My Chickens: Rollin' Hens and Desperate Phoebes.

It was extraordinarily hot today and the hens were happy to lay in the shade or roll in the cool dust.  Zesty was, sadly, not very welcomed to roll with the others, as they pecked her continuously on her sore spot(the bare, picked area on her back).     She did get to roll for a while though. All the pullets, but Chestnut, rolled for a long, long time!! I had an enjoyable time watching them fight over the deepest dusting spots and lay with their legs stretched out. 

"Stay away from my dirt or else!"

That's what Half'n'half says to the others! 

Oh, and about Cap.   She was busy searching for food.  It is so hot, no worms were out and her chicks were hungry. When Cap left the nest to find food, I climbed up and fed the chicks some worms and bread. Okay, okay, I know I shouldn't of interfered, but Cap was having trouble and the smallest chick was starving to death.  I wouldn't want any of her chicks to die.   Anyway, in worked out and they're all fed now.  My chicks are huge and I'm working on introducing them to the hens!

My Chickens: I Need Your Help!!

Well, first of all, I had a great memorial day. I even held a flag in a parade!
But here's my issue.........Sally is a rooster!!!!  Sally Sussex is A ROOSTER!!!!
(So is Sweetie Pie, but I don't need to rename him.)
I need your help to think of an alternative name for "Sally"!

Well, now that that's taken care of, here's some pictures for you to enjoy. :)

Here's a good picture of Caps chicks!

Cranky....

And this pretty girl....

Um...wipe your beak, please.

And just a little something........

Gotta laugh!!

Bye!  "Sally" is waiting!!

My Chickens: The Egg Shirt!

Well, today I had this crazy idea to make an "egg shirt" for myself, because I do not have a basket at the moment. (When I collect eggs I usually put them in my shirt, or hold them--and I've broken several eggs while doing that:)  All I did was take one of my really filthy "chicken huger" tee-shirts, cut a square of the front, and folded it into a huge pocket.  Then I whipped out my sewing machine and sewed it up. Now I put the eggs in the pocket and carry them in!  It will work great.......as long as no one hugs me. ;)

My Chickens:Are CRAZY!!

One of my hens is scared of eggs! I always can tell when there's an egg, because I can hear her screaming as though there's a fox out there!! HA! She is CRAZY!!
And I checked on Cap. There are three chicks now!! One egg that didn't hatch. I told her congratulations!!  I couldn't get a decent picture of them, though. Sorry!! That nest is high!!

My Chickens:Cap's Chicks Have Hatched!!!!

Hi everyone!! I'm back!! And guess what!!!! Cap, the Phoebe, has hatched her chicks!!! Or chick.
I heard peeping that was NOT my chicks and went to investigate.  Then I realized the noise was coming from the shed! 
I climbed the terrifyingly tall ladder and ducked as Cap whirred out of there. She landed a short distance away and watched my warily, but I've done this every year for awhile so she wasn't too frightened. I had to use a mirror, but finally I saw what I'd been waiting for: A tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny chick!!! It must of hatched this morning, for the other chicks still weren't out of their eggs.  It was so cute-quta even!!! Regardless of the fact that it had no feathers or down, it was still adorable!!
Oh! And the chickens now lay seven eggs a day!! WOW!!

My Chickens: Bye!!!

Well, I'm off!! Bye everyone!! Bye chickens!! Bye dogs!!! Bye chicks!! Fare well!!! Be back soon!!
*Gasp!*
Whew! It was tiring to say all that!

Not my Chickens: These poor hens!!!

I just found this horrible video on youtube about battery hens.
 Must watch! Show it to your hens, they'll see how good they've got it!!

               Click the link above!

My Chickens: On Guard!

Those dogs are ruining my blog!  A friend of mine spotted the dogs passing my house this morning so it's....On Guard! 
I'm going to let the hens out though and those beasts won't stop me!  I wish I knew who owned them!!
Then I could call them!    
I will be going on a little trip in a couple days and those dogs better not bother my chicken sitter!! 
I will tell her about them so she will be ready to get the chickens in safely.  
The chicks probably won't need the heat lamp, but I may leave it on, just in case. 
I'll sure miss them all! I'll be gone four days, but I'll read all your posts when I return!!

