Carol's Chickens

Seramas don’t usually moult very noticeably but Dandelion is very obviously moulting at the moment. Seramas are said to lose a few feathers at a time all year round so that you would hardly notice. I have never seen Dandelion looking as tatty as she does now.

The only good thing about this is that it is mild at the moment. Dandelion feels the cold the most out of all my girls so I just hope that she gets her feathers back in before the weather turns really cold.

Dandelion with only pins on her head

And pins on her neck

I really hope those pin feathers hurry up and open. I can’t wait to see Dandelion fully feathered again.

One of the small branch perches that was attached to the ladder recently rotted and came away from the ladder. As it was still attached at the other end I decided to leave it for now and just pushed it downwards into the soil.

Recently the little girls have been obsessed with pecking at it. They have stripped some of the fine bark away and have been pecking at the soft wood that I had pushed in to the ground. I then noticed that the bigger branch perch on the other side of the hatch has also been pecked away.

This used to be a small perch

Patches of bark have been pecked off along the branch and at the bottom the soft wood has been pecked away.

The end of another perch

The little girls have been pecking away here too.

In the past I had researched chickens eating some pine shavings and it said that it isn’t harmful and aids digestion. Not really sure how that works but I thought that if that is the case then pecking at the wood is probably not going to harm them.

However I decided to research this too and found that people had said that their girls do the same thing. One had said that they put a tree stump in the run and the girls had gradually broken it down completely.

Some thought stripping bark may be to get at bugs but the branch perches have been in the run for many years and are unlikely to have any bugs. Everyone agreed that as long as the girls had a good diet it was unlikely to do any harm.

It seems to me that it is only the soft wood and they will be getting bits the size of dust. All the girls eat well with pellets and greens daily plus apple and corn and other occasional treats. I don’t think it will do them any harm and if they were in a free range environment they would have access to branches which they could peck at.

I think they just enjoy this. It’s odd though that it is something just the little girls do. I haven’t ever seen the three bigger girls do this.

I wonder if any one else has seen their girls do this?

I thought that following on from the bedtime posts I would do a morning post. Before I start I will just do a quick update.

Flame perched at bedtime after her broody moment and the following morning she didn’t show any sign of wanting to go in the nest box. It seems that she is very quickly over it and will probably take a short break from laying now.

Last night at bedtime when I checked on the girls the automatic door was closed and all five amigos were shut outside. If I was away overnight they could certainly get shut outside which would be really bad for them. Luckily I don’t intend to be away overnight in winter.

They were all calling out to me as if asking for my help. They ran towards me and then ran towards the shed door. I opened it and they all went in. They have now got used to being able to go in through the main door.

I shone the torch on the perch and a couple of them jumped up. I then put the rest of them up. As usual I closed the door and then peaked back in to make sure they were all still in place. I think bedtimes will probably continue to be a bit hit and miss with these girls. The other girls all get to the back perch in time but the amigos just seem to leave it too late sometimes.

The pop hole is opening quite late now as the mornings have not only been getting darker but sometimes it’s been foggy or raining so even more gloomy. I was going out at half past seven but now delay it until quarter to eight as the pop hole is opening between eight o’clock and quarter past eight. There is no point me going out earlier as it’s too dark but the girls do like to get out a little earlier than the pop hole opening.

As I go up the path and get near the gate the girls can hear my footsteps and they start to call out. As they hear me unlock and open the gate their calls get louder and I start hearing some thuds as some of the girls jump down from the perch. I talk to them so that they know it is me.

I then open the main door and the girls flood out and the chatter reaches a cresiendo. It reminds me of the chatter of children at the indoor swimming pool where there is a hub bub of sound.

I think the girls are really happy to get out after the long nights.

The bigger girls are always out first

The little girls sometimes pause to peck at the shavings

The little girls coming out

The girls are all out

The girls mill around waiting for me to give them a few sunflower hearts to start off their day. It looks dark in the run but it soon gets lighter and the girls are happy to have a little earlier start to their day.

