Babette does her thing!

At last! Babette has done it and laid her very first egg!!! What a clever girl, we thought we had a free loader for a while, a barren girl, but NO, here it is!

It weighed all of 17gms and wasn't even as big as a Cadburys Creme egg! But a very dark brown, slightly speckled egg has arrived!

Posh

Today we got our new egg boxes - pink of course! We have made labels to go on them too!

Pecking

Wellllllllllllllllll as we are not sure why Hazel is pecked and Bald we decided to cover the girls in Red Mite powder - not easy. The man suggest taking each hen dangling them upside down, the only struggle for 30seconds and sprinkle it everywhere! Like I'm gonna do that!!!!! So we picked each girlie up and sprinkle them as much as we could......

Next time we might try the pillow case technique, where you put them in, head out of course, then sprinkle and shake!!!

We have also sprayed them with Ukadex anti peck spray. Excellent idea if if didn't smell so foul!!! It took us days to recover!! Cilit bang wouldn't get it off my hands and the clothes went straight in the machine!

Coops went for his usual sniff of the feathered botty and got the shock of his life!!! Which would be really funny if his face didn't smell of the stuff now! He has had many washes and it's still REALLY bad!!!! lets hope it wears off soon...

Hazel though has a bit of regrowth and looks like she has a beard on her bum !

Hazel's bum emergency

So I trudged up to the girls before they went to bed and shock horror, Hazels bum was bleeding!!!!!! Real blood, not good .......... I picked her up to have a look only to find out that she was BALD!!!! double shock.

We brought her in and gave her a gentle bath in the kitchen sink with cotton wool and Ecover (nice) and put her in a box with some shredded paper and she spent the night in the shower in the dark - bless.....

She went straight back in the next morning with a purple bum after being sprayed with Gentian Violet and Coopers spray that stops him chewing his feet!! Calm has been restored.....

Out in the garden

Well the children are here this weekend and keen to see the chicks in the garden! We have had had much egg checking today! But they were rewarded with 5!!! All good weights too, so they are obviously getting the hang of things.... We are just waiting for little Babette who's yet to grow her comb or wattles, and still has a little pink face!

Fellow Omleteers have reassured me though that they are not essential to laying and maybe she will just go without! she is soooooooo much bigger than when she first arrived though, and is still scoffing for England, so am not too worried....

The kids were thrilled to have them out. We moved the net fencing over to the other side of the garden to try and protect a few small plants that they had previously tried to ravish, and we are pleased to report that it worked. There was a small drama as Coops pushed Penny under it but she was soon rescued.

Emily and Henry were keen to see what the chicks were up too, but alice on the other hand really wanted to pick one up but just couldn't bring herself to do itj!!!!

I brought out the mealworms to encourage the girls to feed from their hands, then they did their really confident thing and started to climb all over them - there was much squeaking from poor old Em. Hen was desperate to get his hands on Hazel, his very own chook, and Alice was determined and got there in the end!!!

Margo

Coops blending in!

harriet

Sweetie

Penny

Babbette

Out into the garden we go...........

Well they slowly made their way out into the garden and began to explore the jungle around them. It appears that they REALLY love begonnias!! They scratched about them for hours gradually taking each one apart with their feet and what they missed they pecked at incessantly. They lurve the earth, and didn't take much notice of the grass much to Nicks relief!

They seemed happy to just peck about. Coops was following them about like a love sick puppy drooling with his tongue hanging out! All he wanted was to get behind them and put his nose under their tummies and lick their legs! How strange.....................

Gradually they made they way down the garden, but not past the halfway mark! I was really surprised how they stuck together most of the time. They made little bokking noises the whole time so I'm assuming that's a good sign!

We did put food and water out for them, but they appeared too busy to drink it.

While they we out we decided to give the cube a blast! Half way through we noticed Harriet making a rackett!!! We went to investigate only to find her perched on the ladder trying to get in, but alas no roosting bars or made up nestbox - a disaster in her world.

We put one set in and so paper in the box and she indignantly went and sat in it. about an hour later she was sqwarking at the top of her voice and there was a lovely egg waiting for us!

When we decided they needed to go back in we shook the corn box and they ran to find us like 5 year olds to sweeties!!!!! They then promptly scoffed all the pellets they could stuff in!

Hazel picks her own

1st big Freerange!

Sooooooooooooooooooo, after the wing clipping came the big outside world!!!

First of all we let them out just into the fenced area, strangely enough they were slow to investigate their new surroundings, but they did eventually find their way around with the help of coops who was closely behind at all times.

