Fake Light and Real Eggs

Another of the girls has started laying eggs as of today. A little more than two weeks ago, one of the girls began laying eggs, but none of the others were so inspired. After some more "research" I realized that we just really were not getting enough sunlight during the day. I hope we have that part fixed now.

Today, I found a smallish, slightly blood smeared egg early in the morning, and another egg arrived around 10 this morning. It would appear that we now have two layers in the group.

Last Sunday (October 12) I added a small 40W bulb, on a timer to turn on at 4:00 a.m. in the coop. I set it to be on from 4 to 7:30 since some of our mornings can still be quite dark even after the sun comes up.

Essentially, this is week 26 for the girls. And my guess is that we just needed to add a little extra light in their day to activate their pineal glands for egg laying purposes.  Hopefully, this will do the trick and all four will be laying eggs soon enough.

Twenty Plus Weeks Equals Eggs?

Although, at least two of the chickens hit their 20 week point on/around September 13, I'm guessing that the other two had to be 20 weeks old around September 29. Yet, the eggs did not arrive until October 1. Or should I say "the egg."

I'm not sure if they were just confused because the nesting box had not been "finalized" yet, or if they are simply slower to mature (likely it's the latter). D divided up the nesting area into two smaller boxes on September 29, and two days after doing that, we were gifted with our first egg. Since then, we have received one egg per day. Cute little beige eggs that are getting larger each day.

As soon as the egg was discovered, we switched the feed over to Organic Layer pellets and added some ground oyster shell to their food to help encourage healthy egg laying. Hopefully, the other three will join in soon to contribute to our egg supply.

We had a series of events over the past few weeks that may have contributed to the egg delay, as well.  A little more than a week ago, around September 21, we had a pack of coyotes chasing a dog through our property.  I'm sure that this was stressful to the poor chickens since it was stressful for me hearing all those coyotes cay-yie and yelp in such close proximity to the house. Then, the week before, we were having water issues (heavy rain drain) leaking into the coop and drain into their feeder under the coop. We also had sideways rain, adding to the feeder getting drenched.

We purchased a waterproof army tarp to cover the coop and keep the heavy rains out (the floor is staying dry).  I think this will also help keep the coop warmer at night. We purchased some plexi-glass panes to create a wind shield on the door and also attached it on the side of the wire that the feeder is closest too.  Interestingly, the girls seem to like the plexiglass.  It provides shield and light for them, as well, while they are in their "yard."

Despite the heavy torrential rains that we had last weekend (we had record breaking rainfall last weekend), the girls stayed outside (in their yard) all day, each day. We have been moving their coop a bit more frequently since the rains have added to their quick destruction of the ground. Thankfully, we have plenty of areas to move their coop.

D is still working on the watering system.  The waterer has not worked out like he envisioned, but he continues to tinker with it each weekend in hopes of getting it to work.

That's the latest news.  The pictures of an egg and the nesting boxes are below.

Big Girls Don't Honk

As you can tell, it has been more than a month since I have posted anything. Partly because I have been busy with a lot of other things, but also because I have been waiting for some "good news" on the upgrades. First off, all the girls are big now. They are starting to sound more like chickens too. All except the one which sounds more like a goose. I think it's Blue, but I'm not really certain since they all kind of look the same now.

The first two photos are the girls approaching me to see what I'm doing.
July and the first weeks of August were hot, so I picked up some "sunscreen" for the girls. No more sun bird... uh, I mean, sunburn. haha
Their feathers are incredibly beautiful! They almost remind me of a mini Bald Eagle feather.... and they definitely are everywhere.
This is the new feeder system, below and above. A double decker feeder using PVC pipe and plant saucers. Hopefully, this feeder will be less "buoyant" as the girls tend to knock the other feeder all around as they fly by.
The girls have sauntered back to the other end to check on me again.
Another pix of the girls and a pix of the new watering system in the making. It's still not done, but it is going to have an auto fill system built in. It is still being tested and developed. If it doesn't work, we have another idea in mind.
	This last photo is one of the girls peeking at me around the edge of the coop, as if to ask "Whachadoin?"

As you can see, we have all been busy and the birls, I mean girls, have been growing. :)

A week of fireworks and other concerns

Darned Fireworks!  Not actually on our property, but, all around us for the past week (plus), we've been hearing and seeing fireworks literally every night. This totally stresses out the chicklets!  They are way more hesitant in the mornings to leave their coop, but they eventually do ramp down for the sunshine and fresh air. They do love their dust bath area. They do love their mealworm treat at the end of each day. They definitely are ramp trained to go into the coop each evening now as soon as they see their people.  Even when it is not evening, and I'm just working on finishing up a few things on the coop, Red or Blue marches up the ramp to check out what is going on up there. Red has become considerably more trusting, at least with me. And gradually is settling into her routine with the others.  She and Green seem to be best buddies.

Little peep and Green are getting their face feathers now, and it is becoming more difficult to tell them apart from one another.  There are a few distinguishing factors, but very minor.  I may pick up some ankle "bracelets" to help keep them identified. Or not.  I'm kind of torn on this idea.

It is interesting to see more predators on our property.  I don't know if we are just "noticing" them more because we are worried about the chicklets or if it is because there are more predators on our property and interested in our chicklets. In the middle of the night, the coyotes definitely sound like they are crossing "on" our property more this summer rather than off in a distance.  I'm torn on the idea about putting a monitor in their coop.... do I want to be listening in on chicken talk all night?

