Carol's Chickens

I felt the new part of the chicken run was a bit barren. I thought it could do with some more plants to give the girls shade, shelter and something to scratch under.

We went to our local garden centre and were pleased to find they had a “three for the price of two” offer on. I picked three plants, two that looked tough and woody and able to survive chickens and one that was tall enough to be mostly out of reach of the girls.

Three new shrubs for the chicken run

The middle one has pink foliage and doesn’t show up so well but I thought it would provide a contrast. I am hoping that as they mature they will all merge together and make a good sized area for the girls to scratch and shelter under much like the huge hypericum.

I think this will provide a good wall of green for the girls

Once my new babies, which I will be getting in a few weeks time, are integrated with the flock I think we will take down the divider in the new part of the run. This will still leave the part that has the spare coop as a separation area if we ever need it and the divider could also be put back if it’s ever needed.

In the meantime it will give the girls (and me) a bigger open space instead of two narrow spaces and will give room for the plants to grow. The run is always evolving and improving and I want to end up with the best possible space for the girls to enjoy.

When I said in a recent post that I wondered if chickens could be colour blind I realised that wasn’t really what I meant. What I meant was that Emerald didn’t seem able to see sunflower hearts when sprinkled over a background the same colour as them.

Chickens have really good eyesight so I wondered if Emerald’s eyesight was less sharp than usual. I decided to do an experiment. I took our orange bath mat and sprinkled some sunflower hearts over it and hey presto! Emerald could see them.

The bath mat experiment

Emerald can now see the sunflower hearts

Emerald is bottom girl and in such a small space she got chased from the mat a few times but even so she managed to get some of the sunflower hearts. Emerald is on the left of both photos.

Emerald taking sunflower hearts from the orange mat

I wasn’t going to include this photo as it’s not such a good one but changed my mind as it clearly shows Emerald (on the left) taking the seeds from the mat.

I think this clearly proves my theory that Emerald can’t see the seeds when they are on the same coloured background. She must have a slight fault with her eyesight but it doesn’t cause her any problem (except where sunflower hearts are concerned). I will continue to give her a sprinkle of meal worms when the girls have sunflower hearts.

The bedtime line up has slightly changed. For the last two nights Topaz has joined the girls on the high perch. Up until then she had always put herself to bed in the coop at least an hour before the other girls settled.

The night before last I was surprised that she was still in the run pottering with the other girls when she would usually be in the coop. I was surprised again when I returned at dusk and she was on the high perch.

Last night I decided to take my camera with me when I went in to put them to bed and sure enough Topaz was on the high perch again.

Topaz on the high perch at bedtime

Topaz is on the left next to Toffee then Amber and Honey on the right.

Sparkle as always is on top of the cabinet

I have never found Sparkle anywhere else but here at bedtime. You can see by the gift she has left me that she has been settled here for a while.

Emerald is on my shoe box

Emerald always settles here. It is funny how they have their preferred places to roost and stick to them every night.

I wonder if this change in Topaz marks her coming of age and maybe she will finally start laying some eggs. She is really taking her time getting started.

I have noticed an odd thing with Emerald. Emerald can’t see sunflower hearts. We have had the new girls for two weeks now. I have the habit of giving what I call the “scratch treat” in the morning and evening. In the winter they get corn in the evening as digesting it helps keep them warm and in the morning they get sunflower hearts or dried meal worms. In the summer it’s the reverse with corn in the morning and sunflower hearts or dried meal worms in the evening. They also have greens mid morning and fruit mid afternoon.

Emerald very quickly sussed out the treats system and is the only one that jumps to the coop roof as soon as I open the store cabinet where the treats are. But on the days when I throw out some sunflower hearts she bounds out eagerly and then while the other girls tuck in she looks around as if to say “where are they?”

If I then throw out some dried meal worms or corn she is straight on to it. When I told my husband he said that perhaps she didn’t like sunflower hearts. I explained that it wasn’t that because she has never tried them as she can’t find them. I demonstrated to him several times and the same thing happens every time.

Today I thought I would see if I could show it in photos. I took these photos in quick succession.

I throw out the sunflower hearts and all the girls hoover them up except for Emerald at the back of the photo

I can almost read her mind saying “where are they?”

Emerald doesn’t see the sunflower seeds

I then throw out some dried meal worms and Emerald joins in straight away

Now Emerald can see them

Emerald happily joins in

It is exactly the same each time. If I throw out sunflower hearts she runs out eagerly with the other girls then looks around in total confusion. As soon as I throw out either meal worms or corn she falls straight on them.

I really don’t think she can see the sunflower hearts. I wonder if anyone else has come across anything like this.

The new pecking order has very quickly become apparent. The only thing I wasn’t sure of was where Amber and Honey would be with each other after their recent spat because Amber had come off worse from it. It soon became clear that she hadn’t lost her place through this as when Amber and Honey are together with the treats Amber will still give Honey a quick warning peck and Honey moves out of the way.

I was discussing this with my son Steve last night and he said that it doesn’t matter how battered they are it’s about not backing down. This reminded me of the “Rocky” films. Rocky would have has hand held up in victory after a boxing match but would be completely battered.

