More, egg laying, drama

There is always a bit of drama when several girls want to lay at once but it’s more difficult now that Cinnamon is laying too as she gets chased away by the other girls. Yesterday afternoon Barley, Emerald, Freckles and Cinnamon all wanted to lay at the same time.

Barley was shouting for a bit and then settled in the right hand nest box. Emerald did her manic running about and then decided she wanted the same nest box. Barley growled at her but Emerald was undeterred and settled in there with her.

Freckles was doing a lot of shouting and looking in both nest boxes but not going in. Poor Cinnamon was the same as the day she laid her first egg and was running everywhere.

The problem was every time she tried to enter the empty nest box Freckles would chase her away. She was once again going to the new shelter and going to the highest perch in the chicken shed. I decided to intervene again. I shut her in the empty nest box. I had tried shutting her in the chicken shed but she kept going to the highest perch so I decided the best thing was to shut her in the left hand nest box.

As soon as I did this she settled down. I kept checking on her and she was scratching around for a bit then settled down and methodically threw pine shavings over her back. She hasn’t got the hang of actually getting any of the shavings on her tiny back.

In the meantime Barley came out of the nest box shouting her head off. I checked and her white egg was underneath Emerald. I took it away and five minutes later I checked on Cinnamon again and she had laid her egg. She seems to lay quickly once she settles down.

I then checked on Emerald again and there was her beige egg and she came out of the nest box. Phew! Three out of four and just one to go. Freckles went into the right hand nest box. The next time I checked Freckles was out and her tiny egg was in the nest box. Four out of four done and peace returned once more. Freckles egg was eight days after her, three day broody spell, which was exactly the same as last time. Her eggs are small and are beige in colour and almost round in shape.

Today’s eggs

Freckles round egg is on the left, then Cinnamon’s, which is a bit smaller than her last one. This may be because she has laid two days running this time. Next is Barley’s white egg and then on the right Emerald’s beige egg.

The colour differences don’t show as well in photos but Peaches, Barley’s and Speckles eggs are white and Emerald’s are easy to identify as they are beige.

The problem now is how the three amigos get to a nest box without my help on the occasions when several girls want to lay at once.

We have toyed with the idea of making another nest box but if the other girls chase them from it, it won’t help. My husband suggested putting some crisp boxes in for the moment, to see if they get used, before he embarks on making wooden ones. Crisp boxes have worked in the past.

There always seems to be some drama playing out at the moment and we still have Apricot to start laying yet.