Carol's Chickens

Today the girls lined up together on the big, branch perch, above the ladder in a spot of sun. If there is any sun to be had at this time of the year it is in this spot and the girls will always find it.

In fact sometimes Emerald will wait in this spot for the sun to come round. The little girls join Emerald and Speckles once the sun is on the branch.

All the girls together in the sun

It’s difficult to get all the girls in shot because of the dividing wire and Freckles gets bleached out with the sun behind her but it shows their togetherness.

Perching in the sun

I don’t like taking photos from behind the weld mesh but I thought I would make an exception to show all the girls together. I love seeing them perching together like this.

Today I have only heard a few, very quiet, sneezes. The sneezes are becoming less each day which I am really pleased about.

Freckles looks a bit scrawny with her lack of feathers and Cinnamon looks a bit tattered. All four little girls have pins on their heads. I look forward to seeing them fully feathered again soon and I am pleased with their progress of getting back to normal.

In the summer we realised that our twisted willow tree had got huge. It was only about four or five feet high when we planted it eleven years ago. We wanted to add some height to the borders and at about twenty pounds it seemed a bargain. It fitted easily in the car that we had at that time.

This summer it was shading my sunny spot on the patio and as much of it was hanging in our neighbours garden as in ours. We had always told them to feel free to prune it but they said that they liked it. It was now over fifteen feet high.

We decided to wait until the end of the year and then give it a hard chop back. The end of the year came and went and yesterday my husband decided it was time to tackle it.

Our twisted willow tree in August

Our twisted willow tree after we have lopped it

Twisted willow tree from the same angle as the summer photo

I should have taken a winter photo of it before we lopped it but realised too late. I will take another comparison photo in the summer when it is green again. I am really pleased with it as I think it will be a much better shape and more manageable.

It is a good job done that we have been meaning to do for ages.

I am a bit late this year with my end of year egg count. It has thrown up some interesting figures.

Firstly I will start with the three girls who are no longer with me as they didn’t complete the full year.

Peaches and Barley were re homed with my friend Moira in May. Barley laid for longer as she started a month earlier than Peaches but Peaches laid more eggs.

Peaches laid 28 eggs in 3 months and Barley laid 25 eggs in 4 months. This gave Peaches an average of 9 eggs a month and Barley an average of 6 eggs a month.

Sadly we lost Rusty in September. Rusty laid 39 eggs in 6 months so she averaged 6 eggs a month.

Now for the current flock.

One thing that really surprised me was how poor a layer Speckles is. Speckles laid 27 eggs in 5 months giving her an average of 5 eggs a month. Emerald on the other hand, with her short season, laid 49 eggs in 4 months giving her an average of 12 eggs a month.

Now for the little girls. Freckles is by far the best layer and Apricot is right at the bottom.

Freckles laid 111 eggs in 10 months giving her an average of 11 eggs a month.

Dandelion laid 59 eggs in 9 months giving her an average of 6 eggs a month.

Cinnamon laid 71 eggs in 8 months giving her an average of 8 eggs a month.

Apricot laid 30 eggs in 7 months giving her an average of 4 eggs a month.

It’s difficult to get a true picture of the little girl’s egg laying ability because of the microplasma which caused them to stop laying when they may have otherwise continued to lay for longer. Also Freckles is six months older than the three amigos and so was laying sooner than they were. Next year will give them a full year of egg laying providing there are no problems.

Freckles started laying in March, Dandelion in April, Cinnamon in May and Apricot in June.  This is because Freckles was more mature than the other girls and silky feathered girls mature the slowest meaning Apricot was the last to start laying.

Freckles was also the most broody so she could have laid even more eggs without time off to be broody. Cinnamon was the only girl that laid right through to December with just 4 eggs in December before she started moulting.

I conclude that whilst my research showed that seramas lay in winter it is influenced slightly by moulting as well as this winter by being unwell. On the other hand even though they laid less in winter they still laid some eggs whilst the bigger two girls lay only for a short summer season.

Speckles laid for 5 months and Emerald for 4 months but the seramas have the potential to lay all year round depending on how early in the year they start laying. Freckles didn’t mature and start egg laying until March and Rusty matured and started egg laying in April.

This means that I won’t know until later this year when they will start laying. As they are still moulting and occasionally sneezing that could be a factor in them starting later.

It is quite clear though that Freckles is way out in front as the best layer and Apricot is by far the layer of least eggs.

We had a total of 439 eggs this year. 92 eggs were from flock members no longer with us and 347 eggs from the current six girls.

It will be interesting to see what this year brings.

I gave the girls some more yogurt as their New Year treat.

