Carol's Chickens

The chickens spend a lot of time on the big perch, especially when the ground is wet. Pepper and Dotty are usually first to cosy up together. Treacle is usually next to join them and Bluebell last (perhaps because she is at the bottom of the pecking order).

Treacle, Pepper and Dotty

Bluebell decides to join them

They all snuggle up together

Eventually they all settle close together. Having said yesterday that Bluebell and Treacle had shown no interest in perching in the apple tree, I saw Pepper and Bluebell both in the tree together for the first time today. By the time I had grabbed my camera, they had jumped down. Better luck next time.

When I clean up in the morning, the girls follow me round. While I have the side of the coop off to clean, they watch through the door. When I duck under the perch they all sit on it and watch me with interest. Yesterday Pepper reached out and tweaked a strand of my hair with her beak. They gently peck at the hem of my clothes, my back when I am bent over and sometimes by knees. It’s as if they like to feel me and say hello. I will look up to find one of them stood right next to me. I wonder if they think my daily poop picking is foraging. It’s quite amusing being followed round by the girl’s, they are so inquisitive. I love spending time with them.

The chickens have taken all the leaves from the shrubs to the height that they can reach. They will often do a standing jump, straight up, to peck a bit more. The sage remained untouched for a long time as the leaves were too tough for them. As the chickens beaks have got stronger, we noticed the leaves were starting to get pecked. In a very short time the sage was completely stripped.

This once lush sage is completely bare

Hypericum

Hebe

The shrubs are pruned to chicken beak height

The parsley pot has made a comeback though, after being stipped twice by the chickens.

The parsley is recovering nicely, again.

I have been trying unsuccessfully to get some close ups of the girls, but the one shot I did manage was Pepper in the apple tree.

Pepper likes to sit in the apple tree

It’s only Pepper and Dotty that like to get into the tree. Treacle and Bluebell have never shown any interest in the it. I love the little whiskers each side of Peppers undeveloped comb. She is developing wattles too.

We are so busy at the moment that I am not getting much time to hang out with the chickens or to post about them. They have continued to get to bed before the automatic door shuts, so that is one problem that seems to have gone away for now. The pecking behaviour has been far less too which is pleasing.

I have continued to give them a tray of grass each morning although the grass is a bit more sparse than it was in the summer. It will soon stop growing for the winter but at the moment they still enjoy it each day.

The girls enjoy their daily tray of grass

I hope to have more time at the weekend, I am missing hanging out with the chooks.

Last night and tonight all four chickens had gone in to the coop before the door shut. Last night we opened the side panel to check that Treacle had enough space. As always Pepper and Dotty were on the top perch and Bluebell and Treacle on the bottom perch. Treacle was facing the side of the coop with her tail out in to the open centre space so I don’t think the problem is a lack of space. When I used to spend time with them at bedtime they did like to go up on the coop roof before going in. I wonder if Treacle sometimes goes up there and either nods off or can’t be bothered to come down again. Who knows what goes on in a chicken brain?

Pepper has become very vocal when we have visitors. Even if our visitor just stands in the gateway rather than inside the enclosure, she very loudly and crossly “boc bocs”. Pepper is the one to chatter and she doesn’t like to have unfamiliar people in her space. I have come to notice that Treacle our biggest girl is very quiet. Treacle rarely ever chats but she looks! She comes up to me and moves her head to one side and the other constantly, looking at me. Bluebell is vocal when she is upset, usually when Dotty is chasing her off the treats or when she wants to get on my lap but Treacle is taking up all the space. Dotty is only just getting her grown up voice so it will be interesting to see if she is as vocal as Pepper.

Pepper is also getting much more receptive to being stroked. She used to be really skittish but will now allow me to stroke her sides. Treacle also likes to be stroked and bluebell only occasionally. Dotty side steps and won’t allow any stroking at all. Again it will be interesting to see if this changes when she matures or if it is just her character.

