Carol's Chickens

Last night when I went in to do the bedtime routine, I thought it would be a good idea to take another look at Treacle and make sure everything is okay with her. I sat on my little chair for the first time in ages so that I could have her on my lap. Treacle soon jumped onto my lap and I started to inspect her. I couldn’t find the scab that I had noticed a few days ago. The bare patch seems to have feathered in now and I couldn’t find anything. I haven’t seen Bluebell peck at it either so I can only conclude that she is fully healed and feathered and it isn’t a problem, thank goodness.

At this point Dotty wanted to jump on my lap and landed on top of Treacle causing her to squawk. I lifted Dotty from Treacle and Treacle jumped down. Dotty settled on my lap and I stroked her sides. She stayed for ages and seemed to like the attention. What a changed girl Dotty is. At one time she didn’t interact with me at all, but here she was sitting being stroked and looking like she was really enjoying it. I am amazed at how much Dotty has changed as she is growing up.

This morning I uncovered the cement and it was dry. I had a sweep and clean up and took some photos.

Cobbles in cement where the jasmine used to be

This was a heap of cobbles on top of earth where the jasmine had been planted. Its now concrete with a few cobbles pushed in. It’s not an attractive photo but it’s to show that rats won’t be able to get through here. I think this will look better when it dries and lightens, it should blend in more then.

The box has gone

Instead of the wooden, earth filled box, we now have patio slabs over concrete. Nothing is going to get through here again and it has the added advantage of being much easier for me to clean. I can now sweep or sluice straight over the edge and the girls won’t scratch or walk mud onto patio.

No more wood

This is the view from the other side. The wood has gone and in it’s place is a concrete gravel board. It has been sunk into the ground, then a layer of concrete has been put in front of it, then a layer of earth over the top. The box has been filled with rubble, then a layer of weld mesh and chicken wire, then a layer of cement, topped with patio slabs. Nothing is ever getting through this again.

Concrete gravel board

Stepping block

For now I have put this block here as a step. I want to level the soil again and top with wood chip once more but can’t do anything until the weather changes. At the moment the ground is frozen and snow covered with more snow forecast. When I am able to work on this again I will decide whether to put the wooden step back or just use these blocks to step on.

Yesterday evening while in with the chickens, hearing a rat gnawing at wood outside was a bit like something out of a horror film. Today though I am feeling more positive. They can’t get in to the chickens now that we have blocked them with concrete and even if they try to chew through the wooden fence it will take time. So the next plan of action is to put poison in the shed, then unblock the hole to the shed and let them go in and take it. We will try to get rid of them as I feel that if we get rid of them and new rats come along in the future, they probably wouldn’t go to such great lengths to get in when there is no food being left out. We think the rats currently here are so determined because they were getting in and getting food in the past.

This morning when I let the girls out, Bluebell had already laid her egg. Pepper soon followed then Treacle. After the stressful day yesterday, which was a no egg day, today we have a three egg day!

We lifted the plastic cover from the concrete and found it wasn’t fully set yet, so we decided to leave it covered until tomorrow and I will take photos then.

The problem now is that the girls won’t go out into the snow so have confined themselves to the patio. It was quite dark on the patio because of the snow on the corrugated roof, so my husband used the step ladder and a broom to remove as much as he could reach.

I cleared a path through the snow and cleared the area under the umbrella but the girls were still not interested. I threw a few dried meal worms out and they ran out and cleared them up then returned to the patio. This means I have to keep poop picking the patio as it gets messy with them spending the whole day there. We have more snow forecast tomorrow and another week of freezing temperatures so I worry that if the snow doesn’t clear the girls are going to just stay on the patio.

In the afternoon I threw some sunflower seeds out into the garden area to encourage them out and grabbed my camera.

Searching for sunflower seeds

Tails up!

There must be more sunflower seeds here somewhere

We like to stay close together

Maybe the girls will be a bit braver tomorrow!

This morning our guy (R) was due to come at quarter past eight to concrete the soil box that the rats have been digging through.

I usually go and poop pick the coop at half past seven, although the automatic coop door doesn’t open until eight o’clock. I open it manually, do my chores with the handy head torch my eldest son bought me for this job and the coop door opens as I have finished. This enables me to get the job done half an hour earlier and gives the girls half an hour extra out of the coop.

