Flock
Diary : October 1998 - Part One
On 30th September, little Prunella was looking
fluffed and quiet. She was not walking around and pecking like the other hens.
I was concerned, and kept a close eye on her for the rest of the day. She seemed
to be having problems defecating, and she was not eggbound as I had checked
her. I decided to take her to the Vet the next day.
On 1st October the Vet could not discern what
was wrong with Prunella, and warned me that the rodents getting into the hen
shed could spread Salmonella and other fowl diseases. He also advised me to
worm all the hens, and gave me some extra medicine for Prunella in case she
didn't respond to the wormer. On the way home I bought some emergency high-energy-vitamin
mixture to revitalise sick birds with. That afternoon Pruie had her worm treatment
plus some 'sick bird supplement'. On the following day she looked perfectly
healthy -but I continued the worm treatment for the flock for the next two days,
to be sure the hens' guts had been totally purged of worms.
Micheal Caine Alan Partridge Brahma is still
brooding her eggs, so I didn't disturb her from her nest to worm her this time
- she will have to wait until her eggs have hatched before she is wormed. The
Brahma is brooding her foster clutch well, and appears to love it. She is so
obsessively broody that I have to check that she gets off the nest to eat and
drink by gently encouraging her to do so every morning. A broody hen saves up
all her dropping and deposits them away from the nest in one huge clump, so
that she only has to leave the nest once per day. I can check on Brahma's health
by counting her droppings, and checking that there is one for each day of her
broodiness - this would indicate that she has been eating properly.
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Above: Ernie
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Ernie is now 'Top Hen' in the pecking
order, with the Brahma now in seperate quarters with her potential new
family. Ernie is very pleased with this state of affairs, and takes great
pleasure in keeping the other birds away from the tastiest morsels in
the food bowl. If White Tara attempts to steal something of Ernie's, she
will angrily peck Tara on the head, who will complain out loud and peck
Prunella, if she is near. Prunella has balefully accepted her position
as 'Bottom Hen'. This is natural hen behaviour - it does sound harsh,
and sometimes I wish that all the birds would treat each other as equals,
but the 'Pecking Order is as vital to hens' wellbeing as are dustbathing
and grit. It seems to make them feel more secure to know their place in
the scheme of Flock things. Ernie regards me with a special respect since
I saved her from the jaws of the fox in May. She runs to greet me whenever
I go into the garden, and follows me around if I start doing garden jobs.
Each time I go out through the garden gate, Ernie tries to follow me,
thinking that we would be going on a trip around to the front garden.
On Tuesday 6th October I discovered that
Brahma had been eating very little and felt very light, even though I
didn't weigh her. Carefully I removed her from her nest and fed her two
beakfuls of grain by hand, which she spat out disgustedly. It was obvious
that the Brahma needed some nutrition, so I quickly mixed up some 'special
formula for sick hens' for her and gave her three crop-tubes full. She
deposited her single large dropping, and returned to her nest. Brahma's
dropping was extremely loose, and the feathers around her bottom were
soaked. I inspected her nest, and found that there was a wet smelly patch
corresponding with the place on which Brahma's vent must lie. I changed
the hay at that patch, making sure I didn't disturb things too much, and
let Brahma rearrange her nest as she wanted.
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Also on 6th October, a pair of geese arrived
!
Above: Left - goose; Right - gander
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The gander has been advertised in a local
Pet Shop, as 'lonely gander free to a good home'. When I telephoned and
enquired, I was offered a goose as well, to keep the gander company. The
geese arrived in plastic bags with their necks sticking out comically,
and were let out in the centre of the back garden. Their owners told me
the basics of goose care and behaviour, so I would be able to provide
for their needs properly. The 2 and a half year old gander was pure white,
with orange/pink legs and an orange beak. His eyes were an amazing clear
bright blue - so blue that they looked false and strange. His four year
old mate was a pale buff colour, with paler, diluted blue eyes and pinky
orange beak and legs. She would lay eggs for about a month in Spring,
starting at around February. The geese' requirements were simple: During
the day they would forage for food, eating slugs, nails, grass and other
vegetation. At night they would be given a couple of handfuls of corn,
before bed. They slept in a bed of hay in the rabbit hutch. They needed
water deep enough to put their heads into to preen and drink - a bucket
is ideal. Geese will live to about 15 years old or even more ! Their owners
were sad to see their geese go, but glad that they had a good home.
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The hens stared at their larger waterfowl cousins
in amazement. Ernie and White Tara kept well away, but Prunella decided to make
a stand! The geese needed to go into the shed, to be shown and investigate their
living-quarters. If any of the hens came near the geese, the larger birds would
put their heads down and hiss and honk at the hens. The other hens moved away,
but Pruie didn't, and so the gander lowered his head and hissed at her. The
hen still didn't move, so the gander hissed again. All of a sudden Pruie bravely
flew up at the gander's head, trying to attack him with her beak and claws.