New year yogurt treat

Yogurt beaks

The girls love yogurt. They splash it around and then scrape their beaks clean on the patio. By the end of the day the yogurt dishes are empty.

This is the second day of no tylan and the girls seem to be staying well. The only thing that stops them appearing completely over this is the occasional sneeze. It is only occasional now though and only fairly quiet sneezes. I am feeling quite positive that we are through this but will be really glad when there are no sneezes at all.

Even the moulting seems to be slowing. The weather has remained milder which is good for the girls but I am so fed up with it being so wet. I look forward to brighter days soon. Roll on spring.

My lovely husband shopped for and prepared our New Year’s Eve meal. He arranged the food on my Christmas chicken plate.

Remember my Christmas chicken plate

It’s now a New year’s Eve platter

My chicken plate is loaded with goodies

We had a bottle of champagne gifted to us by one of my husband’s companies and a D.V.D to watch. We were all set for a lovely evening.

And a lovely evening it was. We watched the fire works at midnight and I sang auld lang syne at full volume as always and then we realised it was half past two. How did that happen!

Time for bed and a very Happy New Year to everybody.

We have twigs on our veg plot over the winter to stop the local cats using it as their toilet. I gathered them from the woodland behind our garden.

Recently we have noticed this bright yellow fungi has appeared on one of the thicker twigs. I have never seen this before and had no idea what it was. I googled it and it’s yellow brain fungus (tremella mesenterica), common in late autumn and early winter.

Weird yellow fungi

Close up of the fungi

It is such a bright colour and rather pretty.

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year filled with health and happiness.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The girls like the big shelter because they can all hang out together in there. Sometimes all the girls are inside and some times the two bigger girls appear to be standing guard on top of the shelter.

All the girls are in the big shelter

Dandelion is behind a blurred Speckles

Cinnamon is looking quite tatty

The quills are exposed on her wings

I wondered if the seramas moult so late in the year because they originate from Malaysia so I decided to look up the temperature there. It is really temperate with summer temperatures of 82 degrees F (28 degrees C) and winter temperatures of 81 degrees F (27 degrees C). I guess this means it doesn’t matter when they moult in Malaysia.

A little later Emerald and Speckles are standing guard on top of the shelter

While the little girls are below inside the shelter

It has now been one and a half weeks with no eye bubbles and no wheezing. The sneezing has almost gone with just an occasional small sneeze now.

Tomorrow will be day twenty eight of the tylan and will be the last day that I will give it unless there is a relapse. It seems appropriate to start the new year with a new regime. I will continue to give the girls the poultry zest to help them through the moult.

I am a little nervous of stopping the tylan but I have to stop sometime.

I am really hoping that we are through this now and that the new year will be a better year in the chicken run.

I am afraid to say too much in case I jinx it but I think the little girls are finally getting back to normal.

There has been no more wheezing and eye bubbles and the sneezing is fading now to less often and quieter sneezes. I think it’s finally going. I am going to keep up the current regime until New Years Eve. That will be day twenty eight of the tylan.

I am afraid to stop but I must stop sometime so that seems a good time to stop treating and see what happens. I could always treat them again if there is a relapse.

Yesterday was frosty again and the girls hang out around the two shelters on frosty days. The shelters have proved really worthwhile this winter. They have had loads of use on cold days and Speckles likes to hang out on top of both shelters.

The little girls hang out by the big shelter

While Speckles hangs out on top of the big shelter

Emerald is on the perch at the end of the run

Speckles is never far from the little girls but Emerald likes to wait on the perches at the end of the run for the sun to come round.

I am hopeful that the new year will see the girls back to full health. They are such a lovely, close, flock and I want to see them going into the new year together.

Boxing day I gave the girls fish for their treat. One by one they all got their share.

Speckles has some

Emerald has some

Apricot has some

Freckles has some

Dandelion has some

Cinnamon has some

By the end of the day all the fish had gone. I think they enjoyed that.

The girls are looking so much better. There has been no wheezing and no eye bubbles since the weather turned milder and the sneezing is much quieter. If it wasn’t for the sneezing I would think they were completely well.

I am going to stick to the current regime until the sneezing stops completely as I am afraid of them having a set back once more. Cinnamon is now moulting quite heavily and I continue to pick up loads of feathers each day. It seems that the two straight feathered girls moult the most heavily.

The girls are bright and active and eating well and even Freckles comb is looking more red than recently. I am hopeful that we are finally through the worst of this. As long as the next cold spell doesn’t set them back I think we may be on the road to full recovery.

It wouldn’t be Christmas in our house without some form of chicken gift. This year I received this gorgeous plate.

Chicken plate

Close up of chicken plate

It’s large and heavy and I can just see it loaded with the cold meat left overs to be served over the next few days. I love it.