1 year old chickens in saddles

Well, actually, I'm a bit slack, we've had the jerk squad since October the 17th 2015
(I'm not sure of the actual hatch date of any of the fluffers)

 

Day 1 the squeekers arrive at their new home

 

 

A lot has happened in a year, we lost Roo Boy, Lacey recovered from coccidiosis,

Nigella and Frankie were swapped for Bonnie and Clyde (and then Clyde went too)

By mid winter all the ladies were laying.

One duck lady lays every day in her crater in the coop, although I'm still not sure whether it's Whitney or Bonnie. Our other ducky girl lays on the concrete so I'm always greeted with one broken egg and one perfect crater egg.

The chicky ladies are less consistent, although there is always at least one egg from them in the nesting box, thankfully they haven't decided to hoard eggs in hidden locations yet (that I know of...)

 

Past one year old, Chuck has moved on from cockerel ball to fluffy little rooster man. 50% hormones and 50% fluff he definitely considers himself a man's man, protector of hens and ducks.

 

Unfortunately it also means challenging authority in the form of T and miss A, who sometimes resort to carrying water guns as Chuck's spurs are growing and he is figuring out how to use them without falling on his butt.
It sounds bad, but he isn't an overly aggressive rooster, the vast majority of the time he's fine. But every so often you'll feel something thud against the back of your legs and turn to discover a puffed up Chuck staring at you.

 

The odd times he does try attack are when he feels his ladies are in danger for whatever reason, and for a free ranging flock I'm glad to have him watching out for them. The magpies keep the hawks distracted, but there are still hedgehogs and the occasional cat around.

Besides, it is still spring. I'm interested to see what his behaviour is like once the desperate need to have babies passes and he matures a bit more.

I still remind him, you're lucky you are so pretty

 

 

I'm also hoping as he matures he'll get a better handle on this whole 'makin' babies' business..

there are a few people still interested in fertile eggs, and I can understand with Lizzy being broody recently that her eggs wouldn't be fertile right now

Lacey is looking awfully scruffy, as Chuck's favourite girl she is missing head feathers and a lot of the top of her tail. Her eggs are fertile

Sunny is spoting bald patches, starting to loose the top of her tail... her eggs.. are not fertile?

and Blue has a few bald patches on top but is a fully feathered puff ball. Her latest egg is unfertile

weird

I think maybe Chuck has issues balancing, it doesn't help that the girls still don't squat for him

but either way he doesn't seem to be completing the deed.

Or maybe I need to trim some butt feathers...

 

Regardless, we don't really like the idea of completely bald chickens under the hot summer sun, or Chuck hurting the girls with his claws so saddles were in order

Yup, chicken saddles

 

 

Little fabric jackets held on by loops of elastic that fit over a hens wings (we got ours from sunsetcroft.co.nz) there is a braid of black cord across the back to help the rooster grip on.

I had read that it can take a bit of time for the girls to get used to wearing a saddle, that they can walk backwards for some time or freak out, that it was possible they'd just shake it off and loose it forever in a paddock somewhere

 

With the exception of Sunny (who complained and struggled) they were easy to slip on, and all 4 hens just carried on like normal, the saddles didn't stop them from dustbathing or carrying on with normal chicken duties.

We did remove the saddles for a few days to let the girls preen their backs, and haven't put them back on yet after removing them from soggy chickies after torrential spring down pours.

 

The flock still like helping out in the garden

 

 

(Lacey is behind the lawnmower)

 

Helping to clean the coop

 

 

And helping to fill a new clean pond with dirt and poop

 

 

Some things change, but some things stay the same

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lizzy dreams of plastic children

I always thought if a hen were to go broody, it'd be Blue. Even before she started laying, she was the most interested in the nesting boxes. The hen who hunkers down for hours and just gets comfy in there.

A couple weeks ago I went in to the coop to check on Lizzy, she'd been on her nest for 5 hours now! she puffed up at the sight of an intruder and made angry dinosaur noises at me. She growled as I searched in her warm tummy fluff to see if she had laid, pulling out 2 eggs.
Oh! one is a plastic training egg, okay, I don't need that.
I placed it back in front of Lizzy,
She pauses
then reaches out and carefully tucks the plastic egg back under her fluff. Puffing out again to keep her 'baby' warm.

