Carol's Chickens

When I checked on the girls after lunch three little girls were missing. Dandelion was in one nest box and Apricot was in the other nest box. I checked the chicken shed and Cinnamon was on the back perch where she has taken to laying her eggs.

I left her to it as the nest boxes were engaged and I had cleaned out the shed in the morning and piled the pine shavings thickly in that corner.

I checked back a bit later and Dandelion and Apricot had laid their eggs. Apricots was still warm so she had just laid. I opened the shed to check on Cinnamon and she was flattened on the perch. Just at that moment I saw her egg drop from her and land with a plop in the shavings.

I was amazed that I had actually seen it happen.

Cinnamon has just laid her egg into the shavings below

I have never heard of another chicken doing this except when they get caught out and need to lay first thing in the morning. Cinnamon sleeps at the other end of this perch and Emerald and Speckles sleep in this spot but it is always this spot that Cinnamon chooses to lay her egg.

This is one of the strangest things I have come across since keeping chickens. Cinnamon really is a funny little girl.

We have been so busy lately that we hadn’t had time for a visit to the farm where we had re-homed some of our girls.

Now that the school holidays have started we are less busy and yesterday we decided to pay the farm a visit.

There was good and bad news. The good news is that Peaches and Barley have settled in really well and they are looking absolutely great. The bad news is that there has been a fox attack.

The new girls that Moira had taken in along with our two girls were being kept in at the time. Her original flock was almost completely lost to a fox attack with only three of her girls and her cockerel escaping. Moira said she was especially sad to have lost Dotty as she was the tamest of her girls.

Moira had Dotty for four years and we had her for two years so although I was really sad about this I have to think to myself that she had a good six years with her last four years happily free ranging. It is so sad but it is the risk that comes with a free range life.

One consolation that I have is that Peaches and Barley are so speedy and flighty that I think that they would stand a good chance of survival against a fox attack. It was so lovely to see them happily free ranging which really suits their character and to see them still so closely sticking together. They have been with Moira for two and a half months now.

Peaches and Barley

They are now part of Moira’s flock

They have lovely red combs

They still stick together

They are happy with their flock

I was so pleased to see these two looking so happy and in such good condition. It was lovely to see them with so much freedom and looking so at home.

Cinnamon and Dandelion are the only two girls in the flock that don’t seem to have got the hang of laying their eggs in the right place. They are also the only two of the seramas that never go broody so I wonder if there is a connection. Maybe not laying an egg in a suitable place isn’t conducive with trying to hatch an egg. If that is the case I am happy to have their foibles.

With Dandelion it seems to be a case of her not knowing when her egg is coming. She will lay an egg in the run and then go and sit in a nest box or she will go and sit in a nest and then lay an egg in the run. Sometimes she does manage to get an egg in a nest box and occasionally she lays in the chicken shed. I don’t really mind as no harm comes to her eggs.

With Cinnamon it is a different matter altogether. Right from when she started laying I could see that she wanted to lay from a spot that was high up. She would look quite manic and would go to the top of the shelter and then would go to the highest perch in the chicken shed. She was always looking up as if she wanted to find the highest spot possible.

I felt that if I could rig up a nest box in a high spot she would be happy to lay her egg there but what I really wanted was for her to learn to lay in the nest box like all the rest have done quite happily in the past. I don’t want the added complication of trying to put in a high nest box. It’s not really feasible with our set up.

To start with I resorted to shutting her in a nest box. I don’t really like doing this but when I was on stand by to keep an eye on her I put her in a nest box and closed it, returning frequently to see how she was doing. Once shut in she soon settled and got her egg laid quite quickly. I hoped this would train her to go to the nest box and she did so for a few times.

As soon as she missed laying for a few days she seemed to forget about the nest box again and started with the same process all over again. When I found her on the high back perch of the chicken shed once more I decided to leave her to work it outside herself. After all if I am out during the day when she wants to lay she is going to have work it out herself.

When I returned to check there was an egg under the high perch in the spot where she had been. This happened several times and as her eggs have good shells they have never broken. I now keep the pine shavings heaped up in the spot she likes and leave her to it. I have never come across this behaviour before. I swear that I have the craziest of girls in my flock at the moment.

Here is Cinnamon when she wants to lay her egg

She seems to think this a suitable spot to lay an egg

Her egg in the shavings below the perch

I have tried lifting her down and putting her in the nest box but she immediately leaves and returns to this spot. I don’t want to shut her in any more. I have done this about four times and have now decided to leave her to it. I now just keep the pine shavings deep and accept this. There are worse things to worry about.

I wonder if anyone else has come across this sort of behaviour. Cinnamon is one quirky girl but you have to love her!

