Flame’s second egg and the changing relationship with the older girls.

I had forgotten how enormous Flame’s eggs are and how noisy Ebony and Flame can be! Yesterday there was lots of shouting going on.

While Flame took her winter break all had been quiet. Ebony laid her eggs in either of her two favourite spots which are mostly the nest box next to the storage cabinet and occasionally in the back, left, corner of the chicken shed. She would lay her egg quietly with no fuss at all.

Yesterday both Ebony and Flame wanted to lay their egg at the same time and guess what! Yes, Flame wanted to lay her egg in the same nest box as Ebony. There was lots of shouting. I had also forgotten how loud Ebony could be.

Eventually they both settled in the same nest box.

Ebony and Flame in the nest box together

Meanwhile next door is broody Marmite

A little later there was shouting again. I checked and Flame was out of the nest box. I felt under Ebony and found both Flame’s egg and her own. I removed them and Ebony then left the nest box.

Flame’s eggs with one of Ebony’s

The egg on the left is Flame’s second egg, the egg in the middle is Flame’s first egg and the egg on the right is Ebony’s egg.

I am removing Marmite from the nest box whenever I go in to the chicken run. Marmite shows none of the anger that Smoke did and doesn’t puff herself up when out of the nest box. She is a much more determined broody though.

When I lift her out she sits in the trance like state that broodies do until another girl gives her a peck. Marmite is then off and running. She will speed scratch or speed dust bath or speed preen then go to the water then the food and then will return to the nest box. I think we will just have to ride it out.

Ebony’s attitude towards me has changed since we first got her. At one time if I approached her when in the nest box she would always peck me. A few days ago Smoke was in the nest box and a little later she was out again but was shouting which is unusual for her. Ebony was now in the nest box and I assumed sitting on Smoke’s egg which usually causes some shouting.

I reached underneath Ebony and removed Smoke’s egg. It then occurred to me that she would never have let me do that when we first had her. That’s why I was confident enough to reach under her and take both Flame’s egg and her own egg yesterday. She now takes no notice of me touching her. It will be interesting to see what she will be like when broody though as that can make some girls angry.

Speckles is always jumping on my back whenever she gets a chance. This is something she has been doing since not long after we first had her. A few days ago when I was on the patio area Ebony jumped on my back. I was wearing my coat and with her heavier weight and the slippery material of my coat she slipped straight off again but it showed me how far we had come with her trusting me.

There is a down side though. Ebony gets so excited when I go in to give the girls their bedtime corn that she has started to peck my legs. I know it is not malicious it is just her way of telling me to hurry up and give out the corn. The problem is that her peck hurts. The first time I wasn’t expecting it and got a hard peck. It didn’t break the material of my leggings or break the skin on my leg but it left a purple bruise.

Since then I back away from her or turn round so the pecks either miss or don’t have so much momentum. It is a nuisance though and I don’t know how to stop her doing it. It wouldn’t be good in summer on bare legs. It’s a pain but as she is so much friendlier now I don’t want to do anything to change that. Any ideas would be welcomed.

It takes time to gain the trust of older girls. The young ones are used to me being around them as they grow up but the older ones have to learn to trust me.

When we first had Speckles she was really nervous and was firmly bottom girl. She wouldn’t approach the other girls or me. One day when my eldest son was meeting the new girls and watching me in the run with them I commented on how when she was blocked by a girl one side and me the other she would choose to run past the girl and get a peck on the way past rather than run past me who had never hurt her. My eldest said that that was because she knew she was going to get a peck from the girls but she didn’t know what she might get from me.

That made me see it in a different light. Better the devil you know. It is only over time that they learn that I don’t hurt them but protect them and bring them treats. Once Speckles learned to trust me she became quite the opposite and followed me around and developed the habit of jumping on my back.

It is amazing to think that from that lowly position Speckles has, over time, worked her way up to top girl position and is now confident and sure of her position. It was noticing the change in Ebony that reminded me of this.

The girls have so much trust in me that I have to be ultra careful not to tread on them. I always watch where I am putting my feet as they have no fear of my feet at all. I assume they trust that as I have never trodden on them I never will. The thought of standing on a foot scares me so I am always aware of my feet.

It is the same with the fork. They love to follow the fork to see if I will turn up some worms. I have to also be ultra careful of where I put the fork. They have no fear of the fork.

It is very rewarding to have their trust and is part of the joy of chicken keeping.