Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Ting Tong seems to have made it!

Not wishing to tempt fate or anything but TT is up and about and has now been moved to a secure pen outside.

We have still not received so much as a penny from the disgraceful neighbour whose dog killed 8 of our beautiful recovered birds. Shame on him!


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Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Ting Tong is still hanging on

Sometimes she looks perkier than others, she holds her head up and looks around and then drops it again looking very unhappy.
We are giving her Battles Tonic and Complan and I hope it will kick in and give her a boost.
Will keep you posted



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Thankyou to Helen and Nick :-)

We just want to say a whopping thankyou to Helen and Nick Orlowskyj for donating the fab shed with attached run to protect our hens from the mauling dog.
We will add a picture once it is in situ. Thanks again, We can protect more of these little chooks that just want a happy retirement.



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Midnightish Tues-Weds update



Still no improvement from Ting Tong Magadangdang.

We now have some Complan and Battles Poultry tonic but can only syringe to her as she has lost all will to eat or drink. Even having her sister in the crate with her hasn't given her the nudge she needs.
Both her legs are working but she won't stand so when she messes, she sits in it so is hard work as she is a ball of feathers.

The picture above is her in better days when I 1st got her for Lyns last birthday.
It is so sad watching her with no improvement, knowing she cannot carry on like this. Lyn has prepared herself for the worst but she will be gutted if she dies too after all the ones we have lost because of that dog.

Battery Hens have such an awful first 2 years or so yet are strong and recover quickly and lay constantly whereas Ting Tong being a pure-breed Cochin, I expect has had a good life prior to coming to us. She was an adult when we got her so don't know her age but to watch her with her head hung low, not eating, drinking or even shuffling around, it is tempting to put her out of her misery BUT we have had battery hens in worse condition, especially Pickle who made a FULL and fantastic recovery from being squashed illegally in a cage of 8 hens in the farm! Lyn helped her constantly and as with so many, had to teach her to walk and even drink and eat from the containers we use. Battery hens are not used to having constant food so they go mad at first like it's their last supper, Ting Tong has NEVER had to fight for food, be squashed or go through anything until when our son caught that dog just on the verge of killing her after it had already killed 8 birds so was just killing for fun, rather like a fox would.
As she has no physical wound, and we have examined her from top to toe, whilst wet as easier (I bathed her a few days ago) she just must be so traumatised and the dog attack happened on the 5th March so is 11 days ago now and we do not know if she has eaten anything since.

Am dreading the next update. The first thing Lyn checks in the morning is if she is moving and also several times in the day.
I hope for good news and would love her to just summon the strength to eat or stand but I fear this won't be the case.



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Monday, 15 March 2010

Poor Cochin

One of the Cochins is unwell, she is the one who was grabbed by that dog just before the dog fled and she has some feathers missing on her back but it's not easy to tell as she has such thick feathers..
We were worried about her as she wasn't eating at first but we still don't think she has eaten and is very weak. She has had a bath today and a hair drying - she loved that, it really chills them out and now she is in he dog crate with her face over a bowl of garden blend, poultry spice and dried mealworms.
She hasn't touched it, nor the water. We have syringed some sugared water in but she didn't really want it.
So Sad, I can't even tell if she is Ting Tong or Desiree as she is a shadow of her former self. :-(


Update 20.15- still v poorly, not eaten or drank even goodies and we think she is ting tong.

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Sunday, 14 March 2010

The girls must be happier now

Yesterday they somehow laid 19 eggs and there were another 10 today plus the ducks have laid too.
My daughters bantams haven't laid at all this year yet, not sure why. That is why her little show banties were such prized possessions.


Note- Must chase up the dog owner tomorrow for compensation! He has until Sunday or a bloomin' good excuse....which I will never believe anyway!



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Saturday, 13 March 2010

Interesting!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8561814.stm
half male half female chooks, we have a hen with spurs but doesnt crow and we think she lays


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Thursday, 11 March 2010

THE KILLER DOG CAME BACK

The killer dog came back today, luckily it leapt into our own dog pen so didn't kill anything. I am furious, both myself and neighbour signed a Police Officers book on Sunday morning to state next door would pay £150 compensation and keep the dog caged and out of our garden and they broke the agreement. We rang the police, told them not to come out as no harm done but if it does or if he doesn't pay compensation within 2 weeks of Sunday (when the agreement was officiated by the policeman) then I shall be asking for an officer to call and possibly the RSPCA too..




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Tuesday, 9 March 2010

AVIARY PANELS WANTED

As stated above, we are after some aviary panels and will happily pay whatever they are worth for either 2nd hand or new ones made by a hobbyist. Most are ridiculously expensive what what is little more than thin wood, staples and mesh! I just wish i wasn't disabled as I'd make my own at least to "pet shop standards"
If you have frames, we will happily buy and staple the mesh on or do repairs.
We are going to try and get to an auction at the end of the month but anything in the meantime, please leave a message on 0845 017 9422 which *should* be free to you if you are on BT as it will transfer to us and we pay for your call.


