Carol's Chickens

It has rained all night or at least every time I woke up (which I do frequently) I could hear it raining. It was raining hard when I went out to the girls first thing this morning and the run was a quagmire. I decided not to separate the girls today as there is so little dry area on the little girls side and also we will be working in the run getting the roof panels on.

We had bought all the materials yesterday so that we could make a start this morning. When we started it was still raining but by the time we had the first panels in the sun was out.

The first panels are in place

The beauty of these panels is that they can be closed during wet weather and opened up during dry or sunny weather. We intend to do four strips of panels to cover the width of the run. Each strip is made up of two panels which will overlap. The panels will cover half the length of the run extension which is where a beam crosses for them to be fixed to. We will leave the furthest half open and see how that goes. If it is still a problem with too much wet area we may install panels in this final bit too at a later date. For now our priority is extending the dry area.

All the panels are now in place

It’s a shame we didn’t have time to get this done before the rain came as it will take a long time for the run to dry out but at least once it does it should stay dry. The forecast is for rain every day over the next week.

My husband  also wanted to take out the plastic cover that we have attached underneath the triangular bit of the run as he feels the constant water and wet leaves may rot the wood.  He wanted to put a new plastic sheet over the top of the run and had to get on top of the run to do this. He stapled the new plastic sheet over the top and also overlapped it over the new panels so that the bit that used to edge the veg plot will now stay dry. This is the area that we put a board over in winter because it was so muddy. This will solve that problem but the little girls area will still get wet where water runs down the panels but at least the next section in the new part will be dry.

I then set about cleaning the mud off the patio area from the morning’s work and cleaned all the water and feed bowls. Everything was looking clean again and my last job was to fork over the run under the new panels to help it dry out quicker.

Then I had a horrible disaster. When going in and out of the run gate the girls are always sticking their heads through the gate to see if there is anything tasty on the other side. I am so careful but this time I didn’t see Honey stick her head under the back end of the gate. I closed the gate against her head and she didn’t even make a sound. I was horrified and tried to get a look at her to see if there was any damage.

She wouldn’t let me get near her so I tried to tempt her with some corn. She was eating the corn and looked as bouncy as ever but I could see one eye was partly shut. I really wanted to pick her up and take a closer look but she kept evading me which wasn’t surprising.

At that moment my husband appeared to see how I was getting on. I tearfully told him what had happened and he said she didn’t seem to be bothered by it. I said I wanted to check the damage but couldn’t catch her. I made another attempt and managed to pick her up. I held her for us both to look at her eye. It was partly closed but my husband pointed out she was still blinking.

I wear contact lenses and just recently had a scratch on my eye. I had bought some optrex eye drops to treat it. We decided to drop some in Honey’s eye. My husband then gently felt her head and she made no sound or movement so it seems there is no other damage. Her eye is the most prominent part so I think it was just her eye that the gate pressed against. I felt so awful, guilty, heart sick and tearful but my husband said accidents happen and it’s probably the equivalent of us getting a black eye. He says it will be swollen and probably take a few days to get back to normal.

I put Honey down and then realised that she had pooped down me. Not surprising and I felt that I deserved that.

I forked over the run and the big girls and Honey were with me looking for worms and she seemed as bright as ever.

I managed to get a few photos of her.

Honey’s good eye

Honey’s bad eye

While I was writing this my husband went to check on her and said she was having a dust bath with the big girls so although her eye is closed she is behaving as normal.

I feel so awful. We have made such progress today and finished the run improvements and then something awful like this happens. I keep tearing up over it. I really hope she is going to be okay.

Yesterday I decided to move one of the shrubs from the original part of the run to the new part of the run. There were several reasons for this move. The other shrub I put in the new part of the run has also not survived due to not having enough root but the good news is that the biggest most tree like one has survived. Where it is in it’s current position the space has now become crowded because of the addition of the little coop nest box and feeding station and finally the girls have realised they can stand on the little coop and strip more leaves from it.

The poor shrub only has leaves at the top and on one side

The shrub is in it’s new position

I also removed my very ugly protector from the rosemary to see if it will survive and the good news is that the girls don’t like it. They have had a token peck and rejected it as I think it’s too pungent for them.

