Spring is definitely here. The first spring flowers have popped up all over Mystic Cedars in the last 4 days. The salmonberry bushes are full of bright pink flowers. If the flowering is any indication ,we should have a bumper crop this year. The pear trees are looking very pretty as well so I am full of hope for a fine harvest in the fall.
DD and I ordered 30 chicks back February. She brought my half of them with her when she came for Easter. 6 Leghorns and 6 Rhode island reds. She kept the extras. They were kept in the brooder until all their feathers came in and until it was warm enough for them to be outside. This weeks warm weather was perfect for integrating them into the old flock. They are doing quite well. One of the leghorns is already showing signs of being a rooster. That's ok. DD and I both want to try to raise sexlink ISA browns. ISA browns are the worlds most prolific layers. We are going to need prolific layers because I am getting more requests for eggs than my current flock can produce. I thought I would need to put a sandwich sign out front when I had 'extra' eggs but it looks as though most folks want a standing order. I've let everyone know that there will be more fresh, free range, organics eggs by the end of June.
The 3 November babies that we allowed to hatch are all grown up. Two of them were roosters. DD took one and the other is promised to a flock on the eastside of the mountains. He was going to go there last week but there was an interruption in transport plans at the last minute. So, Jimmy and I will be taking a special trip over to deliver him soon (unless someone headed to the tri-cities wants to give him a ride this week). Jimmy and I are very surprised at how big this guy is. He is only 5 months old and is already larger than our 3 year old Wyandotte ( his daddy). If he keeps growing like this he will be the size of a small turkey by his first birthday.
And in other chicken news. We finally got the petting zoo chicken feeder in. This turned out to be a bigger project than Jimmy and I anticipated. We decided to put it under the old apple tree. We had to clear an enormous pile of blackberry entwined windfall to get to the fence area where we decide to put it. It took us two days to clear it all and get it chipped up. When we were finished we discovered the only thing holding the fence up was the enormous pile that we had just taken away. So, Jimmy had to replace an 8 foot section of the fence. But it is in. I was so excited after all the work we did that I anticipated huge crowds on the first day. I watched from the window on the first day to see the crowds show up ....and I watched and I waited and I waited. I finally got bored and wandered away. When I went out in the evening to bring the machine in.... it had indeed been used and I ......missed it. Day 2 a few more folks noticed it and had fun feeding the girls. I noticed yesterday that there were people who wanted to feed the chickens but the chickens had wandered off to their favorite little sunny spots. So, yesterday I learned that a petting zoo chicken feeder only works if there are chickens around to feed. So, now I just need to get the girls to be in the right place at the right time. When I was building the fantasy for this in my head ...it was a lot easier. AND in my fantasy...Jimmy didn't demand 20% for beer money for all the work he put in to make it happen. After much negotiation (arguing) we did a handshake deal. He gets his 20% AFTER the monthly chicken feed purchase. This whole thing was conceived after Jimmy got nasty about how much I spend on chicken feed. It was an argument about something completely different AND he was losing so he decided to throw a low punch and bring the girls into the fight. He was right, I was spending part of our budget on chicken feed but, no more. The girls are now paying their own way and he gets a vig. He will never be able to use my chickens against me in an argument again. During the negotiations he tried to snag of vig off the egg money too but, I put my size 6 foot firmly down on that one. Egg money is a sacred, time honored tradition and generations of men across the world have had to learn the hard way to keep their hands and minds off that little jar of change. Thanks to a christmas gift from DD, I know exactly how much is in there . She bought me a change jar with a digital counter on the lid.
I don't want you to think that there is a permanent rift over any of this. Last night after everything was done I pulled off a bottle of the homemade blackberry wine and we sat companionably by a fire in the backyard right up until he started making plans for the egg money...
DD and I ordered 30 chicks back February. She brought my half of them with her when she came for Easter. 6 Leghorns and 6 Rhode island reds. She kept the extras. They were kept in the brooder until all their feathers came in and until it was warm enough for them to be outside. This weeks warm weather was perfect for integrating them into the old flock. They are doing quite well. One of the leghorns is already showing signs of being a rooster. That's ok. DD and I both want to try to raise sexlink ISA browns. ISA browns are the worlds most prolific layers. We are going to need prolific layers because I am getting more requests for eggs than my current flock can produce. I thought I would need to put a sandwich sign out front when I had 'extra' eggs but it looks as though most folks want a standing order. I've let everyone know that there will be more fresh, free range, organics eggs by the end of June.
The 3 November babies that we allowed to hatch are all grown up. Two of them were roosters. DD took one and the other is promised to a flock on the eastside of the mountains. He was going to go there last week but there was an interruption in transport plans at the last minute. So, Jimmy and I will be taking a special trip over to deliver him soon (unless someone headed to the tri-cities wants to give him a ride this week). Jimmy and I are very surprised at how big this guy is. He is only 5 months old and is already larger than our 3 year old Wyandotte ( his daddy). If he keeps growing like this he will be the size of a small turkey by his first birthday.
And in other chicken news. We finally got the petting zoo chicken feeder in. This turned out to be a bigger project than Jimmy and I anticipated. We decided to put it under the old apple tree. We had to clear an enormous pile of blackberry entwined windfall to get to the fence area where we decide to put it. It took us two days to clear it all and get it chipped up. When we were finished we discovered the only thing holding the fence up was the enormous pile that we had just taken away. So, Jimmy had to replace an 8 foot section of the fence. But it is in. I was so excited after all the work we did that I anticipated huge crowds on the first day. I watched from the window on the first day to see the crowds show up ....and I watched and I waited and I waited. I finally got bored and wandered away. When I went out in the evening to bring the machine in.... it had indeed been used and I ......missed it. Day 2 a few more folks noticed it and had fun feeding the girls. I noticed yesterday that there were people who wanted to feed the chickens but the chickens had wandered off to their favorite little sunny spots. So, yesterday I learned that a petting zoo chicken feeder only works if there are chickens around to feed. So, now I just need to get the girls to be in the right place at the right time. When I was building the fantasy for this in my head ...it was a lot easier. AND in my fantasy...Jimmy didn't demand 20% for beer money for all the work he put in to make it happen. After much negotiation (arguing) we did a handshake deal. He gets his 20% AFTER the monthly chicken feed purchase. This whole thing was conceived after Jimmy got nasty about how much I spend on chicken feed. It was an argument about something completely different AND he was losing so he decided to throw a low punch and bring the girls into the fight. He was right, I was spending part of our budget on chicken feed but, no more. The girls are now paying their own way and he gets a vig. He will never be able to use my chickens against me in an argument again. During the negotiations he tried to snag of vig off the egg money too but, I put my size 6 foot firmly down on that one. Egg money is a sacred, time honored tradition and generations of men across the world have had to learn the hard way to keep their hands and minds off that little jar of change. Thanks to a christmas gift from DD, I know exactly how much is in there . She bought me a change jar with a digital counter on the lid.
I don't want you to think that there is a permanent rift over any of this. Last night after everything was done I pulled off a bottle of the homemade blackberry wine and we sat companionably by a fire in the backyard right up until he started making plans for the egg money...
