Carol's Chickens

Today I visited Jackie’s flock, we collected some goodies from the allotment for the girls, kale stalks, turf and dandelions, then Jackie visited my flock. Jackie said she would like to take over my camera and take some photos of me with my flock.

I did warn Jackie that I take a terrible photo, Steve can vouch for that! I usually get caught with my eyes closed or pulling a face. These are Jackie’s photos.

My sweet Emerald

Peaches, Barley and Emerald

Peaches and Barley

Giving the girls a dandelion

Emerald has pecked this leaf down to the stalk

A bit of turf for the girls

The girls are very happy with their gifts from the allotment. Thank you Jackie.

Usually the girls prefer a bit of privacy when laying their eggs and get upset when being watched by another girl or even worse have their chosen nest box invaded by another girl. They have been known to growl when another girl dares to approach them during egg laying.

But recently Toffee seems to prefer a bit of company while laying her egg. Yesterday she was in the right coop for a little while but when Honey went into the nest box in the main coop she joined her. I was surprised because only Honey and Amber ever sit in this nest box but suddenly Toffee was determined to sit with Honey.

When I returned with my camera I found Honey and Toffee’s egg side by side in the main coup nest box. I had missed the shot of them together.

Today Toffee sat in the right coop for a while but when Emerald went in the left coop Toffee joined her. I do wonder how they know!

Toffee went on to lay her egg next to Emerald. They look so sweet together and this time I was in time to get a photo.

Toffee and Emerald in the nest box together

I just love the way Toffee flicks the pine shavings over her back. It’s okay Toffee, no one can see you under those pine shavings. These girls do make me smile.

Two weeks ago I bought Jackie and myself a chicken bucket filled with hyacinths. Jackie e-mailed me a photo of her bucket today and her hyacinths are much more advanced than mine. I think her front garden gets more full sun than my back garden.

However my hyacinths are just beginning to open. I was  going to update when they reached their peak but have decided to show them in between as well.

Hyacinth bucket two weeks ago

Hyacinth bucket today

It’s getting there. I will update again when all the hyacinths are open.

Yesterday we had our first ever six egg day. The order was Barley first then Sparkle, Honey, Peaches, Emerald then Toffee. This is probably as good as it gets as Amber has only laid one egg this year so far and because of her egg laying problems right from the start I think she will slow down to only laying occasionally and that’s not a bad thing for her.

Topaz laid only six eggs last summer and this year laid eight eggs in two months but now hasn’t laid for five weeks. Topaz wants to go broody and spends her time following any girl about to lay into the nest box so that she can sit on their eggs. Because she doesn’t commit to staying broody, but gives up when I take the eggs away, she is in a kind of broody limbo. I wonder if this means she will just continue not to lay because there is nothing to kick start her off again. As this is a new experience for me it is a case of just wait and see.

This means that these two girls are out of the running at the moment so to get six eggs in one day from the other six is really quite amazing. I think this will be hard to beat.

I took a photo of three girls in the nest box recently and yesterday my husband found four girls in the nest box. They were Toffee, Emerald, Peaches and Topaz who just wanted to sit on the eggs as they were laid. Unfortunately I missed this which must have been an amusing sight and a great photo.

With this upswing in egg laying we have just had twenty seven eggs in the last seven days which is the most we have ever had in a week. I am enjoying being able to eat as many eggs as we want and still having some over to give away. I love looking in the fridge and seeing my neat egg rollers filling up and am really pleased with how easily the eggs now roll.

I just love this time of abundant egg laying and watching the girls trying to get the favourite nest box. I also love that somehow egg laying seems to give the girls an extra confidence. Emerald will now jump on to the inside gate (child gate) to greet me and sometimes will jump on to my arm or shoulder. She never used to be this confident. Even Toffee has become less shy and now accepts me being close to her and no longer moves away from me.

It really does seem that the girls are happy to be egg laying again. This is such a lovely time of year to be a chicken keeper.

Three years ago when I started chicken keeping with big girls I bought an egg skelter. I liked the idea that as you add fresh eggs to the top of the skelter and take the older eggs from the bottom you know that you are always using them in order. I thought it worked very well.

Then I had a mix of big girls and bantams but as the bantam eggs were wedged between the big eggs it still worked reasonably well.

Last year I made the change over to all bantams and now that all eight are laying and the eggs are abundant again I found the skelter no longer worked for so many small eggs. I was having to tease the eggs down the skelter each time I took some from the bottom as they are too small to roll and sometimes they tip up vertically and drop through the track. It was time for a change.

I did a bit of research and could have bought another skelter with slightly narrower tracks but I wasn’t convinced this would make enough of a difference. I didn’t like the look of the ramps which are in a horseshoe shape. Then I found some rollers which are straight and solid and designed for very small eggs. As they are solid the eggs can’t fall through and the slight slope allows them to roll.

They don’t take up much space and are very inexpensive. They are supposed to take eight eggs each so I ordered three which would hold as many as a skelter and even three plus postage was less cost than one skelter.

I offered my skelter to Jackie and took it to her on my visit yesterday. Jackie was really pleased with it and I was pleased to give it a good home.

Today the egg rollers arrived and they work really well with the eggs rolling down easily. They also hold nine of my small eggs. I am really pleased with them.

