Thursday, July 02, 2009
Pullet Egg,
here is the first egg of the spring chickens, it was one of my two Buff Orpingtons, I saw her in the nest box yesterday, and yippeh, she laid an egg today, this is sooner than I hoped, as they are just 4 months old, I got them in the end of February
Monday, June 29, 2009
A welcome Predator,
when I came home for lunch today and went to check on the chickens I found the 4 little black chicks all standing in a half circle making funny puckering noises. As I looked at them wondering what this was all about I suddenly noticed the snake in the middle of it all, trying to swallow a dead mouse. Wow, it's 112 degrees, I ran back into the house as fast as I could to get the camera. I got the chickens out of the pen where the snake was and closed the gate so the chickens couldn't go back in.
now the snake decided there were too many spectators and wanted to go to a quieter place so with the mouse halfway stuck in the snake's throat she took off, only to be unable to get through the gate with the mouse in her mouth, so I quickly opened the gate again, the snake went right through the gate, hurried past me and went into the next open door which was the barn, argh, that's not what I had it mind, but there she was. So closed the door to the barn and hoped for the best. The snake and the mouse where gone when I came home. This is the same snake I posted pictures of last year, I have seen her several times in the same general area, I guess she likes her hunting grounds here. As far as I know this is a Coachwhip snake that is known to hunt during the day. Shouldn't be a danger to my chickens, as she could barely get that mouse down. The rest of the chickens weren't interested in the snake at all, so have probably grown accustumed to her foraging around and since she probably doesn't care for normal chicken food, they seem to be tolerant of her.
when I came home for lunch today and went to check on the chickens I found the 4 little black chicks all standing in a half circle making funny puckering noises. As I looked at them wondering what this was all about I suddenly noticed the snake in the middle of it all, trying to swallow a dead mouse. Wow, it's 112 degrees, I ran back into the house as fast as I could to get the camera. I got the chickens out of the pen where the snake was and closed the gate so the chickens couldn't go back in.
now the snake decided there were too many spectators and wanted to go to a quieter place so with the mouse halfway stuck in the snake's throat she took off, only to be unable to get through the gate with the mouse in her mouth, so I quickly opened the gate again, the snake went right through the gate, hurried past me and went into the next open door which was the barn, argh, that's not what I had it mind, but there she was. So closed the door to the barn and hoped for the best. The snake and the mouse where gone when I came home. This is the same snake I posted pictures of last year, I have seen her several times in the same general area, I guess she likes her hunting grounds here. As far as I know this is a Coachwhip snake that is known to hunt during the day. Shouldn't be a danger to my chickens, as she could barely get that mouse down. The rest of the chickens weren't interested in the snake at all, so have probably grown accustumed to her foraging around and since she probably doesn't care for normal chicken food, they seem to be tolerant of her.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Of Sleeping Beauties and other happenings,
Enya is posing for the sleeping beauty contest. People often think these dogs are lethargic and lazy because they tend to lay around dozing all day long. However if anything unusual happens in the neighborhood, they are up in a flash and making sure everything is okay.
Happy guardian in a hole
One of my Barred Rock pullets, they are almost 4 months old now. I saw one checking out a nest box today, I am hoping for eggs in another month. These pullets have grown fast, they are as big as my other hens already, so I am pretty sure they will be bigger than some of the others when they mature. All 4 of them are "talkers" always chirping and cackling about something.
And here are my 4 Black Jersey Giants, they have quite a unique look to them, their legs are almost black now, but the nails are white still
I have increased the size of the goat pen, it's almost 3 times as big now as it was and there are 3 shade trees for them to hang out under. I put some heavy wire protection around the trees to make sure the goats won't kill them.
Since the new goat pen addition used to be part of the chicken area, I have propped the gate open with a little piece of wood so the chickens can go in and out, this is working really well and the goats have stopped sticking their heads through as they seem to realize it really doesn't make any sense.
Another Barred Rock pullet
Prince, Sammie and Leydi. Leydi enjoys her children, she runs and plays with them, all but Enya are very respectful towards her, Enya wants to run the show and has been quite successful at keeping everybody in line.
Another group picture with our scenic mountains in the background
view of the baby area, the adults can walk all the way around it, this has worked quite well to keep the attacks to a minimum once the older chicks join the rest of the flock, this also works well anytime a chicken needs to be isolated from the rest, they can go right back with the rest of the flock once they are ready to be out again
Cici
Ayla has really done a lot of digging lately, here is a tunnel she has excavated, to the right the dark area is a rather large area that serves as an underground cave
There she is underground
And here she is laying down in the underground doghouse
Grrrr, nobody is allowed in the cave
Here she is proudly guarding her creation
The trees are really starting to provide a lot of shade, and this is only the beginning of the growing season
All my bushes are in bloom, when the wind blows from the South, the whole property is engulfed in their scent
Enya checking out what's behind the bushes, there are a lot of little birds nesting in our trees and bushes, unfortunately the dogs do catch one here and there, some of them I have been able to save, I wonder how many aren't so lucky, one time I came home from work and they left me a dead bird in my office.
