Friday, September 9, 2011

NO Egg

Well keep looking. . . I'm sure they're here somewhere.

Ok so now it's been three days. NO egg. NONE. Hmmm. What the heck? I've looked everywhere. I don't think she has found a hidey place. It's a small run without a lot of nooks or crannies. I've read about folks finding multiple eggs in some spot they would never have looked at had they not come upon them accidentally. I guess it's back to the internet and more research. Anyone know anything about chic N egg laying? If you find a site with the answers send me a link. Please!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Not Greatful At All

 
 It's been a few days since my last post because Nik and I have been going back and forth to Seattle selling Sweet Dreams and other yummy fresh produce. And while we were trekking across the state, Ken was honing his feisty attitude. Now it seems he is aggressive to everyone, except Nae. Nana has even tried getting into his favor by giving him worms. But he is not greatful. Not greatful at all. He even jumped at her head when she had her back turned. She was trying to get them some scratch out of the shed. She turned to scoop some out of the bag and. . . Ken jumped at her when her back was turned. Rotten Rooster!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

After the Peaches Update


Nik and I spent three days in Seattle selling Sweet Dreams peaches! They were a big hit! Everyone loves them. While we were gone, Nancy came over and fed Chic N Ken for us and used her animal whispering on Ken. He is so docile when she is here. He lets her pet him without a fuss and does not feel that she is a threat at all. Yea Nae! I am going to make myself small and quiet and get Ken to let me pet him tonight!

We were blessed with three more eggs on our return. Good job Chic. I can't wait for next spring when the plan is to let her go broody and hatch a half dozen chic-lettes!

Here's a pic of the three new babies.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Egg In The Corner Pocket


Ok, well it's day three for egg hunting. Chic is laying IN the coop now. Which is an improvement, but not where we want her eggs to lay. She is laying in the front most corner of the coop. So, we took eggs #1 and #2 and put them in the fridge, and moved egg #3 into the middle of coop. We are hoping we can get her to lay there and then incrementally move her to the nest. Do you think it will work. Any ideas?

Also today, I got some egg comparing pictures. The eggs they are so cute. Can an egg can be considered cute. Yes, they are cute. Yes Kit, I will be eating them. Maybe for breakfast. Wish I had an English Muffin!


They are 1/3 the size of a store bought jumbo egg shown in the picture on the right, and a smidge bigger than the grape tomatoes, from my garden, in the center picture. They are almost drowning in the egg holder where we keep the store bought eggs. When Jay and Kee hold them they are regular sized in their little hands.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Noob News


In answer to MrsKittyKaBooms q's- I can most assuredly say that I still don't know why Chic has feathers on her feet and Ken doesn't. I have gone thru web sites and books, but I'm still not sure what kind of bird Chic n Ken are other than Bantam chicken.

Ken has the yellow legs and feet of the Rhode Island Red (which is a Bantam breed) and the feather coloring. But we will have to wait and see when all his feathers grow in. He has a flat back, slightly raised tail, and vertical breast.

Now Chic is altogether different than Ken. I'm leaning towards Cochin Bantam. Because of coloring and feathers. What else is there? Ahhh. Wattles, earlobes, combs, etc.

Chic has short legs, the characteristic tilt forward in the body, an abundance of hackle feathers (hackle being the neck), and her friendly demeanor. From what I gather from books is that she is a Lavender Pekin Cochin which is a true bantam. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention her feathered feet. Also a Cochin trait. What do you think?

Friday, August 19, 2011

Egg-citing News



Nik and I went out to the run to give the kids some corn on the cob and and a few grapes. While Nik was refilling the water bowl, I spied a small egg shaped object laying under Chic N Ken's porch.

Yep! It's Chic's first egg. Very small. I got a couple of pics, and we decided to leave it in the nest so that maybe Chic would born the next one there too.

In this picture, Chic's first egg is sitting in Jay's hand and Kee's finger is touching it.

Such egg-citing times here in RiverCity!! Uh, I don't know if anyone noticed, but Chic layed her first egg out in the run under the chicken porch in front of God and everyone. Is there a privacy issue?

Monday, August 15, 2011

Which came first?

We have a chicken, but without any privacy we'll never get any eggs. So, today I fixed the back door. Ummm. . . improved the back door. Tightened the shade screen, filled the gaps between door frame and door with 1x1/2 pieces of lumber.

Remember the shelf unit I bought at Goodwill? Well, I took the "unit" out and put a back flap on it ( I attached it with hinges . . the better to gather eggs my dear). I installed a winter perch in the coop. Which we still need to affix to the coop so it doesn't move. I think we will use zip ties so as not to beat up the coop roof.

I also added shade screen to the front of the coop, but that's temporary too till I figure out a better way. For now it's held in place with clothes pins. Handy little objects those clothes pins. I use them for a multitude of tasks!


Funny:

We went to a new chicken place for dinner. We asked the waitress how the chicken was prepared.

She said, "We just tell them all they're going to die."