Chick Celebration!

After having one year old hen go broody and not hatch a single egg, we didn't know if we wanted the hens to go through the ordeal.  But Cleo has hatched a batch before.  Actually it was exactly a year ago.  Are their internal clocks timed like that or was it a fluke?  Anyway, we put 8 eggs under her in two batches.  Her first 4 eggs hatched yesterday and the rest should hatch today.  Here's one of them...

 Cleo is adamant about nesting way above ground and last year when they first started hatching, we moved the nest box to the ground, so the little ones wouldn't fall out.  Well, when we did that she abandoned the rest of the eggs and concentrated on the hatched chicks.  This year we decided not to move the nest box until tomorrow.  That way all the eggs will have had a chance to hatch.  So we put up a "playpen" around her box.  That way the lttle ones can't fall out.  There is Start N Grow in the metal pan and water in the plastic container...

It was interesting to see how Mama got the little ones to start drinking water.  She would scoop some up in her beak and let it dribble down her crop.  The little ones would catch the water drips off her crop.  Very interesting. In the picture below there are three showing. 

We got away for the 4th and had the neighbor boy feed and look after our place while we were gone.  On Thursday he said PJ (Plain Jane) (below) started to sit in this nestbox.  He said that she pecked at him trying to gather eggs.  So we have another broody hen.  This one is a year old also, we aren't sure of how she'll hatch.  But boy is she fiesty.  Doug is trying to see how many eggs are underneath her.  She must have pecked him 4-5 times.  He said she was serious, she was pecking him hard.  He only had time to feel 3 eggs.  Maybe tonight, I don some gloves and see if I what I count.  These will be due on July 27th.

Thanks for listening to me.  I have had my chickens for a year and half and they are so much work, fun, and entertainment.  But we don't have any domestic animals. No dogs, birds or cats. 

This post is being linked to Homestead Revival

Water Baby

I'm here in Montana visiting my family. I took my grandkids out for a picnic yesterday at a park I used to go to as a child. They were watering the lawns go we decided to run thru the sprinklers. I think it was about 90 yesterday. My youngest granddaughter Dani loves water. Here she is playing in the sprinkler. I think you can enlarge it. She's there with her brother, Jessee and oldest sister, Rachel. When we came home, we sat outside in the shade. Dani decided she wasn't though with the water and got inside the cooler, ice and all.

Dani's Quilt Grand Finale

I haven't posted in a while so I have lots to talk about. Here's my newest grandaughter with her quilt. She's so adorable, but she sleeps all the time (during the day anyway). And when she's awake, she's hungry.

See she's sleeping. Her sisters just love her.

Even her brother

And grandma-grandma

Oops, her eyes are open.

Welcome to our family, Danielle!

This is the newest member of our family. Danielle Grace, born August 21. I get to meet her in October when I go to Montana. I can't wait. I really would love to make her a quilt but her mom's comes first. I wonder how old she'll be when she gets one from me. My list of quilts for the family is long and everyone wants one. My two children don't even have one yet. My son saved jeans for me and the whiskey bottles that come in the purple bag with the gold crown them. That's what he wants for his quilt. I finally after two years have come up with a design for it. I had a real mental block about that one. He's being very patient with me. Thank you.

I'm Home

I had a great vacation visiting my grandkids. They made me feel so good.

They wrote on the driveway my Welcome and I love yous. My grandson even drew a picture of me.

I stayed seven days and left on the 5th. I love visiting my family but I love being home.

I brought my sewing machine, fatquarters, ruler, mat and my granddaughters learned to make a pillow. I'll show those pictures in my next post. I don't have any pictures of the completed pillows so I have to wait for my daughter to send them to me.