Carol's Chickens

My husband said recently that he thought our patio set, on the top patio next to the chickens, was looking very shabby and could do with replacing. The chairs had come apart and he had glued them back together but the glue which was supposed to dry clear had dried white.

We have had this set for the nine years that we have lived here. My husband mentioned it was shabby but we hadn’t actually decided to go out and look for another set.

Today I was in a store called “Family Bargains”. I was actually looking for something to use as a kitchen waste compost bucket. Our bucket has started letting in water and the last lot of kitchen waste was swimming in water and going mouldy. Yuk!

I then saw the exact same patio set as the one on our top patio but it was only £19.99. I couldn’t believe how cheap it was. I am sure we paid much more than that for our original set.

When I got home I told my husband and he said we should go together to check it out. It was too good a bargain to pass up so we bought it.

Old patio set

New patio set

My husband said I should put these two photos here and say “look what my husband did to our patio set”.

Last year when we bought a small table and two chairs to go by the back door we couldn’t find anything under £50.00. At £19.99 my husband says you couldn’t even buy the wood if you wanted to make it yourself. This really is a bargain and was a lucky find.

There always seems to be something. I felt elated that Butterscotch had pin feathers on her head meaning she was moulting and not having her feathers pulled. Then we saw Topaz pulling the pins from her head.

Each time we have seen this we have shouted at Topaz and moved her away. Unfortunately pins can be irresistible. I had been trying to photograph Butterscotch’s pins without much success (she bobs her head constantly) and today while she was in the nest box laying her egg I got the chance.

The bad news is that there are less than half the amount of pins she did have. I feel so disappointed.

Butterscotch in the nest box

The little white dots on her head are the pins but there are not nearly as many as there were a few days ago.

As soon as I look at a girl in the nest box another girl wants to look too. This time it is Honey who has started looking in the nest boxes over the last few days.

Honey comes in to take a look

Butterscotch and Honey

Honey started laying in the middle of March last year so I would expect it to be a bit longer before she starts laying.

When I lift the nest box lid to check on Butterscotch she doesn’t move or make a sound. When another girl looks in, or joins her like Honey in this photo, she merely turns her head to look at her.

When either I lift the nest box lid or a girl looks in at Topaz she comes out shouting her head off. Topaz really is an angry bird. She also spends a lot of time sitting in the nest box but not laying and also sitting on any other girl’s eggs once they have laid.

A little later Butterscotch gave the egg shout and I caught Topaz going in to sit on her egg. Once I removed the egg Topaz lost interest. This means I really can’t be sure if Topaz has laid any eggs or not.

I usually know who has laid by seeing them sitting in the nest box but so far I haven’t seen any girl sit in the nest box other than Topaz and Butterscotch. Barley was stood over the first egg next to the food dish so we were sure she had started laying. Topaz is often in the nest box but when she leaves there is no egg.

Butterscotch’s eggs are distinct so that’s easy but the rest of the eggs I am guessing at the moment between Barley and Topaz. We have had two days when we had two eggs which were Butterscotch’s and another. I have put the last two down to Topaz but I can’t be sure.

Last night’s bedtime line up

We have four very red combs belonging to Topaz, Speckles, Peaches and Barley. These are the girls that I would expect to be laying now or very soon but with the conundrum of Topaz in the mix it’s hard to say. Butterscotch has a black/purple comb but is a good egg layer between going broody.

Oh well, time will tell but an upswing in eggs is a bonus.

This winter has been exceptionally mild. We usually turn our heating on in November but this year we didn’t have the heating on until just before Christmas. We found that having an open fire in the sitting room each evening was enough for us.

The fire in our sitting room

Sitting room fire

We only have our heating come on for an hour (two if it’s really cold) each morning and again each evening. At weekends when instead of working we are sitting in the dining room reading the papers we put the heating on for a bit extra as it soon feels cold when just sitting in here. My husband decided that instead of doing this we should have a small fire in here.

dining room fire

We are trying to be more frugal and keep our bills down. My husband now gets the winter fuel allowance and this covers our coal and logs.

