We almost always get two eggs per day now, and we got three one day! How is that even possible?
I am noticing some character traits of the hens; Lily is very adventurous. She comes up on the second story deck, she goes out the gate if it’s left open, and she always comes a runnin’ when a person comes into the backyard.
Dolly is more timid, she never goes on the deck, and stays closer to the coop.
I’ve been reading up on hens and hot weather, but now it looks like I needn’t have bothered. If summer does show up, the hens will be fine in hot weather as long as they have plenty of water and shade.
I’ve been training the girls to be petted by me. They are getting used to it, and someday maybe they will like it.
They have figured out that if they follow me while I’m mowing, the bugs will be easier to get at and will likely be stunned by the mower. They had a feast today.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
More eggs
As promised, with the longer days come more eggs!
I put up a small fence to keep the hens from wandering the neighborhood. They had begun to go farther and farther on their journeys. They have a large backyard to themselves, and should be content. As a result of their new boundary, they can be let out for longer periods of time. This is good and bad; the good is obvious, the bad is that I know the chances of a predator getting them are increased, and when they do not get out, they make quite a racket.
Getting them back into the pen when they don’t want to go is quite an exercise, both literally and figuratively. Two people helps, and so does a long stick to help herd them. I hope no one ever gets it on video, I’m sure it’s not complimentary.
Dolly is more amenable to going into the pen, Lily is not. If she just happens to be in the pen anyway for a drink or a bite or to lay and she’s hears me, she darts out and makes a run for it.
One more feed store story. There was a woman who worked in the retail part of the feed store who I had a major crush on. She was tall and thin and blonde and sweet, and she drove a Toyota Land Cruiser! In those days a Land Cruiser was not a luxury SUV, it was a Jeep, for the youngsters reading this it was like a Jeep Wrangler, but with more power.
One day she came out to the warehouse and said that I was supposed to help her with a project. I was ecstatic and probably showed it. Our job was to get rid of many spray cans of some kind of hazardous substance. It was a weed killer or an insect killer. The manufacturer had instructed her to spray the contents into the dirt. We went to a vacant lot and started out just spraying them a can at a time into the dirt, but it was soon obvious that it would take all day. So I devised a setup where we could spray 10 cans at once. It worked well. I probably inhaled enough of that stuff to shorten my life, but spending hours with her alone was worth every minute.
I put up a small fence to keep the hens from wandering the neighborhood. They had begun to go farther and farther on their journeys. They have a large backyard to themselves, and should be content. As a result of their new boundary, they can be let out for longer periods of time. This is good and bad; the good is obvious, the bad is that I know the chances of a predator getting them are increased, and when they do not get out, they make quite a racket.
Getting them back into the pen when they don’t want to go is quite an exercise, both literally and figuratively. Two people helps, and so does a long stick to help herd them. I hope no one ever gets it on video, I’m sure it’s not complimentary.
Dolly is more amenable to going into the pen, Lily is not. If she just happens to be in the pen anyway for a drink or a bite or to lay and she’s hears me, she darts out and makes a run for it.
One more feed store story. There was a woman who worked in the retail part of the feed store who I had a major crush on. She was tall and thin and blonde and sweet, and she drove a Toyota Land Cruiser! In those days a Land Cruiser was not a luxury SUV, it was a Jeep, for the youngsters reading this it was like a Jeep Wrangler, but with more power.
One day she came out to the warehouse and said that I was supposed to help her with a project. I was ecstatic and probably showed it. Our job was to get rid of many spray cans of some kind of hazardous substance. It was a weed killer or an insect killer. The manufacturer had instructed her to spray the contents into the dirt. We went to a vacant lot and started out just spraying them a can at a time into the dirt, but it was soon obvious that it would take all day. So I devised a setup where we could spray 10 cans at once. It worked well. I probably inhaled enough of that stuff to shorten my life, but spending hours with her alone was worth every minute.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter
It’s kinda fun to go out on Easter morning and get a warm egg. Thanks Dolly or Lily. After two days of nasty weather, today it’s relatively pleasant. The hens are out rototilling the yard.
I have been asked to write another feed store story. Here is one.
One of the geniuses had gotten a forklift hopelessly stuck in the mud. How there was ever mud in Reno, I don’t know, but there was some. The brain trust got together to figure out a solution. I just watched, because I knew from past experience that something bad but funny would surely happen. They lead guy got the biggest truck we had and tied a very long rope to the top of the cage that covers the driver of the forklift and the other end to the truck. He then got into the truck and gunned the engine. At this point I ran for my life. I finally had to turn and see the result. As the rope went taught, the cage ripped off the forklift and flew through the air at Mach 1, and coming to rest on a pallet of chicken feed and sending feed to the corners of the earth. The forklift did not budge. If only we had cell phones with video cameras in those days.
I have been asked to write another feed store story. Here is one.
