Carol's Chickens

We recently put down two bags of wood chip to try to keep the mud down. We put wood chip in the raised garden box at the end of the patio but soon found this was mistake as the girls scratched and walked wood chip all over the patio area, giving me even more mess to clean up. I decided to scoop up as much of the wood chip out of the box as I could and throw it onto the garden area. I then forked in the rest.

The wood chip in the garden area is working quite well at keeping the mud down. During the recent constant rain there have been no more puddles forming and my boots don’t get so clogged up.

I had a good clean down of the patio area with water, my rubber broom and my rubber squeegee on Christmas Eve, so that it’s nice and clean for the girl’s at Christmas.

Christmas Day, I found that they had walked the mud from the box all over the patio again and had really muddy feet. I was trying to add drier soil to the box and compact it to stop it being so muddy when suddenly I had another of my light bulb moments. I realised that if the box of soil/mud was the cause of mud constantly being walked over the patio, then what I needed to do was to cover the box with something to stop the girls walking through the mud.

We had some spare patio slabs so I decided that I would set to work on it on Boxing Day.

On Boxing Day I cleaned the patio down again then put the three slabs over the box. For the remaining smaller gap I found a smaller slab and brick from another part of the garden.

The box of soil is now covered with paving slabs

The girls take a drink

I am really pleased with this simple improvement as when I went back later the patio area had stayed much cleaner and the girls feet were not so clogged with mud. When I clean down the patio area I can lift the slabs to get rid of the water. Luckily the run slopes downwards so although I have had a problem with the mud at least it doesn’t ever flood.

Today was also the second three egg day with Pepper laying at first light, Bluebell laying mid morning and Treacle laying at lunch time. Treacle’s egg was a surprise egg. It was much paler than her usual eggs with a spot of pigment on one end.

Treacle’s latest egg on the bottom right of the egg box

Treacle’s usual colour of egg is top centre of the egg box. Pepper’s pale pinkish brown is in the bottom middle with Bluebell’s bottom left. I have read that the pigment goes on last when the egg is laid and if it is held here longer it can have more pigment added and if it is rushed past it can have less pigment added. I can only assume this one rushed past. It is adorable!

This is my first Christmas with chickens and Treacle laid a Christmas egg first thing this morning. I have been collecting eggs for our Christmas breakfast and breakfast for the family in a few days time. My egg box is so pretty.

My Christmas egg box

Yesterday was the first day we had three eggs. Treacle laid before first light, Bluebell laid mid morning and Pepper laid at about mid day.

We have had so much rain recently that the run is becoming a quagmire despite part of it being covered. The plastic covering over the corner of the garden part of the run gives the girls an area where they are dry from above and keeps the big perch dry but the water still drains underneath and the ground is still wet. Despite this it is drier than the other half of the run where without cover it is just mud.

Last time I put down wood chip I made the mistake of digging it over regularly because I felt the girls had no where to scratch for worms and bugs. This meant it was soon dug in and rendered useless.

This time I have a cunning plan! I will leave the triangular covered part beyond the perch as it is and continue to dig it over regularly for the girls to scratch in but put a thicker layer of wood chip over the rest and as it compacts I will resist the urge to dig and see if this helps to keep down the mud.

The girls loved the layer of wood chip especially when I threw out a few dried meal worms.

Wood chip to scratch in

This is fun

I really hope this improves things. The triangle to the left of the picture has no wood chip and I have just forked it over. When I used to bring the “scary” fork into the run the girls used to scatter. Now they know the fork means the possibility of worms and follow it around. I now have to be super careful not to let them get too near the prongs. They chased each other round after a few fat worms which was hilarious to watch.

One other thing I must mention. Someone on the “Down the Lane” forum said that an instinct made her check her chickens legs as they had leg rings on and with it being so muddy she was concerned. Rightly so because she found the beginning of a mud sore and removed the ring and treated the sore. This made me immediately go and check Pepper as she has a leg ring. I picked her up and inspected her leg. It was absolutely fine but I decided to remove the ring anyway just to be on the safe side.

Originally I put the leg ring on Pepper as her and Dotty are both dominiques and although Dotty is a month younger I thought when they were both fully grown that I may not be able to tell them apart. Six months later I realize that they are such different characters that I am quite sure I will always be able to tell them apart. Anyway my husband says it’s simple, he says the chicken on your shoulder is Dotty! Dotty jumps to my shoulder at any possible opportunity!

I have had the feeling for days now that Pepper was ready to lay her first egg. Yesterday morning I was sure it was time as she was strutting around shouting and in and out of the nest box, scratching about in there like Treacle and Bluebell had at the start of their egg laying. She then went in the nest box and settled in there but at that moment Bluebell decided it was time to lay her egg. At first I thought maybe she was just keeping an eye on Pepper as she kept going in the coop and watching over her, but then she decided to get in there with her. I found it so sweet seeing them sharing the nest box.

Bluebell joins Pepper in the nest box

Pepper sits tight

Bluebell tries to sit too

Who is going to get the best position?

I left them to it and when I returned a little later this is what I found.

