Ribh's D'Coopage

[MaryJanet]

You guys might enjoy this... so for the last hour and a half I’ve been checking my arms, sniffing my hands, just changed my clothes even because I could not find the source of the chicken poop smell... it MUST be the shirt, even though I can’t see it? Nope. Stuck to the top corner of my glasses frame was a tiny little bitty piece of chicken poop! Of all the places... Well, the proximity to my nose explains the intensity of the smell I guess.

Eek! Too close!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Chickens are chickens. I never wanted lap chickens. I am happy to have them chat when I'm out & about, & not spook if I touch them & apart from the Campines, who are a law unto themselves, that's pretty much how my little flock works ~ in my head @ least. I cannot vouch for the chickens.

Today was cold & overcast with showers coming across intermittently but all the girls were in the big run so I took my chances on getting the coop cleaned out without help. Perish the thought. Lottie followed me round, hot on my heels so that I was terrified of accidentally stepping on her. Ha'penny raced up & down the steps, in & out of nesting boxes screaming, having decided that seeing I wanted to work ,now was a good time to lay! Everyone else wanted to be underfoot to see what I was doing & comment on it. You should have heard the ruckus when I had removed the poopy mulch but was delayed in putting the new stuff down!

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By 4, it was cold & the food tubs only held the *dust* so I grabbed the mealworms & started filling tubs. Three is usually enough for everyone to get a fair share but the girls were hungry & chowing down like there was no tomorrow. I watched for a bit because I always check no~one is missing out & usually it all works out. Not today. Lottie was scooting between all the different stations & couldn't even get close so I grabbed the teacup I use for treats, 1/4 filled it with fresh crumble & picked her up. She snuggled into the crook of my arm with a great sigh & set to. She's so tiny she doesn't often get choice pickings unless I intervene ~ which I don't like to do in case it upsets chickeny ideas of the rightness of things but tonight everyone needed a good feed to settle happily for the night. When she was full she let me know by perching on my fingers, in no hurry to hop down & rejoin the flock. Oh. dear. I think I am in danger of a lap chicken.

Awwww, lap chickens are nice!

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks Lap turkey's are better...

 

[Ribh]

Good evening folks Lap turkey's are better...

so not going there!

 

[rjohns39]

Morning Jeannie

 

[Ribh]

Hey, Bob. Good day?

 

[MaryJanet]

Aww I like lap chickens But the best I've done lately is an ankle chicken

 

[MaryJanet]

Friends, may I ask your opinions? In order to keep the eggs coming, I've made a plan to add two pullets every three years. Does that seem senisible?

 

[Ribh]

My 1st question is how many birds total are you allowed to keep? My 2nd is, do you have a plan for your aging birds? Heritage breeds may live as long as 8~12 years. Many will still be laying, if not so often. Mary & Janet could live to a ripe old age. Once you reach your allowed bird limit, what then? If you have answers to those questions, & allowing for the drop in egg production due to the stress of new additions, molting, etc then yes, that seems sensible if that will give you the amount of eggs you need. On the other hand ~ chicken math enabler. Perhaps you shouldn't listen to me...

 

[MaryJanet]

Good point! I should check if the council has a limit on how many chickens are allowed. Last time I checked was a couple of years ago.