Carol's Chickens

One of the advantages of having chickens is that garden weeds have now become chicken treats.

Lovely weeds

Dotty and Bluebell check out the weeds while Pepper is in the nest box laying her egg.

Dotty and Bluebell have stayed in sync with their egg laying for over a week now. Every morning they both go into the nest box together and a short while later there are two eggs side by side.

Pepper lays her egg late in the afternoon and is much more erratic with her egg laying. Bluebell will lay about twenty days in a row and Dotty about ten days in a row before missing one day and repeating the pattern. Pepper will lay two or three days in a row then take one, two or three days off at a time. She is happy and healthy though so I’m not worried.

I am looking forward to seeing bantam eggs soon and it will be interesting to see if they will be able to share the nest box or if we will have to add another.

Now that I have made my decision to get the two bantam vorwerks that I have reserved to collect on Friday, I am overwhelmed with excitement and impatience. I keep visualising them in the run with my girls and wondering how my girls are going to react to the newcomers.

I feel quite lucky to have this chance to have them, as like the dominiques they are a rare breed and the lady at the farm said her husband breeds them to perfection as a hobby but the two she has at the moment don’t have the exact perfect markings for showing or breeding, hence she still has them while he is in the process of breeding some with perfect colouration. This is why when I first rang her she said there weren’t any ready for sale yet.

I said that perfect colour doesn’t matter to me as they are to be back garden pets, to be loved and give their bonus of eggs and I thought they were beautiful and would be happy to have them. Being healthy is far more important to me than perfect markings, which really doesn’t matter a jot to me.

The vorwerk is a rare German breed developed in Hamburg by Oskar Vorwerk. He chose the unique colouring apparently, not to show the dirt.

They are bright, active, busy and economical eaters, pecking up most of their food from their surroundings. They lay cream coloured eggs.

The chicks are born strangely, with their colouring in reverse, a ginger head and black body which changes as they feather up.

They are hardy and good fliers and in a mixed group are always the first to try anything new.

I am in love with them already. I know lot’s of people integrate their new chickens slowly but the lady at the farm said to put them in the coop with our girls as it gets dark and they should be fine. Bantams tend to be feisty and as long as there are small spaces to hide and perches to escape to, they will just get out of the way of trouble.

This is how I am going to do it but have chosen the long bank holiday weekend so that I will be around for four days solid to keep an eye on them. If there are problems we will work on some separation but I am hoping that they will all just get on with it.

Of course I could be kidding myself and letting myself in for a rough ride but somehow I just believe it’s going to be okay. Watch this space to see if I am being naive!

Today we went to a farm in Amersham which is about twenty miles from us, to look at some bantams. We had already decided that we wouldn’t bring any back with us today because we have now been asked to babysit our grandchildren aged four and one tomorrow afternoon at their house. Also next weekend is a long weekend as it’s May day bank holiday so this would be a good time to integrate new girls, as we would have more time to spend with them.

I have now discounted a wyndotte as they only had white ones. The thing I love about wyndottes is the pretty colours and especially the laced ones with different coloured edges to their feathers. I love the vorwerks and the brown leghorns are pretty too. The thing I am not sure of with the leghorns is that I have read that they can be loud and I have to bare in mind the neighbours. Also the brown leghorn is very similar looking to Bluebell and I wanted to add variety.

I did wonder whether to have two vorwerks and a brown leghorn so that I would be adding three to the existing three and would have three pairs of similar looking girls. My husband said his only concern with this is that they could be noisy (again thinking of the neighbours) so now I am thinking we may go for two vorwerks. The lady only had two vorwerks to sell (loads of brown leghorns) so I have asked her to reserve them for me.

I took some photos of them so that I could refer to them once back home.

Bantam brown leghorn on the bottom perch

Bantam vorwerk with the dark neck, centre of photo

It was hard not to bring them home today but it will give me a week to think about it. They were hatched late last summer so are just past point of lay. They mature slower when hatched late in the year (which I experienced with Dotty) and have just started laying. I liked the idea of younger ones but am thinking at this age they will probably integrate easier and can also have the same feed and treats so easier all round really.

I am excited but nervous as I am about to rock our girls world! I really hope that once they are used to the change they will be happier in a bigger flock.

At the moment Bluebell and Dotty seem to be totally in sync with each other when it comes to their egg laying. For the last three days they have both gone into the nest box together and a short while later I have found their eggs side by side.

