Recent content by HiEverybirdy

  1. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    So very sorry about Fret. What a dynamic lady she was. Nice to think she's somewhere foraging with her Carbon twin and Tull, or wearing Henry as a hat. Peaceful journey to her.
  2. HiEverybirdy

    Review by 'HiEverybirdy' in article 'Building a Better Coop: Coastal Challenges, Forest Solutions, and the Stuff Nobody Tells You'

    Excellent discussion of points that are relevant even for those of us not fending off pesky hermit crabs, from spousal bribes to knowing your windward side. The predator-survey table is a nice touch, as are discussions of ground and drainage considerations, entrance/cleaning decisions, and...
  3. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    I'm so sorry. And so sad. Peaceful journey, Tull. She had a good run, named and loved her whole life, with daily treats to enjoy. We'll miss her curious expression.
  4. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    Rechargeable camping fans are nice for hot days. These days even cheap ones are waterproof, have a light and timer, and hold a charge for a long time. It took most of the chickens a minute to understand the purpose of fans, but now they seem to appreciate them in a nonchalant kind of way...
  5. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    Might be fun to note that bees also eat honey. It's not just for our tea and toast! Apis mellifera, the honey bee, has been bred like modern chickens to create excess of what they need so we can steal from them without killing them off. Honey is nectar (not pollen) processed with bee spit...
  6. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    This time, instead of the Pigeon River rising up to eat the interstate like it did after Helene, a rain shower flash-flooded creeks that rushed down Snowbird Mountain and poured over I-40 into the Pigeon. It compromised I-40 again, took out a few more of those nice back roads in Grassy Fork...
  7. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    Turtles are amazing. They're far enough from a road here that they probably haven't seen a car except ours, but lawnmowers and tractors can be tricky for them, too. We strive to stay turtle aware. So does Lorraine! She made sure the whole yard knew about the interloper, even if she wasn't...
  8. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    This is the first year my brain has registered the chickens' grass preferences. I hadn't noticed how opinionated they are about this topic. They're fine with freshly mown grass but most enthusiastic a week after mowing, when it's medium length. They start avoiding grass when it begins to look...
  9. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    That's an interesting question for several reasons, but if you recall, I'm in the Land of the Never Broodies over here. Not a single broody in 5 years.
  10. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    Looks like your camera courteously incorporates the date in the first part of the filename, which is handy if the camera date is set correctly.
  11. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    Life would certainly go on if I didn't know our cost-per-egg. It's important to note egg cost is vastly different than our annual cost-per-chicken, which I don't want to know 😄 After all, rooster AGC's glucosamine costs around $50 annually, and he's never laid an egg. But besides satisfying...
  12. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    I just realized there's a notable exception. Lil Nugs likes to steal shells from a favorite cup in Stilton's yard every evening during the laying season. So she eats oyster shells every night but has yet to lay off the roost. In Nugs' case, it's unclear if this routine is more about the...
  13. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    Tax: Peck and Nugs figuring out why I let the pollinator garden, where they used to annihilate native invertebrates, become overrun with bramble this year. The berries had been ripening for several days. I'm not sure why they didn't see them before this, but when they did, their eyes got huge...
  14. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    On oyster shell: our adults eat chick starter along with a lower-protein all-flock (all-flock has been stunningly hard to find, btw). Layer feed is a no-go for us because of the roosters and non-laying hens. Each coop has cups of calcium in 2 places, next to cups of grit. I once heard in a...
  15. HiEverybirdy

    Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

    I kept an egg spreadsheet for a while. It's good for a lot of learning, like understanding the arc of the laying season. If you want to track each bird's production, it'd be good to keep a close eye on eggs and learn who lays what. Color can vary enough to be confusing, but an individual's egg...
See more
Back
Top Bottom