What did you do with your flock today?

[Shetland lover]

Only 3 eggs today. Reconnected the water pipe to their bucket. Hope we are past the freezing weather for the season. Still treating Pepper. It's a slow process. In my next life I could be a poultry vet. Are you all ready for daylight saving spring ahead this coming weekend? Lucky AZ and HI peeps don't have to change their clocks. It takes me 3 weeks for my sleep cycle to adjust properly. Have always hated this. How about you? I wouldn't mind if we stay on D.S. time forever.

Played in the garden, digging raspberries to sell, cleaning up, reducing some overgrown patches of things like oregano and crocosmia. Time to plant peas and taters!

Our clocks go forward the weekend after next. Means the mornings will be darker for a week or two again but the evenings lighter so more time for gardening and chickens. Yay! Only disadvantage is back to battling with Gladys over bedtimes...

 

[Shetland lover]

Those birds are such eye candy!

I love no clock changes Hoping spring is here too. Only 8 eggs here today, was getting a dozen and having to give them away. Girls didn't like the last cold snap.

Thank you! I wish I'd managed to get Pru in it too but she was busy somewhere stuffing her face!

It's definitely not going to be spring here. Got 6 inches of snow forecast for today and temps of -8C (don't know what that is in Fahrenheit).

 

[TropicalBabies]

Beautiful day here . Got my asphalt emulsion applied on the joined coops. Hopefully it keeps my almost free osb board from being a bad choice for siding. It's soo black! It faces East for the morning sun, so hoping it's not a hot house in the summer too. Might end up giving it a coat of paint to brighten it up. Like all my coops, it's not fully enclosed so might be ok that dark. View attachment 3423236
Now I just have to spend some time rubbing wd40 into my hands to get the asphalt off ...but at least I didn't get any on my face, hair or clothes!View attachment 3423242

I think the black is kinda hip and could possibly make everything else stand out in contrast but I think you have an artists eye and I love what you do, so you go do you and I will watch and enjoy from the cheap seats.
Isn't black vapor barrier/waterproofing paint fun?! It gets everywhere. Hope you did not touch your teeth lol

 

[Shetland lover]

Pretty little Uilani laid her first egg today ♡
View attachment 3423305View attachment 3423304
I got 16 eggs, 13 the last 2 days. Think I have a hidden nest or more likely it the mosquitos fault.View attachment 3423319
Also that super cool oyster shell I bought the other day is a big hit. I've never seen the chooks clean out their dishes this quickly ever.View attachment 3423322
Lawn mower day is always a good day!

Well got my latest stand all painted. Almost ready to go! Yippee!

Aww! Well done Uilani! Lovely first egg from a gorgeous little lady

 

[Shetland lover]

It is what I know as the old style. The Shelly flakes as opposed to the grit looking one. I have not seen it for 3-4 years. I bought 2-5lb post packaged bags. They split up a big bag and made smaller ones w/o labels. Now I'm thinking of going back for a 3rd lol. I'll see if I can't find the brand next time I go into that feed store.

Your oyster shell looks the same as the kind we get, just broken up shells. Pretty sure ours have lots of cockleshell in it rather than oyster, though.

 

[PopoMyers]

Now, here's a weird thing. Mine go absolutely crazy for plain old ice! And it's definitely learned behaviour. One of my ex-batts, Maud, used to lose her mind if I put crushed ice out when it was really hot outside. She'd do the same as Lydia and stand guard over it. Now, when our old freezer broke and became 'defrost every couple of days' instead of 'no defrost', Maud would gobble the ice if I chipped it out and they were in the kitchen with me - no matter the weather outside! Clara decided she wanted it as well so she started begging for it too. Well, Ferdy was watching all this with great interest and clearly saw an opportunity. He started tidbitting with it and offering it to Clara and Maud. Pretty soon they were all loving it. Crazy behaviour, huh?

With the last snow we had, my 2 Brahma girls like to eat it. All the others except 2 thinks it's lava, until I throw treats on it.
Tonight had to corral 3 girls back to the coop. The boys had already gone in and did not finish their job. Shame on them.

 

[Shetland lover]

I think the black is kinda hip and could possibly make everything else stand out in contrast but I think you have an artists eye and I love what you do, so you go do you and I will watch and enjoy from the cheap seats.
Isn't black vapor barrier/waterproofing paint fun?! It gets everywhere. Hope you did not touch your teeth lol

Got to say I like the black too but I was a full-on goth in my teens so...
Given where you are situated, you may need to paint it a lighter colour. I'm sure you'll choose something beautiful

 

[PopoMyers]

Aww! Well done Uilani! Lovely first egg from a gorgeous little lady

Such a cute egg! Haven't seen flake oyster shell here. I saw Cock E eating it today.

 

[Aliceismad106]

Now, here's a weird thing. Mine go absolutely crazy for plain old ice! And it's definitely learned behaviour. One of my ex-batts, Maud, used to lose her mind if I put crushed ice out when it was really hot outside. She'd do the same as Lydia and stand guard over it. Now, when our old freezer broke and became 'defrost every couple of days' instead of 'no defrost', Maud would gobble the ice if I chipped it out and they were in the kitchen with me - no matter the weather outside! Clara decided she wanted it as well so she started begging for it too. Well, Ferdy was watching all this with great interest and clearly saw an opportunity. He started tidbitting with it and offering it to Clara and Maud. Pretty soon they were all loving it. Crazy behaviour, huh?

They amaze me everyday. I seriously think they are little old women with the personality of a child in a chicken's body but with Dahmer tendencies

 

[Shetland lover]

Such a cute egg! Haven't seen flake oyster shell here. I saw Cock E eating it today.

Both Ferdy and Stan eat the stuff I put out for the girls, whether it's MinaVital, crushed eggshells or oyster shell. I read a small scale study that said that high calcium levels could reduce a roo's lifespan by a third so I used to panic about them eating it. Now I figure they know better than me if they need the calcium.