Well, today was D-Day for the three cockerels at the allotment. I always find this very difficult. DH and OC (Other Chap) went to the Allotment to catch the three boys and take them away to cull them.
The one good thing (if there can be a good thing) is it meant that the 8 Taffo chicks from here could go to the Allotment, where they'll have even more room. DGS (Number 1 Grandson is staying here for a few days) went down to the Allotment with me to do all the housekeeping today. We started by cleaning and spraying the coop, po it could be drying whilst we did everything else. We topped up the feeders, cleaned the waterers and put fresh water in, poo picked the Black Ladies coop, force fed them their vitamins and put out some Avipro-laced yoghurt.; Roo and Mrs had some yoghurt too. Then we sprinkled corn in all runs to give the chooks something to forage for, and finally set about catchig and boxing the 4 little girls.
It was surprisingly easy. I imagine they were still a bit shell shocked from the boys disappearing an hour or so earlier. We popped them into boxes, and brought them home. Meanwhile, DH (having dealt with the boys) came home, and cleaned out the Cube ready for the girls.
When I arrived, we let the girls out into a temporary netted pen, caught the 8 Taffos and boxed them, and DH took them to the Allotment. I moved the Cube to new ground, put the girls in, put up the temporary fencing. I then raked over the ground where the Taffos were, and we'll soak it tonight using water from the water butts (most of which is our cold-run-off water, where we run the shower or a tap before the hot water comes through).
As soon as the two Welsh Black ladies are fully healed (which should only be a couple of weeks as the scabs are now healing rapidly) and we have reunited the breeding flock, we'll need to plan how to introduce the orange-ringed sasso (who's mum had to be put down) and the Welsh Black from the egg that was laid on the way home from Wales). The plan (which, let's face it, might well change due to unforeseen circumstances) is to move them back to the Allotment into Roo and Mrs Roo's empty pen. They can then get used to the breeding flock, before we start to integrate them.
The other Sasso girls, the one with a dodgy looking wing, also has very large but stumpy legs. She definitely won't cope in the breeding pen, so we'll keep her (along with the Australorp) toj introduce to our Garden Girls, when ghe two of them are a bit older and maybe a bit more able to deal with it. I don't honestly know if she'll cope with that either, but I'd like to give her a chance as she is a sweet natured little thing (has been right from the beginning).
The one good thing (if there can be a good thing) is it meant that the 8 Taffo chicks from here could go to the Allotment, where they'll have even more room. DGS (Number 1 Grandson is staying here for a few days) went down to the Allotment with me to do all the housekeeping today. We started by cleaning and spraying the coop, po it could be drying whilst we did everything else. We topped up the feeders, cleaned the waterers and put fresh water in, poo picked the Black Ladies coop, force fed them their vitamins and put out some Avipro-laced yoghurt.; Roo and Mrs had some yoghurt too. Then we sprinkled corn in all runs to give the chooks something to forage for, and finally set about catchig and boxing the 4 little girls.
It was surprisingly easy. I imagine they were still a bit shell shocked from the boys disappearing an hour or so earlier. We popped them into boxes, and brought them home. Meanwhile, DH (having dealt with the boys) came home, and cleaned out the Cube ready for the girls.
When I arrived, we let the girls out into a temporary netted pen, caught the 8 Taffos and boxed them, and DH took them to the Allotment. I moved the Cube to new ground, put the girls in, put up the temporary fencing. I then raked over the ground where the Taffos were, and we'll soak it tonight using water from the water butts (most of which is our cold-run-off water, where we run the shower or a tap before the hot water comes through).
As soon as the two Welsh Black ladies are fully healed (which should only be a couple of weeks as the scabs are now healing rapidly) and we have reunited the breeding flock, we'll need to plan how to introduce the orange-ringed sasso (who's mum had to be put down) and the Welsh Black from the egg that was laid on the way home from Wales). The plan (which, let's face it, might well change due to unforeseen circumstances) is to move them back to the Allotment into Roo and Mrs Roo's empty pen. They can then get used to the breeding flock, before we start to integrate them.
The other Sasso girls, the one with a dodgy looking wing, also has very large but stumpy legs. She definitely won't cope in the breeding pen, so we'll keep her (along with the Australorp) toj introduce to our Garden Girls, when ghe two of them are a bit older and maybe a bit more able to deal with it. I don't honestly know if she'll cope with that either, but I'd like to give her a chance as she is a sweet natured little thing (has been right from the beginning).
