Carol's Chickens

Since I put the cat box in the shed as an extra nest box, Emerald has laid every one of her eggs in there. She seems to prefer the cat box.

Freckles also lays her eggs in there. Speckles laid a couple in there but then stopped laying while her head feathers are growing. She goes to sit in the wooden nest box for a while each day though, as if she doesn’t realise she has stopped laying, but she has long since lost interest in the cat box.

Rusty had never laid in the cat box but after her three day broody spell she took two weeks off of laying and then yesterday laid her first egg in the cat box.

Dandelion started laying (or sitting as most of her eggs ended up in the run) in the cat box but has now switched to laying in the wooden nest box. Cinnamon is the only one never to have shown any interest in the cat box and always lays in the wooden nest box.

Emerald like to lay all her eggs in the cat box

She is laying weeks beyond the time of year that she usually stops laying and is laying five or six days out of seven.

Rusty lays her first egg in the cat box

Freckles lays her egg in the cat box

I had considered removing the cat box but as it has proved to be so popular I have decided to leave it be. It seems that the girls have chosen to keep it.

Apricot is getting ready to start laying eggs. She went into the nest box for about an hour today. I think she is practising and hopefully this means her first egg will be in the nest box.

Apricot in the nest box

Her comb is red but she isn’t squatting yet so I think it will be a little longer. Silky feathered girls mature slower than straight feathered girls. Rusty started laying one month after Freckles. Dandelion and Cinnamon have now been laying for a month so it’s about the right time.

Apricot doesn’t squat when I stroke her back

Freckles squats when I touch her back

You can always tell when they are about a week from laying as they start to squat. You only have to hover your hand over their back or lightly touch their back and they drop down into the squat. Freckles wings drop down and she arches her back into a U shape.

I knew that Apricot wasn’t ready to start laying yet so I felt she needed permission to leave the nest box as she had been in there for an hour.

Apricot allows me stroke her without squatting

I picked her up and put her out in the run. She went straight to the apple and greens as if she was relieved that she could now have some treats. I expect she will return to practice in the nest box between now and starting to lay.

Some girls go to the nest box on the first day they lay an egg and some girls practice for a week or so before their first egg. All girls are different but most seem to know where they should go to lay their egg. It will be good to have our last girl start laying soon.

I am still experimenting with my new camera. When I saw two bees inside a poppy flower I thought I would see if the camera would pick this up.

Two bees in a poppy flower

Yes! You can see two bees working the poppy. As I am only using the automatic setting, for ease of use, I am pretty impressed with this. The two bees are just above the bottom flower petals. I am very happy with this camera.

Speckles hasn’t laid an egg for two weeks now. I believe this is because she is growing her head feathers back in and like when moulting she can’t lay eggs and grow feathers at the same time.

Nobody has told her that though. She doesn’t seem to realise that she isn’t laying at the moment and she will sit in a nest box for a while with a little pile of pine shavings on her back. Sometimes she even gives the shout when she comes out but when I check there is no egg.

Yesterday Dandelion had made up her mind that she wanted to lay her egg in the left hand nest box which was occupied by Speckles. When Dandelion makes up her mind she wants a certain nest box there is no budging her. She was standing at the ramp to Speckles nest box and shouting.

I picked her up and put her in the nest box next door. She bounced straight back out and went to Speckles nest box again. Eventually she plucked up courage and went in with Speckles.

Speckles and Dandelion share a nest box

Dandelion settled in there and Speckles gave up and left the nest box. A little while later Dandelion was back out in the run. I checked the nest box and there was Dandelion’s tiny, pale shelled, egg. This is Dandelion’s eleventh egg and the fourth one that she has laid in a nest box. It is amusing how determined she is to lay in her nest box of choice.Dandelion is a funny little girl.

Look how Speckles white pin feathers are growing on her head. She is looking so much better. I don’t mind her taking a break from egg laying as it is so good to see her feathers growing back.

Yesterday we went out with friends. We started off in the pub garden with a few drinks, then went inside to eat. We had a lovely time and they gave me some birthday gifts. I received this lovely chicken mug.

I love the way the picture is different all the way round and there is even a little chicken inside the mug. It is so pretty.

Chicken mug from one side

From the other side

From above to show inside

We had a lovely time and it was the perfect way to round off my birthday week.

I have been trying out my new camera.

One of my birthday cards

And another birthday card

I took some portraits of the girls.

I wondered if Cinnamon was going broody

She was in the nest box for an hour and had a broody look about her. After an hour I lifted her and she had laid her egg. I took her out of the nest box and she shouted for a bit but then carried on as normal. Maybe she isn’t broody yet but just thinking about it. She has been laying for three weeks now.

Dandelion is looking great

She has now laid eight eggs and of those only three were in the nest box but I am sure she will get the hang of it eventually.

Apricot

She isn’t laying yet but her comb has matured so I think she won’t be long. She isn’t squatting yet though.

Rusty

Freckles

Cinnamon out of the nest box

Emerald

Speckles

Her head feathers are growing.

Emerald

She has such a red face and is still laying almost every day and it’s a week later than she stopped last year. I think she is enjoying being one of only two bigger girls.

I am really thrilled with my new camera. It’s so much quicker at both taking the photos and loading them on to the computer. I think there is more detail in the photos too. I am very happy with it.

