Hope

 

You can't hardly get any more annoying than a sideways video, sorry!!  I thought I had this live video cued up properly, but I still have a lot to learn! Please join me in the coop as we talk about what it means to have HOPE, and what "not counting your chickens before they are hatched" is all about.  Quick surprise cameo from Dolly too!  May your day be blessed!

Dolly's Debut

 

Dolly, my parrot chicken is always coming and perching on my shoulder to tell me about her night, day, or just to chatter about something.  Her debut on a recent segment from one of our church devotionals is going to be a springboard to something new.  Now she will have a platform to visit with others. I'm not sure if she will join me, but be watching soon for something new we are currently working on.  Hopefully, it will unfold within the next few days!  May your day be blessed.

Golf Ball Eggs?

 

So are we laying golf balls now?  I think I've seen it all, LOL.  These hens this year.  I have a lot of older girls and they just aren't laying like they used to.  We have a lot of "free loaders" right now, thus the purchase and hatching of new little ones this past spring/summer.  We should be back in business by next spring.

When I saw this egg I just had to laugh.  When you have chickens, you inevitably get the odd shaped one every now and then, but I must say I have never had one quite this round and large before.  Generally a hen will lay the same shaped egg her whole life, with just a few anomalies here and there.  I'm pretty sure this is from my easter egger hatchling, Matilda, from last year.  What odd shaped or odd eggs have you seen in your flock?

New Chick on the Block

Chicken math is real!  I needed more egg layers and so the purchasing began.  I have been sharing updates on the littles the past few months.  Above is Josephine with her "babies."  They are quite the character these days since Josie is a bantam (tiny chicken).   She is a fierce momma though so don't underestimate her size!  She still has a pretty tight wing on those babies these days.

New to the farm is a silkie/sapphire gem orphan and a couple of ISA Browns that I purchased at our local farm store to keep her company.  I tried to place her with one of my mommas but none of them would have it.  They are all getting along just great and doing well.  Chicken math at its best.

Above are the "teenagers" that are growing bigger and sassier every day.  They are quite the bunch.  We are enjoying them and they are all also doing well.  I release them into the big coop during the day.  Very soon they will be completely kicked out of their brooder since I will need to place the new babies in there (they won't stay in the house for long!).  More updates to come soon.  Maybe even a new visitor/permanent resident.  May your day be blessed.

They Are Easily Amused

I installed an upgraded version of their summer water jug this morning and you would have thought it was Christmas.  Silly chickens are so easily amused and they were loving and playing around with their new waterer.  We have found that these sideways nipple waterers are the best and least wasteful.  Very little if any water is spilled out and it of course stays clean and cool in the cooler.  We add ice or ice jugs in the hot hot summer which is pretty much upon us now.

The problem I currently have is that I don't really have the freezer space right now for the freezer jugs (we use 1/2 gal milk jugs filled 3/4 of the way full with water).  The freezer jugs are awesome in the 100-degree weather!  I have an ice maker machine on order because our current refrigerator is absolutely awesome in every way except the ice maker!  It is the worst ice maker EVER!  Something gets jammed or the sensor fails or something and we often run out of ice because it just isn't making any.  The tray is very small to begin with and when it stops making ice because it THINKS it's full, then it is a long time before we actually have any ice.

I'll keep you updated on the ice machine as to whether or not it solves our problem.  From the reviews I've read I am a little concerned that I might be in a similar situation in which we are short on ice.  The machine can make I think about 26 lbs. of ice in 24 hours, but it doesn't store that much and it evidently takes time to produce each batch of ice.  With no place to store the ice that is made, I might have a problem.

On to more projects for the day.  Hope your day is blessed!

Best Mother's Day Present!

Meet Claudette and Josephine.  Our oldest daughter and her fiancé gifted me with these adorable sweeties for Mother's Day.  They are Sablepoots or "Booted Bantams."  They are so cute and tiny.  We are slowly acclimating them to our coop.  I have always wanted a chicken like these, small and mille fleur colored. Mille Fleur translates to thousand flowers (the white in their feathers looks like LOTS of flowers).  I thought all chickens like this were Mille Fleur d'Uccles, but I learned about the Sablepoot after I was told they were Booted Bantams.  They are supposed to be good mommas so hopefully, they will sit eggs for me!

