Carol's Chickens

After our pathetic potato crop our tomato crop is even more laughable, if that is possible! We grew one beef tomato plant and three cherry tomato plants. The beef tomato plant produced just five tomatoes and they were smaller than standard ones. The cherry tomato plants produced tomatoes that were smaller than cherry tomatoes usually are.

At this time of year it is usually best to pick any remaining tomatoes and ripen them indoors in a dark place. I picked the remaining crop from the three plants and this is it.

Our pathetic tomato crop

I have just put them in a curry that I made from the left over roast lamb from the weekend. They are too small to do anything else with. We won’t be winning any prizes for our veg this year!

We have tried to grow cyclamen in our garden but they never last beyond the first year as the squirrels dig up the corms. This year I decided to get round this by putting some in our chimney pot on the patio.

Cyclamen

They make a lovely splash of colour. I needed to show something pretty after our ridiculous vegetables. Here’s hoping for better luck next year.

There was no blogging at the weekend because we had visitors. We had my eldest son for his thirty first birthday along with his lovely, expectant, wife. Their first baby is due in April and we are very excited.

We had a really lovely weekend together with a big roast dinner and lots of catching up. It was so good to spend time together.

We had to deliver some food on Friday evening and had our family staying over on Saturday so I helped the little girls along with getting to their bedtime perches to speed them up a bit.

Last night I tried to let them take their time and do it themselves but I know that they are now in the habit of waiting for me to watch over them. I know that the only way to move this on is to go up to them later and see if they go in without my presence but it is hard to make myself leave them to it.

I went up at half past five and the bigger girls had already gone in. The three little girls ran to me and hung around the patio area. I try to direct them towards the pop hole.

Rusty is first to go in

Pebbles follows

Freckles is thinking about it

Pebbles follows Rusty

Freckles follows them in

They need a last look at me before going any further

They a spend a while deciding if they should go in or come back out again. I gently move them further in and hold my hand over the pop hole. They eventually manage to jump up to their perch but I wonder what they would do if I wasn’t there. I suppose there is only one way to find but I may leave it a few more nights yet.

Today I decided to try Freckles and Rusty with some mash as a treat. We have had them a month now and when I tried them with mash when we first had them they didn’t know what to do with it. They are very willing to try every new treat now.

I put one dish on the patio area for the bigger girls and one dish on the wooden block for the little girls. I stood guard so that they could have the mash without being chased away.

Freckles and Rusty try mash for the first time

They definitely like the mash

A little later Rusty was having a lovely dust bath. I have never yet seen Freckles having a dust bath.

Rusty is having a dust bath

Freckles is watching but not attempting to join in

It’s almost as if Pebbles and Freckles are standing guard over her

I am surprised that Pebbles and Freckles didn’t join in.

At bedtime the three little girls went into the shed and jumped to their perch but the next stage is to get them to do it without my presence. They wait for me to go out to them each evening and run down to the bottom of the run towards me. They then follow me up to the patio area. While I watch over them they make their way in after all the bigger girls are already in.

I think they wait for me because they know that I can protect them from the bigger girls who do a lot of jumping up and down from the perches and intimidate the little girls. I know that the next stage is for me to withdraw and leave them to do it on their own and then check on them later.

It is very hard not to watch over them though. I know that I will have to move on to the next stage but I don’t want to rush it.

The three little girls at bedtime

Are you looking at me!

At least they wait for me and then go in, rather than trying to perch somewhere in the run, so I feel we are almost there. I can’t blame them for feeling intimidated by the bigger girls and my instinct is to be there to protect them but I know that at some time they will need to be able to do this by themselves in case we need to go out for an evening.

We don’t go out often but it would be good to not have to worry if we did want to go out. I think I will try to gradually progress this over the next week but I am not in a rush. I am pleased with how far they have progressed already and I am sure they will get there in the end.

Peaches feathers are opening up quite quickly now. She already looks a lot better than she did a few days ago.

Peaches feathers are opening

She is looking much better

Getting back to normal

The other thing that is getting better is the bedtime routine. The three little girls now know where they should go and are not relying on me to put them in the shed. They do the typical pecking around at shavings before going in.

Just before bedtime

For the last two nights they have managed to put themselves to bed so I am quite happy that at last they have got the hang of it. Hurrah!

The flock is made up of two groups at the moment but as long as there is harmony between them I don’t mind that.

Five girls chill together

Three little girls stick together

Three little girls make the most of the patio area while the bigger girls chill out together

Last night at bedtime I felt that the newer two girls had finally got the hang of it. At quarter to six Rusty was already in the shed and Freckles was inside the pop hole. Rusty jumped to the perch with ease. Freckles again only had to make one attempt but she jumped much to high and dropped back down landing on the outer perch. It was a bit of pot luck which perch she landed on but at least she is now managing to land on one or other of the perches. She just doesn’t seem able to judge the height which is very odd.

Rusty and Freckles jump to the bedtime perch

Pebbles who did used to go to bed without any problem now seems the most reluctant to go in. I put her through the pop hole and blocked it with my hand. She eventually settled next to the other two little girls.

