Carol's Chickens

Yesterday evening Amber looked really unwell again. Her wings were down and she stood by the water. I have seen her like this before and the first time I was really worried, thinking she was really ill and that we could lose her. I soon realised this is a sign she is about to lay an egg and once the egg is laid she bounces straight back to her normal self again.

I had hoped we had got past this and that she was getting the hang of egg laying. It’s sad to think of her suffering every time she is about to lay an egg. The bantys do seem to struggle much more than the big girls with egg laying.

Since the hot weather began Honey took seven days off laying but now has laid an egg, missed a day, then laid two days running for the first time. Honey looks fine with it and seems to have got the hang of it now.

Amber took nine days off, laid one egg then missed another two days. The other thing I noticed yesterday evening is that she has had her comb pecked again. I feel so sorry for her.

Amber stands with her wings down

Amber stands by the water looking miserable

The dark line at the base of her comb is dried blood from being pecked. I thought we had got past this and it’s upsetting to see this again. Her feathers have also been pulled out from her front, just under her face.

When I put them to bed, once it was cool, I knew that I would probably find an egg from Amber in the morning.

This morning when I went out to them early, Amber was back to herself again. I was surprised that there was no egg in the nest box. I opened up the side of the coop to clean and there it was, a soft shelled egg on the coop floor. That explained why she was looking unwell.

Amber’s soft shelled egg

With the hot weather I have been giving more treats to keep them cool and it must have upset the balance of Amber’s diet. I mixed up some mash with limestone flour and a little olive oil and took it to the girls.

Back on the limestone flour

Pepper once again is in the nest box. I will keep mixing lime stone flour in with their treats until Amber’s eggs are normal again. At least this is a problem than can easily be sorted out.

Today I looked for a suitable plastic tray for the girls to have water and peas in. I found that a cat litter tray was too small and too deep, washing up bowls the same, but then I found a shallow storage box which I thought might work. I thought that if I used the lid by the side of the box, I could increase the area which would encourage the girls to step in the water and cool their feet.

It didn’t work as the lid was too shallow and if not level, the water ran out and left the heap of frozen peas exposed. This meant the girls could just pick the peas up without any water. I abandoned this idea and poured the contents into the main part of the storage box.

The box was higher sided than the metal tray and the girls couldn’t pluck up the courage to step into it. Honey perched on the side but wouldn’t step into the water.

The lid is too shallow

The water has disappeared leaving the frozen peas exposed

I tipped the contents of the lid into the main box

They reach for the peas but don’t attempt to step in.

Honey perches on the side

She stretches out towards the peas

Honey gives up

My next idea is to dig the tray into the ground to make it easier for the girls to step into. As it’s going to stay hot for a while I intend to leave it there with water in for them to paddle in at any time or drink from, then add frozen peas or sweetcorn in the afternoons as a treat. Even some of the simplest ideas are an ongoing project!

Yesterday was the hottest day yet. We had been forecast possible storms. The air was heavy and still and we had a little thunder but no relief.

In the afternoon, Pepper was in the little coop trying to lay her egg. The bantys seemed unaffected by the heat but for the first time Dotty and Bluebell were panting. I needed something extra to cool the girls. I found an old metal tray which I put about an inch of cold water in. I then poured in some frozen peas. I hoped as well as eating cold peas and taking on extra water, that the girls would stand in the tray and cool their feet.

Amber was the first one brave enough to investigate

Bluebell, Dotty and Honey came over to take a look

They decided they liked this

Pepper leaves the nest box and comes over to take a look

Amber is the first one to stand in the water

Amber was the only one who actually stood in the water. Pepper put one foot in. They enjoyed it though and it cooled them down as I didn’t see any more panting. Today I will try to find a plastic tray that is large enough to encourage them into the water rather than just eating the peas while standing outside the tray. Even if I don’t find anything bigger, I will still repeat this as they obviously enjoyed it and it cooled them down.