Speaking of eggs, here is our first banty egg!  I was so excited.  Glad they are settling in and feeling safe enough to lay an egg. I'm sure you will see more about them in future posts.  A nice bright spot in the middle of all this Covid19 mess.  Hope you are all staying safe and well.

A Little Help From My Friend

Not a very becoming picture, but a daily reality in my world.  I scoop the poop in my chicken coops daily.  This helps keep this fresh, clean, and hopefully disease free.  Lately, I have had a little helper.  One of my new hatches from last summer. Her name is Matilda (Tildy for short) and she is a mutt easter egger.  Pretty sure her dad was one of my mixed barred rock roosters and her mom was most likely one of my easter egger hens.  She is a sweetie and very curious about everything.

She has now decided that my "poop" bucket is a fun place to investigate in the mornings.  It makes for a challenging task of trying to clean the coop.  I get so tickled with her.  She wasn't always so curious and generally didn't want anything to do with me until she got a jealous streak with her "sister" Dolly.  Dolly is my personal "parrot."  Dolly is another mixed breed hatch from last year, the same hatch as Matilda. Completely different parents as Dolly came from a different coop than Matilda (different parents).  Dolly has been my personal buddy since she was a chick.  She is the one that loves to fly up or over to my shoulder and just perch and hang out.

My perch buddy, Dolly

Matilda decided one day that the extra attention might be kinda nice.  She started coming over every time that I would pay attention to Dolly.  Before you knew it we were friends too and now she will actually come over when I call her by name.  If you have chickens and want them to be "pet" friendly, aside from certain breeds that tend to be pet friendly, you just need to spend LOTS of time with them when they are chicks.  When I touch and pet my chicks on a daily basis, I tend to get more pet-friendly results.  If I miss a day or two, they seem to quickly revert back to wildness.  Chickens are funny, curious creatures and I doubt you would ever regret trying them out should you ever feel the urge to get some.  They provide wonderful eggs, meat if you choose to slaughter them, and endless entertainment.  Laughter is good for the soul.  Bless you today!

Chicken Math

My main coop now has 6 roosters and 34 hens

Chicken math, it's a real thing!  When I first got into chickens 5 years ago, I kept hearing about "chicken math."  Just what is it?  Well . . . it doesn't take long for most people who get into chickens to figure out what it means.  Basically, once the chicken bug hits you, you are done!  You are pulled in and there is no turning back.  But seriously, it is so easy to get addicted and you just find yourself wanting more.

This is the "green" coop with 1 rooster and 4 hens

It starts with those cute, fluffy balls of fluff.  You make the decision to get chickens.  You go to your local farm store, breeder, or hatchery catalog.  You can't resist all the cute little peeps and their splendiferous (is that even a word??) colors.  Maybe you decide you only want 4 -5 chickens or so.  Just enough for eggs for your family.  You might get lucky and actually only walk away with that many.  The challenge these days is that most of the local shops make you buy at least 6 so you aren't buying them as pets but as actual livestock.  Sometimes chicks don't make it so getting 6 probably isn't a bad idea.

The bad idea might be that you underestimated how much you would enjoy them and accidentally build or buy a house/coop that ends up being way too small way too soon.  Yes, that is where chicken math starts.  You start with your first batch and before you know it you want more.  You miss the fluffy peeps or you just decide that you want other breeds/colors.  Maybe later you even decide you must add different colors to your egg basket.  Whatever the reason, if you start chicken keeping, and like it, odds are you will end up with more than you ever thought you would. 

This is my "4H red coop" with 1 rooster and 8 hens

It is so easy to get addicted to them.  They are cute, funny, personable and just downright entertaining.  They can place a calm in you like no other.  Just go out by your coop, sit in a chair, and watch the antics begin.  There really is no better entertainment out there, except for maybe goats!!  All joking aside if you have a desire to get some chickens, do it!!  You won't regret it and I bet you won't look back and wish you didn't.  Enjoy!!  And don't say I didn't warn you.