We are starting to think more carefully about how to reduce our bills as we slow down with work towards retirement.

We have recently made much more effort to turn lights off and only light the room we are in. We are quite sure that by being more careful we can reduce our bills which have been rather high in the past. We are making it second nature to be more frugal. We hope that by making small changes we can cut down our outgoings and it is really lovely to see an open fire and feel it’s warmth. There is something very comforting about an open fire.

Butterscotch laid her first egg after her two week break the day before yesterday. Her first egg is often a small one as this one was. I think because she is moulting at the moment she missed laying the next day. Whenever she misses a day she always lays at first light the next morning and often lays a bigger egg after a missed day.

This morning was no exception and there under her roost spot first thing this morning was a larger egg.

Butterscotch’s eggs

Her first egg is on the left and today’s egg is on the right.

Five recent eggs

I think the egg on the left is Topaz’s larger egg. The middle two are Butterscotch’s and I think the two on the right are Barley’s eggs.

We will have our own eggs for breakfast tomorrow and hopefully there will soon be more on the way.

Yesterday I visited Jackie’s girls then bought her back to mine to visit my girls. All my photos were of the girls with their heads down as Jackie had just given them some meal worms but they show how beautiful their plumage is after their moult.

Jackie’s girls

Blossom, Chelsea and Bluebell

They all have lovely red combs. Chelsea and Bluebell are laying and Blossom is getting ready to start by being more vocal  than usual and checking out the nest box.

Jackie has decided she is ready for new girls so we are going back to the farm in Windsor next month. I can’t wait to see some new girls.

I never thought that I would be so pleased to say that one of the girls is moulting. I thought that Butterscotch may have had her crest feathers pulled out but I now think she is just moulting. I am just beginning to see some tiny pins on her head.

She has a v shaped gap in her breast feathers which caused me to worry that some feathers may have been plucked. While I was trying to gather my photographic evidence, Butterscotch walked towards me and a couple of feathers fluttered to the ground from the v shaped gap on her breast.

I haven’t seen any feather plucking recently but the fact that she had had her comb pecked in the chicken shed and then started losing head feathers lead me to worry that she was being plucked. It now seems that the two things were just a coincidence. Sorry, Honey, for suspecting you of this. I think that because of my past history in the flock I am a bit paranoid of this happening.

I have tried to get some photos but Butterscotch constantly bobs her head and it is very difficult to get clear shots.

This was Butterscotch a few days ago

I thought I could see little white dots which may be pins coming through. They don’t show up as much as the black dots on the girls with dark feathers. Blond feathers coming through are more difficult to see.

Butterscotch has pins just showing

This was tonight and I can now see more obvious white dots and in fact my husband commented that he thought he could see pins. It’s really tricky to see in a photograph but hopefully over the next few days it will be noticeable.

Butterscotch has a drink

Because it is so difficult to show what I want to I thought I would include this shot as I just love the way Butterscotch makes ripples as she drinks.

Butterscotch still has a few head feathers on this side

She has pins on the right side of her head but still has some feathers on the left side of her head. The white patch on her breast is where I saw some feathers drop from her and I can see some pins here too but the photos I took showing this came out blurred.

I am just so relieved that she is moulting and we haven’t got a return of the dreaded feather plucking. It really has become my worst fear. Butterscotch laid an egg yesterday but not today so maybe she needs to lay less and get on with her moult.

Nature will take it’s course and I will be watching her progress and taking photos along the way.

For the last few days I have been aware that Butterscotch was getting ready to lay again. She had become more vocal and was looking in the nest box.

She usually takes a two week break then starts laying again and today was day twelve of her break. This morning she had been in and out of the nest box a few times and so had Topaz. Both girls were being very vocal.

When I left to do my deliveries at quarter to eleven Butterscotch was settled in the nest box.

Butterscotch in the nest box

When I got back at lunch time Topaz was in this same nest box. I lifted the lid and Topaz came out and there were two eggs side by side.

