Carol's Chickens

I went out at five o’clock this morning to make sure the chicks were okay with the main flock. Everything was fine with no bother at all.

I put lots of dishes of mash around the run at mid morning to make the sure the chicks were feeding okay. I watched over them to make sure they got their fair share and it all went well. I checked on them through out the day and they all seem to be getting along fine.

If the big girls run at the chicks the chicks are so fast that they soon evade them and they know all the escape routes and high perches so they are able to keep themselves out of harms way.

I am really pleased how well it is going. I will do the same tonight as last night and help the chicks to their flower pots if they look stressed. I think they are pretty much one flock now and they all seem happy to get along which is great.

Yesterday we got back from our deliveries at lunch time and found that one of the chicks had dug under the gate and was in with the main flock.

There didn’t seem to be any problem and she was sat one side of the wire with the other chick sat next to her on the other side of the wire.

It was tempting to leave her be but we needed to go out at half past one to do a B.B.Q at a school for two hundred people and knew we wouldn’t be back until seven o’clock. I didn’t want to be worrying about what was happening while I was out so I decided to return her to her own side of the run.

I filled the hole under the gate then distracted the main flock with some pieces of apple. I then held open the chicks gate and good as gold in she went.

This did make me think that the chicks were ready for integration though so I decided to put them all together this afternoon after lunch.

I opened up both of the gates and then also lifted the wire and secured it with garden wire at the corner by the patio. I also lifted the wire at the far end of the run and secured that too with garden wire. This means the chicks can’t get trapped in any corners and will always have an escape route.

There was no pecking but the the girls in the main flock would run at the chicks and the chicks would run and find any of the high perches or go on to the table by the bush. I was a bit worried that they would spend all their time hiding and maybe not be eating properly.

By late afternoon though the chicks were eating from their dish on their usual side of the run and the other girls were taking no notice of them.

I also changed all the feeders to growers pellets as the chicks shouldn’t have layers pellets. As some girls are moulting and most are not laying it may actually be quite good for the main flock to have the higher protein growers pellets. Emerald and Toffee are moulting and Amber is growing feathers so this could be helpful to them. Topaz isn’t laying either and only Sparkle and Honey are laying so this is an ideal time for this change.

I decided if the chicks roost in their usual spot on the flower pots I will put them in their own coop as usual but if they roost with main flock I will put them in the main coop and go out at first light tomorrow morning to make sure they are all okay.

I checked on them several times at the time that they usually get into their bedtime positions.

The main flock are in their usual bedtime positions

Amber, Honey and Toffee are on the newest and most favoured perch, Sparkle and Topaz (you can just see her head on the right hand side of Sparkle) are on the cabinet and Emerald as always is on the shoe box.

Peaches really looked like she wanted to join the big girls but Barley just wanted to go to her usual familiar flower pot.

Peaches went to the coop roof

Barley went to her flower pot

Sparkle lets Peaches know she is not welcome on the cabinet

Peaches didn’t know where to go next. The coop roof isn’t high enough to satisfy her but the next step is the top of the cabinet and Sparkle was making it clear that she was not welcome there.

Peaches gives up for now and leaves the coop roof and  goes to the wooden block.

Peaches then drinks from the big girl’s water

Peaches makes it to the high perch

Peaches once again went to the coop roof then briefly to the cabinet before being chased off and then found the high perch.

Peaches isn’t sure about her position here

Peaches was very unsettled here. I think she is used to a flatter roosting position and this perch is quite thick for her feet to hold on to. She didn’t seem at all happy and kept returning to the cabinet.

I wanted to get a shot of her on the cabinet but she was chased off so quickly that this was the shot that I got.

Peaches is chased from the cabinet by Sparkle

Peaches was then marching up and down the high perch looking stressed. She didn’t want to stay there but didn’t know how to leave.

I decided to try to help her and although I wasn’t sure if she would let me lift her down I felt I had to try. I picked her up (easily much to my surprise) and took her to the flower pots. I put her on the flower pot next to Barley.

