Brrrrr!!!

Being in the midlands we havent had the snow yet, but by gum its cold. I can tell its cold as the three doves, the wren, Mr Robin and the tits have all started to feast on chicken food too. I totally love watching them from the kitchen window whilst chained to the sink and cooker, but its all so nice to see.
The grils are ok, Aggi is still limping and I noticed they had drawn her blood again. So she thoroughly enjoyed a cuddle this morning whilst having her bottom neck and wings sprayed purple. I was amazed at juts how warm she is in this weather, so can happily assume the others are the same.
Lily, lottie and Ada have only to hear the door open and come running to get food, they'll happily eat out of anyones hand. Roxie, Ronnie, and Aggi are still very timid, but are never very far away. I still have to make sure they get their bit of food but all their crops are nice and full.
I had delivery of the compost bin the other evening and put it in position this morning. I clean the coop totally on a Saturday morning and put all the old stuff in the bin together with what I had saved over the week. Needless to say I think I should have got a bigger compost bin as this one is more or less full. lets hope it breaks down quickly or I'll be back to putting it in the wheelie bin and trying to disguise it with other rubbish so that it gets taken on the normal bin day.
Now its sooooo cold I take great care in ensuring the coop is as warm as I can get it at night. The run gets covered in a thick plastic, held down with batons of wood, and the coop is surrounded with thick cardbpoard and then covered with plastic. It seems to be working really well at the moment. I just hope the cold doesnt hang around for too long.
They have to put themselves to bed again tonight as Santa is switching on the town lights. It will be a mad rush to get home and cover up the coop before the frost settles. At least they do go in on there own and I dont have to try and find them in the dark.
bring on spring is what I say. Til the next time shut your curtains and have a cup of hot chocolate.

A mummy at last

Its been a great day today. Although the weather is very cold, we havent had any snow and the girls have spent the day chasing the winter sunshine around the garden. I can see a future when the dog and chickens race for that special patch of sunshine .
With the threat of snow growing day by day, it was time to weatherproof the run. We have put wooden batons on the ends a large piece of plastic which fits over the run. The girls werent to sure to begin with but come bedtime of they trotted. And with layers of cardboard over the coop with extra bedding, snug as bugs in a rug.
Its taken nearly too weeks but they have at last begun to recognise mummy. When I go outside they come running and Ada and Lily are now happy to eat out of my hand. Ada is going to be a very cheeky hen already putting her head in the tub of corn I take out to sprinkle around. She wont yet let me pick  her up, but I'm sure she will get to that point. Ity really made my day, the cat around my legs and a chicken eating out of my hand. I am really looking forward to warmer weather when I can spend more time outside. Roll on spring.

reflective moment

I happened to drive past a battery chicken farm today, and really felt sorry for the girls in there. Have driven past it before but to be honest havent really thought about it, but since having the girls I can say my outlook has totally changed.
Here at home the girls are great, Aggi is still limping, and has a very purple bottom along with Ronnie, but Lottie has certainly calmed down since she was reprimanded. I went out an bought them a new feeder that was recommended and its amazing, you really do not get any spills, so the pellets are lasting much longer. The only thing is the white part of it shows some smears of blood. This is a total mystery, I have checked each girl for signs of fresh blood but none anywhere. I can only think at some point one of them has had a peck on her comb which has bled. I dont think I will ever know where it came from.
The cats and Dog are now settling down. The cats pay no attention to the girls, and the dog just goes and sniffs around. All one big happy family. I just wish the compost bin would arrive as I am chucking so much poo away and I know it would be so good for the garden.

Lottie is being sent to detention tomorrow.

The CD obviously hasnt worked. I've just been watching the girls and Lottie is simply horrific. Every bird is being bullied. Poor Aggi, has a very sore purple bottom, (the purple spray doesnt deter Lottie) and her limp isnt improving as she is having to run away from Lottie. Even Roxie, the big girl with more or less all her feathers, is getting got at. The result is that tomorrow I am removing the extension from the run and will use it to seperate Lottie from the others. Hopefully she will fall off her high and mighty perch and the others can have a stress free day, especially Aggi who really needs it.
Its such a shame its come to this, and Lottie is such a sweet and innocent sounding name. Should have called her Roxie.

The invasion of the CD

I have had to try and stop Lottie picking on the others, so I hung a CD in the garden. The effect is great, and has been very entertaining. Roxie was first up and was very intimidated by the hen that was looking back at her. She backed of and then each girl has taken it in turns to visit the new neighbour, but only from a distance. I hope this has some effect with Lottie and maybe she will think the CD is another chicken when she looks at it or she will simply decide to peck at it, and as its red on the one side maybe she might show more interest in bullying the CD rather than the other girls.

