Carol's Chickens

At bedtime the day before yesterday, without Butterscotch, Toffee decided she wanted to sleep outside in the run. Toffee is usually first in the chicken shed at bedtime because she likes to take her place against the wall of the shed.

The only time she has decided to sleep out since we have had the chicken shed was when we had the path done and the stress of the guys working by the run coupled with the fact that I couldn’t go up to the girls as I couldn’t stand on the newly laid path led to her to sleep out for one night.

I have to assume that she feels a bit of upset at Butterscotch, who was the top girl, leaving as she once again decided to sleep out. I chased her from the perch at the furthest point of the run to the chicken shed four times before deciding to close the pop hole and keep her in.

Yesterday morning it was unusually quiet. I had to look out of the bedroom window to check that the automatic door had opened as there wasn’t a squeak out of the girls. Usually I hear them in the early morning before I go out to them.

I decided to give them some mash to cheer to them up a bit.

I gave the girls some mash

They all joined in at the mash

They are enjoying this treat

Speckles was a bit intimidated by Peaches and Barley

Emerald and Speckles decided to give up for now

Peaches and Barley only had to look at Speckles to cause her to run away. I knew she would go back to the dish when they have had their fill though.

In the evening the same thing happened again. Toffee decided she was sleeping out. I don’t know why Butterscotch leaving should cause Toffee not to want to sleep in the shed. It’s very odd.

Four girls in the shed at bedtime

Toffee wants to roost here

I chased Toffee into the shed

Once again I chased Toffee into the shed and closed the pop hole. I will continue to do this until she gets back into the habit of going to bed in the shed. I am amazed that Butterscotch going has changed her habit like this. I think the girls are missing Butterscotch.

Toffee is back in her usual spot

At dusk I checked in again and Toffee was in her usual position next to the wall. I connected the automatic door back up again for the morning. I wonder how long this new routine will continue. It has clearly unsettled the girls having Butterscotch leave.

I agonised over this decision yesterday and decided to call Moira at the farm for a chat to help me make up my mind.

I am not happy that Butterscotch hasn’t been able to keep her head feathers, let alone the crest that she should have, in almost her entire time with our flock. Below is a photo of when she first came to us and this is what she should look like.

Butterscotch in all her glory

I feel so saddened that it has been such a long time since she has looked like this. For many months now I clung on to the hope that she may just be moulting her head feathers every time she goes broody and that the next time she grows them she will keep them.

This time round I realised that this is not so. She simply must be getting plucked each time she goes broody which she does like clockwork. I looked back and realised that she only looked like this in the early months with our flock. For over half her time with us she hasn’t looked like this.

This is not fair. She shouldn’t be destined to live her life without her bouffant hair do and magnificent crest.

I talked to Moira and asked if she would take her and she said she would be happy to. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have Moira who I trust completely to take my girls. I think Butterscotch deserves a life with a flock that won’t leave her constantly with no head feathers.

Moira said that if she kept her until she got her head feathers back, I could always have her back again if I wanted to. I said that wouldn’t be fair. I wouldn’t want to keep unsettling both Butterscotch and my flock and I would always be afraid that the next time she went broody she would get plucked again. Once the decision is made I believe that it is best to stick by it.

It seems crazy to send the victim to a new home rather than the perpetrator but I believe that in this case it is the best course of action. I don’t know who the perpetrator is for sure but I would guess that it is Barley. I couldn’t separate Barley and Peaches plus I have had them from six weeks old and I have had them for more than twice as long as Butterscotch.

Butterscotch could live with Moira’s flock and grow back her head feathers in the first month or two and keep them. I am sure she will be happier not being plucked every time she goes broody. She has always been very much her own girl and not dependent on the flock.

Moira said that I could bring her straight away and as she was busy the next day and we are also really busy in the next few days it seemed best to jump right on to it and take her straight away. Moira said that as she is broody and just wants to sit she will keep her in the cat box that I took her in until dusk and then put her in the barn.

I know Moira is very well used to integrating new girls successfully and she says she loves taking in waifs and strays as it keeps her busy. She has just taken a mare and foal from a man who wanted to retire from horse keeping but wanted them to go to a good home.

I feel a bit choked and the flock feels a bit small but I also feel that I have made the right decision.

Yesterday Butterscotch went broody again or at least I thought she was going broody from the previous afternoon. Because Peaches and Barley had both laid their egg the day before and only lay two or three days a week I closed the nest boxes in the hope of breaking Butterscotch from being broody again.

We went out at half past eight in the morning as we were meeting friends for breakfast because they were paying a flying visit from France. We returned home at lunch time.

When we left Butterscotch had a feathered head and when we returned Butterscotch had an almost bald head once more. I was shocked. This time I really felt she would keep her head feathers and I am totally puzzled as to what is happening here.