The other thing we need to do is to get some cover over the new part of the run. We were going to put some plastic sheeting over it as a temporary measure but because we have just had a really hot sunny spell I changed my mind about that. I felt that the girls would be too hot and we really need panels that we can open in warm weather. We are having a really busy spell with work at the moment so decided to tackle this job over the bank holiday weekend and hoped the weather would hold out until then.

It didn’t! I got back at lunch time today to a heavy downpour. I realised that the little girls only had a very small dry area by the little coop which they were all huddled into. I felt that I must let them all out together as it wasn’t fair to have them confined to such a small area so I opened both dividing gates.

Honey has been desperate to join the big girls and constantly tries to slip through when I open the gate. The sad thing for me is that I know they are happier all together and they have more space that way too but I really need to stop the feather plucking and I think I am seeing the beginning of pin feathers on Amber’s head.

I could tell that Honey and Amber were really happy to be back with the big girls as where ever the big girls went they went too. Topaz and Sparkle haven’t yet developed that bond so are not bothered by being separated but do enjoy finding the perches on the other side of the run.

Honey and Amber love being able to hang out with the big girls

Topaz and Sparkle have discovered the ladder and the perch

The good thing about the ladder is that Topaz has perched on many of the rungs so it gives a variety of perches.

The extra bricks we have taken out of the veg plot have been stacked on the path as we have no where to store them. My husband suggested I stack them in the run to give the girls something else to sit on as well as getting them out of the way and also they can be reclaimed if we ever need them.

I put half of them in the original run and half of them in the new part. The girls were interested in them right away and Honey and Amber were all over them. By the time I had finished and grabbed my camera it was Sparkle that was most interested.

The bricks soon attracted attention

The bricks on the other side

I located them here because I didn’t want them to be any where the girls would land on them when jumping from perches or any where that would help them to reach more leaves from the shrubs. They also stop the gate swinging back onto the rose which is an added bonus.

I think the girls have had a lovely time together this afternoon and when we set to work on the roof panels they can be together again while we are there to make sure there is no plucking going on. This is all a bit of a trial and error plan but I hope we will get there in the end.

Yesterday afternoon Amber looked unwell again. She has been so much better recently but yesterday afternoon she looked really poorly again and I knew another egg was on the way.

I have been giving her daily limestone flour and cod liver oil in mash. I encouraged her to eat by dropping sunflower seeds in front of her which she did eat. At bedtime Amber is usually on the store cabinet with Sparkle but I expected to find her in the nest box with Topaz as this is where she usually goes when she feels unwell.

To my surprise Amber was stood on the top of the cabinet. As I got closer I realized that she was stood over her egg and must have just laid it. I picked it up and it was incredibly thin shelled. It was dented where the shell would move as it was touched.

Amber’s egg

The other side of Amber’s egg

I put the girls to bed and when I went in to them this morning Amber had as usual bounced back to normal again. It seems no matter what I give her she still has this problem with her eggs. It worries me that one day an egg will break as she is trying to lay it.

I know there is nothing more I can do to help her though and I just hope she can keep passing her eggs. Every time this happens I think I am going to lose her but yesterday my husband said that she would bounce back once her egg was laid and he was right. This morning you wouldn’t know she had a problem. I just hope to have her for as long as possible.

The garden is now looking really full with bursts of colour.

The garden

Garden and the chicken run

The huge poppies in front of the run are a vivid orange and in the chicken run the pink rose has just started flowering. The chickens will enjoy the petals when they fall.

View from the chicken run

One of the shrubs we moved from the garden to the run hasn’t survived as it just didn’t have enough root ball on it. I decided to take it out and plant a rosemary. Once it grows it will become quite woody and should be tough enough to survive the girls. While it is small and tender it will need some protection to stop it being stripped.

I have planted the rosemary

I bought the biggest one I could find but now it’s in it looks really small. Sparkle always stays close when I dig in case there are some worms to be had and she is already inspecting the rosemary.

I laid the plant I took out in the run for the girls peck over.

Topaz finds a few remaining leaves

I then set about rigging up some protection for the rosemary. It’s not very attractive and I may come up with something better but I had to use the materials I had to hand.

