Carol's Chickens

We are very disappointed with our current chicken shed. We have only had it for four years and we paid a lot for what we thought would be a good shed and would last a long time.

Ever since we first had it we have battled to keep it dry. Damp started to seep through the wood in the back, left, corner. We drilled holes in the concrete around the shed to drain the water. We put guttering around it to take the water from the roof to a butt which has a hose out into the garden. We painted it with several coats of wood protector.

After all this the water still came in. The back, left, corner became so wet that it rotted the wood and we were able to put our finger through it. This scares me that something could get in so we nailed a thick wooden block over the hole on the inside. I had put wire mesh around the outside and slipped a block of wood between the hole and the mesh outside.

A thick block of wood covering the hole

The dark stripe above the block of wood is damp.

During the recent, relentless rain, the damp inside the shed has got worse. It is now all along the left side of the shed and has risen up to the height of the perch. This worries me as with a history of respiratory problems with the flock the last thing they need is damp.

The perch in front of the damp patches is where Cinnamon and Jasmine perch so I have taken to moving them at dusk each night. I perch Jasmine with the amigos and Cinnamon next to Speckles.

Wet patches behind the perch that Cinnamon and Jasmine were using

The piece of wood at the right of the photo is the arm that holds the perch and the damp is creeping across that too.

With hind sight we think we should have put the shed on a low wall to keep it off the ground but the old shed was straight on the concrete and was never damp as is our cabin which has caused no problems. We feel that it is the type of wood that the shed is made from which is drawing the water up.

After a lot of consideration we have decided to buy a plastic shed. We have ordered one of the smallest size so that it will fit inside, on the patio area, in front of the existing chicken shed. This will have the advantages of being safer from predators, being under an already dry area and will be easier to deal with red mite. It was also cheaper at two hundred pounds.

What we intend to do is to put it together inside, on the patio area, while the existing shed is still there so that it will mean there will be no hurry to get it ready. We will move the pop hole and automatic door to the new shed. We will put in the perches. It has ventilation strips above the door but if we find we need more ventilation we can drill some holes as it won’t need to be water tight as it on the dry, roofed, area.

When it is ready we will block up the pop hole on the wooden shed to stop the girls going in and leave it for a while until we are ready to decide what to do next. We will probably, eventually, take the wooden shed away and block off the back but we need to decided how best to do this to keep it secure. For now there is no hurry to deal with this as the new shed can just sit in front of the old shed.

The new shed is due to be delivered on Saturday. We have an afternoon tea booked on Saturday so we will tackle the new shed when we have the time to do it. It will be tricky putting it together in the confined space and making the adaptations so we won’t rush it but I think it will be well worth it in the end.

It will give me peace of mind having it inside as I won’t constantly be worrying about keeping it secure. It will be better for the girls as it will be dry and it will be easier to deal with mites. At the moment I spray with smite every few days and it’s a constant battle to keep mite numbers as low as possible. I have got it down to, pin prick sized, mites, that are newly hatching but I have to keep on at it all the time.

I know getting the shed ready is going to be a bit of a nightmare but I know that it will be well worth it in the end. The chicken run has always been a work in progress and finding the right housing for the girls has been similar, going from a wooden coup, to a wooden shed, to a plastic shed, but we have to learn as we go along and is difficult to know from the start what is going to be the best.

I have learned over time what the best height is for the perches so I am determined that in this shed we will get everything right from the start as working with plastic is not going to be easy. Watch this space.

Yesterday Speckles laid her sixth egg of the year. Apart from her first egg of the year in March Speckles has now laid another five in eleven days. That is practically an all time record for her! I thought she may only lay six eggs this year and she has done so already which has come as a surprise.

When Speckles does lay her eggs are enormous. I know egg photos are probably boring everyone but they are good for my records so I am going to put another one here.

Speckles sixth egg of the year

For size comparison Speckles egg is on the left, Flame’s egg is in the middle and Marmite’s egg is on the right. These were yesterday’s three eggs.

In other news Ebony, Smoke and Vanilla continue to be broody. After a two week break from her last broody spell Jasmine sat in the corner of the chicken shed for a couple of hours and I felt sure that she would lay an egg. However she eventually came out without laying. This means she is getting ready to start laying again as these little girls often have false alarms to begin with.

I can’t believe how constant the broodies are at the moment. Vanilla went broody again yesterday so we now have three, Ebony, Smoke and Vanilla. Vanilla took a six day break after her last broody spell and then laid six eggs in nine days before going broody again.

Ebony has been in it for the long haul. While Ebony has been broody Vanilla went broody then Jasmine went broody then Smoke went broody (and still is) and then Vanilla again.

