Tag Archives: Chickens

Merry Christmas with SNOW 2012

Posted on by One comment

Here on our little place, Christmas is a lot like any other day since we have animals that require our care and attention.  The day started before dawn with thunderstorms, rain, and hail.  The dogs braved the weather to go out for a few bathroom breaks today, while the cats lounged contentedly in front of the fireplace (and wondered why those stupid dogs can’t learn to use a litterbox so they don’t have to go outside in the rain).  The chickens seemed to enjoy themselves while hanging out underneath their houses where they were sheltered from wind and rain while eating to stay warm and enjoying some kale as a treat.

The most surprising part of the day was the change from rain to snow.  Yes, the weather man predicted it, but the weather man is frequently wrong so I’m very skeptical when it comes to predictions of snow.  But we ended up with a little bit of a Christmas miracle and got to enjoy 3 hours of blowing snow before it got too dark to see.  It even managed to accumulate just a bit (although not as much as I would have liked).

After getting the chickens their special treat and then put to bed and making sure there was food out for the stray cat that has been staying in the barn, we finally got to start cooking Christmas dinner – and ate it around 9 pm. Now the animals are nestled all snug in their beds tonight and a fire burns on the hearth to keep us warm and cozy in the house.  Another Christmas has come and gone with blessings, love, and the miracle of snow.

**Click on the photos for full view

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

Posted in Farm Life

21 Days and Counting – Incubator Test Run

Posted on by One comment
First eggs in the incubator

First eggs in the incubator

21 days.  In 21 days we will hopefully have a few chicks emerge from their shells and grace us with their little peeps.  Our first adventure in incubating and hatching our own eggs begins with our spiffy new incubator.

We’ve been through the instructions (multiple times) that came with the incubator and set the temperature, the humidity level, and the rotation.  And now, tonight, we have our first 7 precious eggs warming up.  Of course I’m nervous.  The books say that a lot can happen to cause an unsuccessful hatch, things within our control as well as things out of our control.  Eventually we’d like to have one of the chickens go “broody” and want to incubate and hatch eggs for us, but until we are at that point, our little incubator will hopefully do a great job of turning and warming the eggs while the chicks develop!

 

Posted in Chickens, Farm Life, Javas, Poultry

Our First Eggs! Wednesday 1August2012

Posted on by One comment

Eggs on the scale, one came in as “pee wee”, and the other in between “pee wee” and “small”.

On a routine watering run to the chicken tractors today, I opened up the “big” coop and received a terrific surprise – 2 small brown eggs in the far corner of the coop!

The two oldest mottled Java pullets are 4.5 months old now, so I have been waiting to see if they would start laying soon or wait for cooler weather (it’s only 107* F in the shade today).  Guess they decided not to wait.

And now I have to hurry and finish putting the screening on the vent holes of the nest boxes and get the nest boxes opened up so they can lay in the correct spot.  Fortunately, I ordered ceramic eggs several months ago so I would have them ready to put into the nest boxes to show the girls where they are supposed to lay their eggs.

 

 

Our two small eggs compared with a large storebought egg. The eggs should get bigger as the girls get older.

Posted in Chickens, Farm Life, Javas, Poultry
« Older Entries Recent Entries »