I have decided to do an in depth post on micoplasma because it may help other chicken keepers.

I have researched different sites and will put all the information together here as well as what I have now learned from my own experience. Get ready for a long read as I couldn’t do this in short.

All the facts that I have gathered

Micoplasma in poultry is not new. It’s mentioned in old books from about a hundred years ago. It has become more common in recent years because of the increase in backyard chicken keepers.

The respiratory system in poultry is affected. The organism is neither a bacterium or a virus in size but part way between, having no cell wall but with a plasma membrane. Four out of the known seventeen species of mycoplasma are pathogenic in poultry.

It is the most common respiratory disease and is very infectious.

Symptoms can include foamy eyes, nasal discharge, a particular sweet smell to the discharge and the breath, swollen eyelids and sinuses,  swollen face and a rattling sound to the breathing or breathing like darth vader .

It must be treated as it won’t get better on it’s own.With vigilance and early treatment of symptons it can be kept at a low level in backyard flocks. Treatment needs to be early for a greater chance of recovery.

Once infected the bird becomes a carrier and remains infectious for life. The first time the bird becomes ill seems to be the worst and subsequent outbreaks seem to be milder.

Stress can be a trigger, such as, moving birds to different housing, adding new birds, parasite infection or change in weather such as snow on the ground. It can be carried by wild birds.

A blood test can be done by a vet.

What I observed from my own experience

When Caramel and Pebbles came into my flock I was not familiar with seramas and I had never come across mycoplasma before.

We noticed from the very first day that Caramel had a wobble to her head and every now and again a wobble to her walk. The breeder had these birds for a year before they came to us so we figured that this was just something peculiar to Caramel.  I now know that was my first big mistake.

The next thing that happened was that Caramel had a swollen eye. I had just finished integrating Caramel and Pebbles so I assumed that Caramel had had a peck to her eye. That was my second mistake. Hind sight is a wonderful thing.

I took Caramel to the vet and the vet thought that it was just an eye problem. She gave me liquid antibiotic and liquid pain killer as her eye was extremely swollen and we assumed painful.

Soon after this I did notice the peculiar sweet smell from Caramel but as her painkiller was really sticky I thought the smell was coming from this. I hadn’t read any information about the smell being associated with mycoplasma at that stage.

I had her in a cat box in our bathroom with food right in front of her as she could only see out of one eye. She had a sticky beak and nostrils but I thought this was due to her sticky medicine, which I later realised was another mistake, as it was the discharge.

As time went on she developed a rattle in her breathing. The final awful thing that happened was that her second eye swelled up and now without the use of either eye there was nothing to be done but to have her put to sleep. I had only had her for three weeks in total.

While all this was going on I had noticed that what I thought was hiccups in Pebbles, which she had also had from the first day, was in fact sneezing. I put her straight on the antibiotic that I had left over from treating Caramel. I have had a girl before, Pepper, that had hiccups, so that was why I thought it was hiccups.

After two weeks of antibiotic there was no improvement so I took Pebbles to the vet. It was while the vet was looking at her that we both noticed bubbles in her eyes. This was the final thing that made both the vet and myself certain that it was mycoplasma.

I made the decision to have Pebbles put to sleep. I couldn’t bear to see her suffer like Caramel and I couldn’t risk the rest of my flock.

The vet then gave me tylan powder to put in the water for five days to protect the rest of the flock. The vet estimated how much she thought the flock would drink daily but when I measured how much water the flock drink I realised that it was less than half. As the tylan in the water has to be discarded at the end of each day I decided to make up half the amount and keep the other half rather than waste it. I am now so glad that I did this.

I missed so many signs last time because I didn’t know what I was looking for. I have since read that once they are at the rattling, while breathing, stage they are advanced and I now know that Caramel didn’t have any chance of getting better but the odd thing with this is that it doesn’t seem to effect the chicken’s appetite. Most illness in chickens mean a loss of appetite but Caramel was still eating as long as the dish was in front of her and she didn’t lose hardly any weight.

Of all the information I have read none of it mentions the wobbling head and wobbling walk but I know that Caramel had mycoplasma because of all the other symptoms. She had  the swollen eye and face, the rattle to her breathing, the sticky discharge and the peculiar sweet smell.

Pebbles didn’t have the wobble but was sneezing and had the bubbles in her eye. This shows me that different birds can present the symptoms differently. When Freckles was dozing all afternoon I knew that something was wrong. Young birds are active and don’t doze for long periods. The head bobbing while she was dozing was the same as Caramel and that is because of a difficulty with breathing.