For some time, at bedtime, the big girls have settled on the high perch and the bantys on my little chair which hangs under the roof. For the last three nights the positions have changed. The bantys have been on the big perch and Bluebell has been on the little chair. The first night I thought it was probably a one off but after three nights it seems to be the new routine for now.

I usually spend some time with the girls after dinner and leave them at half past eight to go and watch some evening television then return later to put them to bed. Last night I went back out at half past nine to check on them and they were just getting themselves lined up for bedtime. Bluebell settled on the chair first and the little girls were on the storage cabinet and looked like they really wanted to go on the chair, but as Bluebell was already there they had to go on the high perch instead.

It seems that it’s Bluebell that has made this change in the routine yet I don’t know why she would prefer the chair. She looks so big on it and not particularly comfortable. I wonder is if it’s just to assert herself over the little girls!

I was also surprised that they get settled so early but I suppose it makes sense to get in position while there is enough light to find their way to the high perch. I can see why they don’t want to go in the coop at this time as it’s still quite warm. I am sure that when the evenings are cool again and it gets dark earlier they will revert back to going in the coop themselves as they did last summer. I don’t mind lifting them down each night as I prefer them to go in when it’s cool.

Bluebell is first to take up the position on the little chair

The little girls settle for a position on the high perch

The little girls settle nearer to the big girls

Bluebell is staying here

It will be interesting to see how long this new regime lasts.

It’s unusually hot here for British summer. We often only get a few days to a week of warm weather at a time and twenty one degrees celsius or seventy degrees fahrenheit or a little above is usually the top temperature. At the moment we are experiencing thirty degrees celsius or ninety degrees fahrenheit and it’s forecast to last a month. That’s a heat wave to us.

I know from my fellow American chicken bloggers that they experience much more extreme weather conditions than we do, hot and cold, but for us this is unusual.

Last year we had one of the wettest summers on record, it really did rain all summer long. This year it was one of the coldest summers on record up until this hot spell and now this is being hailed as a possible contender for the hottest spell on record! This is after the weather “experts” said we may have no summer for the next ten to twenty years! What is it with the British and their endless obsession with the weather and I have to include myself in that statement! We can’t help it, we all speculate about it, check the reports and talk about it endlessly. It is one of the things that makes us British!

Chickens cope well with the cold but they don’t like the heat. My girls haven’t experienced this heat before. The dominiques are cold hardy with a layer of down underneath their feathers and are not so suited to the hot weather.

I am lucky that their run is at the top of our garden and shaded by tall trees behind the garden. It gets the morning sun but by midday is in shade. Even so I do all I can to keep the girls cool.

The automatic coop door opens at five o’clock in the morning at this time of year and at that time it’s still cool.

At midday I change their water for fresh cold water in both drinkers and I water a shaded area of the soil to keep the area near their favourite bush cool. I give them treats such as melon, cucumber, grapes and apples to give them extra moisture.

In the evening when they settle on the high perch I leave it until eleven o’clock to put them to bed instead of the usual ten o’clock. This means the coop is cool when they go in.

I check regularly for the dreaded red mite as they thrive in hot weather and sprinkle D.E. everywhere. So far I have managed to avoid them.

I also poop pick the run a minimum of three times a day, often a lot more, sometimes every time I go in there. This keeps down flies and means there isn’t much to pick up each time.

I shall keep up this regime as long as the hot spell lasts. My girls are doing okay. The worst bit is when they want to lay their egg in a warm coop at the hottest part of the day. The bantys have taken a week off laying since the beginning of the hot spell and I don’t blame them.

The bonus is that the girls have also stopped feather pulling since the start of the hot weather because instead of sitting in a huddle in the afternoons they sit spaced out due to the heat, which puts them out of reach for feather pulling.  I am becoming quite hopeful that this problem has finally turned a corner.

