Carol's Chickens

Recently it’s either been cold and frosty or cold and wet and muddy. On days like this I like to give the girls warm mash. I do this to give them a treat and to help occupy them. They spend a lot time fluffed up on the perches and the ladder when it’s like this.

Some mash for the girls

Emerald seems less fussed by the mash than the other girls and is often either at the pellet dish or pecking at the shavings which is something she likes to do a lot.

Emerald is busy pecking at the shavings

Topaz abandoned the mash to go and practice laying an egg

I have never known any girl to need as much practice as Topaz does. She has now been practising for a month. Most days she will sit in the nest box for half an hour then come out shouting. I go and check and there is no egg and that was the case again on this occasion.

It was at this time of the year she that started laying last year so I am expecting her to start any day soon.

Emerald decides to join the girls and Speckles would really like to join in too

Speckles is getting brave

Speckles is getting much braver although a stern look from Peaches or Barley will still send her running. She returned to the dish when the other girls had tired of the mash so she still got her fair share.

By lunch time the mash was all gone and I know that the girls enjoyed this simple treat.

I know other countries, such as America, have had a lot of snow. I know that even in the North of England there has been some snow but down here in the South of England we haven’t had any snow until now.

It came as a surprise to look out of the window this morning and see some snow. This is not only the first snow this year but the first snow this winter. Some years we have had lots of snow as early as November and some years we have had a sprinkle of snow as late as May but this morning we awoke to our first snow this winter.

I felt it needed to be photographed.

Our first snow this winter

Snow in front of the run

View from the top of the garden

It wasn’t much and by lunch time it was gone except for a few patches but it was still our first snow of the winter.

I love the coasters that Yu Lee made me for Christmas. I think they are far too good to use as coasters and wondered if we could somehow frame them. The fact that there is an odd number would make it difficult.

Chicken coasters

We were talking about this while Jackie was looking at them on a recent visit and between us came up with the idea of putting them in a straight line.

My husband had the idea of gluing them to a strip of wood as they don’t actually need a frame. He had a bit of wood in the shed left over from the new chicken nest boxes that was exactly the right width.

The coasters and a strip of wood

The coasters on the strip of wood

He used a strong glue and we left them on the windowsill overnight to set.

On the windowsill to dry

He also had a mirror plate that he could attach to the back to hang it up. As Steve and Yu Lee know we have a huge number of paintings all over the house and so don’t have much spare wall space.

Another advantage of having these in a strip is that we have a strip of wall by our front door where they will fit perfectly.

The coasters are on the wall

The coasters are now displayed on the wall by the front door. It would have been a shame to have them in a drawer and I am really pleased with the result.

I decided to put my Christmas chicken on the step in front of the chicken run. As soon as I had put it in position all the girls came to inspect it.

Barley has a look at the chicken

Honey takes a look

Toffee takes a look

Speckles takes a look

I thought Speckles was being quite brave but she got this close and then ran away at speed whereas the other girls took no notice of the chicken. I think this a good home for my Christmas chicken.

After four years of poop picking the soil level in the run has dropped considerably. Although the girls scratch in it all day they only move the soil about and don’t remove it from the run so it must just be me picking up three times a day that has removed all this soil.

The soil level in the run has dropped

When I dig the run I always add a bucket of soil from other parts of the run to this spot and I have added bags of sand in the past but these things have made little impression. Steve, my eldest son, thought this was a block of concrete. In fact it is rock hard soil where I have allowed it to be compacted as it provides a step down into the run. I dig over the rest of the run at least once a week.

A small bag of sand only costs two pounds but even a small bag is heavy. I decided to buy two bags today even though I knew it would be a drop in the ocean. Even so every little helps.

I have a plan to keep on buying one bag of sand at a time and adding it until eventually I can build the level back up. I would like to put sand in the whole of the run to help it to be less boggy but the run is so big that this would be an impossible task.

We put the sand in the run and waited to see what the girls made of it.

Topaz, Toffee and Emerald were the first to approach the sand

Speckles was quite brave

I left them to it and when I returned a little later the girls all ran to the patio to see if I was going to give them their pre bedtime corn.

All the girls on the patio

I felt like the pied piper as I was stepping backwards to try to get a photo while the girls were all moving towards me. It did give me a chance to get all the girls in shot though and I liked this photo. Butterscotch had just laid her egg so she was catching up on pecking at the apple.

