Carol's Chickens

I have taken my time with this post. I wanted to collect photos. I wanted time to think. I have also been out the last few days. Tuesday was husband’s eye hospital day and Wednesday I was at my mum’s. The main events of this post happened on Sunday which was three days ago.

It started with a phone call from our neighbour opposite at eight o’clock in the morning.

Our neighbour said that she had just opened her curtains and could see a chicken on next door’s path just the other side of ours. She wasn’t sure if it was one of mine. I knew it couldn’t be because my girls can’t get out and I hadn’t even unlocked their outside gate at this stage.

We went out and found it was a full size brown chicken. We tried to catch it but it flew over our gate into our garden. It disappeared and we thought maybe it had gone under the fence into our next door neighbour’s garden. They were by now in their garden so we asked them to look for her. She couldn’t be seen.

Later I saw the chicken again on our back garden path. There is lots of dense shrubbery in our garden for a chicken to hide in. I opened the dog crate in our shed and got some corn to try to bring the chicken to me. She quickly hoovered up the corn but wouldn’t come close to me.

Husband and me tried to block her and catch her but she kept disappearing into the shrubbery. Husband got the large net ready. We spent quite a long time trying to catch her. Eventually we managed to heard her through the open door of our work cabin/kitchen. Husband shut himself in with her and caught her in the net. It sounded as if she was being murdered!

I put her in the dog crate with water, pellets and mash. She settled in. She ate a full dish of mash which I then re filled and she settled on the perch.

I don’t do any social media and to add to events I couldn’t get my computer to switch on. My neighbour opposite is part of a face book group for Wooburn, Bourne End and Flackwell so she set about messaging to see if anyone had lost a chicken. We said we couldn’t keep her as she was too big to add to our bantam flock.

We spent all day messaging back and forth with updates and keeping my next door neighbour up to date too. It is lovely how our neighbours always pull together when needed.

We kept the neighbours updated on how the guest chicken was doing. She was eating, drinking and pooping. She knocked her mash over twice and shouted at me when I cleaned up but in between was quite and well behaved.

The other side of this story is about Ginger who has been pulling feathers from the girls since she was integrated into the flock. We got Silver and Ginger in August last year. Ginger started laying in September so they were integrated into the flock at that point.

Ginger started pulling feathers from the girls. She would target the three game girls on the inside of their neck. She went on to pulling fluffy bottom feathers and Cloud’s bottom became quite bare.

We tried separating Ginger but she hated it and patrolled the wire trying to get back in. As soon as I let her back in she started pulling feathers again.

We had new girls Popcorn and Maple in April this year. Popcorn started laying in May so we integrated them at that point. It wasn’t long before Ginger started plucking Popcorn. Maple is very skittish and is the only girl untouched by Ginger as she won’t let anyone near her including me.

It seemed like Ginger was over enthusiastic at grooming because as soon as a girl, particularly Popcorn, was in a dust bath she would go straight to them and start pulling feathers from her back. Popcorn is bottom girl and so seemed targeted the most.

I didn’t blog about this problem because I had no idea how to resolve it. Previous people I re-homed chickens with have lost touch or moved away or given up chickens.

I absolutely hate feather picking and I always worry that the habit may get passed on but it seemed to have stopped with just Ginger. Also there have been no completely bare necks, heads or bottoms. She also had nine other girls to pluck until we lost Silver, then eight other girls to pick on so it’s been spread out.

I assumed as Mango was moulting that Cloud was too. It turns out she isn’t but was just looking a little tattered from the plucking. Mango has a pale comb and Cloud, in the foreground, still has a red comb. Cloud has now come back into lay after a three week break and has now laid three eggs in six days.

Popcorn is broody after laying thirty four eggs in two months. Snow has come through being broody and Storm is now broody after laying six eggs in ten days. Red is still also broody.

As the day went on my neighbour opposite was messaging me. She said she hadn’t found the owner but four people had said that they would take her to keep her or to hold on to her until her owner could be found. She said she thought we should wait until the end of the day and choose one.

Towards the end of the day my neighbour said that there was a lady who worked on a farm and had chickens herself and she could collect her at the end of the day on her way home from work.

The lady arrived just after six o’clock. As we walked up towards the chickens I explained that I would have kept our guest chicken if she had been a bantam like my girls. She said that she had bantams, full size chickens and ducks.

I asked if she would like to take a problem bantam. I explained the situation and pointed out the damage done to Popcorn and Gold. We both agreed that if Ginger went in as bottom girl in a new flock the feather picking wouldn’t be tolerated. She said she would be happy to take her.

I felt as if the solution to our problem had just dropped into my lap. I wrote down my telephone number, e-mail address and the name of my blog and we said we would keep in touch. I was so thankful to her for taking both girls.

