Animal Update

In the top picture, there's a deer grazing in the yard in the background.  I forgot to post pictures of all of the chicks...some I hatched and some I bought from the feed store. There are some Blue COchins, Speckled Sussex, Welsummer, Ameraucana, and mixed Marans.

The five older lambs are in the barn now, weaned a few weeks ago.  The other sheep and goats are happy grazing.  Ida does crazy moves to reach any branches she can.

Random Stuff

The sky was crazy one day a few weeks ago.

The kids 4-H club glazed ceramic piggy banks during their last meeting. The piggy banks will be fired and returned next meeting.

There's a bulk foods store near us that sells cereal marshmallows.  Cereal marshmallows in popcorn....a great invention!

We met some friends for dinner one night recently and had some delicious sushi.

I voted in the primary election. Yay for voting!

We split a beef with a few friends and this is one of the steaks. The thing was HUGE.  David and I each got about 2 meals from it.

The crop plane flew something over the fields next to our house, so I got a few good pictures.

I filled up the incubator with some eggs from my friend's hens and some from mine.  I was really excited to hatch these, because they are mostly Marans eggs (some Black Copper, some Blue Copper, Cuckoo, and Birchen).  

The eggs that weren't fertile or developing were tossed out, and the remaining eggs got put into compartments to keep the breeds separate.  Unfortunately, I didn't make the walls high enough and the chicks that are currently hatching (7 so far) are hopping all around like the cardboard is just a minor inconvenience.  

Kylee was sitting on the counter this afternoon, watching the eggs hatching and the chicks bopping around.  

I ordered these chicks (above) from the local feed store.  I got an assortment: 6 Ameraucanas, 5 Welsummers, 2 Speckled Sussex, and 2 Cochins.  The Cochins came in an assortment of colors, and I was so excited that there were 2 blues available. I've wanted Blue Cochins for a long time, so I scooped those two up so fast!  Some of these chicks are going to a friend, and I think I may end up selling some, because I'm running out of room in my coop!

Bunnies and Chickens

Coop Re-Do

My hens haven't been laying much lately, and I have been reading that stress in the coop can decrease egg production.  The coop has been crowded lately since the new chicks have grown so much, and I knew they needed another roost. I decided to go ahead and clean out the coop, and pressure wash it, then paint it and change the layout a tad.

Rule #1 when pressure washing a chicken coop--keep your mouth closed.

Here's the "before" painting.  The OSB has held up really well (it has been 6 years), but it is starting to swell just a bit behind the roosts, so I figured I'd paint it to get a few more years out of it.

The branch to the right is the new roost, waiting to be installed.

The nestbox was on the back (long) wall, so I decided to move it next to the door so I could use the long wall for the new roost.

And here's after the wall paint. It's PINK.  I used leftover paint from Kylee's bedroom, since I didn't want to spend money on new paint for the coop.

Here's the back wall, painted in light pink.  I put the new roost up, so there's way more room for the chickens now.

And here's the new nestbox location.

I hope the girls like pink!

Big Babies

The chicks I bought at the end of April are about half grown now, and have joined the adult flock out in the coop.  I thought I'd have to spend a few evenings chasing them to go inside the coop for the night, but they followed the big hens right inside.  They love being outside now, and it's fun to watch them chasing bugs, eating grass, and chasing each other.

I have 14 now: 1 Buff Orpington, 3 Speckled Sussex, 3 Black Star, 5 Barred Rocks, and 2 Golden Laced Cochins.  They are supposed to be all pullets (females), but I'm thinking I may have a male Cochin and a male Speckled Sussex.

This is one of the cochins...the one I suspect may be a cockerel.

The big hens don't seem to mind them too much, unless the little ones get too close. They may get pecked on the head, in that case.

These older hens are enjoying a little goat milk.

I found this on the ground. Do you know what it is?  It's one of my rooster's spurs.  It must have broken off somehow. There is still about an inch of it left on his leg.  He's an old guy...6 years old now.