Carol's Chickens

The chicks have now slept with the main flock for the last three nights as well as spending their days with them so I think we can safely say integration is complete.

There have been no problems and they are one happy flock together.

Therefore I decided that today I would return the run back to it’s normal “one flock” position. I swept and cleaned and washed all the feed and water bowls. I then moved the chick’s coop back to the patio area as another nest box. While it has been in the chick’s area (three weeks) it has never once been used as a nest box. It is as if the patio area is nest box area only and a nest box any where else doesn’t count. Luckily as only a few girls are laying at the moment this didn’t cause any problems.

I then removed the tiled feeding station and dug it over. I returned the food and water dish to their usual position on the patio and left a couple of extra small food dishes too.

I then took down the chick’s flower pot umbrella and cane perch.

The run is now back to normal

This now means the girls have more space in the right hand triangular part of the run which they like as it has the big bush in there.

The chick’s coop is now another nest box in the left hand corner

When I went in before bedtime tonight the girls were all in their usual bedtime positions.

The bedtime positions

Every night Emerald preens the feathers on her legs. I only see her do this at bedtime and it just seems to be part of her bedtime routine.

Emerald , Sparkle and Topaz are in their usual positions.

While it’s hot Emerald and Sparkle always stand for a while. I have been pouring a can of water over the patio beneath them to help to cool the area.

Toffee, Honey and Amber are in their positions

Peaches and Barley in their position

It is lovely having the run back as one large area and having the flock all together and happy. I am very pleased at how smoothly the integration has gone. I have now got one happy flock.

Emerald has a lovely character. She is people friendly and isn’t bothered by us getting close to her. She is the only one of the girls that I can pick up easily. She is inquisitive and will follow me around and always wants to see what I am doing.

Toffee by comparison is the most people shy. She doesn’t like us to get close to her and is the most difficult of the girls to pick up.

All the girls know where the treats are and come running when I open the cabinet door. Emerald though takes it a bit further.

As soon as I open the store cabinet door Emerald jumps to the coop roof

She then jumps to the top of the cabinet

She then stretches her neck to the sunflower seed box

She reminds me of Pepper and Dotty when they used to do this. None of the other little girls do this and I know if she could get that lid off she would help herself.

One day as I took the lid off the box she jumped onto my wrist and started helping herself  to the seeds from the box. She is so cheeky and I had to shoo her down.

I love this funny girl.

It has been three weeks since Amber’s face swelled up. We think she was pecked on the face and it became infected. It was one of the many times we thought we were going to lose her. Her face and comb was very pale.

Amber is a fighter and keeps bouncing back. Her behaviour is completely normal. Her face and comb are red again and the swelling on her face has gone down a bit. Best of all she is growing back her feathers.

This was Amber just two weeks ago:

Poor little Amber

This is Amber today:

Amber has feathers coming through

Her face is looking better

Okay, she does look scruffy but that is just because her feathers are coming through. Her face and comb is a much better colour and the only swollen bit of her face now is just above her beak rather than her whole face. She will look even better when her feathers are properly in.

Strangely enough none of this has effected her status in the pecking order. She still bosses Honey, Toffee and Emerald as well as the chicks. Only Topaz the top girl and Sparkle the second in command are above her and even they never bother her. Amber seems to be able to sit next to any girl in the flock without ever being bothered.

None of the girls seem to notice what an odd little thing she looks and as always she maintains her feisty character. While often appearing so fragile Amber is a tough little cookie.

Last night I checked the girls before bedtime and was surprised to find that both chicks were with the big girls.

The main flock were all in their usual positions.  Barley was on the new, narrower, more favoured perch. Peaches was on the high, thicker perch. Peaches looked stressed as she doesn’t like the thicker perch but she couldn’t work out to get off it (we will change this to a narrower perch when we find something more suitable).

Bedtime positions

Peaches was looking stressed

I felt she would be much happier next to Barley. I gently lifted her from her position and put her on the perch next to Barley and she settled and looked happier.

Peaches was much happier next to Barley

We have been experiencing unusually high temperatures at the moment. I had decided that last night I would let the girls roost on the perches as I worried that they would be too hot in the coop.

The run is predator proof and although I normally prefer the girls be in the coop the night before I had woken up at half past three feeling really hot despite sleeping by an open window. I had started to worry about how hot the girls were and went out to them with a torch and opened the door to the chicks coop and removed the side panel from the big girls coop.

We decided that during the few nights it’s forecast to be exceptionally hot it would be safer to leave the girls out.

However at half past two in the morning we were woken up by a terrific storm. There was lots of overhead thunder and lightening as well as heavy rain.

Again I went out to the girls by torch light. I lifted them all down from the perches and put them in the coop. I was afraid the storm would frighten them and felt happier to know they were safe in the coop and I knew they would only be in there for a couple of hours before the automatic door opened at first light.

This morning when I went out all the girls were happy in the run together and everything was fine and the air was, thankfully, cooler.

I went out at five o’clock this morning to make sure the chicks were okay with the main flock. Everything was fine with no bother at all.