Enya listening to the buzzing noise of all the bees. Now if I could find some more things to grow that bloom a lot, I could actually think about having a bee hive and be able to harvest my own honey, I wonder where all these bees are coming from, at the same time I am worried to attract some killer bees
The trees in the original chicken coop are big enough now to provide shade
we do have several areas where Timothy grass is growing now, I let some of the grasses and grains go to seed, and I am hoping that next year there will be even more different types of grasses and grains growing than this year. The goats really love the fresh food.
we have a some oats growing around some of the trees
Sammie watching the goats and chickens
Sammie running towards me full speed
Sammie
Samantha running to the fence, hackles are up, she is all business
My apple tree is struggling, the dogs are trying really hard to get to the apples, I put fencing around it, but they still get to it sometimes. My husband just learned how to pound in a T-post, so we will be looking into putting up some more fencing ourselves, which will include fencing off a orchard/vegetable garden to protect it from the critters, especially the dogs.
I am also having a few plums on the Santa Rosa plum tree
Plums on one of my plum trees, in Germany we call these "Zwetschgen" and they make the best plums for a pie. One of these days when I get enough of the plums from this tree I can make a "Zwetschgenkuchen" like my mother and my grandmother used to make. This type of plum is not normally sold in American supermarkets, and without them the pie wouldn't taste the same.
Enya, the pups are now 18 months old, hard to believe how fast the time has gone by
Enya
Milo and Millie
Misty and Milo helping themselves to some fresh Mulberry leaves.
Kobi and Teddy looking for things to lift their legs on
Kobi telling Teddy that he is still the "big dog", that little dog has a serious attitude. 
The odd looking thing in the middle of the picture is Kobi the terrier, when he wants attention he throws himself on his back and wiggles around like crazy. 
Buffy, my 2 year old Buff Orpington, she had injured her left leg a few months ago, initially she couldn't put any weight on that leg, but after a few days she started limping around and now she walks okay, I can tell she doesn't scratch the ground as vigorously as she used to and she has developed a really funny flight/bunny hop when she wants to get somewhere fast. My guess is that the rooster who is no longer here, kicked her off the top perch and that's how she injured that leg. Since she is still having problems even months later, my guess is that she had torn a ligament or something like that. She gets up on the roosts at night, but she waits for me in the morning to give her a lift to the ground. Smart hen.
the 4 youngest chicks strutting around
most of the time when I go to check on the chickens a lot of them come running as fast as they can in the hope that I bring some treats. What's really funny and also a bit strange is that they take off running in my direction, but they run head down, so they can't really see where they are going, so they usually end up almost running into me, my guess is that they see my shoes and know they are there, but since I usually keep walking as they are all running towards me, they come across my shoes sooner than they expected and they always stop in their tracks like they are really surprised . 
Ayla working on another cave, that particular day I was taking pictures of the dogs when I heard a strange sraping sound that I couldn't quite figure out what it was, thinking that one of the goats has gotten herself into trouble, I started heading towards the goat pen. This is when I came about a cloud of dusk and I noticed that the strange noise came from the area where the dust was, Ayla was completely underground and digging at it. In this picture only the white tip of her tail is visible in the hole.
she goes into the cave and digs at the walls, then she backs out and kicks out all the loose dirt.
back in to dig some more
I recently noticed that I have a little tree coming up that I didn't have to plant, it's an offspring from my Purple Robe Locust Tree, yes, the one with the pretty fuchsia colored flowers. Very cool I think, especially since the other one that I had bought didn't make it.
Enya checking out the water.
Kobi chewing on a 12 inch bully stick
one evening I went outside with my camera and found the dogs fascinated with something Enya had, I could not see what it was and on the pictures it looks like maybe a caterpillar or other bug
they were all fascinated with whatever it was
Enya is posing for the sleeping beauty contest. People often think these dogs are lethargic and lazy because they tend to lay around dozing all day long. However if anything unusual happens in the neighborhood, they are up in a flash and making sure everything is okay.
Happy guardian in a hole
One of my Barred Rock pullets, they are almost 4 months old now. I saw one checking out a nest box today, I am hoping for eggs in another month. These pullets have grown fast, they are as big as my other hens already, so I am pretty sure they will be bigger than some of the others when they mature. All 4 of them are "talkers" always chirping and cackling about something.
And here are my 4 Black Jersey Giants, they have quite a unique look to them, their legs are almost black now, but the nails are white still
I have increased the size of the goat pen, it's almost 3 times as big now as it was and there are 3 shade trees for them to hang out under. I put some heavy wire protection around the trees to make sure the goats won't kill them.
Since the new goat pen addition used to be part of the chicken area, I have propped the gate open with a little piece of wood so the chickens can go in and out, this is working really well and the goats have stopped sticking their heads through as they seem to realize it really doesn't make any sense.
Another Barred Rock pullet
Prince, Sammie and Leydi. Leydi enjoys her children, she runs and plays with them, all but Enya are very respectful towards her, Enya wants to run the show and has been quite successful at keeping everybody in line.
Another group picture with our scenic mountains in the background
view of the baby area, the adults can walk all the way around it, this has worked quite well to keep the attacks to a minimum once the older chicks join the rest of the flock, this also works well anytime a chicken needs to be isolated from the rest, they can go right back with the rest of the flock once they are ready to be out again
Cici
Ayla has really done a lot of digging lately, here is a tunnel she has excavated, to the right the dark area is a rather large area that serves as an underground cave
There she is underground
And here she is laying down in the underground doghouse
Grrrr, nobody is allowed in the cave
Here she is proudly guarding her creation
The trees are really starting to provide a lot of shade, and this is only the beginning of the growing season
All my bushes are in bloom, when the wind blows from the South, the whole property is engulfed in their scent
Enya checking out what's behind the bushes, there are a lot of little birds nesting in our trees and bushes, unfortunately the dogs do catch one here and there, some of them I have been able to save, I wonder how many aren't so lucky, one time I came home from work and they left me a dead bird in my office.