Pepper’s and Bluebell’s eggs together in the nest box

Pepper’s egg is the one at the bottom of the picture and although it doesn’t show very well in this photo it has a delicate pale pink tinge to the colour. Bluebell’s egg was still warm so Pepper managed to lay her egg first.

Pepper’s egg is on the left and Bluebell’s on the right

These eggs are pastel pink and blue and so pretty but my camera is not good enough to show their true colours.

Treacle’s egg is on the left, Pepper’s in the middle and Bluebell’s on the right

They are so beautiful. I held this post back until this morning so that we could taste Peppers egg and I am pleased to say it tasted normal, hurrah!

Yesterday both me and my husband had our eggs for breakfast. This was the first of our own eggs my husband has eaten. I thought they tasted fine but he said he thought there was just a slight hint of the musty taste.

I read recently that if your chickens are on a medication that advises not eating the eggs,  the vet recommends a full two weeks to clear their system. I hadn’t realized it would take so long to clear from their system. It’s been eleven days since I took the jasmine out, so it should be completely clear very soon now.

With salt and pepper they were fine though and I am going to start saving them for Christmas for our family breakfast.

Bluebell’s egg was laid before first light yesterday and Treacle’s at dusk the day before. It was touch and go to see if she was going to get her egg laid by bedtime and she then came out for a last feed and water and got shut out as in the mean time the coop door had closed. I had to hold it open and wait for her to go in.

Because the days are so short now and the coop door closes at quarter past four, the girls stay out as long as they can and quite often one or two of them get shut out. I either go up just after its shut and put them in or go up just before it shuts and hold it open while they go in.

In the morning the coop door opens between quarter to eight and eight o’clock depending on how overcast it is. I go out to them just before quarter to eight and hold the door up to let them out. It’s a bit dark for me to clean up so I am now taking a torch with me.

This morning both Treacle and Bluebell wanted to lay at about the same time and were both in and out of the nest box and sometimes both in there together. Eventually Treacle laid her egg at eight o’clock and Bluebell laid hers at half past nine.

We have now had a total of thirty two eggs, twenty one from Treacle and eleven from Bluebell. These have been laid over thirty three days for Treacle and seventeen days for Bluebell. They tend to both lay three days in a row then miss a day. I think this is very good for this time of year and it is a great shame that we have only eaten a few of these eggs. The important thing though, is that we will be able to eat them from now on.

Pepper is also looking like she will lay soon, she readily squats if I hold my hand near her and has just started taking an interest in the nest box. She sat in it yesterday as if trying it out so I think she will start to lay any day now.

Because we have been extremely busy and also the weather has been awful, I haven’t managed to get any good photos recently and my blog is sadly lacking pictures, so I decided to include this one.

Two fluffy bottoms, I think they look so cute.

At lunch time today we tasted both Bluebell’s egg which was laid yesterday and Treacle’s egg which was laid this morning. They were very near normal with only a hint of the musty taste. Treacle’s was better than Bluebell’s which makes sense as it was laid a day later and she had also not been able to reach the jasmine for as long as Bluebell. It’s now been eight days since I took the jasmine out.

I decided to put them on a slice of toast, add salt and pepper and eat them. With salt and pepper they were fine and the yolks were a really lovely, rich, orange colour. We have had twenty six eggs and these are the first two I have eaten. My husband had made himself a ham sandwich as he didn’t feel ready to eat them yet. I am going to eat them from now on but will wait until they are completely clear before giving some to our next door neighbour as promised.

I am feeling elated to be able to eat our eggs at last. Hurrah!

This morning we tasted Treacle’s and Bluebell’s eggs from yesterday and there really was an improvement, they tasted almost normal. Because the improvement has been gradual it has been difficult to tell if it is our imagination or wishful thinking but today there was a real improvement. We feel that in a few more days we should be able to eat the eggs. I am so pleased at last we should have normal eggs.

What a relief and what a lesson learned. The support from the “Down the Lane” forum has been amazing. We filled up the maximum seven pages and I had to start a new thread to continue. It has been great having them all cheering me on with this and I have said that we will all now remember forever that jasmine is bad for chickens.

I am now looking forward to tasting tomorrows egg (Bluebell has just laid) instead of dreading it. Hurrah!

We tasted Bluebells egg this morning (laid yesterday) and it really was less strong. I am now certain that it was the jasmine and is just taking time to leave their systems. I feel a lot more positive now and am hopeful that by the weekend we may at last be able to eat the eggs. Hurrah! This has been such a long process. If only we had realized sooner that it was the jasmine we could have been eating eggs by now, but hind sight is a wonderful thing as they say!

Today was the first day I checked for eggs (mid day) and found both Treacle’s and Bluebell’s side by side in the nest box. Treacle’s was still warm so just laid, Bluebell’s cold so the earlier one of the two.

It’s been very cold these past few days and the ground has been too frozen for me to be able to poop pick outside. I suppose if it is that frozen it is not going to come to any harm and when it gets warmer I will do a bigger pick up. I tried to pick up but it was too hard to move, it would need a chisel!