She tried this repeatedly, and the gander hissed, honked and tried to peck at
Pruie. I considered seperating them, but decided that it wouldbe better that
the birds sorted out their differences with me present than have an accident
happen with me absent. On the hen's fourth attack the gander knocked her off-balance
with his neck, and pulled out a couple of her feathers with his beak. Pruie
retreated, and neither her nor the gander were injured at all. Later in the
day Pruie tried to attack the gander again, but he defeated her in exactly the
same way. She hasn't tried again since. The geese hiss at me, too, but the gander
is only protecting his mate, and as long as he doesn't attack me using his wings,
I don't mind. He should get used to me soon.
So that the geese could make full use of the
garden, I needed to clip back some brambles which had grown over the path, and
fix up the holes in the fencing at the very top end. I herded the geese up to
the top of the garden so they could get used to me and get to know their new
territory. I had taken an apple with me to eat, and when I had finished it I
threw the core into the deep Ivy under a large Fir tree. Immediately the goose
locked her vision onto the object which I had thrown, anddid not take her eyes
off it until it had landed. She walked forward as her eyes followed the arc
of the flying core, leapt at it and swallowed it whole when it landed. This
was extremely amusing, as the goose is the least agile of the pair, being a
little unsteady on her feet at times. The geese cannot move very fast in general,
with their legs attached so far back on their bodies. If they try to run with
any speed, they can overbalance very easily. When they feel this happening they
generally spread their majestic wings and use them to add stability. They are
also not too good on rough ground, and the garden is very tussocky and dippy
in places - they often overbalance if they tread into a flower bed, falling
into it and sitting dazed for a few seconds while their brains register what
just happened. The geese will probably get more familiar with the holes, lumps
and bumps as they get used to their new environment.
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Above left: The gander about to ward
off Prunella
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On 8th October, the geese were eating
out of my hand. I bought some large grain for them, and as soon as they
saw the bag full of it they came running toward me. When they reached
me they honked at me, reaching their necks toward the food. I walked further
up the garden, and the geese trotted after me as fast as their ungainly
webbed feet could carry them. The geese were not frightened of me at all,
and were happy to eat from my hands. Geese are messy eaters, and spill
a lot when they feed. This attracted Ernie, who came running toward us
up the garden. The geese hissed at her, so she was wise and kept herself
between them and me, using my body to hide behind as protection. While
she thought the geese weren't looking, she would creep closer and steal
some of the goose spillage. She was very quick and good at this, but at
one point the gander noticed her, and grabbed some of her feathers in
his beak. He didn't pull them as he had with Prunella, he just seemed
to be 'mouthing' them to make Ernie feel uncomfortable and drive her away.
However, this did not discourage Ernie and she continued to tidy the mess
the geese were making, but kept an extra-special eye on the gander this
time !
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The October weather has been getting extremely
chilly. The air temperature was so low at 9.00 am on 9th October that clouds
of condensation were made when I breathed out. I wasa little concerned about
the Brahma brooding her eggs, as theweather had fluctuated considerably since
she started herbroodiness. Brahma's broody behaviour was triggered by an 'Indian
Summer' in mid-September. As soon as Brahma was given her eggs, the weather
became unusually humid and damp, with heavy rain every day. At the start of
October cold winds came from Siberia. The winds have now calmed down now, but
the weather has stayed cold. I decided to take the air temperature at 9.00 am
on 9th October, which was only 4 degrees Celcius, the coldest so far this Autumn.
The temperature underneath the broody Brahma was 30degrees Celcius ! Hopefully
her eggs will be okay, and if any chicks do hatch out, their mother had better
dry them quickly before they catch cold in this Autumn weather.
That afternoon I decided to test the geese' effectiveness
at discouraging foxes. I left the hen run door openso that they could forage
in the garden with the geese while I went into town for four hours. I was a
little worried that I would return to find two geese and no hens - but I need
not have been concerned. When I did arrive back, I could see the gander in the
hen run and his mate standing outside. As I came through the gate, Ernie ran
down the garden as fast as she could to greet me, followed shortly afterwards
by White Tara - but there was no sign of the little ginger Prunella. Ernie and
White Tara kept staring up at me quizzically, looking from me to their run and
clucking. This obviously meant that the hens wanted me to get the geese out
of their run ! The geese had eaten ALL of the hens' food - the poor little cluckers'
bowl was completely empty, and the geese had not washed off the incriminating
evidence: hen mash encrusted around their beaks. I tried to shoo the gander
out of the henrun, but he had either forgotten how to get out or was refusing
point blank. So I had to pick him up and carry him out and up the garden. He
didn't struggle or try to attack me when I picked him up - he waved his webbed
feet a little and stared at me indignantly, shocked that I should have the audacity
to lift him off his feet like that. I hoped that the fact that I had picked
him up in the run would discourage him from going in there again. I encouraged
both the geese further up the garden, and provided the hens with more food,
locking them in their run so that they could eat in peace.