All the girls are in their bedtime positions

I hope that now Rusty and Freckles have got the hang of the bedtime routine Pebbles will soon follow their lead. It’s ironic that she was fine at going to bed until these two needed to learn the routine, then she followed them in waiting for my help, instead of them following her in going to bed.

Whichever way round, I hope we now have this resolved at last and that tonight all three go in without any help.

The first few years we grew potatoes on our veg plot in this garden they were amazing. We got some huge potatoes and they were particularly good for roast potatoes and chips.

The next few years they were full of wire worms. It got a bit worse each year until by the time I had cut out all the wormy bits we were left with bits of potatoes the size of marbles.

This year as an experiment we decided to try growing them in potato bags in the hope that they wouldn’t get wire worms.

Potato bags in June

The growth looked really healthy. As the growth spilled out of the bags it hit the ground then turned to grow upwards again. There was plenty of growth on the potatoes throughout the summer.

As always we waited for the green to die away before harvesting the potatoes. I let our shop bought potatoes run out, ha ha, before harvesting the first bag.

Potato bags

We had three bags but I forgot to take the photo until we had emptied the first bag.

Well …. disappointed doesn’t really go far enough!

The entire crop from one bag

This was all of the potatoes in one bag in an old washing up bowl. The bigger potatoes had rotted and the smallest potatoes were from the size of a grape down to the size of a current.

When I pealed them I needed to take a thick layer off as they seemed to be rotting from the skin inwards. The biggest ones had rotted all the way through and the others had rotten patches on the skin but were okay inside. The smallest ones had to be thrown away as they too small to do anything with.

The entire crop of one bag once pealed

This is a pudding basin and these potatoes will just about do three meals for the two of us and we eat fairly small meals. On the positive side, they didn’t have wire worm! I think we can conclude that we won’t be bothering with this method again.

We put the compost in the run for the girls.

Compost emptied into the run

We went through it with our hands and then a fork as potatoes are poisonous to chickens, although they do usually avoid anything that is poisonous, but we don’t want to take any chances.

The girls scratch and spread the soil

The little girls have their turn

At least the compost will help to build up the soil level in the run. We won’t bother with growing potatoes in bags again and will probably just put them back in the ground next year. You have to try these things but I am going to call this experiment a failure.

Peaches pin feathers are beginning to open and show the peach colour she is named after. She has been very shy since starting her sudden moult but this afternoon she decided she would pose for me.

Peaches poses

Shall I point my beak down a bit

Or up a bit

Is this my best side

She looks hilarious but you can just see the peach feathers beginning to unfurl. Don’t worry Peaches, you will soon have your model good looks back again!

At quarter to six I watched the bedtime routine unfold again. Only Peaches was out plus the three little girls. I let Peaches go in before guiding the three little girls towards the pop hole. They went in and Pebbles perched up, quickly followed by Rusty. Freckles wasn’t sure and I held my hand in front of the pop hole to stop her coming out while holding the door open a crack so that I could watch.

She got herself ready to jump up to the perch. She only had one attempt and jumped up, landing on the back perch. Hurrah! the problem was obviously that she was misjudging and jumping over the perch before but now she can land on the back perch.

I don’t mind which perch she ends up on as long as she can manage it herself.

Freckles jumps up and lands on the inner perch

In the run with more space Freckles seems able to judge the perches but in the shed she was jumping over the perch every time. I wonder if it is because she has straight feathers and the other two have two have silkie feathers. She can fly higher and longer distances than Pebbles and Rusty when out in the run but seemed unable to judge this perch.

Now that she can get to the perch herself I think it will soon progress to the three little girls putting themselves to bed each night without my help. Tonight was a real breakthrough and I felt so proud of her. I am sure we will now soon have the bedtime routine cracked.

The two newest girls hadn’t had fish as a treat before today so I decided to see if they liked it. I divided the fish into four little dishes and put three dishes on the patio for the bigger girls.

I put the fourth dish in the run and guarded it for the little girls. I soon found that they  liked it. It also showed that Pebbles is definitely top girl of these three. She tried to peck Rusty and Freckles away from the fish dish. They were undeterred though and sprang around her to take a peck of fish or they snatched a bit of fish and moved away with it.

The two newest girls have their first fish treat

Rusty likes the fish

The little girls fish dish was soon emptied

I had to constantly fend off the bigger girls but by the time the little girls had finished their dish the three dishes on the patio were also emptied.

The fish didn’t last long and they obviously enjoyed it. It will be easy to use this again next time the girls need worming. I will just have to work out how to keep the big and little girls apart so that they all get an equal share.

This afternoon we added the previous bedtime perch behind the existing bedtime perch to create a double perch like the one at the back of the shed. We hope this will enable Freckles to manage to jump and land on it.

I decided to show it to Freckles and Rusty but by the time I had perched them on it and got my camera ready they were about to jump down. They are not interested in being on the bedtime perch during the day.

Freckles jumping down from the perch

Rusty about to jump down

I hope this solves the problem because I have no idea what else we can do.

