Back in Laying Mode.

 

The broody hen has finally desisted from her hormonal enduced behaviour. The clucking has stopped as has the fluffing of feathers and the requirement to sit on the eggs laid by her seven coop mates. I don't know what finally prompted her stepping back from her unrequited maternal duties but she has finally recognised that it was all a waste of effort. Her comb had turned from deep red to a pale pink but it has darkened appreciably over the past week. Today was marked by her laying her first egg in over four weeks. We are now back in full egg production albeit that I know it won't be too long before my minature flock decides that it is tine to go into moult and take on the dishabille, look.

 

 

Unrequited Hen Motherhood

On Thursday I left home at about 8.15am after having let the hens out of their coop and collected the three eggs that had been laid before coop opening time. When I returned home that evening only seven hens were pecking around in the run. Number eight was missing. It wasn't long before I discovered her in the egg laying compartment of the coop with feathers fluffed up and clucking contentedly as she sat on five eggs that had been provided by her coop mates. She had gone broody and was not a happy bird when I prised her from her fruitless task and removed the eggs. As yet I have been unsuccessful in breaking her hormonal behaviour. If I do nothing she should revert to normal in about three weeks time. That is the timescale for hatching a fertilised hen's egg. Apparently cold baths can knock the broodiness on its head so I might try sticking the hen's nether regions in one of the trugs that collect the rainwater from the greenhouse.

 

Wet Bedraggled and Bewildered

I don't like thunderstorms. Neither do the chickens. When the rain started this evening I retreated from the vegetable patch to the greenhouse but when the rattles of thunder began to reverberate around the sky I dashed back to the house. The chickens initially bounded to the shelter under their coop. This kept the worst of the rain off them but when the hammerings of Thor began they decided to jump into the coop itself. One of their number stood sentinel just inside the entrance to the coop keeping a beady weather eye on the wet Stygian gloom. I suspect that egg production may suffer a decrease tomorrow with two or three of the chickens not providing me with their daily calcium coated protein package but rather producing eggs minus their shells. It doesn't take too much to disrupt the equilibrium of the domestic hen.

 

The Millennium Egg

Friday saw me collecting my one thousandth egg from the coop. I can't pretend that it looked a great deal different from its nine hundred and ninety nine predecessors. The same elliptical shape, the same brownish eggshell and no doubt when I crack it open I will be met with the same orangey coloured yolk. Still I suppose consistency is what one wants in the matter of egg production. That said it would perhaps be nice, whenever the present octet of chickens have entered their celestial coop to replace them with a small selection of breeds which would give me a variety of egg colouration.

Depending on breed the shells of chicken eggs may be blue or even olive green as well as the more normal white or brown. The principal component of eggshell is calcium carbonate which is naturally white. If there is nothing else going on in the chicken's nether regions you end up with a white shelled egg. With some breeds and indeed most commercial hybrids the hen releases a brown pigment just before the egg laying. The origins of the blue egg seem to emanate from a South American chicken which became infected by a virus which prompted a genetic mutation resulting in an accumulation of a blue pigment. I have read that the crossing of a brown laying breed of chicken with a blue egg laying breed will provide one with progeny which will provide green coloured eggs. I wonder if Chas Darwin realised that when he was writing, "The Origin of the Species."?

 

Chicken Duvet Day

The temperatures have been dropping over the past few weeks. Chickens are surprisingly resilient to sub zero temperatures. Resilient certainly but they still prefer positive temperatures as do I. About a month ago I decided to purchase a duvet for the coop. It wasn't called a duvet but heyho that's what it is really. The residents of the coop seemed to be very pleased with the insulation layer which I have provided them with with. It is made specifically for the coop and fits well. A total of sixteen bungee hooks attach the cover to the coop. There is a zip enabling one to get at the litter trays but unfortunately there isn't the same facility to access the nesting box. That said it isn't too onerous to undo the necessary three or four bungee hooks. Another capital cost to cover!

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Eggs per Day

Until a week ago my eight strong flock of chickens was providing a regular seven eggs per day. I am fairly certain that one of the birds was not laying despite being some thirty weeks old. The probable guilty party was the smallest of the chickens. Her comb was very underdeveloped in comparison to her coop mates.

Over the last week three mornings have seen me collecting eight eggs including a distinctly smaller specimen. It would seem that the runt of the coop has managed to develop the knack of egg laying, - at last! There has been a definite growth spurt of her comb. I expect she will always be the smallest of the chickens but at least there is now some return on her feed bill.

