This month the chickens are finally old enough to lay eggs. So dad handcrafted a nice surprise for the hens.
That's dad on the left, our family friend Helena from Danevang, and my wife Melanie on the right.
Dad made the girls their own nest boxes! As you can see they loved their cozy new nests from the start. If you look carefully, you'll see Phoebe and Hoot already inside. Gwen (held by my wife) always needs a helping hand. She's talked (in chicken) the whole time saying things like "What's going on?"
I spent the weekend adding another area to the chicken run and hen house. Little Mary Marco Marie de la Boca de Gato inspects the new scratching area. She's a pullet and starting to grow the most beautiful iridescent feathers. She's our rescue chicken from a friend.
The new area will give them room to scratch around and dig during the wintertime. On nice weekends, I'll leave the gate open for them to free range SO THAT they can go back into the wonderful NEST BOXES and LAY EGGS. I learned that it's important to cover the area so that the hens can feel secure from hawks. Any alarm note from neighborhood blue jays send them scurrying for cover. And we DO have hawks in our neighborhood!
Fresh eggs! This week someone started laying brown eggs. Hoot lays the blue/green eggs, Gwen (the Australian Austrolorp) along with the Phoebe and Zeebee (the Barred Plymouth Rocks) will lay brown eggs. Mary Marco Marie will probably lay white eggs.
Here are the eggs for this week. Almost a dozen.
The nest boxes are a huge success along with that fresh country hay. Thanks, dad!
That's all for today.
Thanks for stopping by.
David/ :-)
How so sweet of your Dad! How fun! Don't you just love having chickens?! Your Dad did a great job of the boxes. I enjoyed this post!
ReplyDeleteSimply the best, All I am looking for is chicken grit and it's for my plants. You are so, so lucky.
ReplyDeleteYour chickens look happy! I believe I've seen bromeliads in your blog posts before so I'll ask you a question about them. I bought a clearance bromeliad today and was wondering what is the best way to plant them? Is it easier to keep them as a potted plant or wire them to driftwood? I've never grown them before.
ReplyDeleteNice looking nesting boxes.
ReplyDeleteOur son has...or should I say HAD...chickens. Only one has survived the harsh summer and some fierce critter who killed several THROUGH the fence. Their coop is completely fenced with wire, sides and top. But, something pulled them partly through the wire....ugh
I think they've had it with chickens. This is about the third time they had replaced them all.
They do love those eggs. And, the green ones are so pretty.
Their nest boxes are great!
ReplyDeleteWe also have chickens .. and ducks and geese! and their eggs are great!
Unfortunately, we also have hawks ... I lost a hen, at their hands.
Very cool. Still impressed with the green eggs. Makes me want to have chickens just so I can get the kind that lays the green eggs. Ha. They look like they like their new digs. Very sweet of your dad (and very talented I might add...)
ReplyDeleteYour hens look to be happy birds....
ReplyDeleteYour eggs look delicious..
Your Dad was so nice to build the girls their own nesting boxes...I miss my Dad....
Hugs to yours,
Sherry