Acclimatisation
Oct. 17th, 2011 05:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bokbokosaurusMy housemate said this was chicken rehab. She had a point.
The first day was spent with a lot of staring and staggering and falling over (not just from Arky - the others were utterly baffled by solid ground and straw), plus Dippy violently asserting her Top Hen status. Sunday and today seemed a little calmer. The hens have been more active, and today Dippy attempted her first dust bath. (They had found the tray of compost and diatomaceous earth put aside for this purpose, but they'd been mostly trying to eat it.) It didn't last very long, and I didn't see it, but Bethan assures me Dippy stood in the dirt and kicked some up into her wings. Just between now and the first day there's been a massive increase in normal chicken behaviour - digging and preening and pecking at stuff. Steg still comes running up to investigate when humans appear or a door is opened.
Today it was Steg's turn to get Vaseline and Anti-Pek, after Dippy bit her hard enough to make her comb bleed. Very superficial injury, and normal when they're sorting out the pecking order, but something I wanted to put a stop to fast. Steg was less than pleased about being sat on my lap and sprayed and having her comb covered in gunk. The pecking order still seems to go Dippy > Trex > Steg > Arky. Not that the others attack Steg or Arky, but just in terms of how much of Dippy's wrath they seem to catch. Trex has been keeping herself to herself, and staying in the coop a lot, but seems okay.
Arky's still hopping and limping, but it may be my imagination, but I think she's putting her foot down and flexing her toes more than she was. If I saw any injuries or signs of pain, I'd take her to the vet, but we think it might just be because she's never really walked anywhere in her life. The forum people said dodgy legs are pretty common in ex-batts. It doesn't seem to hamper her getting around too much, and hopefully it'll improve as she gets more exercise.
I figured out that the pooping in the outdoor water bowl was entirely my fault: yes, it made sense to put it in the middle of the run, but not when that meant it was one chicken-length away from the food bowl. Oops. The pooping in the indoor water bowl, the one that's tucked into a corner as far away as possible from the perches and nest boxes? That's still on them.
Three more eggs today: one this morning when I let them out, and two this afternoon when Bethan and I went to say hi to them. All in the nestboxes, which is amazing. Battery hens are used to just dropping eggs where they stand and having them roll down to the conveyor belt, so it's awesome to see normal nesting behaviour kicking in so soon.
The first day was spent with a lot of staring and staggering and falling over (not just from Arky - the others were utterly baffled by solid ground and straw), plus Dippy violently asserting her Top Hen status. Sunday and today seemed a little calmer. The hens have been more active, and today Dippy attempted her first dust bath. (They had found the tray of compost and diatomaceous earth put aside for this purpose, but they'd been mostly trying to eat it.) It didn't last very long, and I didn't see it, but Bethan assures me Dippy stood in the dirt and kicked some up into her wings. Just between now and the first day there's been a massive increase in normal chicken behaviour - digging and preening and pecking at stuff. Steg still comes running up to investigate when humans appear or a door is opened.
Today it was Steg's turn to get Vaseline and Anti-Pek, after Dippy bit her hard enough to make her comb bleed. Very superficial injury, and normal when they're sorting out the pecking order, but something I wanted to put a stop to fast. Steg was less than pleased about being sat on my lap and sprayed and having her comb covered in gunk. The pecking order still seems to go Dippy > Trex > Steg > Arky. Not that the others attack Steg or Arky, but just in terms of how much of Dippy's wrath they seem to catch. Trex has been keeping herself to herself, and staying in the coop a lot, but seems okay.
Arky's still hopping and limping, but it may be my imagination, but I think she's putting her foot down and flexing her toes more than she was. If I saw any injuries or signs of pain, I'd take her to the vet, but we think it might just be because she's never really walked anywhere in her life. The forum people said dodgy legs are pretty common in ex-batts. It doesn't seem to hamper her getting around too much, and hopefully it'll improve as she gets more exercise.
I figured out that the pooping in the outdoor water bowl was entirely my fault: yes, it made sense to put it in the middle of the run, but not when that meant it was one chicken-length away from the food bowl. Oops. The pooping in the indoor water bowl, the one that's tucked into a corner as far away as possible from the perches and nest boxes? That's still on them.
Three more eggs today: one this morning when I let them out, and two this afternoon when Bethan and I went to say hi to them. All in the nestboxes, which is amazing. Battery hens are used to just dropping eggs where they stand and having them roll down to the conveyor belt, so it's awesome to see normal nesting behaviour kicking in so soon.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 10:48 pm (UTC)re: pooping in the water dish, we solved that by having hanging water dishes. they looked like this, although not quite the same. i don't know if that's suitable for your housing or not, but i thought i'd mention it as an option.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 06:37 pm (UTC)What sort of chickens did you have? Do you still have any?
no subject
Date: 2011-11-05 05:29 am (UTC)i don't know if you're interested, but i have a couple of chicken poems to share: good night, ladies, and a glossary of chickens.