My Chickens So Far...

Leia - We got her and Ahsoka from Omlet when we first got the Eglu in March 2012. They were named after Star Wars characters (what Jude was into at the time). Leia was beautiful, and the top hen of the two. On the first night I was trying to get her into the cage and she escaped, ran up my arm and gave me a massive scratch on the neck! She was never as friendly, and always harder to catch, than Ahsoka. She also went broody a couple of times. Unfortunately she got very swollen (possibly egg yolk peritonitis) and I had to take her to the vets to be put to sleep in early January. Even worse, it was an emergency appointment as it was a Sunday, and so ended up costing me £90. Ouch.

Ahsoka - always looked a bit scrawny and pecked on, although she was the best layer. But once Leia was gone she absolutely blossomed! She became very plump and her feathers were lovely and shiny. I was worried about her being lonely but now I think she would probably have been fine on her own. Bless her, she was such a good chicken. My girls had lots of cuddles with her. Ahsoka was killed by a fox last Monday. There was no mark on her, no feathers missing, so hopefully it was pretty instant. She and Leia had been free ranging during the day in the garden, as long as I was home, for 2 years. No more unsupervised ranging for my chickens now.

(Having looked for photos of my two original girls, I've realised that most of them are probably on my now-long-defunct iPhone. D'oh.)

Tauriel - (Jude is now into The Hobbit films!) I picked up her and Sally a week or so after Leia passed away, as company for Ahsoka. She had a very large, floppy comb but otherwise appeared to be ok, and started laying a few days after we got her. Ahsoka quickly established herself as top chicken and was quite vicious at first, but it seemed to be settling down. As everybody who rescues battery hens says, it was so lovely to watch their first few days of scratching around. Sadly the fox got her at the same time as Ahsoka - there was just a pile of her feathers in the garden.

And Sally… well, poor Sally deserves a post of her very own.

Chicken Disaster: Fox Attack

The chickens were free-ranging in the garden this morning. Andy and Jude were home, mostly in the front room. I was out with the girls at ballet. I got back at 1pm, asked if the chickens were all right, then went out into the garden to check on them. I saw an enormous fox, which scarpered as soon as I opened the door. It was too late for the chickens. Tauriel and Sally (the ex-bats) had disappeared, and my beautiful, original Ahsoka was lying dead in the corner, feathers everywhere. I’m devastated, and v teary! I’m so so sorry beautiful girls.

My lovely husband cleared away the body and the feathers. He said there wasn’t a mark on her, so hopefully it was very quick. They had had the run of the garden for two years with neither sight nor sound of fox. But, we did hear them at night in the street, and there was evidence of droppings in the garden. Hopefully we will get more chickens, which will still count as free-ranging as they will have 1m squared each in the run. But of course we can’t risk this again! So they will only be able to be supervised loose from now on. At least it will give the grass a chance to grow back.

I miss them so much already, knowing that they’re not pecking away out there. I loved looking after them, and of course the eggs were delicious. I was so looking forward to seeing the ex-battery hens blossom. My heart hurts a little!

Chicken Emergency: damaged claw

I went out around lunchtime to find small pools of blood around the chickens' food bowl. At first I thought that maybe the blood was coming from the vent, but after tracking down the injured chicken (she was hiding under a bush) I saw that she had injured her foot.

Being an ex-battery hen her claws were very long, around twice the length of my free-ranging hen. It looked like she had managed to tear part of it off. There were bloody footprints all over the place. I managed to catch her (it was easier than usual, poor thing!) and took her inside. I didn't want the wound to get too dirty from the very muddy garden.

Chicken Hospital!

I placed her in a washing up bowl with a couple of inches of warm water with a spash of TCP, and cleared the mud off with a toothbrush. I actually did this a couple of times, but probably shouldn't have, because bathing the wound might encourage it to bleed a bit more.

This video was really useful in showing me a good way to hold the chicken, in order to examine the foot. It's actually about how to kill it, so you might not want to watch the whole thing! It's a very informative video though.

Respectful Chicken Harvest

The toe and the stump of the claw bled for ages, and I used some cornflour to try to help it stop. You can also try to bandage the wound, but I thought it might heal quicker if left to air.

Chickens missing each other, so sweet.

I put extra Auboise (bedding) in the run, to try to help keep the foot clean. She was desperate to get back out into the garden, and seemed to be walking around ok. The girls have all gone to bed now. I'll keep an eye on her, and hopefully it will be ok! I've also ordered some "purple spray", which serves the dual function of healing and disguising the wound (other chickens will be attracted to red blood and try to peck it).

Leia and Ahsoka enjoying a dust bath