2 dead chickens?

NIGEL:

Well a few weeks ago I went down to let the chooks out one morning & dead on the coop floor was a Wyandotte hen! All the chooks had been acting healthily & were not showing any signs of illness or disease. I know chooks can die at any age & from minor issues to major ones. I buried it in the woods. Then about 3 weeks later I let the chooks out & went to feed the goats & there was another dead Wyandotte hen! She just died & was super healthy looking???

So, being Sunday we bagged her & put her in the freezer. Immediately Monday I contacted the NC Animal Laboratory & chatted with their chicken expert. He said to only ever place them in the refrigerator as freezing eliminates several tests they can do. He said that by the sounds of it, the stress of going into winter was the cause.... the lessening of the daylight hours mostly. So we are to monitor them closely, feed them vitamins (leafy vegetables) & talk to them!

Since then the chooks still appear to be healthy & fine & the leg laying numbers have been between 10 - 16 which is great!

Daisy & New Barn

NIGEL:

Well the new barn is working well. We lock Daisy in there to feed & at night to ensure she has shelter in the winter. She enjoys not having to watch her left & right constantly, while feeding, for a set of horns to the ribs or worse. I winterized the barn even more to block the crazy winds we have been experiencing lately.

Added Another Barn!

NIGEL:

Originally we anticipated that the goats would sort the pecking order & then get along reasonably well. Unfortunately this hasn't really happened! Daisy, being completely passive, is at the bottom of the pecking order, which is fine. The problem is that the French Alpines (especially Lunch & Chards) bully her beyond the pecking order activities (according to what we have read). Lunch would drive his quite long & sharp horns into her midriff so hard it would lift her off the ground...& sometimes drive her into the barn wall!!

With winter approaching (we've been relatively lucky as it has been mild) I needed to ensure all had shelter from freezing rain, snow & blistering winds 30-70 mph! So I added another barn using as much leftover materials as possible/practical, while the weather was decent (& not so decent as well!).

Not being able to use concrete (too cold for it to set properly) I have completed a 2nd small barn by digging deep holes into the ground to anchor the framework. Susan now calls the coop & two barns.... the compound! This one has a window for the warmer months, doors, a feeder & another rain barrel.

It will also come in handy if/when we breed kids from Merlot & Daisy. The trouble has been finding a Boer billy to be the sire. Most Boer goats appear to "live off the mountain," so I am a little behind it getting them mated.

I also added to the 1st barn (see first 3 photos), by extending the shelter all the way to the coop & adding a small awning to limit wind blown rain from entering the shelters. In both barns the floors below the sleeping lofts are now completely concrete block to provide dry areas to stand & lay. We have a had, & continue to have, loads of rain which flows down the slopes of our yard & paddocks. A lot flows through the barn areas. The goats definitely have a choice of cover, although I am locking Daisy in the new barn at night to be sure she is under cover.

While Away

NIGEL:

While away Jane had several helpers at different times. Her father, Mr John, was very serious about it, checking the fences & gates regularly while he was there. We moved all the chickens into the same area including our two remaining roosters... Buster & 46. Well 46 wasn't being his welcoming self when we entered the chicken yards... & tried to attack whenever he determined it was needed, which was almost anytime we went into the yard! Susan's favorite story about Mr John was just before we left....

Susan, Mr John (who is typically understated) & Jane were putting the chickens to bed (locking them in the coop) & doing the head count. Mr John had the numbers written done.... & his call was.... "7 white, 16 black 1 rooster & 1 SOB!" Hah!

All were alive & well on our return although the hen's laying had dropped dramatically!

Sorry... & the cull

NIGEL:

Sorry it has been a looong time!

Getting ready for our trip to NZ & the Rugby World Cup consumed us. Then catching up on our return did the same!

In prep for Susan's step-mom Jane to look after the chickens, goats, fish & of course Austin & Boomer, we decided to cull most of the roosters. The young ones, although quirky & fun, were mounting the hens & so we decided it was time. We also culled Blackbeard & Jack as they were not as happy being separated from the hens, even after Susan explained why!

Yes you have to talk to the hens, otherwise their laying patterns will alter.

We also culled Bruce as he was beginning to act more rooster-ish! Yes crowing & chasing hens.

So our neighbor Josh wanted to be involved & we culled late one afternoon. Bruce was soooo fat it was unbelievable! (see the photo of the large hunk of fat I removed from him!!!). He had at least 4 times the fat of the other chickens. Josh was excited so we gave him Bruce to enjoy.