Using Straw in the Chicken Yard

DON'T DO IT!!  There, I said it, again.  About 2 or 3 years ago I vowed never to put straw down in my chicken runs.  I had used it over the winter to protect their feet from the snow and cold and it worked great at the time.  UNTIL . . . the snow melted, lots of poop, then lots of rain which then turned into LOTS of STINK!!  YUK!  It was a horrid mess and a LOT of work to clean up.  I vowed, never again!  Well, this past winter for some reason our local farm store was having trouble keeping shavings in stock and I went back to putting straw down in the runs after we had a couple of near blizzard type snowfalls.

I am now again reminded of and regretting my decision.  I hauled 6 full wheelbarrow loads of yucky straw and poop from one of my smaller runs. On top of that, I'm pretty sure one of my hens now has a crop blockage (hopefully not impacted) she is dealing with.  She most likely got it from eating the straw, ughh!  I'm treating her but might end up deciding to just cull her.  Yes, some of the chickens are pets but their purpose on our homestead is food so the majority of my current stock is expendable.  Those we have tagged as our pets will stay with us till they pass but freezer camp is the option for the rest as the time arises.

I still have another run to clean out and part of my main coop run too.  Work I would not have to be performing had I just put extra shavings down instead.  I hope I don't forget this again.  It is just so not worth all the extra work to have to haul it away.  Add to that a sick hen who is most likely not laying right now due to her illness.  I hope she pulls out of it.  She is a pretty good layer (Copper Marans) who is just now about 1 1/2 years old.

Straw might work for some, but for me it does not.  Do you use straw in your coop and/or runs?  I just personally prefer pine shavings all around.  It has always done me well and kept my hens and roosters happy and healthy.

Mud, Mud, and MORE Mud!

Just when you think it can't get worse, it does.  This horrible wet, cold, winter can now leave, please!  We have had just too much rain/snow and not enough sunny, warm days to dry it up.  Our backyard is a soupy mess and the chickens are not happy. The above pic is from the area around the outside of my main coop.  We have tried to lay straw down but it just isn't holding up under all the mud.  Walking from the house to the coops to take care of the chickens has become an Olympic event!!  To make matters worse, we have more rain in the future forecast. So glad that the area where the chickens have their runs does not have all this mud since we have worked on building the areas in the runs up so to diminish/eliminate any flooding issues.

The other super crazy part is our weather.  It can't make its mind up.  We go from the above picture to this!

And then back to the wet soupy mud.  Ughh!!  It really gives one reason to complain!  But God says to rejoice in ALL things.  Trying to find the joy in all this mess.  I know it's in there!

Anxiously awaiting warmer weather and sunnier days.  Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.  Many blessings to you!

Are Eggs All They are Cracked Up to Be?

Everyone who knows me knows that I am the "crazy chicken lady."  I started on my "chicken journey" 5 years ago and I have never looked back.  There is a known fact in the chicken world called "chicken math."  Chicken math is when the bug to keep chickens takes over and you just HAVE to get that one more chicken or breed.

When we moved to our property in the fall of 2007 I just couldn't wait to start our "farm."  I knew we couldn't do it right away but I was busting at the seams to get started.  I never realized it would take 7 (YES SEVEN) years till I would finally get some chickens.  There are a lot of reasons why but that is for another story on another day.  I was so proud to start out with almost free chickens and a cheap little prefab coop (yet another story!!) I found on sale at our local farm store.  Thus began the journey and learning curves!!  My "free" chickens were straight run and free because of a rebate.  I knew what straight run meant (the chicks are not sexed so you don't know if you are getting boys or girls) but did not realize at the time that they are usually picked over by the time you get yours and you pretty much end up with all boys!  Of our first 10 chicks I think 8 of them were boys if I remember correctly!!

