Carol's Chickens

We now have quite an age range in our flock. Flame is six years old and is showing her age. She is laying an average of three eggs a week and looks amazing but she spends a lot of time sitting. She doesn’t rush to the treats but will have them if she is already nearby.

Spangle and Salmon are four years old and are appearing to feel their age. Our bigger breeds such as Toffee, Emerald and Speckles have reached eight years old which seems to be the average old age for the bigger bantam breeds.

We have never yet had a serama beyond four years old so these two are our eldest yet. I know that Sophie has a serama of six years old but I am wondering if the girls from our breeder are old at four.

I say this because I feel that there is the possibility that we won’t have Spangle and Salmon beyond this summer. I would like to be proved wrong but I am facing up to the possibility.

The reason being that Spangle behaves exactly the same as Flame as if she is an older girl. Spangle spends a lot of time sitting and dozing. She also doesn’t run to the treats but will have them if she is nearby. Spangle hasn’t laid an egg for three weeks and her face and comb are pale.

Salmon looks amazing. She has a lovely red face and comb but she hasn’t started laying this year. Having had problems laying in the past it is easy to think that not laying is a good thing but the fact is that chickens don’t stop laying unless they are elderly or there is something adrift. After the situation with Spot I worry that the same could happen to Salmon.

Salmon is more active than Spangle but she also doesn’t run to the treats and only has them if she is nearby. These are all the things that worry me about Spangle and Salmon and I am prepared that I could lose them at any time and any time they are still with us is a bonus.

Sugar is two years old and is robust and healthy looking. I think that although she is a serial broody like Smoke was she doesn’t lay nearly as many eggs so has a good chance at a longer life. Sugar lays an average of eight eggs then goes broody. She has now been broody for a week. She has improved though in as much as when I lift her out for a break she now always goes for a dust bath whereas she often used to go straight back in.

I am planning to leave Sugar a couple of weeks and then try to break her from her broody spell as I don’t want her to go on and on as she is prone to doing.

Dot is just over a year old. Dot laid an egg on her first full day with us and then didn’t lay for the next five days. I started to worry and kept thinking that surely we couldn’t be that unlucky to have the same thing happen as with Spot. Yesterday she laid an egg and I felt relieved!

Gold, Snowflake and Storm are seven months old. Storm has laid six eggs in a row before taking a day off and laying again. Snowflake is averaging four eggs a week. Gold was averaging five eggs a week but has taken a four day break.

During Gold’s break from laying I have wondered if she was broody. She will spend hours in the nest box but then not lay. She reacts with the angry look of a broody when I check on her but when I lift her out she stays out for the rest of the day. She will then return to the nest box the following day and repeat the process. I think maybe she is just expecting to lay. Snowflake had similar behaviour when she had a short break.

The flock is such a lovely mix of girls and it is so lovely having no aggressive girls in the flock. I am trying to be realistic though and am thinking of Spangle and Salmon as older girls so that it won’t be a shock if we lose them. We will just make the most of them while we have them.

Yesterday was our first, five egg day, of the year. It was also Dot’s first whole day with us and she laid her first egg with us.

Sugar is now broody again after laying eight eggs in eleven days, her last one being laid yesterday. This is the exact same number that she laid last time she went broody. This many eggs must represent a clutch for Sugar and therefore time to sit again.

Dot has fitted into the flock beautifully. She had soon explored the run and she has been dust bathing with the flock and finding her way in at bedtime where she perches in the middle of the flock with no fuss at all.

Dot wanted to lay her egg right at the busy time when all the nest boxes were occupied. Sugar was laying her last egg in one nest box and has remained in the nest box ever since, apart from when I lift her out, for breaks. Gold was trying to lay her egg in the next nest box. Snowflake was trying to lay her egg in the third nest box and Storm nipped in and laid her egg next to Sugar. Storm has no objection to sharing a nest box with any of the girls.

Dot tried sharing with Sugar and then with Snowflake but was clearly not happy about sharing. I willed Gold and Snowflake to get their eggs laid so that Dot could have a nest box as she was running back and forth and beginning to look stressed.

At last both girls got their eggs laid and Dot was able to settle in a vacant nest box. She must have been desperate because she very quickly laid her egg. It is surprising large considering how small Dot is.

From the left is Dot’s large white egg followed by Gold’s egg. In the middle is Storm’s tiny egg followed by Sugar’s egg and then Snowflake’s egg on the right.

Having Dot lay an egg is a relief to me because that means she is healthy. Dot is such a lovely addition to the flock and I am super happy with her.