This morning I needed to get the cleaning up done earlier so went out at seven o’clock and put the flood light on. The coop door opened and the girls came out but wouldn’t venture from the floodlit patio area as the garden area was still in darkness. I did my chores and left the light on so that the coop door would stay open and the girls would have light. They were unnerved by the partial darkness and all went up to sit on the coop roof. I won’t do this again as it’s probably not good for them but as it was only half an hour until the coop door would normally open, I left to do my indoor chores before R arrived.

I went back out at eight o’clock and turned off the floodlight. The coop door then closed. I shone my torch on it and it opened again and stayed open.

At quarter past eight R arrived and so did the snow. We really didn’t need this but he only had a couple of hours to give us and said we could get done before the snow settled.

Between R and my husband they knocked out the wood from the box, dug a trench and put in the concrete gravel board, dug out the box and filled it with  rubble, then a layer of concrete, then laid the slabs we have on top. We pushed cobbles into the concrete where there were gaps either side of the slabs. We also removed the cobbles from the spot the jasmine had been planted, dug some earth out and filled that with concrete too, then pushed cobbles into it. We put the rat cage over it to keep the girls from it.

By now my husband had to go off and do his deliveries and me and R finished up. R grouted between the slabs then we covered the whole area with bin bags weighed down with wood and cobbles to keep it dry and keep the girls away from the concrete. We have to leave it covered for twenty four hours to set. By now it was snowing hard and the girls made no attempt to leave the roofed patio area all day.

The concrete is covered and the snow is settling

I will photograph this again tomorrow when it’s uncovered.

The snow was coming down thick and fast and at eleven o’clock and again at three o’clock I went out and cleared the plastic roof over the run. It looked fine but I worried about the weight on it so stood on a step ladder and used a broom to push the snow off. By this time the snow had started to slow and by four o’clock it had stopped.

The snow covered garden with the chicken run at the top

The snow filled run from outside

The snow covered run from inside

I think this was quite a stressful day for the girls. It was the first day since they have started laying that we had no eggs. They confined themselves to the patio all day because of the snow and spent a lot of the day on top of the coop.

Bluebell and Dotty on the nest box of the coop

It had been a difficult day all round, my husband was stuck in traffic for hours because of the snow, but it wasn’t over yet. I went up to do my clean up and make sure the girls all went in the coop at bedtime. I could hear scratching or gnawing. I thought perhaps a rat had got trapped inside the patio area and was trying to get out. I shone my torch every where, behind the storage cabinet, behind the coop, inside and under the coop but nothing. I then thought it must be outside trying to get in.

I went indoors and asked my husband to come and listen to the noises and investigate with me. We decided to get the girls in the coop then investigate by torchlight. I said that it sounded like it was coming from the big shed which the patio area is joined to. My husband went into the shed to investigate. To our dismay, the end side of the shed that forms the border to next doors garden had a hole chewed through at floor level and rat droppings inside it. We are not sure if they chewed through here thinking they were getting into the chickens or if they would next try to go through the joining wall between the shed and chicken run. For now my husband has blocked this new hole with bits if wood. It’s a constant round of blocking each new entry point.

We are gutted! We have worked so hard and spent so much money making this rat proof and now feel if they will chew through the wooden fence then what do we do next. My husband said we need a concrete bunker to keep the rats out and will have to clad all the fenced areas. We are at our wits end with this. We thought this time we would keep them out and are feeling really depressed right now.

A few days ago I noticed Treacle had a small bare patch around her vent. The skin isn’t red, it’s a normal, white skin colour but I made a mental note to keep a close eye on her. Today we noticed that Bluebell pecked at a spot under Treacle’s wing a couple of times. On closer inspection there was a very small bare patch under each wing. I decided to pick her up for a close inspection before bedtime.

I held Treacle on my lap and inspected. There was no sign of anything around her vent and it was clean and normal, but under her left wing was a scab about the size of a small finger nail. I couldn’t find any sign of anything else and concluded that she had injured herself or been pecked and the red scab was causing Bluebell to peck at it. Treacle is her usual happy, busy self with no outward sign of any problem or stress and is laying eggs as usual.

