The bugs found the ripe melon. I’m not sure if the earwig dug the hole, or the caterpillars dug it and the earwig was hiding out, but the chickens really enjoyed both the insect and the fruit. I sprayed the remaining melons with diluted Neem oil and Castille soap. Maybe we will get another melon before the bugs do; there are currently two melon candidates for bug roulette.
I made blueberry ice cream the other day and was left a pile of cooked blueberry hulls. What to do? The chickens might like them. It is hot out, so freezing them might be good. I put the strained skins in a paper bowl and popped it into the freezer. When I put out the block of frozen blueberry mash for the chickens and they devoured it. I was hoping for purple stained beaks (frozen blueberries stain my hands something awful), but they were quite clean. It does go right through them, though, so for the sake of their fluffy bum and digestive tracts, blueberries will be a sometimes treat.
One of these things is not like the others.
I had a bit of a surprise in the nest box! A tiny little egg, less than half the size of what my hens usually lay. I’ve read that sometimes there are hiccups in the egg development process and eggs are produced without a yolk resulting in what some people call “fairy eggs”. I had to see if that was the case with this egg!
I broke it open and the egg did in fact have a yolk, just very small. A small perfect little egg. How interesting.
Jade the hen gave me a bit of a start; the back of her neck looked like she had a giant hole. Upon further investigation in the dark recesses, there are new feathers sprouting, so no damage seems to have occurred, just a profound molting event. Interesting.
We took another quick weekend trip and before we left I set up the chicken’s run to make sure they had ample water. I have five water stations (probably overkill, but it makes me feel better). One hanging water dispenser inside the coop with fresh water, one hanging outside with apple cider vinegar added (this is their favorite for drinking), a dog bowl full (which in the winter gets plugged in to guard against freeze), and two foot baths. My hens love their foot baths, especially when temperatures soar above 95. The water in these gets rather disgusting after nine hens have soaked their feet in it. On a usual day I dump and refill these once or twice a day. Since I can’t do that from another city, I set up a water timer with a diverter to run hoses to both trays and flush out the water in the middle of the night. It worked quite well! Not as well as dumping and rinsing, but good enough for a couple days away. The trays are marketed as plant coasters, to keep water from outside pots from staining the floor. They are just the right height for chickens to step in, and big enough for two to stand together. I also add a few drops of oregano oil, which seems to help with scaly leg mites.
Critters and Craft 