June 2008

1	A good start to the month, with 5 eggs (Lacey's still resting).
2	We've got some very tall grass growing at the edge of the garden and it has ears/seed pods on it at the moment.  The chickens just love it and can be seen gathered in a group, jumping high to pull down the ears to eat. It's quite comical.
3	Little Clover and Aggie snuck up to the door and very quietly had private sultanas.
4	I found Lacey fast asleep on the gravel in the back garden - cute.
5	Clover doesn't like the broom.  She got quite upset when I started to sweep away some compost outside the stables.
6	Lacey's moulting a little bit now....
7	Oh dear, Aggie's going broody again.  She laid an egg but I had to remove her from the nest and she sat in my arms having a big cuddle which is so unlike her.
8	Lacey and Clover were both fast asleep on the grass in the sun.  No egg from Aggie.
9	A strange white pointy egg under Aggie today. Either she's laid again or it's Lacey's.  It's way too big for Clover.  Aggie sat on my lap for quite a while, having been hauled out of the nest again.
10	Poor Aggie's in the broody pen again and we've still got rats around the chicken run.  Crow spotted two big ones on the roof early this evening.  Our single surviving moorhen chick seems to be all alone.  I haven't seen any parents for days.  Nobody seems to love it, even Tat and Pepper chased it away today.
11	I found Aggie perched in the run (the nest was blocked) so I went to give her a tickle and got three nasty pecks for my trouble.  Wicked chick.
12	I thought I'd seen just about all the chicken behaviour around, but I was wrong.  We have a pot of sand in our carport which Crow uses to stub out his cigarettes.  I noticed a couple of days ago that some of it was spilt outside of the pot and wondered why.  I found out today.  I saw Tat pecking in the sand and somehow managing to throw some more of it out of the pot.  Then she sat and shuffled in it to have a sand bath.  Then she was joined by salt.  Whatever next?
13	It's Tat's second anniversary, so she had a very special birthday cake treat.  Just a small cupcake which she shared with her friends.
14	Unhappy chicks all day as we were out and about until late, so a messy run and someone's pooped on Pepper.
15	We have an injured young sparrow hawk in our garden and it upsets the chickens.  Although it would normally live off small birds (like sparrows, I guess) they obviously sense its predatory nature.  They cluck warnings if it comes near and Tat has tried to chase it away.  It can't fly so presumably has injured its wing.  It's a dilemma - I don't know whether to ask Crow to try to shoot it, to save it from a slow starvation or whether its wing might heal before it gets too weak?
16	Chicks were making an awful fuss locked up in their run for the night and when Crow investigated he found the sparrow hawk and caught it.  It's so so young and small.  We've put it in our toblerone pen, given it some water and tried to feed it, although we've only been successful with worms.  It's very beautiful but very hurt, so I'm hoping we can take it to a rescue centre tomorrow.
17	Hurrah - Aggie's stopped brooding (again).
18	Pepper patrols the veg garden fence when I'm in there, especially if I'm digging as she hopes to be thrown a tasty worm.
19	Although looking bright and beautiful, Lacey is still not laying.  At this rate, Aggie will beat her to it.
20	We're quite worried about Salt's bumblefoot.  Since she first got it (last October) the lump went down and was quite small and smooth and on the side of her toe.  In the last couple of weeks it has started to grow, looks quite horrible and is now under her toe making her limp.  I musy find out more about it.
21	Pepper just follows us everywhere...  hoping for a tasty morsel.  Well, today I was in the car port breaking up a box which had some polystyrene packing pieces in it and she ate one of those!  I hope it won't do her any harm.  It certainly didn't curb her appetite as she ate several worms later and then her supper.
22	Need to ring the vet tomorrow about Salt's foot  :-((
23	Vet's not available until tomorrow...
24	Made an appointment to take salt to the vet on Friday, but it's likely that there's nothing he can do.  Meanwhile, we had 5 eggs today, think Lacey has laid.
25	Aggie laid!
26	I've been avidly reading a copy of Practical Poultry which Crow bought on our last visit to the garden centre.  Might have to subscribe.
27	Salt was a very good chick at the vet's.  She was very calm whilst he examined her foot.  He seemed to press the lump quite firmly all over and she had no reaction, so we think it's not causing her pain.  He said it could be a tumour but probably benign or just an aftermath growth from the bumblefoot.  Surgery is an option but she would have to have a toe amputated and surgery has other risks. So whilst she's bright and laying well, it's probably best to leave her and see how she copes if the lump grows more.  If things change, we'll have to reconsider the options.  When we were discussing her. she started to get curious and then to cluck so loudly that she had to go back in her box so we could finish our conversation.
28	Tat went into the nest for the night but I lifted her out.  She's such a lovely, big, fat bird, I can only just get hold of her.
29	Oh dear, I should had suspicions yesterday - Tat's turning broody.
30	Broody Tat with her feathers all fluffed out looks even fatter than ever.
	eggs this month
	eggs this year