I checked the hens for mites on 10th October.
I found none on Ernie, none on Prunella, and only a single mite on White Tara.
The Eucalyptus Oil I have been treating the hens with is obviously working extremely
well. I treated the hens again, to ensure death of any mites which eluded my
searching, and toprevent any re-infestation of the birds. Michael Caine Alan
Partridge Brahma will need to be treated as soon as she is off the nest. I have
decided to wait until then to avoid possible contamination damage to the forming
chicks - the Eucalyptus Oil may be dangerous for them, as would any other parasite
treatment in the nest, or on the Brahma's feathers.
Since the geese have been here, White Tara has
become much more confident with me. She still does not like to be caught, but
will crouch for me to pick her up more readily. When I do pick her up, she does
not struggle unless she feels that I am not holding and supporting her properly.
She produces a coupleof stattacco clucks when she wants to be put down. She
follows Ernie around when Ernie follows me, so maybe White Tara has realised
that I am more of an ally and protector of hens than a predator to be terrified
of.
I have decided to call the gander "Pseudo-Swan"
(Pseudo for short), because he is so beautifully white and unusual looking he
could almost be a swan......he certainly has the swan's arrogant look and aloofness.
Above: The geese feeding (Pseudo-Swan left;Brecon
Buff goose right)
By 12th October the hens and geese had got a
lot more used to each other. I have now discovered that the gander is a breed
of goose called 'Embden', which is a meat breed. Embdens have blue eyes, and
are all the colouring of Mr.Pseudo-Swan. Pseudo-Swan shouts at the hens every
morning as they are all let out, but this is because they simply get too close
to him. Once all the birds have had a chance to disperse, the whole situation
quitetens. When I walk into the garden, Ernie and Pruie run as fast as they
can down the garden to meet me, closely followed by White Tara. The geese pause
for a while, and then slowly amble down toward me as if to see what the hens
are fussing about. The hens don't bother so much about keeping away from the
geese - Ernie and Prunella have definitely realised that the geese cannot harm
them..........White Tara is still a little wary of them.
Above: White Tara plucking up the courage
to approach the geese, and steal a morsel of their food
When I leave the garden, Ernie, Prunella and
White Tara stand at the gate, watching me walk away down the path. Prunella
stares at the top of the gate, flexes her legs, judges her distance, and skilfully
lands atop the gate. She then looks at me, pauses, and alights on the ground
on the opposite side of the gate from the other birds. Prunella then calmly
forages her way to the neighbour's apple tree to peck at the windfalls. One
day she explored further afield, and had to be rescued from a garden two doors
down - I was unaware that she had disappeared until she realised that she was
seperate from her flock, became uneasy and started shouting loudly. When I returned
her to her own territory, she immediately jumped atop the gate again. This behaviour
had to be stopped, so I decided to clip Pruie's left wing to hopefully stop
her waywardness. All my hens had had their wings clipped to stop their escape
from the garden as soon as they arrived at this residence in February 1998.
However, after the May fox attacks all the hens were kept in enclosed areas,
and therefore there was no nescessity for precautionary wing-clipping. White
Tara, Prunella and the late Sybil had never had their wings clipped before this
point. Ernie and Michael Caine Alan Partridge Brahma still have their left wings
clipped, as they have not finished moulting and feather replacement. Brahma
has replaced three feathers on her clipped wing, but Ernie has not moulted at
all so far, which I find a little strange. Ater I had clipped Pruie's wing,
I was shocked to see her leap straight back onto the top of the gate and over
it ! The problem had to be tackled in an alternative way - so I fixed some wire
to the top of the gate, so Prunella would not be able to focus on it properly
to land on it. I didn't bother clipping White Tara's wing, because she has never
tried to leap atop thegate or any of the fences in the garden, for that matter.
Maybe she is now too heavy to leap that far, as she weighs over 5 lb !
Michael Caine Alan Partridge Brahma is continuing
to brood her eggs very well - I make sure she gets up off the nest every morning
to eat and drink, and then leave her alone for the rest of the day. Her eggs
are due to hatch in three days' time, on 16th October. I am glad that her sitting
period is nearly over, as Brahma has lost 135 grammes since 30th September.
I will be so pleased when she is off the nest and eating properly again, and
any chicks which hatch will be a bonus.
Above: Prunella, White Tara and Ernie enjoying
a mixed meal of grated vegetables, cooked basmati rice, poultry mash, broken
mini-cheddar biscuits, and a little leftover curry mixed with some water to
add moisture and bind it all together !