The other thing I have noticed is that Treacle and Bluebell are much more interested in what I am doing. When I have the side of the coop off for cleaning they are looking through the door. If I am cleaning through the door they are looking in the side where as Pepper and Dotty take no notice. Treacle and Bluebell follow me round as I do my chores and when I duck under the big perch to clean up they jump on to it and watch me closely.

They never cease to entertain me and I love watching them develop their personalities. I also love it when they let me get so close to them and greet me so enthusiastically (even though half the time it’s see if I have brought them a treat). Chickens are just the best and that’s even before we have had any of the wonderful eggs!

We have a catering business and have suddenly got really busy (it’s often very up and down, all or nothing) and we also have a house guest for a couple of weeks. This has meant I haven’t had as much time to spend with the chickens or writing a post. The weather is also awful at the moment, cold and wet. This doesn’t make for taking any good photos, but I do want to give an update on both the roosting and pecking situation.

Three days ago, we found three of them roosting on the roof of the coop. We are checking them each night now and for the two following nights they had all gone in before the automatic door shut. I hoped once again that it had just been a blip. Yesterday we catered for a wedding and didn’t get back home until ten o’clock. It was very dark and very cold. We went up to check and there was Treacle on the roof of the coop. I lifted her down and put her in and she only gave a half hearted “boc” in protest. Treacle is the biggest of the four hens and I am now wondering if the perch isn’t far enough away from the side of the coop to give her room for her tail. They have all been going in to the coop to sleep with no problem until just recently and the only thing that has changed is that Treacle has grown. If This continues to happen we will have to try to modify the perches.

The pecking is still a problem when I give treats. Dotty will peck Bluebell away from the treats. If I give her a squirt from the water bottle she won’t peck again while I am there, but will intimidate her by walking right up to her and glaring at her, which scares Bluebell away. I sometimes only have to pick up the water bottle for Dotty to move away, so she knows what will happen. Treacle and Pepper often run away too as they hate the water bottle even though I don’t use it on them. Bluebell has no fear of it at all and will peck at it, she knows it is not meant for her and that it protects her. Bluebell is the only one of the four of them that has never pecked anyone and that’s obviously why she is at the bottom of the pecking order despite being the smartest.

Dotty only does this to Bluebell. Dotty and Pepper were together from a month old and have never pecked each other even when they both want the same treat. Dotty wouldn’t dare to peck Treacle as she is much bigger and would peck her back, so that leaves poor Bluebell. Pepper and Treacle are both quite docile and only peck Bluebell occasionally, if she is in their way but Dotty will chase her away from the treats. Even when I space out four halves of apple, Dotty will move Bluebell on from one piece to another. It’s as if she is determined not to let her have any and yet later they will all sit quite happily really close together. I am not sure if I will ever stop her doing this but for now will continue to use the spray.

We keep saying that we should be able to trust the chickens to get themselves to bed before the automatic door shuts, but somehow can’t help ourselves from going out to check. Its a good job we did check last night because this is what we found.

We want to sleep here

I just can’t understand why after going in night after night they should suddenly decide they want to sleep on the roof of the coup. Only Pepper was inside with the door shut. Dotty, Bluebell and Treacle were on the roof. This is the first time all three have done this. We held open the door and lifted them down one at a time and pushed them in. It got cold quite quickly last night, so I just don’t understand this behaviour. It looks like we will have to continue to check on them each night for a while yet.

For the last two nights the grill blocking off the nest box has been off. To my amazement the girls have still slept on the perch and not reverted back to the nest box, hurrah! Maybe the habit of sleeping on the perches is established now.

Today I thought I would try the girls with a quarter of melon. As soon as I put it down they were on to it.

They like melon

They are enjoying this

I went back about half an hour later and it was almost gone.

Not much melon left

Bluebells comb is looking quite mature

I took this one of Bluebell to show how her comb is maturing compared to the other three girls. It’s hard to imagine a day when we will be getting eggs. I have enjoyed bonding with the girls and getting to know their characters and it will be really exciting to get eggs as well.

