Morning all!
Well winter is just flying by! Every time I get on here I realize that it has been weeks since I was here last!
Life is pretty calm around here. I am personally excited that it supposed to be cold the next few weeks. I want to get my kids skiing before spring comes.
Our chickens are doing the same old same old each day. There have been no roosters 'attacking' humans recently, but I have been trying to keep them in some since it has been so wet and rainy. My hens have been learning that when I come to gather eggs from the boxes, they can get out of the coop if they are fast enough. It all started with a hen that was sitting in the nesting box when my son lifted the lid. She decided to jump out. We have the outside of the coop boarded up for winter so we can't see inside the nesting boxes. Then whenever I lifted the lid she would run to the nesting box and jump out before I could even get a hand on her. Two or three days ago as I opened the lid THREE hens barreled out of the coop. They are off like rockets and then I am 'forced' to let the rest out so the roosters can mind them. I don't mind them being out, even if it is cold, but I had my husband build an 8x12 coop so when the weather was bad I wouldn't feel bad about keeping them in!
The roosters (even though I hate them because they are aggressive towards humans) are doing a fairly good job of keeping the hens safe with the winter predators. Ever since we lost the one hen in the fall, they work as a team instead of butting heads with each other. They used to care more about the other rooster then the hens, that changed. My one rooster was not pleased the day the hens decided that they wanted to explore in the snow. He didn't want to come out of the coop, but as soon as they started to scamper away a bit and he couldn't see them, he went after them.
Our heated waterer is doing great. We haven't had any issues and my husband seems happy with it.
I'm starting to think about spring and chicks! I realized how late Easter is this year. We are out of town for 48+ hours so I am going to have to figure out a chick plan before we get them. I mentioned getting a dog crate and using it as a brooder and taking the chicks with us (4 hours in the car), leaving them in my sisters garage so we can check on them regularly etc. My husband gave me a strange look LOL! So my second option was to see if friends would want to keep them for the weekend. These friends have chickens and goats, including a large garage/shed that has a goat pen for the winter. They are perfectly capable so I think I am going to see if she is interested. That way I can confidently get some chicks!
Hope all is well with you all!