One of the eggs was Butterscotch’s egg as they are distinct and the easiest of all to tell and that’s without the fact that Butterscotch only goes in the nest box to lay an egg or be broody. She doesn’t need endless practice like Topaz. Butterscotch’s egg was as always round with a satin finish and a slight pink tinge to it. The other egg was white and quite large so am guessing this was Topaz’s egg.

Two eggs today

The one on the right is Butterscotch’s egg without a doubt. I think the one on the left is Topaz’s.

It is tricky to be absolutely sure because I have put the last three eggs down to Barley as she was standing over the first one and she had been looking in the nest boxes and her comb is big and red. I haven’t actually seen her sitting in the nest box though but in the past she has always been quick to get the job done.

Topaz has been sitting in the nest box a lot but whenever she comes out and I check the nest box there has been no egg so I think it’s just her endless practice.

I can’t be absolutely sure if this egg is Topaz’s but I am going to mark it as hers for now. It’s a shame they don’t lay different colours and it’s a case of catching them in the nest box and a bit of guess work.

Butterscotch is the definite though. The photo may not show much colour difference but in the flesh that slightly pink satin finish is more obvious.

The good news is, this is the first two egg day, since August. Butterscotch has been single handed in keeping us in eggs since then. Bless her little cotton socks (feathered feet). Lets hope this is the start of an upturn in egg laying and I hope to be able to catch the girls in the nest box to be sure who each egg belongs to.

This morning my husband saw Honey go into the nest box for the first time this year. I went to check on her with my camera in hand.

Honey was back out but Topaz had gone in. Whenever I check on a girl in the nest box the other girls come running to have a look too. They are so nosey or maybe just so interested in the nest box action. Peaches was first to look through the door and Speckles was on top. You can just see her toes at the top of the photo.

Peaches checks on Topaz

Now Speckles and Toffee want to see too and Emerald is on her way over at the back of this photo

Speckles and Peaches peer in at Topaz

Topaz doesn’t like all this attention and marches out of the nest box.

All the girls gather by the nest boxes except for Butterscotch

Butterscotch is her own girl and doesn’t feel the need to join in with all this. Butterscotch is only interested in the nest box if she needs to lay an egg or if she is broody.

The lovely Speckles

I couldn’t resist another close up of Speckles. Because she came to us at the end of July and had already started her moult I had never seen her with a red comb. There are three lovely red combs in this photo and I am sure that Peaches and Speckles will be laying soon as well as Barley who has laid two eggs so far.

Butterscotch seems to have even less head feathers

I am sure that Butterscotch has less feathers on her head today. She has grey under feathers where her orange crest feathers used to be. This is such a shame and I really hope it doesn’t go beyond this.

We have concluded that Honey is the culprit but we haven’t seen this happen yet and are basing this on a few facts. Butterscotch roosts next to Honey. Honey did pull feathers from Butterscotch’s back when we first had her and we have never seen any other girl pull feathers ever.

My husband wondered if she could be moulting them but I think it is unlikely that just her head feathers would go although she does lose some feathers each time she takes a break from laying. It has never left any gaps before though. It is a mystery because we just don’t see it happening and are really guessing.

I am really hoping this will stop at this stage and not end up with her having a bare head. All the girls are looking so good apart from this. I find this upsetting but I know from past experience that there is nothing I can do about it. I just have to hope that it passes without getting any worse.

There was a lot less drama today. After Topaz having a determination to be in the nest box at bedtime yesterday she showed no interest at all this morning. It’s as if it’s totally forgotten.

While all the girls were pottering about Honey was just sitting as she often does these days. I can definitely tell she is older than the rest of the flock by the way looks and behaves.

Honey is looking her age.

I have taken to sometimes leaving my camera in the store cabinet so that if there is a moment happening I have my camera to hand. I took the photo of Honey, leaving the store cabinet door open, and when I turned round this is what I saw.

Emerald checks out the store cabinet

These girls are so nosey and of course they also know that the treats come from here. I love seeing Emerald upright and yesterday couldn’t capture a photo of her comb but here you can see that it is pink even though her face is white. I love seeing her stretch her long neck. She often looks comical when in this pose but I don’t often get to capture it.