For quite some time my son, Steve, has been saying that we should put the girls portraits on the side bar of my blog. I like the idea but have held off as the girls look so tatty from the feather pulling, especially Dotty with her bare head and neck. I wanted pictures of the girls looking pristine, fully feathered and beautiful, as they should look. This has meant a very long wait and may be quite a lot longer yet!

Steve said I should do it anyway as it’s part of their character and is how they truly are and he thinks it’s amusing! I can’t bring myself to though, so instead am going to put lots of up to date portraits here.

Amber face on

Amber has missing feathers from her neck at the front, giving her a slightly scruffy look. She is also missing the rounded top part of her comb furthest from her beak. The photo isn’t close enough to see this but she doesn’t like the camera too close. The rounded part of her comb got pecked off during the first battles of introducing the new girls. The bantys are vorwerks and Amber is the more feisty of the two.

Amber side on

Amber is a much more compact shape than Honey, a sort of tear drop shape. She is also smaller than Honey.

Honey side on

Honey has a longer body than Amber and a slightly humped back, before her tail.

Honey face on

Honey also had her comb pecked and it was quite ragged for a while. Her comb has healed completely though and now looks in good shape. It is red but the bright sunlight has made it look pink.

Honey face on again

Pepper side on

Pepper and Dotty are also completely different shapes. The farm I got them from had two breeding pairs of dominiques and I have always been convinced that Pepper and Dotty were from the different pairs. Dotty was much more similar in shape to Poppy who turned out to be a cockerel and had to be returned.

Pepper is also a sort of tear drop shape but much wider. She is broad across the beam and my husband often calls her “fatty”. Her feathers around her bottom are really tatty from the feather pulling but are at last regrowing.

She has a very different face to Dotty and even her comb is different. Pepper’s comb is more ridged and pointed at the end.

Dotty stretching up ready to jump on the big perch

Dotty’s comb is much smoother and flatter and her lobes are also bigger. She is taller than Pepper and is a much narrower shape. They even sound different. Pepper has a melancholy  voice whereas Dotty has a sing song, happy voice.

Dotty and Pepper on the big perch

This photo shows Pepper’s wider shape. The odd thing is that Dotty is greedier than Pepper and Pepper will delicately spend time breaking a grape down into tiny pieces whereas Dotty eats treats at speed so I think Pepper is just naturally a wider shape.

Bluebell face on

Bluebell is our only chalkhill blue so I have no one to compare her with. She also has missing neck feathers. She is a great digger and a lays a blue egg most days.

Bluebell side on

Pepper side on again

Pepper is top hen and she is a really stubborn character.

Dotty side on again

Dotty has such a lovely nature that it’s a great shame her bare neck spoils her looks. It’s not her fault either. I really hope that after their first end of summer molt her feathers will grow back in.

Another difference between these two girls is that Dotty’s tail is pointing upwards like Bluebell’s. Pepper’s tail is held horizontally just like the bantys.

Bluebell standing up straight

Bluebell and Pepper

At one time Dotty had a black spot on her beak and Pepper didn’t but now Pepper has a bigger black spot on her beak.

Bluebells floppy comb

Bluebell has a floppy comb and a loud voice. Pepper’s feathers have regrown around her bottom and it’s no longer bare.

They are all such individual characters and have their unique funny ways. Pepper and Dotty like to jump on my back whenever they can. Bluebell will only jump on me if I hold my arm out as a perch. I am not sure if the bantys will ever jump on me but they do now let me pick them up at bedtime with no protest and they curl their little toes round my fingers, which is really sweet. You can’t help but love these funny girls.

Yesterday evening I spent some more time working on the run. I had forked the whole run over a few days earlier but there were lots of hard clods of earth. The big girls, especially Bluebell, have big strong feet and legs. Bluebell is our digger! She loves to dig huge holes and flings clods of earth everywhere. The bantys have tiny legs for their body size. When they try to dig, they merely scratch the surface.