I wasn’t sure if she would stay there but she settled and started to preen. I checked back half an hour later and both chicks were settled happily together on their flower pot as usual.

I have been putting the girls in the coop at ten o’clock but as it was really hot today I decided to leave it until eleven o’clock when it was cool.

I lifted the chicks from their flower pots and put them in their little coop then lifted the other girls to the main coop with ease.

I will be out at five o’clock in the morning to let the chicks out as usual and if they all seem happy together I will leave them together.

Both yesterday morning and this morning I opened the coop to find an explosion of feathers. As they were dark I thought at first they were from Emerald who has been moulting for a while now but once I started picking them up I could see that they were from Toffee.

There were also feathers out in the run. The odd thing is that Toffee doesn’t look any different and yet there were handfuls of feathers and they were both large and small. This explains why Toffee isn’t laying at the moment, she stopped laying ten days ago.

It seems quite early in the year for the moult but the game birds had been broody through the summer hatching eggs for the farmer so I wonder if this makes a difference. Both game birds look sleek and beautiful despite me finding masses of feathers so it will be interesting to see how this progresses.

Emerald moulting

Toffee moulting

As you can see from these photos it’s difficult to imagine that I am finding handfuls of feathers. I wonder if new feathers have already come in. Their appearance doesn’t seem to have changed.

One advantage of them moulting early is that it may mean they will lay eggs when the other girls moult and stop laying but as this is my first year with these girls it remains to be seen if this is the case.

Amber meanwhile is definitely improving. As well as being completely back to herself behaviour wise her comb has got redder and her face looks slightly better. The other amazing thing is that she is starting to regrow her feathers. There are quills appearing on her head and neck.

Sparkle still has a bare bottom with no sign of any feathers coming in and Honey’s neck is also still bare with no sign of any feathers coming in. I think these girls will have to wait until they moult to get their feathers back. They are both laying eggs with Sparkle being our best egg layer and laying nearly every day.

I think Amber’s feathers may be regrowing because she isn’t laying eggs. She hasn’t laid for three weeks now since her face first swelled up. I think she is happier and healthier because she isn’t laying and it will be a bonus if she gets her feathers back too.

Amber has pin feathers appearing on her head and neck

Amber’s face is looking a bit better

Amber preening

While trying to get a shot of Amber’s face I often get this shot instead.

I have been thinking about taking her to the vet to see if her face could be lanced but as she is improving I think I will wait and see if she continues to improve. She seems happy and I don’t want to do anything that could set her back. I think she is getting better and that it’s something that will take a long time. Growing feathers seems to be a further sign of her getting better.

First thing this morning I gave the coop its final spray with red mite spray. This is it’s third spray at three days intervals. At lunch time we felt it was dry enough to put the coop back together again. I then sprayed it with the another spray called “Total Mite Kill” which says that it offers protection for three months.

I barricaded the coop to stop the girls going in but to allow ventilation and then a few hours later I dusted the entire inside of the coop with D.E. using a paint brush. I then put in fresh pine shavings and a further puff of D.E. on the shavings.

The coop is now ready for the girls again and tonight will be their first night in the coop for two weeks.

Once all this was done I shut the main flock into part of the run while I let the chicks into the main flock’s side of the run. The girls were now each on the other side of the run. Today I left the chicks in the main flock’s side of the run for two hours to let them get to know this half of the run.

They were more confident than yesterday and immediately set about having a long and enjoyable dust bath.

Peaches and Barley in a dust bath

We tried to encourage them up to the patio area which is the area they are most reluctant to go to. They briefly went to the patio then flew back to more familiar territory but I think that at least they now know it is there and I am sure they will get braver in time.

I put the girls back on their usual sides again ready for the bedtime routine. I am going to take this very slowly but feel it’s good for the chicks to start getting used to the other side of the run. We will keep progressing a bit at a time.