When she stood and her head wobbled and then she kept wobbling as she walked I recognised this instantly as being the same as Caramel. That is why I knew that this time I must act fast. Knowing our birds is so important and we can see things that a vet can miss. Vets are often not very experienced with chickens.

In six years of chicken keeping we have never yet got a girl well after seeing a vet. I think this is partly because by the time the symptoms are bad enough for the vet to recognise the bird is too far gone to get better. This is why being aware as soon as possible is so important.

The vet that I talked to yesterday said that he couldn’t give me tylan without seeing the bird and making a diagnosis. I know he wouldn’t see any symptoms in Freckles at such an early stage. I was lucky that I already had some tylan but I wonder what would happen if this happens again in the future.

I would have to take the bird to the vet, explain the history as I have in this post and hope he would prescribe it. I know that speed is essential. I never want to have a bird again that is as far gone as Caramel and Pebbles. It has been a hard lesson to learn but one learnt thoroughly and I if I can be of any help to anyone else then Caramel and Pebbles loss hasn’t been in vain.

Sorry for the length of this post but I wanted to be thorough. If it helps one person then it has been worth it.

As soon as Freckles had her antibiotic and then a drink from the water with the tylan in it, she seemed to perk up and looked back to normal.

If I hadn’t seen her dozing and then wobbling yesterday, I wouldn’t know anything had been wrong with her. Today she seemed fully back to normal.

Freckles has some dandelion leaves

Freckles looks fine now. You can also see in this photo how tiny Cinnamon is in comparison.

She looks back to normal

I called the vet and it turned out that they had called me but I have them programmed into my phone as “vet” and they came up as “private number” on my missed calls so I hadn’t realised the call was from them.

The receptionist said that the vet would talk to me and I thought it was very kind and helpful that he took the time to talk to me. He said that the tylan powder would be okay to use but liquid antibiotic should be thrown away as it only keeps for a short time.

He said that there was no need for both as tylan would be best for the whole flock. He said he couldn’t prescribe more medicines without seeing Freckles. There are legal implications. I said that I felt there was no point in bringing Freckles in as there is nothing to see at the moment. I just know from experience now, what the first signs are and that I needed to act quickly.

He said that as I have enough tylan for five days that I could continue with that and if any symptoms present themselves in the future I should bring the effected bird in and we would take it from it there.

I am feeling optimistic now that having acted right away we should be okay. I have done lots of research and the quicker they are treated the more chance of full recovery. I have so much more experience now of keeping seramas and of what symptoms point to mycroplasma. I feel in a better place to react to this than last year and I feel hopeful now that we are going to be okay. I am keeping everything crossed.

Why is it that every time things seem lovely and settled in our flock something comes along and rocks our boat!

This morning Freckles seemed her usual self but by lunch time I noticed that she was sitting dozing and her head was bobbing up and down. Alarm bells starting ringing within me. I remembered Caramel dozing while her head bobbed up and down.

Freckles was dozing all afternoon

Speckles sat with her and kept her company

Every time I checked on Freckles she was still sitting, dozing. That is not a good sign. I offered her a dandelion leaf to see if she would stand. She did but her head wobbled and then she wobbled. As she walked she wobbled to one side. That is exactly how Caramel was from the first day we had her.

I didn’t know then what it meant but I recognise these symptoms now. Caramel and then Pebbles had mycoplasma. Pebbles slept on the same perch as Rusty and Freckles but this was seven months ago. I treated the whole flock with baytril in the water for five days which should have offered them protection.

I panicked and put Freckles in the cat box with food and water. My first instinct was to separate her from the flock.

Freckles in the cat box in our dining room

I am terrified of this passing through my flock. By now it was time for me to go to my dentist appointment, hygienist and check up, booked six months ago. I had to keep the appointment and thought about what to do next while I was there.

I still have a course of tylan powder (I only needed half of it last time) and  liquid antibiotic (again I only needed half of it last time). What I wasn’t sure about is whether it is still good after seven months. I looked on the internet but couldn’t find out how long these medicines are good for.

I rang the vet to ask but was told by the receptionist that she would ask the vet and call me back. By now it was near closing time and I didn’t hear back. I rang again and got the out of hours receptionist who said she also didn’t know and that I should ring again in the morning. I realised that I would have to make a decision myself for now.

I decided to put the tylan in the water which needs to be replaced daily for five days. It should protect the whole flock. I decided to give Freckles the antibiotic. This should be given once a day for seven days. I know someone else who has been in a similar situation and was told by her vet that it was fine to use both.

I felt that I needed to act fast, as if I could treat it early this time, there might be a chance of nipping this in the bud. I will call the vet in the morning but I felt it was best to act straight away. I returned Freckles to the flock as I felt that I couldn’t keep her in a cat box for a week.

