Carol's Chickens

Yesterday I visited Jackie’s girls then bought her back to mine to visit my girls. All my photos were of the girls with their heads down as Jackie had just given them some meal worms but they show how beautiful their plumage is after their moult.

Jackie’s girls

Blossom, Chelsea and Bluebell

They all have lovely red combs. Chelsea and Bluebell are laying and Blossom is getting ready to start by being more vocal  than usual and checking out the nest box.

Jackie has decided she is ready for new girls so we are going back to the farm in Windsor next month. I can’t wait to see some new girls.

I never thought that I would be so pleased to say that one of the girls is moulting. I thought that Butterscotch may have had her crest feathers pulled out but I now think she is just moulting. I am just beginning to see some tiny pins on her head.

She has a v shaped gap in her breast feathers which caused me to worry that some feathers may have been plucked. While I was trying to gather my photographic evidence, Butterscotch walked towards me and a couple of feathers fluttered to the ground from the v shaped gap on her breast.

I haven’t seen any feather plucking recently but the fact that she had had her comb pecked in the chicken shed and then started losing head feathers lead me to worry that she was being plucked. It now seems that the two things were just a coincidence. Sorry, Honey, for suspecting you of this. I think that because of my past history in the flock I am a bit paranoid of this happening.

I have tried to get some photos but Butterscotch constantly bobs her head and it is very difficult to get clear shots.

This was Butterscotch a few days ago

I thought I could see little white dots which may be pins coming through. They don’t show up as much as the black dots on the girls with dark feathers. Blond feathers coming through are more difficult to see.

Butterscotch has pins just showing

This was tonight and I can now see more obvious white dots and in fact my husband commented that he thought he could see pins. It’s really tricky to see in a photograph but hopefully over the next few days it will be noticeable.

Butterscotch has a drink

Because it is so difficult to show what I want to I thought I would include this shot as I just love the way Butterscotch makes ripples as she drinks.

Butterscotch still has a few head feathers on this side

She has pins on the right side of her head but still has some feathers on the left side of her head. The white patch on her breast is where I saw some feathers drop from her and I can see some pins here too but the photos I took showing this came out blurred.

I am just so relieved that she is moulting and we haven’t got a return of the dreaded feather plucking. It really has become my worst fear. Butterscotch laid an egg yesterday but not today so maybe she needs to lay less and get on with her moult.

Nature will take it’s course and I will be watching her progress and taking photos along the way.

For the last few days I have been aware that Butterscotch was getting ready to lay again. She had become more vocal and was looking in the nest box.

She usually takes a two week break then starts laying again and today was day twelve of her break. This morning she had been in and out of the nest box a few times and so had Topaz. Both girls were being very vocal.

When I left to do my deliveries at quarter to eleven Butterscotch was settled in the nest box.

Butterscotch in the nest box

When I got back at lunch time Topaz was in this same nest box. I lifted the lid and Topaz came out and there were two eggs side by side.

One of the eggs was Butterscotch’s egg as they are distinct and the easiest of all to tell and that’s without the fact that Butterscotch only goes in the nest box to lay an egg or be broody. She doesn’t need endless practice like Topaz. Butterscotch’s egg was as always round with a satin finish and a slight pink tinge to it. The other egg was white and quite large so am guessing this was Topaz’s egg.

Two eggs today

The one on the right is Butterscotch’s egg without a doubt. I think the one on the left is Topaz’s.

It is tricky to be absolutely sure because I have put the last three eggs down to Barley as she was standing over the first one and she had been looking in the nest boxes and her comb is big and red. I haven’t actually seen her sitting in the nest box though but in the past she has always been quick to get the job done.

Topaz has been sitting in the nest box a lot but whenever she comes out and I check the nest box there has been no egg so I think it’s just her endless practice.

I can’t be absolutely sure if this egg is Topaz’s but I am going to mark it as hers for now. It’s a shame they don’t lay different colours and it’s a case of catching them in the nest box and a bit of guess work.

Butterscotch is the definite though. The photo may not show much colour difference but in the flesh that slightly pink satin finish is more obvious.

The good news is, this is the first two egg day, since August. Butterscotch has been single handed in keeping us in eggs since then. Bless her little cotton socks (feathered feet). Lets hope this is the start of an upturn in egg laying and I hope to be able to catch the girls in the nest box to be sure who each egg belongs to.

This morning my husband saw Honey go into the nest box for the first time this year. I went to check on her with my camera in hand.

Honey was back out but Topaz had gone in. Whenever I check on a girl in the nest box the other girls come running to have a look too. They are so nosey or maybe just so interested in the nest box action. Peaches was first to look through the door and Speckles was on top. You can just see her toes at the top of the photo.

Peaches checks on Topaz

Now Speckles and Toffee want to see too and Emerald is on her way over at the back of this photo

Speckles and Peaches peer in at Topaz

Topaz doesn’t like all this attention and marches out of the nest box.