This afternoon I decided to see what would happen if I let the chicks mix with the rest of the flock. I thought it was time to see if they were ready for the start of integration.

I opened their gate but of course the main flock piled into the chick’s area and the chicks couldn’t get out. The girls would run at them and the chicks were scared. I decided this wasn’t a good idea.

I ushered the chicks through the hatch and put the divider in. I then closed the gate to the chick’s area so that the main flock were in the chick’s small area. I then ushered the chicks into the main flock’s area and shut that gate. I next opened the hatch again so that now the main flock had all of the chick’s half of the run and the chicks could explore the main flock’s half of the run.

The first thing the chicks did was go to the perch in the extension part of the run.

The chicks found this perch straight away

The chicks looked happy to stay on this perch but I wanted them to get to know the rest of this half of the run. I ushered them down from the perch and guided them to the rest of the run.

One of them gazed out at the view of the outside world and seemed transfixed by this new view.

The bravest one which I think was Peaches discovered the food bowl and the water bowl on the patio area. Barley walked the wire wanting to get back into the area she is used to even though it contained the scary girls.

After half an hour I decided this was enough for the first day. When the main flock all went into the extension half of the chick’s side of the run I closed the hatch. I then opened the chicks gate and they ran back in with no need for any encouragement. I closed their gate and opened up the other gate. All the girls were now back on their sides.

I think I need to take this integration very slowly as the chicks are only two months old and so much smaller than the rest of the flock. There is no hurry as there is plenty of space for them to stay separate but I think it is good for the chicks to explore the other side of the run. I think it will make it easier for them when they mix if they are familiar with all of the run.

I will do this again tomorrow but will separate them first rather than just opening the gate. Perhaps tomorrow I will give the chicks a bit longer on the other side of the run. I am happy with any progress and am in no hurry to push things along.

I decided I needed to make some changes to the side panel of my blog. My “Meet the Flock” page was no longer appropriate as the flock has completely changed since I added this. I decided to update it with the newest additions to my flock and change its title to “The History of the Flock“. Anyone new to my blog who would like a summarised back story to how my flock developed could read it here.

I then decided to add a new page titled “Meet the Flock” with a portrait of each of my girls and a brief description. I added my girls two at a time and the main flock were all at point of lay. The two new girls were only six weeks old and are now eight weeks old so when they are fully grown up I will update “Meet the Flock” by adding their grown up portraits to it.

This means anyone new to my blog or familiar to my blog can take a quick look at each of my girls at any time.

My flock is now complete and I hope it will stay this way for a very long time although I am sure there are many adventures yet to come.

Recently I have been in with the girls during their bedtime routine to observe their habits. I realised that the reason Emerald always roosts on the shoe box is because Honey and Amber don’t allow her on the big perch but she seems happy on the shoe box and now settles there automatically.

Sparkle has always settled on the store cabinet and after a few evenings on the big perch it seemed that Topaz found it tricky getting on and off of it. She decided she she would prefer to settle on the store cabinet with Sparkle and this has now become their habit.

Toffee however really likes to settle on the big perch but Honey and Amber chase her off. I felt so sorry for her as she repeatedly went to the big perch but Honey would march up to her and push her along or peck her leg until she flew down.

This would be repeated until eventually Toffee settled on the cabinet with Sparkle and Topaz.

After a couple of evenings of this I decided we needed another high bedtime perch. I could see Toffee didn’t want to be on the cabinet but she is intimidated by Honey.

Today we put in another perch crossing the right hand corner by the cabinet and I went in before bedtime to observe the girl’s behaviour.

Emerald as always settled on the shoe box and Sparkle and Topaz settled on the cabinet. Toffee soon found the new perch.

The new perch in the right hand corner behind the store cabinet

Toffee on the new perch but she is soon joined by Honey

Toffee gets moved off of the new perch and settles on the original perch

Honey goes over to chase Toffee from the original perch

Eventually Honey and Amber settle on the original perch

Toffee finally gets to settle on the new perch

I went back to check on them an hour later and they were all still in the same positions so I think this has proved successful.