Enya listening to the buzzing noise of all the bees. Now if I could find some more things to grow that bloom a lot, I could actually think about having a bee hive and be able to harvest my own honey, I wonder where all these bees are coming from, at the same time I am worried to attract some killer bees
The trees in the original chicken coop are big enough now to provide shade
we do have several areas where Timothy grass is growing now, I let some of the grasses and grains go to seed, and I am hoping that next year there will be even more different types of grasses and grains growing than this year. The goats really love the fresh food.
we have a some oats growing around some of the trees
Sammie watching the goats and chickens
Sammie running towards me full speed
Sammie
Samantha running to the fence, hackles are up, she is all business
My apple tree is struggling, the dogs are trying really hard to get to the apples, I put fencing around it, but they still get to it sometimes. My husband just learned how to pound in a T-post, so we will be looking into putting up some more fencing ourselves, which will include fencing off a orchard/vegetable garden to protect it from the critters, especially the dogs.
I am also having a few plums on the Santa Rosa plum tree
Plums on one of my plum trees, in Germany we call these "Zwetschgen" and they make the best plums for a pie. One of these days when I get enough of the plums from this tree I can make a "Zwetschgenkuchen" like my mother and my grandmother used to make. This type of plum is not normally sold in American supermarkets, and without them the pie wouldn't taste the same.
Enya, the pups are now 18 months old, hard to believe how fast the time has gone by
Enya
Milo and Millie
Misty and Milo helping themselves to some fresh Mulberry leaves.
Kobi and Teddy looking for things to lift their legs on
Kobi telling Teddy that he is still the "big dog", that little dog has a serious attitude. 
The odd looking thing in the middle of the picture is Kobi the terrier, when he wants attention he throws himself on his back and wiggles around like crazy. 
Buffy, my 2 year old Buff Orpington, she had injured her left leg a few months ago, initially she couldn't put any weight on that leg, but after a few days she started limping around and now she walks okay, I can tell she doesn't scratch the ground as vigorously as she used to and she has developed a really funny flight/bunny hop when she wants to get somewhere fast. My guess is that the rooster who is no longer here, kicked her off the top perch and that's how she injured that leg. Since she is still having problems even months later, my guess is that she had torn a ligament or something like that. She gets up on the roosts at night, but she waits for me in the morning to give her a lift to the ground. Smart hen.
the 4 youngest chicks strutting around
most of the time when I go to check on the chickens a lot of them come running as fast as they can in the hope that I bring some treats. What's really funny and also a bit strange is that they take off running in my direction, but they run head down, so they can't really see where they are going, so they usually end up almost running into me, my guess is that they see my shoes and know they are there, but since I usually keep walking as they are all running towards me, they come across my shoes sooner than they expected and they always stop in their tracks like they are really surprised . 
Ayla working on another cave, that particular day I was taking pictures of the dogs when I heard a strange sraping sound that I couldn't quite figure out what it was, thinking that one of the goats has gotten herself into trouble, I started heading towards the goat pen. This is when I came about a cloud of dusk and I noticed that the strange noise came from the area where the dust was, Ayla was completely underground and digging at it. In this picture only the white tip of her tail is visible in the hole.
she goes into the cave and digs at the walls, then she backs out and kicks out all the loose dirt.
back in to dig some more
I recently noticed that I have a little tree coming up that I didn't have to plant, it's an offspring from my Purple Robe Locust Tree, yes, the one with the pretty fuchsia colored flowers. Very cool I think, especially since the other one that I had bought didn't make it.
Enya checking out the water.
Kobi chewing on a 12 inch bully stick
one evening I went outside with my camera and found the dogs fascinated with something Enya had, I could not see what it was and on the pictures it looks like maybe a caterpillar or other bug
they were all fascinated with whatever it was Monday, May 18, 2009
We are making progress with the farm,
My magnificent Great Pyrenees Nanuk, 8 years old now
My youngest chickens, about 5 week old now, almost fully feathered. I still bring them in the garage at night to make sure they don't get chilled and stay safe.
Mr. Handsome, Teddy is such a handsome boy, here he sits in the damp soil near the misters
Enya and Leydi under the misters, they have dug out an approximately 5 inch deep area that they are both sitting in on this picture, it provides a nice back support for them and because it is like a shallow pool, it fills with water when I water the trees at night and stays nice and moist during the day for extra cooling
Just a picture of the chicken yard that shows how nice and shady it is with the trees now
the fence is 6 feet, so that gives an idea how big the trees and bushes are getting. It's so nice to look outside and see trees or sit under them
This is a Tamarisk, also known as Salt Cedar, I had a few pop up on their own, it's illegal to plant them, and once they grow to about a foot high it's almost impossible to get rid of them unless one tries to dig them out. I have left this one alone because it grew where one of my other trees had died and is going to replace that tree.
some of the grass that grows around the trees
Picture of a few of some orchard grass plants, they seed stalks are over 3 feet tall
Buffy is my 2 year old Buff Orpington, she suffered a leg injury a few months ago, I believe that the rooster pushed her off the perch and that's how she got injured. She is getting around well, even has started again to go on and off the perches, she just can't run as fast as she used to, but there is no more noticable limp when she walks
Smokey the pullet, she is a real character, always underfoot and chattering away when I am around. It's really interesting that one out of 6 chicks that all had the same attention has turned out to be so much more sociable than the rest of them.