Speaking of Chicken Talk.... D asked a good question that I have yet to see in any of the backyard chicken books.... when do chickenettes start sounding like real "brack bracks"?  They are going into 11 weeks of age now and still they sound more like little peepers than the real deal. Granted, they are still young pullets, but they don't look all that young anymore.

A Groupon Kind of Day

It's hot and windy today.  I don't know if it is actually as hot as yesterday, but it is pretty warm and the wind offers no relief, even in the shade.  Yet, the chickens seem to want to group together, I'm assuming to try to shelter each other from the wind? Red and Green were first to settle down next to the pan then Blue and Orange nuzzled in to the middle. 

Rub-a-dub-dub Four Hens In the Tub

It's the first day of July and it is another sweltering day for our region. Humidity was especially heavy today, and the chickens were feeling the HOT!  Even in the shade, the poor girls were walking around with their beaks open and their tongues bopping up and down.

L suggested that I find a squirt bottle with some cool water.  Spent about five minutes shooting a mist of water into their cage.  They actually seemed to appreciate this cool down.

In the meantime, I was drying out some sand that I had purchased from the hardware store to put into their dust pan.  Since we are continually moving their housing over pasture, they really don't get an opportunity to create a dirt patch for dust bathing.  I noted this morning that Red was doing a lot of scratching with her toes around her neck and chest.  I read up on how a large kitty litter pan can be used as an alternative dust bathing area.  The sand in the bag was moist so we had to spread it out on a flat surface (cardboard) in the sun to get it dried first.  Then I poured about an inch of sand into the pan (about 12" by 26" by 4"). I added about two cups of DE over the sand and we slipped the pan into the cage.

D expressed concern that there was no Momma hen available to teach them how to use it. We decided to just watch and try to coax them over to the pan, at least to reassure them that it was "OK."  At first they stayed a long way away.  After about five minutes of us sitting near the end of the cage with the new pan in place, the girls decided that it was time to investigate.  Green was actually quite cute.  She approached one end, wrapped one set of toes over the edge of the pan to seemingly test to see if it would support her weight. She leaned inwards over the pan bringing her other foot up and then jumped in to the pan and quickly jumped right back out.  Blue walked all the way around the pan several times after that and seemed to verify that it wasn't going anywhere. Red and Orange stood back to watch the whole scenario. After Blue finished her inspection, Green came back and hopped in.  Blue attempted to walk on the edge of the pan, but realizing that it was too narrow, opted to hop in and out of the pan before deciding that the sand in the pan might contain some food. Then all four chickens were in the pan pecking at the sand and investigating the possibility of some food.

Eventually, Green laid on her stomach/chest and started kicking and scratching at the sand, then stretching out her wings and flapping them until she was covered with dust, head to tail.  The other three were still busy pecking at the sand when Green hopped out, totally bathed in dust. But, eventually, the other three took turns taking a dust bath, and hopefully, feeling so much better, afterwards.

I realize now that they will need at least another inch of sand in the box to make it easier for them to create a bit of a valley in the box to make it easier for them to coat themselves.  I had read online, that it is best to have their dust bath far away from their food, and now I can see why that's important!

Update - These photos were taken the next day and it was a bit too hot for them to really get into rolling in the dust.  Some of them did play in the sand, though.

1. The Box with two inches of sand plus DE. 
2. Finished checking on the contents of the box.
3. Feeling sand between her toes.
4. Blue and Red competing in the sand.
5. Blue Wins.
6. Green burrowing into the sand.
7. Shifting positions before getting out. 
8. Orange taking her turn in the sand
9. Stretching out for a preen.
10. A full out preen of the tail feathers.

How We Move The Girls' Coop

If you thought my last photos were blurry, well, these are even more blurry! Sorry 'bout that. Nonetheless, I think you can make out how we move the coop based on this series of photos. We currently have a power cord running to the coop for the 75 watt red lamp to help keep it warm at night while our evening temps are still kinda cool and two of the chickens are not fully feathered.

Before moving the coop, we brought the wheel barrow up to one side and dropped a lower flap onto the wheel barrow.  Ultimately, after a variety of different styles of brooms and shovels, we decided to just use a hand broom and dust bin to clean out the shavings and pooh.  The pooh really isn't too bad with the shavings in the coop and since we also use food-grade DE (diatomaceous earth) in their shavings and food.  We sprinkle a tablespoon of DE in 2 cups of food, and liberally sprinkle DE over their coop shavings.  There are several benefits that we noted right away when we started doing this.  It was suggested by a vet, and after trying it, I believe in it!  It helps minimize mites/lice in their feathers when they have an opportunity to lay in it (or even dust bathe in it) and in their food, it helps with their digestive system, cuts down on intestinal worms and firms up their pooh, making it easier to clean up.

1. Placed the round pole under the front end of the coop base.
2. From the back, lift the coop by the nesting box and start pushing forward.
3. Have a second person in the waiting to move things out of the way.
4. Have that second person balance the front once the pole is near the half-way point.
5. The pole pops out the back after moving the coop the full length (8 feet).
6. The coop in its new location and the chickens can now rest for the night.

The advantages at this point of using this method to move the coop is that it involves very little lifting, the wheels can't get stuck in the mud (which we tend to have a bunch of that during the rainy seasons) and it doesn't involve a whole lot of muscle to move it the full distance. When we are done moving the coop, we can lay the pole along the side that has the most "dips and valleys" and fill in other low spots with cement pavers and heavy bricks.