So, I started with the modest 10 chicks.  Once they grew and we knew we had mostly boys, it was time to cull (process to eat) the unwanted extra boys.  I rehomed 1 and kept 2 and the others went to what we call "freezer camp" for future meals for our family.  I wanted chickens for meat and for eggs so this was ok but I didn't want to start out that way!  Our next batch of chicks was intentionally purchased as pullets (young female chicks).  I have to say that in the 5 years that we have purchased chicks from our local farm store there has only been one time (and that was in the beginning) when one of the pullets ended up being a cockerel (young male chick).

So now we had two pullets and two cockerels from our initial purchase.  We purchased I think 6 more pullets and then by that fall we purchased some more pullets.  We had to rehome another rooster because they weren't getting along.  I think we had about 12-15 chickens by the end of that first year.  By the next spring I got chick fever again and purchased more and the story goes on.  Now not only do I purchase chicks but I have some hens that go broody (want to hatch chicks) and we hatch some of our own too.  I am currently at 54 chickens right now.  I have 8 roosters and 46 hens. You should only have about 1 rooster per 10 hens but I also have multiple pens.  Two of my roosters are currently locked up separately due to the excess at the moment.  Again, another story for another day.

We still have 2 chickens from our original crew and many from shortly thereafter.  There are quite a few that should be culled but will not be due to them being my son's pets from the beginning.  We keep that down to a minimum these days but it is hard.  You do get so attached to them.  But I must remember, they are also provision for my family.  We got them for eggs and meat, but the occasional pet is just fine by me too.

Speaking of eggs.  Let's wrap this up.  I meant to talk about the eggs and got off track!!  I cracked the eggs in the picture above the other day and it reminded me about some myths and misconceptions about chicken eggs.  Fact: there are only two colors of eggs, white and blue.  All other egg colors are variations of these.  Different chicken breeds lay different color eggs.  Fact:  Brown eggs and white eggs are the same!  The brown egg color is actually "sprayed or painted" on by the hen before it is laid.  The retail industry has you convinced that brown eggs are farm eggs and thus healthier for you.  ALL eggs are farm eggs!!!  Brown eggs are not necessarily healthier or better for you than white eggs.  Nutritional value of an egg is dependent on what the chickens are fed.  Chickens that are free ranged or able to eat more grass and bugs are going to lay eggs that will be healthier for you.  Fact: chickens are omnivores so they eat both plants AND animal products (yes they will even eat chicken!!).  Fact: lighter yolked eggs are not necessarily less nutritious than darker yolks.

Even backyard chicken keepers are proud of their darker yolked "farm fresh" eggs.  The problem is that again, the nutrition of the egg is dependent on what is fed to the chicken.  As you can see from the picture above, yolk color does not always guarantee that one egg is healthier than another.  My flock is all fed the same diet and forage on the same ground, yet look at the difference in yolk color.  Two of the above eggs were such a beautiful deep orange color compared to the paler looking yolk.  It's possible that their bodies processed the food differently or perhaps they foraged for bugs and treats better than the hen who laid the lighter yolk.  You can feed certain food and supplements to cause your yolks to take on rich dark colors, but it does not necessarily mean it is more nutritious.

I hope this clarifies some interesting facts about chickens and their eggs.  Comment below for any additions you have or questions about this subject.  May your day be blessed, and hopefully warmer, in this crazy polar vortex weather we are having lately.

To Heat or Not to Heat

To heat or not to heat, THAT is the question.  Winter is surely upon us and we have had some exceptionally frigid temps the past week.  We were having such a mild winter and then BAM, it hit.  Winter vortex.  Freezing cold.  Brrrrr!!  If you had the perfect, right answer then you would be a very rich person.  There is always an ongoing discussion in the chicken world about whether to heat your coop or not and just how cold is too cold for your chickens.

The catch is that there are SO many factors to consider.  What is your climate like in general, is humidity a problem, what breeds of chickens do you have, etc.??  If you have had chickens for any length of time then you know what they say about chickens surviving cold over heat to be true.  They can tolerate very frigid temps but tend to have many more issues with excessive heat.

