Stella's Social Club

[kathyinmo]

I love those cute little eggs!

My tomatoes are still inside growing. Not ready to be outside yet. Hope to have some radishes to eat next week. Cabbages are coming up great. So are onions. The rest are just getting started.

My White Rocks out running around...... hiding from the roosters.....

 

[The Sheriff]

Pretty White Rocks. I have two and they are the friendliest girls!

I think we will be losing Judge Judy soon. She has been inactive, which is not like her. She rules the roost in the layer coop. Today she was laying down a lot and holding herself up on the side of the coop. She made it up on the roost in her favorite spot by the open flap window. I'll be sad to see her go. She and Martha were our first chickens. They have moved three times with us. She'll be buried next to Martha when she goes. They are my forever girls. Maybe she'll perk up but I don't think so. When she eats now her neck, comb and wattles turn dark dusky purplish blue.

 

[kathyinmo]

Awww, yes, I know you will miss Judge Judy when she is gone. So sad they don't have a longer life...... well, the special ones anyway!

I am putting in my order for my meaties now. I am about a month later than I originally planned. Oh well.... I hope I can get them quickly. I am ordering 100. My sister is gonna come down and we are gonna assembly line process, when the time comes. 50 for her, 50 for me. That should last almost a year, if we eat just 1 chicken a week. (That is if my kids don't go shopping in my freezer too often). If Michael was still alive, he would have wanted some, too. He used to take them out of my freezer when he visited.

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe Judge Judy would do better with a higher feeder. It sounds like when she bends down to eat she turns purple. Maybe that motion cuts off her circulation. If she ate more upright, it might not happen.

Judge Judy is the reason I discovered "The Warden," years back. I feel very connected to her.

 

[speckledhen]

I don't have the heart and lungs for self sufficiency. Wish I did. But, I enjoy the heck outta my raised beds.

You'd be amazed at how much you can grow in one box, Mary. Check out the book on Square Foot Gardening. You don't need a huge garden if you want it contained in a limited space. You can let plants that sprawl along the ground like squash grow underneath vertical plants, too. I'm going to plant okra, a very vertical (oooh, there's that word again!) plant, among my squash plants.

 

[speckledhen]

Pretty White Rocks. I have two and they are the friendliest girls!

I think we will be losing Judge Judy soon. She has been inactive, which is not like her. She rules the roost in the layer coop. Today she was laying down a lot and holding herself up on the side of the coop. She made it up on the roost in her favorite spot by the open flap window. I'll be sad to see her go. She and Martha were our first chickens. They have moved three times with us. She'll be buried next to Martha when she goes. They are my forever girls. Maybe she'll perk up but I don't think so. When she eats now her neck, comb and wattles turn dark dusky purplish blue.

I hate when I start seeing that. She's been quite the queen, hasn't she? My 7 year old Buff Brahma is fighting a crop that won't function right anymore. It never empties, even with daily multiple massages, just hangs way down so food doesn't flow through the back opening as it should. And there is a super hard small mass in it that doesn't break up, like petrified wood almost, about the size of a small frog. Could be a tumor, but I won't do crop surgery on her at her advanced age. She's lived longer than any hatchery bird I've ever had. Caroline is a tough girl and we are so fond of her. She is a selfless head hen, and unless I'd seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have believed it, her denying herself food while another dying hen ate until she was finished before Caroline would touch any herself. She did it two years ago when her Lt. Brahma sister was dying and she did it recently when Fern was dying. And Fern was way down in pecking order in that coop, usually would only rate a resounding thunk on the head if she dared eat near Caroline. Caroline is one hen who will be sorely missed, so I know how you'll miss Judge Judy.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I love those cute little eggs!

My tomatoes are still inside growing. Not ready to be outside yet. Hope to have some radishes to eat next week. Cabbages are coming up great. So are onions. The rest are just getting started.

My White Rocks out running around...... hiding from the roosters.....

Wow, those are pretty!

Awww, yes, I know you will miss Judge Judy when she is gone. So sad they don't have a longer life...... well, the special ones anyway!

I am putting in my order for my meaties now. I am about a month later than I originally planned. Oh well.... I hope I can get them quickly. I am ordering 100. My sister is gonna come down and we are gonna assembly line process, when the time comes. 50 for her, 50 for me. That should last almost a year, if we eat just 1 chicken a week. (That is if my kids don't go shopping in my freezer too often). If Michael was still alive, he would have wanted some, too. He used to take them out of my freezer when he visited.

Oh my Kathy. I've been trying to get 22 processed and it's been overwhelming. 100 is going to be a huge workload. I got 4 more done last night, so 11 are in the freezer and 11 left.

 

[The Sheriff]

Maybe Judge Judy would do better with a higher feeder. It sounds like when she bends down to eat she turns purple. Maybe that motion cuts off her circulation. If she ate more upright, it might not happen.

Judge Judy is the reason I discovered "The Warden," years back. I feel very connected to her.

How kind of you Diva! The feeder is mounted on the wall. I was referring to when she digs in the dirt and picks up scratch. I'll tell her you said hello!

She was looking pretty good this morning. Nosey and bossy when I went into the coop, as always.



I still remember the day almost six years ago when we brought her home.

 

[The Sheriff]

I hate when I start seeing that. She's been quite the queen, hasn't she? My 7 year old Buff Brahma is fighting a crop that won't function right anymore. It never empties, even with daily multiple massages, just hangs way down so food doesn't flow through the back opening as it should. And there is a super hard small mass in it that doesn't break up, like petrified wood almost, about the size of a small frog. Could be a tumor, but I won't do crop surgery on her at her advanced age. She's lived longer than any hatchery bird I've ever had. Caroline is a tough girl and we are so fond of her. She is a selfless head hen, and unless I'd seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have believed it, her denying herself food while another dying hen ate until she was finished before Caroline would touch any herself. She did it two years ago when her Lt. Brahma sister was dying and she did it recently when Fern was dying. And Fern was way down in pecking order in that coop, usually would only rate a resounding thunk on the head if she dared eat near Caroline. Caroline is one hen who will be sorely missed, so I know how you'll miss Judge Judy.

She has indeed been the queen. Martha was the sweet one, Stella the rebel, and Judge Judy the boss of all that moves. I am sorry about your sweet girl too. It gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing that they had the best life a chicken could ever hope for. There probably aren't too many hens over the rainbow bridge who can say they were truly loved. Most never get the chance. And some people say "They're just chickens." I beg to differ.

 

[The Sheriff]

You'd be amazed at how much you can grow in one box, Mary. Check out the book on Square Foot Gardening. You don't need a huge garden if you want it contained in a limited space. You can let plants that sprawl along the ground like squash grow underneath vertical plants, too. I'm going to plant okra, a very vertical (oooh, there's that word again!) plant, among my squash plants.

I do that CYN. I had a fantastic square foot garden set-up a few years ago when we lived on a half acre in the city. I had a little garden, an orchard, grape vines, and my chickens and goats. Then the jerk with five pit bulls moved into that white house you can see behind the scarecrows. They chewed through the wooden fence on day 1! The for sale sign went up shortly thereafter.