My Chickens: Dogs and Brave Chicks .

I'm glad to have my computer back, even though it doesn't work that well.   Anyhow, THOSE DOGS!!!!  RRRRR! They have RETURNED!!!!!  And I thought my troubles were over. Ha!   Well, I had just let my sweet little girls out(I let them out really early because they are so good about laying enough eggs)when I saw a big, ugly, black, dog galloping like a hooligan toward my hens!!  Half the hens were over near the chicks and the rest were with me. I grabbed the nearest object(a shovel)and yelled at the dog. It stopped, thinking over the situation, then it ran back up the road.  I got all the chickens in the coop, just before the second dog arrived. I jumped into the hen house with my girls until it left.  What a morning!! But, I still got a ton of eggs, ever with the dogs frightening the hens, who are still not broody.  The chicks weren't scared a bit. They just watched disdainfully as the dogs wandered past their hutch.  Brave little sillies!! I bet they were braver then I was!

My Chickens: How a hen lays an egg. An eyewitness account.

Well, today I have a challenge. I have to complete two dozen eggs. Then I my friend will buy them. I can start a good business with this! But first things first. My girls must lay four more eggs today to complete the 2nd dozen.   
I got up real early this morning and was able to witness both Bluey and what's-her-name lay an egg! It was fascinating!
I'm sure all my chicken-lover friends know all about how they lay eggs, but just for my other pals, I'll describe what it was like.  

1. The hen goes and walks around in the nesting box, carefully shaping the nesting material to fit snugly around her.
2. She lays in the box fox a while(in my case, an hour)and warns the other hens that this is her box. Sometimes she gets pecked.
3. When she is ready, she squats and stays very still. The other hens usually do not bother her now.
4. And the egg is out!
5. Then she may sit on it, if she's broody, but Bluey does this: She slowly walks out, throwing bits of saw dust over  her shoulder. It's really cute.

Well, there you are! Oh! Chestnut has just layed an egg! Gotta go! I may get another dozen yet!

My Chickens: Cap and Tarpie.

Of the late, I've been getting three eggs a day.  But this post is mostly about my wild bird friends, Cap and Tarpie.
Tarpie is a robin. He always comes around to eat any spilt seed.
Cap is a phoebe. She's been around for years and always nests in the shed.
 A couple days ago, there was an uproar amongst the robins. Tarpie was trailing a long piece of tarp fiber from his leg!(That's why I call him Tarpie.) I tried unsuccessfully to catch him and get it off, but it's nearly impossible to catch a wild robin who is frighted by a strange snake clinging to its leg. So I gave up and a day later, it was gone. I still don't know how he got it off.  And about Cap. Today she layed her eggs and is snuggled on them as we speak!  I now will peek at her every day 'til the hatch. It is most interesting.   And highly educational. 

My Chickens: Some sweet chickens of mine.

Deanie is showing signs of being tamer than the other chicks. He lets me pick him up and doesn't run and hide like the rest. They are still in the hutch, but they're getting bigger and bigger!   Soon they will be with the big girls!  Puffylady is like a little dog! Following right by my side when I walk!  She is tamer than even Zesty!  I let her sit on Deanie, but watched her closely because she has pecked him before. Deanie loved it! So did Lady.  I haven't seen those horrid dogs for weeks!!!

My Chickens: Oh, Deadbirdie!

I miss that angel!

Deadbirdie the chick has....died. Oh, I can hardly keep from crying when I think about how she peeped at night because she wanted to sleep with me!   She passed away this morning.   I thought she might not make it. Yesterday, she was being really droopy. I miss her already! You will find a poem about her here.  I just hope the END has not come back!   Why do all my chickens die?  I'm not that bad, right?  I love them and [try to] tame them and feed them and do everything for their good.  Why do my chickens die?   I miss, miss, miss my little Deadbirdie number two!  She was [and now is] an angel! 

She probably would of been a lovely layer!  Why Deadbirdie?    It's like the name 'Deadbirdie' has a curse, or something, and when you name your chicken that they become dead birdies.  Suggestion: DO NOT USE THAT NAME EVER AGAIN!!!  Oh, Deadbirdie. How I miss that doll. That angel. That puff ball. That little thing...... That chick.