MJ's little flock

[BY Bob]

Lovely story.
And don’t you miss real maps?

I still carry them in my cars. They have gotten me out of too many traffic situations where the GPS was clueless.

 

[BY Bob]

It was quite a few pieces too. From now on, I'll share an easy and a hard puzzle of the same picture.

Cool! I will do them both.

 

[Lexicon]

I never thought about the fact that then light never goes dark enough for them to close. Do the chickens still roost? How do they know to go to sleep? Conversely, what do the chickens do when most of the day is dark?

The older hens go to roost around 8:30 pm or so in the summer. The pullets are another matter! I would usually try to get them to go in at 10:30 pm, so I could go to bed too, but it involved bribes, and could be chaotic. There were always one or two stragglers and sometimes one would grab the treat and then run back out the door which was open so the latecomers could come in and that triggered lots of excited running around on the pullets' part and some frustration on my part! But that's one of the things I love about chickens: their exuberance and single-mindedness!!

We turn on lights in the coop when we take out their breakfast at this time of year and turn them off once it's daylight. It isn't enough to trigger laying as I do like the older hens to take a break which they are currently doing.

 

[BY Bob]

The older hens go to roost around 8:30 pm or so in the summer. The pullets are another matter! I would usually try to get them to go in at 10:30 pm, so I could go to bed too, but it involved bribes, and could be chaotic. There were always one or two stragglers and sometimes one would grab the treat and then run back out the door which was open so the latecomers could come in and that triggered lots of excited running around on the pullets' part and some frustration on my part! But that's one of the things I love about chickens: their exuberance and single-mindedness!!

We turn on lights in the coop when we take out their breakfast at this time of year and turn them off once it's daylight. It isn't enough to trigger laying as I do like the older hens to take a break which they are currently doing.

Thanks so much for replying. I find this fascinating and something I never considered before.

 

[MaryJanet]

I used to drink tuocha tea, Chinese pu'er tea sold in nest shape, and they also expressly stated it could be rebrewed several times. It's a very specific type of tea though.

Well, I tried steeping the new leaves a second time and it had more flavour than the first time, but it still wasn't a satisfying brew, so I tossed those leaves out.

If you didn't like it at the first brew my guess is it will not improve after severals .

Following from tossing the leaves out, I will persist because wasting tea is sacrilegious But I'll be reducing the water in the pot by about a third in the hope of a more flavourful brew.

 

[MaryJanet]

I still carry them in my cars. They have gotten me out of too many traffic situations where the GPS was clueless.

I don't use gps, but I heard it would send large trucks on short journeys with impassable corners so a truck would never arrive having become jammed on a narrow bridge or some such. Human drivers reading maps would take longer but navigable journeys and reach their destinations. I assume trip planning errors like that are removed from the gps systems these days.

 

[MaryJanet]

Thanks so much for replying. I find this fascinating and something I never considered before.

It sounds quite tricky with the pullets wanting to stay out late. It would descend into mayhem quite easily with the bunch at my house

 

[Ribh]

And don’t you miss real maps?

No. I have no sense of direction. Without GPS I'd never arrive anywhere.

 

[MaryJanet]

Flock report!

Janet is not worsening, on the contrary she shows signs of improving: eating full-sized pellets and pecking Ivy. But she still keeps herself mostly isolated during the day and her poops are worryingly tiny.

Mary is thriving with no discernible loss of vision from her recent eye injury and nice big poops showing thorough digestion. 4-5 eggs a week. She's never energetic, she's just too big for doing much running, but she will join in with her lumbering quick jog when everyone sprints over for a treat.

Peggy is thriving. Lots of energy, zipping around the place. Unlike Mary, she prefers to scamper wherever she goes, with very long strides. She takes special care of Janet, cleaning her face each day. It makes me anxious because of the risk of Peggy picking up Jan's bacteria but I wouldn't deny either of them their friendship. One egg earlier this week, hoping for another today!

Ivy is thriving. She stopped being broody when I was in Sydney. My first day back she was off the nest all day, on it at bedtime, so I carried her over to the roost, which she's been using ever since. She is scolded by Janet every now and then, usually over barging in at dinner time, and then she passes that message on to Katie.

Christa is not well. I don't know why and I'm not seeking advice. She's just not well. Her comb has fallen over and she's lethargic. Her poops are mostly normal, a little greenish. She ate a lot the day before yesterday, but not much yesterday. I can't take her to the vet until I'm out of isolation.

Edie's thriving. 5-6 small eggs a week, big poops, well-digested food. Loads of energy, a very bustling hen. She didn't so much find her place in the flock as create it through her attitude, which was entitlement with a dash of deference.

And Katie is thriving. 5-6 big brown eggs a week. Big poops of well-digested food. Loads of energy, a sprinter. Her speed keeps her from receiving most of the pecks that are thrown in her direction. When a peck lands, she's more startled than hurt. Her constant dashing around annoys her friends, especially the older hens. Edie and Katie adore each other.

 

[RoyalChick]

How are you feeling MJ? Isolation is one thing, but are you less achy?