The next day my neighbour opposite messaged to say that the owner had been found. She wasn’t part of face book but a friend had let her know. She had been distraught as a cat had chased her girl away. My neighbour put her in touch with the lady who took her so that they could be reunited.

I felt that at least she had Ginger for her troubles so had still gained a chicken.

The next day I felt sad and a little guilty wondering how Ginger was doing in her new home. In the afternoon when I checked on the girls they were all sitting together in small groups looking very chilled. I realised that I hadn’t seen this in a while. It struck me then that whenever they would be sitting or dust bathing Ginger would start pulling at their feathers and they would move on.

It was so peaceful in the chicken run without Ginger. In that moment I knew that I had made the right decision. I always need to do what is right for the good of the flock. It had all turned out for the best and now we are back to a flock of eight.

Snow went broody three days ago. She had laid nine eggs in thirteen days which is actually one more than usual.

Red went broody yesterday. She had laid eight eggs in fourteen days. I have had to leave a nest box open for the laying girls to lay then I close them.

While Red was in the nest box Storm joined her. I only left one nest box open as this means Snow will stay out but not Red. The next minute Ginger joined them for what I thought was just her being nosy. But the next minute Ginger was in next to Red and Storm left the nest box.

A moment later Ginger left the nest box dropping her egg just in front of the ramp as she went. Having seen the girls lay eggs many times it often takes effort and quite a bit of obvious pushing to get the egg out. But occasionally, like Ginger this time, they just seem to casually drop it while looking quite unaware of it. Note the intense, broody glint, in Red’s eye in the photo above.

So we now have Popcorn, Maple and Ginger laying regularly and Storm laying erratically. Gold has had a break of two and a half weeks which is quite long for her so I don’t think she will start again. Last year she stopped half way through July. I then compared Gold’s eggs this year to last year. She has laid 52 this year and She laid 54 last year so I would say she is definitely finished.

Mango and Cloud are now both moulting so they are definitely finished for this year too. Popcorn and Maple are really good layers so they will hopefully keep us going.

Another odd thing is the difference in size between Red and Popcorn’s eggs. They are both the same breed although Popcorn is smaller than Red as was Autumn. I would say Popcorn is a similar size to what Autumn was and I would say that Red is slightly on the large side for a bantam. But Popcorn’s eggs are the size of the rest of the smaller girls and in fact smaller than some of them.

It isn’t a complaint because I don’t mind what size the girls’ eggs are and in fact would rather they are small so that the girls don’t have problems laying them but I just find it interesting. Also Popcorn makes up for the size of her eggs by laying four days in a row so we end up with the same amount of egg as Red’s eggs which are every other day. It just makes me smile when I see them side by side as in the photo above.

A chicken keeper online said she gives the girls frozen chopped tomato. I froze some chopped tomato but topped it with a little water which may have been a mistake. My husband wondered if tinned tomatoes would be quicker and cheaper and as I was cooking with some the following day I tried that too.

The mistake I made was just tipping them on the chicken’s patio. At first they were too hard. As they started to soften we had to go out to meet a friend.

When we got back the tomato had all gone but there was a sludgy mess on the patio. The girls had probably had a dust bath and shaken on the patio as they often do. I had to wait for it to dry and then sweep it up. It was my fault really because I should have put the cubes in a dish instead of on the patio but I am used to dropping chopped tomato straight on the patio.

The following day

I tried the frozen tinned tomatoes but this time put them in a dish and let them start defrosting first.

This worked much better and they enjoyed drinking the juice too. A while later the dish was completely empty and the patio remained clean.

You must make sure the tinned tomatoes have no additives though and in future I think I would just use fresh chopped tomatoes but not add water and leave them in a dish. I am sure the girls enjoyed them all though. Frozen peas are easier and cleaner but they don’t last long. It’s always worth trying new things as you don’t know until you try which works best.

In other news Storm has come back in lay after a ten day break. She has laid two eggs in the last three days. These girls are always surprising me.

I have been doing everything I can to help keep the girls cool during the current heat wave. I change their water several times a day so that at least some of the time it is cold. I have been watering parts of the run so they have some damp soil to scratch in. Mango and Cloud have been spending time in the shelter so I have watered the ground in there to keep it cool.

I have been leaving the chicken shed door partly open at night (their run is secure and predator proof) and have watered the patio area outside the shed door and pop hole.

I have been giving the girls dishes of water with frozen peas. This helps cool them by both eating cold peas but also drinking cold water at the same time. I have also been giving them pellets in cold water. Instead of leaving the pellets to soak up the water and make a mash I have found that giving them the pellets in water straight away makes them fish for the pellets and drink the cold water at the same time.

I find that peas only last a few minutes whereas they keep going back to the pellets until eventually it turns into mash and gets eaten like that. They do have a tendency to step in the dishes and knock them over though. It’s a bit chaotic but eventually they mop up the spillage and at the end of the day I sweep the patio.