As always the chicks were in their flower pots under their umbrella.

Peaches and Barley in their bedtime positions

They have roosted here every night for the two weeks they have been with us and at dusk I lift them down into their little coop.

Hopefully the new perch will make a happier bedtime for Toffee.

Finding red mite in the coop was a shock. It is said that if the girls are reluctant to roost in the coop or if they look unwell it could be a sign of red mite.

My girls never roost in the coop, I have always had to put them in each night so this was no warning to me. They all look good with red combs apart from Amber and she has her own problems so this didn’t warn me either.

It was only when I cleaned the coop that I discovered the red mite much to my horror. Today I have taken a portrait of each girl to show how healthy they look (apart from Amber).

Amber’s face and comb are so pale that if I was new to this flock I would say  she hasn’t got long to live. Yet she is a tough little cookie and a fighter. Her behaviour is absolutely normal. She eats, drinks, poops, dust baths, scratches around, rushes to the treats and pecks away her lower ranking flock mates. You wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with her apart from being really pale and having a swollen face.

Her face swelled up ten days ago and she also hasn’t laid since this happened which is a relief. I thought her face was getting a little better but it is difficult to tell. She is now able to peck at apple which she couldn’t at first.

Toffee

Emerald

Topaz

Sparkle

Honey

Poor little Amber

This little girl wouldn’t win any beauty prizes. The rest of the flock look really good but Amber has a big spirit and I can only hope she gets back to normal in time.

Honey laid an egg today without looking unwell and it has a hard shell so she seems to be back to normal.

I found a third worm today so I think it was the worms upsetting Honey’s egg laying and as I have only found three in four days it may be possible that it is only Honey who has them. I am half way through treating them with flubenvet and will repeat the treatment again in three weeks time to break the cycle.

Sparkle laid her fifth egg in a row today.

Wednesday is the day for the next treatment to the coop for red mite. I bought more red mite spray today as I don’t want to run out and also bought some poultry housing spray.

It says that when you clean the coop you can spray it with this and it will protect the coop from re-infestation of red mite for several months. If it works that is great news. If I had known about this spray I would have used before and I intend to use it now on a regular basis.

I feel a lot more positive that we are getting on top of all the problems now and the chicks are growing fast and are happy and healthy.

They now sprint towards me when I go up to the run and zip around like crazy. They have found all the high perches in their half of the run and seem able to fly to any hight. It’s a good job we have a very secure top on our run. They constantly make their little cheep cheep sounds and are just adorable.

It will be good to get to the back end of the treatments and be able to start the integration but for now I am going to remain patient and wait until everything is back to normal.

It’s only been a week since we bought the chicks home but I am sure they have grown. Their combs seem bigger too. They are always in the feed dishes and are getting more used to me.

The chicks have grown in a week

Peaches is getting quite brave

If I am still Peaches will come quite close to me now but Barley is still quite skittish. It’s not bad for a week though. They are getting quite used to having the bigger space now that I let them have half the run from morning until a couple of hours before bedtime.

Since I started giving the flubenvet in mash every morning the chicks have cottoned on to this “treat”. They run to greet me along side the main flock and run up towards the patio area as I approach the gate. They love the mash and always finish it.

I treated all the girls last night with the red mite powder as well as sprinkling it in all their dust bath areas. I put the main flock to bed in the dog kennel at half past ten last night and the chicks into their little coop.

I let all the girls out at five o’clock this morning and they all looked good. I think they must have been relieved to get a good nights sleep and I am amazed how well they all look apart from Ambers poor swollen face.

Sparkle laid her egg for the fourth day in a row and they all have red combs apart from Amber. Amber is her normal self in every way apart from her swollen face but it is looking a bit better.

I haven’t found any more worms (only two in total) so think that I may have nipped that in the bud just as it began.

