Carol's Chickens

Sugar was our longest lived and our last serama. She had virtually every chicken problem our flocks have ever had and yet she came through every thing, she was very resilient. Despite being one of our smallest girls Sugar had been top girl for a very long time.

Although Sugar was top girl she had a lovely nature. She was able to put her flock mates in their place with a look or the peck that doesn’t quite land. She was also friendly and very easy to handle. When we had to clip her nails she would let me do so without flinching.

Sugar was also a serial broody. We have had loads of broody girls but Sugar would only ever lay a clutch of eggs each month before going broody and if left would sit for long past the time it would take to hatch eggs. She therefore had to spend time in the broody crate for her own good.

Sugar had egg laying problems in her last years and we knew something was adrift with her because for her last couple of years she spent a lot of time sitting. Despite this she still had quality of life. She dust bathed, sun bathed and loved any treats.

Sugar has seen a lot of girls come and go in her time with us. She has remained with us while we lost five seramas. They were in order of their going – Marmite, Shadow, Smoke, Spangle and Salmon. Sugar has also seen ten other girls go in her time with us making it fifteen in total that have gone during her time. They were – Speckles, Ebony, Spot, Flame, Saffron, Snowflake, Diamond, Dot, Star and Autumn.

I have picked photos of her that show her from chick to adult but also show her broodiness and her eventual decline as they sum up her life completely.

Sugar was an amazing character and has left a huge hole in the flock. She has been a joy to have in our flock. She is very much missed and I am sure we will never have a girl quite like her again. Goodbye to our beautiful Sugar.

Sugar was five and a half years old and we had known there was something adrift with her for the last two and a half years as she spent a lot of her time sitting but she just kept going. Last year she started laying at the beginning of May but hadn’t laid this year despite the lovely spring weather.

However over the last week Sugar seemed more active and faster to run to the treats. Over the last few days we both said that Sugar looked much more like her old self. She was sitting less and was dust bathing more.

Yesterday she dust bathed in the afternoon and last night she ran up for the sunflower hearts and was perched at bedtime next to Storm as usual.

This morning Sugar wasn’t out in the run and we found her dead in front of her roost spot. She had gone on my birthday of all days.

We had only said yesterday how good Sugar was looking and I said how much I loved her as we had seen her come through so much in her time with us. It must have been her last hurrah!

At least once more there was no slow decline, vet visit, or decision to be made. It was rather a shock though and so sad that she went on my birthday.

We buried her in the chickens’ strip. Unfortunately it has filled up over the years and we are now having to do a double layer back near the start of the strip. I planted a wall flower over her which I took from another part of the garden.

I will do a tribute to Sugar in a few days time as it will take me a while to go through the many photos of her over the years. Sugar will leave a huge hole in the flock and will be very much missed. Goodbye sweet Sugar.

After a break of ten days Red is back in lay. It will be good to have her slightly bigger eggs again. We now have four girls laying. Gold is taking her time coming out of her broody spell.

When I checked again these two girls were together which looks so sweet. They soon got their eggs laid.

It is good to be getting more eggs and Red’s bigger eggs are most welcome. Well done girls!

The day after Snow came back into lay Gold went broody. It really has been one in and one out constantly this year. I don’t remember such a broody year as this but I wonder if it’s because we have had such good weather early in the year which would be ideal for raising chicks.

So we are back to three layers being Snow, Cloud and Mango. Gold has laid seven eggs in ten days.

One thing about Gold though is that when I lift her from the nest box for a break she always goes for a dust bath. Her favourite place at the moment is one of the many large holes Red has dug all round the run. It’s the deepest one at the bottom end of the run.

I am hoping that Red comes back into lay soon. This really is a yo yo year.

Today Snow settled in a nest box. She had taken just under a two week break since she went broody.

Next time I checked Snow was back out in the run and her egg was in the nest box. I was so pleased to find that it was perfectly smooth and normal looking. No wobble in the shell at all.

It seems that Snow really is back to normal. Whatever had happened to her laying seems to have fixed itself.

Both Red and Storm have now come through their broody spell and we now have four girls laying, Gold, Cloud, Mango and Snow. Hurrah!

Yesterday I felt sure that Mango would lay soon and today she did. She spent a long time going in and out of the nest box before she finally settled.

When I next checked on Mango she was standing over her egg. Hurrah! We now have three girls laying, Mango, Cloud and Gold.

I had just bought some eggs as we were so low with only one little egg a day but now hopefully I won’t have to buy any more this summer. Well done Mango!

The day after Cloud came back into lay Red went broody. This means we are back to only having two girls laying that being Gold and Cloud at the moment. I have had to supplement our eggs this week with some shop bought eggs, sigh!

