Carol's Chickens

I picked up even more of Freckles feathers today than yesterday. The run was strewn with white feathers. It then struck me that this is the second winter we have had Freckles whereas it is the first winter with the three amigos. I think this means Freckles is having a proper full moult as in their first winter chickens only have a partial moult of baby feathers.

This seems to disprove the theory that seramas don’t moult in winter. Today has been bitterly cold and by late afternoon the girls where in a group huddle.

While taking a few photos I realised that Freckles was dozing again and once more her head was nodding up and down. Oh no! not again. She is also still sneezing. I think that she is not well once more.

Mycoplasma reappears at times of stress and I wonder if the cold coupled with a heavy moult has set Freckles back again.

A group huddle

Freckles and Dandelion

Freckles is dozing again

I will be keeping a very close eye on her over the next few days. If she appears to go downhill I think I will go ahead and treat the flock again with tylan. I can see that this is going to be a worrying winter with this problem in my flock.

I am so pleased that I can no longer hear Dandelion’s breathing and the girls are now only sneezing occasionally so I really think that they are getting back to normal, thank goodness.

Freckles has continued to perch with the flock at bedtime which is also really pleasing me.  For the last three nights she has perched in the middle of the flock. I am so pleased that she has decided, herself, to do this as winter approaches.

This morning I thought I would give the girls a treat of some probiotic yogurt.

A yogurt treat for the girls

The girls love yogurt

There are yogurt beaks and spots of yogurt on feathers and lots of scraping of beaks on the patio. They love the yogurt but don’t like it to be left on their beaks.

By lunch time when I checked them the yogurt had all disappeared and the girls beaks and feathers were clean again.

I picked up the feathers in the run and this was how many feathers I collected in just half a day.

Feathers

Emerald is continuing to drop some long feathers as well as a few fluffy ones but the majority of the feathers are from Freckles. I think I can safely say that seramas do moult in winter.

I am so happy to have things just about back to normal in the chicken run. I hope not to have any more drama any time soon.

At last I think that Freckles and Dandelion are showing improvement. I have only heard the occasional sneeze today and I can’t hear Dandelion’s breathing any longer. This is the most pleasing change for me. I have listened to her periodically throughout the day and haven’t been able to hear her breathing. Goodness knows what she makes of me hunkering down next to her and putting my ear to her beak!

Maybe this time it just took longer for the tylan to have an effect, possibly due to the girls drinking less water and also their sneezing, which may take longer to stop.

Freckles had a dust bath today and left a pile of feathers behind so that is probably an added reason that she isn’t laying.

Cinnamon laid an egg today, which is our first egg in a week, which was when she laid her last one. Throughout November she has laid once a week. Freckles stopped laying half way through November but with mycoplasma and moulting that isn’t surprising. Dandelion hasn’t laid at all this month, same reasons apply and Apricot hasn’t laid for three months but has had pins coming through on her head for all of that time.

What I have read about seramas is that they moult a little all year round and therefore continue to lay all year round. This is our first winter with seramas that are laying (Freckles and Rusty hadn’t started laying last year and Caramel and Pebbles never laid, which we later realised, was because of the mycoplasma) so this is the first year of testing that theory. I think that what this means is that they don’t completely stop like Emerald and Speckles, who stop at the end of summer and begin again in spring but it doesn’t mean that they carry on as they do in summer. It seems to mean that they moult a bit more than the rest of the year and take a break from laying but can lay an occasional egg or just lay a lot less rather than stopping all together.

The mycoplasma will have stopped Freckles and Dandelion laying but Cinnamon has only laid occasionally and Apricot hasn’t laid for the longest so I think that seramas, winter laying, is probably sporadic rather than stopping completely.

I was quite pleased to see all the little girls in the small shelter today as I hope this means that they will take refuge in there when it is cold. The small shelter is definitely the more popular one. We think it’s probably because it is lighter as it has plastic sides and the larger one has wooden sides.

