Animals
- For The Birds
As I write this post (last night),it is once again steadily raining outside.Most of my hay hopes have been dashed...with more rain coming today. Since I am unable to commune with my critters and take fresh pictures,I am going to compile a batch of photos...
- Ya Gotta Have Friends!
You might remember some weeks ago that I moved two chickensinto the barn from the henhouses...Rose, who was being picked on un-mercifully by the other hens,and Ivanka the naked neck chicken who had stopped leaving the henhouse. (As a side note, you might...
- My Hero
Each spring we go through a period of time when the local foxes are hunting for their kits. During that time our chickens are in great peril and free ranging has to stop for a couple of weeks. This year that time came a bit early. The other...
- Dust Bath Anyone?
Is there anything more satisfying than a communal dust bath? Now that the snow has melted,my chickens look forward to their daily free ranging.Once eggs are layed for the day, the gates to the henhouse yards are openedand the girls come running...
- Turkens
Meet IvankaAnd NatashaIt has been a while since I have shown you a picture of the turkens (Transylvanian naked neck chickens). They are almost full grown now and have their adult feathers. Surprisingly, turkens are very hardy chickens....and these gals...
Animals
The Comb Says It All
You can tell a lot about the health of a chicken from the look of its comb.
A healthy hen will have a bright red comb...
that stands upright.
A pale comb, or one that lays over on its side is the telltale sign of
a stressed hen.
Poor Mathilda, here, is quite old and has reached the end of her days.
She no longer leaves the henhouse,
and prefers inactivity.
And you can see by her comb, that she is not in the greatest shape.
Some of my chickens are quite old.
And since we do not cull our chickens when they stop laying, but allow them to live out their
natural lives in retirement...
we have several chickens at any given time who are just plumb worn out.
As long as the other hens don't pick on them, I allow them to live out their lives
with the rest of their flock.
However, if I find one being henpecked, they are moved to the barn
(as was the case with Ivanka last summer)
I had thought that Ivanka's days were numbered...
and here she is a year later thriving in the company of the barn cats!
And speaking of thriving...
we have quite a healthy hummingbird population this summer.
At any given time there are several hummers around our feeders...
with the exception of this particular feeder,
which has become a popular hangout for the honeybees.
Free-loaders!
I wanted to quickly show you last night's dinner harvest...
We have tons of carrots right now...of all colors.
And how about these tiny eggplants?
I think they are called bird's egg eggplant.
I just love them!
And do you remember that repurposed chicken feeder that I planted?
Now look at it!
************************
We are in that time of year, here, when we see lots of deer in our fields.
Does, fawns, and bucks with velvet horns can be seen almost
every morning and evening...
grazing in the hayfield.
I never tire of seeing these beautiful creatures!
- For The Birds
As I write this post (last night),it is once again steadily raining outside.Most of my hay hopes have been dashed...with more rain coming today. Since I am unable to commune with my critters and take fresh pictures,I am going to compile a batch of photos...
- Ya Gotta Have Friends!
You might remember some weeks ago that I moved two chickensinto the barn from the henhouses...Rose, who was being picked on un-mercifully by the other hens,and Ivanka the naked neck chicken who had stopped leaving the henhouse. (As a side note, you might...
- My Hero
Each spring we go through a period of time when the local foxes are hunting for their kits. During that time our chickens are in great peril and free ranging has to stop for a couple of weeks. This year that time came a bit early. The other...
- Dust Bath Anyone?
Is there anything more satisfying than a communal dust bath? Now that the snow has melted,my chickens look forward to their daily free ranging.Once eggs are layed for the day, the gates to the henhouse yards are openedand the girls come running...
- Turkens
Meet IvankaAnd NatashaIt has been a while since I have shown you a picture of the turkens (Transylvanian naked neck chickens). They are almost full grown now and have their adult feathers. Surprisingly, turkens are very hardy chickens....and these gals...