At around 4.00 pm on Tuesday 13th October Ernie
was not her usual bright and inquisitive self. She had seemed perfectly alright
earlier in the day - I first noticed that something must be wrong at about 3.30,
when I called Ernie over to pick up some worms I had just unearthed. She slowly
walked over to me and glanced at the worm disinterestedly. I poked it for her
to make it wriggle, but still she didn't peck it. I picked it up, waved it in
front of her face, then dropped it again. Ernie stared at it for a while, then
ate it unenthusiastically. This was most unlike her, as she would usually run
full pelt toward me if I called her to offer her a worm, and peck up any others
before I have a chance to spot them. Earlier in the day she had been following
me around and chatting as usual, taking an interest in my activities and looking
up at me quizzically.
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At 4.00 pm Ernie stood still in the run
with her head pulled in, closing her eyes from time to time. I was shocked
and very concerned to see her like that, so immediately I prepared some
'special emergency sick bird medicine' for Ernie, in the hope that it
would perk her up and make her better. The medicine dosage is calculated
by weight, and I noticed that Ernie had lost 75g between 30th September
and 9th October. I called Ernie out of the run, and she responded, which
pleased me. I stood her on my lap and fed her the medicine via a crop
tube. Ernie struggled as I put the tube down her throat for the first
tubeful, then she allowed me to administer the rest of the four tubefuls
in a more dignified manner. She then settled herself down onto my lap
and sat with me for a while, as I stroked her neck and throat. Ernie had
not laid an egg that day.
On the following day, Ernie seemed her
bright and curious normal self. She laid an egg, and I took the opportunity
to photograph her as she prepared herself and her nest.
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Michael Caine Alan Partridge Brahma continues
to brood her eggs - I wonder if she is aware of the imminent hatching event(s)
which may occur within the next forty-eight hours......
Below left: Michael Caine Alan PartridgeBrahma
sitting on her five eggs. She has fluffed up all her feathers to make herself
look bigger, in an attempt to drive meaway from her nest. She has been incubating
the eggs for 21 days now.
Below right: The Brahma taking a pause from
incubation to eat and drink.
The geese appear to be settling in well. However,
today they caused chaos in the hen shed. I let them out in the morning as usual,
placing the hens' food in their run with the door closed. The hens could then
access their food without the geese getting into their run and stealing the
food. When I went to visit the birds at lunchtime, I found the hens in their
run, the goose with her head in the oven nestbox, investigating it thoroughly,
and the gander was standing on the droppings board with his entire head and
neck pushed through the pop-hole, trying to reach the hens' food.
Pseudo was not stuck, he just couldn't fit the
rest of his body through the pop-hole he was so desperate to get through. I
picked him up, and carried him back up into the garden. The goose had pushed
the pot eggs right up to the back of the nestbox, and I found a broken hens'
egg. The goose may not have broken the egg, the hen who laid it could just as
easily have been the culprit. I encouraged both geese up to the top of the garden
and sprinkled a little grain into the grass to encourage the geese to stay in
the main part of the garden. The geese searched for every single piece of grain
with their long beaks - the geeses' beaks are fascinating. The nostrils are
positioned much lower down their beaks compared with the hens'configuration.
The goose beak must be extremely touch-sensitive in order for the birds to detect
tiny objects in the grass. The beak has serrated edges which the goose uses
to clip off tough vegetation, and a rounded tip with which the goose can nip
if it so desires. The serrated beak of the goose accentuates the reptilian ancestry
of birds.
On the evening of Thursday 15th October, some
faint cheeping was heard emanating from under the Brahma hen -she must have
hatched an egg !. The evening was cold, so it was decided that no investigation
would be made until morning as I didn't want any hatchlings to get chilled.
Stay tuned for the
"October Part 2" installment, featuring Michael Caine Alan Partridge
Brahma and her newly hatched adopted chicks.....
To Flock Diary 2001 - January,
February and March 2001 / April and May 2001
To Flock Diary 2000 - January 2000 / February, March, April 2000
/ May 2000 / June 2000 / Stroud Show 1st July 2000 / July 2000 /
August 2000 / Painswick
Show 13th August 2000 / September 2000 / October, November & December 2000
To Flock Diary 1999 - January 1999 / February 1999 / March , April 1999 / May , June 1999 /
Stroud Show 1999 /
July 1999 / August 1999 / September 1999 / October 1999 / November 1999 / December 1999
To Flock Diary 1997 & 1998 - August to December 1997 / January, February and March 1998
/ April 1998 / May 1998 / June 1998 / July 1998 / August 1998 / September 1998 / October 1998 - Part One / October 1998 - Part Two /
November 1998 - Part One /
November 1998 - Part Two / December 1998