As I was getting ready for work this morning I got a frantic knock at my kitchen door. It was my neighbor Caroline with daughter Gloria in tow. I knew immediately - the girls had flown the coop.
I like the idea that my hens can free-range in the back yard. Unfortunately, being avians of a sort, they don't understand that the fence marks the beginning of their NO FLY zone. This morning three of them - Helen, Geneva, and Gladys, were nonchalantly scratching their way toward Arnold's house... For an August morning the air was cool and surprisingly non-humid; the grass was wet with dew. It took a few minutes, but we corralled them and one by one I threw them back into their yard. Caroline and I stood looking at our wet, dirty pants cuffs, both annoyed that we were now late for work/school. Since Gloria goes to Montessori, I gave her a carton of eggs - one of which had downy feathers still stuck to it - to take for show at school... And on the way to work I began thinking I might just have to clip some flight feathers to prevent another jailbreak.
Which brings me to what will be the next blog update. The new RUN (aka the addition to the side of the coop)... it's almost complete - stay tuned for the new housewarming photos.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
No eggs tonight :-(
It's been a while since I posted - ok, a month to the day. Suffice it to say that all is well except that it's hot. The only thing worse than July in Charleston is August. The tomatoes are history, Tomatillos are running rampant. The girls are great - thanks for asking - and I've been typically finding 3 - 5 eggs per day in the nest boxes. Not today....
Wednesday nights are typically yoga nights. Class is at Serenity Now in Mt. Pleasant, after which my friend Bob and I usually spend an hour or so catching up. Tonight was no different, except that I had to cut it short because I had to be at work in Moncks Corner at 5am for a network outage... I had some shopping to do, so it was about 10pm when I got home. Fed the cats, fed Barkley, and as usual went out to the coop to grab the day's eggs. As always, I checked the near nest box first. No eggs there, but nothing unusual about that. So I mosied over to the other end, and popped open the door. Nothing. Perplexed, I looked in at the girls, and that's when I saw him (it). A Texas Rat Snake, full of eggs, dozing in the coop with the girls. Holy S$%@!. First thing I did was to grab the phone and take the photo. Then I grabbed the crowbar to pull him/it out. Being in a sorta digestive state the snake was pretty lethargic, so it was easy to grab and pull out. Popped him in a Rubbermaid container, took him to the carport, and laid it out next to the tape measure. Just a few inches over 5' long! And he had three eggs in his belly.
My first inclination was to introduce Mr. Snake to the sharp end of a hoe, but that would be bad Karma. Not a poisonous snake, and after all I always tell folks that snakes are good for the environment (except when they eat your chickens' eggs). After a brief consult with Janice, it was off to the golf course (5 blocks away) for relocation. But why stop there? It might come back. So off across the Stono Bridge to John's Island with it.
I let the Mr. Snake go just off River Road on Rushland. He slithered and snaked off into the brush. Hopefully he'll find good hunting in the woods and marshes there. I think the Stono River should keep him from coming back for a long while.
The girls are fine. I guess with no lights in the coop they were oblivious to his presence. Hopefully they weren't too freaked out and we'll be back to eggs as usual this afternoon...
Wednesday nights are typically yoga nights. Class is at Serenity Now in Mt. Pleasant, after which my friend Bob and I usually spend an hour or so catching up. Tonight was no different, except that I had to cut it short because I had to be at work in Moncks Corner at 5am for a network outage... I had some shopping to do, so it was about 10pm when I got home. Fed the cats, fed Barkley, and as usual went out to the coop to grab the day's eggs. As always, I checked the near nest box first. No eggs there, but nothing unusual about that. So I mosied over to the other end, and popped open the door. Nothing. Perplexed, I looked in at the girls, and that's when I saw him (it). A Texas Rat Snake, full of eggs, dozing in the coop with the girls. Holy S$%@!. First thing I did was to grab the phone and take the photo. Then I grabbed the crowbar to pull him/it out. Being in a sorta digestive state the snake was pretty lethargic, so it was easy to grab and pull out. Popped him in a Rubbermaid container, took him to the carport, and laid it out next to the tape measure. Just a few inches over 5' long! And he had three eggs in his belly.
My first inclination was to introduce Mr. Snake to the sharp end of a hoe, but that would be bad Karma. Not a poisonous snake, and after all I always tell folks that snakes are good for the environment (except when they eat your chickens' eggs). After a brief consult with Janice, it was off to the golf course (5 blocks away) for relocation. But why stop there? It might come back. So off across the Stono Bridge to John's Island with it.
I let the Mr. Snake go just off River Road on Rushland. He slithered and snaked off into the brush. Hopefully he'll find good hunting in the woods and marshes there. I think the Stono River should keep him from coming back for a long while.
The girls are fine. I guess with no lights in the coop they were oblivious to his presence. Hopefully they weren't too freaked out and we'll be back to eggs as usual this afternoon...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)