December 2008
| 1 | Just as well our chicks are safely locked away at night. I found a savaged pigeon and three lots of its feathers all over our gravel drive this morning. |
| 2 | Clover's out and about with the others all day now, so she's over whatever it was that made her want to hide in the nest all day. |
| 3 | Very frosty this morning so the chicks slid along the patio running to get their morning corn. They need skates on mornings like this. |
| 4 | With last month's egg total at 984 for the year, it looks like we might make it over the 1000 mark if Salt & Tat manage to keep producing on these dull and cold days. |
| 5 |
Some "Chinese" chicken info: The tenth year in every twelve year cycle is the Year of the Chicken. The last one was 2005, so the next won't be until 2017... |
| 6 | ... the calendar also contains a special Day of the Chicken, the first day of every Chinese year. This is a very ancient tradition, dating back to at least the period of the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) ... |
| 7 | ... out of respect for chickens, on their special day each year, it is the Chinese custom to kill no chickens. |
| 8 | Egg laying is obviously getting difficult in these continually damp & very cold conditions. Today was the second "no egg" day of the month so far. I expect there'll be more. |
| 9 | It took a couple of sittings but lovely Salt laid us another egg. |
| 10 | A lonely Lacey is the only chick perched outside tonight - I'm a bit concerned. So.... we went out and transferred her into the nest. |
| 11 | After more than one sitting, Salt managed another egg. |
| 12 | Feathers everywhere and suddenly Tat's lost her black tail overnight. Looks like she's self-plucking for Xmas. |
| 13 | What an arrangement in the nest this evening after a thoroughly foul (rather than fowl - ha, ha) weather day. Aggie is in the middle nest, Tat in the left nest, Clover squashed at the very left end of the perch with Salt next to her and Pepper's sitting in front of Tat between the nest and the perch. Poor Lacey's alone on the outside top perch again. |
| 14 | You know Tat's a bit of a messy girl and tends to have a dirty bottom... well, she's dealt with that as all of her bottom feathers have now fallen out too. |
| 15 | If good old Salt keeps laying every other day, we'll still make our 1000th egg. |
| 16 | Salt has a tinge of brown in some of her back feathers, so it looks like she's not a pure Light Sussex. Perhaps she's got a bit of Rhode Island Red in her background and that's why she's such a good layer. |
| 17 | Oh dear, I was sort of expecting an egg from Salt today but no sign of one. We're up to 995 for the year. Can she keep going? |
| 18 | Another egg, thank goodness. |
| 19 | Poor Lacey is so definitely at the bottom of the pecking order. When they try to settle on the perches at night she squawks as she even gets a good pecking from Clover. |
| 20 | I've never seen a free range bird in such a state as Tat is when she moults - not since Tat last year, of course. |
| 21 |
  Aaah,
poor Tat...
What a sorry sight. Although if you click on the photos for a larger view, you'll see her new feathers are growing back quite quickly. |
| 22 | Isn't it perverse that chickens moult in the winter? Just when you'd think they need their feathers most to keep warm. Seems contrary to instinctive behaviour. |
| 23 | Seems Salt doesn't share my ambitions for 1000 eggs as she's now stopped laying. |
| 24 | Xmas treats have started for the chicks - some flapjack crumbs from my baking yesterday and a small slice of bread. |
| 25 | Crow was very naughty and gave the chicks a mini sweet mince tart. |
| 26 | Is Salt starting to moult? |
| 27 | Lacey, being at the bottom of the pecking order, has to find some way to assert her authority. I saw her chasing a Robin away today. Now, she's perch queen but only because she's out on her own - all five others have retreated to the nest. |
| 28 | It's very cold again, third day on the trot, mainly dull with perhaps a little sunny interval and I don't think the chicks really like it. They spend most of their time huddled together somewhere sheltering from the icy wind. |
| 29 | Salt is moulting, but very slowly. She's lost her black neck feathers and her tail is slowly departing, but no bald body bits yet. |
| 30 | The chicks have been heading for heir shelter between 14:30 and 15:00 lately, but now they are delaying slightly - just telling me that they know the shortest day has passed. |
| 31 | Surprise! Pepper started laying again. |
 
 eggs this month |
|
eggs this year |