My new egg rollers

Egg rollers from another angle

This is such a simple idea and will make selecting the eggs really quick and easy. Sometimes a simple change can make something so much better.

While visiting Jackie yesterday we took a quick trip to the allotments and picked some chard for our girls and dug up some more dandelions.

The dandelions with not much root went into the run this morning for the girls and the ones with good roots went into a pot by the chicken run gate. I plan on putting the pot in for the girls to strip then bringing it out to regrow.

Dandelions in the run

Sparkle is missing as she is laying her egg

Dandelion pot

Peaches is checking out the pot. These girls are so spoilt.

Today is the one year anniversary of Bluebell going to join Jackie’s flock. This was the turning point in my flock and the outcome of this move is a happy ending all round.

Pepper, Dotty and Bluebell were pulling feathers from each other and from my bantams. Bluebell having been bottom girl before the bantams joined the flock bullied them as she didn’t want to be bottom girl any longer. Bluebell was a favourite of Jackie’s and I said in frustration that if Jackie wanted her she could have her. To my surprise she agreed.

Bluebell was re-named Blossom as Jackie already had a Bluebell and she settled into Jackie’s flock like a dream. Jackie has since added two new girls with no problems and Blossom has grown back her feathers and her little head crest.

This success lead to me re-homing Pepper and Dotty on a nearby farm where we buy our disposables. I visit them from time to time and nearly a year later they are still happy with the farm flock and have plenty of space to free range. I caught up with them a few weeks ago.

Meanwhile I have added to my flock and now have eight happy bantams that are fully feathered and there is no feather pulling or bullying. It turned out happily for all parties.

Today I went to visit Jackie and her flock armed with my camera. Blossom was having a bit of a bad hair day with her head crest looking a little dishevelled but she is still looking lovely.

Blossom

Jackie’s flock of six girls

Blossom, Bonnie and Bluebell

Blossom

Blossom and top girl Clover

Chelsea, Clover, Blossom and Ruby with Bonnie in the background

It is so good to see such a happy flock and Jackie’s offer to take Bluebell now Blossom a year ago completely changed the course of my flock for the better. I am so glad to have Jackie as a good friend and so glad she adopted Blossom  giving such an all round happy outcome.

There is always one favourite nest box. It seems to be the one that is chosen by the first girl of the day to lay. After this all the girls want this nest box and the others will remain unused. The current favourite nest box is the left little coop and today was no exception.

I had heard Barley give out her egg shout but when I went up to check Barley was back in the run. However Toffee, Emerald and Topaz were missing. Toffee and Emerald had been showing interest in the nest box earlier so I knew they were due to lay.

This was what I found.

The favourite nest box

Poor Toffee is squashed in the middle between Emerald and Topaz. A short time later Emerald emerged. I couldn’t see an egg as Toffee and Topaz were taking up all the space. A little while later Toffee emerged. I still couldn’t see an egg as by now Topaz had spread herself over the box and fluffed herself up in the broody pose.

I tried ruffling her tail feathers but she wasn’t going to move. I resorted to the fishing net that I had used last year to remove her. She came out shouting.

There in the nest box were three eggs pushed close together. There was one white one which I knew would be Barley’s egg from earlier and two larger round buff coloured ones which I knew would be Emerald’s and Toffee’s. Topaz is determined to sit on any eggs she can.

Once out though I gave her some spinach and she settled down so hopefully I can keep her from sitting once the other girl’s eggs are removed from the nest box. She is so quick to get in the nest box if there is either an egg or a girl laying. She really does want to keep all the eggs she can but alas for her it is not to be.

We had my boys and their partners over for Sunday dinner. I cooked roast lamb with all the trimmings and our daughter in law provided the dessert.

Easter cup cakes

My youngest son and his partner bought us a chicken coup with bantam sized Easter eggs inside.

Easter chicken coop

Open coop with bantam sized Easter eggs

For Sunday breakfast the girls provided our eggs

Breakfast eggs

We also gave out cartons of our eggs now that we have plenty once more. It has been a lovely Easter weekend with time spent catching up with family and an abundance of eggs both chocolate and bantam.

Yesterday morning Toffee was in the left coop trying to lay her second egg this year. Topaz was in the right coop and Peaches wanted to lay her egg. Peaches decided to join Toffee (Toffee is a safer bet than Topaz).

Peaches moves into the nest box with Toffee

Toffee would like to be left in peace

I decided to move Topaz out of the right coop to free up another nest box as Topaz isn’t laying at the moment.

Peaches however stayed put and laid her egg in front of Toffee. It’s as if Topaz has a sixth sense for an egg being laid as she went straight in to the left coop to sit on the egg.

Topaz and Toffee

Poor Toffee is desperate to get her egg laid and as usual has sprinkled her back with pine shavings.

I returned a little later to find that Toffee had left the nest box and Topaz was sitting on Peach’s and Toffee’s eggs. I have found that if I gently ruffle Topaz’s tail it annoys her enough for her to leave the nest box and I can then collect the eggs and she will stay out. She does sometimes try to peck me though.

Topaz seems to spend all morning trying to sit on any of the girls eggs but so far once turfed out of the nest box she will go off and feed and scratch as normal. I wonder how long she will behave like this before starting to lay again.