Carol's Chickens

The first few years we grew potatoes on our veg plot in this garden they were amazing. We got some huge potatoes and they were particularly good for roast potatoes and chips.

The next few years they were full of wire worms. It got a bit worse each year until by the time I had cut out all the wormy bits we were left with bits of potatoes the size of marbles.

This year as an experiment we decided to try growing them in potato bags in the hope that they wouldn’t get wire worms.

Potato bags in June

The growth looked really healthy. As the growth spilled out of the bags it hit the ground then turned to grow upwards again. There was plenty of growth on the potatoes throughout the summer.

As always we waited for the green to die away before harvesting the potatoes. I let our shop bought potatoes run out, ha ha, before harvesting the first bag.

Potato bags

We had three bags but I forgot to take the photo until we had emptied the first bag.

Well …. disappointed doesn’t really go far enough!

The entire crop from one bag

This was all of the potatoes in one bag in an old washing up bowl. The bigger potatoes had rotted and the smallest potatoes were from the size of a grape down to the size of a current.

When I pealed them I needed to take a thick layer off as they seemed to be rotting from the skin inwards. The biggest ones had rotted all the way through and the others had rotten patches on the skin but were okay inside. The smallest ones had to be thrown away as they too small to do anything with.

The entire crop of one bag once pealed

This is a pudding basin and these potatoes will just about do three meals for the two of us and we eat fairly small meals. On the positive side, they didn’t have wire worm! I think we can conclude that we won’t be bothering with this method again.

We put the compost in the run for the girls.

Compost emptied into the run

We went through it with our hands and then a fork as potatoes are poisonous to chickens, although they do usually avoid anything that is poisonous, but we don’t want to take any chances.

The girls scratch and spread the soil

The little girls have their turn

At least the compost will help to build up the soil level in the run. We won’t bother with growing potatoes in bags again and will probably just put them back in the ground next year. You have to try these things but I am going to call this experiment a failure.

Peaches pin feathers are beginning to open and show the peach colour she is named after. She has been very shy since starting her sudden moult but this afternoon she decided she would pose for me.

Peaches poses

Shall I point my beak down a bit

Or up a bit

Is this my best side

She looks hilarious but you can just see the peach feathers beginning to unfurl. Don’t worry Peaches, you will soon have your model good looks back again!

At quarter to six I watched the bedtime routine unfold again. Only Peaches was out plus the three little girls. I let Peaches go in before guiding the three little girls towards the pop hole. They went in and Pebbles perched up, quickly followed by Rusty. Freckles wasn’t sure and I held my hand in front of the pop hole to stop her coming out while holding the door open a crack so that I could watch.

She got herself ready to jump up to the perch. She only had one attempt and jumped up, landing on the back perch. Hurrah! the problem was obviously that she was misjudging and jumping over the perch before but now she can land on the back perch.

I don’t mind which perch she ends up on as long as she can manage it herself.

Freckles jumps up and lands on the inner perch

In the run with more space Freckles seems able to judge the perches but in the shed she was jumping over the perch every time. I wonder if it is because she has straight feathers and the other two have two have silkie feathers. She can fly higher and longer distances than Pebbles and Rusty when out in the run but seemed unable to judge this perch.

Now that she can get to the perch herself I think it will soon progress to the three little girls putting themselves to bed each night without my help. Tonight was a real breakthrough and I felt so proud of her. I am sure we will now soon have the bedtime routine cracked.

The two newest girls hadn’t had fish as a treat before today so I decided to see if they liked it. I divided the fish into four little dishes and put three dishes on the patio for the bigger girls.

I put the fourth dish in the run and guarded it for the little girls. I soon found that they  liked it. It also showed that Pebbles is definitely top girl of these three. She tried to peck Rusty and Freckles away from the fish dish. They were undeterred though and sprang around her to take a peck of fish or they snatched a bit of fish and moved away with it.

The two newest girls have their first fish treat

Rusty likes the fish

The little girls fish dish was soon emptied

I had to constantly fend off the bigger girls but by the time the little girls had finished their dish the three dishes on the patio were also emptied.

The fish didn’t last long and they obviously enjoyed it. It will be easy to use this again next time the girls need worming. I will just have to work out how to keep the big and little girls apart so that they all get an equal share.

This afternoon we added the previous bedtime perch behind the existing bedtime perch to create a double perch like the one at the back of the shed. We hope this will enable Freckles to manage to jump and land on it.