Lottie is a bully

Lottie is the smaller, fairer coloured of the girls and was the least inquisitive when i first got them. Angelic you could almost say. Now I have two purple bottomed girls because of her, she is a persistent bully, following Ronnie and Aggi around picking on them.
Poor Aggi has a nasty sore patch where she has been got at which I will have to keep an eye on, and Ronnie I have to spray with purple spray reguarly to try and ward Lottie away. I think I will have to sit down and give her a good talking to, maybe threaten the barn again.

Such very good girls

Its been a really dull damp foggy day and i'm sure my girls wish for the sun. I know I do. If a chicken can looked p****d off, mine did today.
I had the school run from hell today and have been out all afternoon, I knew I wouldnt be back til after dark and had to put the girls in the run early before I left, not that they liked it. I was worried how they would manage with a slight change in routine. Bless there little legs, they had all gone to bed and didnt even stir when I slid the door shut. Goodnight chucks, see you tommorrow.

peace perfect peace

the girls seem very quiet this morning, their all eating and drinking well so I guess I have got used to them being a little on edge and today they are finally settled and I'm simply not used to it. I just wish the weather would improve so I could spend a little more time with them.

Such good girls

i let the girls have the run of the garden when I am at home, and so far have gone out and got them to go home when its raining. Today though, its started raining, again, and the girls as good as gold have taken themselves into the coop to shelter from the rain. I'm so proud of them.

When alfie met the girls.

Alfie is my lurcher, I know he's not the most ideal breed to have around chucks but he was here first, so not alot I could do about it.
I've just spent the last hour moving the coop into a sunnier position and then sweeping up the mess left behind. Alfie was being very good following me around,. I know he has been inquisitive about the birds and has been and sniffed them when they have been in the coop, but today they were out and about. He could only control himself for so long before the excitement simply got too much. Poor girls, he did frighten them.
I've made a mental note never to leave the dog around the girls on his own, a bit like never leave a dog alone with kids. I just hope they all learn to get along, but Alfie has never learned to get along with the cats. I say that, but he is terrified of them when they turn round and retaliate so maybe the same will happen when the girls give him a peck on the nose. Time will tell.

Never trust the quiet ones.

it turns out the smaller girls who appeared to be the quietest are the troublesome ones. They always say never trust the quiet ones. Poor Ronnie, she's more purple than ginger at the moment, lily and lottie keep following her and having a peck.
We have also decided we need to move the coop for the winter, its current position does not get the winter sun, so we are going to move it to a better position, it will also mean they dont get the security light affecting them as much. last night was very funny watching them come out everytime the light came on but it will confuse them.
I think I will give them some broccoli later. They are very settled on the ex bat pellets and corn, and since they wander round the garden eating my plants I figured they are ready for the odd treat.

Purple finger

I just sprayed her with purple spray, she wasnt chuffed about it but I tryed to explain that it was for the best. She was probably more disgruntled over the prospect of having a purple backside, I would.
the spray bottle was rubbish though and I now have a vividly purple finger, lets see how long it takes to come of, soap and water doesnt work.

Poor little things.

Poor Roxie has obviously taken a good pecking, considering she's the biggest I am surprised. Hubby has gone to get some gentian violet so I can spray the area and this should do the trick apparently. At least she's not very keen on going in the run this morning and I should be able to spray her fairly easily. I really dont want to upset her anymore.
The one good thing is at least with the run roof covered to stop the rain they are coming out to get some grub etc, will have to poo pick though in the coop, not seen so much poo in a long time, but it does all look good, as far as poo can look good, so they must be feeding and settling well.
The whole thing takes me back to when I got my prem baby home for the first time, worrying over the slightest thing, and constantly checking on them. Love it though.

Wet and bloody

its a very wet morning this morning and the girls not so keen, poor things have been faced with subzero temperatures, wind , sun and now torrential rain. To boot, one of the girls has blood coming from one of het tail stalks, not sure how to deal with it, so need to do some homework.

settling down....at last

Not a bad day today. The girls laid 4 eggs again, have begun to get used to me and were all in bed by 5pm, although I had to lift three again. They have felt the cold today, so extra hay for tonight. Its supposed to rain all day tomorrow so we''ll see how we get on then.

Lying in wait.