Meanwhile Barley was having a scratch around in the nest box. It has been a week since she laid her first egg which is the gap she had last year before the second one.

Later in the afternoon Topaz was missing. She was in the nest box but came running out to see if I had bought any treats in. There in the nest box was a small white egg. I am pretty sure this is Barley’s egg and Topaz just went in to sit on it. It’s the white colour and small size of Barley’s eggs, although I have no eggs at the moment to compare it with.

I checked back on a photo of Topaz first two eggs last year along side a shop bought one and they were quite large, almost as big as the shop bought egg. This egg is very small so I think it is Barley’s egg.

Topaz showed no more interest in the nest box once I had removed the egg and went to bed as usual tonight.

I keep looking at Butterscotch’s head to see if there are any more missing feathers but it is really difficult to say. I think she may have lost some more but I keep comparing photos and it’s really difficult to see. This is really bugging me at the moment but there is nothing I can do about it.

Only time will tell and I can only hope this doesn’t beyond her losing her crest.

Today I thought I would take some close up portraits of the girls to show how their combs are changing.

Peaches close up

Barley’s close up

Barley laid her first egg a week ago and Peaches has yet to start. You can see by the photos above that although Peaches comb is starting to get red it isn’t nearly as big and as red as Barley’s comb. Barley’s comb is always bigger than Peaches anyway but you can see that even despite this Peaches isn’t quite there yet.

Butterscotch is having a dust bath

Butterscotch has a black comb so it’s difficult to see any changes in her comb. As she was having a lovely dust bath while I was taking these photos I decided to include this one of her.

Speckles close up

Speckles comb is getting redder but isn’t as red as Topaz, Peaches and Barley’s.

Honey’s close up

Honey’s comb has just a little pink in it.

Emerald’s close up

Emerald has a really tiny comb and it is always pale. I think it looks more pale because she has a white face.

Toffee’s close up

Toffee’s comb is quite pale too but has a bit more colour than Emerald’s.

Topaz close up

Topaz has a very bright comb and is spending a lot of time in the nest box practising. She has just come out of the nest box and Barley is on top of the nest box watching her. You can just see her head in the top left hand corner.

Topaz is in the nest box so some of the girls gather on top of the nest box

It is really funny how interested all the girls are when Topaz is in the nest box. At times today Peaches and Barley would go and look at her in the nest box and Topaz would come out shouting angrily. She is one angry bird and can’t stand to be watched when she is in the nest box.

And here she is

A little later Peaches checks on Topaz

She looks so cute when she is looking in the nest boxes

Topaz spent all afternoon in the nest box with no egg laid. She came out for the bedtime corn then returned to the nest box.

At dusk I checked on the girls and they were all in apart from Topaz who was still in the nest box.

When this happens with Butterscotch it’s easy as she is a docile girl. I simply pick her up and place her on the perch in the chicken shed.

Topaz is a totally different girl. She has always been our angry girl. I tried to pick her up but she pecked me and ran out of the nest box past me. I felt sure as it was nearly dark she would soon head to the chicken shed so I shut the nest boxes and waited. No way was she going in and she headed out to the garden part of the run even though it was almost dark.

I tempted her back with a trail of corn and as the automatic door had now closed I propped it open with my chicken door stop. I tried to guide her towards the pop hole but she was determined not to go in and kept trying to dodge past me. In desperation I used the net to catch her and put her through the pop hole.

The net is a fishing net that I keep hanging by the chicken shed door because Topaz goes broody often and pecks me so I use it to ease her out of the nest box for breaks to eat, drink and scratch or dust bath. I can pick up all the other girls but Topaz has always been the only girl that pecks in anger. As I have often said she is a unique girl and that brings its own trials.

I could hear her making noises, as if she was upset, from the shed floor as it was too dark to get to the perch. I wedged the torch under the pop hole to give her some light. This worked a treat and she jumped up to the perch and settled. I checked that they were all settled and removed the torch and closed the door.

I wonder if other people have these sort of dramas. Topaz is behaving like a broody but she hasn’t laid an egg yet. I wonder what drama tomorrow will bring.