Some leaves for the girls and a general update

A while ago my friend Jackie gave me a bag of leaves for the girls. With my attention focused on Emerald I had forgotten that I had put them in the shed for later.

It’s been wet and miserable today so now seemed like a good time to give them to the girls. I emptied them in a pile and as they were dry and rustling I think at first they scared them.

Peaches was the first one brave enough to investigate the leaves

Honey, Amber and Toffee take a look

A selfie of Barley on my back

I held the camera over my head and blindly snapped with no idea if I would get Barley or not. I am wearing a hooded cardigan under my fleece and she is just below my hood. She jumps to here when ever she can, that is whenever I bend over slightly.

Topaz takes a look at the leaves

Toffee has a scratch in the leaves

An hour later the leaves are well scattered

I think once they started to scatter the leaves they had fun with them.

Emerald is now on the fifth day of tylan and although it’s been slow she is getting better. She is still gaping after she eats but not as often and she is brighter.

As usual I hand fed her twice today but while taking the photo above I saw her peck at a bit of apple then eat a few pellets. It’s the first time I have seen her eat any pellets for days.

Emerald has a drink of water

Emerald has a peck at the apple

Emerald has some pellets, Hurrah!

This was so good to see and I really hope it means she is on the mend.

Other news is that after Topaz laid an egg almost a month ago she hasn’t laid another. I think she is still recovering from the moult. We have had Topaz and Sparkle for six months now and in that time Topaz has laid six eggs and Sparkle has laid ninety nine.

I wonder if Topaz will hit her stride in the spring or if she will always remain a poor layer. Sparkle on the other hand is our only girl laying at the moment and is laying about five eggs a week.

Amber laid one egg in July, August and September then stopped altogether. With her egg laying problem I am glad of that. Honey stopped laying three weeks ago and both Honey and Amber started moulting a few days ago. This is a good thing as they should get their missing feathers back in. Honey already has pin feathers showing on her neck.

I just wish Sparkle would moult and get her fluffy bottom feathers in even if it meant no eggs for a while.

We have had Toffee and Emerald for four months and in that time Emerald has only laid one egg and Toffee has laid five. They had been broody before this and then went into their moult so they may start again in spring (If we can get Emerald back to full good health).

Peaches and Barley are four and a half months old now, I can’t believe we have only had them three months as I couldn’t imagine not having them now, so they may start laying next month. They haven’t shown any interest in the nest box yet.

Eggs are always a delightful bonus but my main concern at the moment is getting Emerald well again.