I am totally acting on instinct here. I am terrified of this passing through the flock. I have done what I can for now and I will call the vet again tomorrow. I can only keep everything crossed and watch the flock anxiously.

The two bigger girls are getting to the end of their moult. I think Emerald is finished but I am still picking up loads of feathers from Speckles. They both look pretty good though.

The little girls look much the same as they always do but egg production has slowed so I think they do lose more feathers at this time of year.

This is the first year that speckles has an all white head after her moult and it has changed her appearance a bit. It is interesting to see how they change.

Speckles has an all white head this year

The white dips down lower on the left side at the back of her head

Her other side

Emerald is looking good

She has her tail back

I love the glossy sheen to Emerald’s feathers. I love seeing the slight changes that come about after each year’s moult. These girls are changing little by little just as we do.

I know that I am biased but I do think that we have a beautiful flock.

Since we have had the new fence it has left us with a gap at the edge of the concrete that edged the old fence. This means that as well as not looking very neat, grass and weeds come through from the other side.

We decided to plant it with things that grow easily in small spaces.

Garden path

These plants have only been in for a few months and are just getting established. We hope that by next year they will have spread to cover the concrete channel and spill over onto the path. We want the path to appear to be floating between the plants on either side.

It will look much nicer to have a strip of green rather than a strip of concrete. I intend to do a follow up post next summer showing the before and after photos. Like a lot of things in the garden it takes a bit of patience and is a work in progress.

The flock is really united at the moment. I have touched on this subject before but when Peaches and Barley were part of the flock, there were two groups, the bigger girls and the little girls. Since they left the flock the dynamic has totally changed.

Emerald and Speckles seem to have assumed a parental role watching over the little ones. Speckles is definitely in the mother hen role. She sits surrounded by the little girls while Emerald sits a short distance from them or if they are on the ladder Emerald perches above them.

Emerald is the first to call the alarm if there is a cat in the garden and some mornings I hear her strange, cockerel like, call, first thing.

Speckles calls the little girls to the treats and holds back herself while they have them. After dinner we always go up to the chickens before settling to watch some evening television. We offer some dandelion leaves through the mesh and Emerald will lightly peck at the little girls to get out of her way but Speckles will call them and hang back herself. Sometimes she will take a leaf and drop it front of them.

Emerald never pecks at Speckles. They have a lovely friendship and I have never seen them peck each other even around treats. They always roost side by side and are often at the food dish together.

Our united flock

You can just see Emerald’s feet in the top right hand corner of the photo. She is perched above them on her favourite perch. She always settles there before bedtime.

Speckles is surrounded by the little girls

Emerald watches over them from above

This is so typical. Speckles is always in the middle and it seems that the little girls go along with her playing at mother hen and happily gather around her.

We have been wondering what would happen if we added more little girls. Would Speckles take them into the fold too or would they remain outside of this group. It would certainly rock this happy little group, of that, I have no doubt.

I imagine that our sweet little Apricot, who is the friendliest girl and firmly bottom girl, would turn into a nightmare like Rusty before her. I think it would be an easier integration though, with just two bigger girls. The new girls would probably only have to run from the three amigos.

I would like to add some more girls in the spring. The last time we visited Dave and took the three amigos he told us he was having a break from breeding. I said that I would like a black serama and he said that he only kept the light colours as they are more popular.

With this in mind I rang Dave recently and asked him if he would be breeding again. He said that he hadn’t done so this year and the girls he has at the moment are the same ones that we picked the three amigos from. This means they have the same mix of colours that are in our current flock.

I asked if he would be breeding again and he said that he is now ready to breed again next spring. I asked if he would save me a black one if he hatched one and another of any different colour and ring me to let me know. He agreed to do this and we swapped e-mail addresses too so that we can stay in contact.

I hope to have seramas for a long time so it would be lovely to have different colours in the flock. This means I need to be patient and wait until spring. I imagine my flock will be happy with that as integration always rocks the boat. For now we will be content with our happy flock.

We have had days of rain. The bottom of the top part of the run always gets wet where it drips off of the roof. Cinnamon likes to dig in this spot. She had muddy toes all day because she had been digging there.

I managed to catch her digging in the mud. She moves so fast that a lot of the photos were blurred but I took plenty in the hope that some would be okay. I stopped when she flung a bit of mud at the camera.

Cinnamon finds some mud to dig in

Her toes disappear into the wet soil

She digs with fury

I was pleased with this action shot before she splattered me with mud. I have never known a chicken that likes to dig quite as much as Cinnamon does. She is such a funny little girl.