Carol's Chickens

I have just finished worming the girls and they loved it. The last time I did this by coating some sunflower hearts in olive oil then sprinkling on the flubinvet powder. It worked but was a bit messy. This time I put the powder in a dish of treats each day and it was so easy. The first day I put it in live yogurt, I used mash in between days but one day put it in scrambled egg (made with olive oil and water) and one day in fish in olive oil.

Scrambled egg is their very top favourite treat of all. I use two eggs between the five girls and they can’t wait for me to put the dish down. They fall on it and it is gone in less then a minute. They are so fast that there is no time for squabbles and they all get an equal share. It is so fast that I reeled off a quick set of photos as soon as the dish was down but there were only three without at least one blurred face because of the speed of their pecking.

We love scrambled egg

This is going fast

This is so good

Fish is the second favourite treat and goes fast but not as fast as the egg. Yogurt is third favourite and mash is fourth favourite and goes down more sedately.

We love fish too

We are really enjoying this

That was good

There couldn’t be an easier way to worm the girls. it’s quick, easy, they all get an equal share and they enjoy it. I now use this method for anything that I want all the girls to have such as occasionally poultry spice or limestone flour. It’s such a fun way of giving them anything they need.

Summer seemed to come to a sudden end. We were having an unusually late hot spell then the next day it was cool and wet and rained for a week. This coincided with us having a really busy period work wise and I felt frustrated that the run was turning into a quagmire and we had no time to get it covered. There were muddy puddles forming and the girls had muddy feet but also it was horrible for me to clean up.

It would have to wait until our first weekend with a bit of time which was this weekend. The positive is that the weather has dried up and warmed up. This meant the job was easier to do and I am hoping the run will soon dry out and then stay reasonably dry.

We thought we would try to learn from our mistakes and make a better job this winter than last year. I bought a plastic sheet from our local D.I.Y. store which at a cost of £12.00 is not too bad for a winters dry cover. My husband said he thought this time we should put the plastic under the mesh roof rather than over it. It would be easier to put up and would look better from outside and from the neighbours view.

We only have to cover half the garden area as the other half has the plastic panels which can be open or shut as needed. We got the sheet in place then stapled it to the wooden beams. My husband then attached some wooden batons with some spare wood from our shed to strengthen it and stop it pulling away from the staples.

I also attached some of the plastic to the sides of the run over the patio area. Last year the rain still came in here and the patio was often wet so this year I am going to try to keep the patio area dry.

I poured a can of water over the run to see if there were any pools and was pleased to see that it ran away quite well although it does run in a bit at the veg plot end.

Once the run was covered I cleaned up then dug the run over to break up the soil and help it dry out. The girls really enjoyed this bit as they got loads of worms while I was digging. I then cleaned the patio area as best I could, it will be better when it’s dried out and I can sweep it as adding more water wasn’t helping. I cleaned the feeders and drinkers and feel it’s the best it’s going to be until it really dries out properly. Once dry it should stay dry and I don’t mind the odd wet bit, rain always comes in from the edge of the veg plot, but as long as it’s mostly dry that is a vast improvement.

Covered side panel on the right hand side above the fence panel and covered run over the triangle shaped bit

Covered roof on the left hand side and the run is dug over

How it looks from the outside

Summers end sedum

I thought I would end with one of the remaining bits of colour in the garden.

I am so pleased to have got the run under cover for the winter and am looking forward to it drying out now. I am sure the girls will be happier in the dry although they don’t seem that bothered about mud but I know I will be happier without it. A good job done!

About once a month I give the girls a small pot of live probiotic  yogurt  between them as it’s supposed to be good for their digestive systems and they absolutely love it.

I decided to worm the girls as it’s been six months since I last wormed them and it’s recommended to do it every six months. I use flubenvet which is a powder and comes with a measuring spoon and needs to be given for seven consecutive days. I mix it with treats so that all the girls get their share.

I decided to mix it with the yogurt on the first day. I hadn’t given the girls yogurt for a while and there was great excitement when they saw the white dish coming. Dotty was the most excited and was jumping up at the dish as I was trying to put it down. She instantly fell upon the dish and came up covered in yogurt! They always get it all over themselves but I have never seen them get into such a mess as they did this time. They all had white beaks and flecks of yogurt all over themselves but Dotty’s comb was also completely white.

A face full of yogurt

This was the first photo I took after Dotty’s first dip into the yogurt.

Yogurt beaks

Within seconds they all had white beaks and faces. Pepper had a stripe of yogurt on her head and they were spotted with it.