I then researched lice and mites and read that one of the signs are scabs. I started to worry, despite the fact that I keep everything very clean and dust with D.E and have a dry dust bath of ash with a little D.E. added, which they use frequently. The information said that you need to inspect for mites after dark by torch light as this is when they will be active.

I knew I couldn’t rest until we had checked so asked my husband to come and look with me. I opened up the side panel of the coop and lifted Treacle on to my lap while my husband shone the torch on the area under her wing. We both agreed it looked like a scab from an injury perhaps on a twig of the bush in the run or a peck and looked pretty well healed already. There was no sign of lice or mites or any other scabs.

Treacle was very well behaved, I talked soothingly to her and stroked her while giving her a good look over. Treacle didn’t seem to mind and I put her back on her perch and closed the coop. It all went easier than I thought it would.

I have read that there is a product called Gentian, which is a bright purple spay and acts as an antiseptic but also stains the skin to hide redness and deter pecking. I will see if I can get some tomorrow but we both agreed that it looked as if it had already healed with no sign of any fresh blood so If I can’t source it, I think we will just keep a close eye on her. If I can get some it will be useful to have in case it’s needed in the future. I feel happier now that we have both had a look at her and will be watching her with care over the next few days.

The other three are all fluffy and fully feathered with no sign of any problems. I have read on a few blogs of hens losing feathers or moulting very late on in the year. I hope this all that is happening here.

Among the many time consuming and expensive improvements to the chicken run, I have also made some small and inexpensive improvements recently. I found that as the girls are in the coop such a long time at this time of year, I was crouched in front of it poop picking in the morning for a longer stretch. This was making my back and hips ache. I decided I needed a mat of some sort to kneel on. I then found the perfect mat, it’s a rubber exercise mat and was on sale for six pounds. It was full length so I cut it into four mats. I now kneel on it each morning to poop pick the coop and this simple mat has made my life easier, no more aches.

When changing the wood shavings in the coop, I noticed that the wood floor was getting a bit wet. I  decided to put the metal tray from the rat cage we have (we use it as a transport cage if needed), over the coop floor to protect the wood. This also means I can pull the metal tray out to change the shavings, making this job easier too.

Once I had done this the temperature plummeted and it’s been well below freezing at night. I started to worry that a metal floor would be colder than a wooden floor so my next improvement was to put a layer of cardboard over the metal tray then cover with a thick layer of shavings.

This seems to work well as this morning I found poop picking easier and no wet patches on the cardboard yet. When it gets wet I will replace it but am hoping it will only need replacing when I renew the shavings so shouldn’t be a problem. It makes a change for the improvements to be easy and to cost very little.

The other change happening at the moment is that Dotty is finally growing up.

Dotty’s comb is growing at last

This photo shows the beginning of Dotty’s comb and wattles, where there was no sign a few weeks ago. I have also noticed recently that Dotty doesn’t seem to stick with the other girls so much at the moment, she is often a bit apart from them. There is no pecking or bullying, she just seems to like doing her own thing and seems just as happy. I think it’s because the other three girls are all mature egg laying ladies now and she has got left a bit behind. It will be interesting to see if she changes again when she starts to lay.

We had some snow during the night last night, and more during the day today. This is the chickens first experience of snow. The step down into the garden part of the run had a light covering of snow on it this morning. The chooks headed towards it saw the snow and did an about turn. I could almost read their thoughts “I am not standing on that!”.

I brushed the snow from the step and immediately the girls headed out to the garden. During the day as the snow started falling again they retreated to the patio area. I could see they were not impressed. I would have liked to take a photo of them in the snow but they were not having that!

Snow in the run

This photo shows how well the plastic covering plus the umbrella are keeping the corner area dry. We hope in summer to take the plastic covering off and just keep the umbrella for wet summer days. We just hope this summer won’t be as wet as last summer.

We feel we got the top of the run improved just in time. The chicken net may have drooped under the weight of snow but with the chicken wire over thick wooden struts, we feel it’s strong enough to withstand snow.

As we had more snow during the day, it piled up on the corrugated plastic roof of the patio area and made it quite dark. The floodlight we put up at the weekend came in useful when I went in to do my afternoon sweep up.

