Mollie Sunshine Chronicles

[MollySunshine]

After work last night, me, the stray cat and flashlight, covered the 3 boys coop with plastic. It's nothing fancy at this point, I will make adjustments this weekend. I just wanted to get it covered. While I was doing this, I checked on Lucy and Ellie May. They were happily roosting so I placed the stray cat, who I call little boy, inside the coop just to see if he would stay and what his reaction would be. I proceeded to cover the 3 boys coop and when I was done, I checked on little boy. He was curled up in a ball sleeping. I may have heard snoring hehe I checked on him again later in the night and he was still comfortably sleeping so I left him there. This morning I went to the coop and opened the door and he gets up, stretches really big (as if to say that was the best sleep I had in along time) and headed out the door to do his thing. I will do the same thing if he's willing tonight. I know he's safe and out of the elements. During the day he can lay in his bed on the deck. I can't take him in the house because I have 3 cats of my own. They are old boys (brothers) and I don't know if they would be open to a new mate. Besides, I have enough going on trying to get these coops ready for winter, the last thing I need is to integrate cats! Those of you who have done this before know what I mean.
Tonight I will cover the girls run with plastic. I'm hoping to get the bachelor pad run covered as well. Again, similar to the 3 boys coop, it won't be fancy. My goal is to get them covered and I can perfect them this weekend. It's going to become cold and windy tomorrow.
My goal by Sunday is to have both coops and runs prepared. I am fairly certain this can be accomplished. Then it will be back to winter normalcy for chicken keeping. Oh, do I dread trudging in the snow and fighting the wind to get chickies ready for another day. But it comes with the territory.

 

[MollySunshine]

Hens and bachelor pad run are winterized as of last night! I'm getting there....
Huge decrease in egg production lately. I have 25 laying hens and I've been receiving on average 5 eggs/day. It's certainly ok. The girls probably could use a break. I think mostly about the people that are used to stopping for the eggs. Now it's first come first served.
Today after work I am thinking about taking a break. It's going to be brutally cold out tomorrow but I know I have to get out there and winterize the coops, regardless of the weather I will be out there.
I have no intentions of heating the coops this year. I think about that commercial about the parents and for the first child they worry about everything. By the time the second one comes in existance, they don't worry so much. They realize what is critical and have learned to relax. The only reason I will decide to heat is if the littles seem stressed. Right now they seem ok. Tomorrow morning will be more telling.
I suspect the stray cat will be appreciative sleeping with Lucy and Ellie May tonight. Rather than sleeping with the fishes he sleeps with the chickies.

 

[twilightgecko]

[just enjoying your thread]

 

[MollySunshine]

twilightgecko, thanks for dropping by! Don't be a stranger.

Winterizing chickies is done! I was out there Saturday morning at 7:00 perfecting how the plastic around the runs were hung. It was brutally cold as expected, 20F with a wind chill making it feel like 10F. I used small bungee cords from JobLot to secure the plastic on the kennel. I would place one on and have to remove my gloves to warm my fingers that were frozen and feelingless. Once that was done, I proceeded to wrap and staple plastic on the 2 main coops. Last year I measured and placed each side. This year, "we ain't got time for that!" I took the roll and simply went around each individual coop. There are areas unwrapped for ventilation purposes (there are small gaps between each board). By the time sun down was approaching, I was doing the last side on the boys coop. Photo of covered runs and coops. The setting sun offers a peacefullness to the photo. Or perhaps it was just my satisfaction of accomplishment that gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

AND yesterday I began integrating the littles. From what I witnessed, there was normal pecking by the usual conspirators. Nothing that doesn't already happen. Of course, Channel is hypersensitive to the pecking but she was able to run away. Mollie Sunshine challenged Coco. Coco stood right up to her. I did get in between them. I know I shouldn't have, but I did. I realize they need to work things out for themselves but this ole girl was tired and not in the mood. This weekend, I will allow the littles to roam the coop again.
The stray cat continues to sleep with Lucy and Ellie May during the night. I made certain I let him out of the coop before the 2 girls were ready to come down from their roost. The little stinker, I put in a nice comfy cat bed in there for him and where did he choose to sleep....amongst the leaves and pine shavings. I removed the bed.

 

[MollySunshine]

The last 2 mornings, as I enter the girls coop while announcing myself with my usual "hello, girls", I have noticed the Gold Wyandotte has been roosting alone. Has the bossy girl been iced out by the other girls? Interesting. I had to look twice for Mollie Sunshine. oops there she is, at the end of the roost...the top roost that is!
This cold weather really su*ks! I have to lug water around to fill the waterers and last night I took a leap of faith and left them in the coops. I listened to the weather forecaster this morning and he stated it was below freezing out there this morning. You know I swore to myself! I put warm water in jugs to bring to the coops, with the anticipated dread of having to defrost the nipples etc. To my surprise nothing froze! Yay!! I proceeded to fill the waterers and added more pine shavings to the littles cage. I suppose life decided to zing me anyway because while doing this my Mille Fleur D'uccle, who prefers to roost on a very high roost especially for her, decided to poop on my jacket. It wasn't pretty. In the washer it went....
I miss seeing my boys and girls after work. They are roosting when I get out there after work or in the process of. I straighten out a little, check on everyone, collect the eggs, close the coops and return to the house.