Dotty and Bluebell share the nest box

Pepper likes to see what is going on

The dogwood shrub that I planted in the run recently is just getting leaves and flower buds after being just bare sticks for ages. I have had to move the log close to it as the girls keep scratching at the roots despite the pebbles around it.

Dog wood shrub

I thought I would photograph it now, then again later when its in flower to chart it’s progress. I am pleased that it is surviving the girls attentions.

I have been mulling over the idea of adding to our flock ever since we lost Treacle. At first I decided it would be a bit selfish of me as it would be for me rather than for the girls and I felt they needed time to adjust to being just three. But since we lost Treacle the dynamic of the flock has changed. The girls lost their leader and I am sure the stress of that triggered the feather pulling. We haven’t managed to stamp this out even though it has improved somewhat.

The other change is that they were two pairs, Pepper and Dotty, Treacle and Bluebell. Now they are a pair and one! Pepper and Dotty, then Bluebell a bit pushed out on her own sometimes. This has become noticeable at bedtime.

As the weather has warmed up, Pepper and Dotty have decided they would like to sleep out on the coop roof. I have gone out to check on them just after dark and found Pepper and Dotty on the coop roof and Bluebell inside, sometimes in the nest box. I lift Pepper and Dotty down and pop them in and Bluebell must join them as there is never any poop in the nest box. I assumed Bluebell was more sensible than her flock mates and therefore putting herself to bed inside.

Last night I decided to go out at dusk to see if I could break this habit. Pepper and Dotty were sat on the coop roof and Bluebell tried several times over, to join them. Pepper wouldn’t allow her to. She would boc her on the head causing her to slide back down the sloping roof and jump down. I now think she goes into the nest box because she doesn’t want to sleep alone and feels more secure there, but would like to roost with them and isn’t allowed to. In the coop Pepper and Dotty always roost on the bottom perch and Bluebell always sleeps on the floor next to them.

Bluebell is very much bottom girl. I feel sorry for her sometimes, she has lost an ally in losing Treacle. She has never ever pecked another which is why she is bottom girl, but Treacle never pecked her as she was no threat to her leadership so they were a pair of friends.

I had thought that if we ever got down to two girls, I would like to add two bantams. My husband said that perhaps we should think of adding to them now as it could give the girls something else to think about and would make the flock more interesting. It could also just as easily upset them which is why I have been holding off of this idea so far. My husband suggested it would probably be better to add two rather than one in case one got picked on. This took me back to thinking that we could add two bantams now.

My husband thinks it would help with the girls behaviour as well as making the flock more interesting. I worry it could also land us with more problems to overcome but feel excited at the prospect of expanding our little flock. It has felt as if there is something missing ever since we lost Treacle.

I like the idea of bantams as my research says that they are quick and if there are plenty of places for them to hide behind and places to perch out of the way, they will usually just avoid trouble. Being so small means there will be plenty of room for them to fit in. Being small also means they won’t be a threat to our existing girls and I am quite sure that Bluebell wouldn’t be a threat even to a mouse! I also just like the fact that they are small making them adorable.

I like the idea of small eggs too. Apparently they have a similar sized yolk but less white so are really good fried or poached and are also handy if you need half an egg such as for an egg wash. You can otherwise use two bantam eggs in place of one normal sized egg.

My criteria is that they must have bare legs otherwise there can be problems with mud especially as they are lower to the ground. My research has led me to a farm fairly near to us and I have narrowed it down to two breeds that I would really like. I fancy a bantam vorwerk and wandotte. I rang the farm and the lady wasn’t sure if she had these ready yet but was happy for us to come and take a look on Friday afternoon and reserve the ones we would like if they are not readily available. I am beginning to get excited about this. I may be about to rock my girls world! Probably about to rock our world too!

I stayed out with the girls at dusk again tonight and it’s quite sad to see, Pepper and Dotty settled themselves on the coop roof and Bluebell tried three times to join them. Each time Pepper bocced her down. It’s not so much a peck as a movement towards her head as if to peck, but enough to make Bluebell back down. Bluebell gave up and went into the coop, straight into the nest box. I took a photo of the naughty girls then lifted them down and put them in, closing the door. I checked through the nest box and Bluebell had already joined them. This shows she doesn’t want to sleep in the nest box but doesn’t want to sleep in the coop on her own.

This is where we want to sleep

Never mind Bluebell, you might soon have some bantam friends to sleep next to. This is another bad habit to challenge me! Why, after a year of sleeping in the coop have these two decided they want to sleep here? Will adding to the flock make things better or worse? I guess only time will tell.

