Wow, it's all gone so fast! The chickens have become part of the family now - we even have coordinated routines. I'm proud to say that my daughter overcame her slight fear (she thought she would be pecked often) and now she spends her time with our loving hens.
At first, we were unsure of how to approach things as this is our first time caring for poultry, so I bought some manuals, which have been really helpful. Our favourite is Chicken Manual: The Complete Step-by-step Guide to Keeping Chickens by Laurence Beekens. It's really opened our eyes.
Unfortunately, we had to rehome some hens as we had too many for the size of coop. However, all was not lost, as a kind friend took them in and they have settled in well. Our remaining six are Lolita (Lola), Rouge, Millie, Chuckles, Doodles and Finlay. At the moment, Lola is the queen, and likes to express herself by eating, drinking and going out first. It's quite funny to watch.
A few days ago, we noticed that Chuckles wasn't looking too good. She was shy and quiet, which
is strange because she is usually very confident. The ex battery hen forum was very helpful, and it turns out that Chuckles might have a bacterial infection, which may be the cause of her upset tummy. The forum recommended Retford Poultry Partnership, which examines a sample of poo and sends medicine. My daughter went to the post office yesterday so fingers crossed, everything is going to be ok.
How are your hens doing now? Great blog x
ReplyDeletei hope chuckles will be well soon, i have had my girls for about a year and a half now, and im still learning but as you said these books can be a great help if you become stuck x i look forward in reading to see how you are all getting on x helen x
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