Sunday 17 July 2016

Keeping Cool, and Cuddling Together ... on a Hot Day


'Hello', this ewe seems to be saying to me, 'have you got anything tasty to eat' ... they ask me this everytime I go over to the chickens, and yes they get the occasional cabbage leaf.


The others were being sensible and were in the shade at the top of the hill, soon the limited shade will be gone and the paddock will be in full sun, so it makes sense to keep cool while you can.  The one that looks a bit pink has just been treated after am attack of fly strike, I'm  glad Will caught it before it got too bad.


The chickens were hiding from the sun under their wet weather/sun shade, it's just a piece of wood leaning on and attached to the fence.  It's their favourite place to be whatever the weather, and seems to be their meeting and preening place after breakfast and then throughout the day.


I put the little plastic drinker in the other day as I was giving them some Apple Cider Vinegar and I can't put it into the galvanised drinkers as it reacts with the metal, so when I want to dose them with this all the plastic drinkers are called into action.  Chickens are funny creatures they love anything red, so this is currently the place to go for your drink, so I am spending a lot of time topping up this diddy little drinker while they ignore the big one right next to it..


Keeping cool in the henhouse, but still cuddling up together are new best mates Ebony, the Black Pekin bantam and Jill, the Lavender Pekin bantam.  

I put them in one nest box together the other week out of frustration, as all four nest boxes were full of broody birds, so putting the two littlest in together while frequently chucking out the large Black Marans was the only way to have any room for the layers to get on with laying their eggs in peace everyday.  They've really hit it off and when they do get up and go out to stretch their legs and have something to eat and drink they do it together, and then make their way back to a nesting box ... they don't mind which one as long as they can sit together, and inside the henhouse with both the front door and the window open it is lovely and cool all day.

Sue xx


14 comments:

  1. Hallo Sue, I'm afraid I can't comment on chickens and their behaviour as I don't have any, nor do I know of anyone with them, apart from my Grandad when I was a child. What I am commenting on is the weather as you have the best of it. Here in South Wales we've had continual rain and drizzle since Friday (St Swithans Day), so I don't hold out much hope for us for the next 37/38 days. Make the most of it.

    Joan (Wales)

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    1. It must just be our turn for the good weather, a couple of weeks ago it was South Wales with all the good weather and we were shivering and very, very wet .

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  2. Really really hot here in Essex and its due to stay until Friday. Trying to use the lettuce before it bolts and keep everything watered.

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  3. Sue, could you please send us some of that hot, sunny weather up here to the Yorkshire Dales - it is fifteen degrees and windy with it.

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  4. Could I ask why chickens need cider apple vinegar? Thanks

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    1. It's brilliant for their digestive systems. As the ACV you buy for chickens is not the pasteurised kind it is also antiseptic and mildly antibiotic so it's good for their immune systems too.

      I give it them about once a month, just a couple of tablespoons in their drinking water.

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  5. Hi Sue, I am an avid reader but never commented before :) I'm hoping to adopt 4 ex-caged chickens, I have the run, I have the cage but what else would I need? Obviously ACV and a plastic drinker, but what else? Maybe you could do a post on the essentials of chicken keeping, I know I would find that very useful. Thanks.

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    1. You really don't need much to keep chickens especially if you get some ex-caged birds, they are lovely birds and so easy to keep as long as they don't have any medical problems.

      You have the basics with your house and run, (I hope it is a house rather than a cage!!) to start off you will then just need some Layers Pellets, ACV and Diatom. I'll do a post about how I keep our chooks and you can have a read.

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    2. Thanks Sue, yes it's a plastic coop designed for 6 chickens with 2 perches and 2 nesting boxes (not an eglu, they look great but a bit too expensive for me).

      The run is 4m x 4m and fully enclosed with a skirt (we have foxes around here).

      I'm looking forward to reading more about your chooks, thank you.

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  6. I wish I could live the life you do. Animals are so precious to me. Hard work, I know, but rewarding!

    Jane

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  7. Lovely post about your Chickens Sue - I myself am now a confirmed "chickaholic" and I always like to read about other people's chickens. I was just going to ask you about the apple cider vinegar as I have just bought some for my girls, but another lady beat me to it. Do you just give it for a day once a month - I don't want to other do them. On the weather front - still waiting for some decent weather here in Stockport - what a wash-out! Kind regards, Louise S, Cheshire.

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  8. I do love your chickens, they each have a personality that is unique.

    God bless.

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  9. Amateur hen keepers never understand the need of hens to drink long and often in hot weather do they?

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  10. Ps three silkie bantam cockerels arrived today

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