 

[MollySunshine]

For you that have followed the adventures of the integraton of the littles, you know how stressful it's been. Well gang, it's happened, FINALLY! This Saturday, I opened the cage door again and not much happened. The littles filed out and the bigs filed in and out of the cage. Sure there was some pecking going on but nothing out of the ordinary and nothing on a grave scale. There were also some funny moments. Mollie Sunshine began walking into the cage and came face to face with the Porcelain D'Uccle. Mollie decided she was going to challenge her. The D'Uccle wasn't having any of it! She leaped up and showed Mollie her feet. Mollie quickly spun around and headed to the pop door and into the run like she was being chased by a bee! My Porcelain D'Uccle is a tiny girl but don't mess with her. Channel, I was very proud of her. She's always the first out of the cage. I left the cage door open last night and when I entered this morning, there she was, in the coop. I placed some of the waterers and feeders near the cage for easy access for the littles but they have to exit the cage to get at them.
Here are some pictures to mark the occasion.

Talulahbelle making herself at home in the littles cage.

A RIR also checking out the cage.

Channel grabbing a bite to eat with one of my white Silkies.

Littles by a couple waterers.

 

[MollySunshine]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! My neighbors 3 turkeys have been obviously visiting us during the day. How do I know....they've been leaving their calling card on my deck....giant poops. I couldn't figure out where they were coming from, then I remembered, I've seen them in my yard before. I suppose I won't have to worry about that much longer.....I don't even let my own birds on my deck! This sort of freaked me out on an unsanitary level. Poops in the yard but not my deck!
Everything is going well in my coops. Homeostasis has been achieved. This is a good feeling because winter brings it's own set of irritation and to not have to worry about what I'm going to do with the littles, since Lucy clearly rejected them, is a weight off my mind.
This long weekend I am hoping for one day, one hour, one second of stillness. Since being in my coops gives me peace (you all understand this phenomenon) I hope to be able to visit my chickies and just exist. I miss those days. I made sure to spend time with Sir Romeo this past weekend. I think he thought I didn't like him anymore. I haven't had a chance to visit with him. I would walk past him and say hello but that was it. I held him, and told him how handsome he was. He seemed content. All the while 2 Buff's where pecking at my pants, my shoes, in their own attempt to get my attention. I always say, the hens don't need my company. They don't mind me, they gather and say their hello's but the boys....the boys I feel crave the attention. Those of you who don't and can have rooster's they truly are an experience. I love when I'm in their space and they feel content. They make the sweetest purring sounds. I witness them protecting me also. If one roo pecks at me or something that another roo doesn't like, he will be sure to peck at him to let him know it's not acceptable. Lovin' my roo's

 

[MollySunshine]

The littles have settled in quite nicely. I made a plank for the lower roost so the little Silkies can reach it. Currently my white 1.5 year old silkies roost on this. I know in prior times they preferred to have no others on their roost. Theres a few feet between them and they are allowing it. I've gotten most of the Silkies to roost but Channel and another Silkie prefer to huddle. Every night I force the issue, I place them on the roost. I didn't force my last set to roost. They still huddle. Oh, I almost forgot to mention! Yes, littles roost because I removed the large crate from the coop. It was graduaton day Sunday.
I have to take a photo of one of my black Silkies. She is seriously molting. I have a couple of girls who are now in this process. If it weren't for pin feathers, they wouldn't have any.
The little stinker cat that sleeps with Lucy and Ellie May didn't want to go into their coop the other night. I picked him up and placed him in there. It was going to be 15F with the wind chill. I figured he would appreciate it in the morning and he did. He didn't want to come out in the morning! Last night he went in rather willingly. Stinker....
Feels odd not having a lot of things to do out in the coops now. Strictly regular maintanence. The main coops were built on a trailer and I was going to purchase bales of hay to place under the coop on the sides to further prevent the wind from going under it. I also have plastic around them that reaches the ground. Then I had a great thought. Duh, I have all these leaves I bagged up as a reserve for the coops for the rest of the season. I made the bagged leaves useful and placed some under the coops.

 

[MollySunshine]

Product alert! When I purchased the small coop that Lucy and Ellie May are in, I included in the purchase an 11 lb. feeder. Now granted, I thought it would be built in and was disappointed that it was a run of the mill feeder. It was rather large so I switched it out with a 6 lb. feeder that was in the main coop. Can I tell you I LOVE this feeder! I liked it so much that I recently purchased another from Amazon. What I like about it is, in order to seperate the body from the tray, it needs to be unscrewed, there's a butterfly nut at the top. Unlike the familiar sort that I purchased at TS that twists into cut out notches at the base of the tray. They may be produced by the same manufacturer, I'm not certain. I found at the end of each day the twist off type inevitably became unhinged and there was all their food....on the floor....wasted. At the end of each week I swear I was throwing out half a bag of food. Crazy stuff....The manufacturer of these screwed on type is Farm Tuff. I have absolutely no wasted food on the floor of the coop right now since cleaning the coop this past Sunday.
My black Silkie is beginning to look pretty again. Her pin feathers are growing out nicely.
There's still rearranging going on roost wise in the girls main coop. The roost where Mollie Sunshine, the 2 Wyandottes and Barred Rock (Norma Jean) and the recent joining of a RIR, is experiencing nightly changes. This morning only the RIR was on this roost. I haven't figured out what the change is all about. Some nights "normal" and others there are a few and this morning just the RIR. The others were dispersed amongst the other RIR's. hmmmmm

 

[MollySunshine]

Last night, for whatever reason, I poked my head out the back door and stood still for a second. It prompted me to quietly listen for the sound that my roosters make at night. Then there it was, in the still night air, that soft whistly purring sound they make. Why does that sound make me feel so content? One of the many sounds in life that thrills me. It never gets old. To me, it marks contentment. My boys and girls are tucked in for the night and all is well.
Here are a couple of pictures I took at about 3 a.m. this morning of the super moon watching over my domain.

That red/pink color you see surrounding the moon is no mistake from the lense. It really was amazing. Stay tuned for the next 2 to come!