The Rosemary

It looks messy on top because I layered it to protect the girls if they landed on it. I have tried to make it solid enough to withstand them possibly jumping on it with all sharp edges tucked out of the way. I may see what’s available in the garden centre and see if I can come up with something better.

Yesterday the little girls found the new perches. Topaz always jumps down when I get close so I only managed to get her just about to dismount.

Sparkle, Topaz and Amber perch together

Sparkle and Amber

All the bantys are perching together

Once again I knew Topaz would jump down when I got close so I took this one from out side first.

Amber, Honey and Sparkle in the sun

Today I followed my plan to put the big girls on the other side for the day.

One of the things I have noticed is that the girls don’t like being separated. Both sets of girls look like they really want to get on the other side despite which side they are on. Amber is less bothered probably due to being most plucked and also because she seems to have formed a friendship with Topaz. They are often sat together.

Honey is the most bothered by the separation. Sparkle pecks Honey if she gets near her, they don’t seem to like being around each other.

Honey paces back and forth along the boundary in the mornings and it’s the same which ever side she is on. She seems to want to be with the big girls despite the fact that they pluck feathers. She seems to miss them.

Ideally I want the flock together but I must give it my best shot at breaking the feather plucking habit.

when I returned from my deliveries at lunch time my husband said he thought Topaz had just laid her first egg. I can’t believe I missed it. He said she had been missing when he went to check on the girls and then he heard shouting. When he went to investigate Topaz was shouting and there was a white banty egg in the nest box. The other little girls’ eggs are more creamy in colour. So we think it must be Topaz but I was disappointed that I wasn’t there to see her go in the nest box. I will be watching for the next one.

We put the girls together before bedtime as usual and they all seemed so happy to be back together. Topaz usually puts herself to bed long before the other girls but didn’t go quite so early today. We wondered if it was because she is a big girl now that she has laid her first egg. She did go to bed first but not quite so early. It’s ironic that this was the only egg we had today.

I will keep to the same sides for the girls tomorrow and I will be keeping an eye on Topaz. Sparkle was probably laying already when we got the new girls but it’s now six weeks later for Topaz. We were beginning to wonder if she was ever going to get started. Well done Topaz!

This morning my plan worked like a dream and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it in the first place. I opened the store cabinet and as always the big girls jumped to the coop roof. I lifted them down into the coop and shut the door.

I threw corn into the little girl’s area and they all ran in while I closed the gate. I could hear Dotty calling from the coop and can just imagine what she was saying!

I let the big girls out and gave them some corn. Job done both quickly and easily. Tomorrow I intend to switch sides and will simply lift the big girls from the coop roof and put them in the other area instead of in the coop. I will see which way round works best or possibly change on alternate days.

I made up some mash for each set of girls and in the little girl’s mash I added some limestone flour and some of the cod liver oil that my friend Jackie kindly got for me. The separation means that I don’t need to give it to the big girls as they are producing calcium bobbles on their egg shells from the extra calcium but Amber can benefit from it.

I hung both girls some cabbage above a perch so that they will have to work for it. The big girls went straight up the ladder to the cabbage.

Dotty and Pepper pecking at the cabbage above their ladder

I had to take this from outside because as soon as I went in they left the cabbage and turned towards me.

Pepper and Dotty on the big perch

Topaz loves to snooze on the new perches and Sparkle snoozes in the sun. The big girls had another lovely dust bath and they both laid today. Honey laid yesterday and Sparkle today.

I will put them all together before bedtime again tonight and I will put them in opposite sides tomorrow.

I went out at half past six this morning to separate the girls. My plan was to lure them all into the little girls side with some corn then steer the two big girls back out into their side. What a stupid plan. It was like a comedy farce.

Firstly I put the open corn tub down on my side of the gate forgetting that there was a gap under the old gate (since turning it round) that I had meant to fill with soil.

Sparkle and Amber squeezed under the gate and had their heads in the corn tub in seconds. I grabbed the corn tub and put the lid on then unlocked the garden shed and got the fork and spade.

I heaped soil against the gate and lured the two little girls back to their side with a little more corn.

Then the fun and games began. As soon as the big girls realized I wanted them out of that area they determined that it wasn’t going to happen. They evaded me and would go through the small gap where I couldn’t reach them. When I told my husband later he asked why I didn’t close off the gap to keep them out of there. In my efforts to persuade them out of that area I just hadn’t thought of that!