 

Now, it's getting towards summer down here, and I'm being bombarded with baby chick and duck photos on facebook. Videos of adorable puffy mamas and cheeping tiny babies, little duckies having their first swims... I'm trying very hard to not add to our flock! there are already more than a few chicken breeds I'd like. But we don't need more fluffers right now, we already have too many eggs, 5 chickens and 3 ducks is fine.
So I had no plans for Lizzy to have actual non plastic eggs, some hens can get over being broody, but we were worried Lizzy would sit and waste away pining for her unborn plastic chicks.
But how do you break a broody hen?

 Blue was in another nesting box, sympathy brooding I guess as she never actually sits for too long. Both hens were moved outside and plied with sunflower seeds.
Blue instantly forgot her warm comfy spot, but as night fell and the birds settled, Lizzy had returned to her plastic egg.

The next day she was even more determined, if moved away from her nest to mingle and forage, she would scurry around before high tailing it back.
Chuck lowered his wing and danced around her, Lizzy puffed up and growled at him.
I'd read that some people place ice in nesting boxes to make the area uncomfortable and to cool a hen down, we didn't actually try this as I was worried the hens would stop wanting to lay in the boxes. We did try giving Lizzy a cool bath (while giving her a butt clean) but nothing would deter her.
Lizzy wanted plastic babies

 

So we invested in an anti-baby cage ( a large dog cage) with a wire floor, something that would allow air flow, to cool her down, make her a bit bored,

something that could be moved outdoors when the flock moved outside during the day so they wouldn't forget her and she could hopefully remember being a non puff ball chicken.

She complained, and kicked over her food bowl until we tied it to the cage. She tried nesting in the water dish, I reached in to give her fresh water, she thanked me by flying up at my face and running as fast as her little legs would carry her back to her little plastic egg.
At night the cage was moved into the coop so she could chat to her friends, she backed up into the corner and spread herself as wide as she could.

 

After 6 days and a few cooling foot baths miss Lizzy slowly transformed from a puffy, clucky, angry ball of hormones back to her cheeky chicken self

 

 

I think she forgives me. She even started laying again a few days ago!

 

 

Blue on the other hand, is still happy to be a part time nest hog, full time tart

 

 

 

 

Blue the nest box hog

It would appear my computer is dying...
let's see if we can get anywhere today

For a short while now I've been driving home in fading sunlight rather than dark, the lawn is almost growing as fast as the weeds and social media sites are starting to bombard me with pictures of little fluffy baby chickens in incubators... spring is only a few days away!

The birds know it is coming, Chuck is starting to be hormonal and protective of his girlfriends. Lacey and Blue have growing bald patches on their heads and scruffy butts from cockerel affection, apparently he hasn't quite realised he has 4 ladies as Sunny and Lizzy are both tidy.
Sunny is lowest on the chicken pecking order but has decided to focus her energies on chasing poor Bonnie duck around, Whitney duck does her best to keep the peace.

Apart from that, they all scamper from the coop every morning to search for bugs and worms, business as usual.

 

Quite often they will hang around the coop doors to see if sunflower seeds magically appear. The seeds are their current favourite treat in the whole world



The duck ladies lay in the early hours of the day.
Bonnie has taken over the crater in the corner and Whitney crams herself into a nesting box. They don't usually leave an egg a day each which is perfectly fine, Lizzy started laying mid June so we are over run with eggs!
The hens have their own laying habits. Lizzy, Sunny and Lacey are quick, in and out, they don't hang around to bask in their achievements. Lacey will often complain before laying, if she is asking Chuck to help her find a nest, she's no longer in luck - at least not when I'm in sight.
Chuck hangs about watching me instead. Probably more interested in seeing if I have food.