A little later I threw their bedtime corn into the sand to encourage them onto it.

The girls scratching in the sand

The sand is getting spread around

Topaz has the sand to herself

After the other girls had tired of the sand Topaz continued to scratch in it. She was scratching in the sand until bedtime. At least this is a start to building up the soil level and I think the girls like the sand.

Today there was a communal dust bathing session going on in the run. As usual each girl was in her own spot except for Peaches and Barley. As allways they were as close together as they could get.

Communal dust bathing

Peaches and Barley dust bath together

These two girls are such twin spirits. Note their combs are now getting red again. I am hopeful of some egg laying soon.

Yesterday Jackie and I caught up with each other’s girls. All our girls have come through the moult and are looking really good.

Chelsea has a lovely red comb and wattles

Chelsea is in her first winter and so is still laying and has the comb to prove it.

Chelsea, Blossom and Bluebell

Blossom fully feathered and looking great

Bluebell is as shy as ever and this is as close as I could get to her

Blossom looks like she is off for a stroll

Chelsea almost gets too close to photograph

Chelsea is so friendly that several of the photos of her were too close to use. Chelsea and Bluebell could not be more different. All three girls are looking good though.

I think Jackie is ready to add to her flock but she wants to wait until the weather dries up a bit first. We both agreed that both our spaces are wet and muddy and we can’t wait for drier weather. The girls are all happy though, they don’t seem bothered by the mud.

We say, roll on spring.

Yesterday Butterscotch laid our first egg this year and today she laid the second.

Butterscotch has laid the first two eggs of the year

Butterscotch is as regular as clock work. She lays eggs nearly every day for three weeks then goes broody. She takes a break for two weeks and drops some feathers while on her break. She then starts laying again. She laid the first egg of the new year yesterday on day fourteen since she started her break and she then laid again today.

Butterscotch is quite an amazing girl. It is lovely to be getting eggs again and soon maybe some of the other girls will get started. I can’t wait to have an abundance of eggs again. Butterscotch has done a good job of keeping us in some eggs through the winter months.

Come on girls, it’s time you took a leaf out of Butterscotch’s book and started giving us some more lovely eggs.

Yesterday the girls were all perched together in the sun once more. This time I thought I would see if I could get a photo from inside the run. I crept towards the girls, moving quickly, clicking all the way. I managed to get some photos before the first girl jumped down.

All eight girls are perching together

I get closer

Perching in a shaft of sunlight

The odd thing is that I took this same photo of all eight girls last winter but two of the girls were different. Last years group photo has Amber and Sparkle in it instead of Butterscotch and Speckles.

My previous flock of eight girls perching together

I took this photo in November 2015 and my friend Jackie had it put on to a mug and a note book for my Christmas present last year.

I then lost Amber in April and Sparkle in July. I got Butterscotch and Speckles at the end of July. It is quite uncanny how similar yesterday’s photo is to the one I took last year. I think the opportunity arises because in the winter if there is some sun in the run it is always in this spot. The girls like to perch together and even more so if they can find a spot of sun. Even so it is quite rare to get a shot of all eight perching especially as some of the girls will jump down when I approach with the camera.

I remember last year getting the shot on my second attempt just as I did this year. It takes a couple of days of sunshine to get the girls in this spot together, a couple of times, giving me a chance of getting a photo. I am amazed at how similar the two photos are considering that there are two different girls this time round. Another great group photo I think.

Every time Butterscotch takes a break from egg laying she starts to lose feathers. Each time this happens I am convinced that she won’t start laying again but each time so far she has.

I have been picking up a hand full of feathers each morning from beneath her roost spot. There are feathers in the spots where she takes a dust bath.

She doesn’t usually look any different but yesterday morning she had a loose tail feather. I gave it a gentle tweak to see if it would come out but it wasn’t ready yet.

Butterscotch has a loose tail feather

As the morning went on the tail feather remained sticking out

This is the first time Butterscotch has had a feather noticeably out of place

It does look odd but it is staying put for now.

We went out at lunch time and her tail feather was still hanging in there. We returned in time for the bedtime corn. Her tail feather had finally fallen out.

Butterscotch has lost her tail feather

Butterscotch has a drink of water

Butterscotch from a different angle

It took all day but Butterscotch is now back to her pristine feathered self once again.