I have been raising chickens for 5 years now and while I am FAR from any type of expert, I have experienced a lot in these past years.  I have learned that they certainly can tolerate cold MUCH better than the heat.  I have never lost one to the cold but I have lost 1 or 2 from the heat.  We don't have electricity in the coop but we do run electrical cords year round now.  I use heated waterers in the winter and fans in the summer.  While any type of electricity can be a potential fire hazard, I do agree that heat lamps in the coop are just not safe.  Many, many coops have burnt to the ground from heat lamps and some have even lost their homes and their lives because of it.

After watching my girls struggle so much during the winter last year when we had negative temps, I still wanted to provide some type of heat or warmth (we do have older hens now and it shows in the cold).  I did have one of those hard plastic radiant type heat pads that you buy for outdoor cats/dogs plugged in for the past couple of years.  It doesn't heat anything but I have watched some of my older crew and snuggle up next to it when they got too chilled.

I have learned that even newly hatched chicks can survive the cold with a good momma.  Twice now I've had hens go broody much too late in the year and hatch babies in the winter.  I had heard from another chicken momma that babies do just fine but not until I experienced it myself did I truly believe it.  Amazing, momma keeps them plenty warm and you will notice them mature and feather out faster and be more healthy and vibrant from being raised in that type of environment.  They have always been my healthiest chickens.

All that being said, I did just purchase and had hubby install our new Cozy Coop radiant heater in the main coop.  I still have 3 other coops with chickens that have no heat whatsoever and probably never will.  None of the coops are insulated but we have gone to great lengths to ensure that they are all well ventilated.  Everyone says it over and over again and it is so true, "keep them dry, draft free, and well ventilated and they will do fine."

I am happy to report that the heater does not heat the coop whatsoever.  As a matter of fact, I have noticed that it doesn't even heat up the roost that is about 6 inches away.  While in my opinion even on the lowest setting (there are two--high and low) it is too hot for me to keep my hand on it without feeling like it is burning, it does allow for them to warm themselves if they feel the need by camping out right next to it.  We mounted it on the wall just behind the roosting area and I know they appreciate the extra warmth at night during these frigid nights.  It is in my main coop and there are 38 chickens in there and they roost in different spots so almost half of them do not roost anywhere near the heat source and they do just fine!  I just keep it on low and let them decide how they want to use it.  I generally do not notice anyone fighting to be near it during the day which is good. I installed it mostly for any crazy temp drops like last year and for peace of mind for me.  If we lost power, not a big deal since it is not raising temps at all and they are clearly not depending on it for constant warmth.

Again, heating is so dependent on your personal feelings and those I stated above about weather and types of chickens.  Our weather can range from low negative temps (generally not lower than -10 degrees Fahrenheit) to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (I think our hottest so far with chickens has been about 102 with pretty high humidity and boy were they struggling).  Most, if not all, of my flock is pretty much dual purpose birds and tend to all do just fine in hot or cold temps.  Some breeds can't tolerate cold at all and some can't tolerate heat at all.  I have barred rocks, easter eggers, a rhode island red, a leghorn, buff orpingtons, lavender orpingtons, brahmas, speckled sussexes, black copper marans, silver-laced wyandottes, australorps, various sex links, homegrown mutts, and even 1 purebred silkie boy.

To heat or not to heat?  That will be up to you to decide.  Do you heat your coop(s)?  Why or why not?

Blessings!

Disclaimer:  This is NOT a sponsored post and there are no affiliate links.  I simply shared what is working for me and what I like so far.

It's Still Winter

I'm finally back.  It has been a challenge.  We have had a lot of sickness over the past two months and I am still trying to get rid of the remnants of a horrible cough I had that would just not leave.  It ended up being quite a bit of sinus issues, but pretty miserable nonetheless.  I have so many dreams and plans for this year and I can only hope that I can do a better job at blogging and sharing what goes on at our little homestead.  I would like to incorporate more informative posts and share more of my experiences with successes and failures as we slowly grow in our knowledge.

