I hear you on the ‘heavy heart’, I have lost so many horses and pets over they yrs. I dread the time when I need to deal with Truly, she is doing well so I take each day as they come.
But I also laugh at her antics and those of the chooks too. We have to take good with the bad when we have our pets - or anything really.
Please post photos of the fluffy butts when you have completed them
I agree. She also flies like one. She took off from the deck yesterday and flew to the magnolia tree. She was 5 feet in the air most of the way. It was very impressive.
Hellooo everyone!... I've probably missed a lot, I check in about once a day but I think the seasonal depression is hitting or something. I don't feel as social.
Everything is going well with my chickens though! Sybil has laid a total of 11 eggs. Nice, thick shells on em! The 4 we've cracked open have had such beautiful orange yolks. Once we have a dozen, dad is going to make omelettes with them! Just 4 more... 4 or 5 more days. Mmm...
Here's a video from a couple days ago. It was cold that day with the wind chill, but they clearly weren't bothered
Here are some pictures from a walk I took the other day. Spoiler because there's a lot of pics.
Are those red berries cranberries or something else? We planted cranberry bushes in front of our house and this year they finally got berries and kind of look like that. Supposedly the birds and deer like them, but the deer won't come here due to the dogs.
I got a reprieve with the weather yesterday and had an opportunity to correct my poor behavior and get the coop complex ready for winter. It was 57 F (14C) and I took advantage of it.
It started with a deep clean of all coops.
Cluckle Hut
Let's start with the Cluckle Hut as other adjustments were needed.
You can see the heating panel in the photos above facing down the roost. It was there to keep Betty and Phyllis warnm in the winter. There is no reason for it to be up there any longer so I moved it down to nest box so Hattie can curl up next to it on cold winter nights.
View attachment 4003531
This necessitated a re-routing of the wire which I am not entirely happy with but which should work for now. You can see it going behind the lower roost in the pictures above and behind the food and water dishes below.
The nest box with the heater panel along the wall and deep straw.
And piled the straw in the main coop, awaiting my helper. I have gone 2-3 inches deep with the straw so the can nest up and stay warm in the winter.
I wound up with a nice even spread of straw. Aurora is super reliable when it comes to spreading straw. Watch at the end when she realizes she is on camera.
Then it was time to get the shower curtains up to protect the run and porch from snow and wind. I also had to repair this damage from the wind storm last week. View attachment 4003541
Porch, side door, and lower section done. Aurora inspecting my work. View attachment 4003540
I decided to put straw on the porch as well as it is now waterproof with the shower curtain on. Aster and Lady F were enjoying scratching around until some one arrived and drove them off.
Those no Longer with Us
I then decided to deal with the bum silhouettes and their place in the run. I re-organized the ones already there and took down Phyllis and Glynda and with my heart feeling heavy put them up in the run with all the others that have left us.
I need to make Aster a silhouette along with one for Sylvie and Legertha. It is wrong that they are not represented. I just have never been able to bring myself to make them one simply to put into the run. It's just so sad.
A lot of the silhouettes in the run need to be repainted but they remain as they were when everyone passed. I want them to look nice though. I suppose I will repaint them one by one this winter.
That was a full day. However with the bad weather today, I believe they appreciated the updated digs.
Hellooo everyone!... I've probably missed a lot, I check in about once a day but I think the seasonal depression is hitting or something. I don't feel as social.
Everything is going well with my chickens though! Sybil has laid a total of 11 eggs. Nice, thick shells on em! The 4 we've cracked open have had such beautiful orange yolks. Once we have a dozen, dad is going to make omelettes with them! Just 4 more... 4 or 5 more days. Mmm...
Here's a video from a couple days ago. It was cold that day with the wind chill, but they clearly weren't bothered
Here are some pictures from a walk I took the other day. Spoiler because there's a lot of pics.
. My home seems so empty now. It's really strange. 