With their tiny legs the bantys stumble around. The clods of earth are enough to make them stumble as if they are drunk. I went over the whole run breaking up the clods with a fork. I then went back over it again with a hand fork to try to make the soil finer. I then sprinkled in some rose petals for the girls.

Rose petals for the girls

The girls love rose petals

It’s been a really good year for the roses in our garden this summer and there are plenty of falling petals to give the girls.

This morning the weather forecast is saying that this heat wave is going to last for a month, so I decided it was time to take off the plastic sheet from the garden corner of the run. My husband removed the batons holding it in place and we took the sheet down. We plan to redo it in winter but will put it back on from the inside. This will be easier to do and will make the run look neater from the outside.

My next job was to prune the apple tree in the run. Not only do I like to keep it below the top of the run but every year the top part of the tree gets covered in black fly and the leaves curl up looking unpleasant. I don’t use any sprays near the girls so each year I prune off the top infected part of the tree. The tree looks much better for it.

The plastic roof sheet is off and the apple tree is pruned

The corner that we have uncovered is the left hand corner behind the apple tree. The run looks empty but that’s because the girls are all in the shade of the big hypercum bush.

This morning Pepper was shouting and strutting around like crazy and even when I went in to her I couldn’t calm her down. Bluebell and Dotty were in the nest box getting their eggs laid and I thought it was because they were in there that she was making such a fuss.

She kept going to the coop door then to the little coop. I wondered if it was because the little coop was too hot and got a piece of wood to put under the lift up lid to allow more air flow. That was when I realized what the problem was. I had shut the ramp to the little coop last night while I swept up around it and had forgotten to open it again.

I opened the ramp and she went straight in and laid her egg. I felt so bad that I had been telling her off for shouting. She is so stubborn and clearly wanted to get into her usual place to lay her egg. After all three big girls had laid their egg, all was quiet again.

Yesterday afternoon the little girls were really going for it in a dust bath. I think perhaps it was too hot for the big girls. Once again I have good and bad news on the feather pulling. The bad news is that whilst I thought Honey had been untouched, I could see when she was writhing in the dust bath and throwing her head back, that she too has a bare patch on the front of her neck.

Dust bathing bantys

Honey is on the left and is showing a bare patch on her neck.

Writhing around in the dust bath

The good news is that since the start of the hot weather a week ago, I have found no feathers in the run and not caught any of the girls feather pulling. Yesterday afternoon when they usually all sit in a huddle and pull feathers, they were all sat in a group, but spaced out at about two feet apart. I think it’s too hot to sit close together and while spaced out, they can’t reach to pull feathers. It may be a faint hope, but I am hoping that the hot spell may last long enough to break them from the habit. That would be a real bonus because I know they don’t actually like the hot weather.

Since the start of the hot weather Bluebell has switched from laying in the little coop back to laying every day in the main nest box. I think this is because the little coop gets hotter. They are both under the roofed area which is shaded by large trees at the back of the garden but mid morning a shaft of sunlight gets through to the little coop. Pepper who is a very stubborn girl, still lays in the little coop. The other effect of the hot weather is that the bantys have stopped laying altogether. They had been laying every other day and now haven’t laid for six and seven days. They seem happy in every other way so I am not worried.

At bedtime when I lift the girls down to put them in the coop the little girls now don’t mind at all. They only perched on the big perch with the big girls one evening then reverted back to sitting on my little chair that hangs under the roof. I think the big perch is too fat for their little feet. What is sweet is that as I lift them down they now curl their little toes round my fingers. It’s an incredibly sweet feeling.

The other sweet thing is that Pepper and Dotty always jump on my back whenever they can. Since the hot weather, I have been wearing sun tops with my back and shoulders bare so have been trying not to face my back to them because I was worried they would scratch me. A few times they have been too quick for me and have jumped on my bare back but it’s as if they sense that they need to be careful. They very gently and slowly drop down my back and jump off and have never left a mark or a scratch on me. It amazes me how gentle they are with me.

