Month: November 2023

A pedestal for Magic

On By CarynIn chickens

Magic the hen is having her recurring pain flareup. I think it has something to do with a leg joint. She hurts it, then has trouble walking, loses weight, it heals, she puts on weight, then she hurts it again. It is about a six month cycle. She is in the stage where she can’t jump up onto the roost at night, so I built her an elevated nest.

Photo description: Pine shavings built up in the corner of the coop next to the roost and topped with straw. Magic the hen has climbed the pile to investigate.

The other chickens had to check out what I did as well, but Magic was the first.

Photo description: Simple 2×4 wood frame roost with 2×3 removable roost bars. The pine shavings are built up in the corner nearly to the height of the roost, and all six chickens are headed toward Magic who is at the top of the pile.

This is the corner Magic huddles in when she can’t roost. She appreciated the elevation, and I feel better about her not getting bombed by the other hens in the morning.

Photo description: Night view, with five chickens on the roost, and Magic on her slightly diminished pine shavings pile in the corner.

I do have to rebuild the corner in the morning, because the chickens kick away the shavings looking for bugs, but I think this is less stressful for her than when I go in and place her on the roost at night.

Knob fix repeat

On By CarynIn Life Hack

Two years ago I fixed a plastic knob that broke. The thin gauge copper wire snapped recently and the epoxy didn’t hold, so I have to fix it again. I’m not messing around this time. I used 18 gauge wire to wrap around the socket, then filled the surround with J-B Weld, which is a two part epoxy.

Photo description: J-B Weld package behind an upturned knob which is filled with gray epoxy, next to the scrap paper where I mixed the epoxy with a toothpick.

It worked. Now I am hoping to get another couple years out of the appliance.

Growing Season #2

On By CarynIn Garden

We had a cold snap, a welcome drench of rain, and all the flowers think it is spring again. Hello Texas.

Photo description: Gregg’s mist flower in the front flower bed with hundreds of fuzzy purple blooms.
Photo description: Purple oxalis in bloom.

The grape hyacinth and paper whites are also stretching up their green leaves to the Texas sun. I’ve had paper whites bloom in December, but not grape hyacinths. We’ll see what they do. I should have planted more peppers.

Spot the cats

On By CarynIn Cats

I still have my trail cam set up behind the coop. We get lots of neighborhood cat photos. How many can you spot in the photo below?

Photo description: Night vision photograph.

I find five. Mr Tom, the long-haired white is mostly obscuring Mama Cat, but you can see her tail. There is a gray tabby on the step, short-haired black female is on the right, and I suspect that the two reflective eyes seen through the trees in the background is Shadow. These are the usual suspects that hang out back there.

Big boy

On By CarynIn Cats

Thor, who is not quite eight months old, technically is still a kitten, but he does not look at all like a kitten.

Photo description: A little forced perspective, with Thor the gray tabby laying on a bed in front of Izzy the calico. He looks twice her size, but is not.
Photo description: Same two cats, but eating on separate shelves, taken three days prior to the photo above. Here the cats look of similar size.

Thor weighed in at 12.8 pounds, which is almost a pound heavier than Izzy. He gets plenty of exercise. His tail and legs are thick, especially compared to our other cats. Big boy.