Another one of my Barred Rock pullets
Aren't they pretty? Just a couple more months or so and these girls should be laying some brown eggs
Another picture of Enya in the chicken yard.
I try to water the trees in the chicken yard during the hottest part of the day as it will provide plenty of wading pools for the chickens under the trees
My Texas Umbrella trees always have clusters of light lavender colored flowers in the spring, the smell is very intense and lasts for several weeks. Just when they are done flowering, my Texas Privot shrubs go into bloom and the air is once again filled with a flowery smell. Can't work all the time, have to stop and smell the flowers sometimes
Mister on the left, I use misters for the dogs and the chickens to keep them cool, it's really amazing what a little water can do, it is perfectly comfortable even in 110 degree heat to sit near the mister under a trea. I have tried it for the goats when I first got them, they didn't like it, so I took it down.
Fly traps, they work very well to catch hundreds, if not thousands of flies. I am also using some fly bait for fly control, which has been a challenge every year. This week I propped the gate to the goat pen open so the chickens can go in and have a feast on those nasty maggots that would otherwise turn into flies. Since I have 20 chickens roaming around right now, I am hoping this will help with the fly control that they have access to the goat pen.
The new stock tanks have been a hit with the dogs, of course the water never stays clean for very long as the dogs always hop in and out. I clean them out often, but usually the water looks murky already after a few hours.
I didn't get any kiddie pools this year, they are too difficult to keep clean and last year's pools started falling apart after about 3 months, so this year I started buying some stock tanks, this one holds 55 gallons, it's almost big enough for Kobi to swim in it.
another chicken enjoying a cool foot bath, that's Toby, my 2 year old Barred Leghorn.
chickens like to scratch around in some hay, so I use one of my old kiddie pools as a "hayscratch box", I just add some hay here and there and the chickens go in the pool to scratch around. I had to put a block in there to keep it from being blown away on high wind days.
Enya enjoys hanging out with the chickens, it feels good knowing somebody is watching over them to keep them safe. I use yoghurt containers to hold the chicken food and have it sitting inside another bowl to contain the spills as chickens are quite messy eaters. In the evenings when the chickens go to sleep I throw away the spillage and cover the yoghurt container either with a lid or just the bowl it sits in during the day, that way I am not leaving out a buffet for the mice and other critters that come and visit during the night. the container to the right is a little cooler I got for $ 1 at a recent yard sale, it was brand new and is now another water container for the chickens. This one works great as I can keep the top halfway closed during the day to shade the water, even when it was sitting out in the sun during the day when it is about 120 degrees in the sun the water was still cool in the afternoon. I cover it up at night so keep out the dirt.
Prince and Samantha make a good team, actually Prince usually has to do double duty as play partner, as I switch Sammie and Cici outside with him, Prince gets to play with both of his sisters in addition to Ayla or his mother joining in as well.
Prince is acting silly, he has really settled in nicely and is the sweet boy I imagined he would be when he was a little puppy
standing in cool water is a favority way to cool down for my hens, the only drawback is that they also like to drink that water and that chickens poop wherever they are, so I have to change that water several times a day to keep it clean
The chickens really keep their area totally weedfree, so I usually pick weeds elsewhere on the property and toss it over the fence to them, I have not needed to buy any more greens for them this summer as there are plenty of grasses and other weeds growing around the trees to supply the chickens with what they need. I think that's pretty cool.
Milo is munching on some fresh grasses
Here is Misty with a mouthful of fresh orchard grass. I am pretty excited that this year I have so much orchard grass and other grasses growing I can cut some for my goats almost every day. I didn't realize last year that the heavy grass that was growing was orchard grass, this year we have dozens of orchard grass clumps around the trees, the plant itself seems to be getting bigger every year, similar to pampas grass, just not quite that big. It seems like once it is established it is pretty hardy, for sure it cannot easily be removed. Some of the seed stalks on our orchard grass are already over 3 feet tall. I make sure that I leave some of the seed stalks in place so it can seed some more new plants. I have a lot of other grasses growing too, some looks like wild oats or something like that and most recently I noticed some Timothy grass, since there isn't much of it yet, I will just leave it alone so it can spread. It's hard to describe what it feels like when things start falling into place, and these grasses that have grown as a byproduct of my use of the goat manure mixed with straw and hay around the trees as mulch and fertilizer are definetely a step towards my goals. Now the water I use to water the trees also produces food for the goats as well as the chickens, and I have even seen some more wheat coming up in one corner of the property. I really need to buy some whole kernels of wheat and some sunflower seeds to spread around the trees to grow more of it.
2 of my one year old Ameraucana hens
One of my Ameraucana hens stealing some grass from my basket
I have 3 of these water bowls now, they are about 13 or 14 inches in diameter and as strange as it sounds, these bowls keep the water cool. We have had 105 degree temps here over the last week or so and I tested these bowls again, by noon the water still felt cool, now having been out in the sun since about 6.30 in the morning, if I leave the bowl alone and it gets a bit of shade for a couple hours in the afternoon, the water is still cool when I put my hand in it in the late afternoon. My guess is that the double wall is part of the trick to keep the water cool, as the outside wall shades the inside wall of the bowl. I have no other explanation for it. They are available from livestock supply companies and really don't even cost much.