I missed Spot in our flock so much and I started wondering if the breeder would be able to spare me another hamburg. I called her a few days ago and told her about Spot.

I asked if she could spare another hamburg and she said that she was sure she could find me one. She said she would check and get back to me. A few days later she said I could have one and we agreed that we would collect her Friday afternoon.

I immediately named this girl Dot. She is one of last year’s girls so is the same age that Spot was, just over a year. She is smaller than Spot and has a smaller comb.

The breeder said she has been finding eggs but if she doesn’t lay then I could switch her for another as she has one more. This is just in case there is the same problem with her but I said I thought it would be very unlucky to happen to another.

I put Dot straight in the run and she mixed easily with the rest of the girls and had soon explored the entire run. She went in both shelters and on top of them. She had a drink of water and some food. She went inside two of the nest boxes and the chicken shed.

Dot doesn’t seem as nervous of me as Spot was at first and I managed to take some photos quite easily. Dot isn’t much bigger than the seramas.

All the girls eventually had a token peck at her, the sort that doesn’t really connect. They were just showing her that she is bottom girl at the moment but there was nothing nasty and Dot took it in her stride.

I expected the next hurdle to be learning where to go at bedtime. It usually takes three or four nights for a new girl to get the hang of it.

To my amazement I checked on the girls just before dusk to see how they were getting on and half the girls were still out but no sign of Dot. I checked the chicken shed and there was Dot perched between Storm and Snowflake.

I checked back a little later when the pop hole had closed. All the girls were perched on the back perch and Dot was still perched in the same position as good as gold. what a clever girl!

We have never had a new girl find their own way in on the very first night before. I think Dot is going to fit in just perfectly. I am so happy with our latest flock member.

We got Spot at the end of last September when she was five months old. I had waited for two summers to get her because during both those summers the breeder had ended up with ninety percent cockerels and I think she probably only let me have Spot because I had waited so long.

Spot was very nervous when we first had her but I gradually won her confidence and she became very friendly and would eat out of my hand and occasionally jump on my back.

We have had Spot for eight months and she had grown in beauty and in confidence and had a lovely nature.

In February her comb and face became red and she practised in the nest box a couple of times but never laid. After that she never returned to the nest box and at a year and a month old she had never laid an egg which I felt meant that there was something adrift with her.

I think Spot had heart failure as she went very quickly and a heart problem is probably why she never laid. She had such a short life but did have eight happy months with us.

Spot was such a lovely girl and will be very much missed.

I am still in shock that we lost Spot yesterday. It was so sudden. She had been dust bathing, running around, rushing to the treats and seemed her usual self.

I went up to the girls late afternoon and Spot was sitting with her eyes closing. I knew straight away something was wrong. I picked her up and inspected her. Everything felt normal. Her chest and crop felt normal and there was no sign of an egg problem which is the first thing I look for.

I set her back down in the run and she moved away. I checked back in ten minutes and was shocked to see her laying in the run. I thought she was gone already but she was still breathing. I picked her up and put her in a nest box so she would be somewhere more comfortable.

I kept checking on her and she hadn’t moved. I felt that she wasn’t suffering because she looked like she was asleep. I kept checking on her and she was gone a little later. I left her closed in the nest box overnight and we buried her in the chicken’s strip this morning.

We dug up a yellow poppy and buried her and then replanted the poppy over her and marked her spot with a wooden cross.

I believe that Spot had heart failure as I have seen this before with Sienna and then Jasmine who were siblings. I think that if she had a heart defect that would have caused her to be unable to lay eggs and then her heart just suddenly gave out.

For Spot it was a quick way to go and she has had eight happy months with us. For me it is heart breaking. I waited two summers to get Spot. She was a year old last month. In my heart I knew that because she had never laid there must be something adrift but she looked vibrant and beautiful.

She had grown in confidence since we had her and had a lovely nature. I just can’t believe she has gone so suddenly. I will do a tribute for her soon but at the moment I am still reeling from the shock. She was such a beautiful girl and I will miss her.

Yesterday Flame laid her first egg since her broody spell. Today Sugar laid her first egg since her broody spell and Flame laid her second egg.

It’s two weeks since both these girls came out of their broody spell. I knew Flame was getting ready to lay again as she has been practising for the last couple of days.

I was surprised that Sugar was getting ready too as she had been broody for such a long time but yesterday she was in the grit then looking in the nest box and today she settled in the nest box and got her egg laid.

