Carol's Chickens

I bought a chicken toy back when we first had our chickens. You put sun flower hearts in it and they have to roll it to get them out. I have tried it a few times with them when they were younger but they were scared of it and wouldn’t go near it.

I am trying to keep things interesting for the girls while the weather is so awful and also distract them from feather picking. I haven’t seen any feather picking today so that’s a good sign.

I tried the chicken toy again today and Pepper and Dotty wouldn’t go near it. Bluebell is our most inquisitive and brightest girl and she was intrigued by it. She cautiously approached it and looked at it carefully. She could see the sunflower hearts inside and gave it a couple of quick pecks and she managed to get a few sunflower hearts out before she lost interest. I shall put it out again tomorrow and am sure over time they will get the hang of it.

What is this?

Bluebell is taking a look

Bluebell takes a closer look from the other side

Well done Bluebell, I am sure she will do even better tomorrow and the other girls will soon follow her lead.

Last night we sprayed the girls with the anti-peck spray and it went a lot easier then I thought it would. We put on disposable gloves and shook the spray as instructed.

I picked up Bluebell first as she just needed her neck spraying. I held her while my husband protected her face with one hand and sprayed her neck with the other. I then picked up Dotty and we repeated the procedure on her neck, then I held her out while my husband sprayed her bottom. Next I picked up Pepper and also held her out while my husband sprayed her bottom. Job done and the girls didn’t seem too upset by it.

The smell and taste is supposed to put them off pecking at the feathers. The instructions say to repeat in five days and pecking should cease in a week at most.

Bluebell has pecked at Dotty and Pepper’s bottom giving Pepper a bare bottom on one side. Pepper has pecked at Bluebell and Dotty’s neck giving Dotty a bare neck. Dotty who used to be bit of a bully when she was little hasn’t pecked at any of the girls but has come off worse by getting pecked at both ends. Bluebell alone has a lovely fluffy, untouched bottom and Pepper alone has a lovely fluffy untouched neck. It is sad to see their scruffy bare parts but hopefully this will stop it going any further.

Yesterday we went to the garden centre to see if we could find some big plants for the girls run to make it more interesting for them. Now that the large hebe has died (it was old and had been looking quite sad for a long time) there is only one big shrub and the apple tree left in their run. They have stripped everything else.

We soon realised that the few big plants we could find were far too expensive, especially if they are likely to get stripped by the girls. We decided instead of buying something new we would try to find something we already have. We settled on two shrubs that were in pots in our front garden. I had bought them off a clearance table a few years ago for one pound each so if they get stripped they haven’t cost us much. Also if they get stripped we can just move the pots back out of the run to recover.

Two new plants in the run

The hebe that died is in front of this pot and I have left the bottom branches for the girls to perch on.

Dotty and Bluebell investigating one of the new plants

Then they investigate the other new plant

Pepper was busy in the nest box laying her egg while this was going on.

I am hoping the ladder and the plants will add some interest for the girls. We have snow again today so it’s dark in the run and the snow is blowing in. This weather is forecast to last about a week which is a bit depressing. We are are so looking forward to better weather and I know the girls would appreciate it too.

I went back in to the girls to see if Pepper had discovered the plants after she had laid her egg.

All on the coop roof, Dotty in the foreground

As yet Pepper hasn’t shown any interest but I am sure she soon will.  The girls were more interested in getting on the coop roof and jumping from there to my shoulder. They jump on me if they can, every time I go in. I like this interaction with them though.

Since the girls have been feather pulling, I have been worried that they are bored. I have been giving them things to peck at, digging their run for worms and collecting the wood chip that gets scratched out onto the veg plot and heaping it back in the run for them to scratch through.

We had also been looking out for a second hand pair of steps to give them some new perches but haven’t managed to find anything suitable. While at the garden centre today my husband saw some tree supports and decided to make the girls a ladder. We bought three which didn’t cost very much and was probably cheaper than steps would have been. My husband used two for the supports and cut the other one into three for the rungs. He then screwed it to the beam in the run so that it won’t move.

As always with anything new the girl’s retreated to the top of the coop and refused to go into the garden area. I decided to entice them by sprinkling some dried meal worms under the ladder. This worked but I think it will be some time before they pluck up the courage to perch on the ladder. I will try to get some photos when that happens.

