Carol's Chickens

Yesterday evening when the coop door had shut and I went to take out the food, I heard a bumping on the roof. I shone my torch up and a rat ran across between the corrugated plastic of the roof and the chicken net below it. It ran from our side and out again on my neighbours side. I went in and told my husband and he returned with me to take a look. As we were both in there the same thing happened again with the rat running under the plastic roof and out. We felt encouraged that it was on the outside this time rather than inside. We thought that now we had blocked it’s latest entry hole that it was looking for another way in.

This morning we inspected where we had seen the rat the evening before and found a hole chewed through the nylon chicken net in the corner under the roof. We realized that it was our torch causing the rat to run out the other side. We felt really disappointed because if it can chew through the nylon chicken net it can get in anywhere overhead.

A hole chewed through the chicken net in the corner

I patched it up with bits of spare chicken net. It was a messy and temporary job but I needed to go out on my deliveries and just wanted to keep the rat out while I was away.

A messy patch up

While doing this I stupidly put all my tools on top of the storage cabinet, including the pot of coloured drawing pins. Bluebell who is always really nosey flew up on to the cabinet and knocked the pins over the floor. I told her off and pushed her away while I quickly gathered them up as I was afraid she might swallow one. In turn she showed her displeasure by strutting around shouting “boc boc” as loudly as she could. She really wanted to get to those pins and the whole job took me twice as long, as it always does when a chicken tries to help.

I continued, with the pins inside the cabinet, taking one out at a time as needed. It struck me afterwards how funny the two way conversation was between me and Bluebell. I told Bluebell off and she loudly told me she was not happy about it either!

When I came back at lunch time my husband had been in to inspect my patch up and told me I had wasted my time as he had just seen a rat squeeze through the patched net. We think because the net is flexible they can stretch the holes to get through. We needed another plan.

Off to the D.I.Y. store we went again! We bought a roll of chicken wire with much finer holes and a staple gun to fix it. My husband fixed the wire underneath the net. We only bought one roll to start with and thought we would go as far as we could (which was most of the roofed area), for now. We will wait to see what happens next and if they chew further along (which they probably will) we will continue to do the whole of the run. It doesn’t look great but if it works we will try to do a better job in the summer. We used the net in the first place because we can pull it tight for a neater look and because we were advised not to use anything too heavy such as weld mesh because if it gets heavy with snow in winter it would bend inwards.

Chicken wire underneath the chicken net

Close up of the chicken wire

When I went up to take out the food this evening there was no sign of a rat this time. Once again we may just slow them down. The problem is if they come in during the day then just removing the food isn’t enough and we feel we need to keep up the battle to keep them out.

I know our problem is small compared to some peoples. I looked on the “Down The Lane” forum and some people are having a really bad problem with rats. One person said they had seen about forty rats in the run during the day. Some people said they were laying concrete to keep them out and one person said the rats were eating the chickens eggs.

Compared to that our problem is small but we are as determined as the rats to win the battle.

Since I have been removing the food at night, the rat problem seems to have gone away. I had seen no droppings and still sweep up each day as the chickens go to bed and inspect in the morning. Then a few nights ago when I went up as the coop door was closing to remove the food, I saw something run from under the coop to behind the storage cabinet. It was dusk and it ran so quickly that I couldn’t tell if it was a rat or a mouse. At the weekend we decided to empty and pull out the storage cabinet (again) to see if there was anything behind it. There was one single rat dropping a couple of mice droppings and a few pellets. This is very little compared to the past but still shows they can get in and must be taking pellets before dark as I remove them at dusk.

At two o’clock this afternoon my husband went up to the chickens and saw a rat run under the coop and behind the storage cabinet. He said it was too big to get through weld mesh and must have found another way in. We started looking again but could see no sign   of digging. Then as we were leaving we stooped down and saw this.