Covered in yogurt

What a fun way to be wormed and they soon cleaned up the dish. They scrape their beaks against the patio to clean them and peck the specks of yogurt from each other. I wondered how they were going to get their faces and combs clean but when I returned a little later they were all clean again. I’m not sure how they manage to get cleaned up so quickly but they somehow do. They certainly do love yogurt.

I have said before that I can tell my girls eggs apart. The girls all have the same diet available to them but Dotty is always pecking at grit in the garden or taking it from the dispenser and her eggs usually have little calcium deposits on the pointed end of the egg.

Pepper’s eggs are completely smooth as well as being paler so even though they are the same breed their eggs look quite different. Bluebells eggs have a small amount of calcium but it’s more of a slightly grainy effect than the obvious bits on Dotty’s egg.

Honey’s eggs are also smooth and pale just like Pepper’s but smaller and Ambers eggs are slightly smaller still.

Bluebell’s egg is on the left then Dotty’s egg, then Pepper’s egg then Honey’s egg on the right

Dotty’s eggs often have these little calcium deposits whereas Pepper’s are so silky smooth and pale.

Honey’s egg is in the middle and Amber’s slightly smaller egg is on the right.

Amber only lays about once a week and her eggs are still a bit smaller than Honey’s. Honey lays usually every other day and occasionally two days in a row.

Pepper had dropped to one egg a week but recently she has started laying every three or four days then yesterday she laid for the second day in a row for the first time since mid July. I wonder if the winter molt is over, they were so ragged from feather pulling that it was difficult to tell if they were molting at all. They look ragged around their tails but have some new feathers and no obvious loss of feathers so I’m not really sure what is going on. It will be a case of wait and see how they progress.

I have had perpetual spinach in a pot all summer which I have been giving to the girls. I also have some in the veg plot. The pot is more difficult to harvest as it’s overcrowded and now the edges of the leaves have started to brown so I decided to put the pot in the run for the girls.

Who is going to be brave enough to approach the scary pot of spinach

The little girls are the first to peck at the spinach

Now it’s deemed safe for all to peck at

Dotty climbs on to the pot

Honey climbs on to the pot

I returned half an hour later to find it stripped

I then turned the pot out so that the girls could get at the roots.

That’s scary, we will stay safely behind the wire

The girl’s were reluctant to approach it so I stepped on it to squash it out of shape a bit.

Inspecting

Now the girls got stuck into scratching it

Another half hour later

When I returned it had all been scratched and all that was left were the stalks. I think the girls had a lot of fun with the pot of spinach.

The pecking order is never more noticeable than during the bedtime routine. Bluebell must show the little girls that they are below her and so roosts on the little chair to stop them from doing so.

Pepper and Dotty at the top of the pecking order have the most prestigious spot on the high perch.

Last night I was still doing my evening chores as they settled in their places. Pepper and Dotty settle together on the high perch. They sit next to each and often flutter their heads underneath each others wing like baby chicks do. I think this strengthens their bond with each other. They have been together since they were chicks and together with me from when Dotty was a month old and Pepper two months old and they have always been really close. I have never ever seen either of them peck each other.

Dotty doesn’t take any notice of any of the other girls and is happy with her place next to Pepper. Pepper has to show she is top girl and will not let either Bluebell or the little girls on to the perch with them. She leans forward and downwards and pecks the little girls away. Last night Bluebell tried to join them and she very firmly pecked at Bluebells head and would not allow her on the perch.

Bluebell settled on the little chair. Amber soon settled on the top of the store cabinet. Honey was still on the coop roof and suddenly flew to the high perch at the end near the gate out of reach of Pepper and Dotty. The look on Bluebells face was a picture! She did not like it at all that Honey had managed to secure a spot on the high perch when she herself hadn’t managed it.

The girls get to the high perch at the end Pepper and Dotty prefer by jumping from the coop roof, to the top of the cabinet, then to the perch. Honey had gone straight from the coop roof to the perch. Bluebell was besides herself at this outrage. She jumped down from the chair to the cabinet then back to the coop roof. She then launched herself from the coop roof to the perch where Honey was and dislodged her. Honey flew to the coop then to the little chair.

This explains why sometimes the little girls manage to get possession of the little chair. Bluebell was now the facing the wrong way, they prefer to face outwards with their backs to the solid fence, but no matter she had forced Honey from the perch.

Bluebell moves Honey from the high perch and has to remain facing the other way to Pepper and Dotty

Pepper is constantly looking down like this and will immediately peck at any of the girls that come within reach of her.

Honey moves to the little chair

Dotty is nuzzling Pepper. Amber is looking up at Honey as if wondering how she came to be on the little chair.

