Carol's Chickens

I thought that a fish treat for the girls would give a protein boost as we now have three girls laying eggs.

Sugar spends a lot of her time perched. If she isn’t on the perch above the ladder or in the shelter she is in her new favourite spot on the log by the patio area.

In between times Sugar comes to the treats and takes dust baths and does all the normal chicken things but she spends much more time sitting than any of the other girls.

Sugar reminds me of Star when she was sitting a lot and I can’t help thinking that it’s not a good sign. The difference is that Sugar has been like this for a lot longer.

Sugar spent a lot of time sitting in the run last summer. I am happier to see her sitting off the ground all winter but that may be because it’s been very wet. Sugar started laying at the end of March last year so it will be a case of wait and see what happens when, or if, she starts to lay this year.

These two girls often keep Sugar company but even so they always stand while Sugar always sits.

We can only hope for the best but realistically be prepared for the worst. Best case sinario for me would be if she didn’t lay but like Salmon even that doesn’t mean never laying again. We will just make the most of having her for as long as possible.

This morning Dot was in the nest box by the gate.

Dot now has a lovely red comb. I had felt for the last few days that she was getting ready to lay again. It wasn’t long before I heard the egg shout and when I checked Dot had laid. Her egg has her signature little calcium bubbles on it and a faint blood streak as first eggs of the season often have.

Not long after Gold laid her egg in the same nest box and then Storm laid in her usual nest box next to the chicken shed. We now have our first, three egg, day of the year.

I had just bought some eggs but hopefully they will be the last that I will need to buy for a while. Three egg laying girls should give us enough eggs. Well done Dot!

Storm is our only egg laying girl at the moment. She lays every other day.

Since we lost Salmon, Sugar has spent a lot of time on her own. I wonder if she misses Salmon. Her favourite spots are on the branch perch at the top of the ladder if there is a patch of sun and on the shelf inside the shelter if there isn’t any sun. Sugar can often be found here.

Sugar has a red comb and face. In fact all the girls have red combs and faces at the moment so I am sure there will be more egg laying starting soon. I am sure that like me the girls will be glad when better weather arrives.

I wrote this part of the post yesterday but held off putting it out. I wanted to leave my tribute to Salmon as my last post for a bit longer to do justice to our lovely girl.

Then today there was more nest box action so I had to add to this post. Gold has been squatting and has been really vocal recently and we have been sure she was about to start laying. Today she was vocalising more than we have ever heard her before.

The next time I checked Gold had laid her first egg of the year. Storm laid soon after her giving us our first, two egg day, of the year.

How lovely to have another girl laying. Well done Gold.

We had our lovely Salmon for nearly six years. She was a very pretty girl with a huge character. She soon worked her way up to being top girl even though she was the smallest girl. She had a lovely nature and was feisty but never aggressive.

Salmon had nine lives of the chicken world. She came through mico and every Autumn when she moulted she would be wheezy but tylan always got her over it. She laid soft shelled eggs from time to time and looked as if she wouldn’t make it but once she got them laid she bounced back. Her last soft shelled egg I managed to pull from her and she didn’t lay for the next two summers which gave her a longer life without the discomfort of egg laying.

Unfortunately Salmon produced one more egg this week and this time didn’t manage to pass it. She went downhill rapidly and the only kind thing for her was to have her put to sleep. She will be greatly missed in the chicken run.

I have spent time going through my photos and Salmon has seen many girls come and go during her time with us.

From left to right is Marmite then Salmon then Smoke then Spangle with Vanilla at the back. Salmon has outlasted all these girls.

Salmon has outlasted all those girls in this photo which is pretty amazing. Some of them came before her though. Speckles at the back was eight and Flame at the front was seven when we lost them.

She was such a lovely girl and will be much missed.

It was on Monday, three days ago, that there was a lot of blood on Salmon’s perch and the shavings below. Apart from a mucky bottom which I cleaned for her she seemed the same as normal. She was still running to the treats and active.

Today Salmon went down hill very fast. In fact I had just replied to a blog comment saying she seemed fine when I had to add that the next time I checked on her she looked miserable. She no longer came to the treats and I wasn’t sure if she was eating at all. I made dishes of mash and she drank a bit of water off the top. She did the thing chickens do when not well and pecked at the mash without actually eating it.

The next time I checked on her Salmon had her head under her wing. I have never seen her do that before and I knew at this point that something was very wrong.

I took Salmon some chopped tomato which is her favourite thing and she refused to have any. I realised that the blood was probably from trying to push out a soft shelled egg and that although she seemed fine at the time three days later it would have started to poison her. Her comb had gone from pink to very pale, almost yellow.

After two years of not laying it was such a shame she had produced another egg. I knew that there was no way back from this and I couldn’t let her suffer. I rang the vet and got an appointment for three o’clock.

The paper in the cat box had a few spots of blood coming through her vent. The vet agreed with me that she must have a broken egg inside her. She said it was the kindest thing to have her put to sleep. The vets now give a bit of gas to gently send them to sleep before giving the injection as it’s less stressful. I wanted to stay and see her when she had gone. The vet said it was very gentle and peaceful.

Salmon would have been six years old this summer which is the oldest serama we have ever had. By successfully pulling her last, soft shelled egg, from her I had given her two more years. She has had a good life. I am still so sad to see her go and have shed a few tears for her.

