Hungry Molting Chickens

Everyone left early and I was home alone. I finally made it out to the chicken coop and let the hens out thanks to my trusty walking stick.

I hung on to it and managed to get the feed pan filled and put down for them to eat. There is scratch in the pan and dry organic crumble. The feed store didn't have any pellets.

Bad chickens. They knocked a bunch of scratch and crumble out on the cement and didn't eat it up. But Morgan came by and I caught her licking up feed off the cement. She got a big no for that.

I didn't try to mix up mash for them. Too much mixing and bending involved. But the wet feed sure does cut down on waste. I'll go back to making a mash as soon as I'm able.

My lower back is getting a little better. I guess I messed up some muscles or something.

Peek at the Past

There were coyotes this time last year too.

I guess this is coyote season around here.

(October 12, 2009)

[2 eggs today]

Not many eggs from the molting hens.

They are using their protein to make feathers

not eggs.

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Smiles

Backache, Molting Chicken and Coop Plans

Morgan's downstairs bed is all washed and clean. And it even smells good thanks to fabric softener.

I was all dressed up in my work duds ready for work, and then my plans for working in the chicken coop came to an end when Kristine asked me to look at something on the computer screen. I leaned over to take a good look and yikes...

I can carry heavy loads of wood and other stuff around outside, but I have an achilles heel. I have done this to my back a few times. All I have to do is bend over a certain way and it's like I lost strength in moving and it hurts and puts me out of commission for a few days. I haven't had this happen for a long time.

My theory about how to handle back pain is... if it hurts don't move. So, I'm moving as little as possible.

I'm drinking tea, eating cookies and not making dinner. I did make the chickens some more cabbage treats.

That poor Light Brahma looks so bad. At least the feathers are starting to grow in on her neck. Morgan is out watching the chickens and wearing a prong collar with the prongs sticking out to help protect her neck from a coyote attack.

 Couldn't go out to work on the chicken coop, so I watched some YouTube videos. Some of the stuff I already knew, but I learned about chicken fowl pox and...

I think I will try adding more leaves and wood chips to the coop pen instead of more dirt. That is... as soon as I can get around. I guess I should look at this whole back pain thing as a good thing because I have come by some helpful info via the video I wouldn't have seen if I wasn't hurting. Sigh...

I've been trying to decide if I should cover part of the chicken pen with a tarp this year.  I do have a lot of straw around for the chickens to burrow in and keep warm.

There are 8 parts to this video.

I think it is interesting

to see how other people keep their chickens and care for them.

Peek at the Past

Morgan still likes to run through the chickens

and stir them up.

(October 11, 2009)

[1 egg today]

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Smiles

Close Call

It was a close thing this morning. I almost got together enough energy and will power to go out and haul some wheel barrows of dirt around and clean the chicken coop.

But just in the nick of time I decided to do laundry and wash my work clothes. No excuse tomorrow. I'll have to get out there and do some work.

Bye, bye books. I still have two more Elizabeth Peters, Amelia Peabody mysteries to finish. I go for the escapist type take me away reading.

I think this whole no energy thing has something to do with the seasons changing. Maybe my body is trying to go into a hibernation mode for the Winter? I'm sleepy and so is Kristine.

The chickens had a scare today and ran to hide under bushes, the jays were screeching and Morgan was running around looking for something. Not barking though. Kristine and I couldn't figure out what the problem was... hawk, fox, coyote?

After the chickens surfaced, I cut them up some cabbage and had a photo op. (Kristine got hamburgers and fries for us and cabbage for the chickens.) They look terrible. The chicken pen and coop are full of feathers just like last year.

The big green bag on the porch is covering the plastic christmas tree. I hauled it out of storage when I was clearing stuff out and left it there. I'm undecided... somedays I think I would like to have a real tree this Christmas and some days I think, no, I don't want to deal with the needle mess, watering, and worry about fire danger.

 News is that someone around the area had their goats and all their chickens stolen. Makes you wonder why they were taken. Food? Mischief? Fowl play? (yeah, I know, bad pun... it's foul)

Global Warming?

Here is a voice crying in the wilderness.

I say Ha! too.

Supposedly, chickens don't fart so I guess I don't have to worry about some global warming edict coming out about how I need to get rid of my chickens to save the world. I feel sorry for the people who have cows. They are getting a bum rap.

Peek at the Past

Molting last year.

(10-10-10)

[1 egg today]

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Smiles

Molting Chickens

Kristine just came in and told me that the power was going to be turned off for twelve hours so work can be done on the lines. This will be a quick post.

Screamer, the big Light Brahma, loves to play in the water. As soon as I turned on the tap she ran over and started scratching around in the mud. She's so funny.

I took the bottom photo through a window, but it does show the pitiful shape most of the chickens are in because of molting. At least they are hopefully going to get their molt over earlier this year. Last year it seemed it took forever for them to get their new feathers.

I have hopes of Lonely moving up in the pecking order because when I gave the chickens some lettuce on the porch this afternoon Lonely was first in line and she made sure she got several pieces of lettuce away from the bossy hens.

