My hens love scratch; some of them love it even more than grubblies (dried fly larva). They gobble it all up, except for one single type of grain (I believe it is the rye). I now have runs sown with a single seed. I’m hoping with all the scratching and pecking, some of the seed has enough soil contact that when the spring rains come they will sprout. Or the cardinals will steal it all. I guess we’ll see.
Last year, the hens started laying again in February, so this year when they started looking interested in the boxes again, I cleaned out the old straw and put in fresh, along with some dried lavender (for the calming effect and to deter insects). They were very keen to see what I was doing, but I suspect it was just to dug through the straw and see if I left treats. None of them are doing the submissive squat, so I think they aren’t ready to lay yet.
I also put a golf ball in last year’s favorite nest. Here’s hoping.
The coop is the neighborhood chick flick hangout for cats. I caught the white long haired cat having a looksie while I filled water buckets.
Sophie started out as a neighborhood outdoor cat, who adopted us, and is nearly converted to indoor life, but still likes to take in an occasional chicken show. The hens don’t get upset when she is staring in, as long as she is calm.
I have discovered that if I close all my apps and check my chicken web cam before I fall asleep or right when I wake up, I’m more likely to have access to the camera and recorded footage, without the dreaded infinite spinning wheel. So maybe my pillow is a conjunction which allows smooth communication between the camera, the network, and my phone. Hm. Or maybe everyone else is asleep and the network isn’t bogged down with traffic. But those are contemplations for another time. Here is a still of the chickens coming out of their coop after 7am because it is cold (but I can tell in the video feed the water isn’t frozen in the run, despite being 25 degrees outside, so that’s nice).
And then it didn’t. The saga of the in and out web cam in the coop continues. It was working on the 4th, then not working today. Maybe someday I will figure out under what circumstances everything works, rather than just being buffeted by random happenstance. The camera is on the edge of the wifi range, even with an extender plugged in at the corner of the house closest to the coop, so things are going to be a bit wonky. I am not ready to invest more money into the system, as the chickens are really predictable, going to bed before the automatic door closes, and not getting up and about until well after the door opens, but it is nice to be able to check on them without hauling down to the coop. (Especially when wearing a boot brace. Yes, I’m still shackled.)
Critters and Craft 