Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Mess That Makes Us So Mad

It isn't the poop.  Or the spilled food.  Or the deep holes dug in the coop.  It isn't the scattered pine shavings.  It isn't even getting pooped on.

It's the mulch.  

When we let the chickens out of the coop to free range in the yard, there is always a mulch mess.  It isn't the mulch we have to rake out of the grass before we mow either.

It's this.
The mulch on the flagstone walk drives us crazy.  Papa Hen doesn't get flummoxed very often.  It's rare, in fact.  But mulch on the walk drives him batty.  Sometimes (like tonight) I sweep it up before he gets home so he doesn't even have to think about it.

(And I thought I  was so smart this evening putting the orange chairs up since the chickens are often scared of them.  But no.) 


And there's a cute shot of Fitz's semi-bare bottom.  



Sunday, October 12, 2014

Carrots

I like to have one experimental crop every year and tried carrots this year.  Is there anything easier to grow?  I planted the seeds and ignored them until yesterday when we did a major fall clean up in the garden, coop, and yard.  We are very happy with the small crop.
Since we are both heading out of town tomorrow, I decided to try a refrigerator storage method that I read about on several websites, including The World Carrot Museum.

Here is a shot of the garden, half-way through the big clean up.  I kept the marigolds because they still look so pretty.


Friday, October 10, 2014

Blurry Feathers

You don't know how many very blurry photos I had to take and then narrow it down to these semi-blurry photos.  Chickens just don't get still.  Unless they are playing dead in loft barns!  HA!

We've been so worried about Fitz's molting and yesterday I saw a good sign.  A great sign, in fact!  Her wing and neck feathers are growing in.  They are at a stage now where the actual feather are starting to poke out of the sharp pins.  If you squint your eyes a bit at the blurry photos you can see what I mean.



 Yay!  Maybe she won't freeze to death this winter!

Here are the girls eating from the fruit and vegetable groups.







Monday, October 6, 2014

Cake

We managed to get a chicken on Mama Hen's LP birthday cake this year.  The Sun Records label has a rooster on it!  We adapted the label for the occasion.

Thanks to Gateaux Pastries for this amazing and delicious cake. 

Fitz

When I was out for chicken chores this morning, Fitz was making cooing noises that resembled the noises that Bill made when she went broody this summer.  Fitz has been losing a lot of feathers lately too, so I started to plan a broody intervention.  There wasn't much I could do while at work today though, so I came home as soon as I could to get going on the plan.

And wasn't I surprised to find what is perhaps the largest egg yet laid at Red Door Coop. 
Maybe the noises I heard weren't broody at all.  Chicken anxiety noises?

Here are the eggs in the fridge right now.
 

Lights and a Sign

We started the process of winterizing the coop.  Fall and winter in the coop means lights!  In these photos, the coop lights are competing with the beautiful Western sky.



We recently received a gift of a very thought provoking sign.


Think on that for awhile.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Evening Snackies

The girls finally had a night out this evening.  We've not had them in the yard for a few days because of the weather, our schedules, and well, because.  They ran out of Red Door Coop tonight when I held the door open for them.  Pecking and squawking their way around the yard, the chickens made their typical mess of mulch everywhere.  Raking is good exercise though, so we clean it all up about once a week so we can more easily mow the lawn.

Here you can see BB letting out a big squawk.
 Bill's on her own by our near-the-end garden.
 
The wind was strong tonight and Fitz dug for worms close to the coop door until it was time for indoor snackies.  She remains in the never ending molt and I worry that she is going to be quite chilly come winter.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Dark Coop

We are out early in the morning to give the chickens fresh water and morning snackies.  Since the chickens wake with the sun and their automatic door opens with the sun, we find ourselves doing chores before they are up.  Some chores require that the chickens be up and about and we like to see them all before heading to work.  It's good to check on the birds every morning to see that they are all healthy.  This week, with Papa Hen traveling, I find myself impatient for them to wake up so I can get to work on time. 

This morning, I took some pictures of the coop in the dark.  It looks so peaceful (and bright--the camera's flash really brightens things up!).


The calm before the storm of chickens coming down the ramp!