I decided to show it to Freckles and Rusty but by the time I had perched them on it and got my camera ready they were about to jump down. They are not interested in being on the bedtime perch during the day.

Freckles jumping down from the perch

Rusty about to jump down

I hope this solves the problem because I have no idea what else we can do.

We had to go out at six o’clock as we had a hundred and forty plated suppers and desserts to deliver for a folk evening. This meant that I didn’t have time to wait to see if Freckles could manage the perch and it will have to wait until tomorrow night.

Pebbles and Rusty were perched but Freckles was taking too long so I had to put her on the perch. At one point Peaches and Barley pecked Speckles down from the corner and as she went she knocked Rusty from her place on the little perch. Rusty immediately jumped back up so I am confidant that she is fine with it. It’s just a case of waiting until tomorrow to see if Freckles can master it.

Three little girls on the bedtime perch, Rusty has jumped back up and is steadying herself

This was how I left them. I had to know that they were safely in place before we left so we will continue with the bedtime routine tomorrow.

The girls are definitely divided into two groups at the moment. The bigger girls spend time perching together while the little girls gather on the patio area for spinach, apple or to get to the food dish in peace.

The bigger girls perch together

While the little girls gather round the food dish

While the cats away the mice will play! The little girls make the most of the treats on the patio while the bigger girls chill out together.

When I throw out the corn or sunflower hearts as a treat, I now throw some into the run where the bigger girls are used to having it, while I casually drop some onto the patio. The little girls have got used to the routine and get to have their share on the patio without being chased away by the other girls.

And back to the bedtime routine again. Today I went out at quarter to six to see why the little girls aren’t perching by themselves. All the bigger girls were settled except Peaches and Barley who were still out in the run. They are often last to go in.

As usual the little girls ran to me as if asking me to put them in. I put them through the pop hole and blocked it with my hand to stop them coming out again. I opened the door a crack to see what was happening. Pebbles jumped up to their perch. Rusty was next to jump up to their perch. Freckles made several attempts but kept over shooting and dropping down behind the perch.

Pebbles and Rusty jumped to the perch

Last night we put it down to there not being enough light. Tonight I realised Freckles can’t physically get on to the perch. This is obviously what is holding up the bedtime routine. In her frustration she tried to jump onto the bigger girls perch. Enough of this, I lifted her on to the perch and the three little girls settled together.

I put Freckles on the perch

Peaches and Barley went in and took their place and all was settled in the shed. So now I know what the problem is, we can fix it. I am not sure if it’s because both Pebbles and Rusty have silkie feathers and Freckles has straight feathers, or if it’s just something else peculiar to Freckles, but she just doesn’t seem able to accurately jump to this perch.

Tomorrow we will reinstate the smaller perch behind this one so that there is a double perch like the bigger girl’s back perches. You can see from the photo above that there is plenty of room for another perch behind this one.

Last night’s photo showing the back perch

We will recreate the double back perch for the little girls. This will give a bigger area for Freckles to aim at and instead of falling through the gap she may be able to land on the back perch.

We put the double perches in for the bigger girls to allow passing room when they are jostling for their bedtime positions but this should also help Freckles to be able to get onto their perch.

Sometimes we need to keep observing to be able to work out what the problem is. We thought it was a case of the little girls learning the routine but it seems it was a case of Freckles not being able to manage to get to the perch. So the fine tuning goes on and tomorrow we will see if the new perch arrangement helps to sort out the bedtime routine at last.

I know I put moulting photos out yesterday but I am sure Peaches has never looked this bad before. Laying eggs for a month later in the year, this year, has made her moult really quick and messy.

Poor Peaches has never looked this bad before

What a state!

Peaches, What do you look like!

The three little girls have some dandelion leaves

The three little girls have got really good at sneaking up to the patio for treats when the other girls are not looking.

Over the last few nights I have been trying to get the little girls to go to bed on their own. Last night I went out at six o’clock, once the bigger girls were all settled as I wondered if going out earlier was just causing more of a distraction.

As soon as I go up the path the three little girls run to me as if expecting me to put them to bed. On the positive side at least they run to me for help rather than running away or trying to perch elsewhere in the run.

I put them through the pop hole and they run back out. I put Pebbles on the perch and she stays put. Rusty managed to jump to the perch but Freckles goes too high and drops back down again. I relented and put her on the perch. Once all three are on the perch they stay there.

Tonight I went out again at six o’clock and the bigger girls were already settled. Once more the three little girls ran to me. Pebbles used to be fine at going in at night but it seems that now, instead of the newer two following her lead, she has decided to follow them and stay out.

