Thursday, 4 July 2013

The Bird Herd--Updates

Earlier this spring, 3 of my bantam hens decided to go broody & sat on a pile of eggs: all smooshed into one nesting box, lol.  We got 11 tiny puffballs hatched out, & they are about half grown now :)
Even though the mommies were white, grey, & black, all but one of the chicks are black.  3 frizzles in the mix; they crack me up--looks like they stuck their little beaks in a light socket :)  
They spend their days free-ranging the property, eating bugs, digging up my garden, & begging for treats at the door :)  I think they are very happy chickens...  When the chicks get old enough to tell hens from roos, I think we will keep one roo & sell the others: hoping for more hens in the mix.
And then there's the geese---so cute!  We rescued 2 Canadian geese a few months back (thought they were ducks back then, lol)  Last week one of them flew away, but the other seems content to stay.  She (I think its a she) was very lonely, though, so we did a quick search on Craigslist & found her a friend : )
This proper lady is a Pilgrim Goose: almost the same age as the Canadian.  She is very sweet & docile; so far I am enjoying the geese even more than ducks; who knew!?   They have the same cute antics in the pond; splashing & diving & being happy; but they are much calmer than duckies.  They wander around the property like a couple of Victorian ladies; always prim & proper, with a slow, deliberate gait.
It's quite the herd of birds: I'm so glad we have such a large lot for them to wander.  They do like to sneak into the shop & hang out when I'm not looking, but otherwise they help out with bug control & fresh eggs.
I started the coop makeover last weekend; this is just a small section, but it's a start :)  Need to trim out the windows, but otherwise I think it looks great!  The wood came from an old fence that was replaced at my parent's place; Dad brought me a pile of "firewood", but I love the aged look of the wood & couldn't just burn it.    So, I will continue around the other sides of the coop as I find more old wood : )
I wandered around this morning for about an hour & took pics: as I was going through them on the computer I noticed that grey chicken is a bit of a camera whore; I have at least twice as many pics of her than any of the other chickens.   She is very pretty, though; so I don't blame her for strutting her stuff ; )
One would think that being a creative person, I could come up with better names than gold chicken, grey chicken, white chicken, rooster, & goosey-poodles...  And, with 10 more mini black chickens in the mix, I'm going to have to come up with another method, hahaha : )
Any ideas?  Send them my way....maybe I should have a chicken naming contest when the chicks get older. Could give away a set of chicken garden stakes as the grand prize, hmmmm...
Skwishy-Cat says "have a great 4th of July!"
Enjoy the long weekend--more updates to come!

Amber

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