Like Jasmine, Vanilla wasn’t broody long last time, so I am hoping that that will be the same this time.

They are three quite different broodies. Ebony is completely docile and accepts me lifting her without any protest. She doesn’t peck and she doesn’t growl.

Vanilla is angry and pecks me and growls as does Jasmine when she is broody. Vanilla has always pecked me but Jasmine only does so when broody and the rest of the time I can handle her easily.

Smoke raises her wings and tail and has an angry gleam in her eye but doesn’t peck and remains in a trance like state when I lift her out.

When I lift Ebony out she sits there for a minute and then takes of at speed for a scratch, dust bath, preen, food and water and then returns to the nest box at speed.

When I lift Smoke out she sits in a trance like state. I have taken to placing her on the log as this helps her come out of her trance more quickly. She then has food and water and occasionally a dust bath and then returns to the nest box.

When I lift Vanilla out she will usually go straight back in again. She stays out for longer when she decides to come out on her own.

Vanilla is an angry broody

I just caught Vanilla shouting at me here.

Ebony is a docile broody and is very calm

Smoke is somewhere in between

There is an angry glint in her eyes.

Vanilla when lifted from the nest box

Ebony when lifted from the nest box

Smoke when lifted from the nest box

Vanilla angrily makes her way back to the nest box with wings stretched

Smoke takes her time to come out of her trance

It’s a never ending round of broody behaviour!

As I have said before, I read an article by Alan Titchmarsh, that said if your leeks go to seed you can leave them as they are quite spectacular. He said to put them at the back of your borders. We decided to leave ours on the veg plot.

They are incredibly slow to flower and at the moment only two have opened. We were expecting a more spectacular flower head whereas they are like a larger version of wild garlic.

However as time has gone on we have decided that maybe he meant spectacular in a different way to what we were imagining.  Maybe it’s not about the flower head but about the height and the upright stance. The leeks now look like a dramatic, sentinel, row. The amazing thing about them is that although are very tall they are also very stiff and able to stay upright without any support. We are now seeing them in a different light and can see that they would indeed add drama to the back of a border.

A dramatic row of leeks that have gone to seed

Saturday was a really windy day with sunny spells, cloudy spells and sudden, huge, gusts. The leeks were able to withstand this whereas our prize allium snapped in the wind fairly close to the flower head.

I snipped it off and put in a single rose vase as it seemed such a shame to lose it when it was at it’s best.

Allium in a vase

I am now thinking that the leeks and the alliums are both dramatic, just in different ways.

Ebony has been broody for two weeks. At the end of the day I close the nest boxes and this makes broody Smoke go and perch up in the chicken shed. Not Ebony though. She sits on the top of the nest box until I put her on a perch once the pop hole has closed.

Ebony settles on the top of the nest box

Since the weather warmed up Speckles started wanting to sleep outside as she does every summer. After the first few days of doing this Cinnamon started joining her. This is something that Cinnamon has never done before. Since we lost Dandelion, Cinnamon has firmly attached herself to Speckles and I think it is a case of where Speckles goes Cinnamon goes too.

I think that because Ebony is broody this has stopped her from joining Speckles as she has done in the past and probably will do again in the future. It was still quite light when I took this photo but it was to show that this is where they settle and they are still here at dusk.

These two have taken to staying outside

At the moment I put Ebony in and then I go and collect these two. Because Cinnamon is so tiny I am able to take both girls at once. I pick up Speckles and settle her under my left arm and then pick up Cinnamon in my right hand.

I put Cinnamon on the perch with Jasmine and then use both hands to put Speckles on the perch with Ebony and Flame. This is the evening ritual for now.

Yesterday Speckles laid her third egg of the year just three days after her second egg of the year. This is amazing for Speckles. The year before last Speckles laid twenty four eggs and last year she laid twelve so I predicted that she would lay six this year.

After Speckles laid her first egg in March I began to think that six eggs seemed very unlikely. Now that she has laid three eggs I am thinking that six may yet be possible after all.

Speckles third egg of the year

On the right is Speckles second egg of the year, in the middle her third which is just slightly bigger and on the left is Flame’s for comparison.

Flame’s egg on the left, Speckles third egg of the year in the middle and her second egg on the right

It’s a shame that there aren’t any from broody Ebony to compare because Flame’s eggs are large, compared to Ebony’s and are a similar size to a standard girl’s egg. Speckles eggs are really big as they are longer.

Vanilla started laying again five days ago after a broody break of one week and is laying every other day. Marmite also started laying again five days ago after a broody break of two weeks.