Samantha and the chickens, she has been so good with them in the last few weeks, I was hoping she would grow out of her wanting to chase and play with them and it appears that she is getting to that age and all of a sudden she is very calm and appropriate around them.
One of my 3 month old Barred Rock pullets, this particular group of chicks is very personable and people oriented
My magnificent Great Pyrenees Nanuk, 8 years old now
My youngest chickens, about 5 week old now, almost fully feathered. I still bring them in the garage at night to make sure they don't get chilled and stay safe.
Mr. Handsome, Teddy is such a handsome boy, here he sits in the damp soil near the misters
Enya and Leydi under the misters, they have dug out an approximately 5 inch deep area that they are both sitting in on this picture, it provides a nice back support for them and because it is like a shallow pool, it fills with water when I water the trees at night and stays nice and moist during the day for extra cooling
Just a picture of the chicken yard that shows how nice and shady it is with the trees now
the fence is 6 feet, so that gives an idea how big the trees and bushes are getting. It's so nice to look outside and see trees or sit under them
This is a Tamarisk, also known as Salt Cedar, I had a few pop up on their own, it's illegal to plant them, and once they grow to about a foot high it's almost impossible to get rid of them unless one tries to dig them out. I have left this one alone because it grew where one of my other trees had died and is going to replace that tree.
some of the grass that grows around the trees Picture of a few of some orchard grass plants, they seed stalks are over 3 feet tall
Buffy is my 2 year old Buff Orpington, she suffered a leg injury a few months ago, I believe that the rooster pushed her off the perch and that's how she got injured. She is getting around well, even has started again to go on and off the perches, she just can't run as fast as she used to, but there is no more noticable limp when she walks
Smokey the pullet, she is a real character, always underfoot and chattering away when I am around. It's really interesting that one out of 6 chicks that all had the same attention has turned out to be so much more sociable than the rest of them.
Another one of my Barred Rock pullets
Aren't they pretty? Just a couple more months or so and these girls should be laying some brown eggs
Another picture of Enya in the chicken yard.
I try to water the trees in the chicken yard during the hottest part of the day as it will provide plenty of wading pools for the chickens under the trees
My Texas Umbrella trees always have clusters of light lavender colored flowers in the spring, the smell is very intense and lasts for several weeks. Just when they are done flowering, my Texas Privot shrubs go into bloom and the air is once again filled with a flowery smell. Can't work all the time, have to stop and smell the flowers sometimes
Mister on the left, I use misters for the dogs and the chickens to keep them cool, it's really amazing what a little water can do, it is perfectly comfortable even in 110 degree heat to sit near the mister under a trea. I have tried it for the goats when I first got them, they didn't like it, so I took it down.
Fly traps, they work very well to catch hundreds, if not thousands of flies. I am also using some fly bait for fly control, which has been a challenge every year. This week I propped the gate to the goat pen open so the chickens can go in and have a feast on those nasty maggots that would otherwise turn into flies. Since I have 20 chickens roaming around right now, I am hoping this will help with the fly control that they have access to the goat pen.
The new stock tanks have been a hit with the dogs, of course the water never stays clean for very long as the dogs always hop in and out. I clean them out often, but usually the water looks murky already after a few hours.
I didn't get any kiddie pools this year, they are too difficult to keep clean and last year's pools started falling apart after about 3 months, so this year I started buying some stock tanks, this one holds 55 gallons, it's almost big enough for Kobi to swim in it.
another chicken enjoying a cool foot bath, that's Toby, my 2 year old Barred Leghorn.
chickens like to scratch around in some hay, so I use one of my old kiddie pools as a "hayscratch box", I just add some hay here and there and the chickens go in the pool to scratch around. I had to put a block in there to keep it from being blown away on high wind days.
Prince and Samantha make a good team, actually Prince usually has to do double duty as play partner, as I switch Sammie and Cici outside with him, Prince gets to play with both of his sisters in addition to Ayla or his mother joining in as well.
Prince is acting silly, he has really settled in nicely and is the sweet boy I imagined he would be when he was a little puppy
standing in cool water is a favority way to cool down for my hens, the only drawback is that they also like to drink that water and that chickens poop wherever they are, so I have to change that water several times a day to keep it clean
The chickens really keep their area totally weedfree, so I usually pick weeds elsewhere on the property and toss it over the fence to them, I have not needed to buy any more greens for them this summer as there are plenty of grasses and other weeds growing around the trees to supply the chickens with what they need. I think that's pretty cool.
Milo is munching on some fresh grasses
Here is Misty with a mouthful of fresh orchard grass. I am pretty excited that this year I have so much orchard grass and other grasses growing I can cut some for my goats almost every day. I didn't realize last year that the heavy grass that was growing was orchard grass, this year we have dozens of orchard grass clumps around the trees, the plant itself seems to be getting bigger every year, similar to pampas grass, just not quite that big. It seems like once it is established it is pretty hardy, for sure it cannot easily be removed. Some of the seed stalks on our orchard grass are already over 3 feet tall. I make sure that I leave some of the seed stalks in place so it can seed some more new plants. I have a lot of other grasses growing too, some looks like wild oats or something like that and most recently I noticed some Timothy grass, since there isn't much of it yet, I will just leave it alone so it can spread. It's hard to describe what it feels like when things start falling into place, and these grasses that have grown as a byproduct of my use of the goat manure mixed with straw and hay around the trees as mulch and fertilizer are definetely a step towards my goals. Now the water I use to water the trees also produces food for the goats as well as the chickens, and I have even seen some more wheat coming up in one corner of the property. I really need to buy some whole kernels of wheat and some sunflower seeds to spread around the trees to grow more of it.
