Carol's Chickens

Today I needed to start worming the girls for the second time, three weeks from the first time, to break the egg/worm cycle. I have a slight problem though. I ordered more flubenvet powder from my vet three weeks ago (it usually comes in the next day) but there has been a manufacturing problem with flubenvet and there is a back log of orders for it. It isn’t due in until the end of the month at the earliest.

All the other worming products the vet could order are for commercial chicken flocks and only come in huge quantities. Flubenvet is the only wormer that comes in a small size for back yard chicken keepers.

Jackie has come to my rescue. She has recently wormed her girls and had some pellets with flubenvet left over which were reaching their use by date. She passed them on to me in case the flubenvet didn’t arrive in time.

The problem is that with Sparkle not eating pellets it’s going to be tricky getting her to have her dose. I decided the only way was to put her back in the cat box with a dish of water and a dish of mash and leave her there until she eats some. This will be helpful in a couple of ways. It will not only mean she gets wormed but will mean she will eat pellets which she isn’t doing at the moment. It will give me a chance to see what her poop is like and as she only sits all day on the run floor or the table it isn’t a hardship for her.

Last night I emptied the food bowls, washed them and filled them with the new pellets. This morning I made a dish of mash from them and put it in the run to encourage the girls to eat it. They soon got stuck in.

I then picked Sparkle up and put her in the cat box with her dish of mash and a dish of water. I sprinkled a few sunflower hearts and a chopped grape on top of the mash to get her started. I then settled her cat box in the bathroom where she will be safe and cool while we are out doing our deliveries.

Sparkle’s new home for now

Sparkle’s mash and water

I kept checking on her to see if she was eating. I was disappointed that she picked the sunflower hearts from the mash but wasn’t touching the mash itself or even the grapes.

After two hours and just as I was about to leave to do my deliveries I finally caught her tucking into the mash. She was only pecking at it very slowly but at least she was having some.

On my return it didn’t appear that she had eaten much and she wasn’t eating once more. As I would rather she eat anything than nothing at all I gave her some spinach and a small cube of melon. She ate a few leaves and pecked at the melon.

My husband found a worm for her and put it through the bars. Sparkle pecked at it then dropped it. I opened the cat box to try to offer her the worm but she suddenly decided it was time to break for freedom. As she tried to push past my hand she stood in the water bowl and knocked it over.

It seemed that Sparkle had made the decision for us. It was now half past one and time to return her to the run. Once back in the run she preened for a bit and then settled down on the run floor and dozed for a while.

Sparkle is back in the run

At least I feel happier knowing that Sparkle has had some pellets even if it’s not a lot. The poop in the cat box looked quite normal too which is a good sign.

As we will be home for the next two days I intend to do the same thing again and then I will decide how to progress from there. At least it means she is eating some mash and she only spends her days sitting at the moment anyway.

She also seems to have stopped laying now which is good as she couldn’t make shells but is also another sign that all is not well with her. On the positive side she is eating a little, is drinking and pooping and doesn’t look as unhappy as she did when trying to pass a shell less egg. I guess only time will tell but I will keep hoping she will get better and will do all I can to help her.

Poor Emerald looks really scruffy and when I pick her up at bedtime (as gently as I can) she feels as prickly as a hedgehog.

Emerald looks really shabby

I love Emerald’s long neck

Unlike Emerald, Toffee looks quite neat but she has no tail.

Toffee looks quite cute with no tail

These two are the only ones in full moult but I am finding a few of Topaz’s feathers in the run and occasionally one of Sparkle’s. This may be down to just shedding the odd feather though. It still seems a little early for moulting.

A few days ago I noticed that a hole had appeared in the chicken’s dandelion pot. I wondered why anything would want to dig in the dandelions. I pushed the soil back together with my fingers and firmed it down.

Today I decided that I would transplant the dandelions from the pot to the dandelion patch as the ones in the patch looked much more lush than the ones in the pot which also  looked quite dusty. I half dug with the trowel and half pulled with my hands at the dandelions and planted them in the patch.

I then began to ease the soil from the sides of the pot with the intention of putting it in the run for the girls to scratch through. To my surprise something emerged through the soil.

A toad emerged from the soil

We have had a toad in the garden for many years and last year I came upon it on the garden path one evening and photographed it. I am sure this is the same toad and it appears a little bigger each time we see it.

Toad’s close up

Toad’s face

I called my husband to see the toad

We think he was staying still to play dead until any danger had passed. My husband picked him up and put him into the undergrowth of the garden where he soon disappeared.

I then tipped the soil from the pot into the run.

The girls scratching in the soil

Sparkle is missing which once again shows she is not her usual self

I can see by her eyes that she isn’t happy

I love my “together girls” little behinds

Sparkle finally made it to the soil for a peck

Poor Sparkle is so slow and half hearted but at least she makes the effort to try to join in.

Sparkle has moments of looking back to normal then she looks really poorly again.

The table is Sparkle’s favourite place when she doesn’t feel well

I think her problem is that she isn’t eating enough but I also know that a hen that’s not eating enough must have something wrong. If she was well she would eat properly.