One of the geniuses had gotten a forklift hopelessly stuck in the mud. How there was ever mud in Reno, I don’t know, but there was some. The brain trust got together to figure out a solution. I just watched, because I knew from past experience that something bad but funny would surely happen. They lead guy got the biggest truck we had and tied a very long rope to the top of the cage that covers the driver of the forklift and the other end to the truck. He then got into the truck and gunned the engine. At this point I ran for my life. I finally had to turn and see the result. As the rope went taught, the cage ripped off the forklift and flew through the air at Mach 1, and coming to rest on a pallet of chicken feed and sending feed to the corners of the earth. The forklift did not budge. If only we had cell phones with video cameras in those days.
Monday, March 22, 2010
A steady pattern
The hens and the people have developed a steady pattern. One egg per day, a half hour out of the coop near sundown, and clean straw in the hen house most days.
I wonder if they’ve forgotten their lost buddy Gloria. I think not. I’ve always believed animals are smarter than we give them credit for. This is due to the fact that animal intelligence and human intelligence are as different as night and day. We can’t understand them, so we think they are dumb.
My son planted new grass in an area that a backhoe had torn up. As I suspected, the girls thought I made it just for them. I put up a fence to keep them and the humans out while the grass gets a chance to grow. I used metal fence posts, but found that I did not have enough to do the job. As a boy growing up in Nevada, I remembered that fences there often have a repeating pattern of one metal post and one post made from local plants (not trees, this is Nevada). I made some fence posts from some pruning remains and the fence looks very good to me. The hens were a bit perplexed at the new state of affairs, but quickly adapted.
One activity that Dolly, the Rhode Island Red, loves to do is have a dirt bath. She wiggles around in the dirt and turns upside down and makes very contented sounds. If I was a predator, that’s when I’d make my move. Luckily, she has me and Lily to watch out for her during these periods of luxuriating inattentiveness.
I wonder if they’ve forgotten their lost buddy Gloria. I think not. I’ve always believed animals are smarter than we give them credit for. This is due to the fact that animal intelligence and human intelligence are as different as night and day. We can’t understand them, so we think they are dumb.
My son planted new grass in an area that a backhoe had torn up. As I suspected, the girls thought I made it just for them. I put up a fence to keep them and the humans out while the grass gets a chance to grow. I used metal fence posts, but found that I did not have enough to do the job. As a boy growing up in Nevada, I remembered that fences there often have a repeating pattern of one metal post and one post made from local plants (not trees, this is Nevada). I made some fence posts from some pruning remains and the fence looks very good to me. The hens were a bit perplexed at the new state of affairs, but quickly adapted.
One activity that Dolly, the Rhode Island Red, loves to do is have a dirt bath. She wiggles around in the dirt and turns upside down and makes very contented sounds. If I was a predator, that’s when I’d make my move. Luckily, she has me and Lily to watch out for her during these periods of luxuriating inattentiveness.
Friday, February 26, 2010
and then there were two
I let the girls out yesterday for a good long time. Every time I checked on them they were enjoying themselves. When it came time to put them in for the night, only two hens were visible. I looked and found Gloria sitting in the leaves behind the shed. Her eyes were open, but when I knelt down to pick her up she didn’t move and I knew something was wrong. I gently picked her up and put her in the hen house. She didn’t move. Then she flapped around and stopped suddenly. I knew she was gone. I had to go to an important meeting but returned hours later to find her in the same position, and Dolly and Lily were not themselves.
I buried Gloria in the backyard with Wendy the hamster, Sgt Pepper the mouse, Mr. Wiggles the mouse, the tawny mouse whose name I can’t remember, and the mole with no given name.
I buried Gloria in the backyard with Wendy the hamster, Sgt Pepper the mouse, Mr. Wiggles the mouse, the tawny mouse whose name I can’t remember, and the mole with no given name.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Hen scratch
Seattle Tilth, the organization that taught me about chickens, wants my straw/chicken-poop mixture! They need it for an advanced class in composting.
Letting the hens out to run around close to sunset is a good idea; they don’t stray as far and getting them back in the coop is much easier.
Several neighbors have come over to see the setup. Chickens are a real draw for people. Could it be that our historical relationship with chickens is now in our genes, similar to dogs?
Today the girls should use the last of the feed that came with the chickens. I’m anxious to try the new feed.
I watched the hens go up and down the ramp. I have to add some traction; it’s more like a theme-park ride at this point.
Letting the hens out to run around close to sunset is a good idea; they don’t stray as far and getting them back in the coop is much easier.
Several neighbors have come over to see the setup. Chickens are a real draw for people. Could it be that our historical relationship with chickens is now in our genes, similar to dogs?
Today the girls should use the last of the feed that came with the chickens. I’m anxious to try the new feed.
I watched the hens go up and down the ramp. I have to add some traction; it’s more like a theme-park ride at this point.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The hens got a good long time out of the coop today. They actually all went back in on their own; all I had to do was shut the door.
I have also installed a HPS (Hen Protection System) on the side of the coop, for the odd canine who ventures in my backyard looking for an easy lunch. I suppose it would also work on a raccoon or pole cat. See attached picture.
I did the first big cleaning of the coop since I got it. It was pretty easy. I plan to make a way to hoist the roof of the coop. Luckily there is a big tree overhead that should work well.
The hens are continuing to give us over 2 eggs/day on average.
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