They found Nicks runner beans very interesting along with my honeysuckle, where I was hoping they would be more taken with the stinging nettles!! Still they were quite happy grazing for a while.... interestingly they kept going back in the run.... maybe they didn't want to be out after all........

Wing clipping!

Today we took the bull by the horns and armed with a brand new pair of scissors we marched into the cube comando style though the very small flap and got ready for the big clip!!!

We decided to 'do' them in there and then let them all out together. It went pretty well and with a bit of sneaky wiggling and an Omlet diagram I held on to them and Nick did the snipping with Cooper Yelling by the door! Penny of course was always going to be the tricky one as she aviods contact at every opportunity!

So we lured her with corn and then nick went in for the big grab and while she wiggled I snipped off the feathers in question! She was most indignant......

However, they then went out into the big wide world..........................

Found this today! It was laid this afternoon! I had already collected 3 when I got in from work, so I've not idea who is responsible!

Hazel did lay her first one yesterday but it was a lovely deep brown colour and henry scoffed it before the camera could get to it!!!

Clever girls

Well, as you know the girls have been excelling themselves since we managed to do the worming thing! So to celebrate their wonderful efforts we have invested in a 'egg-skelter' so that they can have pride of place in the kitchen!!!!! And don't they look lovely???

tonight for treats they had probiotic yoghurt with bokashi bran, they loved it even if they did end up wearing it, and then they each in turn scoffed what the others were wearing = clean chicks once a again!!!

Harriet laid her 1st Egg!!!!!!!!!!

................. and it was massive man!!! A whopping 53gms!!!! No one else is near that! What a clever girl she is... I wonder it there will be a repeat performance???

Also on a good note Margo laid also!!! Fingers crossed it's not just a one off!

Pecked off!

Sooooooooooooo the wormer arrived and the doseage is per 300 birds, so have had to to many rudementary calculations!!! Basically you cut a grape in half, and coat it in worm powder and Bob's your uncle!!!!

So we dutifully went to the run with 6 bits of grape... a Margo stepped up and took her medicine like a very good girl!!! Then she had Babettes, Hazels and Sweeties!!!!!!! Obviously a new technique was required, so Nick distracted them with a handful of corn while I tried to shove a grape down the remaining 5......

Success!!! But not until there was much pecking of the mummy, Hazel took to sitting on my shoulder and the other took advantage of my hands being full and tried to mug me for what I had left!!!!!

Hmmmmmm will try harder tomorrow, Good job we only have to do it for 7 days!!!!

Think we have worms :-(((

Argghhhhhhhhh................ We think we have a case of worms!!! Inconvenient to say the least. Margo has been on strike for a week now, and as she is really well in herself, scoffing like she's never seen food, and has poo's like i'd really rather not describe, between the Omleteers and our books here we have diagnosed worms... We have sent off for some stuff toot sweet!

Sweetcorn

This is excise for our girls! They love it!

Dust bath

Well with the spring clean, also come the clean dust bath. However, Penny and Margo were not impressed and decided to make their own!!

I'm afraid the pics aren't that clear, but think you can get the general idea!

Spring clean!!!

Well, as saturday is the only sunny day forcast for the bank holiday it was Spring clean day for the girls!!!

We took the cube apart as much as we could and washed it on the lawn with a power washer!!! Thank fully it didn't take too long. Although there was MUCH poo to deal with! We waited until Penny and Sweetie had laid, Penny is up to 45g now, she's such a good girl, and then when mad with a bucket! Coops was loving it as I think he secretly lurves chicken poop!

The girls took it all in their stride and Penny, Babette and Hazel had their normal chat on the high perch. they just love it up there!!!

Worried about Margo

Poor ol' Margo.... we are worried about her....... She hasn't laid since last week. She seem fine in herself, but I'm not sure... I've posted on the Omlet site for some advice, as I know it takes a while for them to get into the swing of things, but this does seem odd....

She has a few symptoms..... she scoffing ALOT, but they do eat more when they start laying, her comb is no longer bright red but pink, and she has poop like water! Not nice..... The concensus is that she may have worms.. I've already ordered some Flubenvet but am kicking myself that I didn't do it earlier as i'll have to wait until tuesday now....

Then we will have to work out how to give a minute amount to each hen on half a grape, and for seven days!!!!!!!!!!! Will be a military operation....... wish me luck!

Preparing for Lottie!

Well, as you know, Claire and Duke are going away for a well deserved holiday, and when this happens we return the doggie sitting favor and Lottie has a little holiday too!!! We always love having Lottie here as she is such a big personality it's like having a whole other person in the house!