The girls usually go to bed at half past four but I suddenly realised it was nearly five o’clock and they hadn’t gone in because they were still pottering about on the floodlit patio. I turned the light off and the sudden darkness confused them. The automatic coop door closed and the girls went behind the coop under the nest box. I know that chickens can’t see in the dark so I held the coop door open and shone my torch near it. One by one they filed in and I closed the door. I will try in future not to plunge them into sudden darkness.

After a few dry days, last night it rained all night and the forecast is more to come and possible snow. Today we put another plastic cover over the garden corner of the run and secured it with batons. We chose a thicker plastic this time and instead of the makeshift bamboo canes to hold the inside edge, I threaded some stiff wire through the plastic before we put it over the top.

I then secured the open edge by threading garden wire through the stiff wire and round the chicken wire roof. This time instead of trimming off the bit of plastic hanging over the side of the run we decided to leave it for a while and see if it helps to keep the rain out of the side a bit. It doesn’t look very attractive but may be worth it if it keeps the run drier.

I then poured some water from the watering can over the top (standing on the step ladder) to see if it would pool. Because the wooden struts have given the top more of a slope it didn’t pool so no need to make drainage holes this time. However it did appear to drain back into the covered area which was rather disappointing but my husband thinks that as it was a windy day the water may have blown back in. We won’t be able to tell how well this works until we get the next rain.

We do feel happier that if it snows the roof is now sturdy enough to hold up under a bit more weight.

The plastic cover from the outside of the run

The plastic cover from the inside of the run

We now have the top rat proof but yesterday my husband saw a rat run under the wooden step during the afternoon and Dotty was shouting at it. Then this morning I found another cobble pushed out and a tunnel underneath. I am still amazed at the strength they must have to push the cobbles out! We decided that we must do something as a temporary measure until our guys can come back to concrete the box.

My husband dug a trench in front of the box and put a vertical layer of spare roof tiles in front of it. He then put a layer of wooden planks in the bottom then filled it back in with soil. He then took out the cobbles and small slab from the top of the box and put a layer of tiles under the slab instead of the cobbles. We feel this should keep them out until we can get it filled with concrete which should be the last job needing to be done we hope!

My husband then decided it was time to put my Christmas presents in the run. He fitted the flood light in the run for me.

Floodlight

He fitted the plant holder, it just needs some pots and plants but those will come later.

Plant holder

We then added the antique boot scraper my husband bought me for Christmas.

Antique boot scraper

Lastly we put the boot cleaner just outside the run.

Boot cleaner

As for the chickens, they are not at all bothered about all these improvements. As long as I turn up with some treats they are happy.

Dotty finally seems to be growing up at last. In the last week suddenly her wattles have grown, her face has got a more red colour and finally her backward spiked comb is starting to show.  She still loves to jump on my back or shoulder at any chance she gets. I wonder about this behaviour because when Treacle was almost mature, she too wanted to jump on me all the time. These days Treacle and Bluebell just jump on me sometimes and Pepper looks like she really wants to but can’t quite pluck up the courage, but Dotty who at one time didn’t interact with me at all, is always jumping on me. I wonder if it’s something to do with the pre grown up stage but I don’t have a clue why this should be.

I also saw Dotty take the grit today and now wonder if she may start to lay this side of spring. Our baby Dotty (at eight months), seems to be growing up at last!

Yesterday the guys came back to finish putting up the rat proof chicken wire on the roof of the run. Although we haven’t actually seen a rat in the run recently, I know they are still getting in. I take the food out each day at dusk and sweep up any spilt pellets so that there is nothing for the rats and yet still they come in.

A few days ago I lifted the slab that the water drinker sits on and found a tunnel underneath it. I filled it and blocked the gap at the side of the slab with cobbles. Yesterday one of the cobbles had been pushed out and a new tunnel was underneath. I couldn’t believe the strength and determination that they have!

We feel all the efforts to stop them getting in from overhead will be wasted if we can’t stop them digging in. The box at the end of the patio is now the problem area and needs to be dealt with. The guys suggested taking the wooden front off and replacing it with a concrete gravel board then digging some earth out of the box and filling it with quick drying concrete. This will keep the rats out and also help with keeping the mud off the patio area and make it easier for me to clean. No more lifting the slabs each time, I will be able to sweep and wash straight over the edge into the garden area.

