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Minnie&Moose

Goodbye Hatchet!

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Well, the H mob now have their extension on, the new dust bath is drying out ready for tomorrow, and Hildebrand has discovered that hands mean corn! Layers pellets also go down ok if presented as treats! The broody pekins Meg, Rosie and Onion have been to visit through the bars - their idea, not mine - little horrors hopped through their netting and went to issue a welcome challenge :roll: None of our pekins appear to know just how tiny they are :wall:

 

We've also had 5 eggs from them in their first 24hrs, poor things. 2 had decent shells (one laid in the nest box :dance: ) and look huge compared with our columbine and maran eggs. We also had 3 soft shell eggs. I admit I don't fancy eating them yet - I think we'll wait until they've been with us a week or so.

 

So, overall, a good first day I think. None of them appear too shell-shocked, they're nosey and brave, eating, drinking and preening, and no injuries so far, which is a relief.

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Spotted Hatchet sunbathing yesterday - heard her 'purr' for the first time as well (that funny 'happy chicken' noise they make when blissed out in a dust bath) :) . They all seem to be walking more normally now as well - so I may let them have a little wander round the garden tomorrow (with the others safely locked away).

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Sorry to hear your chickens have the hump with you Chickabee - I'm sure they'll get over it.

 

The H mob had their first free-range today. They seem to be turning into real chickens very fast - we had running, flapping, dust-bathing, fly chasing and a spot of annoying the longer term residents, all in about 40 mins :). They weren't overly keen to go back into their own quarters at the end of it either. Fortunately they haven't yet learned to run away so catching them was a doddle :lol: .

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Unfortunately Hester the ex-batt was pts today - she was the most outgoing, feathery and friendly of the 3 but every few days would look miserable as she geared up for another bout of multiple soft & no-shell eggs. She didn't bounce back from this last bout and it just didn't seem fair to make her go through any more. She only had 2 weeks out of her cage :(

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Sadly I had to dispatch Hatchet this morning. Even though it was the right thing to do for her - she was just worn out (though still trying to assert herself) - I hated having to do it. She was a brilliant chicken - bossy, cheeky and easy to handle, and we shall miss her. She had 18 months of being a garden chicken so she didn't do too badly - but it would have been great if she could have made it through to another spring. Hopefully our 1 remaining exbatt, Hildebrand, will continue to flourish and strut her stuff in our garden for some time yet.

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Thanks luvachicken. I keep reminding myself she was one of the lucky ones. Funny how the chicken run suddenly seems very empty even though there are still 4 hens and a cockerel in there! She was also pushing to the front of the treats scrum, even though she was quite far down the pecking order - somehow she always managed to grab the best bits and just put up with being told off by the others :)

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