I put lots of dishes of mash around the run at mid morning to make the sure the chicks were feeding okay. I watched over them to make sure they got their fair share and it all went well. I checked on them through out the day and they all seem to be getting along fine.

If the big girls run at the chicks the chicks are so fast that they soon evade them and they know all the escape routes and high perches so they are able to keep themselves out of harms way.

I am really pleased how well it is going. I will do the same tonight as last night and help the chicks to their flower pots if they look stressed. I think they are pretty much one flock now and they all seem happy to get along which is great.

Yesterday we got back from our deliveries at lunch time and found that one of the chicks had dug under the gate and was in with the main flock.

There didn’t seem to be any problem and she was sat one side of the wire with the other chick sat next to her on the other side of the wire.

It was tempting to leave her be but we needed to go out at half past one to do a B.B.Q at a school for two hundred people and knew we wouldn’t be back until seven o’clock. I didn’t want to be worrying about what was happening while I was out so I decided to return her to her own side of the run.

I filled the hole under the gate then distracted the main flock with some pieces of apple. I then held open the chicks gate and good as gold in she went.

This did make me think that the chicks were ready for integration though so I decided to put them all together this afternoon after lunch.

I opened up both of the gates and then also lifted the wire and secured it with garden wire at the corner by the patio. I also lifted the wire at the far end of the run and secured that too with garden wire. This means the chicks can’t get trapped in any corners and will always have an escape route.

There was no pecking but the the girls in the main flock would run at the chicks and the chicks would run and find any of the high perches or go on to the table by the bush. I was a bit worried that they would spend all their time hiding and maybe not be eating properly.

By late afternoon though the chicks were eating from their dish on their usual side of the run and the other girls were taking no notice of them.

I also changed all the feeders to growers pellets as the chicks shouldn’t have layers pellets. As some girls are moulting and most are not laying it may actually be quite good for the main flock to have the higher protein growers pellets. Emerald and Toffee are moulting and Amber is growing feathers so this could be helpful to them. Topaz isn’t laying either and only Sparkle and Honey are laying so this is an ideal time for this change.

I decided if the chicks roost in their usual spot on the flower pots I will put them in their own coop as usual but if they roost with main flock I will put them in the main coop and go out at first light tomorrow morning to make sure they are all okay.

I checked on them several times at the time that they usually get into their bedtime positions.

The main flock are in their usual bedtime positions

Amber, Honey and Toffee are on the newest and most favoured perch, Sparkle and Topaz (you can just see her head on the right hand side of Sparkle) are on the cabinet and Emerald as always is on the shoe box.

Peaches really looked like she wanted to join the big girls but Barley just wanted to go to her usual familiar flower pot.

Peaches went to the coop roof

Barley went to her flower pot

Sparkle lets Peaches know she is not welcome on the cabinet

Peaches didn’t know where to go next. The coop roof isn’t high enough to satisfy her but the next step is the top of the cabinet and Sparkle was making it clear that she was not welcome there.

Peaches gives up for now and leaves the coop roof and  goes to the wooden block.

Peaches then drinks from the big girl’s water

Peaches makes it to the high perch

Peaches once again went to the coop roof then briefly to the cabinet before being chased off and then found the high perch.

Peaches isn’t sure about her position here

Peaches was very unsettled here. I think she is used to a flatter roosting position and this perch is quite thick for her feet to hold on to. She didn’t seem at all happy and kept returning to the cabinet.

I wanted to get a shot of her on the cabinet but she was chased off so quickly that this was the shot that I got.

Peaches is chased from the cabinet by Sparkle

Peaches was then marching up and down the high perch looking stressed. She didn’t want to stay there but didn’t know how to leave.

I decided to try to help her and although I wasn’t sure if she would let me lift her down I felt I had to try. I picked her up (easily much to my surprise) and took her to the flower pots. I put her on the flower pot next to Barley.

I wasn’t sure if she would stay there but she settled and started to preen. I checked back half an hour later and both chicks were settled happily together on their flower pot as usual.

I have been putting the girls in the coop at ten o’clock but as it was really hot today I decided to leave it until eleven o’clock when it was cool.

I lifted the chicks from their flower pots and put them in their little coop then lifted the other girls to the main coop with ease.

I will be out at five o’clock in the morning to let the chicks out as usual and if they all seem happy together I will leave them together.

Both yesterday morning and this morning I opened the coop to find an explosion of feathers. As they were dark I thought at first they were from Emerald who has been moulting for a while now but once I started picking them up I could see that they were from Toffee.

There were also feathers out in the run. The odd thing is that Toffee doesn’t look any different and yet there were handfuls of feathers and they were both large and small. This explains why Toffee isn’t laying at the moment, she stopped laying ten days ago.

It seems quite early in the year for the moult but the game birds had been broody through the summer hatching eggs for the farmer so I wonder if this makes a difference. Both game birds look sleek and beautiful despite me finding masses of feathers so it will be interesting to see how this progresses.

Emerald moulting

Toffee moulting

As you can see from these photos it’s difficult to imagine that I am finding handfuls of feathers. I wonder if new feathers have already come in. Their appearance doesn’t seem to have changed.