All the girls gather by the nest boxes except for Butterscotch

Butterscotch is her own girl and doesn’t feel the need to join in with all this. Butterscotch is only interested in the nest box if she needs to lay an egg or if she is broody.

The lovely Speckles

I couldn’t resist another close up of Speckles. Because she came to us at the end of July and had already started her moult I had never seen her with a red comb. There are three lovely red combs in this photo and I am sure that Peaches and Speckles will be laying soon as well as Barley who has laid two eggs so far.

Butterscotch seems to have even less head feathers

I am sure that Butterscotch has less feathers on her head today. She has grey under feathers where her orange crest feathers used to be. This is such a shame and I really hope it doesn’t go beyond this.

We have concluded that Honey is the culprit but we haven’t seen this happen yet and are basing this on a few facts. Butterscotch roosts next to Honey. Honey did pull feathers from Butterscotch’s back when we first had her and we have never seen any other girl pull feathers ever.

My husband wondered if she could be moulting them but I think it is unlikely that just her head feathers would go although she does lose some feathers each time she takes a break from laying. It has never left any gaps before though. It is a mystery because we just don’t see it happening and are really guessing.

I am really hoping this will stop at this stage and not end up with her having a bare head. All the girls are looking so good apart from this. I find this upsetting but I know from past experience that there is nothing I can do about it. I just have to hope that it passes without getting any worse.

There was a lot less drama today. After Topaz having a determination to be in the nest box at bedtime yesterday she showed no interest at all this morning. It’s as if it’s totally forgotten.

While all the girls were pottering about Honey was just sitting as she often does these days. I can definitely tell she is older than the rest of the flock by the way looks and behaves.

Honey is looking her age.

I have taken to sometimes leaving my camera in the store cabinet so that if there is a moment happening I have my camera to hand. I took the photo of Honey, leaving the store cabinet door open, and when I turned round this is what I saw.

Emerald checks out the store cabinet

These girls are so nosey and of course they also know that the treats come from here. I love seeing Emerald upright and yesterday couldn’t capture a photo of her comb but here you can see that it is pink even though her face is white. I love seeing her stretch her long neck. She often looks comical when in this pose but I don’t often get to capture it.

Meanwhile Barley was having a scratch around in the nest box. It has been a week since she laid her first egg which is the gap she had last year before the second one.

Later in the afternoon Topaz was missing. She was in the nest box but came running out to see if I had bought any treats in. There in the nest box was a small white egg. I am pretty sure this is Barley’s egg and Topaz just went in to sit on it. It’s the white colour and small size of Barley’s eggs, although I have no eggs at the moment to compare it with.

I checked back on a photo of Topaz first two eggs last year along side a shop bought one and they were quite large, almost as big as the shop bought egg. This egg is very small so I think it is Barley’s egg.

Topaz showed no more interest in the nest box once I had removed the egg and went to bed as usual tonight.

I keep looking at Butterscotch’s head to see if there are any more missing feathers but it is really difficult to say. I think she may have lost some more but I keep comparing photos and it’s really difficult to see. This is really bugging me at the moment but there is nothing I can do about it.

Only time will tell and I can only hope this doesn’t beyond her losing her crest.

Today I thought I would take some close up portraits of the girls to show how their combs are changing.

Peaches close up

Barley’s close up

Barley laid her first egg a week ago and Peaches has yet to start. You can see by the photos above that although Peaches comb is starting to get red it isn’t nearly as big and as red as Barley’s comb. Barley’s comb is always bigger than Peaches anyway but you can see that even despite this Peaches isn’t quite there yet.

Butterscotch is having a dust bath

Butterscotch has a black comb so it’s difficult to see any changes in her comb. As she was having a lovely dust bath while I was taking these photos I decided to include this one of her.

Speckles close up

Speckles comb is getting redder but isn’t as red as Topaz, Peaches and Barley’s.

Honey’s close up

Honey’s comb has just a little pink in it.

Emerald’s close up

Emerald has a really tiny comb and it is always pale. I think it looks more pale because she has a white face.

Toffee’s close up

Toffee’s comb is quite pale too but has a bit more colour than Emerald’s.

Topaz close up

Topaz has a very bright comb and is spending a lot of time in the nest box practising. She has just come out of the nest box and Barley is on top of the nest box watching her. You can just see her head in the top left hand corner.

Topaz is in the nest box so some of the girls gather on top of the nest box

It is really funny how interested all the girls are when Topaz is in the nest box. At times today Peaches and Barley would go and look at her in the nest box and Topaz would come out shouting angrily. She is one angry bird and can’t stand to be watched when she is in the nest box.

And here she is

A little later Peaches checks on Topaz

She looks so cute when she is looking in the nest boxes

Topaz spent all afternoon in the nest box with no egg laid. She came out for the bedtime corn then returned to the nest box.

