Here’s a shot of Carmen Maranda the big Cuckoo Marans hen having a meditative moment in the chicken run.
Here’s
my photogenic little bantam frizzled Cochin roo, Paul!
A
recent close-up of Sam the Easter Egger – in her fifth year, but still as
attractive as ever!
Paula
and Moe the Faverolles pullets and their friend Rose the Wyandotte linger at
the gate connecting the Coop 1 hen pen with the big chicken run. This shot was
taken as the little girls were starting their 24th week, and still had not made
up their minds to lay any eggs. I did gather them all around to explain that it’s
important to have a purpose in life, and theirs was to lay eggs. I'm not sure
it sunk in.
Winter
came and the egg situation became dire. Only two of the one-year-old Legbar
hens were laying in Coop 2. In Coop 1, the pullets’ egg spigot was still firmly
in the “off” position. As a matter of fact, the ONLY chicken in Coop 1 laying
eggs was this hen: Mary the four-year-old Campine. She deserved some sort of
medal, but all this little free-spirited hen really ever wants is plenty of
space to roam and a little time to scratch through the leaves in the run each
day.
Here
Paula the Salmon Faverolles Hipster Pullet enjoys the day in the Coop 1 hen
pen. Carefree, and NOT laying eggs!
Paula
and Moe the Salmon Faverolles pullets are practically joined at the hip! When
you see Paula, you know that Moe is close by – and where ever you see Moe, you
can be sure Paula is there, too. PFF’s – Poultry Friends Forever!
Not
only is Pippi the Speckled Sussex a pretty little pullet, she also has tons of
personality. She follows me around the chicken run and is usually right at my
feet pecking at my shoes. And every time I bend over or crouch down, she flies
to my lap or shoulder. Now…if she would just add egg laying to her list of
positive attributes!
When
I reached the point of giving up on my pullets doing any egg laying until
spring, because they were soooo overdue, I found not one but TWO pullet eggs in
one of the nest boxes. Was this the work of two pullets, or was this two-day’s
worth of labor from one little hen? When I found Valerie the Wyandotte,
hunkered down in the very same nest box the next day, I was fairly sure I had my
answer. While she was ensconced there, a couple of the other pullets poked
their heads in – probably trying to figure out what in the world she was up to.
And when I went back later, there was another cute li’l brown egg! My fervent
hope was that the other pullets would learn from her example!
Finally,
most of the other pullets fell into line behind Valerie and commenced egg
laying. The last holdouts were Paula and
Moe, the Salmon Faverolles. Then, one
day in mid-December Paula, shown here, exclaimed “OH! Egg laying!
I can do that!” And promptly laid her first egg!
On
Christmas day it was -10 (yup, there's a minus sign in front of that 10!) in my
part of Minnesota. It was about 5 above inside the pole barn, and inside the
coops, which are insulated and have some supplemental heat, it was a balmy 20
degrees. That was the day that Moe the Salmon Faverolles pullet, my last
non-egg-laying holdout, hunkered down in a nest box for the very first time.
It's gotta be a little cozy to get all nestled down in the nesting material!
Here’s
the pretty little Christmas present Moe left me!
2017
was not a good year for me or my flock. I
lost six hens over the course of the year to a variety of causes. Mostly,
because many of my hens are getting old. In addition to that, I had heart surgery in
early November, and had a slow recovery with a few complications. I’m looking forward to 2018 being a better
year in every way.
The
morning before my surgery, I was extremely surprised and extremely saddened to
discover that Courtney the Silkie had died during the night. Courtney showed no
sign of illness and the night before was right there with the rest of the Coop
2 flock pecking at their nightly scratch. Her death was a complete mystery. I
really like Silkies a lot—not only for their delicate prettiness, but also for
their sweet, docile, and unique personalities and I will miss this little girl
a lot.
More
sadness on Christmas eve day, when my loveable and beautiful Golden Laced
Polish hen, Angitou, passed away. I thought of this sweet hen with a lump in my
throat when reading this passage from Melissa Caughey’s new book, “How To Speak
Chicken”: “I never expected that I would be friends with a chicken, but that is
the wonderful thing about life’s journey…The most important part of the journey
is the people and animals we meet…Love is a universal language, and anyone who
loves chickens knows that they speak it, too.”
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