I put them through the pop hole and put the chicken doorstop in front to keep them in. No chance, the little girls squeezed around it and out again. I put Pebbles on the perch and closed the pop hole and then put the other two in. Again Rusty managed to jump to the perch but Freckles kept going too high and dropping back down. My husband who was watching said he thought it had got too dark for Freckles to judge the perch because he had seen her during the day jump to the outside perches with ease.

I put Freckles on the perch and all was settled. Tomorrow I will change tactic and go up earlier and see if I can get them to go in earlier while it is lighter. It’s all trial and error at the moment. I could easily put them on the perch each night and it’s something I used to do in the past but I really want them to learn to do it themselves.

The little girls are finally settled

All the girls are settled for the night

I am sure we will get there in the end. I just need to get the timing right so that they are able to sort it out for themselves. We are nearly there and I am sure it is just a matter of time before they get the hang of it.

I am still picking up lots of feathers. As well as Peaches and Barley’s feathers I am also picking up little girl’s feathers. Pebbles is moulting and I am picking up her fluffy grey feathers. She doesn’t look any different though apart from her head. Her head is a mass of pins and she reminds me of a porcupine.

Freckles is losing her baby feathers and growing in her adult feathers. I am picking up her white feathers but she doesn’t look any different. Rusty isn’t losing feathers yet as she is still growing some of her baby feathers. Her head feathers have filled in since we have had her.

Pebbles quills being white don’t really show up on a photograph but what look like white feathers on her head are actually white pins, she has a spiky head at the moment.

Pebbles has pins on her head

I got distracted from my, moulting, photos by the cuteness of the three little girls.

Three headless little girls

Pebbles has a habit of standing in the food bowl

This is typical of Pebbles.

Peaches has no tail and loads of pins

Barley

Peaches

Barley

Speckles in the background is looking really good.

Peaches

Barley and Peaches

The good thing is that despite looking a mess right now, all these pins mean they will soon be feathered up again. They will soon have lovely feathers to keep them warm in the winter and be back to looking beautiful again.

We decided to reinstate the extra perch across the right hand corner of the shed. Speckles often used to perch here when she was pushed off the main perch and I struggled to remember why we had taken it out. My husband reminded me that I thought it was causing the little girls to have to run the gauntlet of passing underneath it to get in at night, while often Speckles was perched there intimidating them.

We have now decided this is the lesser of two evils and will see if this improves the bedtime situation.

We have reinstated the perch across the right hand side of the shed

This perch is just above the pop hole which is why we removed it. Putting it back has got to be worth a try.

I gave the girls some yogurt this afternoon. It’s the first time the two newer girls have tried yogurt. You might wonder from the photos where the bigger girls are. For some reason completely unknown to me, they were all five of them, scratching in the shavings in the chicken shed. I have no idea what the attraction is in there but it was a good opportunity for the little girls to have four dished to themselves.

At first Rusty and Freckles were reluctant to take the yogurt from the dishes. Instead they pecked at the splashes of yogurt on the patio.

They peck at specks of yogurt on the patio

Rusty and Freckles are unsure about the yogurt from the dishes

Rusty plucks up the courage to try it

Pebbles already knows that she likes yogurt

Rusty gets the hang of it

Freckles pecks yogurt from Rusty’s beak

They decided that they do like yogurt.

And now, back to bedtime. The extra perch did help a bit to give Speckles somewhere to go during the usual jostling for position.

Speckles uses the new perch for a short time

Meanwhile the three little girls were on their perch

After I had taken these photos there was a lot more jostling for position with the bigger girls jumping up and down from the perches and the little girls all back out again during the disturbance.

Sometimes the little girls took their place again and sometimes they came back out again, with me ending up putting them back on their perch once the bigger girls were in place.

A little later Speckles had returned to the back perch

They are all finally settled

It is still a work in progress with me having to help things along. Pebbles sticks it out most of the time so I hope that eventually the other two little girls will stick it out too. With so much jostling for position it’s not surprising that it makes the little girls run back out again.

I need to end up with all the girls sleeping in the chicken shed together so we will have to keep working at it. I am hopeful that we get there eventually.

For the last few nights I have been trying to get the new girls to perch with Pebbles. On the first night I moved the new girls from the cat box to the perch after dark.

The second evening I kept picking them up and putting them on the perch repeatedly as they kept jumping down again. I eventually returned them to the cat box until a little later and then put them on the perch.