The red pyracantha berries are still looking pristine and next to the winter flowering jasmine are giving a splash of winter colour.

Winter flowering jasmine and red berries

A warm splash of colour on a dull and damp day.

I recently ended up with one odd corn cob from a bag of frozen corn cobs which is rather annoying. I decided to give it to the girls. The reason I haven’t given a corn cob for ages is because they always used to get rolled from the patio area into the dirt and then abandoned.

I had a light bulb moment and decided to put the corn cob in a dish so that it would stay put. Only Speckles has had corn cob before but the girls associate the white dish with treats and Ebony is always first to any treats.

Ebony is first to check out the corn cob

Ebony tries the corn cob

Vanilla shows an interest in the corn cob

Dandelion and Cinnamon are interested in the corn cob

Flame had gone straight to the nest box after the morning sunflower hearts which I expected after moving her from there the evening before.

When I returned to check on the girls at lunch time, after my deliveries, I was surprised to see that Flame was still missing. I opened the nest box and Flame puffed up her tail. I realised she was broody at this ridiculously late stage in the year.

Flame is broody

I went to lift her out and she went to peck at me. I ended up putting on a pair of gardening gloves to lift her out. Ebony and Flame only peck me when they are in the nest box but they peck like they really mean it and have bigger, sturdier, beaks than any of the other girls.

Flame had laid an egg but the broody girls often lay one last egg. I assume she will probably take a break from laying now.

I decided to close all the nest boxes as Ebony had laid her egg in a corner of the chicken shed a couple of days earlier so I felt sure she would do so again if she needed to lay.

Meanwhile the corn cob in a dish idea hadn’t worked. The dish was still on the patio but was empty and the corn cob was in the dirt.

The corn cob is in the dirt but Ebony is still pecking at it

After I moved Flame from the nest box she sat on the patio for a few moments. She then rushed out into the run shouting angrily and had a mad scratch around in the dirt. She then spotted the corn cob and pecked it with such fury that my photo of her is blurred but it gives the impression of her.

An angry flame furiously pecks at the corn cob

Meanwhile Ebony was settling in a corner of the shed.

Ebony settles in a corner of the chicken shed

Flame soon stopped shouting and started making her mournful sound. She chased any girls near her and pecked at the apple, had some pellets and walked all round the nest boxes. She jumped on top of the nest box and then she gave up. She returned to the run and seemed to be back to normal.

I am hopeful that like Ebony she is smart enough to know that if she can’t get in the nest box and can’t get to an egg then there is no point in sitting. Ebony came out of it in a day so I hope Flame will be the same.

I will leave the nest boxes closed tomorrow to make sure she doesn’t go back in. Tonight when I checked on them Flame was perched on the back perch with the usual girls.

The amigos however were still having the usual argie bargie. Spangle and Vanilla were perched this time. I moved the other three up to the perch but Marmite ended up next to Smoke. Marmite is so timid that every time Smoke pecked her head she jumped back down again. In the end I moved Marmite to the other side of the perch and they all settled.

It seems that Smoke will peck any heads perching next to her and Marmite as bottom girl is the most timid. I will make sure I don’t put Marmite next to Smoke in future.

What a mission bedtime is at the moment but they all get settled in the end.

I went up to check on the girls this evening just before the automatic door closed. To my surprise four of the amigos were still just outside the pop hole. I wonder why they leave it so late to go in.

Four of the amigos at dusk

Meanwhile Spangle was already perched

At this stage I realised that Flame wasn’t with the line up on the back perch

Flame was in the nest box

Flame had left it too late to lay her egg and the automatic door had now closed. I moved Flame to the perch at the back of the shed. She will have to wait until morning to lay her egg. If I hadn’t checked on the girls Flame would have been in the nest box for the night. I definitely feel the need to check the girls every night.

