Flock Diary - October 1999

On 1st October Ernie laid her first egg in a very long time. It was tiny - only 4cm long and 2 cm across. She didn't lay any more after that.

Below: Greencell, White Tara and Nicad in the garden on 4th October 1999.

On 9th October the flock were weighed and checked for external parasites and moulting progress.

During October I'd occaisionally notice that little Roadkill had gone missing. Every day she would disappear for some time, returning to the flock later. On more than one occaision I tried to follow her, but her route was so cryptic that this was impossible.

Late-Summer to Autumn is the time of year in which hens are supposed to moult, but this motley flock seem to have decided to do things differently and be late this year!. Most of them are now in full moult, or are just beginning to moult. The ex-Battery hens are the most mixed up - some have only just started the moult - which is not surprising, seeing as they had never been allowed to function as natural birds in the Battery Sheds, and therefore their hormonal cycles are all out of skew.

On 24th October Roadkill came to visit us in the kitchen. She had walked into the house of her own accord while the back door was open for a few minutes. Maybe she had remembered her time in the house, and had decided to return ! But she wasn't allowed to, and I put her back into the back garden.

During the last few weeks of October, Energiser (one of the first batch of rescued Battery Hens) deteriorated, and became very ill. Shortly after her rescue on 31st October 1998 she caught a cold, and exacerbated by her previous infection of lungworm, which damaged her lungs and left her with a slight respiratory problem. However, Energiser continued to enjoy life and held a high place in the flock pecking order.

But, during October she caught another cold and her breathing problem worsened so much that she needed to be brought into a hospital cage in the house. Poor Energiser could only sit with closed eyes and beak open, making a huge effort just to take a breath of air. Each time she breathed in and out she made a horrible rasping noise. Her weight plummeted, and she looked thoroughly miserable. We couldn't bear to see her in that state, so we decided to take her to the Vet for euthanasia. But before her appointment, she was allowed to have a walk around in the garden for half an hour or so, to enable her to get the most enjoyment from her last moments.

Little Energiser will not be forgotten.

Energiser, 27th October 1999

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On 31st October 1999 little Roadkill went missing completely. She didn't return by chickens' bedtime, as she had without fail on every day she had escaped so far. I was worried that she may have been caught by a stray dog or aggressive feral cat. I searched the woodland and wasteland adjacent to the fowl enclosure, but to no avail. I searched until it got dark, calling to Roadkill, but found nothing. I abandoned the search until the morning, hoping that Roadkill would return of her own accord, if she was still alive.

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