Rats have chewed a hole through the wooden steps

This means they have dug underneath next doors decking and having come up against the tiles we have lined our side with have instead chewed through the wooden step. This is a perfect hole like you see in cartoons where they have mice behind the skirting board. My husband says if they made a hole this size it means they couldn’t get through the weld mesh or they wouldn’t have bothered to do this.  They must have been so determined and when they found no food at night decided to try their luck during the day. At least now we can see where they are getting in and it must only have been recent due to the one single dropping. My husband squirted expanding foam in the hole then put a thick log in front. It may not stop them forever but it will sure slow them down a bit.

My husband said he felt quite pleased in a way because we felt mice may get through the weld mesh but didn’t really think a rat would be able to. He says if they went to this much trouble to chew through wood then he feels they can’t get through the weld mesh and even if they find another way in, we can keep spotting it like we did this time and keep blocking them.

After waiting so long for our first eggs we were disappointed to find they had a strange taste. The first two we had poached in a toasted granary bread sandwich for our breakfast. There was a musty, mouldy taste. I thought it must be the bread and threw the loaf away, even though I had only bought it the day before.

A few days later we had two poached again for breakfast but in a white toasted sandwich. There was the same musty, mouldy taste.

I started to research if anyone else had come across this or had any ideas what could be causing it.

I give the girls unlimited access to layers pellets and grit and water of course. I give them a small handful of scratch treat (a mix of sunflower hearts, corn and dried meal worms) between four of them,  first thing in the morning and last thing in the afternoon. Mid morning and mid afternoon I take a treat of a small amount of fruit or veg, alternating between apple, melon, grapes, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, greens. I feel this makes up for them not getting the grass, herbs and nasturtiums that they get in the summer. They can scratch for worms and bugs but don’t at the moment as it’s too wet.

Before getting any ideas back it suddenly struck me that it could be their layers pellets. I had bought a big sack of them back when I thought I would be getting my chickens about March/April time. I wanted to be well prepared but because the cold weather delayed hatching, I didn’t end up getting them until June and also hadn’t realized how long they would be on growers pellets.

I asked on the “Down The Lane” forum if the pellets had a use by date ( I had them stored in a plastic tub with a lid so none of the original information with them). The answers that came back were that they do have a use by date. I felt pretty stupid not to have realized that and threw them out straight away and bought fresh ones.

The old ones were crumbly and the girls didn’t want them the first day, but I reduced the treats to encourage them to eat them (bad chicken mum!).

The fresh ones are much firmer. I am now convinced this is what the problem is. It will probably take a few days to get the old pellets out of their system so only time will tell. We will taste each egg separately, rather than as part of a meal. I really hope this is what it is.

The feedback from “Down The Lane” was that no one had come across this before but that most people agreed with me that it was probably the pellets. One person said that they had bought some pellets that had a musty, mouldy smell to them like bread gets before it turns blue. This is exactly the taste we are getting. Some people said try reducing the treats and others said that they gave the same treats as me with no problem. One person said that if this is the problem at least it is easily solved.

I then looked it up on the internet and found other people had the same problem. Most said that they thought it could be the pellets. I felt better knowing that we are not the only ones to come across this.

Its a shame because Treacle is laying perfect eggs. The shells are really hard and the yolks a lovely bright colour. We will monitor the situation and hope the eggs soon improve.

Treacle Laid her first egg last Sunday at twelve o’clock. She missed Monday but laid her second egg at eight on Tuesday morning. She laid her third egg at three in the afternoon Wednesday and fourth on Thursday at eight in the morning then missed Friday. Saturday she laid at one in the afternoon and today (Sunday) none. She seems to be a bit all over the place at the moment but I am sure she will eventually settle into a routine. Five eggs out of seven days is not a bad start to her first week of laying, especially at this time of the year.

Bluebell has been showing an interest in Treacle in the nest box and taking a look at the nest box in the mornings but she doesn’t squat if I put my hand over her back but her comb and wattles look mature though.

Treacle’s comb and wattles

Bluebell’s comb and wattles

Pepper’s comb

Dotty’s non existent comb

You can see that Treacle and Bluebell’s combs look mature. Pepper is just getting her backward spike over her head and Dotty has no comb at all. It will be exciting if Bluebell starts to lay her blue eggs. I don’t think Pepper and Dotty will be ready until the spring.

