As it turned out, it was a double-yolker! And, quite yummy, I might add!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Happy Fall!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Big News!
Today on the Organic Chickens Yahoo Group listserv I saw that there is a person who has Ameracaunas for sale near Asheville. Hmmm. that would be cool. Ameracaunas lay blue-green eggs. Maybe I should give her a call. What's another hen or two?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The Daily Coyote
The other night in Barnes & Noble, Janice came across a book titled "The Daily Coyote" by Shreve Stockton. The subtitle calls it "a story of love, survival, and trust in the wilds of Wyoming". It's a non-fictional recount of how Stockton came to mother a coyote pup named Charlie, who still lives with her and the "farmily" three years later. It's a great book, an easy read that you won't want to put down. Maybe I'm partial because I too love the wilds of Wyoming.
Her website is http://www.dailycoyote.net/ . For $5/month, you can subscribe to her site and get a daily email from her with a photo of Charlie. I signed up -the photos in the book are wonderful. For free you can get on her blog: http://honeyrockdawn.com/ and you can of course follow her on Twitter...
Enjoy!
Her website is http://www.dailycoyote.net/ . For $5/month, you can subscribe to her site and get a daily email from her with a photo of Charlie. I signed up -the photos in the book are wonderful. For free you can get on her blog: http://honeyrockdawn.com/ and you can of course follow her on Twitter...
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The new addition
The girls seem happy with the new addition. It's a simple affair, not well decorated, but they like it just the same. Lack of a mesh floor means they can dig and dust which they love to do! More to come later; here are two quick photos.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Neighborly
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.
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.
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...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Whistlin' Dixie!
Well, it's Sunday afternoon, third day in a row I've found an egg, and now the mystery momma hen has been identified. Drum roll, please.....
About 5:30 this afternoon I went out to the yard to give them some mealworms and didn't see Dixie. I poked my nose in the near nest box, and while I didn't see an egg I spotted Dixie in the far nest box. And sure enough, when I opened that one, there she was with her egg. Here's a video of her announcing her accomplishment to the rest of the girls when she came downstairs.
it's Dixie Chick!
About 5:30 this afternoon I went out to the yard to give them some mealworms and didn't see Dixie. I poked my nose in the near nest box, and while I didn't see an egg I spotted Dixie in the far nest box. And sure enough, when I opened that one, there she was with her egg. Here's a video of her announcing her accomplishment to the rest of the girls when she came downstairs.
Friday, July 16, 2010
The First Egg!
Friday, July 16, 2010.
Funny, I had a feeling when I left for work - the way the girls were squawking - that today might be the day we saw the first egg. I even mentioned it to Robert Richey (his family got the chicks for me). I came home this evening and there - in the far nest box - it lay. Small - smaller than a medium egg - but perfect in every other respect. The question now is which of the girls produced this? Hmmm. They aren't talking. My bet is on Dixie. She is the largest and her wattles and comb turned bright red before the others...
Funny, I had a feeling when I left for work - the way the girls were squawking - that today might be the day we saw the first egg. I even mentioned it to Robert Richey (his family got the chicks for me). I came home this evening and there - in the far nest box - it lay. Small - smaller than a medium egg - but perfect in every other respect. The question now is which of the girls produced this? Hmmm. They aren't talking. My bet is on Dixie. She is the largest and her wattles and comb turned bright red before the others...
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Eighteen weeks
Here are a few photos from the morning!
Dixie Chick
(Buff Orpington)
Gladys
(Barred Plymouth Rock)
Geneva
Silver Laced Wyandotte
Percella
Buff Orpington
Janie
Dominique
Helen
Gold Laced Wyandotte
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