Saturday 26 October 2013

Hen's Day Out

We still have our white hen Didee in an isolation pen so that the other two won't peck at her and so far it seems to be going well.  On Friday the sun was shining so I let her out for a while with the others, thinking that they'd all be so happy in the warmth that they would leave each other alone.  I was wrong.  When I brought her inside at the end of the day for her daily antiseptic wound-cleaning there was a new bit of the wound that had been pecked... it is such a shame.  I can't risk it again as I want her wound to heal up, so I will have to just keep her on her own and not feel too sorry for her.  It really is for her own good.
At least the wound wasn't oozing any puss, but there are a lot of red/black scabs unfortunately.

As for the other hens, they are gobbling up the seeds that we give them and not really eating any of the layers pellets, so we shall have to stop giving them seeds I think.  The pellets are specifically designed to give them all the nutrients they need so we must do all that we can to encourage them to eat these.

3 comments:

  1. I am so bad! I haven't been on here for months!

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  2. Poor Didee, sounds like isolation is definitely the right place for her at the moment. My 4 have gone off their pellets as well. We only give them a small amount of mixed corn late in the day but they still aren't eating much, I wonder if it was because they are moulting...

    Alison
    x

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  3. It's too bad they can't leave her alone! Poor girl. Hopefully she heals quickly so she can return to the flock. But I agree it's best to keep her isolated for now.

    I know what you mean about the girls filling up on treats. What I have been doing lately is wait until they eat some of their pellets in the morning before giving any treats. That way I know they are getting their nutrients!

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