Carol's Chickens

Until quite recently we have been having frosts in the morning so have held back from planting the veg plot. This week the weather has changed and at last we have been having lovely warm sunny days. It was time to start off the veg plot.

We are experimenting with doing things a little differently this year. We used to grow tomatoes and courgettes successfully in pots but last year planted them directly into the veg plot and had our worst crop ever.

We usually grow our potatoes in the veg plot and have good crops but are plagued by wire worms in them.

Our runner beans also gave us our worst crop last year and they take up so much space.

There seems little point in having our patio crammed with pots of veg and struggling to fill up the veg plot so we have come up with a plan to trial. We are sinking the tomato pots into the veg plot and planting courgettes and potatoes in bags on the veg plot. We are trying dwarf beans instead of runner beans from some beans that Jackie has given us.

On Thursday my husband started work on the veg plot

My husband has sunk some pots for tomatoes and planted broad beans on the left. The courgette and potato bags are filled with potting compost in readiness.

On Friday my husband continued with the veg plot.

The tomatoes are now planted in the pots at the front and a chilli plant, that was on offer, is in the metal container (a chimney cowl that my husband kept in case it came in useful!).

Three courgette plants are in this bag

Three potato bags with maris piper seed potatoes planted

The beans have been planted within this square marked with string

On Friday Jackie and I visited the allotment and we dug up dandelions and chard. I added a few more dandelions to fill any gaps in the girl’s dandelion patch and planted chard in the rest of their strip. Some were plants from the allotments and some were from the garden centre. The girl’s strip is now filled.

The girl’s dandelion patch being checked out by Peaches

The girl’s chard being checked out by Emerald

The girl’s strip

The veg plot on Saturday

We have added leeks on the left and peas on the right. Next to the path on the right is a row of pak choi.

My husband has added some pea sticks he collected from the woodland behind our garden

The plot from the other direction

We have a bit of space in the middle in front of the potato bags to add something else. We are quite pleased with how it is looking and now just have to watch everything grow and hope it will be a good year.

Yesterday we were at a garden centre buying what we needed for our veg plot (a post coming soon) when I spotted some turf. I just had to get one for the girls.

I laid down the whole turf in a spot with dappled shade. The girls went straight to it to investigate.

A turf for the girls

They are loving the turf

Once the other girls had lost interest Butterscotch and Speckles had the turf to themselves

A little later and four girls are on the turf

These three girls spent the most time on the turf

Later in the day all six girls were back on the turf

Later that afternoon all the girls were sitting in the sun or taking dust baths but Toffee was sitting in a shaft of sunlight on the turf. I didn’t manage to get a photo but she looked very queenly sat on her comfy strip of turf.

The girls would go back to the turf throughout the day.

This morning first thing the girls were all back on the turf and as the day has gone by the grass is beginning to thin.

Today on the turf

The grass is gradually getting thinner

I think I can safely say they are all enjoying the turf. I am not sure it will last very long but eventually they can enjoy scratching the roots and soil once the grass has gone.

I think at last Butterscotch is getting feathers on her head. We haven’t seen any pulling of pins for a while now which is really good. Butterscotch seems to have a mix of fluff and pins on her head at the moment.

She is also moulting once more. I am picking up a dozen feathers each morning under her roost spot and again during the day from the run and her dust bath spots. She has been moulting a bit at a time for eight months now.

Butterscotch has pins in the gaps

Her little black heart is on show in this photo, so sweet!

She has fluff and pins on her head now

She has pins on the top of her head

Only time will tell how well covered her head will be but I am more hopeful now that she will have a feathered head even if she doesn’t have her crest this year. As this is her first year I can’t predict how she will look and will just have to wait and see but I am more positive now that she will have feathers covering her head which I am really pleased about.

When we had Topaz and Honey in the flock the bedtime routine was a drawn out affair. The lower ranking girls would roost on the back perch then when Topaz and Honey went in they would peck at them until they jumped down and ran out again.

It was always Speckles, Emerald, Toffee, Peaches and Barley that would in turn coming running out again. Butterscotch used to go in last and was never moved from her position.

They finally settled as it was getting dark and I would go in and clean up the poop from the patio before locking the gate to the run for the night.

I re-homed Topaz and Honey purely because of the feather pulling. I couldn’t bare to see feathers pulled from the girls and couldn’t risk it becoming a habit throughout the entire flock.

What I hadn’t expected was the huge change this has brought to the flock. I have talked recently about the harmony in the flock now. There is no longer a need to spread treat dishes around so that the lower ranking girls get a share. All six girls happily share treats from one dish with no pecking and chasing.

The bedtime routine has also completely changed. After their bedtime corn the girls spend a while scratching together (maybe they think they might just find a bit of hidden extra corn).

Then they all go into the chicken shed and line up on the back perch. There is no squabbling and no running out again. When I go in to lock the gate there is usually one blob of poop only on the patio which shows how quickly they have settled. They don’t even wait for it to get dark.