Topaz is top girl followed by Sparkle. Amber is in third place followed by Honey and Toffee is in fifth place with Emerald at the bottom.

I thought it would be good to get some up to date portraits of the girls.

Queen Topaz is top girl

Sparkle is second in command

Amber is in third place with her ragged head and bare neck

Honey is in fourth place with her red comb and bare neck

Toffee is in fifth place and has a good red comb

Toffee is allowing me to get closer to her now

Emerald is bottom girl but likes to get close to the camera

Emerald has a very small comb

Emerald laid an egg on the second day she was with us which really surprised me as her comb is so tiny. She hasn’t laid one since though and has been with us nine days.

I rang the farmer to let him know how well they have settled in and mentioned this. He said that this breed does have a very small comb. Emerald has not yet been broody and has probably just started laying.

I asked how soon Toffee was likely to lay and he said she had just finished being broody and would probably start laying in about three weeks time. He said she may lay for a month then go broody again.

We talked a bit about broodies and I said whenever any of mine are sitting on an egg I lift them out, remove the egg and distract them with some corn. They shout a bit but soon forget. He said this is the right thing to do but may not work with this breed as they are prone to broodiness which is why he uses them to hatch his wyndottes eggs. I may have a broody experience to come in the future but at least I know what to expect and will cross that bridge when I come to it.

Meanwhile the flock are really happy and settled and peaceful which is lovely.

Yesterday we needed some disposables which we get from the farm where we re-homed Pepper and Dotty. Usually my husband goes to collect them but we decided to go together to see how Pepper and Dotty were settling in.

We went to the disposable warehouse first and asked how Pepper and Dotty were doing. The guy said the farmer had said they were doing fine and laying eggs and she was surprised that one of them had jumped on her. That was something I had completely forgotten to tell her about.

We said we would go and look for them before collecting what we needed. We went to the orchard where most of the chickens were and called for them but there was no sign of them. I started to feel a little worried. We then went back to the barn where we had left them and to my surprise they were still in there despite the doors being wide open and it being a lovely sunny day.

I felt quite upset as I had hoped to see them scratching about in the orchard or meadow and here they were where I had left them. The farmer said she would keep them in there for four days so they they would know that was home which meant they had four days with the doors open and still hadn’t ventured out.

My husband pointed out that we put an umbrella in our run (before the roof panels) to give a dry area and it took them days to go out in the garden area and only then with meal worms to encourage them. I would encourage them out of the barn with meal worms but a farmer will leave them to do it in their own time.

My husband said that he was sure they wouldn’t stay in the barn for ever and next time we visit they may be in the orchard but it’s been a big change and will take time for them to get used to.

I talked to them and they came to me and I stroked them. I moved outside in the sunshine and tried to encourage to them out. They were almost there when another chicken came towards the barn at that moment and they retreated back in. They jumped to a perch and Dotty fluttered her head under Pepper’s wing. I was choked and crying by now but felt so glad that they had each other.

I looked in the nest boxes and saw a familiar egg. The farmer said she finds eggs all over the farm under bushes and in the undergrowth and I felt sure this was one of my girls’ eggs.

The tears were streaming as I said goodbye to them but I know in my heart they will still be happier when they get out and explore and realise that they have so much more space. They don’t like change and it will take time. I felt terribly upset on the journey home but when I went in to my flock and saw how happy they are I knew I had done the right thing but it so hard.

I have had a few tearful moments since seeing them again and my husband said maybe I shouldn’t have gone but I knew that it was something I needed to do.

I felt in need of some chicken therapy and dug over the entire run. There were a few worms to be had and the girls had lots of soft soil to scratch in.

I returned after dusk and Honey, Amber and Toffee were on the new high perch. Sparkle as always was on the top of the cabinet and Emerald in her new spot on top of my shoe box and as always Topaz was in the coop. I lifted them all down in turn and easily popped them in the coop and shut the door.

It’s been very emotional but I am still certain that I have done the right thing for all of my girls.

We decided to put a high perch back up in the corner by the coop and in front of my hanging  chair. We would like to encourage the new girls, who like to perch high, to perch close to the coop to make it easy to put them to bed.

New high roosting perch

We wondered how long it would take for them to find it. I spent some time with them a couple of hours before dusk to see if they would find it.

Emerald was the first to find the high perch

Once she had investigated it she was looking for the best way down again.

Emerald first jumped on to my little hanging chair

She then returned to the high perch then jumped from there to the top of the storage cabinet then moved on to my shoe box which is where she ended up last night. She seems to like this position.

Emerald is on my shoe box and Sparkle is on top of the storage cabinet which is her usual bedtime positin

Toffee was next to find the high perch.

Toffee settled down on the high perch

Amber and Honey are on the coop roof as usual and Toffee is settled on the high perch

Amber had looked unwell again for a few hours before bedtime and I knew she was heading for her next egg. I made sure she had some food and as usual hand fed her chopped grapes and sunflower seeds. She was first to be on the coop roof dozing.

