Wow Kris! It's a never ending circus. I'm glad Hoppy is still with us. I knew you had planned to have her leave us but she is a sweetie. I hope you have some more quality time together.Hoppy is up and down, I was going to put her down today, but couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. Her quality of life just isn’t there, and I can’t make it any better. If she were still able to walk it would be another story, but she hasn’t regained that ability since her last downturn. I’ve been hoping she would pass on her own, peacefully.
The last few days have been spent trying to outwit the chickens for me. I had to increase the slope on Mr Marans nestboxes as I wasn’t getting any eggs, at all. And one of Sammy’s free range girls decided to nest under the barn with some of Hoppy’s eggs from last Fall that were still under thereday one I pulled out five old eggs and one new, day two I scooped another three old eggs. Day three she wasn’t budging, the rake of doom was ineffective, but I scooped one more old egg and SEVEN new ones! For a good laugh you can picture me on my belly in the mud and a torrential downpour with my arm fully extended under the barn with a rake fighting a silly chicken for her eggs. She would be a sitting duck under there!
Today, I let everyone out except for the greedy little egg hoarder. And we started stapling up a birdnetting skirt around the barn first thing. I had to pause and let one of the other girls back into the roosting box to lay, then back out again. So far it seems successful. We also herded four lost sheep back in the correct general direction of the herd, as shearing is scheduled for this Wednesday.
I’m guessing that would have been just as fun to watch as the trying to get under the barn and scoop out the chicken incident!
. Are the little ball-like accretions from calcium?
Mine like sleeping in the egg cartons too.
They did wash off with a damp rag.