2 of my one year old Ameraucana hens
One of my Ameraucana hens stealing some grass from my basket
I have 3 of these water bowls now, they are about 13 or 14 inches in diameter and as strange as it sounds, these bowls keep the water cool. We have had 105 degree temps here over the last week or so and I tested these bowls again, by noon the water still felt cool, now having been out in the sun since about 6.30 in the morning, if I leave the bowl alone and it gets a bit of shade for a couple hours in the afternoon, the water is still cool when I put my hand in it in the late afternoon. My guess is that the double wall is part of the trick to keep the water cool, as the outside wall shades the inside wall of the bowl. I have no other explanation for it. They are available from livestock supply companies and really don't even cost much.
Samantha and the chickens, she has been so good with them in the last few weeks, I was hoping she would grow out of her wanting to chase and play with them and it appears that she is getting to that age and all of a sudden she is very calm and appropriate around them.
One of my 3 month old Barred Rock pullets, this particular group of chicks is very personable and people oriented Saturday, May 09, 2009
Summer heat and staying cool,
We had a little visitor today,
Here I caught the little bunny resting in the shade. They have been pretty bold lately coming on our property, since we have a lot of green stuff growing plus I water usually during the day, so they come to the "oasis". They are so small they jump through the chain link fencing. Sadly the dogs caught and killed one a week ago. Since the body disappeared I am assuming one of them ate it, which means that whoever ate it will probably have tapeworms in a few weeks.
Here is one of my 3 week old Black Jersey Giant chicks, I have them outside during the day as it gets too hot in the garage. Our temperatures have been around 105 lately, so the little chicks won't be cold outside, I actually make sure that misters are on every day and I wet the ground to provide some cooling. Hopefully we will all make it through the summer ahead of us, 105 is really not so bad, it's when the temps go up to 115 to 118 when everybody is struggling.
These chicks look like mini ostriches, they are supposed to get pretty big and all black with a green sheen. I can't wait to see them grow up. These chicks are a lot less active than my other ones were. this is very interesting, I think this breed also comes as a White Jersey Giant, so if they really lay bigger eggs I might get some of the white ones in the future.
These are my two Buff Orpington pullets, they are a little over 2 months old. Over the last 2 weeks I have integrated these young pullets with my existing flock and so far this is going very well. I took a gradual approach as I did in the past. Now I have 20 hens (I am hoping they are all hens) running around, they are quite the crowd. These 2 month olds are like little puppies following me around and crowding around me if they are scared of something. They seem to think I am their mother.
just gotta love those chickens, what nosey little birds they are
one of my 2 month old Barred Rock pullets
The youngsters usually stick together, my oldest hens are two years old now and all but one sleep in the same house at night, however two of my one year olds have recently started to sleep in the same house as the 2 year olds, which of course has created a lot of fighting over the best spots on the perches. One of my 2 year old Delawares was kicked off her spot and she has not tried to go up again for the last 3 days, she doesn't seem to be hurt physically, but she sure isn't trying to go up on the perches anymore, she goes and sits in a corner, so I have been picking her up when it gets dark and put her on the lowest perch so she doesn't sit on the ground.
Teddy and Nanuk, sharing a shady spot.
these pictures were taken a little over a week ago, the chicks' legs weren't all black yet, now they have this beautiful charcoal color.
interesting markings they have
the little group of 4
nothing wrong with the chick, she is just trying to warm up under the heat lamp
doesn't she look like I caught her doing something emberassing ?
We had a little visitor today,
Here I caught the little bunny resting in the shade. They have been pretty bold lately coming on our property, since we have a lot of green stuff growing plus I water usually during the day, so they come to the "oasis". They are so small they jump through the chain link fencing. Sadly the dogs caught and killed one a week ago. Since the body disappeared I am assuming one of them ate it, which means that whoever ate it will probably have tapeworms in a few weeks.
Here is one of my 3 week old Black Jersey Giant chicks, I have them outside during the day as it gets too hot in the garage. Our temperatures have been around 105 lately, so the little chicks won't be cold outside, I actually make sure that misters are on every day and I wet the ground to provide some cooling. Hopefully we will all make it through the summer ahead of us, 105 is really not so bad, it's when the temps go up to 115 to 118 when everybody is struggling.
These chicks look like mini ostriches, they are supposed to get pretty big and all black with a green sheen. I can't wait to see them grow up. These chicks are a lot less active than my other ones were. this is very interesting, I think this breed also comes as a White Jersey Giant, so if they really lay bigger eggs I might get some of the white ones in the future.
These are my two Buff Orpington pullets, they are a little over 2 months old. Over the last 2 weeks I have integrated these young pullets with my existing flock and so far this is going very well. I took a gradual approach as I did in the past. Now I have 20 hens (I am hoping they are all hens) running around, they are quite the crowd. These 2 month olds are like little puppies following me around and crowding around me if they are scared of something. They seem to think I am their mother.
just gotta love those chickens, what nosey little birds they are
one of my 2 month old Barred Rock pullets
The youngsters usually stick together, my oldest hens are two years old now and all but one sleep in the same house at night, however two of my one year olds have recently started to sleep in the same house as the 2 year olds, which of course has created a lot of fighting over the best spots on the perches. One of my 2 year old Delawares was kicked off her spot and she has not tried to go up again for the last 3 days, she doesn't seem to be hurt physically, but she sure isn't trying to go up on the perches anymore, she goes and sits in a corner, so I have been picking her up when it gets dark and put her on the lowest perch so she doesn't sit on the ground.