The next evening I could tell that they wanted to go the perch but they wouldn’t stay there. Again I kept putting them back on the perch until they eventually stayed there as it was getting dark.

Last night I felt that they really wanted to go to the little perch but the other girls intimidated them and Pebbles also pecked them which was really not helping matters.

I stayed out with them until they were finally perched. The bigger girls do a lot of jumping up and down from their perch and a lot of pecking the girls lower down the order to keep them from perching next to them.

Added to this Pebbles would also peck at the newer girls. A few times the newer girls jumped to the perch themselves, so I can see that they want to perch up, it’s just so difficult to get all the girls settled with the bigger girls jumping up and down. By the time it had got a little darker they were finally all settled.

I decided that we needed to change the perch. It was fine for two little girls who wanted to be close to each other but wasn’t working so well with the current three. We decided to change the little perch for the longer one from the patio area. The extra space would allow the newer two girls to move further away from Pebbles and it has longer brackets which would make jumping up easier and mean we could place it a little higher.

I didn’t want to put it at the same height as the other girl’s perch or they would want to use it too which would make it even more difficult for the little girls.

The original little perch

The new perch with Pebbles trying it out

The three little girls perching together during the day

While three of the bigger girls perched above them

They look so cute together

What I can never understand is that all the girls, bigger and smaller, are happy to perch together during the day, so why the fuss at bedtime!

The three little girls managed to get on the new perch

The three little girls took their place fairly quickly on their perch but then the intimidating started. The big girls pecked each other down and in turn Speckles pecked at the little girls from her corner of the perch.

Almost all of the girls ended up back out again. I know that there is always a lot of coming and going at bedtime, but it gets sorted out in the end, so I decided to withdraw for a little while as I think sometimes my presence can make matters worse.

When I returned all the bigger girls had settled and Rusty had kept her position but Pebbles and Freckles were back out again.

I placed them back on the perch and all the girls stayed in place as the automatic door closed.

The final bedtime positions, Emerald is out of shot on the far right of the back perch

I think it will take a few more nights yet but I think we are getting there. It’s clear that the little girls know where to go, it’s just the jostling for positions that is making it difficult for them to get settled.

I hope over the coming evenings it will get easier because they need to learn to go to bed however much hassle there is. I don’t really know what else I can do but hope that it will settle down eventually. My husband suggested putting in another perch for the bigger girls on the other side of the shed which might be worth a try.

It does seem though, that no matter how much space, they still have to go through this ritual every night. I hope it gets better over the coming evenings.

Yesterday Jackie came back for a flying visit. She had lots of people to fit in so we had a very quick catch up.

I bought her to our house to visit the chooks and to see the new additions. I handed her Rusty so that she could see how tiny she is. Jackie agreed that the little girls are very cute.

Jackie and Rusty

Jackie has settled on the Isle of White and is happy there. She is renting a flat but is going to buy it after her six month rental period expires.

Jackie has a bus pass and there is a really good bus service all over the island and she is enjoying walking and exploring the lovely scenery and the beach. She is five minutes walk from the bus stop and ten minutes walk from the sea and can just about see the sea from her balcony.

Jackie has a small courtyard garden but has decided not to have more chickens as her garden isn’t big enough. She has joined the local library and the W.I. She also has her sister near by so they are able to spend time together exploring new places.

I miss having her nearby but I am glad that she is happy and we will always be friends. We will catch up with each other when we can and I was honoured that she made time for me on a short and busy visit.

Since spending a night on the perch together the three little girls seem to have bonded and the flock is now very much in two groups. This is okay though because both sets are happy together and no one is left on their own.

Every time I look out at them the three little girls are together, sometimes on a perch, sometimes on the wooden table, sometimes in the run and sometimes on the patio area.

I also saw Rusty in a dust bath next to Pebbles but couldn’t get my camera quick enough.

The three little girls are now much more together

The other five are having a communal preening session

Later the three little girls are back on the patio area again

Five girls hang out together on the table

Three little girls at the food dish

These two love having the spinach to themselves

Three little girls on the wooden table early this morning

As well as a tale of two flocks it’s also a tale of two tables. It’s very clearly the metal table for the bigger girls and the wooden table for the little girls. These three seem to have claimed this table, probably because they don’t get a chance at the other one. The metal table is the bigger girl’s chill out area. The wooden one provides an escape from the bigger girls and is becoming their own chill out area.

After a couple of nights perching together, these three have become a tight little group. Pebbles even joined them in the chicken shed, keeping me company, this morning while I cleaned up. It is good to see them hanging out together.