The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[Beekissed]

It's my niece....

 

[Beekissed]

Gnarly Bunch Daily Update: Three good eggs, 2 very large, 1 med. Middle Sister is gaining new ground each day and you can almost SEE her putting on weight and her feathers getting more sleek and smooth.

I never really got to experience this going from bad to good thing in a flock and it's purely a revelation to me...I'm really liking this feeling. Maybe that's a woman thing also....I used to love to iron, getting those wrinkles out and making things smooth and pretty. This holds some of the same satisfaction of running your hands over the newly ironed clothing and reveling in the softness.

I added a "solarium" feature to the hoop coop today...rolled up one side of the tarping and applied heavy, clear plastic to the wall, fastened with zip ties. I can bet that I have a couple hundred zip ties in this coop!

I don't know what the human race ever did before zip ties and duct tape...

Anyhoo, the new "window" sure lets in more light and I may get around to doing the other side before it gets blue cold. I like the natural lighting and the chickens having some place to sun while still being inside. This small coop is rather limiting for me, but I'll work out the kinks as best I can.

This coop most definitely will never win the Coop of the Year contest.....

P.S. Really don't like the Extra Rooster....might have to kill him before someone buys him.

 

[Ashdoes]

It's my niece....

Over here laughing like a maniac!

 

[Pullet Surprise]

No hawks were seen today. Jack Dog began introduction to chickens 101 (giggle). Everytime he started to go for chicken bowling he was given the "down" comand...which he responds to from me by pointing my index finger at him and making a downward motion. Sometimes I have to say "down", depending on how bad he wants to do something else, but usually he'll do it just by hand jesture. I was burning wood most of the day, so that might have kept the hawks away ...maybe. The best thing of all was that both little flocks came together today and functioned as one flock, for a while, but they toodled all over the garden together with Frank Rooster in control. They did a pretty good job of cultivating all the compost and manure I put in the vegie raised bed boxes this morning.....except a couple of the Bulldozers managed to kick some of it out...oh well, they had a good time. Small steps, one day at a time.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Back to the mulch in a run.

I have a BIG pile of wood chips. I've been contemplating moving some of them into the dog kennel run to make a "winter yard" in hopes of keeping the ground underneith warm enough that bugs and worms will still come to surface.




I was concerned because there is a lot of spruce in there and wasn't sure if it would deter the worms, etc. So...today I went out there and dug around a bit to see what was going on in the pile. While there was, indeed, some areas of the spruce that had not deteriorated at all (after more than a year...) there were also areas which were nicely deteriorating and had worms and lots of bug life.

You can see in the photo that I put my electronet over there and the chickens have been attacking it with great delight!

So...I got a wheel barrow out and took over about 3 loads that I pulled from the living active area - complete w/bugs, worms and a bit of dirt - and dumped it into the kennel run. I plan to keep moving it a bit at a time till I get it nice and deep.

Of course, there was rejoicing in the run - so much so that they stayed in for awhile even though their door was open.

A few photos:
This photo also shows the re-purposed "shade cloth" that we made from an old banner that I painted green. (We're graphic design people in our workplace and my husband had printed a banner on mesh canvas. He never throws away anything.) I put some green paint over the print to make it blend in a bit better. I STILL NEED TO GET THAT ARCH UP THERE TO PUT IT ON BEFORE WINTER! I'M BEHIND!



The wood chip mulch and 3 of the fab-4 in the kennel run. (Fab-4 are 2 RIRs and 2 BRs; Sunshine Sisters are the aracaunas.)


Add one of the sunshine sisters to the group.



On the outside pile behind electronet.



And just for the fun of it... A few photos of my 7 mo olds (got 'em 2 day-old Mar. 25.)

 

[Beekissed]

Wow, what beautiful birds!!!! Must be doin' something right!

How neat that you have a ready made compost pile to place in your run....what a boon to get a start on the winter. If only we all had a huge pile of already deteriorated wood chips....

I think you will find your run to be a whole different place this year. You'll have to keep us updated on how it all works out, how it looks as time goes along and how much the chickens enjoy it. Also, at the end, the quality of the soil underneath all that good stuff.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Wow, what beautiful birds!!!! Must be doin' something right!

How neat that you have a ready made compost pile to place in your run....what a boon to get a start on the winter. If only we all had a huge pile of already deteriorated wood chips....

I think you will find your run to be a whole different place this year. You'll have to keep us updated on how it all works out, how it looks as time goes along and how much the chickens enjoy it. Also, at the end, the quality of the soil underneath all that good stuff.

Just ordered 'em from the local feed store that gets them from the semi-local hatchery. I like their method better than TSC - you order ahead what you want and pick them up the day they arrive. No chicks sitting in tubs for days/weeks...and no mix-up on who's in what tub, etc. I'd get them from the hatchery directly but they have a min. of 25 and I was starting small. The feed store lets us pool our orders.

These are my first.

 

[Leahs Mom]

PS: I credit you (Beekissed) and the OT thread for most of the success I've had as a brand new chicken owner. So glad I found your threads and have used A LOT of your experiences and the info shared by the OTs and their great advice.

 

[Beekissed]

Nah...it takes reading something and then applying it to be a success. You just don't know how many never apply what they read or they lose focus and cannot apply methods properly, in the midst of all the other things going on in their lives. I give you kudos for applying what you learn and adding your own common sense to the mix. I'd say that the hatchery from whence your birds came has some great lines...those are very good looking birds. I can honestly say that I've had very few hatchery strain birds that looked that good....just some White Rocks, some BAs.

Wished I lived close to a hatchery like that.....

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's my niece....