Fall Storm

Yesterday I looked up and saw the rain pouring down.  I could hardly see the field next door.  I rushed in and grabbed my camera to get some shots.

The chickens were no where in site.  Some of them just hate the rain.  Others, when it's not a downpour come out and forage.  They look like drown rats but they get the worms.

This field is directly behind our house.  See the puddles?  Doug digs the ditches so they drain but lately he can't keep up.

Then it stopped and the sun came out.  There were still black clouds in the direction of the storm but a brief respite.  See the girls?  They run out on any break and see what they can find.

That was our day.

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. 

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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!

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