Where I Talk On And On About My Girls

Call me strange.  But I enjoy my chickens.

I like taking out our table scraps to feed them and watching them scramble to the door as though I’ve been STARVING them.  (Kind of like my teenagers.) They totally crack me up.  My oldest says they shoot out of the coop like they’re being shot out of a cannon. 

Drop a cherry tomato through the gate and it’s GAME ON!  Lickity-split, a hen will grab it and disappear under the coop with everyone stuck to her backside like white on a leghorn.  A second later, someone else will come tearing out with it leading the whole flock to the far corner.  And so the game of snatch and run continues till someone finally manages to woof it down. 

I could dump a whole bunch in there at one time.  But what fun is that??  Lol! 

Sometimes, we chit-chat a bit.  You know…Hey girls…Whatcha doing?…How’s it going?…Who’s up for a treat today?…. So, do you know who’s been raiding my garden?…  I hope the neighbors don’t hear me.

A few months ago, we lost my little guy’s favorite light-colored Americana.  There was gap in the fence that covers the pen (that has since been fixed) and we think she flew out and couldn’t figure out how to get back in.  Sadly, the neighbor’s dog Toby, had chicken for dinner.  Our poor girl.

The neighbor felt really bad.  He’s always had a soft spot for my little guy.  A few days later, he found a new white hen and snuck her into the pen.  My little guy was so delighted!   And, I’m happy to report, he and Toby are back on speaking terms.    

The new leghorn hen lays what my boys describe as big white torpedoes, lol!  Seriously, they’re so impressive, we decided to look for a few more Leghorns.

We now have 4 Rhode Island reds, 4 Leghorns, and one golden Americana.  I think.  We’ve been getting between 6 and 8 eggs each day.

See the wire over the roof?  All safe and secure from escape.  And all around the outside of the base of the pen we’ve put down wire, rock, and cement slabs. So although a coyote actually killed a possum just outside the run, there was no way it was going to top it off with a side of chicken. 

At one point a few weeks ago, I noticed that one of the older hens was way less active then the rest.  On closer inspection, we found that she was infested with mites.  So we had to dust each chicken and thoroughly dust the hen house.

OH. MY. WORD.  THAT was a fun job!  Lol!  But they are all doing fine now.  Apparently, it’s a pretty common problem faced by chicken owners.

That blue tote in the back?  It has a dry mix of wood ash, Sevin powder, and sand in it.  The chickens can now help us keep their own little selves mite-free by giving themselves dust baths in it.  And that makes us all happy!

Now, aren’t you glad you stopped by today?  It’s not every day I talk on and on about my girls.  :)