The girls really enjoy this and hopefully it helps keep them a bit cooler. I think we will all be glad when this heat wave is over.

My last post about our rose was a rose that was a moving in gift and therefore has been here for nineteen years.

On the other side of the garden is a rambling rose with pale pink blossoms that was already established when we moved in and therefore must be well over twenty years old. There is also a darker pink standard rose that was a fiftieth birthday gift for me and is therefore now sixteen years old. We have always let it do it’s own thing so it’s only vaguely a standard rose now. Both these roses flower until the first frost which is usually sometime in October.

Chicken news

Popcorn came back into lay yesterday and laid both yesterday and today. She had taken a sixteen day break.

I think perhaps storm has finished laying for this year. She last laid seven days ago which was 13th June. Last year Storm laid her last egg on 12th June so it is most likely that she is finished for this year. I can’t believe the two dates are so close together.

This means all three game girls are likely to be finished laying for this year as they have a short season. That leaves a possible six girls to carry on laying with Maple, Snow, Popcorn and Ginger now laying, Red probably about to start soon and then Gold to start again probably in a week or two’s time.

These six girls will now keep us going in eggs for the rest of year with the possibility of this year’s girls, Popcorn and Maple, laying through the winter. If they do, that will be a very welcome bonus.

Edit

A few hours after I had put this post out Red went into the nest box and laid after a break of twelve days. So we now have five girls laying, hurrah!

Cloud went broody four days ago after laying seven eggs in thirteen days. Gold went broody two days ago after laying six eggs in nine days.

This morning Snow came back into lay after a break of twenty five days. I think Popcorn and Red will start laying again soon. Both have had a token look in the nest boxes.

I close the nest boxes once the laying girls have laid but have to leave the broodies in while the other girls want to lay. This nest box, out in the run, is both Gold’s and Ginger’s favourite.

It’s a constant round of girls in and out of broodiness and laying.

Yesterday morning I gave the girls a yogurt treat. It’s always a good chance to get some group photos and they love yogurt.

Red has given up being broody. It took a bit longer than usual as she was a bit more determined this time. Ginger came back into lay after a nine day break. My theory is that the girls that don’t go broody need a little break every now and again. I checked on Ginger just as she was laying her egg.

It is always so nice when we get a small break from having any broody girls. We now have five girls laying, Gold, Storm, Maple, Cloud and Ginger.

Gold came back into lay today after a break of seven days. Red has gone broody again after only laying seven eggs in twelve days.

Snow has finally given up being broody after two weeks. Popcorn has also given up being broody after five days. Maple has just laid three days running.

In size order we have Gold’s egg on the left followed by Storm’s egg, followed by Cloud’s egg and Maple’s egg on the right.

Ginger hasn’t laid for five days. It seems that the non broody girls take a break every now and again which makes sense really. It also seems that our two newest girls are good layers.

I was only expecting Cloud to lay today as the other laying girls had laid yesterday so I left the nest boxes closed to keep the broodies out. I knew Cloud would let me know when she wanted to lay.

I kept checking on the girls and at one point both Maple and Cloud were on the patio area just by the nest boxes so I opened the nest boxes and Maple went in straight away and started scratching around then settled down. This was the first time I had seen Maple settle in a nest box.

Soon after Cloud went in the other nest box. When I next checked both Maple and Cloud had laid. Maple’s egg was quite small which was what I had expected.

Well done Maple! We now have another layer. It will be interesting to see when she lays her next egg.

I am a bit late with this post. Our fabulous climbing rose always peaks for my birthday which was on the bank holiday Monday while we were having amazing hot sunny weather. I took some photos but didn’t get round to putting them on here.

Now of course the heavy and ongoing rain has devastated the rose and we are walking through petals all over the path.

This photo was from our bedroom window before the rose had actually peaked but I forgot to go back and take another. It was lovely while it lasted.

Chicken updates

As usual with broody chickens it’s a case of one in and one out. We had an unusual, five egg day, with Red, Gold, Storm, Ginger and Popcorn all laying. The next day Gold went broody after laying ten eggs in eighteen days. Cloud then came back into lay. Unlike Mango she had dropped only a few feathers, still had a red comb and had started squatting in front of me again, so I knew she was getting ready to come back into lay. She had had a break of eighteen days.

Mango in comparison is having a full moult. She is prickly with pins and her comb is pale. I am not sure she will lay again this year. For once they are not in unison with each other.

A day later Popcorn went broody for the first time. She had laid twenty eggs in thirty days. We now have just Red, Storm and Ginger laying. I don’t know what is happening with Maple as there has been nothing after her, two double yolked eggs, the first in two soft shells and the second a week later in one good shell.

Popcorn and Maple are both just over six months old. I think because Popcorn started so early we forget that Maple should only be starting to lay around now. She will be ready in her own time.

The good thing is we are getting enough eggs to keep us going and we are happy with that.