|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 8, 2007 8:47:10 GMT 1
Thanks C3D - they're just finding their voices, ranging from a soft pa-pa-pa to a more guttural uuuurrrrggghhhh. Let's hope they don't up the volume too much! But with traffic, screeching seagulls, dogs barking and eternal machinery rumbling away in someone or others garden, nobody DARE complain.  |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Aug 8, 2007 14:01:32 GMT 1
I like the sound of chickens Im a bit less keen on cockerels but there is one around here somewhere! I get disturbed more by gulls and Im miles from the sea.
|
|
|
|
Post by madonplants on Aug 8, 2007 16:59:50 GMT 1
I like the sound of chickens Im a bit less keen on cockerels but there is one around here somewhere! I get disturbed more by gulls and Im miles from the sea. Don't they say there are more gulls inland than at sea, nowadays? Keith |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 9, 2007 10:09:28 GMT 1
I can well believe it Keith! And I live right by the sea - you wouldn't believe it though judging from all the lacerated binbags around. The gulls are lurking all around waiting for an easy morsel or two. And some silly people feed them which attracts them even more - why bother going out to hunt for your dinner when you don't have to? They can be a right pain!
|
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 10, 2007 9:12:41 GMT 1
Well the girls have found the border and have been in there scratching away - the jury's out as to whether they're tackling the molluscs yet.  They're certainly separating the mice from the men as far as the plants are concerned - the ones that don't stand up to their great flat feet stomping over them will be moved and the ones that don't mind it can stay.  I've got a few shrubs in pots without a home so they'll be replacing the ones that the chikkies are doing in. Photos WILL follow, promise!!! |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Aug 10, 2007 9:15:38 GMT 1
I can well believe it Keith! And I live right by the sea - you wouldn't believe it though judging from all the lacerated binbags around. The gulls are lurking all around waiting for an easy morsel or two. And some silly people feed them which attracts them even more - why bother going out to hunt for your dinner when you don't have to? They can be a right pain! Gulls used to follow fishing boats.... nowadays they follow bin wagons to the tip.  Flying Rats IMO. : |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Aug 10, 2007 9:17:32 GMT 1
Well the girls have found the border and have been in there scratching away - the jury's out as to whether they're tackling the molluscs yet. They're certainly separating the mice from the men as far as the plants are concerned - the ones that don't stand up to their great flat feet stomping over them will be moved and the ones that don't mind it can stay. I've got a few shrubs in pots without a home so they'll be replacing the ones that the chikkies are doing in. Photos WILL follow, promise!!! Nice to know the girls are being industrious, though! I cant wait for pics. Portraits please, with names. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by The witch on Aug 10, 2007 9:20:26 GMT 1
Well the girls have found the border and have been in there scratching away - the jury's out as to whether they're tackling the molluscs yet. They're certainly separating the mice from the men as far as the plants are concerned - the ones that don't stand up to their great flat feet stomping over them will be moved and the ones that don't mind it can stay. I've got a few shrubs in pots without a home so they'll be replacing the ones that the chikkies are doing in. Photos WILL follow, promise!!! Great news ;D How long before you savour the delights of one of their eggs? |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 10, 2007 9:20:31 GMT 1
True!!!
You can see the odd fisherman in his rowing boat out at sea with a flock of birds following him, what a serene sight - you can also see heaps of rubbish blowing down the road where the lazy ones haven't bothered to go and get their dinner the hard way. People cover the binbags with sheets or tablecloths around here to put them off.
|
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 10, 2007 9:24:39 GMT 1
I think I've got about another two weeks or so before that first egg, The witch, even so I can't help peeking into the henhouse a few times a day, ever the optimist!! Plus the time they spend laying they won't be scratching! Definitely a Rogues' Gallery will be following, SL, and then you can meet Spot, Kitty, Pearl, Tiny, Hazel and Chestnut. |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 10, 2007 9:30:52 GMT 1
I took the children to the dentist yesterday and then we were going on to the fair, so being out for a while we thought it best to get the chickens in beforehand. NO CHANCE- there was no way they were going in, they ducked and dived and were resolute. We were well and truly beat. If we ever really HAVE to get them in before they go in for the night we are in trouble. |
|
|
|
Post by madonplants on Aug 10, 2007 10:10:17 GMT 1
I can well believe it Keith! And I live right by the sea - you wouldn't believe it though judging from all the lacerated binbags around. The gulls are lurking all around waiting for an easy morsel or two. And some silly people feed them which attracts them even more - why bother going out to hunt for your dinner when you don't have to? They can be a right pain! Gulls used to follow fishing boats.... nowadays they follow bin wagons to the tip. Flying Rats IMO. : Did I hear something on tv that you are not allowed to feed the gulls by the coast? I am sure I heard it right! Keith |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 10, 2007 10:23:15 GMT 1
You're right Keith - I've seen a couple of signs along the coast in resorts around here threatening fines for feeding them - they get so aggressive!. But in your own home I'm not so sure. One woman in Weymouth kept feeding them in her garden despite Council warnings generated from complaints from her neighbours but it was the mess and the smell that was the problem and not that she was doing something against the law.I think she went to jail for a while in the end.
