What did you do with your flock today?

[PopoMyers]

It was fresh from the garden, trying to use the last of the basil before the frosts start! We use almonds if we don't have pine nuts (I prefer the almonds anyway). I should have been more on point guarding my food from Ferdy since he adores almonds and broccoli - silly me!

Never in my life did I ever think one would have to guard one's food from a chicken. Cat or dog, perhaps, but only here.

 

[fuzzi]

Last year I had put leaves in the run, and they were damp and got wet further in the rain. By the time a few months had gone by, and with the rainy and cold weather, and poop, it had packed down into quite a muddy, smelly mess. I think this year the leaves will get put around the trees so they can scratch at them outside, then they'll get raked and transferred to the garden, or used for flower bed mulch.

Run the lawn mower over the leaves to chop them up, and mix with other stuff like grass or straw.

 

[PopoMyers]

Thank you. How is dear Penelope? One of my Brahmas had terrible, scaly, inflamed skin on her head when I got her, and I used a coconut oil, frankincense and lavender salve. Could this work for her?

I'm sending big hugs your way. Any loss is terrible to deal with but I think it's worse when you've invested extra care and love because they've had a poor start and you've watched them blossom into a beautiful, personality filled creature ❤❤❤

My egg count is now a big, fat zero!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Lesson learned the hard way.

I learned after putting some fresh lawn clippings in the run. The weather became unsatisfactory and it never dried and eventually becomes yuk yuk. Thats with a covered run too. The learning curve is for real!

 

[LTAY1946]

Hope tonights head count is right. I've had times I forgot to close up a coop at night too. I've been lucky and never had to pay a price for it though. Do you have dogs to help keep predators away?

No. My next big project is to build an electric fence to keep feral dogs out as well as other predators. A strip has to be cleared to the fence will work. The old fence line was already grown up in brush and not in use when we bought the place. In some ways we got the cart in front of the horse but then again had we waited another year to start our chickens we may never have had them. I'm moving at half speed now and my wife is parked most of the time. She hasn't been out to any of the coops with me in weeks now and a friend took care of the coops this morning.

 

[fuzzi]

This afternoon while digging through the freezer I came across a small bag with a couple pieces of leftover pork roast, from earlier this year.

It had some freezer burn but otherwise looked okay. I thawed a small piece in a bowl, warming it slightly in the microwave, then cut the stringy bits into smaller pieces. I added a few crumbs of cheese that had broken off sliced Havarti. I took this mix out to the coop and dumped it in the feeding dish...



I missed a photo of the chickens jumping on top of each other in their frenzy, but you've probably seen something similar.

The one Dominique not in the photo grabbed a centipede that was underneath the dish when I picked it up. She ran with her treasure to the other side of the coop.

"Any more?"

 

[LTAY1946]

This afternoon while digging through the freezer I came across a small bag with a couple pieces of leftover pork roast, from earlier this year.

It had some freezer burn but otherwise looked okay. I thawed a small piece in a bowl, warming it slightly in the microwave, then cut the stringy bits into smaller pieces. I added a few crumbs of cheese that had broken off sliced Havarti. I took this mix out to the coop and dumped it in the feeding dish...



I missed a photo of the chickens jumping on top of each other in their frenzy, but you've probably seen something similar.
View attachment 3663141

The one Dominique not in the photo grabbed a centipede that was underneath the dish when I picked it up. She ran with her treasure to the other side of the coop.

"Any more?"
View attachment 3663142

Yes I've seen the riots over food in the coops. Especially over scrambled eggs.

 

[iriedeby]

I should transfer my pics from my phone to my computer, but lately I haven't had the time! Today I had to investigate, as one of my 4-month-olds has diarrhea. I picked up each one, checked their tailfeathers/rear and on the last one got my answer all over me!

 

[LTAY1946]

I should transfer my pics from my phone to my computer, but lately I haven't had the time! Today I had to investigate, as one of my 4-month-olds has diarrhea. I picked up each one, checked their tailfeathers/rear and on the last one got my answer all over me!

Be sure and get those pictures on to your computer with a backup system for them then. My niece didn't ever take any pictures off of her phone of her first born and lost her phone. It was never found and those picture died with it.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Let us know how you do with the head count @LTAY1946

Yummy, and my kind of chicken snacks @fuzzi . Lucky birds!

@iriedeby gotta love those fuzzy butts