Happy Harvest Blog
Turns out the bag of dirt on the deck seats two.
Turns out the bag of dirt on the deck seats two. But not three.
Saturday shirking
It’s sunny, it’s Saturday. The house is a mess, the woods are a mess, I have so much to do but will probably do less. 2/3 through that I thought I should make it rhyme. In celebration of shirking, here’s a chicken in the act of discovering me lying on my back in the weeds.
Excuse me, it's morning.
The little door has fallen off the viewing window in the side of the coop. Now there's just a little grill, and in the morning, a chicken can eyeball me through it, impatiently.I can see the sun is up. Let us out already.
Chicken play date
Cheeks has been having chaperoned outings. I carry her out with me and set her down near where I'm working, in the field or the garden, and she moseys around, scratching and eating. She loves it. What I expected, was that after a couple of hours, she'd be tired, and willing and ready to be scooped up and carried home for a drink. I've handled her daily for months. She's as tame as a chicken could possibly be.No. Oh, no no no. No! Not yet!
Next I would like to try poached
Cheeks' condition is about the same. She seems quite well, other than her foot, which she only sometimes uses. HW is starting to accuse her of just milking it. Cheeks gets a fried egg.
Operation Cheeks
Cheeks is well. She needed her afflicted foot addressed, and redressed.HW likes to hold her up sitting on her tail, and that it makes her look like a little person. She is surprisingly very ok with this. Whatever you do, don't put these pictures on the internet! From this upright position, she is very involved in the whole operation. Quiet and still, but watching it all up close. I had to flush her wound and try to squeeze out any pus.
chickens in a bag
Of soil. I bought peat moss, for the first time in years, because it’s a horrible unsustainable thing, since the potting soil I was buying is about 90% peat moss anyway, so it was still a fail. Much cheaper, and it doesn’t have the little white things that the birds pick at and sometimes eat. There are two halves, both being thoroughly enjoyed. The greenhouse and the baths are largely vacant, because it’s a thaw day, and everyone is outside. The netting was all down, but there was just enough overhead clearance for chickens.
Lap chicken
It's nice to have a house chicken to hold. It's like a cat. I love cats and their hot water bottle properties, and I can't have one, but a chicken will have to do. You think they're all sharp beak and talons, but chickens are pretty nice to hold. They're soft, plush, and very warm. They burn hot, like a cat. Cheeks can sit on me for a solid hour, and she doesn't even peck my keyboard. She hasn't pooped on me either. Apples was not so polite.
Roof sitting
Apparently the coop roof is the place for the guineas to camp out. It's nice to work in the greenhouse for some time, enough to see them relax into completely ignoring me and resume their chicken activities. Dozing on the roof. Grooming...Chilin' This is the gang that hangs out on the other roof. Too bad the roofs don't get washed by the rain when in the greenhouse.
Afternoon lounge
I took down the cross members that allowed the birds to hang out (and poop) over the Silkies. That wasn't working for anyone but the poopers. But now the birds are teetering around on the perimeter like it's a long way to tightrope walk. Hens beefing through the fence. Someday, we'll settle this. The little chickens are adorable, hanging out together in little friend groups. Someone is showing their (Puff)cheeks lineage. Do you see it?
Hen yard
Another afternoon spent in service of chicken comfort.I created the chicken yard, finally. The fence was already there, keeping chickens out of my garden all summer, but now they are to be kept in, and I strung up the bird netting to keep the pro-flying guineas in and raptors out. I imagined that the chickens would come out and enjoy it this sunny afternoon, but instead it was a tedious, cold, frustrating task that I clued up right around the usual guinea grass hour before dusk,
The guinea graze
The guineas haven't had their evening graze for a couple of days due to rain, and I let them out a touch early. (Time change! What time is it? Old time or new time?)Perchick shot out along with the guineas. That's a Cheeks move, to get in the middle of the guinea crowd and run where they're going. Can't see me! Guinea speed is a dead run for a chicken. I wouldn't mind some grass too. Then a few other chickens squeezed out. What's going on out here?
Pas de roo
I was taking pictures of Chris and Cream Puff, the love chickens, hanging out together the way they do, but looking back at the pictures in series, it looks like they're dancing. He is SOOO much bigger than her! Oh, were you watching?
The last chicks?
The last broody hen is hatching her eggs (well, there's one more broody in the coop, but she doesn't have any eggs and I'm not letting her have any. It's too late for that). They're having a hard time too. Shortly after Brown Bonnet hatched, I came in the morning to find the disgustingly distinctive smell of rotten egg. This one had an exploded egg under her (so gross, but it happens - instead of growing a chick, it rots, and they're keeping the eggs nice and hot...so boom!)
Puff Mommy is fine
Yikes! Puffycheeks gave me one hell of a scare. Even though I had seen her walking around thirty seconds earlier, she looked stone dead on the path. I saw her eye, though, so the cold chill surging over me passed, and I got the camera to capture the dead bird pose. Then she hopped up. It's hot, it's just really hot! She is molting a bit, getting patchy and sparse around her neck. Beards are definitely hot in the summer. Galahad and the keets visiting the chicks. And Philippe visiting the chicks.
Galahad goes to bed
It's the last day of July, and I'm noticing the day drift already. Bedtime is slightly earlier at night. Before dark, I have to go out and open a door of the greenhouse to let Galahad the guinea in. The sweet spot is the time the chickens are still milling around but have lost their curiosity and have turned their chickpea sized brains toward their own going to bed, so that they don't also dart in (because they dream of it all day).
the melon doesn't get anyone excited.
Usually, melon rinds are a huge hit. I thought this one was just fine, but the chickens took a big pass on it. What is it, Mom? Is it good? Is it? Actually, not really. And they all moved on. This little one really wanted to try some, but I was too close for comfort. Every time I reach for it there's this loud clicking noise!
Full perching potential
Well, the chicks are all out. I figured it was today. The hens let me know when it's time. They become dissatisfied with the playpen and start doing this. Can you let me out? Then usually a chick leaks out (all of them can jump out the top anytime and sometimes do), and instead of helping it back in, I let all the rest out. Ursa Minor came out first and launched into a scratching demo the likes of which have never been seen. She was scratching and scratching, like crazy, like she meant to dig a hole.
Instagram.
I may not make a blog post every day, but at least I Insta.
Bite size.
