rare bit of sunlight, and I've been observing the Henz quite a bit. Henzilla is proving to live up to her name, and as Venus is smaller than the other hens, she's been getting the brunt of the abuse from Henzilla. The Blue just has to cast her baleful eye upon the rather diminutive Warren and the latter scarpers as quick as she can, but in the small run, she just wasn't able to get far enough. I decided today would be the day I'd attach the extension. It took a fair bit of doing, however - armed with a bit of netting, a butter knife, and a fair bit of ibuprofen for my complaining joints, I tackled the job and managed to get it done without swearing every third word (I'm sure it was only one word in six). Lucy, the CouCou, is one of the brightest Henz. This isn't always a good thing - she's the first to get inquisitive, to investigate a new thing, and the first to spot a flaw in any Cunning Plan. I had to keep an eye on her while I managed to get the cage up, as she was pretty certain the rather flimsy netting I put up wouldn't hold if she charged through in a full on feathery fury (and she'd be right!) but with a bit of shooing, they all stayed to the back of the run and watched me intently. The cheeky madams didn't even offer me a cup of tea while I worked on their housing extension. Perhaps I should have joined a union before I started work. In any event, an hour and several aching vertebrae later, the run is now twice as big as it was before, and hopefully this will give Venus a bit of a headstart when Henzilla decides to establish who is going to be bottom hen, as she has made it quite clear it jolly well won't be her! Whether there's going to be any further pecking-order flapping and protesting, I've no idea, but we'll keep an eye on further developments. I'm now going to go and soak in a tub full of Tiger Balm. And I'm not ordering anything else for a good long while, I promise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I hope you're keeping a diary as your accounts are just as funny as any of the 'hen-life' books you can buy on Amazon - i love reading your posts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 You should write a book. Move over Martin Gurdon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I agree, very hentertaining . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I wonder what is next on your shopping list Chicken shopping and getting them things to make their life more enjoyable just never stops. And never, ever add up all the things you have bought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSilver Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Once upon a time I used to write - I've had friends say I should write an autobiography, but my life is so weird no one would believe a word of it! I was being very good about sticking to the less-purchases oathing I had placed upon myself, but as it is still pouring like mad in Wiltshire, I decided I had best get a tarp for the run, so doing that now. I have had the pleasure of the past few days of discovering how entertaining four hens and a torch shining on the ground in twilight can be (honestly, try it, funniest thing I've seen in a while). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 you need to get yourself one of those headband-style torchlights - keeps both hands free whilst checking/counting chooks and/or poo-picking in the dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSilver Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Wow. So hen. Much chicken. Da Henz have received an upgrade in accommodation. This time it didn't cost a fortune; I managed to score the tarp on sale for about £20, and cut it down to size (the other half will go down as a bit of weed killing cover in a bit of the berry patch for next year's planting efforts). I strapped the lot down just in time for a downpour of Biblical proportions yesterday, and the girls were a bit bemused at the giant green thing overhead, but eventually they realised it wasn't going to eat them and they settled down. The girls seem to have come out of their awkward teenage phase, and combs are starting to grow. Venus isn't as tiny and svelte as she used to be, and now isn't as much of a target for Henzilla, who has backed off when Venus rounded on the big bully and gave her the One-Eyed Look of Doom. If there's a pecking order, it's a rather chilled one! In any event, while I suspect Venus was younger than most of the other Henz, she's managing to fill in a bit. Henzilla is the biggest of the lot, and I suspect her to grow a lot slower. Due to her namesake it has already been suggested I need to build some tiny buildings and film her moving among them in slow motion. Oh the temptation! (clearly I have a lot of time on my hands for even considering it, but I think I've just realised what son and I can do together this weekend) Lucy is still practising her "lie back and think of mealworms" pose with a bit of bemusement and a growing sense of frantic. I'm not sure how to encourage her to go up to the nest box and get comfortable - the drawback of the run they're in is that it's pretty much impossible to reach the girls if they're in the back of the run, and none of them are at all keen on being carried. This part of my Cunning Plan didn't dawn on me till recently when I realised there was no way to get to the dust bath I'd installed under the Haus, which means I can't fill the dirt up again when da Henz scratch and kick it all to the four corners of the earth. Think this through we did not. Hey ho, I'll have to devise another Cunning Plan. And Misako? (Son has regularly corrected me on the proper pronunciation of her name, with the full inflection of all children EVER who