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My girls have now had an uninterrupted week out of their cages and in their new home (since a lot of last Saturday was spent travelling, it doesn't really count as a happy restful day). When I did my last check on them this evening, three were lined up in the nestboxes and one was snuggled up to them on the floor nearby, and all of them were making sleepy contented purring/trilling noises. (Perches are available - very low ones, since they're pretty wobbly on their feet and probably have osteoporosis - but most of them don't seem interested.) Cutest thing.
It's not the best arrangement in the world; the run is only about 20 square feet. (The website claimed one run - half of what I've got now - could hold six to ten hens. To hell with that.) I'd like to have the floor of the run covered in turf rather than straw. Hell, I'd like to give them a walk-in run that was big enough for me to walk around in, which would probably be more space than they knew what to do with. One day. But what they've got now is better than what they've ever had, and they've all got space to exercise and do normal chicken behaviour (which they're learning incredibly fast). Their lives will be enriched once their little tummies can cope with mealworms and vegetables-on-strings, but in the meantime, I'm looking up what non-food toys I can make for them.
Health-wise, they all still seem bright and active. The poo looks healthy (ah, the things you learn). Trex is eating more, though I'm still not too happy, and will probably need to supervise her for a few more days. Dippy's crop was empty this morning, which was great, as I was gonna give her yoghurt and grit today if it wasn't. Arky still limps, but was able to grip with the toes on her bad leg when I was examining and massaging it today, so I'm hopeful. Trex and Arky, while still bottom hens, are a bit more confident and less likely to flee if Steg or Dippy approaches.
The pestle and mortar turned out to be a great investment. So far I've used it for grinding pellets down into mash, and for grinding egg shells, oyster shells and Condition Pek down into supplements they'll actually eat. Anything bigger than coarse powder tends to go uneaten, but if I can pulverise it and add it to their mash, it'll go.
It's not the best arrangement in the world; the run is only about 20 square feet. (The website claimed one run - half of what I've got now - could hold six to ten hens. To hell with that.) I'd like to have the floor of the run covered in turf rather than straw. Hell, I'd like to give them a walk-in run that was big enough for me to walk around in, which would probably be more space than they knew what to do with. One day. But what they've got now is better than what they've ever had, and they've all got space to exercise and do normal chicken behaviour (which they're learning incredibly fast). Their lives will be enriched once their little tummies can cope with mealworms and vegetables-on-strings, but in the meantime, I'm looking up what non-food toys I can make for them.
Health-wise, they all still seem bright and active. The poo looks healthy (ah, the things you learn). Trex is eating more, though I'm still not too happy, and will probably need to supervise her for a few more days. Dippy's crop was empty this morning, which was great, as I was gonna give her yoghurt and grit today if it wasn't. Arky still limps, but was able to grip with the toes on her bad leg when I was examining and massaging it today, so I'm hopeful. Trex and Arky, while still bottom hens, are a bit more confident and less likely to flee if Steg or Dippy approaches.
The pestle and mortar turned out to be a great investment. So far I've used it for grinding pellets down into mash, and for grinding egg shells, oyster shells and Condition Pek down into supplements they'll actually eat. Anything bigger than coarse powder tends to go uneaten, but if I can pulverise it and add it to their mash, it'll go.
