So, it happened. Chicken math. Sadly, it started with subtraction, I lost one of my EEs, Agatha Christie, last month during a heat wave. So, that left me with her sister, Harper Lee, and my RIR, Nevada Barr. My suburban town has a 5 chicken limit, so my plan has always been to add a couple of youngsters when the girls start slacking on egg production. I've been very good, scurrying past the bins of chicks each year with only a quick glance. (well, ok, maybe once or twice I stood there staring and whining, but I didn't buy) Anyway, the girls are 3 now, and while the are still laying well, really, you can't have just two. Right? So, since I can't have roos, I get started pullets, and it just happened that the folks I got my EEs from, just announced 8 week old pullets for sale. So I threw the carrier in the car and scooted up there. I miss my green eggs from Aggie, so another EE went to the cage, along with a Buff Orpington and a mottled java. I felt somewhat guilty getting a rare breed like that when I can't breed it, but then again, nobody will breed them if they can't sell them, right?
. So then I got out the little prefab that I got when I first got chickens, and set it up on the patio for a quarantine coop. I am a big believer in quarantine, even if they look great, and all the birds there looked great as well. You cannot be too careful. The patio was about as far as I could get from the current coop, and can easily be hosed off and bleached, if the worst happens, and it's an area my girls never get to be on. I know airborne diseases could reach the girls, but it's the best I can do w/o having acres to work with. I added a base to the coop/run so I could keep bedding contained. There is wire attached to the bottom for safety, so I put cardboard over that, then a base of leaves for litter. In keeping with my women authors theme, the new kids are Louise Penny (easter egger), Amy Tan (buff orp) and Mary Shelly (java). When quarantine is over, the little coop will move down to the chicken yard for see but don't touch intro.
. So then I got out the little prefab that I got when I first got chickens, and set it up on the patio for a quarantine coop. I am a big believer in quarantine, even if they look great, and all the birds there looked great as well. You cannot be too careful. The patio was about as far as I could get from the current coop, and can easily be hosed off and bleached, if the worst happens, and it's an area my girls never get to be on. I know airborne diseases could reach the girls, but it's the best I can do w/o having acres to work with. I added a base to the coop/run so I could keep bedding contained. There is wire attached to the bottom for safety, so I put cardboard over that, then a base of leaves for litter. In keeping with my women authors theme, the new kids are Louise Penny (easter egger), Amy Tan (buff orp) and Mary Shelly (java). When quarantine is over, the little coop will move down to the chicken yard for see but don't touch intro.
on the plus side they are adorable!