Finally, I been trying not to keep deviating from chickens to the garden but couldn’t resist including the delphiniums.

Delphiniums

The dark blue ones are so tall they reach up into the rambling rose next to the garden bird feeders, but the pale blue ones in the foreground are my favourite.  They are such a delicate colour.

It’s summer in the chicken run and the hypericum is in full flower. It fills the corner of the run and is so tall that it now reaches the top of the run. I have had to prune it back a bit so that I can walk past it when cleaning up. The apple tree has also re-grown to reach through the top of the run so I will be trimming it back again soon as I prefer to keep it below the top of the run.

The hypericum fills this corner and has a splash of yellow flowers

The apple tree and hypericum

In front of the hypericum is the dogwood shrub, but the girls have been jumping up and stripping the leaves as far as they can reach so it doesn’t look too great!

I also dug over the whole run yesterday. I dig over half of it every few days for the girls to scratch and dust bath. The rest I leave to compact as it’s easier for me to walk on but every now and then I dig over the whole run. Parts of it were like concrete!

The run after I had dug it over

Looking in to the run through through the veg plot shows the yellow splash of the hypericum filling the left hand corner of the run.

Looking at the run through the veg plot

The potatoes in the middle are now in flower as are the runner beans on the left. The tumble of pale pink on the left of the veg plot is the rambling rose that borders our garden with next doors.

We are now harvesting the peas and broad beans and sharing the chard between ourselves and the chooks and they love it. Soon there will be pak choi and spinach for them too. Later in the summer with any luck there will be corn cobs for the girls too. There wasn’t enough sun for them to ripen last year but this year I am hopeful. I think they appreciate the veg plot as much as we do.

The girls also appreciate the hypericum in their run which they have also stripped of any leaves within jumping distance. It provides their favourite place to sit in shade and to scratch around in the evenings.

Hot summer weather has arrived at last. Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far (high seventies) and after a washed out summer last year it was the hottest day that the chickens have yet experienced. They didn’t like it! It was the noisiest the girls have been, complaining all day.

I have been giving them fresh cold water at midday and wetting the patio area and a corner of the garden area to help keep it cool. They don’t drink the fresh cold water I give them, they drink from the muddy puddles that form. They have shade under the bush which is where they like to spend most of their time.

I give them melon, cucumber and grapes to give moisture. Sunday was so hot that they did no scratching or dust bathing. Bluebell and Dotty laid their eggs in the morning but Pepper went in at midday day when it was hottest and she always takes the longest.

When she came out she was holding her wings up and out, away from her body. She must have got over heated in the nest box. I have never seen her do this before and it made her look huge. I lightly water sprayed them to cool them down but they ran off in disgust, because I use the spray when they peck or feather pull they see it as a punishment.

Luckily yesterday was cooler with some cloud and a breeze and they seemed back to normal and all had a dust bath in the afternoon.

They love pecking at cabbage when I hang it from a wire so I wondered if they would like their afternoon apple like that too, instead of on the ground. They soon lined up at the apples.

Apples on wire

Last night when I was doing my evening clean up there was suddenly a commotion on the patio. I looked up to see Pepper attacking Amber. She was on her back holding her down and pecking her. I dashed over and grabbed the water spray. I don’t know why she suddenly attacked her and they weren’t near the food.

Poor Amber was limping and sitting down a lot. She still went to the food and water as usual but it looked like she had hurt her leg or foot. She was trying to keep off the left leg. I picked her up and checked her leg and foot and couldn’t see anything so I think maybe she sprained it when she went down. I will be keeping a close eye on her. The bantys have such tiny legs and feet and when I pick them up they curl their toes round my fingers.

This morning Amber looks okay, just a very slight limp but I will be keeping a close eye on her. Just when I thought they were all getting along, I really don’t know why they suddenly do this and it is upsetting to see. This morning everything seems back to normal though.