I will do a tribute for her over the next few days. I knew Salmon was on borrowed time and that if she produced another egg it would be her down fall but it still doesn’t make it any easier losing her.

I think some of the girls are getting ready to start laying. Oddly Autumn has stopped laying. She laid her last egg on the first of February and hasn’t laid since. She goes in the chicken shed and sits as if she thinks she should still be laying but comes out later with no egg.

Both Storm and Gold have been very vocal recently. Gold also squats when I come up behind her. They have both been investigating the nest boxes. It’s going to be a race to see which one of them lays first.

I think these two girls will start laying soon. They are later this year than last year but I think it’s probably because this spring has been mostly dark and wet. Last year Gold started laying in the last week in January. Storm started laying in the first week in February and Dot started laying in the second week of February.

This morning when I went in to poop pick the chicken shed I was alarmed to see quite a big patch of blood on the back perch and splashes of blood in the shavings underneath the perch. I picked each girl up in turn and checked them. I couldn’t see any blood. I checked bottoms, combs and feet. All the girls looked okay apart from Salmon having a bit of a mucky bottom.

I tried to remember which girl was perched on the back, right hand, corner. It is usually Sugar and Salmon that perch there. I picked Sugar up again and had a closer look. There was nothing to see. I then picked up Salmon for a closer look. I saw a spot of blood on one of her tail feathers so I knew it must be from her. I had a closer look at her mucky bottom. I tried to wipe off the poop with kitchen paper but found a small ball of poop attached to her feathers that had set hard.

I got a bowl of warm water and a wet and dry cloth. I picked her up and soaked the ball of poop until I had softened it enough to free it. I dried her and set her back down.

There was a speck of blood on Salmon’s vent. I wonder if she had had to push hard to poop past the lump and that had caused her to bleed. She looks fine but I will be keeping a close eye on her.

Salmon is the eldest serama we have had so I know she is the most vulnerable. She hasn’t laid for the last two years so I hope that she won’t ever lay again. I hope this was just a blip but I will be checking her regularly.

Sugar is the other most vulnerable girl as she had problems laying last year. She started laying half way through March. It would be good if she also stopped laying but I don’t suppose that is going to happen.

Sugar has been absolutely fine all winter while not laying. We will just have to wait and see how she gets on when she starts laying this year and hope for the best.

Edit

I went back out to the girls a couple of hours after I had written this post. I checked the nest boxes again and found that Storm had laid.

Well done Storm!

We had a few soft tomatoes so I decided to chop them up and give the girls a treat.

The tomato didn’t last long. It’s one of the girls’ favourite treats. I love to see them all together around a treat.

I have got very behind with blogging lately. I thought I was overdue a post and thought it would be good to do an up to date portrait of each girl. I did them in order of who has been with us the longest.

All the girls are looking beautiful. Their faces and combs are beginning to get red. Autumn’s is the most red as she is the only girl laying at the moment but some girls started laying last February so it could be soon that we have more girls laying.

It’s been a while since my last blog post. It’s just been so cold that I try to get my chicken chores done as quickly as possible and get back indoors plus not much happens in the chicken run at this time of year.

With the short days Autumn has decreased her egg laying from every other day to every three or four days and then every fifth day from the beginning of January. She sometimes goes in the chicken shed and sits for a while in between but comes out without laying. It is as if she thinks she should still be laying more often.

I have been emptying the chicken’s water at the end of the day and refilling it in the morning because it is easier than dealing with frozen water.

Sugar spends a lot of time on the shelf in the wooden shelter when it’s either wet or cold. Sugar is also always the first one to find a spot in the sun. The morning sun is, if there is any, is on the branch perch above the ladder. Sugar is always first to that spot and then is gradually joined by the other girls. Autumn often gets the spot next to Sugar.

There is blue sky and sunshine but frosty foliage beyond the chicken run and freezing temperatures over night and only just above freezing during the day. The photo is deceiving as it looks nice but it is just above freezing.

I think the girls as well as us can’t wait for warmer weather. Roll on spring!

This year I have had to wait right up to the end of the year to do this post as Autumn has continued laying from the beginning of October right through December. I am putting this post out this morning as Autumn laid yesterday so I know she won’t lay today.

Salmon – 6 years old – laid none last year and none again this year.

Sugar – 4 years old – laid 36 – in 8 months, March to October.

Dot – 3 years old – laid 118 – in 9 months, February to October.

Gold – 2 years old – laid 93 – in 8 months, January to August.

Storm – 2 years old – laid 69 – in 7 months, February to August.

Cloud – 1 year old – laid 39 – in 4 months, June to September.

Mango – 1 year old – laid 32 in 5 months, June to October.

Autumn – 9 months old – laid 37 in 3 months, October to December.

The variance in some of the girls is due to broody periods causing breaks in laying.

The total eggs for the year is – 424.

Surprisingly enough this is very similar to last year (442) despite this being a slightly different flock to last year but despite losses and additions the flock has remained at 8 girls but with 7 laying as Salmon hasn’t laid for 2 years.

As I always say every egg is a bonus so thank you girls for your lovely eggs. The most important thing to me is that girls stay happy and healthy.

And I wish a Happy New Year to all my readers and your families.