Butterscotch yesterday morning

Butterscotch yesterday afternoon

I have no idea if her feathers are falling out or being plucked out. This is really weird and puzzling.

For the last seven months now this has happened every month when she goes broody. Last month on the first day that she went broody she had an almost fully feathered head and spent her first broody day in the nest box. At the end of the day she had lost her head feathers. I wasn’t sure if another girl “possibly Barley” had gone into the nest box with her and plucked her head or if being broody again had caused her to moult her head feathers.

This time I had closed the nest boxes and we went out for the morning. I don’t know if she has sat in the run and had her head plucked or has moulted her head feathers. I am not seeing this happening so I just don’t know what is actually happening here.

Before when feather plucking was occurring we saw it happening and knew what was going on. We are not seeing any of the girls doing this and the girls often sit in the sun and don’t get plucked so why should this be happening? On the other hand why would she keep moulting her head feathers?

I just can’t work this out. I don’t think her feathers would just drop out again on her first broody day and yet we are not seeing any plucking or attention around her either. I am feeling so upset that this has happened again and yet so puzzled by it too. What on earth is going on here?

My research sheds no light on this. Is she destined to have a bare head forever? That in itself upsets me. I know it probably doesn’t bother her but it bothers me big time. I don’t want to keep chickens permanently without feathers especially on their head which I think is the worst place to have no feathers. I thought this time she would be back to normal and now have to consider that she may never be back to normal within my flock.

I am so upset that I am having to think about the way forward here. This can’t be right or normal.

I am wondering if she would be better off away from my flock. This is really painful to think about as I don’t want to seem to keep moving my girls on but I don’t want to be the cause of keeping a girl in less than the condition she should be in.

Moira at the farm said she will always take any of my girls if I need her help and I now need to think about where Butterscotch would be better off. Could she live on the farm with head feathers or stay with me and never have head feathers? This is her seventh month with my flock of losing her head feathers. I need to take some time to reflect and think this through.

I feel very heavy at heart about this right now. I just don’t know what I should do for the best.

A few months ago, my very good friend Jackie, made the momentous decision to move to the Isle of Wight. She has her sister and partner living there and has visited them and seen how lovely the scenery and sea views are.

After Jackie’s husband died eighteen months ago she has managed on her pension with no mortgage or debts but has come to realise that with no savings if anything on her house needs maintaining or repairing there is no money in the pot. House prices on the Isle of Wight are about half what they are here. Jackie has sold her house and can buy a flat or a terraced house there for about half the price and would have savings for her future.

Jackie doesn’t drive and the bus service on the Isle of Wight is really good. She would have all her needs nearby and a better quality of life.

Jackie has found a flat on the Isle of Wight to rent for six months which will give her time to find the right property for her future.

It turned out that the lady at the estate agent handling the sale of Jackie’s property lives nearby and has three chickens and was thinking of getting three more. She said that she would be happy to take Jackie’s three girls.

Yesterday I went to help Jackie with the move armed with my trusty dog crate, a net to catch any difficult girls and my camera. Chelsea was easy to pick up and put in the crate but the other two girls needed the aid of the net.

Jackie’s girls are ready for the move

We found Debbie’s house easily and checked out her run before bringing in Jackie’s girls.

Debbie’s three girls in their run

I manged to not secure the gate properly and her girls slipped out but Debbie said that she can easily get them back in with meal worms. She lets them into the garden sometimes but not too often as they would trash her well kept garden.

Debbie gets her girls back in the run with the lure of the meal worms

We put the dog crate in the run and opened it’s doors and Jackie’s three girls were soon exploring and scratching in the run.

Jackie’s three girls in their new run

Chelsea and one of Jackie’s girls eye ball each other

Chelsea and one of Debbie’s girls had a stare out and then ruffs were raised and they challenged each other. The new pecking order will need to be sorted out. It wasn’t bad though and Debbie has a shed converted into a coop with a nest box attached and another shed next to it that can be converted to a second coop if it’s needed.

This morning Debbie sent Jackie a photo of her girls in their new setting and said that there had been no further fighting. We exchanged details so that we can keep in touch and I will be able to visit and update Jackie along with Debbie’s updates.

I think it would be nice for Jackie and myself to pay them a visit in the coming weeks which I am sure will be fine by Debbie.

This is one more stage of the changes that are taking place in Jackie’s life at the moment. When Jackie first told me of her plans I totally understood that this was the best thing for her but yes …. I cried a bit! I will miss her so much but we will always be the best of friends and will never lose touch.

This was by fiftieth birthday gift (six years ago).

Birthday rose

This rose continues to flower until the first frost so it’s still full of flower when most of the other roses in the garden are over.

The chicken’s strip is filling in nicely.

