Carol's Chickens

This is another post inspired by one of David’s comments. He mentioned Speckles comb being less red than it used to be and I said that I thought it wasn’t as big as it used to be.

I decided to compare photos of Speckles comb at this time of year two years ago and today.

Speckles comb in May 2017

May 2017

May 2017

I took the following photos this morning.

Speckles comb today

Speckles today

I was surprised to find that Speckles comb actually isn’t as different as I had thought it was. I think the differing redness depends on the light and the the size of her comb depends on the camera angle and shows up best in close up.

She doesn’t look at all bad for an older girl.

It’s all going on with the egg laying here at the moment! The day before yesterday Speckles was very vocal and at one point had a scratch around in the corner of the chicken shed. I had a feeling that she might be getting ready to lay again.

Yesterday she was settled in a nest box.

Speckles in a nest box

She came out of the nest box and there was no egg. The next time I checked she was back in the nest box and this time she had a little pile of pine shavings on her back.

Speckles back in a nest box with pine shavings on her back

The next time I checked Speckles was just leaving the nest box and this time there was an egg. It was a long, torpedo, shaped egg which seems to be a feature of a first egg after a long break.

Speckles long egg on the right

Smoke’s egg is on the left, Flame’s egg is in the middle and Speckles long egg is on the right.

Speckles and Spangle’s eggs

Speckles and Spangles eggs together to show that although they are different in size they are very similar in shape. I know it is probably boring to most people that I show a lot of egg photos here but I am fascinated by how different my girls’ eggs are.

When Speckles laid her first egg of the year in March it had a streak of blood on it. I am pleased to see that there is no blood on this second egg and it reassures me that Speckles is okay despite her lack of eggs. I am not sure if this will be a lone egg or if there will be more. Only time will tell.

When we were originally planting this garden we put in a couple of groups of purple alliums. For a few years they looked amazing but then the original groups just vanished. However they self seeded around the garden as singles.

Then a few years ago I read an article by Alan Titchmarsh. He said that if your leeks have gone to seed you should leave them because they would give a spectacular allium display. This year our leeks went to seed so I left them in place. Well spectacular doesn’t really describe them!

A single self seeded allium

And another one

Leeks gone to seed

Hardly spectacular. They remind me of wild garlic.

Chives

The chives give a better display. I grew these from seed and they multiply each year.

Single white rose

Rose over the cabin

Adding colour to the chimney

This chimney pot had a grass in it which I liked because of it’s spiky shape but it had been here too long and was looking drab and tired. My husband said that he would like to see some colour here for a change so we bought this pot and just dropped it in and it’s a perfect fit.  It gives an instant pop of colour and it’s only just getting started. I may photograph this again later in the year.

I love watching the patches of colour develop throughout the garden at this time of year.

Spangle hasn’t laid for a month but every now and again she would sit in a nest box for a while and then leave without laying.

Today Spangle had been sitting in the nest box for longer than usual and I felt sure she was going to lay this time. As I checked on her she was just leaving the nest box and there was a long, narrow, egg.

I am pleased that Spangle has laid again because it reassures me that there isn’t something wrong with her.

Today’s eggs

On the left is Flame’s huge egg, next is Jasmine’s round egg then Cinnamon’s egg in the middle, next is Smoke’s fair sized, round, egg and on the right is Spangle’s, long, egg.

Smoke and Spangle’s eggs

Spangle’s egg on the right is narrow and long which often occurs after a longer break in laying.

Marmite is also getting ready to lay again as she is very vocal and has been looking in the nest boxes. Ebony is still broody but at least egg production is back up again. well done Spangle!

The garden is so beautiful at this time of year. I have taken photos of a walk up the garden but first a quick update of chicken news.

Vanilla has come out of her broody spell after only three days this time which I am pleased about. Ebony is still broody but she is docile and easy to lift and perches at bedtime when I close the nest boxes.

Smoke started laying again today so it is good to have another good layer back again. It is just over two weeks since she last laid.

Some of our pots were looking tired so we have just rejuvenated them with a bit of colour.

We have refreshed some of our tired pots

The rose over the cabin is just about to burst out

Our patio

This is my spot for sitting in the sun overlooking the garden. Not today though as it is drizzling.

Looking over our veg plot

Corner bed behind the veg plot

Looking up towards the chicken run

The rustic (home made) path by the chicken run

The patch of garden in front of the chicken run

The chicken’s strip

The chicken’s strip has really filled in this year. They still have a row of dandelions next to the weld mesh but they are now hidden by the plants. The fox glove and antirrhinums self seeded in the garden and I transplanted them to here last year.

I think this is my favourite time of year for the garden. Everything looks lush and full with splashes of colour. I love to sit in the garden in the sun but the garden desperately needed this rainy day.

Yesterday Marmite came out of her broody spell just as Vanilla went broody. Marmite had been broody for twelve days. It really does seem that as one girl comes out of a broody spell the next girl goes broody and we seem destined to have two broody girls at a time.

The worrying thing is having Vanilla go broody again while a bigger girl is broody. Twice I have found Vanilla in the same nest box as Ebony and I have moved Vanilla to a different nest box. I really don’t want a repeat of what happened with Flame and Vanilla so I am making sure that they stay apart.

Vanilla had laid eleven eggs in sixteen days and had just laid for six days in a row before going broody. Smoke went broody after laying eight days in a row. It seems that when these girls lay for a spell without taking a day off it sends them broody.

I have found that when I lift both girls for a break from the nest box Vanilla stays out for longer than Ebony so I am hoping that she will come out of it more quickly.