Teddy and Nanuk, sharing a shady spot.
these pictures were taken a little over a week ago, the chicks' legs weren't all black yet, now they have this beautiful charcoal color.
interesting markings they have
the little group of 4
nothing wrong with the chick, she is just trying to warm up under the heat lamp
doesn't she look like I caught her doing something emberassing ?Sunday, April 26, 2009
Visitors and new chicks
The newest additions, I got 4 more little chicks, they are Black Jersey Giants, supposed to grow to over 10 lbs and laying large brown eggs. They are already 9 days old
Prince watches as Ziva dives into the hole
I think when Ziva came home this afternoon she had lots to talk about the holes she was digging, she really had a good time with it
Ayla watches that new little dog with interest
Prince and Wendy flirting
Prince and his newest little buddy Ziva
Little Ziva is a purebred German Shepherd Dog, she is a beautiful little dog with a structure like a real working dog and not like the showtype German Shepherds that don't look or move like a functional dog. Congrats to Cheri to this beautiful little girl.
Ziva became fast friends with Prince
I think Prince would love to have a puppy for himself to hang out with instead of his moody sisters who always give him a hard time
Wendy aka "Brillo Head" had the shade all to herself for a while
Prince was so patient and fascinated with little Ziva
Prince checking out where the little puppy is going with something in her mouth
My magnificent Cici
My Purple Robe Locust is in full bloom, and the bees are loving it
Prince and Leydi with my cousin Tini and her daughter Amelie who came to visit they will live in the US for another year before they go back to Germany, or maybe England where Tini's husband comes from.
Prince enjoying all the attention
Prince seems to say "okay now, I am ready, so pose already so we can get this over with"
Nanuk looks like he really does not want to be bothered, he has made himself a hole to sleep in
looks mighty comfortable
Enya with the chickens
I bought a few more of the Coolaroo dog beds, all my dogs love those and they can be used both indoors and outdoors, in the winter I just put a blanket over them, but in the summer the dogs love them because the air can circulate under them, and if I place it over the air conditioning then they really don't want to get up anymore
The newest additions, I got 4 more little chicks, they are Black Jersey Giants, supposed to grow to over 10 lbs and laying large brown eggs. They are already 9 days old
Prince watches as Ziva dives into the hole
I think when Ziva came home this afternoon she had lots to talk about the holes she was digging, she really had a good time with it
Ayla watches that new little dog with interest
Prince and Wendy flirting
Prince and his newest little buddy Ziva
Little Ziva is a purebred German Shepherd Dog, she is a beautiful little dog with a structure like a real working dog and not like the showtype German Shepherds that don't look or move like a functional dog. Congrats to Cheri to this beautiful little girl.
Ziva became fast friends with Prince
I think Prince would love to have a puppy for himself to hang out with instead of his moody sisters who always give him a hard time
Wendy aka "Brillo Head" had the shade all to herself for a while
Prince was so patient and fascinated with little Ziva
Prince checking out where the little puppy is going with something in her mouth
My magnificent Cici
My Purple Robe Locust is in full bloom, and the bees are loving it
Prince and Leydi with my cousin Tini and her daughter Amelie who came to visit they will live in the US for another year before they go back to Germany, or maybe England where Tini's husband comes from.
Prince enjoying all the attention
Prince seems to say "okay now, I am ready, so pose already so we can get this over with"
Nanuk looks like he really does not want to be bothered, he has made himself a hole to sleep in
looks mighty comfortable
Enya with the chickens
I bought a few more of the Coolaroo dog beds, all my dogs love those and they can be used both indoors and outdoors, in the winter I just put a blanket over them, but in the summer the dogs love them because the air can circulate under them, and if I place it over the air conditioning then they really don't want to get up anymoreSaturday, April 04, 2009
Chicks moving outside for the day,
Enya guarding her chickens, she has always been trustworthy with the chickens and the goats, now, almost 16 months old, I leave her alone for periods of time in the chicken yard. Actually today I put out my new pullets for the first time in their new coop and didn't really think this through and left Enya out with the chickens. When I came back an hour later I realized what I had done, but all was fine. What I have noticed is that I am usually a bit too cautious and when I start "forgetting" to watch it's really because I can trust them. Overall Enya has a wonderful temperament, she is quite the social butterfly when she meets people, she is amazingly cooperative about things I ask of her, she seems to be happy whether I leave her out with the dogs or with the chickens or bring her in the house, just never complains, as she matures she has been less of a bully with the other dogs, though she will make her opinions known and won't take no for an answer.
some of my hens in a scenic shot, I have finally found a new home for my rooster Sophie, he is getting a second chance at freedom with chicken keeper near Death Valley who has a bunch of hens that seem to be rather fast and flighty, so maybe Sophie won't be able to catch them.
two of my Barred Rock pullets eating an apple
the two Buff Orpington pullets
this is Smokey, I was going to call her Harriet, but Smokey stuck, so that's what it is. She is very personable and will jump on my arm often, she talks a lot and gets very excited when I pay attention to her, chickens are just such fun animals to own
Just a cute shot of a Barred Rock chick
they are already going through their first molt and I find little feathers everywhere
I am a bit suspicious that the chick on the right might be a rooster. According to the color pattern on the feathers and feet it's a pullet, but it also has some signs of a rooster like the different tail feathers. I guess we will find out. I really like having a rooster, as long as he is gentle with the hens and doesn't attack me.