As well as these eight egg days there have been two days when the number of eggs per chicken has exceeded one. In one instance I collected nine eggs and on the other eleven. I didn't think that this was physically possible but apparently it can happen. If it does occur then it is common for the shell of the second egg to be very thin. I haven't noticed any difference in shell thickness. This is apparently suggestive of a high protein diet. Apart from their standard layers pellets I am not feeding them anything save for a few cabbage leaves. That said they are grubbing around the orchard most days so they must be finding a plentiful supply of slugs, snails, worms and beetles.

 

Boyfriend for the Chickens

When I went out to the orchard at dusk to close the chicken coop the chickens were still out in the run. It is a bit of a habit but I did a quick count. Nine! None missing then but one extra! Looking into the gloom I realised that the ninth bird was just outside my netting and wasn't a chicken. It was a cock pheasant. All parties seemed to be happy. It wasn't long before the pheasant appreciated my presence and high kneed off to the road. I don't think that Fergus Pheasant had managed to hop over the fence and pleasured the chickens but who knows. Hybrid chickens/pheasants are possible so I had better keep this lothario outside the fence. Looks as if I will need a shotgun.

 

Big Egg Little Egg

 

Just over four weeks have passed since I was presented with my first egg. I suppose that the eggs were initially slightly smaller than one might have purchased from the supermarcardo but heyho that has to be expected from young birds. However over the last month the size of the eggs has increased, likewise that of the chickens, and yesterday one of the eggs was of goose egg proportions. I expect that it will turn out to be a double yolker. Another possibility is that there is an egg inside an egg. That would be much less likely but still a possibility.

I am beginning to suspect that one of the, "girls," is not laying. She is noticeably smaller than the others and her comb is not as large as that of her coop mates. Without the benefit of an infrared camera or a vegetable based marker I can't be totally sure.

 

 

Copper Bottomed Eggs

 

I can't say that I have been bereft of kitchen accoutrements to prepare the garden eggs for consumption. That said I was more than happy to accept pre birthday gifts of a miniature proware copper frying pan and saucepan. I suspect that they may have been purchased at Lakeland but as they were gifts it is probably not quite pukka to check out the purchase price!

The frying pan is only 12cm in diameter and the the saucepan has a diameter of 9 cm. That said they can both cope with two eggs. I have to say that I am coming down on the side of fried eggs rather than boiled.

 

Morning Eggs

The chickens are now all performing their chickenly function in a satisfactory manner. One or other of them may take a day off from their egg production duties but seven eggs per diem is now the norm. Hopefully the wintery weather will not result in a downward trend.

I had assumed that most if not all of the eggs would have been, "vented," during the night. Certainly one or two may be present when I let the hens out of their coop shortly after seven o'clock but the bulk of the eggs seem to be laid within an hour of the hens having consumed their breakfast. Strange that. Well maybe not. Perhaps it is a pressure thing. That would sort of make sense.

 

 

 

First Egg of Autumn.

Finally after feeding the chickens for three and a half weeks one of their number has decided to repay me with an egg. About time!

 

I expect with the shorter days that a certain tardiness in the commencement of their egg laying lives has to be expected. They are supposed to start laying between eighteen and twenty two weeks. With this Friday being the completion of twenty two weeks from hatching it looks as if they might all just about get a handle on their obligations within the expected parameters.

 

Today's solitary egg is somewhat small. Certainly no danger of it rolling out of the egg cup.

 

 

 

The Cost of Chicken Feed.

 

 

I am discovering that there is a considerable discrepancy in the cost of chicken feed. Not surprising really. When I set up my embryonic garden chicken enterprise I purchased 20kg of layers pellets from the suppliers of the coop. The price extracted from my wallet was £11.25. I did know that I was paying slightly over the odds but it was convenient and at least I knew that I had food available for the forthcoming birds.

With eight chickens a twenty kilo bag lasts about 20 days. Pets at Home proffered 20kg at £12.50. No cost saving there. On Saturday I paddled along to the village agricultural suppliers. When I requested a bag of layers pellets I was asked if I wanted it charged up to my account. I admitted that I would be paying for the bag at the time of purchase. The cost was £7.35 for 25kg. I think that I know where my future purchases of chicken feed will occur.

 

Chicken Feed

The chickens are getting used to their feeder. Rather than have one which was continually open to the chickens, the elements and any vermin I invested in a footplate operated feeder. As the average chicken is not overly bright, pretty thick actually, one has to give them some time to become inculcated as to its usuage. For the first week the footplate was inoperative and the lid to the feeding tray remained fully open. I have now altered the settings so that the lid is only partially open. As a consequence the chooks can still see the food pellets but the lid only opens fully if they stand on the now slightly raised footplate. Next week the lid will be fully closed unless the chickens stand on the footplate.