All four little girls in the small shelter

A closer shot

And again as they look so cute in here

And more good news! When I checked the girls at bedtime Freckles was once more in the middle of the girls. She is facing the opposite way to last night but is in almost the same position.

Tonight’s bedtime line up

I am so pleased to see this. I think this will now be the new habit. She must have realised, at last, that it is better to snuggle up to the flock than to sleep alone. We lightly suggested that perhaps she now realises that Rusty isn’t coming back so it’s time to stop waiting for her. She has been gone nearly two months now.

This is very tongue in cheek as it is more likely to be the onset of winter, but for whatever reason, I am pleased with her change of habit.

I am feeling so much more optimistic today about Freckles and Dandelion. Hopefully we have turned the corner once more and they are back on the road to good health.

This post is going to be a little bit of everything that was going on today. I have finished the five days of tylan in the water (yesterday) and am disappointed that Freckles and Dandelion are still sneezing.

Dandelion still has a sound to her breathing but is has changed from the darth vader sound to the sound we would make blowing out a breath and tonight to more of a whistle.

The alarming thing was that this morning when the girls were perched on the ladder in the sun I inspected Dandelion and saw bubbles in her eye. This is a sign of mycoplasma so I know I am correctly identifying this. She blinked and the bubbles disappeared and I have inspected her periodically today but not seen bubbles again.

I have picked up both Freckles and Dandelion and done the sniff test and they don’t have the sweet, sickly, smell so that is a good sign.

When I first used tylan I read that you can dose again three weeks later and researching again now I can’t find this information. I thought of talking to the vet but to be honest I am not sure that they know any more about it than I do and they probably do the same research as I am doing.

So I think that I will follow my instinct and treat the flock again in three weeks time if they are still sneezing and especially if Dandelion is still wheezing. I shall be inspecting her eyes at all times too.

Sorry if this a repeat of my comments but I had a brain wave. I have been using one teaspoon of tylan powder in one litre of water and putting it in the two water dishes. I thought I could halve it to half a teaspoon of tylan powder in half a litre of water and put it in just one water container. The metal water container is the most popular and the water in the china dish is being thrown away and wasted. This would spin out my remaining tylan powder into two more treatments instead of one.

When I treated the flock before it was summer and treating them at this time of year means they drink a lot less. I wonder if that means they are not getting as much of a dose which is maybe why it hasn’t been so effective. I would estimate that they are probably only drinking about a teaspoon or two of water a day each.

It was frosty again this morning but it was a clear day and as usual the sun was on the ladder. Emerald was perched there waiting for the sun to hit this spot. She obviously knows that this is where the sun will be.

The bigger girls are sitting in the sun

I was checking Dandelion’s eye

This was just after I saw the bubbles in Dandelion’s eye and I kept checking her eyes but didn’t see them again. I hope that is a good sign.

Freckles joins Dandelion

These two seem to be sticking together at the moment. I wonder if they sense that they are both going through the same thing.

Once the sun had gone from the ladder Freckles and Dandelion were in the shelter together. The wind was cold today so maybe these girls do know what they need.

Dandelion and Freckles in the small shelter

I wonder if they sense that they need to a bit of protection at the moment

Late afternoon Speckles was having a dust bath

And so was Dandelion

This is also a good sign that she feels happy enough to have a dust bath.

The most surprising thing of all today and again I am echoing the title of this post,  that maybe they do know what they need, came when I checked in on them at bedtime.

The bedtime line up tonight

Freckles has the centre spot

I was so surprised to see Freckles here for the very first time!

Has Freckles finally realised that as it’s so cold she would be better off joining the flock instead of sitting on her own or is it her attachment to Dandelion at the moment causing her to want to sit next to her at bedtime?

Whatever the reason I actually felt elated to see her in the middle of the line up. Now that she has done it once I hope she will naturally do it again. It will be interesting to see if she does. If she doesn’t I think that I will now move her to the back perch and see if we can make this a habit.