Topaz as usual had put herself to bed in the coop, good girl!

Sparkle and Emerald have settled on the top of the store cabinet and the shoe box

I just couldn’t help myself from adding this photo as it is so funny.

Here is Toffee doing her “funky gibbon”impression. You have to have watched “The Goodies” for that to make sense!

When I went back in an hour later at dusk the girls were all still in the exact same positions. They seem to settle into position quite a while before dark. It was easy enough to lift them all down into the coop so I would say this is successful. As long as they all perch near the coop I am happy with that.

After they were all in I did my usual clean up of any poops on the patio area and then I found this.

Here is Ambers latest egg

The shell was paper thin but the egg was intact so Amber must have laid it just as all the girls were roosting as it hasn’t been eaten. Once again I give thanks that she has managed to pass it and I now know that after a night’s sleep she will back to her happy self in the morning.

I can only hope she keeps managing to pass her eggs but at least she is looking unwell for  a few hours now rather than days and is looking a much happier and relaxed girl for most of the time. I can only hope she manages this problem for as long as possible. Once again yesterdays big feed of scrambled egg laced with limestone flour and cod liver oil has made no difference.

There is nothing more I can to do to help her but give her as much love and attention as I can and make the most of the times we have. At least I know I am now giving her the stress free life she deserves.

I now have a happy flock of six and thought it was time to update my “Meet the Flock” page.

I tried to get a photo of all the girls together for this short post but they weren’t being very cooperative. This was the best I could do.

My happy flock of six

Emerald photo bombed this shot

I have only had the two newest girls for a week and yet they are settled together already. It’s been my quickest and easiest integration yet. Emerald above, already runs to me to see If I have anything interesting to offer which is why she ran straight to the camera.

Click here to see the latest news on “Meet the Flock”

Things are progressing really well with the flock. I wonder how much stress has effected Amber’s egg laying problem. When Bluebell was re-homed Amber really improved for a while possibly because Bluebell wasn’t there to bully her any more. Her egg shells improved for a few weeks.

She soon returned to laying soft shelled eggs and looking unwell before laying but at the same time was getting plucked by Pepper and pecked on the head.

Since Pepper and Dotty have been re-homed she has looked much happier and much more relaxed. Her comb has become more red. For the first time we have seen her doze with her head under her wing. Amber has never done this before. Dotty used to sleep with her head under her wing and Topaz and Sparkle sleep with their head under their wing but we have never seen Amber do this. Since Pepper and Dotty have gone we noticed that Amber now snoozes with her head under her wing frequently. She must feel so much more relaxed and is not worried about getting her head pecked while snoozing.

Amber with her head under her wing

We often find Amber snoozing like this which she has never done before. This is a more relaxed Amber and is lovely to see. If anything makes me realise that I made the right decision for the flock this is a part of it!

I wondered where the girls would roost last night. I went in to them just after dusk and as usual Topaz was in the coop, Honey and Amber were on the coop roof, Sparkle was on the top of the cabinet, all usual so far. Toffee was with Sparkle on the top of the cabinet and Emerald was on the box next to the cabinet where my coop shoes are stored.

At least they were all in the same area.  I lifted them all down into the coop with no problem.

We have decided to re- install the high perch across the corner behind the coop. The farmer said that the game birds like to roost high and they have roosted on a plant pot and my shoe box which are both small but high. We think it would be better for them to have a high perch that they could happily get used to using and  I could easily lift them from each night to put them in the coop. This is a job for tomorrow.

Last night I hoped the new girls would roost with the old girls. I went out at dusk and was pleased to see that Toffee was on the top of the store cabinet with Sparkle instead of balanced on a plant pot.

Honey and Amber were on the coop roof so I checked inside the coop and as usual Topaz was settled in there.  So where was Emerald? I checked around and found her on the perch in the garden area nearest to the area with the little coop.

I don’t understand why she dug under the wire to get to the coop roof the night before when she could have gone to that same perch but now she can easily get to the coop roof she has chosen the perch instead.

I put all the nearest girls in the coop then went round to the perch and collected Emerald and put her in and closed the door. I wonder where they will choose to go tonight. I would prefer them to all be together and hope that with a bit of practice they will manage that.

Today I decided to give the new girls their first taste of scrambled egg. I had Amber’s soft egg to use up and also added cod liver oil and limestone flour in a vain hope of doing Amber some good even though it doesn’t appear to.

Emerald’s first taste of scrambled egg

Honey was chasing the new girls away so I put one pot on the wooden block so that it was further away. Sparkle never joins in with anything in the dishes as she doesn’t like to compete with the other girls but was much more interested in the lone dish of egg.

Sparkle inspects the dish of egg

Toffee tries to pluck up the courage to go to the dish

Toffee didn’t get much of a look in before Amber took over. Amber who is the smallest girl got the lion’s share of the egg but I don’t mind that as it is her that needs the limestone and cod liver oil.

I think they all liked the egg but they need to be braver and quicker. I put out three dishes but I am not going to put out six dishes. They need to learn to get their share.