The sales literature assures me that I will save oddles of money by keeping the food dry and not loosing any to passing rodents. Hopefully this all proves to be correct. The little beggars do manage to guzzle quite a lot of food in the course of a week, about 40p per bird I guesstimate. Garden eggs are not particularly cheap to produce.

As well as providing the chickens with their layers pellets I have been hanging up bunches of fresh nettles for them to peck at and I have also introduced several cabbage leaves to the coop. The latter have proved to be extremely popular. The ribs remain uneaten but none of the greenery remains.

Several manufacturers have poultry feeders of the type that I have purchased. The feeder which I selected is sold under the name or style of, "Grandpas Feeders." It comes in two sizes, a standard feeder which holds 9kg of pellets and a larger version with double the capacity. The latter was more than large enough for my mini flock.

 

 

 

New Home for Chickens.

 

Today, (Friday), was the day that was pencilled in for me to collect my point of lay, (POL), chickens. I know that I could have purchased stock within a few miles from my newly constructed egg coop but I decided to buy from a registered purveyor of teenage chickens in the south of County Antrim. Accordingly I ventured forth in the horseless carriage this morning to the environs of Larne with three large cardboard boxes. Journey's end was a smallholding run by a middle aged woman. She trades under the catchy name of Fowlplay. Over the course of a year she sells some seven thousand five hundred teenage chickens having grown them on from day old chicks.

The cost of my POL's was £6.00 per bird. They were surprisingly quiet on the drive home and to date they seem content with their new home. One bird declined to jump up into the coop for her nightime roost but she displayed no resistance when I lifted her and pushed her into the coop along with her compatriots and closed the door for the night.

 

 

Chicken House Construction.

When the chicken coop and run arrived from Omlet the instructions for its erection assured me that three hours would be more than suffice time to finish the task. Oh that it had been so quick! If I am honest it probably took me closer to twelve hours. I expect that someone familiar with the world of flat pack furniture would have found the instruction booklet with its diagrams and drawings extremely clear. I found it slightly confusing and certain stages had to be reversed and reattemped. Anyhows I finally managed to complete the construction by dusk on Wednesday.

Now for the livestock!

 

 

Homes for Chickens

Now that I have decided to purchase a few chickens, well more or less decided, I have to consider the rather more expensive matter of a home for these egg producers. It seems as if there is no limit as to the amount you can or can't spend on a coop for one's feathered friends. Some individuals are able to utilise existing outhouses or construct their own coop. I am not one of them. One of my friends was able to adapt an old dog kennel for his three girls. Bertha, Betty and Beulah seem quite content in the former residence of a deceased canine and have between them provided eighteen eggs most weeks over the past year.

Being intent on keeping my thumbs and therefore not attempting any DIY I must consider the merits and demerits of the hundreds of coops that litter the advertising pages of the chicken press. These range from the very basic ark type to coops which pretend to be Romani caravans. Peter Viggers would love them. Some are constructed of poor quality softwood whilst others have the benefit of hardwood and dovetailed joints. Some are constructed of recycled products and others of moulded plastic. A veritable cornucopia of options.

It is of course not just a coop that has to be considered. A run is also needed unless you want herbaceous borders pecked to death and you are prepared to risk the predatory attacks of Mr. Reynard. A fixed run with concrete foundations would be the most secure but I like the notion of being able to move coop and run around my embryoic orchard and not ending up with a grassless muddy patch. These thoughts taken in conjunction with a desire to have something that is easily cleaned, maintenance free and unlikely to be infested with red mites has caused me to come down on the side of a rather untraditional coop with integral run and skirting marketed by a firm called, "Omlet." The Eglu Cube is the model which I have determined upon.

 

Thoughts of Chickens

Both of my grandmothers kept hens. It was their contribution to the war effort. At this distance from 1939 I suppose that I have to elaborate and say I am talking about the Second World War. My paternal grandmother kept her chickens for eggs. She continued her chicken venture until the mid 1960's. We usually visited her on Sunday afternoons and I remember being drafted in to help her collect the eggs and make up a mash for the laying hens.

My maternal grandmother's efforts were directed towards the breeding and hatching of chicks. She was a member of various chicken breeders' associations and was proud to display their logos on her notepaper. I think it was in the mid 1950's that she ceased her mini business. The outhouse which she used for her venture continued to be called the Incubator House even after her death in 1968.

Maybe it has been the indirect influence of my grandmothers but the notion of having a few chickens has been occupying my mind for the past couple of years. I have now convinced myself that it is a good idea. Whether it will be remains to be seen and experienced. I know that it may just be a hankering for the uncomplicated life of childhood when worry was transient and the future welcomed. It would be nice to think that one could experience the hopes of childhood again even if transiently.