The bedtime line up

Some things don’t change though. Butterscotch still likes the middle of the perch. Peaches and Barley still like to stick together. Emerald or Toffee are often apart from the rest of the girls. Has Emerald been sent to Coventry? Sometimes, especially when it’s cold, they are all bunched up together only taking up half the perch.

I used to wonder why, when they sit together during the day, they couldn’t just sit together at night without a fuss first. I hadn’t realised at the time how disruptive the two top girls aggressive behaviour was. I am sure that Speckles has a much nicer life now than before.

The routine is now easy and quick and settled which is so nice to see.

When my husband sweeps the path he often dumps the sweepings in the run for the girls to scratch through. Usually it is mostly leaves. At the moment there are also fallen blossom petals. The girls absolutely love blossom petals and later in the year rose petals.

Some sweepings for the girls

They are hoovering up the blossom petals

They had a great time scratching and spreading the sweepings. Within minutes they had picked out all of the blossom petals. Note the petals in the first photo and in the second photo they have all disappeared.

The girls find fun in the most simple of things which is lovely to see.

I give the girls some greens every day at mid morning. Usually I give them spinach but today I had run out so I decided to give them a dish of peas instead.

A dish of peas for the girls

I love how they share

The peas won’t last long

The peas didn’t last long at all and I think I can safely say they really enjoyed them.

What is so lovely now is that I no longer need to spread treats around in several dishes. I just put out one dish and they all group around it with no pecking at all. This is so heart warming to see.

I decided to give the girls a treat of some fish in the hope that the extra protein helps Butterscotch to get her feathers opened.

Some fish for the girls

They share the fish with no aggravation

Barley takes a water break

It is so nice seeing the girls share happily together. I no longer have to spread the dishes far and wide to allow Speckles to get her share. My flock of six get along together peacefully.

At bedtime they settle quickly without any of the girls being chased out of the chicken shed and they all seem to interact with me more. It’s been a surprise what a difference it has made to the flock since Topaz and Honey have been re homed. I think six is a better number for our space and these girls seem much more settled together.

There is a new bargain store that has just opened next door to one of the supermarkets that I use regularly. I decided to take a look and found quite a few items at bargain prices. They also had seventy litre bags of potting compost selling at three for ten pounds. I decided to get three to help keep the soil level topped up in the chicken run.

It was a mission getting them up the garden path on my trolley, one at a time, between my husband and myself.

Emerald is the first to investigate as the first bag is emptied into the run

Emerald, Peaches and Butterscotch scratch in the compost and it is soon spread around

I caught Butterscotch mid shake

Butterscotch often does this sudden shake that seems to almost knock her off her feet.

Three girls snoozing together

I think all the scratching must have worn them out as these three girls, Toffee, Butterscotch and Speckles were stood together dozing.

Speckles has a spectacular comb

Finally I couldn’t resist this close up of Speckles. She is such a beautiful girl and she has the most amazing comb and wattles. She would do a cockerel proud. For such a little girl that is a big comb and she lays the biggest eggs too.

Butterscotch has been broody for just under two weeks. The last few days she has been staying out of the nest box for longer and I could tell she was coming to the end of her broody spell.

Yesterday morning when I went out to the girls first thing, she was already out, instead of me having to get her out of the nest box. That was it, she stayed out all day. At bedtime I didn’t bother closing the nest boxes and she went to roost in the chicken shed. It’s over for now.

I am struggling to tell if her head looks better or worse. Some of the pins are opening and there are little bits of fluff there now but I think some of the pins have also disappeared. I hope there will be enough feathers remaining to eventually cover her head even if she no longer has a crest.

I think this side of her head does look a little better

I’m not sure if this side looks a little worse

A little out of focus but a closer view

There are now some little bits of fluff. I hope that next year will be different because she won’t be laying and going broody through the winter. I hope this means she will moult and regrow her feathers more quickly.

Butterscotch really has had the longest moult I have ever come across. She has been moulting bit by bit for eight months now. It would be so good to see her with feathers on her head again.

Every time Butterscotch goes broody she performs a strange habit. When I get her out for one of her breaks she always runs off and jumps on the log. She scratches and pecks at it for a moment then goes about her business, scratch, quick dust bath, large poop, pellets, water and back to the nest box.

I meant catch this behaviour with photographs last time she was broody but kept missing my chance. This time round I thought I would try to catch it again.

Once  again every time she did this I kept missing it. I either didn’t have my camera or when I did she had jumped down before I got the shot.

Yesterday I finally got the shots I wanted. The thing that is so odd about this is that she only ever does this when she is broody. When she isn’t broody she never goes on the log.

Butterscotch on the log

She is looking at me

She pecks at the log

She turns to face the other way

She then jumps down and continues with her normal routine. Why should she only do this when broody? Why is this ritual connected to her being broody? It is most odd but unique and amusing to watch. Who can tell what goes on their chicken brains!