Chicken ladder

The girl’s are enticed under the ladder by some dried meal worms

The anti-peck spray arrived through the post today. I will wait until near bedtime, when the girl’s are easiest to handle, before applying it.

This afternoon when I went up to see the girls, Pepper and Dotty came running to greet me but there was no sign of Bluebell. I knew she wouldn’t be in the coop because she had already laid her egg earlier.

I went to investigate and found her having a lovely time in the dust bath. If you have never seen a chicken having a dust bath you would be forgiven for thinking there was something wrong with them. They close their eyes and twist and writhe around. Suddenly Bluebell opens her eyes and casually looks up at me.

Bluebell having a lovely dust bath

Being watched

I love the way the other girls go over to see what is going on. A chicken and her flock members are never far from each other.

I said right back at the beginning of this blog that the dominiques have a pea comb. Recently Pepper’s comb has been getting very dirty so I did some research to see if anyone else has this problem. I didn’t find anything about dirty combs but what I did find was that I was mistaken about the pea comb. The dominiques actually have a rose comb. The difference is that the rose comb ends in a backward facing spike while the pea comb has no spike, just a rounded blunt edge. I am surprised that I haven’t realised this before as I have read loads about the dominiques.

My research about the dominiques comb stated that it should be fairly smooth which Dotty’s is but when I looked at lots of photos of dominiques, some had more knobbly combs like Pepper’s. Pepper’s comb has some deep grooves in it which is where the dirt collects.

Pepper’s dirty comb

This photo shows how black Pepper’s comb has become since we last washed it. I decided to wash it again last night and this time put some vaseline on it in the hope that this will protect it a bit from the dirt.

Pepper’s comb after it’s wash

Pepper’s comb looking much cleaner. It remains to be seen if it stays that way.

Dotty’s smoother comb

This photo shows Dotty’s comb which has less notches on it and stays much cleaner. It also shows her bare neck where Pepper has pulled the feathers out.

I have researched anti-peck sprays and read good reviews about them. They have a bad taste and smell and everyone that had used them said that it really worked at deterring the pecking. It can also be applied with cotton wool rather than spraying which would be better for the neck area as you don’t want to get it in the chickens eyes.

They cost between five and twelve pounds and there are many brands. My son, Steve, who is my I.T. guy has ordered a spray for me. I hope it comes quickly and we can stop this feather picking habit as soon as possible.

Seeing Pepper and Dotty beak to beak yesterday, brought back memories of when I first had them at only a month old.

Dotty and Pepper beak to beak yesterday

Pepper on the right and Dotty on the left.

Dotty and Pepper beak to beak at a month old

Pepper on the right and Dotty on the left (they even seem to keep to the same position)

Dotty and Poppy beak to beak

Dotty in the foreground and Poppy facing the camera.

Poppy turned out to be a roo and had to be returned to the farm where I had got her from (they were going to breed from Poppy) and I then bought home Treacle and Bluebell. Pepper and Dotty have been really close since these early days and this early behaviour still exists between them. I love that I can look back at them at only a month old and yet see this behaviour replicated now when they are adult. These two girls are still a tight pair and I don’t think this early bond will easily be broken.

I sometimes scramble some of the girls eggs in a little olive oil and water and give this to them, to give back some of their own goodness and a little protein boost. They love scrambled egg and like the tuna, they fall on it as if they haven’t eaten for days and it’s gone in about a minute.

When they have finished Pepper and Dotty gently peck any specks of egg from each others beaks. They look so sweet, they used to this when they were babies.

Scrambled egg

Cleaning each others beaks and combs

Pepper is on the right, Dotty on the left.

Beak to beak

I always think this looks like a chicken kiss. That’s Pepper on the right and Dotty on the left again.

Just when everything settles down nicely, a new problem arises. A few days ago I noticed that when Bluebell stretched her neck she had a bare batch on her neck. I then noticed that when Dotty stretched her neck she too had a bare patch. Pepper was as fluffy as ever.

My husband then said he had seen Pepper pulling neck feathers from Bluebell and Dotty while they sat in front of her just letting her do it. Their bare patches were getting bigger and I then saw Pepper plucking feathers from them but only from the window and couldn’t catch her in the act which makes it difficult to do anything about it.

