Carol's Chickens

There has been no time for my usual bog posts this weekend as we catered for a wedding yesterday. It was an afternoon tea on our vintage crockery for a hundred people.

I only managed a couple of photos because it soon became too busy. This was before we had taken the cling wrap off the sandwiches and before we had put the tea pots and coffee pots on the table so it doesn’t give the full effect but gives a bit of an idea.

One of the tables at yesterday’s afternoon tea

Another table

Most of today has been spent washing up and putting away. I matched the trios on our dining table before putting them back in their boxes.

Trios washed up ready to be put away

It’s been a busy weekend but a successful one. We had lots of comments on how much the tea was enjoyed and how pretty the crockery looked.

The veg plot is looking great.

The veg plot yesterday

The potatoes

The courgettes

They are coming on nicely

Today the rain has battered down the potatoes

Potatoes after the rain

Never mind, they would have fallen over eventually as they get ready to harvest so we decided to just leave them be.

The first courgettes of the year

I decided to pick the first courgettes and put them in the fridge for our Sunday dinner. By then there should be a few broad beans ready too.

After torrential rain battering the garden today it is lovely to see the hanging baskets looking good. We have this one at the back.

The hanging basket at the back

The hanging basket at the front

And this one at the front giving a welcome as we pull onto our drive. It would be great to have some sun but at least the garden is getting watered and the veg plot is giving us our first produce. You have to look on the bright side.

I love seeing the girls dust bathing. It is usually a communal thing but one thing that can always be guaranteed is that Peaches and Barley will always dust bath together.

Three girls dust bathing together

Speckles is nearby but never quite as close as these two girls are.

Emerald and Butterscotch join the three girls

Peaches and Barley appear to have their heads together having a bit of a gossip.

Peaches and Barley watch Speckles with interest

They appear to be checking if Speckles is getting the soil just right.

Emerald settles near by

Toffee sits on her own

Toffee is very often sitting on her own and she likes to sit in this sideways position. She can be quite a solitary girl.

Butterscotch’s head and neck feathers are nearly back in

Butterscotch is also very often just doing her own thing.

Another view of Butterscotch’s feathers

Butterscotch’s feathers are so nearly back to normal. I keep hoping they will come fully in and stay put. Whatever, the girls are happy and contented and that is lovely to watch.

I have just noticed that is my thousandth post. That’s amazing!

The chicken run has it’s own rose and the girls love rose petals. This morning when I went into the run first thing I decided to dead head the rose and sprinkle the petals for the girls.

I happened to have left my camera in the chicken store cabinet so took a few photos. They are not great as the rose is behind the gate that is used when separating the run into sections but you can see that the girls love rose petals.

I sprinkle rose petals for the girls

The girls love rose petals

They soon hoover up the petals

This is a simple treat growing in their space that they can enjoy until the rose is finished flowering.

The vegetable plot is looking really good but the pak choi has gone to seed. We have eaten four of them and now they have bolted and gone tough.

I thought I would give one to the girls and see if they liked it.

Pak choi for the girls

They do like it

Butterscotch was having too good a time to move out of her dust bath

She was enjoying this too much

Peaches, Barley and Speckles are enjoying the pak choi

When I checked back later there was just the stalk left. It seems like the girls will be getting the rest of the pak choi. At least it won’t be wasted.

We have big poppies in our garden. Every year just as they flower the weather is unsettled and the wind and rain knocks them down just as they are looking their best.

This year our big poppies have started to flower later than usual. It has helped them as we have had wind and rain while they were still in bud and they remained quite sturdy. They have just begun to flower and I thought I would photograph them before they have time to get battered.

We are having showers but at the moment but it’s not windy so they have a chance to flower for a while.

Big poppies

Delicate pink

Vibrant red

Contrast

They remind me of flowers made from tissue paper. They have only just started flowering but I know from past experience that this could be as good as they get. They are very vulnerable to the changeable weather at this time year.

It’s best to enjoy these short lived blooms while they are here in the moment.

Emerald is moulting the most heavily and is still looking really tatty.

Emerald

This is Emerald’s favourite place to perch while she is moulting and she spends a lot of time preening in this spot. Her white tipped under feathers are on show here.

Preening

Toffee

Toffee is missing some tail feathers creating a gap between her remaining tail feathers. Other than that she is looking pretty good though.

Peaches and Barley

Peaches is in the foreground with Barley close behind her as usual. They are never far apart. They both have the odd loose feather on their sides.

Speckles

Speckles still looks pristine and hasn’t lost a feather yet.

Butterscotch

Butterscotch’s pins are opening once more. I have never known a chicken moult for as long as Butterscotch. She has been moulting at the end of each broody spell since last summer. She seems to almost get her feathers through then she is off again.

I really hope this time her feathers come in and stay in. As usual for her after missing laying an egg yesterday she laid her egg at first light this morning. It is good to have her laying again.

Speckles has become very much my girl. From such a shy start she has become quite attached to me. Her routine first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening is set like clockwork.

She will always jump on to the inner gate when I open the outer gate. I never need to worry that she will jump outside the gate. I simply turn my shoulder towards her and she jumps on.

Tonight I thought I would try to capture this on camera. Photographing her on the gate is easy because she will stay there until I turn my shoulder towards her.

Speckles jumps on to the inner gate

Her comb is magnificent

She jumps to my shoulder and I take a selfie but I am blind as to what I am going to get. I hold the camera to where I think she is and click.

Speckles jumps on to my shoulder

You can tell she is on my shoulder as she is just under the roof of the run

I reach into the store cabinet for some sunflower hearts and stoop down so that Speckles can jump down safely as I throw out the seeds.

The girls scratch together for the seeds

They continue to scratch after the seeds have gone

This is the bedtime routine and we go through the same routine first thing in the morning with a handful of corn.

Just occasionally Speckles has jumped from my shoulder to the shelf in the store cabinet and attempted to help herself to the seeds until I lifted her down. Maybe that is a future photo opportunity. Her little habit is very endearing. She is such a sweetie.

It has been a week since Butterscotch finished being broody. She has moulted so much during that week that I wasn’t sure she would start to lay again. The feathers have stopped dropping over the last few days and she has become more vocal. She started looking in the nest box once more and I felt sure she was getting ready to lay again.

Yesterday she went in the nest box for a while in the morning and then gave up. In the afternoon she went back in and settled.

Butterscotch is back in the nest box

Her head is covered in pins once more. She seems to be in a permanent state of moulting and getting pins through. I wonder if her head will finally feather up this time or will this never ending cycle continue.

A little later Peaches was half in the nest box with her. I wasn’t sure if she just wanted to watch her or if she wanted to join her.

When I returned Peaches was in the nest box and standing in the egg laying position. When she left the nest box there were two eggs side by side.

Butterscotch’s and Peaches eggs

Butterscotch’s egg is on the the left and it’s first time in ages we have had a beige egg. Our other three, currently laying girls, lay the white eggs.

It is lovely to have another girl laying once more as eggs have been a  bit sparse with only three girls laying. Butterscotch is the best layer between her broody bouts so we will now be getting an egg from her nearly every day.

Welcome back Butterscotch. She is amazing!

The roses are amazing at the moment.

White rose

Red rose

Pink rose

The first of the big poppies is open.

Pale pink poppy

The self seeded fox gloves are in full flower.

Fox glove

The snap dragons add a bit of colour.

Antirrhinums

In the front garden there is a mass of blue.

Campanula

Little snapshots of colour are around the garden. This is a lovely time of year.