Eva’s Friends

[N F C]

Today was colder out and we went to church this morning, so no one got to come out until a couple hours before dark.
Minna went missing as I was putting everyone to bed; after making a circuit of the yard many times, we had almost given her up for lost, when I suddenly caught sight of her taking a sand bath under a bush. Thank heavens!
Winston tried to attack my younger (teenage) sister but she ran up on the deck. He knows she's scared of him and runs after her every chance he gets. I would keep him locked up but he's an excellent protector for the hens and they love him (for the most part).

Winston trying to peck me through the chicken wire
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I was watching everyone get ready for bed tonight; it's a good time to observe the pecking order, make sure everyone is acting normally, and just meditate about any number of things. Since Winston joined the hens, the pecking order has changed a little. Prudence is now top hen, probably because she is Winston's favorite. Rose and Lyd tie for second place, and Minna is at the bottom. I have noticed she usually sleeps next to Winston, even though she is his least favorite hen. I don't think he picks on her. On the flip side, she bullies the Biddies to the point where they are terrified. It is unfortunate because I don't like to see her feathers ragged from the constant picking of the other hens.

This was not their final positions for the night; they are still preparing for bed.
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In the Biddies' subgroup, Jenny is clearly at the bottom even though she is the oldest and biggest; Dolores and Viv tie for first place. They love to sleep huddled up together like they did when they were chicks, even though they are all big and fluffy.

The turkeys are desperate to have Eva mate with them; it's frustrating yet amusing because they are so persistent. I am hoping to find them a good Tom, but that's unlikely - who's going to part with a well-behaved male turkey?

Every evening Rita runs to her nest and sits on it while Frank tries to bite me as I finish chores. Rita's eggs take up two of the chicken's eggs. I made one, and it fit nicely in a small tortilla. It was incredible to see that big egg!

It's going to be nice tomorrow so I mean to get some work done outside, and will post pictures of the completed projects!

Henry Napoleon (his new nickname is Napoleon because of his arrogant personality and small size) and Winnie
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I am going to post a random picture in addition to my updates on Eva’s friends because I have a lot of them and no one to share them with :

Random picture: the Jefferson Memorial
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Winston may be ornery, but he is handsome! And your ducks are lovely too. Thanks for sharing your pictures!

 

[Evadig]

It was beautiful out today! I had to spend the morning working on homework for one of my college classes so I didn't get as much done as I had hoped, but I did make a door for the duck pen! I have been wanting to get that done for so long...

Either Dolores or Vivienne (but I'm pretty sure it was Viv) laid her first egg today!

Stanislaw got to free range today while Winston remained in the Muddy Run, but they tried to fight each other through the chicken wire until I shooed Stan out.

We are overwhelmed with eggs; my mom says she never dreamed she'd have so many eggs. I am going to have to give some away to the old ladies at church!
(There are at least ten more in addition to these)!

George and Matt hate me!

Stan announcing his superiority to the world atop the Muddy Run (the white is plastic, not snow).

I’ve lifted up the tarp on the sides to air the place out in preparation for spring cleaning; it looks much better and more light!

Two pictures of Winnie

 

[N F C]

Wonderful photos @Evadig (as usual), congrats on having a new egg layer!

 

[Evadig]

Wonderful photos @Evadig (as usual), congrats on having a new egg layer!

Thank you! I almost wish I didn't - the funny thing is none of us like eggs and I collect at least five daily!

 

[N F C]

Thank you! I almost wish I didn't - the funny thing is none of us like eggs and I collect at least five daily!

Lots of eggs to share I guess!

 

[Evadig]

It rained most of the day but cleared up in the evening, so I was able to get a few pictures.

Not much is going on. Winston is not allowed to free range anymore, he is just getting too aggressive. The more he is confined to the coop the more aggressive he gets. I am going to convert the catio into a permanent run for him. Hopefully I can find him a couple girls to hang out with, otherwise he will just have to watch everyone else, and possibly get some free ranging time when no one is around.