This morning when I went out to clean up as usual, I could tell that Treacle was getting ready to lay her second egg. The automatic door has been opening at quarter past seven but this morning it was dull and wet after another night of rain. I waited for five minutes then decided to cheat, as I sometimes do, and shone my torch on the light sensor. The door opened and the chickens eagerly tumbled out. Usually the door stays open but it was so dull that it shut again.

I took the side panel off to clean up and could see that the nest box had been sat in. Treacle then started to “boc boc” loudly and entered the coop through the open side panel and sat in the nest box. She seemed unsettled by the door being shut and came out again, then returned, then out again. By now it was half past seven, the latest the door has opened yet, so I decided to shine the torch on it again. This time it stayed open and Treacle returned to the nest box and started scratching like the first day.

I quickly finished my clean up and put the side panel back on to let her lay her egg in peace. I cleaned up outside and left with Treacle still in the nest box. I looked out at eight o’clock and saw that she was back out. I went to inspect and there was her second egg still warm. It is slightly bigger and darker than the first and not speckled.

Treacle’s second egg

The egg on the right is Treacle’s second egg. Maybe we will start to get one each day. I am looking forward to seeing if there is another one tomorrow.

After laying her first egg yesterday, we wondered if Treacle would lay another today or if it was a one off. This morning she behaved completely differently from yesterday and showed no interest in the nest box and I was pretty certain that there would be no egg today.

At mid morning I looked out of the window and saw that Treacle was perched on top of the umbrella. I grabbed my camera to see if I could catch a photo before she came down.

Treacle on the umbrella

Treacle about to launch herself down from the umbrella

It’s a good job we have chicken net over the top of our run or these girls would definitely make an escape.

We didn’t get another egg today. We are going to wait for a few days and if there is still not another one we will share the first egg. I can’t wait to crack it open and see what the inside is like.

Treacle has been in the nest box all morning scratching about. I don’t know why she doesn’t just sit in there but is constantly scratching her feet. Meanwhile the other girl’s are scratching in some leaves.

Bluebell, Pepper and Dotty scratch happily in some leaves.

Every now and again Bluebell would go to the door of the coop and peer in at Treacle or stand and listen to Treacle scratching in the nest box. We had some work to do so decided to leave her to it.

We went back out to the chickens before lunch at about quarter to one and found Treacle back out in the run with the other girls. I opened the nest box with baited breath.

There in the middle was a perfect small, brown, speckled egg. I felt so proud of Treacle. What a clever girl to know where to go to lay her first egg. It was still slightly warm.

Treacle’s first egg

Small but perfect

I am so pleased with Treacle. I wonder if she will lay another tomorrow. I have now changed the girls from growers pellets to layers pellets. I had been waiting to use up the last of the growers pellets but this morning decided to throw out was left in the feeder and replace them with layers.

We will wait until we have two eggs, then will try them for breakfast. I used the last of my shop bought eggs at breakfast this morning so will not buy any more for now. I am so happy!

I think Treacle may be about to lay an egg. Having said recently that she may not lay until spring, I have read of people getting their first egg on a snowy winters day so anything is possible.

Lately if I put my hand anywhere near Treacle she instantly squats down. This last week she has been getting in the coop when I do my morning clean up and looking at the nest box. She would stand on the perch below and have a good look in. This morning when I was cleaning the coop she actually went and sat in the nest box a couple of times as if sizing it up. She inspected the plastic egg which I put in the nest box to show that it is the place to lay.

Later on in the morning she was back in the nest box and scratching around like crazy.

Treacle ensconced in the nest box

When she came out I had a look in and saw that she had scratched the shavings from the middle of the box and flicked the egg out. I decided to double up the depth of the shavings.

Treacle has scratched out the pine shavings

The other girls are outside the coop wondering what she is up to.

Clean and dry patio

This picture shows how much better the patio looks now that it has dried after yesterdays clean up. The spot where the drinker used to be is now dry.

Treacle is continuing to keep going back in the nest box, I am quite excited and am wondering if we may get an egg today.