I worry about the girls only having frozen ground to walk on and nothing to scratch but they don’t seem bothered. They come out in the morning in the usual rush and have a quick feed and drink of water and huge poops then go off on to the frozen ground for a wander, looking like it’s not a problem. They do have the big dry perch which they use in between but they don’t seem to worry about the cold or frozen ground. When they jump on me in the evening, it amazes me that when they perch on my hands (as the rest of me is covered) their muddy feet are still much warmer than my hands. How do they stand on frozen ground or mud and still have warm feet? It’s amazing!

Now that I am sure it was the jasmine that has been the problem with the eggs, I have resumed some treats. I think in this cold weather and with frozen ground they need some treats. Today I gave them apples to peck and have given some tomato and occasionally dried meal worms and sun flower hearts as well as greens. They hoover up everything and look at me as if to say “more please”! And they give little grunts of satisfaction.

Yesterday when I went out to the chickens the automatic door was just opening and the chickens scrambled out, then I noticed Bluebell’s egg in the doorway. It’s the first egg not in the nest box  and I can imagine Bluebell being taken by surprise and in the rush to get out an egg arrives! Luckily she is always last out and it landed on the shavings, so was fine.

Today we tasted Treacle’s egg from yesterday and Bluebell’s egg from this morning (laid in the nest box at first light). They still taste the same and I felt quite depressed about this. I then realized that the only thing I hadn’t replaced was the sunflower hearts which I give as an occasional treat. I bought new and gave the existing ones to the garden birds so as not to waste them but the new ones have a two year date on them so I don’t think they could be the problem.

Bluebell’s egg this morning has caught up in size to Treacle’s and is so beautiful (such a shame)!

Bluebell’s egg on the left and Treacle’s egg on the right

It then struck me that I had found Bluebell’s egg stronger than Treacle’s even though it was more recent. This got me back to thinking it must be the jasmine because Bluebell had discovered that she could step across from the cabinet into the jasmine itself to reach more leaves whereas Treacle as my biggest and heaviest girl couldn’t do this as it wouldn’t take her weight. Maybe we just need to give it more time. If nothing has changed by the weekend I won’t know where else to go with this, but must remain positive that it may be better by then.

My husband says we will be the only people to keep chickens as pets with no eggs but I have to keep believing we will resolve this. I said we will look back at this and say “remember that awful time when we couldn’t eat our eggs?”.

Another improvement with the girls egg laying skills is that both Treacle yesterday and Bluebell today seem quite happy to settle in the nest box ready to lay while I do the morning poop pick in the coop. They now seem quite at ease with me being there while they go about their business.

Pepper also readily squats now when I hold my hand over her so she may start laying soon. This would give us a good comparison as only Treacle and Bluebell worked out that they could get at the jasmine from the cabinet and I never saw Pepper or Dotty do that.

The girl’s are doing so well at their job of egg laying that it seems so unfair that they can’t be eaten. I will keep up the daily tasting and hope for normal eggs soon.

There have been some subtle changes taking place with the girl’s. Since Treacle has matured she has easily taken the place as top hen and often shows Pepper that she no longer has the position. Pepper has given in easily and just runs away when Treacle gives a light peck or a hard stare.

This change in the pecking order has had a good effect on the other two girls. Dotty has completely stopped being a bully and with that Bluebell has grown in confidence. Bluebell is not nervous at all now and has become much more vocal. Bluebell is the smartest and the nosiest and wants to be a part of anything going on. They all know the treats are in the store cabinet and whenever I open the door even if it’s just to get my gloves they are all at my feet, but lately Bluebell pushes her way into the cabinet and pecks at the plastic container that holds the corn. If she could get the lid off, I know she would.

Pepper’s comb and wattles have finally started to mature and today whenever I went to stroke her she squatted. I felt quite surprised because I wasn’t expecting her to start laying until spring but now think that she may start laying soon. In contrast Dotty still has no comb and no adult voice. I wonder if perhaps she won’t develop an adult voice. Dotty loves to fly up to my shoulder and yet is still the only one of the girls that won’t allow me to stroke her. Pepper is the only one that doesn’t jump up on me yet she likes to be close to me and does allow me to stroke her. They are all so different.

Pepper’s comb and wattles

Because Pepper has a pea comb, it is difficult to see it in a photograph but the backward spike is developing now and her comb and wattles have become much more red in colour.

Dotty still has no comb

This picture shows the contrast between Pepper and Dotty, who has no comb yet and a much paler face. Dotty is only one month younger than Pepper yet doesn’t seem to be growing up. I often think she is stuck in a time warp destined to stay a baby (or teenager)!

Close up of Pepper

I thought this angle might show her comb a bit better.

Bluebell has a floppy comb

As Bluebell’s comb has matured it has become more floppy, like a leghorn it flops to one side.

Treacle’s comb and wattles

Treacle has an upright comb and long wattles. It is interesting watching these changes taking place.

We tasted both Treacle’s and Bluebell’s egg this morning and thought the woody taste was less strong than before. The jasmine has only been removed from them for three days so we are hopeful that a few more days should see an improvement.