Ebony has now been broody for nearly two weeks and is showing no sign of coming out of it. I lift Ebony out of the nest box a couple of times in the morning, a couple of times in the afternoon and again before bedtime when I close the nest boxes. This doesn’t deter Ebony and she sits on top of the nest box until I put her on the perch at dusk.

Smoke is also showing signs of going broody again after laying seven eggs in eight days after a break of just over two weeks since her last broody spell. Smoke is turning out to be a serial broody.

Jasmine took a weeks break since her last broody spell then laid four eggs in a week before going broody again. Jasmine sits in the corner of the shed so I decided to close the pop hole on the second day to keep her out.  This worked as she showed no further sign of being broody and was over it in two days. I will do this again in future. Jasmine has the shortest broody spells.

Spangle and Salmon have never gone broody but this may be down to them being the poorest layers. Cinnamon hasn’t gone broody this year and has never gone broody for more than a few days until last summer’s heat wave when she remained broody for weeks.

Speckles has never gone broody. Ancona’s are not a broody breed but are supposed to be good egg layers so Speckles is very much her own mix. It is said that the best egg layers can have shorter lives as they wear themselves out so I am thinking that Speckles should be a long lived girl. She is the oldest girl we have had so far and long may she continue.

Edit

Today Speckles has laid her fourth egg of the year just two days after her third. This is three eggs in six days which is the best she has laid in a very long time, three years in fact. Speckles seems to have a new lease of life!

Our rose has gone from bud to full bloom very quickly this year. I think it’s because it has been so warm.

The rose is amazing

I decided to frame my chicken birthday card. I just happened to have a spare frame of the right size. Here it is before I framed it so that you can see a close up.

Birthday card

My birthday card in a frame

What I love about this hand made card is that I am sure it depicts seramas. There is fluff stuck to the chickens which is reminiscent of the silky feathers and the shape is so like my girls. These two could be Pebbles and Freckles. I think the different colours also points to seramas. It’s too pretty not to keep.

This is another post inspired by one of David’s comments. He mentioned Speckles comb being less red than it used to be and I said that I thought it wasn’t as big as it used to be.

I decided to compare photos of Speckles comb at this time of year two years ago and today.

Speckles comb in May 2017

May 2017

May 2017

I took the following photos this morning.

Speckles comb today

Speckles today

I was surprised to find that Speckles comb actually isn’t as different as I had thought it was. I think the differing redness depends on the light and the the size of her comb depends on the camera angle and shows up best in close up.

She doesn’t look at all bad for an older girl.

It’s all going on with the egg laying here at the moment! The day before yesterday Speckles was very vocal and at one point had a scratch around in the corner of the chicken shed. I had a feeling that she might be getting ready to lay again.

Yesterday she was settled in a nest box.

Speckles in a nest box

She came out of the nest box and there was no egg. The next time I checked she was back in the nest box and this time she had a little pile of pine shavings on her back.

Speckles back in a nest box with pine shavings on her back

The next time I checked Speckles was just leaving the nest box and this time there was an egg. It was a long, torpedo, shaped egg which seems to be a feature of a first egg after a long break.

Speckles long egg on the right

Smoke’s egg is on the left, Flame’s egg is in the middle and Speckles long egg is on the right.

Speckles and Spangle’s eggs

Speckles and Spangles eggs together to show that although they are different in size they are very similar in shape. I know it is probably boring to most people that I show a lot of egg photos here but I am fascinated by how different my girls’ eggs are.

When Speckles laid her first egg of the year in March it had a streak of blood on it. I am pleased to see that there is no blood on this second egg and it reassures me that Speckles is okay despite her lack of eggs. I am not sure if this will be a lone egg or if there will be more. Only time will tell.

When we were originally planting this garden we put in a couple of groups of purple alliums. For a few years they looked amazing but then the original groups just vanished. However they self seeded around the garden as singles.

Then a few years ago I read an article by Alan Titchmarsh. He said that if your leeks have gone to seed you should leave them because they would give a spectacular allium display. This year our leeks went to seed so I left them in place. Well spectacular doesn’t really describe them!

A single self seeded allium

And another one

Leeks gone to seed

Hardly spectacular. They remind me of wild garlic.

Chives

The chives give a better display. I grew these from seed and they multiply each year.

Single white rose

Rose over the cabin

Adding colour to the chimney

This chimney pot had a grass in it which I liked because of it’s spiky shape but it had been here too long and was looking drab and tired. My husband said that he would like to see some colour here for a change so we bought this pot and just dropped it in and it’s a perfect fit.  It gives an instant pop of colour and it’s only just getting started. I may photograph this again later in the year.

I love watching the patches of colour develop throughout the garden at this time of year.