We have had so much driving rain that the outer half of the patio gets wet and muddy, especially with me and the girls walking mud onto it. The other really wet patch that has been annoying me for some time is around the water drinker. This is due to Treacle scratching in it and flicking the water out. Treacle not only scratches in dirt and pine shavings but she scratches on the patio (where there is nothing to scratch!) and in the water. This means this area is permanently wet and difficult to clean.

Wet patch around the drinker

I decided it was time to move it and now wonder why on earth I didn’t think of that before. I put a spare slab we had over the earth box that borders the outside area and sat the drinker on that. This means I can sluice down this slab straight into the soil.

The drinkers new position

Pepper checks it out

As you can see the patio is pretty muddy. I decided it needed a good scrub and as we had to make one of our frequent visits to our local D.I.Y. shop, I bought a stiff rubber bristled broom and a floor squeegee to dry the patio as best I could.

I picked up, swept up, then set to work sluicing it with water, scrubbing then drying with the squeegee. The only problem was that although it worked quite well, it did leave channels of water in the gaps between the tiles. I dried these with kitchen paper. It’s not perfect but a lot better than it was.

The patio after it’s clean up

You can also see how developed Bluebell’s comb is in this picture.

Pepper’s under developed comb

This was before the clean up and shows how under developed Pepper’s comb is. Pepper has what is called a pea comb. It will look like a row of pink peas with a backward spike at the end. You can just see the spike forming.

I am quite pleased with the way the squeegee gets rid of the excess water after cleaning and am really pleased with the new position of the drinker. This should help the area where the feeder is to stay dry now. This was the most simple improvement but sometimes it takes a while to have that light bulb moment.

On an entirely different subject, I have moved the grass trays to the empty veg plot for the winter. Despite putting plenty of drainage in the trays, because they are quite shallow, they are still waterlogged. The grass is sparse and my husband is not sure if they will survive but I am hopeful. I am planning to help them along with a packet of grass seed sprinkled over them in spring.

The trays of grass

It worked so well in the summer being able to give the girls a tray of grass each day. By the time they had the last one the first one had regrown ready to go in again. I have nothing to lose by keeping them so will see how they fare. It hasn’t helped them having so much rain either, everything seems a battle against the rain at the moment. The long forecast is more rain but the next few days are supposed to be dry so I am hoping everything will dry out a bit. I can but hope!

My little chicken flock like to help me with my morning clean up. As I move around picking up the poop, they follow me. Yesterday as I ducked under the big perch to clean up in the corner, I had Dotty watching from the perch above me, Pepper facing me and trying to see what was in my gloved hands, Bluebell pecking at my sleeve to make sure I knew she was there and Treacle on my back helping me most of all! It’s so much easier to clean up a chicken run with a helpful chicken on your back!

Lately at any time that I bend down, Treacle is on my back or shoulder in an instant. Sometimes I am cleaning or sometimes I am talking to Pepper or trying to take a photo and she is straight on to me. My husband says she seems to think she is an overgrown parrot! It makes cleaning up quite tricky.

Pepper also looks like she really wants to jump up too. Pepper now pays me more attention than the other three and as she used to be so skittish, this is so lovely and she is such a sweet girl. Tonight she looked like she really wanted to jump on me so for the first time in ages I sat on my little chair as I thought perhaps she needs a proper lap to sit on rather than me just crouching down. You would have thought it was feeding frenzy at the zoo except without the food! Treacle was straight on my lap followed by Bluebell. I stroked these two and they filled my lap. Dotty didn’t know where to go so jumped on to my head (not ideal, luckily she is the lightest) and poor Pepper just didn’t know how to get up too. She kept rocking as if about to jump but couldn’t find a space. Where is the camera man at these priceless moments?

The thing I love about this sort of crazy interaction with my girls is that there is no treat on offer, they just seem to want to be on me and I love that. I never thought I could love these chickens so, so much! I love that they all have such different personalities and they want to be around me. I know they are always looking for a treat but they follow me around for half an hour every morning while I clean up and they want to sit on me every evening before bedtime (Treacle wants to be on me any time she possibly can), Pepper wants to talk to me face to face at any time and oh, it’s so wonderful. I love these girls so much.