Another picture of the mystery chick, I think I will call it Rocky (it's a barred rock), which is of course a very name that nobody would ever think of, haha
tail comparison
this is Lucy, last fall she had a bump right in front of that right eye that looked like a boil, then it shrunk and dried up, in this picture it is barely visible, it's that little grey spot to the right of the eye
A few days ago I made breakfast for myself and just before I sat down to eat it I tought that it looked really pretty and that maybe I should just take a picture of it that shows what a hard working chicken farmer gets to eat for breakfast.
I am in the process of painting my barn, I don't know if chickens like purple, but it's a color I really like, so here we go. the Walls are a greenish beige, some leftover paint from where I work, nothing like using up leftover paint and keeping it out of the landfill.
my new nestboxes, the chickens really like those, not sure if it's because they are purple, or because they are a bit more roomy than the other ones. The nestboxes were made from a 25 year old handmade microwave shelf that I got for free on Pahrumpfreecycle. Looks pretty good, doesn't it. I love that pretty shaped back board, gives it a nice touch.
I built this little structure mostly from scrap wood I had laying around, we get a lot of wind here, and it gives the chickens a place to stay out of the wind or the rain, and it provides shade as well. The dogs squeeze into it too sometimes. I ordered 22 new trees this weekend from the Master Gardener's office, they will be small, but at only $ 3.50 each, this can't be beat and in a few years they will be a nice size and add to the beauty and usefulness of our property, it's really a ten year project to grow enough trees to make it possible to spend time outside for me, the dogs and the other critters in the heat of the summer and still be comfortable.
Enya guarding her chickens, she has always been trustworthy with the chickens and the goats, now, almost 16 months old, I leave her alone for periods of time in the chicken yard. Actually today I put out my new pullets for the first time in their new coop and didn't really think this through and left Enya out with the chickens. When I came back an hour later I realized what I had done, but all was fine. What I have noticed is that I am usually a bit too cautious and when I start "forgetting" to watch it's really because I can trust them. Overall Enya has a wonderful temperament, she is quite the social butterfly when she meets people, she is amazingly cooperative about things I ask of her, she seems to be happy whether I leave her out with the dogs or with the chickens or bring her in the house, just never complains, as she matures she has been less of a bully with the other dogs, though she will make her opinions known and won't take no for an answer.
some of my hens in a scenic shot, I have finally found a new home for my rooster Sophie, he is getting a second chance at freedom with chicken keeper near Death Valley who has a bunch of hens that seem to be rather fast and flighty, so maybe Sophie won't be able to catch them.
two of my Barred Rock pullets eating an apple
the two Buff Orpington pullets
this is Smokey, I was going to call her Harriet, but Smokey stuck, so that's what it is. She is very personable and will jump on my arm often, she talks a lot and gets very excited when I pay attention to her, chickens are just such fun animals to own
Just a cute shot of a Barred Rock chick
they are already going through their first molt and I find little feathers everywhere
I am a bit suspicious that the chick on the right might be a rooster. According to the color pattern on the feathers and feet it's a pullet, but it also has some signs of a rooster like the different tail feathers. I guess we will find out. I really like having a rooster, as long as he is gentle with the hens and doesn't attack me.
Another picture of the mystery chick, I think I will call it Rocky (it's a barred rock), which is of course a very name that nobody would ever think of, haha
tail comparison this is Lucy, last fall she had a bump right in front of that right eye that looked like a boil, then it shrunk and dried up, in this picture it is barely visible, it's that little grey spot to the right of the eye so yesterday I decided to take a look at that scab like thingy and scratched it with my fingernail, it felt like it was moving, so I prodded some more and sure enough the whole thing came right out, it left a little crater to the right of her eye, but the skin underneath was healthy. The thing that came out was about 2 mm in diameter and very hard, I tried to break it up but it was rather solid. Now this thing has been in that spot all winter, so this wasn't just a scab. this morning when I checked her the crater was barely visible anymore, so I am guessing it will just diappear. What a strange thing.
A few days ago I made breakfast for myself and just before I sat down to eat it I tought that it looked really pretty and that maybe I should just take a picture of it that shows what a hard working chicken farmer gets to eat for breakfast.
I am in the process of painting my barn, I don't know if chickens like purple, but it's a color I really like, so here we go. the Walls are a greenish beige, some leftover paint from where I work, nothing like using up leftover paint and keeping it out of the landfill.
my new nestboxes, the chickens really like those, not sure if it's because they are purple, or because they are a bit more roomy than the other ones. The nestboxes were made from a 25 year old handmade microwave shelf that I got for free on Pahrumpfreecycle. Looks pretty good, doesn't it. I love that pretty shaped back board, gives it a nice touch.
I built this little structure mostly from scrap wood I had laying around, we get a lot of wind here, and it gives the chickens a place to stay out of the wind or the rain, and it provides shade as well. The dogs squeeze into it too sometimes. I ordered 22 new trees this weekend from the Master Gardener's office, they will be small, but at only $ 3.50 each, this can't be beat and in a few years they will be a nice size and add to the beauty and usefulness of our property, it's really a ten year project to grow enough trees to make it possible to spend time outside for me, the dogs and the other critters in the heat of the summer and still be comfortable.