She seems to have lost her appetite and therefore will eat treats, corn, sunflower hearts and greens but I hardly see her at the pellets. I have been putting mash in the run each day to try to tempt her but I hardly ever see her go to it. The problem is I can’t force her to eat.

I think that because she isn’t eating properly she can’t make egg shells. I have put her in the cat box three mornings running with a little dish of fish with limestone flour mixed in so that I can be sure she has taken it. Despite this I think she is still laying eggs with no shells.

The first egg with no shell was the one I photographed in the nest box. After that it’s down to detective work. One evening she looked poorly again and when I went in to put the girls to bed there was a dried on patch of yellow on the storage cupboard beneath the high perches. I think it may have been a second egg with no shell and had probably been eaten just leaving a yellow stain.

A few days later she looked really poorly again at bedtime. In the morning when poop picking the run I came across another dried on yellow patch on the bottom rung of the ladder where she likes to perch. I think she may have been perched further up the ladder and it dropped to the lower rung. Again there were no remains just a yellow stain so I can’t be sure but I think it may have been egg yolk as it was too yellow for poop.

If this is the case then that’s three eggs so far with no shell despite her having limestone flour. I really wish she would just stop laying and have the chance to get better but she has always been a good layer. She seems well in between then goes down hill before the next egg is due.

I just don’t know what to do for her. I feel so helpless. I know the vet can’t help as he doesn’t seem to know any more about chicken health than I do.

I also need to start worming the girls again on Friday as they need to be wormed a second time after three weeks to break the worm and egg cycle when worms have been found. This is going to be another problem because as she isn’t eating properly it will mean that I will need to put her in the cat box each day to make sure she takes her dose.

She is very cautious now of me picking her up which makes the whole thing quite tricky. I feel I must get her through this next course of worming and then see how she does. Every time I think she looks better I am soon concerned about her all over again.

I think at the moment I can only continue as we are and keep a close eye on her and hope she gets better. I really hope she may stop laying soon and have a chance to recover but I know that she is not out of the woods yet.

I know I have already put out photos of our rambling rose but I just can’t resist this last set of photos as it reaches it’s peak. This rose is called paul’s himalayan musk and was given to us as a moving in gift eight years ago. It was about three foot high back then and was a rose that I had long admired in a friend and neighbours garden. She told us that it was fast growing and would soon cover our arches and she was right.

I am taking loads of photos now because although beautiful and also full of a lovely perfume, it doesn’t last long and will soon be gone. Other roses in the garden are less spectacular but will last until October when we get the first frosts.

Therefore I feel we need to celebrate this spectacular rose as it reaches it’s peak so bare with me as I show it off one more time.

The right hand corner of the patio was in bud in the last set of photos but is now in full flower

A closer view

Walking up the garden

View from our bedroom window at the top of the house (loft conversion)

Our patio is surrounded by the rose

I also meant to photograph the chicken’s rose but have left it a bit late and it’s going over. However the girls love the rose petals as they drop and I thought this was also a good photo to show how good our perpetual broody, Topaz, is looking.

Topaz and the chicken’s rose

A jug of our rose indoors

I also have some of the rose indoors as I had to prune a few bits so that we could walk under the arches. Once it has finished flowering we will prune it as we now have to duck under the arches. Despite this we are fully enjoying this rose at the moment.

We had recently been considering re-homing our perpetual broody, Topaz, at the farm we got her from as she could have the chance to hatch some eggs there. I haven’t somehow been able to bring myself to ring Richard at the farm and run the idea by him.

We talked about this idea again yesterday and I have changed my mind about it. When we re-homed our big girls it was a difficult decision but it was for the good of the flock. The girls were being stripped of their feathers and some girls were being bullied.

At the moment the flock is happy and settled and although Topaz is perpetually broody, doesn’t lay eggs and is often grumpy, she isn’t causing any distress to the flock.

Topaz is also top hen and as Steve and Yu Lee pointed out when they visited last weekend, her going could massively change the pecking order. As top hen she keeps all the girls in their place and no one messes with her but she does it without her pecks connecting and there has never been any blood drawn. A look or a motion towards another girl is enough for them to back away.

When Treacle, our top hen at the time, passed away it seemed to be the trigger for the feather plucking. We have decided it would be best not to rock the boat. Topaz is beautiful to look at and is healthy and is a good top hen. The fact that she is perpetually broody, doesn’t lay eggs and is grumpy, is all part of her very individual character.

I don’t want to part with her and I don’t want to cause unnecessary stress to the flock. We have decided to leave things as they are and let our flock continue happily together whether they lay eggs or not. Topaz is just an individual, a conundrum, but so be it. She is our flock’s conundrum.

I actually feel a bit guilty now for even thinking of letting her go but sometimes it’s just good to throw your thoughts out there while trying to come to the best decision. For now I think we should just celebrate our flock and enjoy their mix of characters.

This morning I gave the flock some yogurt with a little limestone flour stirred in to help Sparkle with her egg shells.