However, this time we have the added complication of 6 flappy chooks in the garden..... Lottie being of the working variety will be beside herself!

We have already had a trial run, and it went brilliantly! We kept her on a lead and she was very quiet albeit very interested in them.... we had invested in a mega pump action waterpistol just in case but it wasn't needed! You could have knocked us down with a feather, as even when Benji came there was a degree of swarking and flapping.... and it's not pleasant to see. So we were on full alert!!!!

We are sure now that Claire and Duke think we were being over cautious for our new additions but it previously had not been a pretty sight! Regardless we are jubilant that things went well....

The plan was though to put a temporary fence around the cube and run to stop Coops and Lottie forming a pack and chasing them round and round. Plus the first weekend she is here I am home alone as Nick is at the farm for Janes birthday bash!!!

So the fence is up and looking good.... is not too visiable and will do a good job.... Nick toiled away and did it very quickly on our only sunny day!!!

Desperate Hazel!!!!!!!!

Well, the girls know where the door is now. Every time we go anywhere near the run they make a break for the door, hoping that I'm about to chuck something yummy through it! Yummy is a very broad term mind, it could be corn, worms, fruit, cabbage, lettuce.... wouldn't make the most of us do back flips, but the girls literally climb over eachother to reach it first.... Once at the door should it open they ALL huddle and try to squeeze through it at the same time....... A tricky manouvre with me with my knee in the door, a bowl of goodies AND coops trying to wedge himself through from the other side!!!

Anyway...................... when you have to bodily go in you have to sort of flap the top half of the front down, stop coops from doing a sneaking high jump, bend at a strange angle and lauch yourself in whilst of course carrying treats and a back sack to sit on, as you wouldn't want to get a dirty bum! Nick of course in waiting patiently and laughing ready to hold the flap up once I am in and covered in rabbid chooks scrabbing about for food!!!!

So, the flap was undone.... we began to open while cooing nicely for them to wait nicely, when Hazel takes a running jump and is up through the 6inch gap in a jiffy!!!!!!!! Not good... she was silent and deadly! I was so shocked but managed to 'catch' her by her very skinny body and wedge her against my chest! We then forced the flap shut with her still squashed in my hands - painful! I was trying very carefuly to put her down, but the angle made it impossible and she made a flappy 'plop' onto the floor looking very put out!!!!

Man they know what's out there and are desperate to find it!!!

A three egg day!!!!!!!!!!

Well, how lucky are we!!!!!!!!!!

I went out this morning only to find 2 very light coloured eggies in the nesting box!!! Now I know that one belonged to Penny, Margo lays fairly dark brown speckled eggs, so it's not hers... so am guessing that Sweetie is responsible. Nick had found her lurking in the nesting box over the weekend just getting a feel of the place :-))) so maybe it is her... her comb is still quite small, but maybe she an early starter!!!

When I went out there later, there was margo's one warm and waiting for me!! Clever girl.... she's always an after noon girl!!!

I took 4 small eggs in a box over to nannys, our first gift of eggs! We are very proud of our girls.. now though we'd like them to concentrate on producing one over 40gms, that seems to be the ceiling at the moment!

We also gave them a few crusts cut up as a treat today, and the yummed it up! Will remember that one... have put their Bokashi bran in a cup and they've scoffed that down too, so maybe i'll stop putting it in their food now......

Clever, clever girls!!!

Bedtime

At 8.40, we tip toed up the garden to see what was occuring! It's a truely amazing thing but they were they lined up in a row to make their way up the ladder.... very strange.. so we came back in...

8.50 we went back up again and only two left!!!! Hazel was in and out alot.... but eventually she was up there, and as soon as her tail feathers were in - Shoop! It was shut!

Night girls....

Coopers great home coming!!!

So the time came on saturday to go and collect Cooper from Claires where he'd been having a luxurious holiday! We could have left it until sunday, but in for a penny, in for a pound!

He already knew that something was going on, because the odd construction that had been occuring in his garden.... so we explained to him that he had some new playmates in the garden at home waiting for him and that they were all going to get on famously....... It was obvious however, that he was not listening as he hates the car and clearly had his paws in his ears with his head pointing the other way!!!!

We parked in the hole in the back and let him out and he scampered up the steps to make his way in, when he stopped dead! There was something in the house!!!! Man he flew over there like a rocket - the girls unfortunately were not ready to recieve visitors and went completely mad, which threw Coops into a flurry which made them squeak and fly back and forward up and down the run, bumping into the perches and sides, feathers everywhere... mess......