At dusk I checked on the girls and they were all in apart from Topaz who was still in the nest box.

When this happens with Butterscotch it’s easy as she is a docile girl. I simply pick her up and place her on the perch in the chicken shed.

Topaz is a totally different girl. She has always been our angry girl. I tried to pick her up but she pecked me and ran out of the nest box past me. I felt sure as it was nearly dark she would soon head to the chicken shed so I shut the nest boxes and waited. No way was she going in and she headed out to the garden part of the run even though it was almost dark.

I tempted her back with a trail of corn and as the automatic door had now closed I propped it open with my chicken door stop. I tried to guide her towards the pop hole but she was determined not to go in and kept trying to dodge past me. In desperation I used the net to catch her and put her through the pop hole.

The net is a fishing net that I keep hanging by the chicken shed door because Topaz goes broody often and pecks me so I use it to ease her out of the nest box for breaks to eat, drink and scratch or dust bath. I can pick up all the other girls but Topaz has always been the only girl that pecks in anger. As I have often said she is a unique girl and that brings its own trials.

I could hear her making noises, as if she was upset, from the shed floor as it was too dark to get to the perch. I wedged the torch under the pop hole to give her some light. This worked a treat and she jumped up to the perch and settled. I checked that they were all settled and removed the torch and closed the door.

I wonder if other people have these sort of dramas. Topaz is behaving like a broody but she hasn’t laid an egg yet. I wonder what drama tomorrow will bring.

I decided to move the small nest boxes to the floor instead of on top of the large nest boxes. I think this will make them easier to access for the girls.

We moved the storage cabinet along a bit to make room for them.

The small nest boxes are in a new position

I think they will be better on the floor

Luckily the chicken shed door just swings over the top of the small nest boxes.

Speckles checks out the new arrangement

Speckles is checking out the nest box

I think Speckles may start laying soon. She came into the chicken shed this morning while I was poop picking and was much more vocal than usual. She checked out all of the nest boxes later this morning.

Both her and Topaz have been checking out the nest boxes so it will be interesting to see who lays first.

Topaz settled in the bigger nest box and I thought she might finally lay her first egg of the year.

Topaz is settled in the nest box

Butterscotch looked like she wanted to go in too

I felt sure Butterscotch wanted to get in the nest box too but after a few minutes she gave up and went to one of the perches in the run. Perhaps she was just being nosey.

It did give me the chance to get a close up of her comb though.

Butterscotch’s poor comb and head

When I first saw some blood spots in the chicken shed I checked all the girl’s combs and couldn’t see any sign of pecking. Now that Butterscotch is missing some head feathers I can see a spot of dried blood on the tip of her comb and at the base of her feathers where there are some missing. You can see from this photo how difficult it is to see this against the black colour of her comb.

I feel so sorry for her but she seems her usual self and it doesn’t seem to be bothering her. She chased Barley away just after I took this photo.

I will make sure that she is not next to Honey at bedtime for a while. I think that what probably happened is that Honey pecked her comb and made it bleed. If there were spots of blood on her comb and her head feathers this probably attracted Honey to pulling them out. I am surmising of course but knowing chicken’s behaviour this seems most likely.

Meanwhile Honey was having a lovely dust bath and Speckles really wanted to join her. These two do seem to spend time together and have a bit of an alliance with each other. Peaches and Barley often chase Speckles from the dust bath and yesterday was no exception. I sometimes call them “the mean girls”.

Speckles wants to dust bath with Honey

She almost manages it

But Barley chases her away

Topaz then came out of the nest box shouting her head off. I went to check and once more there was no egg. Topaz is such an odd girl or should that be “unique”!

At bedtime I checked and Butterscotch and Honey were next to each other so I moved Butterscotch to a different position. Honey then gave Barley a peck on the comb so I am sure she is the culprit and my theory is probably correct. I felt sorry for Barley but as soon as it gets darker she won’t be able to peck her and at the moment Butterscotch needs protection the most.

Just when I think things are running smoothly there always seems to be more drama.

Topaz practised laying throughout December and the first half of January and then stopped. It was as if she suddenly realised that she was practising too early and gave up.

This morning she was very vocal and had a look in the small nest box. She looked quite cross as if she felt that the small nest box wasn’t up to standard for her.

I opened up the large nest box and she went straight to it to have a look.

Topaz has been looking in the small nest box

I opened up the big nest box for her

She went in briefly but was soon back out again and still being very vocal. I think she may be getting ready to start laying again but you can never be sure with Topaz. She does need an awful lot of practice.

Speckles is getting a lovely red comb and wattles.

Speckles is getting a lovely red comb.

Speckles looks in the nest box

Speckles is looking in the nest box. I think it may not be long before Speckles starts laying.