The girls have some yogurt

The girls love yogurt

Looking at this happy flock, how could I think of risking upsetting them. The decision is made and we will stay as we are.

Peaches and Barley are always together. They are a really tight pair. I could put out dozens of photos of them together but this afternoon I couldn’t resist this one as it’s so sweet. All the girls were sitting in various parts of the run soaking up the sun but they were all sat in their own individual spot. Not Peaches and Barley, just like when dust bathing this pair could not get closer.

Peaches and Barley

Meanwhile Emerald has a loss of confidence as she is heavily moulting and the place all the girls choose when feeling a little out of sorts is the table.

My poor shabby Emerald

I don’t know why they love this spot but the table is the place they all go to when not feeling at their best.

The garden is looking really good at the moment and the veg plot is really coming on too.

The veg plot is looking great

View of the veg plot from the other direction

The garden is looking really full

Looking great in front of the chicken run

The poppies are huge and these lovely pale ones have just opened

The rambling rose is just starting to flower

A few days later this is the rose when walking up the garden

Left corner of the patio

Right corner of the patio with lots more buds yet to open

view walking back down the garden

I know I am showing a lot of photos of this rose but it so amazing at this time of year and there are still masses of buds yet to open. We planted this rose when we moved here eight years ago and it’s now a huge feature of the garden at this time of year.

We positioned it to grow over these arches to give us some screening from the neighbours and to soften the roof of the cabin which is for our catering business and it now performs perfectly. It also has a wonderful scent. It doesn’t flower for long so we have to celebrate it now while it’s reaching it’s peak.

Once this rose starts to go over the other climbing roses in the garden begin so we have a succession of flowers to see us through the summer. This is my favourite rose though and is the most spectacular.

I could become a bit of a garden bore but as I bore most people with endless chicken photos it makes a change to have an alternative subject. Normal chicken photos will resume shortly.

Toffee and Emerald are in the full swing of their moult now. Toffee has lost her tail and Emerald is looking really shabby.

Toffee has lost her tail

Emerald is looking really scruffy

Toffee no tail and Barley playing at bookends

Peaches meanwhile is busy at the mash

A very tatty Emerald joins Toffee and Barley

Meanwhile Topaz and Honey are in the nest box

Topaz is still in her perpetual broody limbo. She has a lovely red comb and wattles but her only desire is to sit on eggs. On the odd days that none of the girls lay she doesn’t bother to go in the nest box but as soon as a girl is in there she will join them. She will then sit on their egg until I remove it and then she comes out shouting in anger.

Sparkle doesn’t look happy despite a lovely red comb and wattles

Sparkle has been looking pretty much back to normal lately then yesterday she looked like this. I recognise this look and felt sure she was about to lay a soft shelled egg. The good news is that if she is about to lay again she must be over her recent health problems. The bad news is that I rarely see her eating the pellets and if she is not eating enough pellets she will struggle to form a good egg shell. I am so familiar with this stance.

Because of this I have been putting a dish of mash out each day to try to encourage Sparkle to eat more. The problem is I can only try to tempt her but can’t force her to eat. The other girls are loving the mash but I don’t see Sparkle at the dish very often.

My only hope is that if she gets a soft shelled egg out okay she will then return to normal. She did lay a soft shelled egg when she laid her first egg this year and was fine after that.

This morning when I went out to the girls first thing I looked in all the nest boxes as I do every morning just in case there has been an early egg laid. In the left little coop nest box I found an egg with no shell at all.

Ann egg with no shell

After I took this photo I lifted it out for a closer look and there wasn’t even a membrane round it. I have never found an egg with no shell at all before. Sparkle looks fine this morning and I have again put a dish of mash in the run.

I really hope she will gradually regain her appetite and get fully back to normal. Once she lays an egg with a proper shell I will really know that she is back to normal.

Yesterday we had my eldest son, Steve, his wife, Yu Lee and her mum, Ai Seng to visit for the day. We had planned a trip to Bekonscott model village as Yu Lee had wanted to visit it for ages and had obtained some bargain tickets. Her mum wanted to come too and see our chickens.

We had such a lovely day and the icing on the cake was that it was sunny too. Steve and Yu Lee live in Cambridge and Ai Seng in London so they stayed with her the night before and travelled from London.

We had a few things for Steve to help me with on my computer and took Ai Seng to visit the flock then decided to have some lunch before setting off to the model village.

I had taken my boys to Bekonscott when they were children but hadn’t been back for many years. We were all really impressed with the place, there was lots to see and it was really well maintained.

I took a photo from the viewing bridge.

Bekonscott model village

From left to right, Yu Lee, me, Richard and Steve

From left to right, Ai Seng, Yu Lee, Richard and Steve

We were so lucky to have such a sunny day and when we returned home we sat in the garden and chatted and laughed a lot. Later we went to our local pub and again sat in the garden to catch the last of the sun. We were going to eat there but found they don’t do food on a Sunday evening so we came back and put together some food at our’s.

It was just a perfect day and we all agreed we must have a day out together again soon as it was such fun.