We got coops to make a sharpe exit, and those of you who know him know the only way to do that is pick him up and run for the house! the girls settled immediately, but there was a bit of blood on some beaks from too much bashing occuring.

Coops then became a soldier at his post by the back door! We decided on approach number two.... we took him up there on a lead, much crying from him, and a small amount of clucking from them.......

Approach number three was to put him on his garden spike attached to his long lead and let him run about! The girls were fine with this, coops however was very frustrated!

We retired in doors... what to do???? We decided to go on the offensive with the water pistols which we got to stop the girls pecking at eachother, so why not use it on the dog???

Off we went back up there with coops on a lead and a fully loaded water pistol..... after many squirts and surprised looks he did eventually settled down... so we retired back in for a conference and much research on fencing!!!

OMG it's an egg!

Well....................... I was just on the phone to nanny and went up the see the girlies and THERE WAS AN EGG ON THE FLOOR!!!!!! Much jubilation!!! No idea who's responsible but, we certainly wasn't expecting one so soon.

I made poor Nick go in a rescue it in case it got trampled on! Penny was sitting next to it, but didn't look like she was owning up!!!

I rushed it still warm inside a straight to the scales! A whole 36gms. Small but perfectly formed. What a clever girl!!!

1st Morning

Well, we charged down the stairs fairly late, about 8am as we don't want them to get used to getting up too early.... I am always very conscious of Karen....

We swiftly collected the camera and hot footed it down the garden. Will me hovering at the door end Nick pushed the cube door open... We could hear feet scrabbling about and when it opened there they were all hogging the door way looking out as if to say 'blimey it's daylight, what shall we do now?'

Babette was the first one to make an exit attempt.... graceful is not a word that springs to mind I must say... the was a lot of noise as her feet tried to make contact with the ladder, and much flapping as she tried to keep her upright and steady.......... it didn't work... she flapped down and landed with a 'boof'. Then went like a rocket to the food! She was closely followed by Sweetie, also not a ballerina.... then they all came on mass, with much clucking and flapping.... Then all to the food for breakfast, it appears that there was a famine during the night!

Day one

So they spent today mooching about. They did come out from under the cube and babette went straight for the food!!! They were happy to be pecking about and kicking our newly laid bedding everywhere..... We sprinkled some mixed corn around and about and man they mad for that!! They are very quiet, but maybe that's because they were in shock after their long journey......

We spent the day marching up and down the garden wearing a hole in the newly recovered lawn, and they were pretty non plused, but fingers crossed they become more people friendly......

As the day came to an end, we were thinking 'How will they know when to go to bed?' 'Will they know what to do?' We've spent many an hour on the Omlet forum reading about people having to do all sorts to get their girls to bed including putting a torch in it went it's getting dark to 'show them the way', if it's the only light they can see the tend to go towards it...... others have had to physically put their girl into the cube for a few days... plus theres always the quandry of 'can they get up the ladder' which you know doesn't reach the floor.... not sure why, maybe it's to put FoxyLoxy off.....

At 8.30 we began another back and forward regieme up and down......... At about 9.00 Margo made leap onto the ladder, and the fell straight off again!!! But soon made another attempt, and this time made it into the cube... had a little walk about and then came out again.... so we came away.......

Five minutes later we went up there again and 2 were in the cube!! With another one on the ladder, so we came away again!!!!!!!

At 9.10 we went up there and they we nearly done one on the ladder another one patiently waiting.... then she made her way up... what clever girls they are!!!

We zipped the door shut and listened to them scrabbling about for a few mins and left them to it..... We did check back before we went to bed and SILENCE!!!!! Phew!!!!

Cant wait for day two!

And finally Penny a Coral Nick

This is Harriot a Pied Suffolk

This is Hazel a Black Tail

This is Margot, a Fenning Black

This is Sweetie, she's a BlueBelle

So Lets meet the girlies! This is babette shes and Amber

Their new house!

So, Nick very carefully struggled into the run with each box and opened them up, and they fluttered out VERY quickly!! Think they must have been in a bit of shock as they had been sitting by the side of the run while we put in fresh water, food and stuff.

Initially they all huddled under the cube, and we just stood there like lemons thinking 'What do you do with a chicken?' But we had stocked up on grapes and poked one through the bars and they were more than happy to scoff them up! The brown one Hazel is the most friendly/nosey and was following us about.. We dutifully spent the next hour or so just watching to see what they do.... Soooo we have discovered that they are going to be mamoth time wasters!! Shame....................