Category: chickens

Chicken cam

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop

Yes, we installed a chicken camera. No one reading this is probably surprised we did, but I do feel a bit of chagrin at installing the tech in a coop. But, you see, my youngest’s favorite YouTuber has a camera in their coop and they could see when the chickens were in the nesting boxes (still no eggs here). My youngest doesn’t go out to the coop at all right now, so it is a way for her to see the chickens, and maybe get more comfortable with the idea. And I had points.

Still peering around (from the glint of their eyes) near midnight

Now I can finally see the chickens sleeping. Is that weird? I’ve never really seen them sleep. As chicks they would always get active whenever I went into the coop, and it hasn’t changed as they get older. But they don’t seem to really sleep until the wee hours of the morning. At midnight they are still peering into the darkness. Huh. The secret life of chickens revealed. Sort of.

Finally asleep

Happy Friday!

On By CarynIn chickens, meme
I made it to Friday!

Here is a little something for all of us that made it through the week. ‘Cause chickens are funny looking straight on, especially with a beard and muffs.

Another scare

On By CarynIn chickens
What have you been eating?!?

I went to check on the chickens and was quite alarmed to see that many of them had red in their beard feathers. What the heck? Was someone bleeding and they all had a peck? Chickens will peck at anything red, especially blood. I started to look at each of them for injuries.

Don’t you hate it when the watermelon juice drips into your beard?

No. I had given them a watermelon end, and the bowl was a little deeper than usual. They had watermelon beards. Ha.

Health check results

On By CarynIn chickens

I put the weight numbers in my chart from our chicken health check the other day. Everyone is still putting on weight (especially Magic, who has nearly removed all the mud from her feathers at this point). Feet and bands look good, no creepy crawlies under the wings, and everyone’s vents are clear. Yay! They are also adjusting to the heat. When I checked on them, the temperature was 93 degrees F, and no one was panting. It was 7pm, there was a slight breeze,and the sun was going down, but I’ll take it.

Mud hen

On By CarynIn chickens

I had a little bit of a panic today. I was spot checking the chickens (pick up one or two out of the twelve at random and check under the wings), and on the second check, found that Magic’s under feathers were coated in muck and debris. I called my eldest for assistance (well, texted), and we did a full check of all the chickens. Magic was the only one with the mud in her feathers. We didn’t see creepy crawlies in there, and it smelled like mud. I dusted some diatomaceous earth under her wings and let her go with the others.

Mud bath results: muck and debris in her feathers (not the greatest picture, it was more felt than seen)

It did rain last night, for the first time in a month, and it looked for all the world as if she tried for a dust bath and instead got a mud bath.

Girls enjoying a fresh run after their health checks

On the evening check, most of the debris was gone from under her wings, so I think she did try for an impersonation of a mud hen. I’ll still keep an eye on her though.