So I was aware that the Faverolle hen is a medium layer, meaning not high production, which is why I aimed for a flock of 6-9 (we currently have 10) for our four person family. That they are molting again, as evidenced by the snowy piles of feathers throughout the runs, is another reason why egg production is down. It is not unusual for poor layers to start their fall molt in July and take a few months (!) to regrow all their feathers according to my chicken books. At least we are getting some eggs! It looks like there was an attack in the coop with all the feathers strewn about.
My eldest likes to play Pokémon and picked for her avatar a green and white beret. As I was watching her play, I realized that I could make a hat like that! She didn’t make a negative face, so I sat down with my fingering wool and worked on recreating the hat (but without the cross bar, as she requested).
Crocheted beret with pom pom (100% wool)Pokémon trainer hatHat flat
My dog loves laser lights. Correction: my dog is obsessed with laser lights. He is funny about them though, he doesn’t chase it just wherever, he has a self defined path that if you flash the light at the beginning of the path, he will traverse the whole trail, whether or not the light leads him. If you shine the light elsewhere you are given “a look”, and he waits until you get it right. Goofy dog. This behavior does result in a dirt path through the yard. For me, though, this is not a bad thing necessarily. We have clay soil, which is hard and unforgiving to dig. In the dog’s trail, the clay has been churned to a fine dust, which is easy to scoop up and add to the ash and diatomaceous earth for the chicken’s dust bath. So really, the dog’s favorite activity in the whole wide world is also providing a chicken service. So there we go. The dog is happy, the chickens love their dust bath, and even the cat, when she dashes through the door, beelines for a good roll in the fine dust.
I’ve made more aluminum can wind spinners. As long as I was making, I put together a time lapse video showing my process for making them. My written instructions are on a previous post here. I had the idea of mounting a whole string of these as a column! So much spinning joy!
Wind spinner column mounted on the chicken run
I used wire hangers designed for pants for the support brackets.
Two hangers and a pair of pliers
I removed the cardboard tube, and broke off the ends that go into the tubes (I learned the hard way that the sharp bend is already brittle). I made loops for screws, and straightened the curve. I put a 90 degree bend in the folded end to hold the cable for the spinners.
Modified hanger to make bracket for the wind spinner column
I used lath screws to attach the brackets to a corner of the chicken run. I started with the top bracket, then hung the column of wind spinners. I attached the bottom bracket to hold the column steady so the wind doesn’t blow it into the structure. When complete, it looks like the column is floating, which is a nifty bonus!
Wind spinner column mounted to the catio
I mounted another wind spinner column on the catio. Obsessed? Me? Maybe. Here is a video for your spinning enjoyment.
I had contemplated keeping the back door of the coop open at night to really let the cool air flow through the coop. There is a “screen” door with chicken wire instead of screen, but chicken wire won’t hold up to the attentions of a raccoon, and after the trail cam took a picture of a raccoon right behind the coop, leaving the door open is a definite no. In fact, I need to line the inner door with hardware cloth and put a heavy two step latch on it just in case a raccoon gets bold before I close the back door! (The solid door has three latches on it and a pad lock.) I had originally intended the inner door to only be utilized when I was out in the coop, but I found that keeping it as a breezeway after dinner makes a 10 degree difference in the inside of the coop. When the temperature in the coop goes from 95 to 85, it is worth airing out.
Armadillo behind the coop
The trail cam also took a decent picture of an armadillo behind the coop. There is hardware cloth buried all around the coop and runs to keep the diggers out.
Critters and Craft 