are amazed at how stupid parents can be sometimes) She's still daft as a brush, and remains as the dullest knife in the drawer. When the door of the run is open for the evening walk-and-cluck session, she dashes back and forth in the run, outraged the other Henz are on the Outside and demanding the same rights...as she doesn't realise the door is open. She's the last to go into the Haus, the last to come out, the last to figure out where the food is...you get the idea. I have a suspicion she's either going to lay an egg in mid-stride without flinching or she'll be screeching for an epidural at the top of her lungs. Eggs? Nope. Not a one, not yet. The girls are going a bit red in the face now (which I hope is due to growing hormones and not to trying to hold anything in), but I think it may be a day or two before the Egg Chorus makes itself known. I just hope they put the eggs in the bloody nest box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Great stories, keep em coming! With a cube you can lock the wheels down to gain a bit of lift so you can reach under the back edge. I had to do this with my first lot of ex batts as someone had laid an egg right underneath - I don't know if it would give you enough height to refill your dustbath though, you might have to pull it into the run with a rake or other long handled implement instead. P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Well done on your tarp. Good thinking there What are you using for your dust bath container? If not already in use, you might find one of those coloured tub trugs are quite good. You don't need to put much earth in and the highish sides seem to keep most from being hoofed out, while the chooks seem to like the shape. I've found two can easily use one together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimi5 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Don't count on eggs being in the nest box.....oh no that would be too simple!!! You'll probably find them anywhere My lot just layed them in the run What worked with my girls was a couple of "dummy eggs" in the nest box........then as I didn't remove them (waiting for other hens to start laying!) first layer went broody Oh but the joy of that first egg!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clucky the Great Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Hehehe no more runs...thats what I said. I now have a 5m run for my girlies with the cube! Loving the stories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSilver Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 "Don't cry/Don't raise your eye/It's only teenage wasteland..." Not much has been going on in da Haus. The girls seem to be coming into the late teenage phase, but there's ne'er an egg. Four hens, eggless wasteland, that's our tally. Even whispering "Chicken soup" in their general direction doesn't seem to be getting the message across, even though all of the general signs seem to be a go: combs developed, chicken vents the right shape and size (I've done a lot of examination of chicken-butts of late), they've all filled out rather nicely, but eggs? Ha! Meanwhile, da Henz are continuing to get on with doing general hen-things; they're mostly quiet unless I come outside, then they start crooning at me to be let out. I seem to be recognised as She Who Brings Us Noms, and also She Who Opens the Gate. I let them out for a supervised wander twice a day - most of this time is me trying to convince Henzilla that nothing is trying to eat her; no, that's a stick. No, that's a bluetit - I don't care if you think it growled, it's not going to attack you. She's still the biggest one of all da Henz, but she's also the biggest wimp. She is so much a wimp even Venus ( her former favourite victim) doesn't put up with her anymore, and will instead fluff up and crane her head up like a giraffe to give Henzilla a bit of side-eye. Watching two birds trying to see who can stretch their necks up highest is rather amusing, I can feel the "Back off, I know kung fu!" from here. Lucy is still the most intelligent and first to try and figure things out; I gave the girls a couple of spoonfulls of yoghurt in a dish and left them to it. They took roughly the same approach at first that my son tends to give any vegetable upon the earth - a wide berth and uncertain glances as they all sidestepped the dish, before Lucy stuck her beak in and pronounced it delicious. I was thankfully inside at the time the Great Yoghurt Experiment commenced as I figured it would be rather messy, but after a half hour there was nowt left in the dish and it wasn't spattered all over the run like a monochrome Pollock painting, so I can only surmise most of it went into da Henz. Result! They won't get it often - once a fortnight if that - but it was good to find something else they might enjoy. This week's surprise? Misako the Daft (she's the Light Sussex) is displaying dominant traits. No, I have no idea how that happened. If she wants food, she just shoves her head into the grub and da Hen who was previously enjoying the space has to move. If she wants in the dust bath box, she gives Side-eye and a peck, and she gets to settle in by herself. If she makes her way to the door to be let out (as she has finally figured out what this means after several goes) then everyone troops behind her. I have no idea why any chicken would think she would make a decent leader as she's got the IQ of a rock, but then I suppose like many people, da Henz are more swayed by charisma than sense - and let's face it, Misako is a very pretty hen. So that's da Henz in da eggless Haus. Hey ho, I'm buying eggs again for another week, it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
