Today you get a snap of Seashell in portrait mode. Yes, I followed the chickens around the run. Yes, I aimed my phone along their back and waited for them to look at me in askance. My chickens are very calm and put up with my shenanigans. Mostly.
Seashell is definitely not show worthy, nor should she ever be part of a breeding program, but she is my healthiest and best groomed hen. I like her color too, even though it is non-standard.
We have continued to get eggs, way past when the hens stopped laying last year. I think I know why. We have kept the people door open to let the breeze through the coop because it was so blazing hot this summer. The door leads out into the chicken run, which is completely encased in welded wire, which makes it fairly secure against large predators. When we let the dogs out in the morning, we turn on the back porch light, which happens to shine into the runs. This gives the hens enough light to feel comfortable getting off the roost, so they are up and about earlier than last year. Extra light also encourages egg laying. Ah. They finished their molt, had enough light, and a couple have gone back into laying mode. I could close up the door, but they really do like coming out as soon as they can, and they are safe in their enclosure from twilight predators. As it gets colder, I will close the people door to keep in the heat and keep out drafts, but I may keep the chicken door open.
We renewed the salad bars in the chicken’s run by moving the frames, adding new seed (wheat, mung beans, and alfalfa), and topping off with potting soil. The hens “help” by cleaning up the seed that doesn’t make it down through the welded wire. They think it is great fun.
They also really enjoy scratching through the old, now exposed, salad bar areas.
I was out doing morning chicken chores, and I found two eggs. What? I admit that I have not been vigilant in checking the nest boxes since the hens stopped laying two months ago because last year their last egg was mid-September. Last year they did not start laying again until February. They do appear to have finished their fall molt, but I haven’t seen any of them do the squat (that says they are ready for a rooster).
I did do a float test, and both eggs sunk to the bottom of the container of water and laid flat, which means they are fresh eggs. So they didn’t stay undiscovered for long.
After collecting the leaves I needed for my recipe (Thai Chicken Basil uses at least three cups of fresh basil), I took the branches that still had leaves out to the chickens. My chickens really like basil.
I shove the thick stems into a hole in their chicken swing, which holds it secure so the hens can rip off leaves.
It doesn’t take long for the flock to strip off all the leaves!
Critters and Craft 