RATS...and eggs

I had started to notice that we were going through about 50 lbs of chicken feed every week.  That's a lot of food and ultimately, a lot of $$ for 8 regular sized chickens and 2 pullets (Fannie and Barry.)  I knew we had a pest problem.  I knew this because every night, when I would open the coop door (from the inside of the barn) and walk in, the mass exodus of rats and field mice would jump from the 3 lbs hanging feeder to high tail it out of my sight.  One rat was so fat that when he/she tried escaping through the hole in the corner, he/she literally got stuck.  It had to back out, and try another avenue of escape.  I decided to wage war against the rats and mice.  So, I bought these great tomcat rat traps.  I chose these because only rats and mice can enter and exit.  My chickens, cats and dogs--and kids!-wouldn't have a chance to get a hold of the poison.  The rats enter, eat the poisoned blocks, and exit.  I added a bit of feed inside to really make it tempting.  Within a week, the rats and mice were exterminated and now my barn smells like death.  Oh, well.  Hammish cat does a great job mousing, but some of these mice are half his body length.  Nasty critters.

 These are the traps I used.  Wonderful design and VERY effective...see pic below...(and these are relatively SMALL compared to the others we found in later days...)

 This was the death count the first day Pyper and I went out looking for dead rats.  Pyper was fascinated by them, and when I lined them up, she neatly counted each of them.  Who said you can't teach kids on the farm???  These are the ones we could find.  There are still several more in the hay, behind the pile of wood, in their little nests, etc...I couldn't get to them, but we smell them.  It's pretty nasty, but it's better than feeding them. 

 After getting rid of the dead bodies, we let the girls and guy out.  Can you spot Fannie and Barry?  Their not so little anymore!  (My toe is pointing to Fannie and directly behind her is Barry.)  Pyper loves to count the chickens.  It's great since we have 10 and she's comfortable counting that high. 

As Pyper and I were looking through the barn for more rat carcasses, we found Foghorn Leghorn's little nest of eggs.  We know these are hers as she is our only white egg layer.  I love my barn.  I just wish I more time to spend in there...minus the stinky smell of decaying rats. 

Dixie Chicks Version 2

I got 9 chicks April 1st.  I've been meaning to update you on their progress, but time gets away with me.  I bought them before my precious Dixie Chicks were murdered eaten by a hungry fox or raccoon.    It seems hard to believe that Pyper was holding these fluffy little chicks just a few months ago...

Then they grew into teenagers.  We had them in a horse stall to separate them from the other flock, which became only 2 birds over night.  In order to protect them all, Shannon made a chicken run off of their coop.

It's not pretty, but it's effective.  This saddens me, because I loved calling my chickens and have them run to me like well trained puppies.  They would convene around the back porch and wait for me to throw out tidbits of love to them.  Our neighbors complained about them in their yard, so we had to build something to contain them.  I'm still bitter, but I grudgingly understand.  Not everyone loves my chickens like I do.  Crazy, right?

We opened the coop doors to both the teenager and adult coops one day and they all mixed in the barn.  Ida Mae and Mable, the adults, certainly showed the younger ones who was in charge, but no feathers were lost and no feelings were hurt. After several days of this, we threw them all together in the main coop.  Now, they are all considered adults, even though my younger hens haven't started laying.  However, of the 9 I bought, I have 4 roos.  *sigh*  Oh, well.  I enjoy watching them prance around, and crow.

Joshua named this white roo, Patrick.  I'm guessing from Sponge Bob?  I don't let Pyper watch that craziness, but hey, it's a roo.  He LOVES to crow.  And he loves Mable.  That's Mable in the back.

The handsome roo in the middle (red with green tail feathers) is Hawk.  He's gorgeous and seems to be pretty mellow.  The white and black one is Liberty.  She's a hen. 

Here's my sweet Ida Mae.  She's broody and sitting on 2 eggs right now.  Shannon and I candled them, and it looks as though they are fertile, but we'll find out for sure around July 26.  She rarely leaves her nest.  Her comb and waddle have become VERY pale, but from my reading, this is normal.  I've been hand feeding her meal worms and Shannon thinks I'm crazy.  I just love my chickens. 

This is Crock Pot.  He's the most handsome of all of my roos, I think.  I really like his personality.

And this is big handsome guy (on the right) is Puff Daddy.  Yes, I know he's white and he's not a rapper.  But he has big fluffy, puffy cheeks.  The white lady next to him is Foghorn Leghorn because she's a...LEGHORN!  The buff colored one in the back is Thelma, her sister which looks nearly identical to her is Louise.  The black and white one behind Puff Daddy is Liberty.  They are all Easter Eggers, except for Foghorn.  They will lay blue, green, or brown eggs.  They have greenish colored legs.  Foghorn will be my only white egg layer.  Her legs are bright yellow.  They are very docile and let me hold them.  I love them and their sweet ways.  

Shannon and I are trying to decide what to do with the 3 roos we don't keep.  Eat or sell?  I'm leaning toward eating.  But which ones?  Puff Daddy is a bit aggressive with the ladies, Hawk is nice, and Patrick is too loud.  My favorite one is Crock Pot.  What do you think? 



We Love Love!

From our little family to yours, Happy Valentines Day! To tell you the truth, I've never been keen on this holiday. But lately, I've had such an overwhelming sense of love in abundance, I wanted to share it. So did Pyper.
She made you hand-dipped chocolate strawberries!
I really thought she wouldn't be able to do the entire process, but she surprised me with her determination to make these. I showed her once, but if I offered to help, she would tell me, "No, Momma, I do it!" Well then. Have I mentioned how much I love our Learning Tower? It puts her at the right height for the counter and is very safe.

She's picking just the right berry for you!

As a side note, when I went to collect eggs, this one had a feather attached to the top just like a little hairdo. So, I made it a friendly egg for Pyper. She loved it. Hope you have a wonderful day of love and joy, and be sure to tell all those who fill your heart how much they are appreciated.

Egg-Ceptional Size

Tonight when I went to collect the eggs, I found this big ole honker! The egg on the right is an average sized egg from our girls.
I have tiny hands, but still...that thing is HUGE! I feel sorry for the lady that laid it. I'll know which chicky popped this one out tomorrow. She'll be walking funny, I'm sure. :)

In the egg crate-- can you spot it?

What about now? We are still averaging 6 eggs a day. Tonight I got 7. This is just 2 days worth. I love all the different colors. Some have little speckles, some are oblong, some very round, some pointy. I read an article that Cornell University did a study to sex eggs. If it's a pointy egg, it's a boy. If it's rounded, it's a girl. I can't wait to test this theory out. I have lots of girl eggs.

Can you spot the boy eggs?

I'll have to ask my sister in law, Kerry, her opinion. She went to Cornell's Vet school...She's a smart egg. I'm sure she'd be a round one. :)

Judging a Book By Its Cover...

I was surprised to find this egg yesterday. It's the first one I've found that looks like this. I've read about eggs that have soft, puckered shells, except this egg is hard. I'm guessing that it was probably laid soft and as it dried, it hardened.
Look at those funky ridges...

Can you spot the wonky egg?

It's unusually large, and oval shaped. Shannon refuses to eat it thinking it's contaminated or something. I personally find its uniqueness comforting. We all can't be perfect, right? And besides, my mom told me to never judge a book by its cover.