The Gigantic Tree

It was midnight.  I was sleeping.  My family heard a giant crash.  They ran out to the back door.  They saw nothing but they smelled a horrible stench.  I wasn't there personally so I don't know what it smelled like.  Then, an hour later, our next door neighbors, Judy and Bill, called and said, "One of the giant branches on your tree fell on our bedroom."  The next morning I went out to take pictures of the tree.  

The tree landed on their porch and took off a great deal of the corner of the house.

The tree split.

What it did to Judy and Bill's porch.  Notice the crushed grill?

The branch didn't fall.  It is still attached to the tree but it ripped pieces of the bark off.  The whole tree is leaning toward my bedroom window.  We are trying to get it cut down before any more branches fall.  I'm glad it didn't hit the chicken coop!!!!


What would Have happened

Chaos!!!!!


Boards are flying.  Tin roofs are flying.  Leaves are flying.  Eggs are flying.  Chickens are flying.  Everything is flying!!!!!

Double Budups

I went out to the coop in my panda pj's to see if there were any new eggs under Sammy.  When I got there, I saw an extra tush poking out.  

I saw a little Sunset butt sticking out.  I reached under Sammy and pulled out an egg.  I turned it to see if it had the mark I put on it.

It did have the mark.  The mark was "3 days."  I put it in the nest.

  Sunset started tucking it under herself.  It was too big for her so she stuck it under Sammy.  

I wonder if they will raise the chick together?

Sammy Gone Broody

Sammy has been broody, trying to hatch chicks, for the past couple of weeks.  She finally did it.  Well, Sunset did it for her.  My friend Emma was over and we went out to make sure Sammy had no eggs under her.

My friend reached under and felt no eggs.  Then we couldn't find Sunset.  Emma lifted up the coop door.  There was little Sunset sitting between the two perches, laying her egg.  

  Emma found two eggs under her.  One was Sunset's egg and the other was Valerie's.  Emma and I brought the eggs inside to candle them to make sure there were no babies in them.

In the first egg we saw nothing.  In the second egg, Valerie's, we saw a dark mass, veins and an eyeball.  We immediately went inside so I was still holding Sammy.  I told Sammy, "You might be a mother!"   We ran back outside, put Sammy back in the nesting box and stuck the egg under her.  


I can't wait to see what a Serama-Americana looks like.

Have any good names for the chick if it hatches?  Please share.

Entertainment For Your Flock

Some days chickens are bored.

Like if it is raining or if there are too many predators and they can't go out.

But sometimes chickens are just bored.

So......

Here are some tips to promote chicken happiness.

1. Hang some fresh veggies around the coop or outside.
2. Get a piece of net and make it into a little bag.  Put some fruit and other goodies in it.  Then hang.
3. Put some weeds and hay in the coop.  They will have a blast scratching at that!
4. If you have some logs lying about, put one or two in the coop.
5. Find any bugs while you're weeding?  Nothing is yummier than a couple of grubs.
6. Throw some crushed egg shells in the coop.  It gives them calcium.

Know any other ways to entertain chickens?

Please share.

Sammy's Helpful Heat-Wave tips

How to keep cool and to stay out of the heat.

#1  How to dust bathe.    Find nice soft dust, then scratch to make a hole. Lie down in the hole, then gather the dust with your beak.  Then move your wings up and down while kicking the dust on your back.  Next roll your head in the dust. Then start the process all over again. 

                                                        

#2   Ruffle your feathers every now and then.  Never stay in one spot for long.

#3   Stay out of the sun. Don't look up.  Keep your eyes on the ground.  If you look up,  you will miss a chance to eat a juicy bug.

Any other hints?  Please post them.

Some Names

Some names are elegant.

Some are quite weird.

But I have had some weird and elegant names for my animals,

like my chickens Coco, Hershey, and Oreo.

Those chicken names are pretty weird. Names like Zozo, Suzzie, and Silvia are not very elegant but quite nice. But sometimes they can be both elegant and weird like Samantha. That's the elegant part but the short version, Sammy, is weird for a hen.

Sammy

Silvia

Sammy

Silvia

Sunset

Suzzie

Know any pretty names for chickens?

Please post.

Chicken Bath Day

Hannah and I decided to have a chicken bath day.  We filled up a tub with warm water and dunked the first chicken in, Sammy.  

Then we plunked in Sunset.

Sunset couldn't touch the bottom so she just curled up her little feet and float around the tub while we washed her.

Hannah scooped Sunset out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel.  We toweled her off and then let her go play with the other chickens.  While I was down there I got some shots of Sammy wet and puffing up.

In the second picture, doesn't she look like a giant orange porcupine?

Then it was Suzzie's turn.  

Suzzie couldn't touch the bottom of the tub either.  But he didn't sit still and relax.  He kept on swimming to the other side of the tub over and over again.  When I was getting his tail wet it looked like he was sitting in the tub but when I let go he stayed like that.

Last, but not least, Bonita.

I had a hard time getting this big girl in.  She would flap.  Half the bucket spilled on my clothes.  We didn't get her very wet.  It was too hard to even get her butt in there.


After we where done, I tipped the tub over and let all the water flow down the pavement. Coming off the table it looked like a water fall.

sunset was so relaxed that she fell asleep.


what a relaxing day for the chickens (only sunset).

Dogs and Chickens

Every dog is so unique.



Some are big and some small.

Noni is so sweet.  She never tries to chase the chickens.  Suzzie actually chases her away from the food.

Moby, on the other hand, isn't so gentle.  When he comes to visit and steps into the back yard, all the chickens scatter and run back into their coop.  What they think of him is "the big white giant that has come to eat them."

When Buffy first came to our house she would kind of sit near the coop watching the chickens and licking her lips.  She knew she wasn't supposed to pay any attention to the chickens so she pretended that she wasn't looking.

Kudzu was very old when we got the chickens.  She never paid attention to them.  She might as well have not known they were there.

Bella aka Danger was very interested in the chickens.  She would eye-ball them....  
then run after them!!!!
We had to get rid of her because we were afraid she would eat one of the chickens.  We gave her to the Humane Society.

Bijou the Dog doesn't really pay attention to the chickens.  She kind of just walks past them, glances at them and then goes on her way.  But when they're little she lies down and stares at them.

Predator emergency call!

Too many of our chickens were being eating at night!!!

so...

my family decided to predator-proof our coop.

What you will need

     

a chicken coop

house shingles

a big shovel

2 glasses of lemonade

200 pounds of cement

Dig trench 1 foot deep around chicken coop.

Next, lay house shingles in trench.

Then, stand back and sip lemonade.

Next, fill trench with cement.

After that, put dirt back.

Stand aside and sip your lemonade satisfyingly.



 There!  A predator-free coop.
Now they are safe at night.


What I was thinking....

Chicken Armor!!!!!!




The most wanted
predators....