Although there seemed an awful lot of red mite in the coop I know that they breed very quickly. I think perhaps the daily dust baths have helped the girls too but I am amazed how well they all look. They all have bright red combs and those that are laying are still laying and they not showing any sign of being off colour which I am thankful for.

The other mini drama today was when I checked on them after lunch and discovered one of the chicks in with the big girls. It later became apparent that she had squeezed under the gate. The girls would run at her and she would run away cheeping. They didn’t peck at her but she was clearly not happy and wanted to get back into her side.

She would run towards the girls, get scared and run towards me holding the gate open for her, get scared again and run back towards the girls. I decided to distract the girls with sunflower hearts and at that moment my husband came to see what was going on. Between us we shooed her back in to her own side.

I then got a spade and banked the soil up against the gate. Another lesson learned, I must keep an eye on the soil levels around the gates.

All in all I think we are moving forward okay. We are overcoming the problems and the flock seem happy.

Today was the second day of the girls having flubenvet in their mash and when I did my mid day poop pick I found a second worm. At least this means it’s working as the flunenvet should cause the worms to be expelled with the poop.

After lunch I intended to clean out the main coop and change the pine shavings. As always I used disposable gloves and always run a finger around to check for any tell tale blood smears indicating the dreaded red mite. After two and a half years of chicken keeping today was the dreaded day when I discovered red mite in the coop.

I couldn’t believe the bad luck of finding worms and red mite for the first time in the same week. My poor girls, yet they all look well and are laying apart from Amber and Honey’s recent soft shells.

We swung into action and spent the entire afternoon dealing with it. I had read all about it in the past so was prepared. First we emptied the coop. We then vacumed the coop, the patio area and the fence and anything in this area.

We then sprayed the coop with red mite spray. My husband then set about taking the entire coop apart. He removed the roof and took every panel apart. We treated each part with the spray as they get into any crevices.

We left the carcass of the coop in the run as it won’t fit through the gate but all the other parts were sprayed then put into the shed to dry.

I washed all the feed and water dishes.

I picked up Emerald as she is the only one I can pick up easily and we dusted her with flee and mite powder. I sprinkled the powder in the all the places the girls dust bath. We will treat the rest of the flock tonight when they roost and we will be able to pick them up easily.

The coop treatment needs to be done three times at three day intervals to break the cycle of mites and eggs.

I was wondering about leaving the girls to roost outside. I rang my friend Jackie and told her what was happening and she very kindly offered to lend me her dog kennel which gets used as a spare coop when needed.

I went and collected it straight away. I wouldn’t have minded too much the girls being out for one night but it could take a long time to get the coop clear. If it needs to be repeated three times apart every three days that is nine days then it will take a further day or two to dry out. Once dry we intend to seal all the crevices with silicon sealant to protect it from this happening again. Having a spare coop will mean we can take our time to be sure we get rid of them rather than rush it and risk the coop getting infected again.

Temporary coop

The girls inspect the temporary coop and the carcass of the original coop is in the background. The girls were very interested in the changes. It won’t be a problem not having an automatic door opener as I am up early every day to let the chicks out.

We checked the little coop/nest box and the chicks little coop and both were clear.

We do seem to be lurching from one problem to the next and having finally sorted out the plucking problem it seems we are being thrown other problems to deal with.

I do feel like I have a neglected looking flock here despite my best efforts to give them the best life possible. I have girls that have been plucked, an eye infection, girls that struggle to lay, worms and red mite all at once and yet I have followed every rule in the book to give them the best life possible.

The main thing is that we have reacted quickly and these problems will be sorted. I am amazed how well my flock look under the circumstances. They all have massive dust baths every day so maybe this has been helping them with the red mite.

I won’t be integrating the chicks until all these problems are solved so it may be a while before they can join the flock. The most important thing is to make sure it is safe before integration and not to expose them to any potential problem.

I feel like I am being thrown the book of problems to deal with all at once but the flock seem happy so hopefully fast and thorough action will nip this in the bud and the flock can carry on happily.

Tomorrow is another day.