In other news we have seen slow worms in the garden over the last few days. We first saw a large one on our patio but I didn’t photograph it as it looked injured. I think a cat may have got at it and it was slow so we feared that it wasn’t going to live much longer.

Yesterday after a rain shower there was a big slow worm on the path. I went indoors for my camera but when I returned it’s head was disappearing under a geranium. I lifted the leaf to try to get a better photo but it was gone in a flash.

A little later there was a slightly smaller slow worm on the same bit of the path but this time when I returned with my camera it had gone so I only have one not very good photo.

Slow worm on the path

We had a day of light showers and sun shine and a few rainbows. At the end of the day there was the best rainbow of the day.

Rainbow at the end of the day

The garden is desperate for rain but there was barely enough to wet the ground. Oh well, I suppose it is better than nothing. It gave my husband a day off from watering the allotment as our other friends are away this week.

Over the last week Ebony and Flame have taken to sharing the middle nest box and I would find their eggs side by side. Vanilla also favours the middle nest box at the moment. It seemed that while just these three girls were laying they had agreed that they must lay their eggs in the same place.

Ebony and Flame had taken to sharing a nest box

These two bigger girls filled up the space in here but they seemed happy enough with the arrangement.

The day after I took this photo Ebony went broody. I had a feeling she was about to as she had been sitting on her eggs for longer than usual and she had started making the tell tale clucking sound.

At bedtime she was settled the nest box and I had to lift her to the perch in the shed. The following morning she was once again in the nest box and I lifted her out for the morning sunflower seeds.

The good thing is that she is so easy to handle and is completely docile when I lift her out. This is amazing compared to how she would peck me when we first had her last summer. It is funny how accepting of me she has become and yet Flame pecks me just the same as she did last summer.

The not so good thing is that we now only have Flame and Vanilla laying. I can’t believe that out of a flock of ten we have only two girls laying. For now it will be eggs for the weekend breakfasts only until production is up again. Sigh!

Edit

I delayed this post as I wanted to put my birthday post out first. As if the girls knew it was my birthday we had a sudden flurry of eggs. Ebony laid a last broody egg as these girls often do and Flame and Vanilla laid as usual. The surprise was that Jasmine and Cinnamon also laid after a two week break. Five eggs on my birthday. Well done girls!

It’s my birthday today. I am having a lovely day and have received some lovely, thoughtful, gifts. I also received a surprise, beautiful, bouquet of flowers from my eldest son, daughter in law and two year old grandson. They live an hour and a half from me so it was lovely to get a knock on the door this morning and receive these.

My beautiful birthday flowers

I have also had very thoughtful gifts from my lovely husband and my youngest son and daughter in law and some money from my mum which is going towards a birthday meal out.

I had this birthday card from my youngest son and daughter in law which is adorable.

Birthday card

Thank you all. xxxx

The garden is looking amazing at the moment. We have had lots of sunny days and the giant poppies are amazing. Me and my mum always say that just as they reach their best the wind and the rain comes and batters them down. The forecast is for a change over the next few days so this may well still happen again this year.

Giant poppies

They are amazing

Close up

A splash of white

Lilac

This is pretty

Self seeded poppies

More blue

There is so much colour in the garden at the moment and it all looks so lush and full. The paths are fast disappearing. I love this time of the year.

Hurrah! Smoke came out of being broody yesterday but Marmite is still broody. I knew Smoke was getting ready to come out of her broodiness because for the last couple of days she had been out in the run for the morning sunflower seeds and the evening corn but in the nest box the rest of the time.

Marmite is much more determined. I had been closing the nest boxes in the evening and this meant that Smoke would perch up at bedtime but Marmite would simply sit in front of the closed nest box and I had to lift her to the  perch each evening.

It was so good to see Smoke outside all day yesterday. Marmite remains determined to sit in the nest box all day. Each afternoon I would lift both Smoke and Marmite to the run and they would have a quick dust bath together. It always makes me glad that I have lifted them out when I see them dust bath. It is almost like I have granted them permission to do this.

Marmite and Smoke dust bath together

They are joined by Vanilla and Spangle

I love the way that once a couple of girls start to dust bath a couple more will join in. Chickens are such communal creatures.

I didn’t bother closing the nest boxes last night because I knew that Smoke would perch at bedtime and I decided it was as easy to lift Marmite from the nest box instead of in front of it.

There is quite a lack of egg laying at the moment. I have a theory that because seramas are a very broody breed I think that those that don’t go broody need to take a break from laying from time to time.

Speckles doesn’t really count in the egg laying stakes as she has only laid one egg this year in March and I don’t really expect her to lay again.

The odd thing is that only Ebony, Flame and Vanilla are laying at the moment. Luckily these three are all good layers so they are keeping us going with eggs.

Jasmine last laid six days ago. Salmon last laid seven days ago. Marmite last laid eight days ago. Smoke last laid ten days ago. Cinnamon also last laid ten days ago. The really odd one is that Spangle last laid twenty four days ago.

Spangle was never a good layer. She laid twice a week for four months before stopping. The odd thing is that she goes to the nest box from time to time and sits a while then leaves without laying. Spangle looks fine though so it is a puzzle but then again in the past Topaz hardly laid at all.

In all of the time that we had Sienna I never ever saw her in a nest box so it was obviously her heart problem that stopped her laying. Spangle has laid in the past and does go to the nest box so she must feel like she wants to lay or should be laying. It is a puzzle but as long as she looks fine I try not to worry.