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More improvement

The hens seem to be going from strength to strength and even their egg supply is almost as usual.
My pet Cochins brought themselves out of the house today which is a good sign. I worry so much for them and the Pekins as with being pure breeds they are more delicate whereas if you saw what battery hens go through in their lives before you retire them, you would be shocked that they could ever become "normal chickens"
No sign of the £150 compensation from our neighbour yet but I'm not sure how long to leave it before I say something.....or get my other half to, we really need to get the Eglu "Go" funds' ball rolling.
Any ideas how long I should leave it before mentioning money to the neighbour will be gratefully received.



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Monday, 8 March 2010

The hens are getting over their shock

The girls are getting over their shock and have enjoyed some tinned sweetcorn and garden peas as a treat......the ducks protested vocally as they only got a little as I was going in with the hens and they mobbed me when I came out and they were really grumbling and miffed that it had all gone!
I adore the character and personality of the hens and ducks, so so funny and they definitely control us to get what they want. I am strict with my children but daft as a brush with my feathered friends.

I will keep updating but I think they are over the worst of it. They had poultry spice on their food this morning again. They've had a quiet day. My other half had to get my 2 pet Cochins out of their house as they wouldn't come out and were in there yesterday too, so they are the only ones I'm still a bit worried about but pure bred "posh" chickens seem more sensitive to change and upset, the battery hens seem extremely resilient.


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FINGERS CROSSED

Fingers crossed.....that once we receive the £150 compensation from our neighbour for our loss and damage (and yes I know I should have asked for more as everyone keeps telling me) but we will do some fundraising to buy one of the new Eglu Go's which come with a fox proof run and you can even buy extra pegs to hold it down securely as they screw into the ground unlike tent pegs.

The Eglu Go will hold upto 4 recovering birds in complete safety even though they are expensive at £330, they last forever AND hold their price very well as I have seen Eglu's on Ebay reach almost the price of brand new ones. These new ones look easy to clean too.

I can just see the garden in the future with Eglu Go's in a multitude of colours!

So if and when the neighbour pays up, I will start a totaliser on here and a countdown of how much more we need.
We must keep these babies safe who have had such a bad start in life. I feel terrible for saving them from slaughter only for them to suffer fear and death from the killer dog.




We did look at the Eglu Cubes for upto 10 hens but I have a covered area with a hen house which is safe for a few more than that, plus the ladder upto the Eglu Cubes doesn't touch the ground so ex battery hens with weakened legs would not be able to get up there. The idea is good but it needs a few tweaks and also needs the extra 1metre of run included in the price....not at £100 extra for some weld mesh! I would love to get in with their design team and design a Cube for ex batts! The cubes are vastly expensive, I think with the extra 1 metre run which in my opinion is necessary, they are around the £700 mark which I would never pay if it wasn't exactly perfect!

The Eglu Go is as good as perfect......except they don't do it in purple yet but the red looks quite funky. The green is vile ;-)

We have decided to aim for raising £350 so that we can also purchase some of the Omelet screw in pegs for the run to keep it extra safe from predators. Please click the link in the last sentence to see what they are.

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Friday, 5 March 2010

Mother Hen Of My Flock's Garden | GoneTooSoon.org - the free online memorial website

Mother Hen Of My Flock's Garden | GoneTooSoon.org - the free online memorial website





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Rest in Peace my darlings

Rest in Peace Newton, Fenella, Amber, Blanche, Amy, Joan and others who were unidentifiable after being savagely destroyed (whilst in a pen) in broad daylight today by a neighbours lurcher who had leapt a 6 foot fence into our garden and then a 2 metre high one to hurriedly escape with a mouthful of feathers once discovered.

We are devastated and in my moment of horror I called 999 as we still had their dog but it escaped back to its own garden. The police switchboard operative was very nice and called me straight back. I was so pleased as worried they may see me as a time waster but I was hysterical.

The Police were informed and immediately sent round a PCSO and have promised to send a proper PC to deal with it asap.

I am hoping to press charges for damages as the Pekin Bantams were show stock of our 8 year old daughters and the ex battery hens were ones we had rescued but had stayed here due to various health problems or simply that we fell in love with them. We want the neighbour to pay for damages and reinforcements to their side of their fence so their dog cannot escape as if we were to add razor wire, we would be in trouble.

It is going to be a busy weekend reinforcing & roofing everything.
If anyone can help with Heras building site panels, please help us as we are a battery hen rescue organisation with the main hens at our home http://www.lincslittlehens.co.uk


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