Red had laid ten eggs in sixteen days. She is determined this time. After the laying girls have laid I close the nest boxes and Red will sit on top of a nest box.

I saw Mango have a scratch around in a nest box today so I think she is very close to coming back into lay.

I am surprised that Mango hasn’t started back laying again as she usually follows close behind cloud. She has now had a month’s break since she last laid.

It will be good to have new girls to get some extra eggs as we are not getting quite enough at the moment. The new girls should start laying around October and should lay through the winter which would be great.

I have researched the new girls and while dutch bantam do go broody they are apparently really good eggs layers for a bantam. Even better Sebrights are not a broody breed at all. It would be so good to have one non broody girl in the flock.

Meanwhile, come on Mango, time to start laying again. Maybe tomorrow.

I have been researching for ages to find somewhere I can get some new girls. I really want to add a couple of girls to our flock. I have exhausted Pippinchick for now. I like “clean” bantams, that is no fancy head dresses, beards or feathered feet and I like to have all different colours in my flock as in no two the same. I know, I am fussy! I have had all the breeds that Pippinchick have to offer for now.

I called the farmer/breeder that I got my game girls from, that is Emerald, Toffee, Flame and Ebony. He no longer breeds game birds since covid. I called the breeder I got my ancona, Speckles and hamburgs, Spot and Dot from amongst other breeds in the past and she has cut right back due to the loss of parents and an impending move and has nothing for me at the moment.

I kept researching bantam breeders within a radius of us and there was nothing I wanted coming up. I then had a light bulb moment and put in to the search bantam breeders that offer a delivery service. Of course Pippinchick comes up first.

I then found Chickens To Your Door. I got quite excited but it turns out they deliver to your door if you have ten or more birds and the delivery service cost is quite high. However they offer a service where they deliver to collection points all over the country for you to pick up from and it’s free. The nearest one to us is Pangbourne, Theal, which is near Reading.

My husband, because of his failing eye sight, is no longer comfortable driving apart from locally and I don’t drive on motorways so with me driving it’s a fifty minute journey but that’s doable.

I picked out four breeds that I would like. When I called them there turned out to be only two breeds available this year. They were two breeds that have been on my wish list for a very long time. Sebright which I have long wanted is available in one colour which is citron and dutch bantam also available in only one colour which they didn’t have a name for but sent me a photo of. The colour is a cross between Cloud and Gold, being the front half of Cloud and the back half of Gold.

An added bonus is that sebrights are non broody.

I have ordered and paid for them. They are currently three weeks old and they deliver them at four months old so they have given me a collection date of 16th August.

I am so excited but it’s a wait yet until I get them. I will have to keep them separated and on growers for two months but that’s something I am used to doing. It is so good to have found a second breeder for the future. I have to be patient for now but can’t wait to pick up my new girls.

They will e-mail me two weeks before the collection date and then again one week before with a pick up time. I now just have to wait. It will be lovely to have new girls again. I am so excited and looking forward to it.

I have taken these two images from google to show what they look like. Beautiful girls.

I knew Cloud was getting ready to come back into lay as she squatted whenever I came up behind her. Today all the nest boxes were occupied. Broody Snow was in one and Red and Gold were getting their eggs laid in the other two.

Broody Storm prefers the chicken shed so I had blocked that off but left the nest boxes open for the girls to lay in. Cloud often lays in the shelter so that’s where she chose to lay her egg.

Cloud soon got her egg laid and Mango squatted when I came up behind so I think she may start laying tomorrow. Mango laid her last egg the day after Cloud so will probably come back in to lay the day after her too. These two are always in sync with each other.

Mango and Cloud have had a three week break since laying their last eggs.

Snow is very determined this time and with hind sight I think when I thought she was broody last time, but she only missed laying for two days, she wasn’t actually broody but just thought she needed to lay. This time round she is straight in a nest box at every opportunity.

We now have three girls laying and I am sure it will be soon four so it’s looking good.

Yesterday Gold came back into lay after a break of nine days. At the same time both Snow and Storm went broody. We seem destined to have only two girls laying which is currently Red and Gold.

Snow had laid seven eggs in twelve days since her last very brief broody spell. The good news is that her last three eggs were completely normal with the shape they used to be and no wobbles in the shell.

For Storm this is her first broody spell this year. She has laid twenty two eggs in two months.

Storm remains where I put her when I lift her from the nest box. Storm isn’t a very committed broody though. When I get her out for a break she will stay out for a while before going back in.

Hopefully the broody girls will come through it soon although no doubt another girl will then go broody.