While I was crouched taking these photos, Treacle came and jumped on my arm/lap. I was quite pleased because lately I haven’t been able to sit with them at bedtime and so haven’t had her on my lap. It was nice for me that she still wants to come to my lap. When I went in briefly, before dinner she came to my lap again, then my shoulder. I wonder if she has missed our evening cuddle. She was quite happy to be stroked which is always lovely but I had to go as dinner needed finishing.

Bluebells comb and wattles are growing and she is beginning to look quite mature. I am wondering if she may be ready to lay eggs soon.  I had put a grill in front of the nest box to deter them sleeping in there, which is what they were doing from the start. I have decided to remove it today and see if they revert to sleeping in the nest box or if they will continue to sleep on the perches. I was trying to break the habit of sleeping in the nest box before egg laying begins, but don’t want them to be shut out of the nest box if they do want to lay. They have been roosting on the perches for three months now, so I hope it has become a habit. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they revert back to the nest box though. I will know in the morning by where the poop is. If they do revert back to the nest box I will try blocking it off at night and opening it up in the morning, but it would be good if I could leave it off all the time.

Pepper, Dotty and Treacle’s combs are still quite under developed, so I think it will be another month or two before they are ready for egg laying. I was told by the farmer that Treacle’s breed is a late developer and Dotty is a month younger than the other three so I am expecting Bluebell to be first then Pepper, then Treacle and Dotty about a month later.

Bluebells comb and wattles are developing

It wasn’t easy to get a photo as they wouldn’t stay still for me, but you can see Bluebells comb here and Dotty’s complete lack of comb.

As far as the bedtime routine goes, they have not roosted on the roof of the coop since the first two times. We seem to have stopped that habit and continue to check each evening to make sure they are all in, but so far so good. I wanted to sort out the bedtime routine before unblocking the nest box, taking it one step at a time!

Last night we went out to check on the girls at half past seven and they were all in the coop except for Treacle, but she was just going in. Treacle soon settled and I went out at intervals and found the door closed at ten to eight and the girls all in. The day before was much warmer and dark a little earlier. Last night was lighter but much colder, I don’t know if the temperature effects the chickens as well as the light but am hoping that they will now settle back to a normal bedtime routine and that roosting on the roof of the coop was just a blip.

Yesterday morning I went out to the chickens at half past six ( I usually go out at seven), to try to see when the coop door opens. It was quite light and the chickens were in the garden part of the enclosure, so it must have been open for a bit. This morning I went out at six and it was quite dark and the door still shut. I then went out again at quarter past six, the door was open and the chickens were just outside the door. They then went straight to the feeder so I conclude that it had just opened. The chickens are now going to bed an hour earlier and getting up an hour later than during the summer. The days are very quickly getting shorter.

As it is summers end, I decided to put the pot of parsley back in for the girls to have another go at. I wasn’t expecting it to last long!

We like Parsley

Treacle is distracted taking leaves from the bush

Good one of Pepper

An hour later

Pepper and Dotty don’t want to miss a bit

I couldn’t resist Peppers fluffy butt

It was as I expected, it didn’t last long but was much enjoyed. I liked the way Pepper and Dotty stood in the pot to make sure they didn’t miss any.

Last night I spent time with the girls earlier, again. The only problem for me with this, is they were just winding down and becoming receptive to sitting on my lap, when it was time to go in to get dinner ready. Bluebell sat on my lap once and Pepper looked like she wanted to as well, but I feel as their bedtime gets earlier, we can continue with this and at the moment I feel sorting out the bedtime routine is more important.

After dinner, we went out to check on them. It was half past seven and the coop door was open, but Treacle and Bluebell were settled on the coop roof again! Pepper and Dotty were inside. I just can’t understand why these two have suddenly decided that they want to roost on top of the coop. They had been going in the coop to bed, like clockwork for the last three months. At quarter to eight the door started to shut, so I got my husband to hold it open while I first lifted down Bluebell and put her in, then lifted down Treacle, put her in and closed the door. We will keep going out to do this each evening until we break this habit. Although the enclosure is predator proof, I really want the chickens to sleep inside the coop. I am determined to try to nip this new habit in the bud. We will see what tonight brings!