I tried digging for worms which always attracts the big girls but when I dug on my side of the gate they wouldn’t cross as if there was an invisible barrier.

In the end I had to scatter some corn on my side and let them all back out, then I lured the big girls further from the gate with corn and lured the little girls back in with a little more corn. Finally I had them in the correct areas but it had taken half an hour and more corn than I like them to have.

This is clearly not going to work so tomorrow morning I have another plan. I will open the store cabinet to get the corn which always makes the big girls jump on to the coop roof. I will then lift them down and pop them into the coop closing the door.

I will then get the little girls into their side with a sprinkle of corn then close the gate. Then I can let the big girls out of the coop and give them a little corn. I am sure this is a better plan.

The girls are now separated

They have chard from my friend Jackie’s allotment

The new gate is now closed

Later in the afternoon Dotty and Pepper were enjoying a lovely dust bath.

Dust bath

Topaz has found one of the new perches and discovered that she can reach the leaves on the tree from there.

Topaz

A little later still Sparkle was on the perch and Topaz was in the middle of the tree. She jumped down before I could take a photo.

Sparkle

The little girls gradually discovered all the perches and the big girls re-discovered the ladder and the perch next to it.

An hour before bedtime I let the girls mix in the whole space. Topaz usually puts herself to bed in the nest box an hour before the other girls and Sparkle settles on the top of store cabinet half an hour before the other girls get ready for bed. They are busy with their routine of topping up with food and water before bedtime and I don’t think they will be doing any plucking during this ritual bedtime routine.

I hope my plan for the morning works a bit easier than this morning but overall I am really pleased with how it is working out.

I started work on the run at six o’clock this morning as I wanted to get as much done as I could before delivering my lunches.

I dug out the two sleepers from the run which we used to use to walk down the veg plot. One was so rotten that it came out in bits but the other one just broke in half. I wanted to use it to make a path at the side of the run with the rambling rose so that we can get down that side to keep the rose maintained (or more to the point chopped back so that it doesn’t get to invasive).

After I had taken out the sleepers I dug the run over again to loosen the soil.

I went back indoors for a bath and breakfast then returned to start the next job. I dug over the compacted strip at the side of the run that is going to have veg and added some compost.

I then replanted the runner beans and chard that I had temporarily put in a grow bag.

The runner beans and chard are replanted

Next I set about getting the sleeper in place down the other side of the run. I dug a channel for it to sit in. This was hard work as there was very little room to manoeuvre and the rose kept grabbing me plus it was getting very warm. I did the best I could with it.

A path of sorts made with the sleepers

It was now time to go out on my deliveries. My husband had already left with his deliveries.

When I got back at lunch time my husband was busy making the frame for the opening between the old and new runs. He had already completed and fitted the new gate and turned the old gate to face the other way so that it wouldn’t obstruct the new opening.

The new gate to separate the two areas

The old gate now opens the other way

Meanwhile I set up a new feeding station with a bigger water bowl as the water was getting dirt flicked into it. I set up four tiles as a base and added a little dish of grit and the old water bowl as a bigger feed bowl.

The new feeding station

My husband had now fitted the new opening and the panel that drops in to close it hangs from a hook above the opening.

The opening to the new run with the closing panel hanging above

In the closed position if we ever need to separate new girls in the future

Sparkle’s bare bottom

I recently showed Amber and Honey’s bare neck, well this is Sparkle’s bare bottom. She had lovely fluffy bloomers when she arrived with us in the first week of April.

I went to collect my friend Jackie to see the progress on the run and while at her’s we foraged in the woodland at the back of her house for branches and logs for the run.

We bought back several branches and a large log.

Jackie was impressed with the space and with how much we had achieved in a short space of time. Once I had dropped her back home we decided to crack on and finish the run. I think my husband was on a mission to get it done today so that he can do other things at the weekend and also so that the girls can be separated as soon as possible.

We attached the galvanised chicken wire to the posts my husband had put in place. He then dug up and planted the three big shrubs from the garden that we wanted moved.

We then put up perches and the original ladder that my husband had made before we ran out of space for it. We added a few logs and the chicken play ground was complete.