We had to go out at six o’clock as we had a hundred and forty plated suppers and desserts to deliver for a folk evening. This meant that I didn’t have time to wait to see if Freckles could manage the perch and it will have to wait until tomorrow night.

Pebbles and Rusty were perched but Freckles was taking too long so I had to put her on the perch. At one point Peaches and Barley pecked Speckles down from the corner and as she went she knocked Rusty from her place on the little perch. Rusty immediately jumped back up so I am confidant that she is fine with it. It’s just a case of waiting until tomorrow to see if Freckles can master it.

Three little girls on the bedtime perch, Rusty has jumped back up and is steadying herself

This was how I left them. I had to know that they were safely in place before we left so we will continue with the bedtime routine tomorrow.

The girls are definitely divided into two groups at the moment. The bigger girls spend time perching together while the little girls gather on the patio area for spinach, apple or to get to the food dish in peace.

The bigger girls perch together

While the little girls gather round the food dish

While the cats away the mice will play! The little girls make the most of the treats on the patio while the bigger girls chill out together.

When I throw out the corn or sunflower hearts as a treat, I now throw some into the run where the bigger girls are used to having it, while I casually drop some onto the patio. The little girls have got used to the routine and get to have their share on the patio without being chased away by the other girls.

And back to the bedtime routine again. Today I went out at quarter to six to see why the little girls aren’t perching by themselves. All the bigger girls were settled except Peaches and Barley who were still out in the run. They are often last to go in.

As usual the little girls ran to me as if asking me to put them in. I put them through the pop hole and blocked it with my hand to stop them coming out again. I opened the door a crack to see what was happening. Pebbles jumped up to their perch. Rusty was next to jump up to their perch. Freckles made several attempts but kept over shooting and dropping down behind the perch.

Pebbles and Rusty jumped to the perch

Last night we put it down to there not being enough light. Tonight I realised Freckles can’t physically get on to the perch. This is obviously what is holding up the bedtime routine. In her frustration she tried to jump onto the bigger girls perch. Enough of this, I lifted her on to the perch and the three little girls settled together.

I put Freckles on the perch

Peaches and Barley went in and took their place and all was settled in the shed. So now I know what the problem is, we can fix it. I am not sure if it’s because both Pebbles and Rusty have silkie feathers and Freckles has straight feathers, or if it’s just something else peculiar to Freckles, but she just doesn’t seem able to accurately jump to this perch.

Tomorrow we will reinstate the smaller perch behind this one so that there is a double perch like the bigger girl’s back perches. You can see from the photo above that there is plenty of room for another perch behind this one.

Last night’s photo showing the back perch

We will recreate the double back perch for the little girls. This will give a bigger area for Freckles to aim at and instead of falling through the gap she may be able to land on the back perch.

We put the double perches in for the bigger girls to allow passing room when they are jostling for their bedtime positions but this should also help Freckles to be able to get onto their perch.

Sometimes we need to keep observing to be able to work out what the problem is. We thought it was a case of the little girls learning the routine but it seems it was a case of Freckles not being able to manage to get to the perch. So the fine tuning goes on and tomorrow we will see if the new perch arrangement helps to sort out the bedtime routine at last.

I know I put moulting photos out yesterday but I am sure Peaches has never looked this bad before. Laying eggs for a month later in the year, this year, has made her moult really quick and messy.

Poor Peaches has never looked this bad before

What a state!

Peaches, What do you look like!

The three little girls have some dandelion leaves

The three little girls have got really good at sneaking up to the patio for treats when the other girls are not looking.

Over the last few nights I have been trying to get the little girls to go to bed on their own. Last night I went out at six o’clock, once the bigger girls were all settled as I wondered if going out earlier was just causing more of a distraction.

As soon as I go up the path the three little girls run to me as if expecting me to put them to bed. On the positive side at least they run to me for help rather than running away or trying to perch elsewhere in the run.

I put them through the pop hole and they run back out. I put Pebbles on the perch and she stays put. Rusty managed to jump to the perch but Freckles goes too high and drops back down again. I relented and put her on the perch. Once all three are on the perch they stay there.

Tonight I went out again at six o’clock and the bigger girls were already settled. Once more the three little girls ran to me. Pebbles used to be fine at going in at night but it seems that now, instead of the newer two following her lead, she has decided to follow them and stay out.

I put them through the pop hole and put the chicken doorstop in front to keep them in. No chance, the little girls squeezed around it and out again. I put Pebbles on the perch and closed the pop hole and then put the other two in. Again Rusty managed to jump to the perch but Freckles kept going too high and dropping back down. My husband who was watching said he thought it had got too dark for Freckles to judge the perch because he had seen her during the day jump to the outside perches with ease.

I put Freckles on the perch and all was settled. Tomorrow I will change tactic and go up earlier and see if I can get them to go in earlier while it is lighter. It’s all trial and error at the moment. I could easily put them on the perch each night and it’s something I used to do in the past but I really want them to learn to do it themselves.

The little girls are finally settled

All the girls are settled for the night

I am sure we will get there in the end. I just need to get the timing right so that they are able to sort it out for themselves. We are nearly there and I am sure it is just a matter of time before they get the hang of it.