Blue has a much different style
Settling in to her favourite nesting box she puffs out, shuffling around every so often to get comfortable, covering herself in wood shaving and growling at any intruders to her space. She will often spend hours waiting for the right moment to lay.

 

Anyone unfortunate enough to be settling down to lay in any of the three boxes gets shoved out, Blue doesn't like to share!

It's not unusual to have to pick up angry chickens who have been kicked out of their box and lift them into an empty one. So long as it isn't the far left nest, they usually settle.
Noone likes the far left box.

 

 

 

 

I've been keeping an eye on the chicken ladies' eggs for fertile bullseyes, there has been a bit of interest from people wanting eggs so hopefully Chuck will become interested in all the girls in spring.

 

 

Tips for being a duck

 

Lay where you want. Middle of a walk way? yes. Random gap in the stairs? oh yes. In your swimming pool? if you want! or better yet claim the chickens nesting box and dig yourself a nice deep crater. (Bonnies favourite new spot, it's wonderful)

 

 

 

Get as filthy as you can! drill holes in the lawn, the best worms hide the deepest! cover your bill in a mud moustache as big as you can possibly make it (these are very small and grass free moustaches for a hard working duck)

 

 Cow poop makes a great chest decoration, plus it is nice and warm to roll in.

 

 

Lead your chicken friends to wet muddy paddocks. Ignore the human yelling at you to come home. Unless she comes back with treats

 

 

If you think she does have treats (almost every time you see her), quack loudly to call your duck and chicken friends close! gather under her feet.
If she doesn't have anything, run away!

 

 

 

When you are as grubby as possible, make your way to the recently clean pools to clean yourself and poop a lot. No, more than that.
Yes!
Now, the water you have splashed out has made delicious mud soup. Add it to your pool. Man that water is filthy. Where is the human? doesn't she ever clean these things?

 

 

5 Egg days

On Thursday Blue poked around the nesting boxes as she usually does, bothering Sunny who just wanted a bit of piece and quiet and past Lacey who has taken to hunkering down in Whitney's crater. Only now, Blue also leaves egg presents too!
Every day they lay about an hour later than the previous day and then take a day off. Whitney lays without fail in her crater and Bonnie drops hers in the coop somewhere, we often have 5 little presents a day to find.

Our pre winter storms are getting nuts, thunderstorms, driving rain
the ducks
are
loving it

 

Proud of their mud moustaches which they empty into the water containers the second I place clean ones down, and working hard to turn every mud puddle into a swimming hole.

 

 

Lacey here sports a look common with the chickens these days known as 'bedraggled wet fluff ball'. They often shelter under the big palm tree or in the old duck house, but the siren song of a wet paddock full of tasty slimy and crunchy things is hard for a little chicky to ignore... by days end they are often more water than chicken. Lucky for them the water doesn't soak into their downy fluff and their skin stays dry.

 

 

 

During brief periods of sunshine on Saturday the chicken crew (in all their fluffy, dry glory) decided to help me work inside the coop. As usual their idea of help involves standing exactly where I want to be, scratching in the wood shavings I am trying to move.

 

'brrr? brrrrp' scratch scratch

 

 

Until they find perfect spot to writhe around and watch the door go up.

A hand saw, hinges, gate latches, handfuls of screws and some weekend hours later...

 

 

Ta

 

Daaaaa!

 

The black rectangular tub is full of sand and dirt for inside dust baths, it has been inside (and ignored) for a few weeks now.

The ducks power poop in their sleep, wet mess, which wouldn't be so bad if they didn't park their little butts right against the back wall... some thick polycarbonate plastic has been placed in front of their target. Once the wall is dry, I will screw the plastic against it.

 

What's happening in the nesting box? with Blue the Wyandotte

Hens usually prefer nice quiet, dark private corners to lay.

Recently, as Sunny and Lacey settle in to the nesting box they are greeted by Blue right up in their business. Miss nosey parker has been getting closer and closer... the laying girls find it unsettling! Lacey complains when company is around, but Sunny is right at the bottom of the pecking order and will sit there, red faced until she's finished.