One of the turkeys has begun laying! I don't know if it's Helen or Matilda.

Lydwinne (I love the sun shining through her comb!)

Lucy eating a leaf

Annie Beth (she's as big as Eva now!)

 

[Jenbirdee]

awwww WINNIE so pretty looks just like my PERDY duck

 

[N F C]

It rained most of the day but cleared up in the evening, so I was able to get a few pictures.

Not much is going on. Winston is not allowed to free range anymore, he is just getting too aggressive. The more he is confined to the coop the more aggressive he gets. I am going to convert the catio into a permanent run for him. Hopefully I can find him a couple girls to hang out with, otherwise he will just have to watch everyone else, and possibly get some free ranging time when no one is around.

One of the turkeys has begun laying! I don't know if it's Helen or Matilda.
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Lydwinne (I love the sun shining through her comb!)
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Lucy eating a leaf
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Annie Beth (she's as big as Eva now!)
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Congrats on the turkey egg!

 

[Evadig]

Fair warning - post is long and picture heavy !

Today was warm and sunny and just beautiful. It is going to rain for a bit though, so I went ahead and spring cleaned the Muddy Run even though we will get another week of lower nighttime temperatures.

But first...
Yesterday I noticed Stan's chest feathers were reddish. At first I thought he'd been taking a sand bath in the reddish clay that makes up some of our soil, but since the ground was muddy, that was unlikely. So I caught him and saw he was bleeding from the mouth. A quick Google search brought me to...you guessed it, BYC...and I found a thread dealing with the issue. When we wiped the blood off his beak I realized the tip was missing. How this happened will remain a mystery. We applied flour, corn starch, and an antiseptic wipe and the poor boy behaved wonderfully. It is important to remember that this rooster used to almost go insane if you came anywhere near him. We then put him in a wire dog crate so he couldn't get dirt on his beak, and made a pen nearby into which one of the hens was confined to keep him company. Eva came to say hi and commiserate with him, which is also amazing as he is scared of her as well.

Now moving on to the Muddy Run. At 11:00 I began by removing all the tarps placed on the sides for the winter. Then I started shoveling out the duck pen. An easy way to work out is to lift a large mass of soggy straw at the end of a pitch fork. Incidentally, I never knew how useful a pitch fork is until I needed to clean a duck pen. Next came the goose pen, followed by multiple washings with the hose. Since the water doesn't drain easily, the hallway became rather muddy (hence the name!)

Ducks

Geese

Biddies

Chickens

Turkeys

Break for lunch at 12:30. Then shoveled out all the dirty straw and broke up the compacted dirt in the turkey and chicken runs. That was as bad as shoveling out wet straw because when clay soil compacts, it becomes, literally, as hard as a rock. I nearly opened a blister that was healing, so I took a break and cleaned chicken feeders/waterers. Then I had to get all the mud out of the hallway. By the time I got done with all that it was 3:00.

I decided to move the duck and goose houses which in hindsight I should have done a long time ago as it looks better and is more functional. I also put an unused rabbit house (supposedly!) on top of the goose house roof so I now have a hospital within the Muddy Run. Now sick birds don't need to stay in the basement, which has poor air quality. Stan was the first occupant of the hospital, because I want to make sure his beak has scabbed over before I let him touch dirt again. He let me put my hand into the cage to give him food and water, which is just so incredible.

I was completely done by 5:30, which was good because I had to go to choir practice. I took more than thirty eggs with me and gave them to a few members. There are still nineteen eggs here at home, so the egg situation was definitely out of control! By the way, Matilda is the turkey that is laying.

Matilda trying to convince me to mate with her

I think that is everything I had to share today!If y'all have any advice for Stan's beak (especially, when can he free range again!) please let me know!

Winnie and Hilda playing in the little ditch I dug for them

Minna

Random picture: sunset over the town

 

[N F C]

@Evadig you sure got a workout with all that cleaning...good job! Best wishes to Stan.