I feel sure that it will be better for the whole flock to snuggle up together during the winter months.

I just wish we didn’t have mycoplasma hanging over us which is such a worry. I will keep a very close eye on the girls and re treat them in three weeks if there are still any symptoms showing. If symptoms worsen I will consider treating them again sooner. It’s a case of keeping everything crossed and hoping for the best.

This morning was the hardest frost of the year yet.

The view from our bedroom window

A very frosty garden

The bird bath was frozen solid. The waters in the chicken run are more sheltered but there was ice on one of the chicken’s water dishes. The metal one was okay. As it’s their last day of tylan in the water the water couldn’t be changed so I broke the layer of ice. I felt sorry for the girls having to drink their water so cold as I would usually change it but they must have their last day of the tylan.

Freckles and Dandelion are still sneezing. At bedtime I spent a bit of time with them and I realised that Dandelion has a whistle to her breathing. When I started the treatment I was finding it difficult to tell if the breathing sound was coming from Freckles or Dandelion and I now wonder if it was Dandelion all along or if it was both of them.

I am a bit worried that we are finished the five days of tylan and yet the girls are still sneezing and Dandelion still has a whistle to her breathing. I will be keeping a very close eye on them. I seem to remember that I read somewhere that you can treat again three weeks later. I can’t find this information at the moment so I may ring the vet next week and ask her advice. I will also ask, that if I do use my last dose of tylan, would I be able to order some more from her to keep in stock for the future.

The weather is forecast to be really cold which makes me worry about the little girls. Freckles was fine last winter but this will be the three amigos first winter as we got them in February. I hope they will make use of the shelters. They have been snuggled up close together at night apart from Freckles but she has been right up against the shed door.

I am still worried about Freckles and Dandelion but I will just have to keep everything crossed and keep a close eye on them.

We have been really busy again and I haven’t had much time for blogging. I don’t know why the orders are pouring in at the moment but we are taking bookings for more lunches and bigger lunches than usual. Maybe everyone is trying to get their training and meetings out of the way before Christmas.

Yesterday I took a few photos of the flock perching in the sun again. At this time year if there is any sun it is always on the ladder and the perch above it so this is the spot where the girls congregate together.

The flock perch in the sun

The two bigger girls perch side by side

The four little girls lower down

Because of the dividing wire in this part of the run I can’t step back enough to easily get all the girls in when they are at different levels. It is lovely to see them all together and making the most of the sun.

Tomorrow will be the fifth and final day of the tylan in the water. I am still hearing them sneeze occasionally, especially Freckles and Dandelion. They look fine though and I can’t hear any wheezing in their breathing. I would like to see Freckles looking more alert but she isn’t dozing like she was doing. I think perhaps they are just not enjoying the cold.

I would be glad to see some egg laying to reassure me that they are fully well but egg laying has completely stopped for now.

I am still picking up loads of feathers so that is probably why there are no eggs. The moult seems to be going on forever this year. Emerald is still dropping some long feathers and some short fluffy ones. Dandelion is dropping wing and tail feathers and some of them are really ragged.

Dandelion’s feathers

Dandelion’s tail

Dandelion now only has a couple of tail feathers. I will be glad when this moult comes to an end as I am sure the girls will too. It would be good to get them all fully feathered before it gets any colder.

It’s early days yet as it’s the first day on the tylan and the girls drink less this time of year than in summer but as my girls are so small I think that they only need a small amount of the tylan.

I was disappointed that when they came out this morning they had some food and then perched on the ladders without having a drink. In the summer they would all go straight to the water. I knew that they had to drink during the day though so tried not to worry. I didn’t give them their usual fruit at lunch time as I wanted them to get all their moisture from the water.

A little later Dandelion went to the water and then suddenly it was if the word had gone out and all the girls gathered around the water and had a drink. I felt relieved.

