We’re cautiously optimistic that Charity is better … we’ve not been able to watch closely in the maelstrom that is exam season in this house this year, but whenever I look out of the window, she’s up and about, with head and tail erect, unless she’s eating! I’ve not been able to pick her up [...]
All posts by LB
Cautiously Optimistic …
Posted by LB on May 25, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/cautiously-optimistic/
Still thinking …
I’m still thinking about Charity – she seems to have good days and bad days. If I’d seen any feathers anywhere, I’d say she was suffering as new feathers came through, but there’s no sign of a moult. But however she’s feeling, she’s not joining in as usual. Indeed, she’s not claiming to be top [...]
Posted by LB on May 20, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/still-thinking/
A little better?
Yesterday, I separated Charity from the others in the Eglu for a few hours, and left her with a bowl of mash, including some mealworm, oats, pellets, natural yoghurt, cod liver oil, limestone flour and Epsom salts! A little bit of everything – yummy! She did drink a little water, but wasn’t really interested in [...]
Posted by LB on May 15, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/a-little-better/
Not looking so good …
… later in the day. This is a perfect illustration of a poorly hen, droopy tail, head withdrawn, apart on her own, even if there are goodies available elsewhere While at the other end of the Hen Garden …
Posted by LB on May 12, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/not-looking-so-good/
Charity gets a bath …
Charity was looking down in the tail today … still able to run for a handful of corn, but quiet and in a corner. Not like herself at all. I’ve been keeping an eye on her rear end for signs of a broken egg or a runny poo … nothing obvious today but her feathers [...]
Posted by LB on May 12, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/charity-gets-a-bath/
And still it rains …
It’s been wet for some time now and the ground is sodden. The last load of woodchip we had (from the local council) wasn’t very good and it’s long since rotted down, so the hens are on mud … and of course, that means their eggs are dirty. But the new grass seed is beginning [...]
Posted by LB on May 10, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/and-still-it-rains/
Thin shelled eggs
The large thinned shelled eggs that we always assumed were Bridget’s offering, clearly weren’t. We’re still getting them from time to time and our suspicions focus on Charity. There’s no good reason why her shells are thin, but the evidence is that she lays a softie from time to time. They have sufficient grit and [...]
Posted by LB on May 8, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/thin-shelled-eggs/
So the plan is …
DH would like to add some ex-batts to our brood, but not until after the summer and our holiday, so that we’ll be here to look after them (at least until October half term, and they’ll probably be integrated by then?). Hopefully there will be some available in early September. In the meanwhile, I plan [...]
Posted by LB on April 30, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/so-the-plan-is/
Now we are six …
… because our dearest hen Bridget is gone. I was out in the garden and noticed a sudden kerfuffle amongst the girls who were all gathered round Bridget and I thought perhaps she was ill, but by the time I reached her, she was already gone She was well over four years old, one of [...]
Posted by LB on April 28, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/now-we-are-six/
It’s raining, it’s pouring …
…. and the woodchip is mostly mud And, of course, our eggs are all muddy, too. As the run is static, we can’t move them across the other side of the garden for a season, which would be ideal, if a lot of hard work. I dream of a house with outbuildings where we could [...]
Posted by LB on April 26, 2012
http://henkeeper.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/its-raining-its-pouring/
Hen Pics
