August 25, 2010
Weatherhens
Seems the girls are trying to tell me there might be an early fall. Maybe it is just wishful thinking. It's been years and years since a summer ended with August. It has happened though so it can happen again. There is something in the way these hens act that has me thinking they might be predicting cooler weather and a real, honest to goodness fall.
August 18, 2010
Who did this?
It could have been Fuzztop, somewhat shaped like her eggs but then it could be Astrud who is due to begin laying this month. Anyway, this was quite a surprise when I tucked the hens in last night. I ran inside and showed William who said, "Yay, are we getting eggs again?" Yes we are getting eggs again. When you learn of all that goes into one lil egg, you are really thankful and grateful to your hen and can't help but spritz them with cool water all summer, set up a fan for them and give them all sorts of treats, keep their coop clean and comfy. They are risking their little lives and health for each egg.
August 13, 2010
A full coop!
I came out a few morningsago to find the old hens at the feeder joining the brand new girls. I was very, very, very pleased. Actually, I was downright happier than happy. For months now I have been worried about the old girls: PeeWee and Fuzztop because they refused to leave their nests. I saw no evidence of them carrying on when I wasn't around either. I have had no eggs for months. I am fine with buying eggs at the grocery store so long as my three year olds are healthy. I bought one carton of eggs at our local H.E.B for baking in June. Otherwise, I have found that I'm just not crazy about the way store bought eggs taste so I don't crave them like I did.
Astrud and Elvis will start laying soon enough. In the meantime things in the coop couldn't be more pleasant. Everyone is getting along. Astrud isn't getting pecked for being a different breed, I hope she never will. She prefers to roost high while the Silkies stay on the floor of the coop. I find myself longing for October and the day I can finally put their coop fan away.
Astrud and Elvis will start laying soon enough. In the meantime things in the coop couldn't be more pleasant. Everyone is getting along. Astrud isn't getting pecked for being a different breed, I hope she never will. She prefers to roost high while the Silkies stay on the floor of the coop. I find myself longing for October and the day I can finally put their coop fan away.
August 12, 2010
Killer Raccoons
Once the sun sets I make a few trips to the yard to check in on things and I cannot go to bed until I check on the girls. I make sure everything is closed and locked and more importantly that everyone is accounted for. I do this because I had three close calls. I once found PeeWee out of the coop in the dark, and twice I left the egg door wide open. These were major screw ups that could have resulted in gruesome losses.
This year I have noticed pieces from a cracked mirror making their way into the yard as well as broken colored glass. Sometimes these things are on our patio table along with random nuts and bolts and recently found a small piece of some doohickie from some motor. Yesterday my neighbor told me she found raccoons shaking down her peach tree. She said they scared her around 10:30 at night when she came out to find three of them in her front yard. She said they scampered away from our homes and into the storm sewer. I saw two raccoons make their way into the creek bed next to our house but never one in our backyard.
I guess it has been raccoons leaving all those junky treasures around the yard. I wonder if my frequent visits to the backyard will keep them from my chickens? Only once have I discovered tampering with the coop. It was not the coop I currently own but a Chick-N-Hutch I ordered online. It looked as if a shovel had gone all around the coop. The discovery was eerie and I was creeped out. This incident immediately made me purchase the predator proof mobile chicken coop I have now.
I have tried to insulate the coop this summer using layers of painters drop cloth to cover the roof and backside of the coop. It has worked because the temperature in the coop manages to stay significantly low. The heavy canvas drop clothes also cover tiny spaces between the roof and sides of the coop. Spaces small enough for a raccoon hand to get into and try and pry the roof off my coop. If they don't kill my chickens they'll at least cause several hundred dollars worth of damage. I have seen no signs of tampering so far. Maybe the fan inside the coop frightens them? Whatever the case, raccoons have been spotted even closer than before so I feel I need to keep vigilant. How much more vigilant can I be though? Shotgun and a sleeping bag? EEK!
This year I have noticed pieces from a cracked mirror making their way into the yard as well as broken colored glass. Sometimes these things are on our patio table along with random nuts and bolts and recently found a small piece of some doohickie from some motor. Yesterday my neighbor told me she found raccoons shaking down her peach tree. She said they scared her around 10:30 at night when she came out to find three of them in her front yard. She said they scampered away from our homes and into the storm sewer. I saw two raccoons make their way into the creek bed next to our house but never one in our backyard.
I guess it has been raccoons leaving all those junky treasures around the yard. I wonder if my frequent visits to the backyard will keep them from my chickens? Only once have I discovered tampering with the coop. It was not the coop I currently own but a Chick-N-Hutch I ordered online. It looked as if a shovel had gone all around the coop. The discovery was eerie and I was creeped out. This incident immediately made me purchase the predator proof mobile chicken coop I have now.
I have tried to insulate the coop this summer using layers of painters drop cloth to cover the roof and backside of the coop. It has worked because the temperature in the coop manages to stay significantly low. The heavy canvas drop clothes also cover tiny spaces between the roof and sides of the coop. Spaces small enough for a raccoon hand to get into and try and pry the roof off my coop. If they don't kill my chickens they'll at least cause several hundred dollars worth of damage. I have seen no signs of tampering so far. Maybe the fan inside the coop frightens them? Whatever the case, raccoons have been spotted even closer than before so I feel I need to keep vigilant. How much more vigilant can I be though? Shotgun and a sleeping bag? EEK!