Kristine found out about a several county wide collection of old prescription drugs so we went on a hunt for old bottles of medicine. Amazing, but we filled a plastic shopping bag with out of date meds. Glad to see the last of them.

I was thinking today about what I would do if I had enough money to do whatever I wanted and came to the conclusion that I would like to stay here and do what I'm doing. Although, I would like to have a new chicken coop! And Jeeves. Yep... I'd like a Jeeves.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Enjoy!

Peek at the Past

Morgan at the coop.

[3 eggs today]

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Smiles

Molting/Moulting?

This poor little buff brahma looks like she has been plucked in the front. She has either been plucking out her feathers because she is going broody or *gasp* the dreaded molting has begun.

For some weird reason I have always spelled moulting the British way with the u, but anyway I'm talking about the time the chicken's feathers fall out. It's hot so this is a very good time of the year for a chicken to shed their feathers. It must be hot under all that fluff.

Here is a good explanation of the molting process. There are some very good photos in the article. I think I have this site on the sidebar somewhere.

Keyhole Garden: I thought this was a very neat way to build a garden. I do need some rocks if I am going to try this out. I could always convert the rock pile I have from a wanna be water feature to this really neat garden. Maybe this winter when it is cooler to work moving rocks around?

Cabinet Update: I searched around and found boards that were almost a good fit, but were too wide and finally found these two boards that I will work with and make do the job. They aren't really wide enough, but I will jury rig something together and make the whole thing work.

Years ago I watched some carpenters at work and thought I could never do that until one day I watched them fix their oops'es. Ok... I can do that. My building skills mostly deal with finding ways to get things to hang together and look like that's the way they are supposed to be when everything is finished and painted. There are so many secrets hidden under the paint and spackle.

It will be very nice to have cabinet doors again. I think? I have gotten used to not having doors to open and shut and to try and make stay shut. Maybe I won't be so glad to have them back after all. Well, it will look better with cabinet doors.

I made soft tacos with organic hand pressed corn tortillas. Mmmm. Good eating on a hot day. I put in lots of tomato, onion and lettuce with the meat and sauce. No cheese... that was my concession to the hot weather. How funny. Too hot for cheese?

Peek at the Past

(July 13, 2009)

[6 eggs today]

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Smiles

Happy Hens

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul.

And sings the tune

Without the words,

and never stops at all.

~ Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886

I'm thankful for Hope.

The hens are stuffed with melon. Some of them came up on the porch and ate melon pieces and then left for better pickings in the woods. This poor molting Light Brahma came back to this cantaloupe and had it all to herself. She looks bad but she is growing in a lot of pin feathers. Now all three of the Light Brahmas are molting. The plastic is covering up firewood for the wood stove.

The chickens went to this sunny spot in the woods.

I walked around back there under the trees and it is warm and peaceful.

I almost stepped on this Wyandotte. It wasn't as light as it looks in the photo and the sun was shining in my eyes. The photo shows how fast the dirt dries out after two light rains. This hen was nice and warm and didn't get up when I got closer to take the photo. I watched the hens dust bathe and found that some of them peck in the dirt and find things to eat as they lay in the depression and kick and dig and fluff their feathers in the dust. I didn't realize they ate and dusted at the same time. Smart little hens.

This photo is here just for fun and laughs. I made buttermilk pancakes for Kristine this morning and for some reason the last pancake was thicker on one side and didn't cook through. So this was my solution. It was just uncooked on the end. When the girls were little I used to have a lot of fun making animal shape pancakes. I got this no side iron skillet a few years ago and it makes flipping pancakes so much easier than using the sided skillets. Sometimes I use it for tortillas or as a lid for the dutch oven or other skillets.

It was very nice talking to Kathleen tonight!

[no eggs today]

Smiles

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Molting Light Brahma

(Warning... there is a photo of a molting chicken below.

If you don't want to see a chicken

with missing feathers

stop reading now.)

Headless Chickens! Just Kidding... think we fooled her?

Curly the Cochin and a Golden Lace Wyandotte

Actually, the hens were busy grooming their feathers and they did look kinda strange without their heads showing. I finally whistled to get them to pop their heads up so I could get a photo.

molting Light Brahma

Since this blog is supposed to be a record of stuff that happens around here this year, I decided to go ahead and post the photo of the denuded molting Light Brahma.. The other two Light Brahmas we have look pretty good. I took all of these photos yesterday. Poor hen. Molting is a scary messy business.

Light Brahma

Just a few days ago she looked like this hen (her sister.) Now I expect this hen and the other one to start dropping feathers too. Maybe not. Chickens molt at different times. Here is a page that explains molting. I'm going to ask Kristine to help me check out the feathers and see if this hen is an early or late molter. Interesting stuff.

No painting today. Maybe tomorrow?

[4 eggs today]

Good thing I kept back a dozen eggs from the last delivery

because I needed them this morning.

I'm going to miss fresh eggs if the hens stop laying.

I really don't like store bought eggs.

Smiles

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