I decided to try giving the girls mash as a treat yesterday, thank you “flock mistress” for the suggestion. Mash is just the pellets that the chickens eat all the time but with warm water added to them to make a smooth mixture. Giving them this as a treat is good for them because they are just getting their normal food but they love it because it’s a different texture.

I put the mash in the white dish that they recognise as their treats dish. The girl’s went crazy for it and would have licked the dish clean if they could. I think I will give them this once a week.

A dish of mash

We love this

Almost gone

The girl’s enjoyed the mash as much as they do fish or scrambled egg. I think they must like the smooth texture and I suppose compared to dry pellets it is a nice change for them. It has the advantage of giving them a treat that’s good for them because it is the well balanced feed that they should be having, definitely a treat that I will make a regular for them.

As we have been having some much welcomed warm and sunny weather the girls have been enjoying some lovely dust baths. Unfortunately the girls use dust bathing as a time for pulling feathers from each other.  They seem to see it as a lovely social activity, dust bath together, preen together and a friendly pulling of feathers together. What could possibly be wrong with that!

This is so frustrating because Dotty’s head has just started to get feathers back and now her bare neck patch is getting wider. They seem to target the area with existing bare parts which are Dotty and Bluebell’s neck and Dotty and Pepper’s bottom. Bluebell still has a lovely fluffy bottom and Pepper still has a lovely fluffy neck.

At the weekend when Bluebell and Dotty were in a dust bath Pepper would just casually scratch and peck nearby, then when she thought I wouldn’t notice she would sneak closer and try to pull a feather. I would tell her off and spray her with the water spray. She would then run off looking as if I had hurt her feelings but then casually creep back like a naughty child and try again. Eventually we had to go out and I had the feeling that as soon as my back was turned she would probably be at it again.

Today it was much more communal with all three in a dust bath close together and each just leaning across to pull the downy under feathers from each other. I told them off and they broke away making me feel like a meanie breaking up a lovely party!

It’s obviously not a problem to them but it’s so frustrating to me to see them spoiling each others looks. Separating them is not an option as they are all three doing this. I am beginning to think I will never be able to stop them completely.

Dotty shakes her feathers

Dust bath in the sun

Togetherness

Bluebell stretches her leg

Pepper looks casual

They were enjoying this so much that they were purring. I hate to spoil it for them but I hate to see the feather pulling. I don’t know what else I can do but keep telling them off and spraying them with water when I catch them. I can’t watch them all the time though.

Sometimes two girls want to lay their eggs at the same time and they manage to squeeze into the nest box and lay their eggs side by side. It’s unlikely that all three girls would want to lay their eggs at the same time but it did happen once. They got round this by all three laying their eggs on the coop floor. I found the three eggs so close together that they were all touching each other. I have no idea why they all have to lay their eggs in the same place!

I have noticed that if two girls are in the nest box together, the third girl still outside will be shouting. It does worry me sometimes that it will disturb the neighbours. Chickens chattering is a lovely sound, chickens shouting is not so good. I am not sure if it’s because one girl doesn’t like being left out on her own but whichever of the three it is that’s left out she will shout equally as loud.

Today it was Pepper that was left out of the nest box and shouting so I went to see what was going on. I lifted the nest box and Pepper came to look from inside the coop. I popped back with my camera and Pepper joined me to look from outside the coop this time.

The other thing I have noticed is that Bluebell doesn’t like to leave if another girl is sitting on her egg. She will look for it and will often only leave the nest box once I have removed her egg, so today I reached under Dotty and took Bluebell’s egg from under her. Who knows what goes on these little chicken brains?

Three in a nest box

Room for two?

I think there is!

Is my egg still under here?

I’m reluctant to leave

What’s happening outside?

After I had removed Bluebell’s egg, Bluebell left Dotty to get on with laying her egg. Pepper went in to lay shortly after and was sat on Dotty’s egg but these two girls don’t seem to be bothered by this. It is only Bluebell that gets very possessive of her egg. This has happened several times, she either shouts or won’t leave the nest box when another girl sits on her egg. Once they have finished and left the nest box or once I have removed Bluebell’s egg, she settles back to normal. They are fascinating little characters.

First an update on Bluebell after her broody afternoon in the nest box the day before yesterday. Yesterday Pepper and Dotty laid an egg but Bluebell missed a day and behaved as normal. It’s unusual for Bluebell to miss a day after only three days in a row as she usually averages about twenty in a row, so the missed day may have had something to do with her broodiness. Today she laid her egg early this morning and her behaviour is still back to normal so I think the missed day broke her short broody spell.

