I'm happy to hear about first eggs! But I'm also sad about the loss. (Was VintageGem the only one? Not trying to be a booger.) That's a pain I have not felt yet. I know it's coming one day and I know it'll be bad. I know i'll have to try to remember that I will have given my ladies the best chicken lives they could hope for.
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my ducks are staying outside for the first time since I got them. I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure they'll be fine.
We got a home built dog house for free off a local buy/sell site. after taking a closer look today I see why it was free. It's fairly rotted in a few spots. I've decided this thing will only be temporary until I build them something nicer in a couple weeks.
Tomorrows the big day; I start framing the chicken run. I got the lumber unloaded today. All the rain we've had caused it to mold a little bit so I'm going to sand it lightly. It will eventually be painted.
One of my easter eggers laid their first egg today
, so I got 2 eggs. Hopefully the rest will follow soon.
I hope 3 nest boxes will be enough for 7 ladies to share.
I hope you know what breeds you have! In my inexperience, I saw someone online using Tidy Cats litter boxes (the pails) cut out for nesting. So that's what we did. But their ladies must be bantams, and ours are large, because our girls fit pretty snug in their boxes. I'm contemplating building them some wider wooden boxes, or just being lazy and getting the premades from
TSC. And I think 3 for 7 will be just fine. But apparently I make inexperienced decisions.
No pictures but a hatchling update. Chicks are almost 2 weeks old and seem to be fully integrated in with the rest of the flock. Ducklings are 5-6 days old and spending all day out with and away from the others. But they are giving mother hen worries with their independence. She wanted them to go in for the night but they insisted in playing in the sprinkler. So funny to watch mom scold them from the perimeter while they were making mud pies. Just wait until they find the pond.
That sounds hysterical, and your pictures are great. Glad to see you back posting chicken/ducky things. I hope all is well.
Ours were still in the brooder when we left on vacation for a week. We had my MIL stay at our house for the first half and FIL the second. But we also have a cat, a senior dog & a puppy. We were thinking about putting a solar panel on the coop hooked to a timer to open & close the chicken/duck door.
BF and I spent a Friday/Saturday night camping. Put my best friend in charge of chicken wrangling. She let them out but she's too sweet to scare them in, wasn't coordinated enough to bribe them in, and had to wait for them to go in. So if you get a dear friend or family member, pay them in eggs, dollars, or both, and make sure they know exactly how to deal with them before you leave.
I will have to check that out. Found the trash cans full so a trip to the dump will happen today. One can had a nice treat in the bottom of it, so dumped it out and grabbed a couple chickens and they had a field day
sprinkled some lavender oil all over in the cans so I hope that helps too.
I love finding buggy treats for the chickens! I've discovered that mine will eat Japanese beetles if I catch the pests for them. Ahhhh, Japanese beetles, I hate hate HATE those things with language I will not use here.
Well, blowing off a workout today, but it's nice to catch up on all the chick chatter and add some of my own. I am really enjoying the chicken life. I'm sure the girls are loving life too. They're big girls now and I've calmed down a good deal about letting them free range, so they can roam the yard as long as bf or myself are home. The only daytime predator I worry about is a hawk, and they're large and also smart enough to run for cover if one comes near. I have two consistent layers, Hazel and Penny, and Sunshine is joining them. We've gotten a couple soft shelled eggs that the girls ate, but I understand that inconsistencies happen, especially early. My three closest neighbors are all super cool with my having them (knock wood). And when one got in the neighbor's yard earlier this week, my boyfriend literally FLUNG himself over the fence to get her. It was funnier than anything I've ever seen a chicken do. He loves them, gives them more scratch than I do. And the girls all know that when I call "Laaaaaadies," or make kiss noises, it's treat time. Or when I walk out into the yard with a bowl in my hand. Well, Penny was just singing, so it's time to go get another delicious egg. Good times.
sprinkled some lavender oil all over in the cans so I hope that helps too.
. But I really don't have a choice anymore.