|
|
|
|
Post by 4pygmies on Aug 10, 2007 10:52:26 GMT 1
REALLY sorry if you have already done this (sucking eggs etc!) but I taught my chooks where NOT to scratch by the simple means of protecting all the plants with a ring of twiggy sticks. They can't get through them and they learn to go elsewhere - now they have their favourite spots and leave the rest alone generally...
|
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 11, 2007 9:25:15 GMT 1
Thanks 4P, I didn't know that - I'm going to move a few of them anyway and replace them with the more suitable ones that are hanging around in pots at the moment and then I'll try the twiggy method if wreckages are still taking place!  It's a great idea - I've got a lot of bare ground in the border right now so plenty of room for some twiggy barriers. They keep on pecking off all the flowers they come across on anything too, most uncouth!!I think our garden's got to be slightly rearranged somewhat..... |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 16, 2007 10:29:47 GMT 1
Surely this lot will start laying soon - at the moment they're like a lot of bored teenagers hanging around the shops.  |
|
|
|
Post by The witch on Aug 16, 2007 10:34:37 GMT 1
Surely this lot will start laying soon - at the moment they're like a lot of bored teenagers hanging around the shops. ...... waiting for the boys to come along.  |
|
|
|
Post by 4pygmies on Aug 16, 2007 10:34:53 GMT 1
I expect you'll find the first one unexpectedly somewhere....have you thought about putting a decoy egg (not a real one , in case they peck it) in the nest box and seeing which ones sit on it? That might set them off ......they are funny things, chickens...
|
|
|
|
Post by emseypop on Aug 16, 2007 10:45:38 GMT 1
My friends dad used to breed budgies and as a joke we put cadburys mini eggs in the nesting boxes! He once gave me and my friend eggs to look after when a mother bird had died, my friend droped hers almost at once, mine was doing well till I sat on it!  |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 16, 2007 10:50:21 GMT 1
The Speckled Sussex are the only ones that even go near the henhouse during the day - the rest steer well clear - I think all it symbolizes to them all at the moment is 'time for bed'. Lovely subject, but do you ever need to worm yours, 4P, or do you ever need to dust them with powder? I think I've led a charmed life as far as chickens are concerned - I never had to do any of this all the time I had them. But I'm not sure now if one of them has a louse or two, or whether she preens herself a bit more than the others. It's quite an elaborate routine isn't it? Do yours scratch themselves around their ears with their feet? They're still quite jumpy so I don't want to start picking them up yet and checking them over if it's unnecessary. |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 16, 2007 10:51:43 GMT 1
My friends dad used to breed budgies and as a joke we put cadburys mini eggs in the nesting boxes! He once gave me and my friend eggs to look after when a mother bird had died, my friend droped hers almost at once, mine was doing well till I sat on it! My dad used to breed them too - the eggs are soooo tiny and delicate aren't they? And baby budgies - what a sight! ;D |
|
|
|
Post by debbiem on Aug 16, 2007 10:53:50 GMT 1
Surely this lot will start laying soon - at the moment they're like a lot of bored teenagers hanging around the shops. ...... waiting for the boys to come along. I wish! The children would love us to have some chicks and I'd love a cockerel etc etc - we can hear other cocks crowing from here but if we got one .......neighbours....we're veering on the side of caution, just in case. |
|
|
|
Post by 4pygmies on Aug 16, 2007 10:57:02 GMT 1
I've never bothered with any of that I'm afraid! My chickens have a lot of dust baths and if they're free ranging I'm inclined to think they can medic themselves....... What time do you let them out MrsB? It might pay to leave it a little longer if possible so they have time to think about sitting on the nest...is there food available in their henhouse? Mind you, you just can't hurry a chicken, can you? I'm sure they'll know what to do when the time comes - it's just convenient for you if they do it where you want them to! |
|
|
|
Post by The witch on Aug 16, 2007 11:00:10 GMT 1
...... waiting for the boys to come along. I wish! The children would love us to have some chicks and I'd love a cockerel etc etc - we can hear other cocks crowing from here but if we got one .......neighbours....we're veering on the side of caution, just in case. Could you borrow one for a few hours? |
|
|
|
Post by owdboggy on Aug 16, 2007 11:01:18 GMT 1
If you want them to go in when you want them too, then feed them some corn each time they go in. They come to associate corn with going in and you can use it as a lure if you need to put them away at some time. It worked for us.
Our hens are now confined to a large run, they were doing so much damage to the garden, despite everything we did to keep them off.
|
|
Flying Rats IMO. :