Carol's Chickens

Yesterday Red was in the grit for the first time this year. She always used to go the grit the day before laying so I wondered if she was getting ready to start laying again.

Then Snow started looking in the nest boxes. She also does this before starting to lay.

Today Snow was in and out of the nest boxes. Then Silver would join her going in and out. Then Red joined in going in and out. I was surprised at all this activity so early in the year.

All three girls were constantly in and out. I wondered what triggered the three of them to decide that this was the day for egg laying. I left them to it and returned to check again later. All three girls were out in the run. I checked the nest box and there were three eggs nestled together.

Red’s larger egg on the left Silver’s egg in the middle and Snow’s usual torpedo shaped egg on the right. I can’t believe that our first eggs of the year are also our first, three egg day, of the year.

This is much earlier than I expected. Silver took a three day break since her last egg so she may be getting into her stride. With three girls laying I may not have to buy eggs every week as I have been doing. It’s amazing to have such an early start to egg laying. Well done girls!

I will end the year as usual with my egg count for the year. I will list the number of months the girls were laying as some girls have a shorter season than others.

I will start with Sugar and Autumn who laid no eggs and we sadly lost both girls in May.

Gold – 5 months – 54 eggs.

Storm – 4 months – 34 eggs.

Cloud – 4 months – 40 eggs.

Mango – 3 months – 25 eggs.

Snow – 8 months – 85 eggs.

Red – 9 months – 98 eggs.

Red had laid for 11 months altogether counting the end of last year when she laid a further 19 in 2 months.

Ginger – 2 weeks – 9 eggs.

Ginger laid 9 eggs in 2 weeks then moulted which is unusual for a first year girl.

Silver – 3 weeks – 6 eggs.

Silver laid 2 eggs in 3 days then had an 8 day break. She then laid 3 eggs in 5 days and then another break of 5 days and then laid today on New Year’s Eve.

The total eggs this year is 351.

I decided to give the girls a New Year’s Eve treat of yogurt topped with chopped grapes.

I would like to wish all my readers a Happy New Year.

I always like to give the girls a Christmas treat. This morning they had a fish treat.

Silver has laid two eggs in three days and this morning she was in and out of the nest box.

I will update later if we get a Christmas day egg.

I would like to wish all my readers a very Happy Christmas.

Later

Just before our Christmas lunch Silver got her egg laid. That’s two eggs then an eight day break and now another three eggs. Maybe she is now going to continue laying. Well done Silver.

Silver laid her third egg today on what is actually the shortest day of the year. This sort of disproves my theory about it being the brightness of the day, although having said that, it is brighter today than it has been recently. There is a bit of weak sunshine and it’s not raining for a change but it isn’t overly bright.

Silver laid two eggs in three days and then took a break of eight days before her third egg. The interesting thing now will be to see if she continues to lay this time.

Well done Silver, every egg is a bonus. We look forward to the next egg.

Silver started laying but ended up laying only two eggs in three days. She is still squatting though. My theory is that it’s all to do with light levels. During the week Silver laid her two eggs we had a spell of bright sunny days and blue sky. Since then it’s been fog, cloud and rain with the days being dark and gloomy. I think as soon as we get longer and lighter days Silver and Ginger will start laying again.

This afternoon I gave the girls some apple and took the opportunity to take some group photos.

The moult is properly over now and all the girls are fully feathered and looking lovely. I feel sure it won’t be too long before start getting eggs again.

Today Silver laid her second egg, two days after her first egg. I knew she was ready to lay when she started going in the nest box. I thought I would try to get a photo of her in the nest box this time. The first photo I got of her she was standing just inside the nest box.

I decided to give her a bit of time to settle in the nest box and then try to get another photo. When I returned Silver had already laid her egg and was standing beside it. She laid her egg very quickly.

Silver’s second egg is on the left and her first egg is on the right. The second egg doesn’t have a blood streak on it which is good and is just a bit longer than her first egg.

What a clever girl!

Silver has been squatting for a few weeks now but yesterday for the first time she started investigating the nest boxes. She spent a lot of time flicking the pine shavings out and going in and out.

This morning Silver was again going in and out of the nest boxes. I didn’t manage to get a photo because every time I would lift the nest box lid Silver would run out. I only managed to get a blurred photo of her running down the ramp.

However when I checked the nest boxes at lunch time there was Silver’s first egg with the little blood streak that first eggs often have.

It is a surprising time of year to start laying but as ever I felt so proud of her. It is lovely that we will start having our own eggs again. Well done Silver.

Silver drops into a squat whenever I come up behind her and especially if I lightly touch her back. It’s been difficult to show in a photograph though because she is very low to the ground anyway, but you can see by the shape of her wings that she is squatting.

I have also seen Ginger go to the grit. Neither girl is showing an interest in the nest boxes as yet but I feel sure these two will start laying quite early.

This morning I gave the girls a fish treat. It was another frosty morning and I thought they could do with a little protein boost. They spend so much time in the shelter when the weather is horrible that it is good to see them enjoying a treat.

Ginger and Silver are now eight months old. This last week Silver has started squatting when I come up behind her. I am rather surprised at this time of year as it would be an odd time to start laying. She hasn’t shown any interest in the nest boxes as yet so maybe it’s just a sign of maturity.

Ginger has been losing feathers a few at a time for ages now and Silver hasn’t so maybe that’s why she is squatting and Ginger isn’t. I think Silver will probably be the first girl to start laying in the spring or maybe even earlier. I shall keep an eye on her and keep a check on the nest boxes. I look forward to having our own eggs again.

There isn’t much news in the chicken run at the moment which isn’t a bad thing. Things slow down at this time of the year. The days become shorter for the girls and when the weather is bad they spend time in the shelter.

Treats become the highlight of their day and give me a chance to take group photos. So this afternoon I gave the girls some yogurt.

A few hours later I collected the dishes and you would think that they had been licked clean. I love to see the girls enjoying a treat.