Pepper and Amber are looking at each other

I only went inside to grab my camera after Bluebell had chased Honey from the perch so am missing a shot of Honey on the high perch. I may manage to snap that another time. This routine always amuses me and maybe explains why Bluebell is so determined to keep her place above the little girls.

I have been keeping my blog for just over a year now and in that time I have learned a lot about chickens and my flock has also gone through some changes.

I thought it would be good to add a page that would show how my flock has evolved from the beginning to now. I decided to add a link on the side bar that would go to a short summary with photos showing my flock and the changes. This means anyone reading already or reading for the first time can get to meet all my flock.

I would welcome any feed back as this is the first time I have added something new since I began. I wanted a way that all the flock, past and present could be easily looked at, at any time. It was a trip down memory lane for me compiling these photos and I was amazed how much has happened in the space of a year. The photo on the side bar is my current favourite of my flock all together as they are now. The photos on the “meet the flock” page include my past favourite photos of all the girls together.

Click here to see the new page!

The night before last I was surprised to find the little girls in their favourite bedtime position on the little chair. I wondered how they had managed not to be chased from there by Bluebell.

Last night I was later than usual doing my evening chores. The little girls were settled on the chair again and Bluebell was on the high perch with Pepper and Dotty. The next moment I saw Bluebell jump to the store cabinet then the little chair causing one of the little girls to fly off.

The other little girl held her position so Bluebell held her down and started pecking at her. It was horrible to see and I grabbed Bluebell and put her into the coop then unhooked the automatic door and closed it.

I decided she could have a bit of time alone in the coop before I put the others to bed and the little girls could have some time back on the little chair.

I left them for about ten minutes so that it would be dark enough for the automatic door to close on it’s own. I hooked it back up again and let it start closing, then lifted the other girls down and put them in.

Bluebell may be going to bed a bit earlier for the next few nights. I really can’t bare to see her attack the little girls like that and she will be shown that I am in fact top hen!

lately the little girls try to get out of the gate whenever I open it. It’s not so much about making an escape as just an interest in pecking at anything on the other side of the gate.

When I go in first thing  in the morning I try to block the gate with my feet or my hands but sometimes being small and speedy the little girls slip between my legs. So far they have only wandered down the steps on the other side of the gate having a peck around. I hold the gate open and they come back in.

In the mornings as soon as I am through the gate even while trying to keep the little girls in, Dotty is straight onto my shoulder. It is her way of greeting me every morning without fail. It’s now become an awkward manoeuvre of trying to keep the little girls in with Dotty on my back or shoulder.

One morning the little girls nipped out and Dotty was on my shoulder so I couldn’t risk going after them.  Luckily I just held the gate open and they wandered back in.

I always worry that if they flew off they wouldn’t know how to get back. Yesterday Honey got further than usual. I took them in a treat of tomato wedges. Honey grabbed a piece of tomato and in a split second ran out of the gate with it. Her only aim was to keep her bit of tomato and she shot down the path and onto the veg plot.

My heart did a flip and I wedged the gate open and grabbed the corn pot. I shook the corn and got her attention. She got a bit panicked about how to get back in and marched up and down the weld mesh fence at the end of the veg plot. I laid a trail of corn back to the gate and she forgot her tomato and followed the corn back in.

Thank goodness the corn is such a strong lure. So far a rattle of the corn has worked every time. It’s odd that the big girls have never shown an interest in stepping out yet the little girls always try to slip out.

The funny thing was that Honey wasn’t even aware of her adventure because her full attention was on her piece of tomato until the only thing better, corn, was on offer.

I have to be so careful with these little girls!

It’s so sad to see the little girls getting more and more bare. The big girls seem to have stopped pulling feathers from each other and are finally getting some feathers back. The little girls however have gradually become more bare.

The other day when I was in the run I heard a squeal. I turned and saw Bluebell with her foot on one of the little girls back, holding her down, while plucking a feather from her neck. It was horrible to see and unlike when the big girls were plucking it seems malicious. I have considered separating Bluebell but I am not sure if she is the only culprit or if it would make any difference anyway. When I separated her before for bullying the little girls it didn’t make any difference when she returned.

I have also seen Pepper pluck a feather from one of the little girls head while she just stood and let her. I am so frustrated by this because although it doesn’t to seem to bother the little girls it is completely ruining their looks.

As they only started to lay eggs at the end of May they probably won’t molt this year either so will be stuck like this for a very long time. It is so sad to see such lovely girls looking so awful.

Honey’s bare patch

Their combs are lovely and red and healthy looking.

Amber’s bare patch

Honey front view

Amber front view

Seeing the little girls like this makes me so sad, it’s such a shame. I really hope this passes like it has with the big girls and one day the little girls will be restored to their former glory.