It's still winter time and I guess we needed to be reminded of that.  The above pic shows what happened today within a matter of hours.  We went from too much rain and flooding to a flat out blizzard.  I think there might only be about 6 inches or so of snow out there not counting the snow drifts but the cold and wind have been brutal.  It has been close to 20 mph winds most of the day and it is still blowing hard.  The snow has stopped but the wind will continue through the night.

We have had SO MUCH rain lately and the water was starting to be a problem with the chickens and now this.  Needless to say, they were NOT happy about this sudden snow blizzard.  It will be interesting to see what the morning brings.  It will be a challenge.  The not fun part of homesteading and raising your own animals.  They still need food and water and no matter the weather, they depend on you to get it to them.  It's also critical to keep their bedding as clean and dry as possible during the cold.  Dampness and wet cause more frostbite issues with chickens than the cold itself.

Hubby installed the new Cozy Coop radiant heater in the main coop today so hopefully, they are a little more comfortable in this cold.  It does not heat the coop but should rather take the chill off for them to not have to work so hard at keeping their bodies warm, especially overnight.  I'll keep you updated on my experience with it.  They certainly seemed to appreciate it tonight when I closed their coop up for the night.  The coop is still very cold (about 30 degrees last I checked), but again, more tolerable than single digit temps which is what it is with the wind chill right now.

Until next time, may your day be blessed.

Snake!

A little too much excitement for me occurred the other day in the chicken coop.  This summer we have had a few run-ins with snakes in my main coop.  My husband has had to dispose of a couple snakes due to them being inside my chicken coop.  He doesn't like snakes.  At all!!  I like them, as long as they mind their own business and do not eat my chickens or their eggs.  I was collecting eggs a few days ago and met up almost face to face with another snake!

My immediate reaction was to grab it and try to yank it out of the coop to protect my chickens and the baby that was just a few feet away.  I have my Marans mama with her baby chick in the nursery that is just a few feet away from some nesting boxes where the snake had taken up residence.  It didn't appear to have eaten anything yet.  I failed.  It had its tail end firmly secured.  I only managed to tick it off.  I had to close up the egg door to the nesting boxes and go get reinforcement, my son.

On our second try to get the snake out we failed again, it just wasn't coming out!  It crawled up deeper into the coop and in the process ate a mouse!!  Yes, when I went inside to try to get a better look and try to dislodge it I caught it with a mouse in its mouth.  It ate it very quickly!  Then it holed itself up in the crevice you see above.  I told my son we would just have to come back later after it had calmed down and maybe come out of the hole.  I was hoping the chickens would be fine since it had just eaten the mouse.

On my way back to the house I heard the hens making a big commotion.  It occurred to me when I got to the back door that perhaps the snake was on the move.  I hollered at my son to come back out and help.  By the time I got back to the coop, my son had already ushered the snake outside and had lost it.  I can't believe how fast that snake was!  We were pretty confident the chickens were in the clear.  I just really do not know how it is getting into my run and coop.  Or how it got out so fast!

I generally collect eggs anywhere from 2 to 3 times per day so that generally hasn't been a problem with any snakes.  I also wonder how these snakes keep getting past my roosters!  We're pretty confident it was just a rat snake.  We do have copperheads and even saw a water moccasin a few weeks ago!!  So far I'm pretty sure all the snakes we have seen around the garden and coop have either been garter snakes or rat snakes.  I like the rat snakes so they keep the mouse population down. I just wish they would stay out of the coop and keep to the area around it and the garden (of course I don't like coming across them in the garden either!).

What excitement is going on at your homestead?

Snake!

I was in the coop the other day collecting eggs and checking on the babies and saw this!!! Ughh!  It is most of a snake skin that has been shed.  The rest of it was intertwined into the chicken wire that divides this section for my babies.  I don't currently have any babies in that part right now.  So grateful for that!

Snakes in the chicken house are NO GOOD!  Especially with the babies I have in there right now.  I have littles, tweens, and teens.  I have been doing careful headcounts on all of the littles at least once or twice a day. 

