All Ready Been A Year???
7/24/2010-I am stunned that we have had chickens for almost a year! We have really had some great times. I don't think I have had a more rewarding hobby. I am equally blessed that my husband enjoys "chickens" almost as much as I do. This year we had to "put down" our beautiful roosters, Nero and Spartacus". We hated to do it, but we didn't have enough girls to go around. Unfortunately, our Doms were special favorites of the boys, and still have not recovered their feathers. The Dom they liked the best, seemed to be weakened from all their "attention" and she never really got all her strength back....we finally had to send our "Princess chicken" on to her reward. She had worked hard, but just couldn't keep up with the others.
Sam is still "chicken in charge" and she takes her responsibility very seriously.......
She lost her friend "Sue" to a hawk attack. I found our poor Sue, and I know that she put up a good fight to protect all the other chickens. After that, we put up fruit tree netting-over the entire run. I will not let any free ranging go on with out someone on watch. The bad news is that all the chicks are sooo friendly, they just want to visit, instead of bug hunting.
. We got 4 Buff Orpingtons to replace our losses in March. They are very sweet and friendly, but they are "push-overs". Definately low end of the pecking order. They looked like little buttercups when they were peeps.
They have turned out to be just as sweet as the Dominiques. They love to be picked up and can sometimes be an annoyance.......Our friends little girl being mugged.
.
Nothing like a good "waddle" rub. We got our first egg from them July 6th.....
. The eggs are getting bigger but still awfully little.
It has just been a scorcher here in Missouri. We tried 3 varieties of fans, an 18 inch, a 24 inch (both window fans) and the girls were just miserable. Egg production went down so we had to do something. My husband (he is very patient with my needs) installed fan #3. A thermastatically controlled vent fan.
It was a little (alot) pricey, the fan and the louvered vent cover were around $125.00, but the difference is worth every cent!! We don't have to worry about turning it off and on and we don't have to worry that the house is too hot. They congregate in the house now during the hottest part of the day. We also got them a small wading pool and we keep just enough water in it too wet their "tootsies".
It has been a good year at Witt's End, we love our chickens, their eggs and their "come hither" looks........
Sam is still "chicken in charge" and she takes her responsibility very seriously.......
She lost her friend "Sue" to a hawk attack. I found our poor Sue, and I know that she put up a good fight to protect all the other chickens. After that, we put up fruit tree netting-over the entire run. I will not let any free ranging go on with out someone on watch. The bad news is that all the chicks are sooo friendly, they just want to visit, instead of bug hunting.
. We got 4 Buff Orpingtons to replace our losses in March. They are very sweet and friendly, but they are "push-overs". Definately low end of the pecking order. They looked like little buttercups when they were peeps.
They have turned out to be just as sweet as the Dominiques. They love to be picked up and can sometimes be an annoyance.......Our friends little girl being mugged.
.
. The eggs are getting bigger but still awfully little.It has just been a scorcher here in Missouri. We tried 3 varieties of fans, an 18 inch, a 24 inch (both window fans) and the girls were just miserable. Egg production went down so we had to do something. My husband (he is very patient with my needs) installed fan #3. A thermastatically controlled vent fan.
It was a little (alot) pricey, the fan and the louvered vent cover were around $125.00, but the difference is worth every cent!! We don't have to worry about turning it off and on and we don't have to worry that the house is too hot. They congregate in the house now during the hottest part of the day. We also got them a small wading pool and we keep just enough water in it too wet their "tootsies".It has been a good year at Witt's End, we love our chickens, their eggs and their "come hither" looks........