Dandelion has white pins on her head instead of her usual ginger feathers

I love seeing Speckles and her girls feeding together

Speckles has taken to standing here and jumping on my back

It’s a funny habit that she has of jumping on my back in summer but not in winter. I have no idea why this is but just recently she has started to jump on me from here.

Emerald is looking good

Freckles is drinking the water before bedtime

She looks okay

Speckles and the rest of the little girls are feeding together in the background. When I gave the girls some spinach on the patio I noticed that Dandelion has a slight wheeze to her breathing too. I am so glad that I am able to treat the whole flock.

I thought I would add a link to my past post about mycoplasma in case it could be of help to new readers. Click on the link below for all the information that I gathered.

http://www.carolschickens.com/blog/?p=22041

I will give a progress report as the week goes on.

For the last week I have noticed Freckles sneezing from time to time. She also hasn’t laid for just over a week which is very unusual for her and the tips of her comb are dark. I have been keeping a close eye on the girls and have now heard nearly all of the girls give an occasional sneeze. The only two girls I haven’t heard sneeze are Emerald and Cinnamon but Freckles sneezes the most.

I wasn’t sure if I was being paranoid but yesterday when I gave the girls their spinach on the patio I heard the slight “Darth Vader” like sound to Freckles breathing. I decided to give it one more day before deciding to take action. I have enough Tylan to give two more treatments. I don’t want to waste it unnecessarily but on the other hand I don’t want to risk leaving treatment too late.

Before bedtime all the girls were together at the ladder but Freckles was the only one dozing. She has been doing this a lot lately and I feel that all is not quite right with her. Before she dozed she was opening and closing her beak almost as if there was something sticky on it. I know that once mycoplasma has been in your flock it will always be in your flock and I decided it was best to take action. Better safe than sorry.

I dissolved a teaspoon of tylan powder in a litre of water and divided it into the two water dishes. I put it out at bedtime so that the girls will have it from first thing in the morning. It needs to be renewed at the same time each day, with any remaining thrown away and needs to be given for five days. It not only treats mycoplasma but gives all the flock protection from it. Mycoplasma will not get better without treatment.

The girls are all together before bedtime

Freckles is dozing

Notice the dark tips to Freckles comb compared to how red Cinnamon’s comb is. Cinnamon laid an egg today.

I am disappointed that this keeps recurring but I am so glad that I have the tylan to hand. I feel it’s best to act sooner rather than later and not take any chances. This may have to be a regular treatment for my flock.

As yesterday morning was frosty I decided to give the girls some warm mash. By the time I took it out to them Apricot, Speckles and Emerald were on the perch above the ladder in a spot of sunshine but Freckles, Dandelion and Cinnamon came straight to the mash.

Some warm mash on a frosty morning

Apricot and Emerald in spot of sunshine

As I got here Speckles had just jumped down. Apricot is fluffed up like a ball.

Emerald loves to perch in a shaft of sunshine

Speckles and Apricot join the girls at the mash

Finally Emerald joins the girls at the mash

I just love Dandelion’s comedy foot move

After their mash all the girls returned to the spot in the sun

It was difficult to get a shot of all the girls because Cinnamon and Dandelion were at a lower level. You can see how blue the sky was while the garden was still frosty. Despite the frosty start it was a lovely day.

This morning there was a beautiful autumn frost. The sky was a clear blue and the sun was shining and lighting up the autumn colours. This was my first look at the day from our bedroom window.

Sunshine and frost

What glorious autumn colours. The garden looked so pretty that I decided to take my camera with me on the way up to the girls.

The cabin roof

Next year’s fox glove

Sedums

Oregano

Sage

This is my favourite of this batch of photos. Somehow the sage looks really christmassy.

Poppies in the chicken’s dandelion strip

I am amazed that these yellow poppies are still flowering. I think it’s because it’s sheltered here with the chicken run on one side and the brick wall on the other.

I don’t mind a bit of frost when it’s a clear sunny day and no wind to make it feel it colder. It did make the garden look quite beautiful.