I now have Maud the aging Goldline hybrid in one spare pen who appears to have sour crop, so she's on water and being fed a disgusting looking mix of hard-boiled quails eggs, yogurt, and fermented corn. I think she's improving but she's also moulting so looks absolutely terrible. Then I noticed one of my new Buff Orps has a very swingy crop - I've only seen now that she's moulting too and has lost all her feathers on her, well, pretty much everywhere apart from her wings. I've had to put Stockholm tar on her back as she was heavily mated in the summer before I bought her so her new pins are temptingly displayed on her bare back and I noticed a couple were bleeding. That was a sticky procedure but she's now tarred-and-feathered and in the broody coop with just water. Sigh. I don't think the prognosis is good for either of them so if there is no improvement on Monday I'll take them both to the vet for a bulk euthanasia appointment :-(
Apart from that, the ton (literally) of woodchip I put down has made a huge improvement to the chickens' welfare and should one of them deem to lay an egg then at least it is clean and I don't have the usual put down the wate, they tread in it, change the water, put it down, they tread in it, you get the idea. I think I'm getting about one egg a day at the moment which is extremely poor but next year I'll have the RI x LS hybrids coming up through the ranks and they should lay really well. They trot round the garden like a pack of velociraptors and are thoroughly teenager-ish about going back in their pen when I need them to but they're great. I haven't named them as I can't tell the difference; they do have differences but not enough to be distinguishable.
My little Buff Sussex bantam chicks are growing well and still with their Pekin broody and running round with their Pekin mates. I think I have two hens!