Never did find any snake but several months back hubby found one in the coop and just the other day they found one down by the septic drain area.  I know we have the black rat snakes around but it's important that they don't enter my chicken yard or coop!  Can't believe it got past all the chickens!  And shame on my roosters, they should have been able to scare it off.  Who knows.

Have you had any interesting visitors to your coop lately?

New Chicken Playhouse

The girls (and boys) in the 4H pen are really enjoying their new playhouse!  I knew I needed to get more stuff in their run to shake things up a bit and deter boredom.  They also desperately needed more shade and shelter (all they have is under their tiny coop).

I wanted to hit some yard sales to find them a playhouse when I realized that Little Bug's house was pretty much falling apart.  We get wicked winds during storms around here and it has just seen better days.  Sam (my oldest) helped me disassemble, then reassemble the playhouse in the 4H pen.  The feathered dinos were not impressed at first!

By the next day, they were all hanging out and playing all over it.  I put a 2 x 6 board across the window ledges to use as a roost and they are just loving it.  They especially love to fly to the top of the house and just check everything out from a higher vantage point.  When it gets hotter in the middle of the day they hang out in and around it where it is cooler and shady.  So glad we did that!

What fun additions have you done with your chicken yard?

Marvelous Monday - Spring is Finally Here!

For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. . . Deut 8:7

What beautiful days we have been having here.  The weather and seasons have been crazy for everyone this year.  It seems no matter where you live I have seen reports of crazy weather.  Lots of rain and snow.

We just got done with a rain spell and there is more on the way later this week.  It will probably be good for the garden as long as we don't get too much!  When there is standing water everywhere and the chickens are under water then it seems that would be too much!

Poor chickens!!

So grateful for the sunshine.  We will enjoy it as long as it is here.  Praying your day is blessed!

BathTime!

Went out to the coops this afternoon to do the normal afternoon chores and found this silly girl enjoying a rather wet and slightly muddy bath.  I had this tire in the main run for their dust bath but it almost never got used.  I might have seen it used a handful of times in the past year or two.

Since moving it to the 4H pen, the girls have been enjoying it immensely!  My white easter egger was NOT white this afternoon.  I wondered what she had gotten into, then I saw this silly Black Marans enjoying a rather wet bath.

There's always something going on in the chicken yard and they are an endless source of laughter. 

Anything thing new and funny going on in your chicken yard?

Nesting Boxes - How Many?

The age-old question, "How many nesting boxes do I need?"  The standard is about 1 box per 4 hens.  Any chicken keeper might be tempted to tell you just 1 or 2, LOL. Why?!  Because everyone wants the same box or the most coveted box anyway!  My silly California White and Leghorn ladies displayed this beautifully this morning.  Neither was willing to give way and they both decided to just share.  Silly things!

Chickens and their antics and personalities give me neverending enjoyment.  They are such quirky, individual personality characters. Bottom line is, it's better to have the 1 to 4 ratio, but just know that in the end, there will be some that just won't get used, or used very little.  In my main big coop, I have 6 nesting boxes and my currently 20 plus laying hens generally use only 3 of them!  What antics are your chicks up to these days?

She Crowed!!!

Hazel crowed!!  Oh no, another rooster!!!  We now have 8 roosters again.  We rehomed Olaf and were down to 7 until the other day when I heard Hazel crow.  Sir Galahad, our only other Silkie has been crowing for some time now.  My two barred rock mix boys crowed a lot later than Olaf did, so I knew the jury was still out as to whether Hazel was hen or roo.  I always wondered because Hazel always just looked like a smaller version and different color than Sir Galahad.  I knew the older Hazel got and no eggs that she might be a he.  The good news is that the two seem to get along great, so I hope it stays that way.

I still plan to move the two Silkies over to another coop with the three Frenchies (black copper marans), a SLW (Silver-laced Wyandotte), and the Olive egger trio (two roos and a hen).  It worries me a little because that will technically be 4 roos in one pen with only 5 hens.  I think the Silkies will be ok and it's possible that one of the olive eggers will become dinner in the future (I hope not cause they are both pretty cute).