Drama among the girls has diminished pretty much since Gerty has accepted her own house instead of being Henriettas unwanted roomie. She likes it even better because I now make a point to open her cage first, making her first to breakfast! Mille flies out of the chickey house in hopes of beating Gerty. Henriettas bum foot keeps her from running fast enough to get out of the house and catch up to the rest. Showing up last to breakfast is not fatal, though youd think otherwise with the squawking. Theres always plenty to eat and drink.
Gerty is being broody lately, and will go into the dog house (their shelter should a storm arise when we are away) and pretend to sit on an egg. Sometimes she is sitting on a real egg, though we arent sure if it is hers or not. She doesnt care. She has to be forcibly ejected from the dog house in the afternoons when I let the others out to play and eat bugs. She will finally get up on her legs and run off to join the others.
Mille has turned wily, hiding her eggs again. Wintertime is usually time- out for making eggs and it was just luck to get any eggs at all. Chickens make a little whiney sound when they need to lay an egg. I tried to keep watch on Millie, but she would see me and run off to another area while giving me mean looks. Dividing my time between covert chickey opps and gardening is tricky. It means you can take your eyes off the little devils for a split second or two and one of them has disappeared. Everybody else acts like, Millie? Millie who? Very annoying. I heard her singing close by. Sure enough, Millie emerged from under a pile of lumber and walked casually over to play in the dust. While she was occupied, I raised the boardsstacking them much more neatly so there wouldnt be gaps anymoreand there were two eggs. Since the evenings have been cool30s to 40s, I figured the other egg to be OK and brought them inside. Now, she seems puzzled when she revisits the lumber pile. Im sure she will try to outwit me again. Im sure she will punish me by refusing to lay any eggs at all.
The storm (Feb. 10) that blew through Grand Prairie caused severe damage in Colleyville and Oklahoma. Well, thats what I thought. That night, the chickeys were all safely and happily munching dinner in their houses, ready for bed. I turned out their front light and told them good night, ladies and put my hand on the double doors to close them. Nothing budged. I tried jiggling it up and down with no improvement. Nothing worked. I went back in and turned the light back on. A piece of Styrofoam insulation from the ceiling had fallen down and wedged itself behindand under one door. The only implement in the Chickey house was the screwdriver ( to make the exhaust fan come on) and I grabbed that and began digging the styro from under the door. The chickeys watched intently, talking among themselves. While one hand dug, the other wiggled the door. Finally, the last bit fell inside. I tried to close the doors but they still wouldnt budge! Man! The clamps holding the doors to the top slider rail had come off. Grrrr. I used the flathead screwdriver to pry them back on and Viola, they both closed perfectly. I said goodnight to the girls once more, turned out their light and closed the door tightly. Whew! Disaster averted once again.
I hope everyone had a nice valentines day and at the least treated yourself to something good (or bad) for you! The girls got extra breakfast with an addition of finely chopped greens and raisens, which they fought over like it was fresh june bugs! Very amusing, but quite rude behavior for a holiday!
Well, thats all the news this month from The GP Coop. I will shut my (chocolate covered) beak for now.
Gerty is being broody lately, and will go into the dog house (their shelter should a storm arise when we are away) and pretend to sit on an egg. Sometimes she is sitting on a real egg, though we arent sure if it is hers or not. She doesnt care. She has to be forcibly ejected from the dog house in the afternoons when I let the others out to play and eat bugs. She will finally get up on her legs and run off to join the others.
Mille has turned wily, hiding her eggs again. Wintertime is usually time- out for making eggs and it was just luck to get any eggs at all. Chickens make a little whiney sound when they need to lay an egg. I tried to keep watch on Millie, but she would see me and run off to another area while giving me mean looks. Dividing my time between covert chickey opps and gardening is tricky. It means you can take your eyes off the little devils for a split second or two and one of them has disappeared. Everybody else acts like, Millie? Millie who? Very annoying. I heard her singing close by. Sure enough, Millie emerged from under a pile of lumber and walked casually over to play in the dust. While she was occupied, I raised the boardsstacking them much more neatly so there wouldnt be gaps anymoreand there were two eggs. Since the evenings have been cool30s to 40s, I figured the other egg to be OK and brought them inside. Now, she seems puzzled when she revisits the lumber pile. Im sure she will try to outwit me again. Im sure she will punish me by refusing to lay any eggs at all.
The storm (Feb. 10) that blew through Grand Prairie caused severe damage in Colleyville and Oklahoma. Well, thats what I thought. That night, the chickeys were all safely and happily munching dinner in their houses, ready for bed. I turned out their front light and told them good night, ladies and put my hand on the double doors to close them. Nothing budged. I tried jiggling it up and down with no improvement. Nothing worked. I went back in and turned the light back on. A piece of Styrofoam insulation from the ceiling had fallen down and wedged itself behindand under one door. The only implement in the Chickey house was the screwdriver ( to make the exhaust fan come on) and I grabbed that and began digging the styro from under the door. The chickeys watched intently, talking among themselves. While one hand dug, the other wiggled the door. Finally, the last bit fell inside. I tried to close the doors but they still wouldnt budge! Man! The clamps holding the doors to the top slider rail had come off. Grrrr. I used the flathead screwdriver to pry them back on and Viola, they both closed perfectly. I said goodnight to the girls once more, turned out their light and closed the door tightly. Whew! Disaster averted once again.
I hope everyone had a nice valentines day and at the least treated yourself to something good (or bad) for you! The girls got extra breakfast with an addition of finely chopped greens and raisens, which they fought over like it was fresh june bugs! Very amusing, but quite rude behavior for a holiday!
Well, thats all the news this month from The GP Coop. I will shut my (chocolate covered) beak for now.
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