Today we decided to take the cover off the garden part of the run. I have been thinking about this for a while as I want the girls to have direct sunlight but worry that if we have a wet summer like last year we will back to mud and the girls constantly having muddy feet. We are trying to come up with ideas of some sort of cover that could be pulled across during wet spells and opened up when dry. We have decided to leave the triangular corner bit covered for now.

The run with the cover on

Inside the run with the cover on

Pepper and Bluebell obscuring my view

Inside the run without the cover

Umbrella down

The girls reaction to the closed umbrella

We then decided to close the umbrella to allow more sun into the run but the girls don’t like the umbrella closed. They retreated to the safety of the coop roof. I left the umbrella down for a while to see if they would get used it but when I went back to check on them they were all hiding behind the big bush. I relented and put the umbrella back up and normality was immediately restored! I am not sure if they will ever get used to the umbrella being closed.

I am wondering if the spring weather is making Bluebell broody. Pepper often takes quite a long time to lay her egg, often up to an hour but Bluebell, who is our most prolific layer tends to go in, get her egg laid and back out again in a very short time.

Yesterday both Pepper and Dotty laid their eggs in the morning. Bluebell went into the nest box in the late afternoon. I kept looking out for her to come back out but she stayed in the nest box. I opened the nest box a couple of times to make sure she was okay and she was serenely  sat in there. After more than an hour had passed I went to check on her again as it was so unusual for her to be in there so long. I decided to feel under her and see if she had laid her egg and sure enough she was sat on a very warm egg. Had she just laid it or had she been sat on it for sometime?

Bluebell then went out into the run and sat with the other girls for a little while in a dust hole. She then returned to the coop and sat on the coop floor. I have never seen her do this during the day before and when I went back a little later she was back in the nest box.

By now it was getting towards dusk and the other two girls were going through their pre bedtime routine of feed, drink and peck around. Bluebell then came out of the nest box and had some water then some grit. She didn’t seem interested in the pellets so I put down a few sunflower hearts to tempt her. She ate a few then went straight back into the nest box.

I went back after dusk to check on the girls and the coop door had shut but Pepper and Dotty had settled on the coop roof and Bluebell was still in the nest box. Since the better weather Pepper and Dotty sometimes decide they want to sleep out. I always check on them and lift them down from the coop roof and pop them in then close the door again. I had one last look in through the nest box and Pepper and Dotty were on their usual perch while Bluebell was still in the nest box. I wondered if she was going to spend the night there.

This morning I went out just after first light and they were all in the garden part of their run as usual. I poop picked the coop and there was no poop in the nest box, it was just in the usual roosting spot. I think Bluebell must have joined Pepper and Dotty soon after I put them in. She is behaving normally this morning so I will just have to see how she is when she lays her egg today.

Bluebell has been wagging her tail from side to side recently and I did a bit of research on this. Some people said their hen would do this when their cockerel was nearby. Some people said when their hen had chicks she would point her tail downwards when the chicks were doing something she didn’t want them to do and would wag her tail when they were doing something correctly.

This seems to tie in with Bluebell getting a spring feeling. I have read a lot about broody chickens but have not experienced it myself. I have read that some people leave them be and some people try to break them out of it. It could be a problem for my flock as they only have one nest box. They do sometimes sit in there two at a time when two want to lay at the same time and sometimes if they all want to lay at once the odd egg gets laid on the coop floor. This isn’t a problem as its got a thick layer of pine shavings and is always clean as I poop pick first thing every day.

The other concern is that if a hen is really committed to being broody, she will only come out once a day to do an enormous poop, have a quick drink and feed, then back to sit again. This can cause the hen to lose weight and condition.

I will see how Bluebell progresses before deciding on any action. If like yesterday she only sits for part of the day then returns to normal, I will leave her be. I would only try to break her of it if she was in the nest box all the time and I hope it won’t come to that, also this could be a one off so it’s a case of seeing what happens today.

Breaking a broody involves cooling the hen down. It’s recommended to sit the hen on the bare metal tray of a dog crate with food and water available until her temperature is lowered. Some people put wrapped ice blocks in with them and during hot weather others sit the hen in a bath of cool water.

I hope not to have to do anything this drastic but have read up on this in the past because it’s good to have as much knowledge as possible in case it’s ever needed. I believe in letting nature take it’s course if at all possible.