I had a lovely birthday yesterday. I decided to to treat the girls too and gave them two dishes of mash to start off their day.

The girls gather round the mash out on the block

Dandelion and Apricot find the dish on the patio

Rusty joins them

Emerald joins them

Rusty and the three amigos

My lovely husband bought me a new camera for my birthday. He liaised with Steve, my eldest son, to pick a good one. My old camera is about ten years old and recently the shutter keeps sticking and it often says “card error” and I then have to remove and replace the card. I have been feeling, for a while, that it would only be a matter of time before it stopped working. It was also incredibly slow to load on to the computer.

Yesterdays photos were taken with the old camera, before I had opened my birthday gifts. I have tried the new camera and it loads to the computer in an instant. I am hoping that the future quality of my photos will be better. I was so surprised and thrilled with this gift. I use my camera every day for my blog so it is a lovely gift.

Yesterday there was a moment that made us realise how close Speckles and Emerald have become since Peaches and Barley have left the flock. When Emerald goes in to the cat box to lay her egg, Speckles has taken to shouting for her. Speckles and Emerald have never been very vocal and only usually shout the alarm when there is a cat in the garden.

My husband said he wondered if it was because she had looked in the nest boxes and couldn’t find Emerald and perhaps thought that she had gone. I went to investigate and sure enough Speckles looked in each nest box and then stood on the nest box calling out.

I opened the shed door and hooked it back. I guided Speckles into the shed talking to her to reassure her. I showed her Emerald in the cat box. Speckles stood guard by the cat box for a few moments and then came out and quietly went about her business. I think my husband was right, she was upset because she couldn’t find Emerald.

I hope that now she realises that Emerald goes to the cat box to lay her eggs that she won’t worry when she disappears. I will see what she does next time. It was a really sweet moment to see how she instantly calmed down once she had found Emerald.

Today we have a busy day with a wedding, afternoon tea, to cater and serve. I will experiment with my camera tomorrow when I will have more time. It will be interesting to see if my photos improve.

Against the new fence that the neighbours put up last year, the campanular on the drive looks stunning.

Campanula

A lovely splash of mauve. It’s my birthday and we are busy today but we are eating in our local pub tonight with the bonus being that Thursdays are buy one meal and get one free, hurrah.

Emerald and Speckles have always been rather loners in the flock. Emerald and Toffee were close but after we lost Toffee, Emerald became a bit of a loner and Speckles did hang out in the chicken shelter and dust bath with Peaches and Barley but was also pretty much a loner.

Since Peaches and Barley have left the flock, Emerald and Speckles have teamed up. They are together all the time. They perch together on the bottom rung of the ladder but I can’t get a photo of that because as soon as I go in Emerald runs to me. But they do seem to be keeping very close to each other.

These two are sticking together

Together in the nest box

Speckles often sits in the nest box for a while but doesn’t lay and yesterday Emerald went in to keep her company. Speckles hasn’t laid for a week now. She isn’t a great layer, she normally lays about two or three times a week but she is getting feathers on her head and her bottom so I wonder if that has stopped her laying at the moment.

As you can see from these photos her recently bare head now has white pin feathers.

Emerald then went and laid her egg in the cat box which is her third day in a row. While she was out of sight, Speckles was calling for her.

When I give the morning and evening treats Speckles and Emerald are like a double act. They always jump to the inner gate.

They always jump on to the gate together

This photo shows the extremes in their combs. Speckles has the most amazing, huge, comb and Emerald has the tiniest comb.

Emerald always jumps back down to the patio

Speckles always jumps to my shoulder or back

Speckles looks as if she is wondering what Emerald is doing down there. Emerald always jumps down but Speckles always jumps on to me. This has been a long time routine with these two.

These photos show how much better Speckles head is looking which is so good to see. I am really pleased to see these two teaming up. It is quite heart warming.

I can’t get over the change in the flock since we re-homed Peaches and Barley. It is so quiet, peaceful and harmonious. When I used to give corn or sunflower hearts I used to throw some the other side of the wire so that the three amigos had a chance of getting some and even then they would get chased round and round the wire.

I am now able to give the treats together and the flock is as one. It is so lovely to see them all together.

End of day treats

A united flock

The whole flock hang out together now and Emerald and Speckles have taken to sitting together. Speckles also has her head feathers coming back in and is starting to look better.

Emerald is laying really well and has gone past the date that she stopped last year (game girls have a short laying season). I expect she will stop laying soon but my husband said maybe less stress is keeping her laying longer.

Dandelion has now laid two eggs in a nest box after laying her first six in the run. I wonder if that too is because she is no longer being chased from the nest boxes.

When I go up to the girls they all run to me now rather than the three amigos hanging back. The three amigos now spend time on the patio. I have never before had to have a separate feeding station, bottles of water above the ladder and a cat box nest box in the shed. All these things came about because of the three amigos being chased.

I probably don’t need the cat box in the shed any longer but I am leaving it for a while because Emerald has taken to laying her eggs in there.

I will keep my flock at this smaller size from now on and will only add girls if I lose girls which I hope won’t be for a very long time and I would always add seramas in future.

I am now enjoying the flock again and the flock are happy and united once more.