Cedar Creek Chooks

[MTKitty]

This morning, I relaxed by watching my chicken yard out my window. In spite of today’s wind (23 mph, according to weather app), two featherheads came out to browse the fence-line. I was pleased to see one was my big boy and he was less intent on grazing than on being watchful. Pretty soon, a few others joined them from the coop.

The rooster is taking his duties seriously, it seems. That makes me happy. He isn’t cuddly - none of these guys are pets and none have official names. He doesn’t care for being touched. None of them do, really, but the girls will stand for a few seconds of chest skritches or back touches.

The boy darts away from my hand like he thinks he’s next on the menu. But he will walk up to me. He will eat when I’m near, as long as I keep my hands to myself. When outside, he’s always looking around. And up.

My hope, as he matures, is that he will be the ideal rooster. What is ideal? Flock guardian, hen watcher, chick protector, and human accepting.

I don’t need his love or affection (save it for the Ladies), but mutual respect will keep him in my good graces for a long time.

 

[Sally PB]

My hope, as he matures, is that he will be the ideal rooster. What is ideal? Flock guardian, hen watcher, chick protector, and human accepting.

I don’t need his love or affection (save it for the Ladies), but mutual respect will keep him in my good graces for a long time.

Yes, this, exactly.

 

[MTKitty]

The coop has done gone redneck!! ... to combat the storms blowing in the access door and creating too much draft, I rigged an old dog crate — the top half — into a foyer in front of the access door.

I didn’t see nearly the hesitance to use the new entry that I thought I would. Instead, I’m battling to keep the featherheads from eating the caulk I used to keep water from getting between the crate and the coop.

That’s why I have sage branches piled on either side until the caulk dries. When I went out to get pictures, one of the little fiends managed to crawl among the branches and had eaten about a fingertip’s worth of goop from one side.

I hope the stupid little turd doesn’t get sick. First ingredient on the tube is limestone. I guess I’ll put out some oyster shell before they start laying to see if that is more interesting to them.

grrrr, chickens driving me to .

 

[MTKitty]

Well, bleah.

With my shorter days, I started winter preps with removing window screens and washing windows so I can get the best sunlight. Naturally, the day gets warm enough to make the house almost uncomfortable.

I refuse to turn on the a/c for 72* inside.

 

[MTKitty]

Nobody sick or dead this morning. Either they didn’t eat as much caulk as I thought or they have cast iron guts. They’re chickens. I’m going with cast iron.

It must have been the contrast between the white caulk and the darker surfaces to which it was applied that got their attention. This morning, I saw a couple of them eyeball the line, then walk away.

I have oyster shell on my list for this week’s trip to town.

I did notice one bird tapping away at a scuffed spot on the side of the crate. Not much of a drummer, but it was fun to hear and watch.

 

[MTKitty]

We successfully navigated yet another first, this morning.

After most of the chores were done, I was piddling around outside the coop when I hear this gawd-awful sound like someone is being strangled and trying to scream at the same time. Twice. A couple of pullets come charging out the access door. Everyone else heads for the sumac and sage to hide. Holy - … yikes! Someone’s seriously hurt by something I missed in “chicken-proofing” the coop’s interior. Or something slipped in during the few seconds since I stepped outside and is slaughtering everybody still in there. Or it’s a civil war and half the chickens are trying to kill the other half.

I hustle around the corner of the coop - no mean feat since I haven’t had coffee yet - and pop my head in the door. My biggest boy is standing at the opposite end of the coop with his neck stretched and arched up. His first attempt at a crow!

Okay, it was actually pretty pathetic. He seemed as surprised by it as the rest of us. But he has discovered another boy-thing besides dealing with lippy girls.

I told him how incredibly cool he was and how he sounded like a big, tough roo and, for sure, no one will ever want to mess with him.

He eyeballed me as if to say, “Did you hear that? What happened? Was that really me? Is that what I’m supposed to sound like?”

Weird bird.

 

[MTKitty]

The henhouse is anchored. We have a high wind warning for tomorrow (gusts of 50-60 mph forecasted). I feel much better knowing there’s less chance of my flock doing the Wizard of Oz thing.

 

[Morgan Singh]

Another obstacle in their young lives firmly in the “adapt and overcome” category. First snow of the season was two days of being cooped-up (pun intended). In spite of open doors, everyone was quite content to wait until the storm ended and CareMonkey made the cold white stuff go away.

From my perspective, I shoveled their favorite loafing areas down to a few dirt spots and let today’s sun do its thing. It is a muddy mess, but our summer was so dry the moisture won’t be around long.

My little fiends enjoyed some fresh air and pecking at my boots with every visit.

View attachment 2865183

what breed it that? I have a chicken that looks similar

 

[MTKitty]

what breed it that? I have a chicken that looks similar

Buckeyes. I believe most of the major hatcheries have them. I got these guys from Cackle.

 

[MTKitty]

I was thinking this afternoon - which is almost never a good thing for me - about future flock size and egg production. It hit me: assume the hens lay every other day (yes, I realize it’s more like two eggs every three days, but let’s keep the math easy), that’s 15-ish eggs per hen per month.

Let’s assume only ten of my 14 hens lay (because the other four are lazy, smoke too much, are on the pill, whatever - again, easy math).

Holy carp. That’s 150-ish eggs a month. Roughly twelve dozen. What the heck am I gonna’ do with that many eggs?

Now, I realize I can’t count my eggs before they arrive, but those numbers are pretty daunting. It helps me understand: (1) I can afford a much smaller flock than what I have; and (2) I’ll get to experiment with preserving eggs sooner than I thought.