One advantage of them moulting early is that it may mean they will lay eggs when the other girls moult and stop laying but as this is my first year with these girls it remains to be seen if this is the case.

Amber meanwhile is definitely improving. As well as being completely back to herself behaviour wise her comb has got redder and her face looks slightly better. The other amazing thing is that she is starting to regrow her feathers. There are quills appearing on her head and neck.

Sparkle still has a bare bottom with no sign of any feathers coming in and Honey’s neck is also still bare with no sign of any feathers coming in. I think these girls will have to wait until they moult to get their feathers back. They are both laying eggs with Sparkle being our best egg layer and laying nearly every day.

I think Amber’s feathers may be regrowing because she isn’t laying eggs. She hasn’t laid for three weeks now since her face first swelled up. I think she is happier and healthier because she isn’t laying and it will be a bonus if she gets her feathers back too.

Amber has pin feathers appearing on her head and neck

Amber’s face is looking a bit better

Amber preening

While trying to get a shot of Amber’s face I often get this shot instead.

I have been thinking about taking her to the vet to see if her face could be lanced but as she is improving I think I will wait and see if she continues to improve. She seems happy and I don’t want to do anything that could set her back. I think she is getting better and that it’s something that will take a long time. Growing feathers seems to be a further sign of her getting better.

First thing this morning I gave the coop its final spray with red mite spray. This is it’s third spray at three days intervals. At lunch time we felt it was dry enough to put the coop back together again. I then sprayed it with the another spray called “Total Mite Kill” which says that it offers protection for three months.

I barricaded the coop to stop the girls going in but to allow ventilation and then a few hours later I dusted the entire inside of the coop with D.E. using a paint brush. I then put in fresh pine shavings and a further puff of D.E. on the shavings.

The coop is now ready for the girls again and tonight will be their first night in the coop for two weeks.

Once all this was done I shut the main flock into part of the run while I let the chicks into the main flock’s side of the run. The girls were now each on the other side of the run. Today I left the chicks in the main flock’s side of the run for two hours to let them get to know this half of the run.

They were more confident than yesterday and immediately set about having a long and enjoyable dust bath.

Peaches and Barley in a dust bath

We tried to encourage them up to the patio area which is the area they are most reluctant to go to. They briefly went to the patio then flew back to more familiar territory but I think that at least they now know it is there and I am sure they will get braver in time.

I put the girls back on their usual sides again ready for the bedtime routine. I am going to take this very slowly but feel it’s good for the chicks to start getting used to the other side of the run. We will keep progressing a bit at a time.

This afternoon I decided to see what would happen if I let the chicks mix with the rest of the flock. I thought it was time to see if they were ready for the start of integration.

I opened their gate but of course the main flock piled into the chick’s area and the chicks couldn’t get out. The girls would run at them and the chicks were scared. I decided this wasn’t a good idea.

I ushered the chicks through the hatch and put the divider in. I then closed the gate to the chick’s area so that the main flock were in the chick’s small area. I then ushered the chicks into the main flock’s area and shut that gate. I next opened the hatch again so that now the main flock had all of the chick’s half of the run and the chicks could explore the main flock’s half of the run.

The first thing the chicks did was go to the perch in the extension part of the run.

The chicks found this perch straight away

The chicks looked happy to stay on this perch but I wanted them to get to know the rest of this half of the run. I ushered them down from the perch and guided them to the rest of the run.

One of them gazed out at the view of the outside world and seemed transfixed by this new view.

The bravest one which I think was Peaches discovered the food bowl and the water bowl on the patio area. Barley walked the wire wanting to get back into the area she is used to even though it contained the scary girls.

After half an hour I decided this was enough for the first day. When the main flock all went into the extension half of the chick’s side of the run I closed the hatch. I then opened the chicks gate and they ran back in with no need for any encouragement. I closed their gate and opened up the other gate. All the girls were now back on their sides.

I think I need to take this integration very slowly as the chicks are only two months old and so much smaller than the rest of the flock. There is no hurry as there is plenty of space for them to stay separate but I think it is good for the chicks to explore the other side of the run. I think it will make it easier for them when they mix if they are familiar with all of the run.

I will do this again tomorrow but will separate them first rather than just opening the gate. Perhaps tomorrow I will give the chicks a bit longer on the other side of the run. I am happy with any progress and am in no hurry to push things along.

I decided I needed to make some changes to the side panel of my blog. My “Meet the Flock” page was no longer appropriate as the flock has completely changed since I added this. I decided to update it with the newest additions to my flock and change its title to “The History of the Flock“. Anyone new to my blog who would like a summarised back story to how my flock developed could read it here.

I then decided to add a new page titled “Meet the Flock” with a portrait of each of my girls and a brief description. I added my girls two at a time and the main flock were all at point of lay. The two new girls were only six weeks old and are now eight weeks old so when they are fully grown up I will update “Meet the Flock” by adding their grown up portraits to it.

This means anyone new to my blog or familiar to my blog can take a quick look at each of my girls at any time.

My flock is now complete and I hope it will stay this way for a very long time although I am sure there are many adventures yet to come.