I noticed one of the girls was going to lay,(its all a learning curve, but now i know when the occasion is going to occur) so to be sure I got to it before they did i sat to watch. so did two other girls, lying in wait for a warm fresh lunch. As sure as eggs are eggs (excuse the pun), as soon as the egg was laid they were at it in a flash, but so was I , hands and knees I battled in the straw and yes, brekkie was saved for tomorrow. Scrambled eggs me thinks.

The BIG yellow box.

I thought they might like a box of woodshavings to have a bath in. So filled a yellow plastic box,(the size of a cat litter tray) with some lovely woodshavings. Not one girl has been near it. Roxie, got the closest, but had to back of, it was all just too much. I guess its a bit like if we had the tardis land in the living room. Then again if you could gaurantee David Tennant was in it, I cetainly wouldnt back of. I be in like a shot.

Day 4 in the ex bat house

Breakfast.
After another very cold night I was again a little worried. No matter how many times you are told they are ok, you still worry. its that mummy instinct. The cardboard I covered the coop and run with did the job, the run was nice and dry and when I opened the lid of the coop, I could tell they were warm enough.
No eggs so far this morning but then I have been wondering when they would stop, I guess the ones that were in the system are now in my fridge.
All the girls were more than keen to go down the ramp for brekkie. I have decided that while its so cold they can have some warm corn mixed in their ex bat pellets, and I give them some warm water. I like a hot cup of coffee in the morning so why shouldnt they have warm water.
I have read that too much variation in the diet can cause problems initially, so am going to stick to ex bat pellets, corn and occasionally mealworm this week then slowly introduce some goodies. Having kept track of their poo I think this will be a good idea for the time being.
Will let them out again later, although it is really cold this morning and one has already decided to go back to bed for a bit, I dont blame her, I feel like that somedays, although three kids and a very typical husband, its rarely an option.  
I noticed this morning one has a slight limp, nothing major and I guess its because there legs are still weak, I'll keep an eye on it and see how she goes.

A big scary new home

Ronnie, Roxie, Ada, Aggi, Lily and Lottie were all destinmed for slaughter, except I rescued them. All my lovely girls are a little short of feathers, but even in this sorry looking state they are lovely, this blog has been created to let everyone know how the girls do having been rescued thanks to the British Hen Welfare Trust who I got the girls from.
Day 1 - The girls were collected in pet carriers, two to a box, although when they were rescued from the barn they were 4/5 to a box. They had an hours journey home and I was scared to death knowing how alien everything was to them. After all they had never seen natural daylight until today, let alone the inside of a car.
When they were home they were put into the run and left bto get used to their new surrounding. Bedtrime was fun as they had never gone to bed before and I had to lift each one into the coop.
Day 2 - I was like a new mum, worried about foxes, the cold, everything, but they were OK and after a little help were out and about in the run. Eating and drinking like they had always been there. They were still jumpy and ran away if I went in. I let them out for 20 minutes and was so proud to see them stretch there legs and wings, but they were more than happy to go back in. When it came to bedtime, I put a torch in the coop to try and encourage them up the ramp, this worked for 4 out of the 6, the remaining 2 I had to lift.
Day 3 (today) - It was a very hard frost overnight, and we were worried how the girls had coped with it. Afterall they have very few feathers and only woodshavings and hay to keep them warm, so I opened the lid of the coop with some trepidation, but they were fine. Five of my girls came down for warm corn, number 6 needed a little encouragement, but then, so would I if I had slept in a wooden box all night. After the school run, I decided that I should start getting them into a routine, so I have decided that I will whenever possible try and let them out for the time when I am at home. So today the doors to the run were left open for 4 hours. Roxie and Ronnie are the larger bolder girls and were first out. The others followed shortly. It is so satisfying to see them enjoy the space you can provide knowing the circumstances they came from. Over the next few hours five of the girls went in and out of the run happily, Roxie, though decided she was gpoing to explore and explore she did, the flower beds, the decking, she even had a good look at the dog in the conservatory. In fact when it came to go out I had to corner her and put her back in. Roxie, is going to do one of two things, follow me around and be a good friend or simply be trouble.
After an afternoon snack of corn, dusk arrived and it was time for bed, howmany could remember last night. Unfortunately, today only 3 of 6 went up the ramp, the others had to be lifted, but the bonus of being lifted is they get a cuddle. Hopefully cuddles will be remembered, but not expected at bedtime.
Tonight I am expecting it to be as cold as last, so have recycled the boxes that the coop came in and used them to protect the coop and run from the frost. I know they are pretty tough, but they deserve a little comfort. Goodnight girls and lets see what tomorrow brings.