This morning Blue decided she needed to know what really happens in the nest

 

 

'Sunny! what are you doing? OMG there's something coming out of your butt! it's another one of those oval things the humans are so excited about, haha weird!'

 

 

'I can't see very well from here so I'm gonna come in! okay? this is fine, I'll just scooch in with you.'

at this point, Sunny squishes past Blue out of the box to make an announcement

 

 

Sunny - 'I'VE MADE AN OVAL THING! IT SUCKED A LOT!'
Blue - 'SHE MADE AN EGG! LOOK HOW LOUD I CAN YELL!'

 

 

'All alone, finally! how rude of her to stick around so long. What is this thing under me? I certainly didn't put it here,'

 

 

'All done, time to sing a song!'

Except
she hadn't...
   seems Blue is just practicing at the moment :)

 

Sunny lays her first egg

'The chicken in the nest this morning didn't look like Lacey'

 

There hasn't been any early warning, none of the chicky girls squat for me, the cockerel or the drake even now. Maybe I miss a lot by not being home during the day on weekdays, but our signs a chicken will lay her first egg either today or tomorrow have been whittled down to:

obsession with nesting spots

interest in getting to high areas

bright red, large comb and wattles

HIGH level of agitation and lots of squawking!

 

Sunny stuck unusually close to me as I put out food and water early Thursday morning and as I left for work she climbed between nesting boxes, Blue parked her butt in front and poked her head in to see what was happening while Lacey squawked at her feathery friends to get the heck out of the coop.
Miss A called me at work but not a lot could be heard over a chorus of BAWK BAWK BAWK bawk bawk BAWK BAWK!

By midday Sunny had joined the ranks of laying pullet.

 

Lacey and Sunny, egg layers!

 

Our unusually warm autumn weather is giving way to early winter storms. The flock seem to be getting better at not just sitting in the driving rain like crazy buggers, they have even conquered their fear of the Grandpa feeder!

They still enjoy knowing what I'm doing, It's been far too wet to deal with the gardens but there is always plenty to do in the coop. You have to be very careful raking the bedding around as it's not unusual to find Lacey right under you, the best spot to dustbathe is right where you need to be!

 

A large hole has been cut in the interior wall next to the roosting area in the coop, chickens poop a lot in their sleep and I'd really like to get some ventilation in that area. The removed wall panel will become a door with hinges but I only have the weekends to work on framing the area. With the roost removed I work on cutting timber down, the ducks aren't interested in being inside with me but the chickens have come to help

 

 

What's this? What are you doing to our house now?
They aren't impressed with change

 

 

I carefully raked the shavings away from my work area, finding a dropped screw in a massive pile of shavings is not fun. The chickies thoughtfully put it all back
Thanks guys! although I only just did that...

 

Sorry, I guess you will have to wait until next weekend for your door to go up

Week 30 with the chickadees

Mid May, the flock scamper from the coop in the morning to search for treats, their under carriages soggy from traipsing through frosty grass. The weather has been so warm it's hard to believe we are only a few weeks away from winter,  the duck gang seem to enjoy any rain we get, squeeking and honking while attacking puddles.

Lacey took one day off but has laid a pretty little speckled egg every day since her first. The ritual begins with her peeking into the nesting boxes and crying until Chuck joins her to inspect the place and help dig the perfect chicky crater.

 

 

The deed done, she screeches her egg song while Chuck announces the daily happenings to the neighbouring roosters. Lizzy, Blue and Sunny occasionally poke around while Lacey lays (until she yells at them all to leave) they seem curious, but haven't joined in yet.

What else has been happening lately?



 

 

Lacey demonstrating the best way to use the feeder

 

 

Whitney tries her hand at making a nest outside, obviously she is the master of disguise. I'd be surprised if anyone can even find her in this Where's Wally-esque shot.
She gave up eventually, no eggs have been laid in her super hideout.

 

 

Sunny and Lizzy trying their best to ignore me

 

 

 

The gang take a leisurely dust bath during coop cleaning time

 

 

Fluffy butt preening time

 

 

Blue and Lizzy contemplate jeans, one of their favourite things to scratch at