From the left is Storm’s egg then sugar’s egg. Next is Snowflakes egg then Gold’s egg with Flame’s egg on the right.

I was just on the verge of buying some eggs as we only had two regular girls laying but now with four regular girls laying there is no need to buy any. The eggs should soon build up again.

Well done girls!

Spangle’s egg today was much more the shape that her eggs used to be. I think she has got over her blip at the start of laying and is now back to normal.

Spangle’s latest egg is on the left and is her usual torpedo shape. Storm’s egg is next then Snowflake’s egg and then Gold’s egg on the right.

I am so glad that Spangle is back to laying normally and she seems absolutely fine.

Storm laid her second egg two days after her first egg. It was very slightly bigger.

Spangle has now laid three eggs each a week apart. Her egg today was the same small size and darker colour as her last one.

The reason I thought Spangle’s last egg was Storm’s egg was it’s small size. It is exactly the same size as Storm’s egg. I was surprised at the colour though as I had read that modern game lay a white egg but then when I did further research I saw that game girls’ eggs can vary a bit in colour.

Spangle’s eggs were usually beige but I think because her eggs are now smaller they are darker in colour. The pigment doesn’t have to stretch so thin on a smaller egg which can give a darker colour.

Spangle’s egg is on the left. Next is Storm’s second egg and then her first egg. Next is Snowflake’s egg and Gold’s egg on the right.

Flame had a short practice in the nest box today which means she will probably start laying in the next day or two. It is two weeks since her last egg. It will be good to have another girl laying regularly.

Snowflake hasn’t laid for four days which is the longest since she started laying. She seems to be taking a break.

Salmon and Spot are still yet to start laying. We have had girls not lay very often in the past but we have never had a year old girl not start laying. Spot is a mystery.

Today Storm spent some time scratching in the nest box before settling ready to lay. I took a few photos because she is such a quirky shape. I think her long legs make it difficult to sit comfortably.

A little later and Storm had laid her egg. A tiny, white, egg. I realised that the previous egg that I thought was hers couldn’t have been.

I now believe this egg was Spangle’s second egg and being smaller than usual has caused it to be darker in colour. I know it can’t be Spot’s egg because bantam silver spangled hamburgs lay white, medium sized eggs. Also Spot hasn’t shown any interest in the nest boxes lately whereas Spangle has been in and out quite a bit.

Salmon’s eggs are almost round and pale plus she hasn’t been showing any interest in the nest box. This egg was laid a week after Spangle’s first egg so it would make sense. It is the darkest egg we have had. The good news was it had a good shell. We have eaten the egg so I could only use the photo for comparison.

I will be more certain when a few more eggs are laid but it’s the most likely conclusion I can come to.

Modern game only lay in the spring months for breeding so she will probably only lay for a few months but it will be interesting to see often she lays.

Snowflake lays two days running then miss a day then two days running. She has followed this pattern since she started laying.

Gold will lay for anything up to six days running before missing a day and then laying again.

A couple of days ago Snowflake returned to the nest box soon after laying. I had wondered if she was going broody because she sometimes had the stance of a broody girl.

I closed the nest boxes at bedtime and Snowflake perched in the chicken shed but the next day she returned to the nest box. For the first time Snowflake allowed me to touch her.

I was sure that Snowflake was broody. She would never usually let me touch her like this. I lifted her out of the nest box.

Some of her behaviour was like a broody but some wasn’t. When Sugar is broody and I lift her out she is full of anger. She will chase the other girls and scratch at speed then return to the nest box.

Snowflake was completely docile and bothered no one. She took her time having a scratch and some water and some food. She was in no hurry to get back to the nest box but did eventually return.

I had mixed feelings about this. Snowflake wasn’t supposed to be a broody breed. If she was broody we would be down to only one regular egg layer for now.

On the other hand compared to past broodies Snowflake was totally docile and even allowed me to handle her for the first time since we got her.

Again I closed the nest boxes at the end of the day and Snowflake went into the chicken shed but this time she was sitting in a corner. I put her on the perch and she remained perching.

This morning Snowflake was out in the run when I first went out. I opened the door of the chicken shed to clean up and there was Snowflake’s egg in the corner of the shed.

Snowflake had missed two days laying instead of one. Snowflake is back to normal and has been out in the run all day. Not broody after all which I am pleased about.

So what was this! It seems that she thought she should be laying her egg. She has never missed two days before. I have never seen this behaviour before. Very odd!

It is good to have all the girls out in the run together and whatever this was with Snowflake it seems to have passed.