The other thing we need to do is somehow replace the plastic that was over the corner of the run to help keep out the rain and combat the mud. The guys suggested they could fit more corrugated plastic sheets in front of the patio area. We are having a think about this for now. We are worried that this would be more difficult to remove again in summer when it would make the run too hot. Also it will be more expense and we feel we have thrown so much money and time at this project! We need to draw a line somewhere.

I think maybe another baton and plastic sheet would be the way to go. It was working quite well and will be a less costly option. We will give it some thought and continue with it at the weekend. It really is a never ending job.

New top over the run

We now have a double layer of chicken wire over the top. This should keep everything including rats out and is a much stronger top as well.

Cobbles that a rat pushed through

This is the latest rat entry point. Yesterday one of these cobbles had been pushed out overnight and there was a new tunnel underneath it. We think the rats are living under next doors decking which is on the other side of this fence and that’s why they are so determined to keep coming through here.

Raised box from the other side

This is where we are going to replace the wood with a concrete gravel board. Our guy says he has one spare on his allotment and will let us have it. The guys will then fill the box with quick drying concrete and slope it down towards the garden area so that I can sweep and wash everything away easily. This will be a great improvement for me when trying to keep the patio area clean. So the job still goes on and on and on!

Today our guys came back to do further works to our chicken run roof. We now know that rats can get through the chicken net as we have seen them escape through it. It’s flexible enough for them to stretch a hole big enough to get through. We knew that covering the whole outside area with chicken wire was too big a job for us so had the guys who built our run come back to do the job for us.

First we closed off the patio area with weld mesh and chicken net to keep the chooks confined to the patio while the garden area was without a top. These girls are really good at flying up high and we didn’t want to risk them getting a fright and flying out.

At first when the work noise began the girls flew up on the cabinet and sat together there for a while but once used to the noise they settled back to the patio area and consumed the treats I gave them. Over the course of the day they had tomato, lettuce and apple.

After lunch when they like a snooze on the big perch, they all headed up to the roof of the coop instead.

The girls settle on the roof of the coop

The struts go on to hold the chicken wire

Side view of the struts over the top

The chicken wire is put over the struts

Before the project was properly finished it got too dark to go on so the guys are coming back next Wednesday to complete the job, as that is their next available time slot. However the chicken wire is on and nothing can get in or out of the top, it’s just a case of fine tuning and tidying. I will post again when it’s properly finished, but am just relieved that the bulk of the work and disruption to the girls is done.

The chickens have no idea that the disruption is for their own good but you can’t explain to a chicken the benefits to them of keeping rats out. I did find my constant presence and chatting to them did help to keep them calm though. I talked them through it even though they have no clue what I am actually saying but overall I thought they coped really well and Bluebell even laid an egg. Bluebell really is an outstanding egg layer!

We were also able to gift our first half dozen eggs to show our appreciation for keep coming back to this never ending project!

Today I managed to get some better photos of the girls. I had given them some yogurt and was going to photograph their yogurt covered faces but by the time I went back they had cleaned up, however I managed to get some good shots of their combs.

Pepper’s wattles

Pepper’s pea comb and spike

Dotty still has no comb

Bluebell’s floppy comb and Treacle’s large comb

They still love yogurt

Treacle, Bluebell and Pepper are eight months old and all three are laying eggs now. Dotty is seven months old, not laying and still has no comb. I have felt for some time that she is in a time warp, remaining a baby (or teenager!). I had a theory that it was because she was born later in the year, it seemed to hold back her growing up.

On reading the natural history chicken book that my son bought me for Christmas, it seems that I was on the right track. It says that chickens maturing in Autumn or Winter will start to lay eggs later than chickens maturing in Summer. Chickens usually start to lay at five to six months. Treacle started to lay at seven months, Bluebell at seven and a half months and Pepper at eight months. Dotty is now seven months and still a lot less mature then Pepper (who is the same breed). She has no comb and still makes baby sounds. I don’t expect her to lay until spring but you never can tell with chickens, they have a habit of surprising us!