I moved Flame to the perch

The five amigos are perched at last

I shone the torch to help the last of these girls up to the perch. As usual it was Smoke and Vanilla who were last. I have often seen Smoke peck at Vanilla’s head when she tries to perch next her but tonight Smoke jumped down and chased Vanilla around the shed while pecking at her.

I don’t know why, when these girls hang out together happily during the day, they are so aggressive at bedtime. Smoke really doesn’t like Vanilla perching next to her.

Eventually I waited until Vanilla was on the perch then shone my torch at the perch for Smoke to jump up and then shut the door quickly so that it was too dark for Smoke to peck Vanilla.

I opened the door again for a quick photo and then shut it again. I don’t know why these girls have to make such a meal out of getting perched at bedtime. I have seen this many times before. Girls that will happily perch next to each other during the day don’t want certain girls perched next to them at night.

I often wonder what it is about a certain girl that another girl doesn’t like or at least doesn’t tolerate next to her. Smoke doesn’t behave like this with the other amigos. I guess it is probably because Vanilla is second to Smoke in the pecking order and must be kept in her place.

It’s a wonder they ever manage to get settled at all at bedtime but once it is dark they quieten down. They have to perch together for a long time over the winter. No wonder they are so eager to come out in the morning.

Recently Dandelion was having a lovely dust bath. When she left the dust bath I saw that she had left a little heap of feathers behind.

I then noticed she was looking really scruffy around the neck with bare patches and pins showing. Her head is also patchy and I could see fine, tiny, feathers wafting from her head.

I have never seen Dandelion moult like this before. Usually seramas moult a few feathers at a time and it isn’t very noticeable.

The last thing Dandelion needs is bare patches, at this time of the year, as she feels the cold more than any of the other girls. My theory is that frizzle feathers are not as insulating as straight and silky feathers.

The only good thing is that hopefully they will grow back in before the really cold weather.

Dandelion is moulting

She has pins on her neck

Dandelion’s bare neck

Dandelion is missing some head feathers

Dandelion makes use of this small shelter more than any of the other girls so at least she knows the best place to go on cold days.

I really feel for Dandelion and hope she gets her feathers back in quickly.

Yesterday when I checked the girls at bedtime Smoke was below the amigos’ perch. I assume she had been knocked down. I shone the torch onto the perch above her and she jumped straight up.

I thought that I would try to train the amigos tonight to use the opposite perch which would be easier for them to get up to.

When I checked on them tonight they were all perched and I changed my mind. It felt as if it would be cruel to move the amigos when they were all perched for the night. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

As we don’t stay away overnight in winter it means that I am always here to check on them. If one of the amigos isn’t on the perch I can always put them on so it doesn’t seem fair to put them through training them to a change of perch.

The main flock at bedtime

The amigos at bedtime

How could I lift these girls to another perch! I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. For now I will leave the bedtime routine as it is.

Over night and this morning we had a temperature of minus two degrees. The chicken’s water had a layer of ice on it. I poured hot water over it and gave the girls a dish of warm mash to start their day.

A frosty morning

Frosty garden

Frosty plants

Frosty rose hips

And again

I thought the frosty rose hips against the frosty cabin roof looked quite christmassy. It all looks pretty but I must admit I don’t like it. I don’t like frost and I worry more about the girls. I hope the frosty mornings don’t last too long.

Today I decided to treat the girls to some yogurt. I usually put it in four little dishes but I have never given it to a flock of twelve before so I decided to put it in six little dishes. I put the dishes down on the patio and waited with my camera in hand.

The girls already familiar with yogurt come up first

Ebony is missing as she was in the nest box laying her egg

Soon the amigos come and take a look

The amigos get a bit bolder

The amigos decide they like yogurt

By lunch time all the dishes were empty. I think the amigos may come up more quickly next time now that they know what yogurt is. I think I can safely say all of the flock enjoyed the yogurt.