Thoughts of Keet...best rooster ever

I was thinking about Keet today. I wish I could have kept him. I wonder if he is still alive in Wimberely. He was adopted by a really sweet lady who spoke of a large garden, lots of space and hiding places under the hydrangea bushes. I have so many memories of Keet.

The UK loves chickens!

The UK has some really cool coops.  I came up these awesome finds through Woodenart. These coops are delivered fully assembled too. The company is family owned and specializes in creating housing for pets and animals. All materials and labor used is from Great Britain. Sadly, they don't deliver to the US.











































Verm-X is a product created in the UK that I find very effective. Hopefully the US isn't far from providing chicken owners cool and creative supplies.

Henopause?

My two older girls PeeWee and Fuzztop have just stopped laying. They are not brooding like I htought, their combs and wattles are not pale at all. It has been hot but it was much, much hotter last summer and they gave me eggs all last summer even in triple digit weather. Poor things, those eggs were precious and much appreciated.  They have a better fan set up this year and the coop has stayed just a smidge below 90 if not at 90 between 3-5pm. I think that is pretty damn excellent.. They are not ill. So what is up?

PeeWee and Fuzztop have never looked better. I think the Verm-X and GMO free food has really made them look great. I would say they are at their very best right now.  But this is their third summer on earth and I think they are heading towards their change of life. I had to purchase eggs from the store for the first time in forever.  Egg production decreases after 2-3 years. Eggs or no eggs I still love them and have been babying them through this.

Astrud and Elvis will be laying soon enough. In the meantime, we buy organic, free range eggs from the store. They taste nothing like the ones from my own backyard but they are good enough to bake with.

Farina

On our walk this evening my husband and I came to speak of Farina. He was one of the three that hatched last year. He was so cute and I just loved him but he was a rooster and crowed quite often. I thought of keeping him in the studio and bought him chicken diapers but the first time I put them on him and gave him free run of the studio the poor thing just stood there for an hour and didn't move. I kept coming by to check on him and there he was, like a little rooster mannequin.

As much as I hated to give him away it had to be done. Roosters are not allowed in the city. What I didn't know was how fond my husband was of Farina. He said of all the roosters we had to give up, Farina was the one he found the hardest to part with. I had no idea. He said nothing of it at the time and I tend to assume that I am the only one invested in them. William loves to watch them and names them for me but I didn't know he had any affection for them. He told me last night that he did.

Farina went to a family with three girls and we hoped that he was loved and safe. I try not to think of the babies that had to be given away. So many chickens have their lives cut short due to predators. So far I have been lucky and having a good predator proof coop has been a great help. I have left food outside on the patio table accidentally only to find it just as I had left it in the morning leaving me to wonder what doesn't go on while we all sleep. However, I have found bits and pieces of glass, mirrors and even parts from some mechanical thing left on the table or patio chairs before. I have seen two raccoons slip into their home by way of the gutter after a swinging night out. I don't know if they are the ones coming into our yard but because of this I always "tuck the chickens in" before I go to bed. I basically make sure they are all in their nests, fill up feeders so I don't have to rush in the morning and then walk the yard to see what's up. I do wonder if this has helped. I am up before the sun is tending to them again.

We ended our conversation hoping Farina was doing okay. Farina we love you.