We now have plants, perches, logs and a ladder

View from the outside

Tomorrow I will start separating the girls. My husband also suggested that we don’t have to stick with each having their own side but can alternate the girls space to give them variety. Now the run is completed we have many options and I am sure the girl’s will have a much happier life.

This morning I was itching to continue working on the run. I decided to get the little girls part of the run as ready for them as I could.

I closed off the gap at the patio end to start getting them used to it being closed. I moved buckets of soil from the centre of the run to the wire divider to make sure there is no gap underneath.

I put one of the little coops in the little girls side to be used as a nest box but this time I faced it towards the bush to make it darker inside and more secluded.

I set up a food dish and water. The girls soon explored the new feeding station but I wonder how long it will take to start using the nest box. I suppose if it is the only one they will soon get used to it.

The right hand side is the part that the little girls will have with an opening going out into the right hand side of the new run.

Nest box coop and feeding station

My reason for separating the big and little girls is to stop the little girls getting plucked. Honey and Amber now both have bare necks but poor little Amber looks the worst she has ever looked. She now has bare patches on her head and looks a sorry state. The new girls are also both getting bare patches on their bottoms.

Honey’s bare neck

Amber’s bare neck and bare patches on her head

I can’t wait to get them separated and stop this. I only hope their feathers grow back in before the next moult.

When I got back from my deliveries at lunch time the guys were back on the job. I shut the girls in the small separated part of the run so that the guys could make the opening between the two runs and get started on getting the roof on.

They used weld mesh until it run out then finished with a roll of very fine holed galvanised chicken wire.

Getting the roof on

The run is finished

I went over the run picking up any debris then I let the girls out of the small area. Honey and Amber soon found their way into the new part of the run.

Honey and Amber are the only ones brave enough to explore the new space

They look so lost in this big space. I let them have it to themselves for a few minutes and they soon found a few worms without competition.

The big girls haven’t yet stepped over the threshold

I’m not sure the big girls can work it out yet

Finally I scattered some corn to get them all in the new area

The weld mesh was sunk into the ground but as an extra precaution I dug a trench round the three new sides and laid some roof tiles in horizontally. They were left over from our loft extension. I then refilled the trench and while I did this the girls stayed close to get any worms I dug up.

The soil had got compacted by the guys working on it all afternoon so I then dug the whole area over to loosen the soil for the girls to scratch in. This turned up loads of worms and all the girls had quite a feast.

My husband dug over the strip that will have the runner beans in and laid some bricks to edge it. The bricks were the ones I took out from the border of the run and the veg plot originally.

Tomorrow I will replant the beans and chard in here but by now it was dinner time and I was shattered.

Over the next few days we will get the divider in place and my husband has started making the gate for it.

In the morning when the girls come out of the coop they will have the huge new area to scratch in. Once it’s divided we can start to put things of interest in. It is progressing really well and already the girls have a much better space.

The guys arrived at eight this morning to start work on the run. I kept them supplied with coffee and they worked really hard.

The first posts go in

It’s taking shape

The weld mesh is going on

All it needs now is the roof and then the openings between the two runs

This is the view from inside the original run

The posts are set in concrete and the weld mesh has been sunk below the ground. They dug out a trench all round and dropped the weld mesh in. There is also a row of bricks on the far side, a huge, deep, beam at the end and the concrete path on the near side.

Tomorrow the roof will go on then they will make the openings to join it up. At the weekend my husband and I will put the dividing wire fence inside and my husband will make a gate between the two areas. We are finishing the more manageable jobs ourselves to save money.

Once this is done we can put in perches and shrubs and any other bits to finish it off.

As soon as the roof is on and the openings are made the girls can go in and explore. They will have lots of new soil to scratch in and will get sun later in the day too.

The guys will return tomorrow afternoon as they have another job to do in the morning.

Sparkle, Honey and Amber all laid today and Amber didn’t struggle. Her egg didn’t have any blood on it again today so I am hopeful, that for now anyway, she is over her problem. Topaz still hasn’t started laying yet. Pepper also laid today.

The girls weren’t too happy about all the banging and sawing today and they spent a lot of time on the patio area staying away from the guys. They will love it though when they get to explore their new space.