This morning however when doing my early morning clean up I saw the three of them sitting together under the bush and Pepper was plucking their necks. They just sat passively and let her do it. I told her off and pushed her away. This is so frustrating because they were all looking pristine and healthy and now Bluebell and Dotty are looking scruffy and bare in parts. Pepper has never ever pecked at Dotty (they were babies together and have always been tight) but this isn’t a bullying thing it’s more of a habit. They sit together as if Pepper is preening them. It’s difficult to stop her doing this because we can only stop her when we are with them.

I thought of using the blue spray on their necks but think it probably won’t make any difference as it’s not the bareness that’s attracting her but the feathers themselves. I know it’s not lack of protein (they can eat feathers for protein) because I give them plenty. As well as daily greens and some fruit I alternate between giving them scrambled egg, tuna, dried meal worms, sunflower hearts and digging them worms from the veg plot.

I have heard of this happening to others but I don’t know how to stop it. You can fit a chicken saddle or apron to protect a chicken if pecked on their backs but there isn’t anything to protect their necks. I can hardly give them a scarf or neckerchief. We have freezing temperatures at the moment too which isn’t a good time to be bare.

I have also read that when the feathers molt, new one grow back in but when feathers are plucked they don’t regrow until the next molt. They won’t molt until next autumn so that’s a long time to be bare.

Dotty’s bare neck

Bluebell’s missing neck feathers

Dotty’s bare neck close up

Bluebell’s bare neck close up

I took these yesterday with difficulty because it’s hard to catch then stretching their necks. Every time me or my husband have been out to them this morning Pepper has been plucking them. I wonder how bare they will get before she stops. This is really upsetting. It has started since we lost Treacle and I don’t know if that has triggered it. Treacle was a more aggressive top hen than Pepper when it came to pecking the girl’s and showing who was boss but she never plucked feathers. I am finding this really sad to see.

Pepper is not the easiest girl to get a photo of but this morning I managed to get a few snaps of her face and her comb looks much better. It’s not quite perfect but I am pleased that it is much cleaner and that it proved to be just dirt.

Pepper yesterday before I washed her comb

Pepper today after I washed her comb

Pepper Today

Pepper’s comb looks much better

I am really pleased with the result and can now add washing a chicken’s comb to my list of new experiences with my girls.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a dark smudge on Pepper’s comb and thought it was the spiky feathers she has at the edge of her comb. I then noticed that it was a bigger splodge and thought, that with all the digging and scratching she has been doing since the ground has dried out, it was probably dirt.

A black mark on Pepper’s comb, a couple of weeks ago

Today Pepper looks like she has a dirty comb

Here is Dotty’s comb for comparison

I know from reading about chickens that they can get frost bite on the tips of their combs which can turn the tips black. It hasn’t been so cold though in recent weeks plus the dominiques are very cold hardy and have pea combs which because they are small are far less vulnerable and Bluebell who has a large floppy comb (more vulnerable to cold conditions) has no black on her comb.

I could only conclude that it must be dirt and that as the run is now covered for the winter months, they are not exposed to rain, so there is nothing to wash it off. I couldn’t help but worry though, I don’t want to miss something that could be a potential problem.

Pepper is happy, active, eating well and laying an egg most days, so I know it’s not bothering her. I decided that the only way to find out if it was dirt was to try to wash it off.

Just before their bedtime me and my husband went in with a bowel of warm water and a new washing up sponge. I picked Pepper up and handed her to my husband to hold. I dipped the sponge and rubbed gently on her comb. She was very good, chickens don’t like their heads touched, but as I gently stroked her comb upwards she accepted it. A lot of dirt came off on to the sponge. I couldn’t get all the dirt out of the deepest crevice in her comb but didn’t want to risk her getting stressed.

My husband thinks that perhaps when she has had yogurt and it has splashed on her face and comb, the dirt form scratching and digging, has then stuck to it.

She looks a lot cleaner and at least I now know that it is just dirt. She is such a sweet girl and didn’t hold it against me. She was still happy to be close to me while she continued her bedtime routine and seemed none the worst for her experience.

I will try to get a comparison photo soon but Pepper is the most difficult of the girls to photograph.

I certainly didn’t realise before having chickens how intimate I would become to them. I never imagined washing a chickens comb or any of the up close and personal experiences I had with poor Treacle, but I didn’t know I would love them so much either! I watch them closely and find them so cute and funny. I love their funny ways and characters. I love that they perch on me at any given moment and follow me even when I am on the other side of the mesh. I also think they look so beautiful. These girls have worked their way firmly into my heart.