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

Is that a Chicken egg?

We gather eggs everyday around 4:30pm.  On weekends Doug usually gathers them for me.  Last night he came in and said "I think we have a Guiness record in the basket"  I looked and I didn't see anything unusual and remarked that none of them looked huge to me.  He pointed ---  Guniess for the smallest egg.

So I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures. 

What's the smallest egg you have ever gathered?  Post a picture.  I'm really interested now.

This post is being linked to Homestead Revivial Barn Hop #52

Eggstraordinary

My hens have finally started producing.  It seemed like it was a long dry spell.  Had it not been for my young laying pullets laying almost everyday, we would have been skunked.  Now of my 15 hens, I have been getting anywhere from 4-9 eggs daily.  When we gathered the eggs last night, we counted 10 eggs. That is an all time high for us.  That means that some of my older hens are laying.  Which ones, we don't have a clue. I'm so glad I talked Doug into culling the end of March.

I think this is great!  I've been selling my eggs faster than I can bring them to work.  This last week I was able to bring in 3 dozen and still have some for our personal use.  This week, I'll probably take in 4 dozen.  I'll find out where the saturation point is for eggs at work.  No matter, I'll find inventive ways to use them if that happens.

For now...Atta Girls!

This post is being shared with the Barn Hop

Will I Get Eggs Today???

I was sitting out on my back patio this morning talking to my mom and I kept hearing this whoosh noise. I thought it was coming from inside the house. Well it wasn't, it was coming from the field beside my house, just out of eyesight.  When I walked out to the yard I saw...

The chickens were going nuts.  They kept running to their house, in and out and squawking, running into each other.  The people in the baskets were waving, unaware of the commotion below.  The girls really didn't like this disruption to their normal, quiet routine.  I hope this commotion won't hold them back from their laying.  They have been so good lately giving me from 3-6 eggs a day.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Just beyond the line of trees in the background is the Willamette River.  They need to get their lift so they can clear the treeline.  Then they like to follow the river, which is about 80 below the bottom of the treeline.  They all made it.  I hope they don't do this on a regular basis.  The chickens will loose all their feather and quit laying if they feel a threat.  I don't know this for real, but they are really sensitive.

Broody Hen

One of my hens has gone broody and we don't have a rooster. I have put some golf balls under her but want to get some fertilized egges for her. Does anyone know where I can get some that live in the Portland/Salem area?

Eggs and Escapees

It seems like my hens are starting to get "with the program" Eggs that is. Consistently within the last week I've been getting 3 eggs. Yesterday, they surprised me with 5 eggs. Now to get the other two to become "team players". I know one of the hens that isn't a team player is Cleo.
She's a loaner. She wasn't part of the family we got the rest from so she's inserted herself as the Queen, hence her name "Cleo".

For the last 3 days now we've had a Roo and a couple of hens escape from their yard. I think they must be flying over. I've yet to catch them in the act. The weekend's here tomorrow and maybe I'll be able to watch them and find where our weak spot is.

Meanwhile, the chicks are doing very well. DB made a larger box for them in the garage. He hung one of my songbird feeders up for them and we've got a couple of ideas for a better waterer for them.
Look at his comb. Can you tell at this age (3wks) if its a roo from the comb?
This is one of the runts. He/she is small but sure fiesty. He/she holds its own with the larger one.

This is the other runt. I can't believe how they are growing. Their feathers are growing out. Their heads, I've heard are the last to get feathers.





I've been looking online to see what kind of chicks these are. I can't tell. They probably have to grow some more before I can tell. Some of them have the regular yellow legs and feet, some have green and some have black. They sure are a menagerie.