The chicken’s strip

A closer view

I think that by next year this strip will have completely filled in. Every evening after dinner we take a walk up the garden and we give the girls some dandelion leaves through the mesh. The girls wait expectantly for this end of the day treat and rush at the leaves as if they are starved.

Most people are surprised that I grow dandelions for the girls but it’s irresistible fun to have leaves on tap, as it where, just for them.

It’s interesting to look closely at the girls feathers and combs at this time of year.

Butterscotch’s crest is almost back to her former glory and she has a tiny black comb.

Butterscotch’s crest is almost there

Emerald and Toffee

These two have small combs and they are still pale after their moult. Emerald has the smallest comb of all.

Speckles comb is pale after the moult

Speckles head feathers stick up

When we first had Speckles a year ago she had two little head feathers sticking up. Then she moulted and I wondered if these would disappear but she grew them back again. This year she moulted and they dropped out and once again I wondered if they would come back. Sure enough they are back so they are obviously a little feature of hers almost like a miniature crest.

Speckles head is whiter than before her moult.

I wanted to get some photos of Peaches and Barley so I crouched down on the patio and waited for the girls to come to me. I think Speckles looks so tiny in amongst the flock.

The girls come to see me

You can just see Emerald in the background. She had been perched up and was slower than the other girls to come to the patio.

Barley has a right flopping comb and Peaches has a left flopping comb but Barley’s comb is bigger than Peaches and she can only see out of her left eye most of the time.

Barley can only see out of her left eye

Her right eye is covered by her comb

Peaches has a smaller comb

Barley on the table

Barley had jumped on my back and I had just bobbed down next to the table for her to step off.

Barley photo bombs

This was just before Barley jumped to my back and she photo bombed so close that her comb is blurred but I thought the photo was funny so decided to include it. It is typical of her, many photos of her have a blurred comb as she is always on the move and always bobbing her comb so that she can see.

Barley and Peaches have yet to start moulting so their combs are still nice and red but in winter they shrink and go very pale.

Peaches and Barley are an inseparable pair of girls but are actually quite different characters. Barley is the one who has spats now and again and won’t take any nonsense from any of the girls. She is the one who is always at the front of the flock and jumps on me the most. She is the most noisy and is constantly squeaking away. She also stands at the nest box and shouts when Peaches is trying to get her egg laid and she stands on the perch squeaking away at any time that I am in the garden or sitting on the patio.

However Barley is not as good an egg layer as Peaches and only lays three quarters as many eggs as Peaches does. I wonder if Barley’s bigger comb is what makes her the stronger character of the two girls although Speckles has a big comb (when she isn’t moulting) and is a timid girl. I wonder if the size of the comb only makes a difference if they are the same breed or if it’s just coincidental.

It is interesting in a small flock how noticeably different the girls characters are.

I usually give the girls some spinach every morning but this morning I had run out. I had some lettuce but I know they don’t like lettuce as much as spinach. This may be because it’s a bit more difficult to shred so I decided to put it in the square container.

I only had time for a few quick photos before I had to go out and only Peaches and Barley were showing any interest.

Peaches and Barley approach the lettuce

Peaches has a peck

Peaches and Barley get some lettuce out of the container

To my surprise when I returned at lunch time there wasn’t a shred of lettuce left. They didn’t mind it that much then!

Yesterday afternoon the girls were chilling in the sun together. That is all except Butterscotch. The girls will often sit in the sun together, perch up together, or dust bath together, but Butterscotch is her own girl and doesn’t feel the need to stick close to the flock.

While the rest of the flock are gathered together she can often be seen just wandering around stopping to scratch and to peck at the ground.

It’s the same thing at bedtime. The girls will all be perched up in the chicken shed but Butterscotch will be casually wandering around the perimeters of the run for an extra half an hour.  When she is ready she goes in and takes up her position in the middle of the perch, always unhurried, as if she has all the time in the world.

The girls are chilling

Hanging out together

Butterscotch is doing her own thing

Just look at those head feathers. She is so nearly back to normal now.

She is just wandering around

Pecking at the ground

Butterscotch has always been her own girl rather than one of the crowd. She can join in with the girls or not,  just as the mood takes her.

Speckles has been hanging on to her last tail feather for the past week. This afternoon it fell out and now she has no tail.

Speckles has lost her tail

No tail

Speckles has a new shape

She looks so sweet

And she’s off

She looks such a sweetie with no tail and she is so shy at the moment. This takes me back to last year when she first came to us. I look forward to her growing her tail back and with it her confidence. I am sure that she will return to the changed Speckles that grew in confidence last year once she got her feathers back.

At the risk of getting boring and repetitive I really do think Butterscotch’s head feathers are nearly back to normal.

Butterscotch

Since she first lost her head feathers six months ago this is the best she has looked. Her head feathers are opening up at last. Hurrah!