It’s been very wet for the last few days but the good thing is that there are still plenty of dry spots for the girls to have a dust bath which they take full advantage of. The old part of the run is still the driest with the new part letting in rain at the sides and it also drips between some of the joins in the roof panels.
For some reason whenever it rains Butterscotch always has a wet head. None of the other girls have a wet head so I can only think that she stands under the drips. It is odd how the girl with the most bouffant hair style is the one that will get her head wet. She always looks so ridiculous.
Butterscotch has another bad hair day
Five out of eight girls were enjoying dust baths this afternoon.
Peaches and Barley are not participating but are together as always
Speckles is also not participating
Emerald has a dust bath in the newest part of the run
She flicks the dirt over her back
Toffee is in a dust bath on the other side of the wire from the rest of the girls
Communal dust baths
Toffee did start out on this side of the wire but Butterscotch chased her out and took her place. Toffee then moved to the other side of the wire where she can dust bath in peace.
A dust bathing group
Butterscotch rubbed her wet head feathers in the dirt making her “hair do” look even worse. She also reminds me of beached seal in this pose.
The run appears to be littered with dead bodies
I do wonder what it is that sparks them all off to do this at the same time. It is entertaining to watch though. They were clearly enjoying their dust baths.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
YEA. I spent more $$ than I care to admit this past April to have my run fully roofed. I also had them cover the entire run w/ 1/2″ welded wire to keep rodents out. At the time, I thought I was crazy. But last week we received 1.5″ of rain out of one storm and the garden was soaked but the hens were high and dry. And we’re supposed to get a TON of rain in California this year so I’m soooo glad I sported for the roof. It too keeps their dust bathing areas dry which is nice. Everyone appreciates a good bath from time to time.
A roof is well worth having. The old part of our run has a solid roof and fence panels at the side so stays dry, the new part has no solid sides and has opening panels on the roof and therefore not the whole area stays dry. But it’s enough for the girls to always have some dry dust bathing area and it does mean it can be opened up to the sun when we have some. We also used half inch weld mesh to keep rodents (and everything else) out and that too is so worth while. Like you we spent a fortune but in the end it’s worth it.
She does look a bit sealish!
The hairstyle reminds me of Guy Fieri, the guy that hosts diners drive ins and dives in the USA.
She definitely reminds me of a seal in the bottom three photos. I had never heard of Guy Fieri so I googled him and you are so right. Her hairstyle does look like his. That is hilarious!
I love the picture of Emerald flick ing the dust over her back.. A great shot. Shows up her beautiful colours.
I love that photo too. I only took a couple of Emerald but managed to catch her just right. I love her beautiful colours and it reminds me of why she is called Emerald.
You are so right about the seal comparison! The top knot is so funny – all my silkies are the same, including the youngest set of chicks, who don’t yet have full top knots, but what they do have has degenerated into what look like heavily-gelled spikes.
Butterscotch looks even worse today. I wonder if it just shows up more on hens with topknots. Heavily-gelled spikes is the perfect description of it. It’s funny how she is golden blond when dry but the spikes look so much darker when wet.