Full Chicken Coop & Yard

The Barreds and Buffs are getting along just fine.  The Barreds though have the edge.  The Buffs are sweet and laid back about it.  I can now pick up the Buffs without too much fuss.     I'm thankful to have a mixed flock.  Each breed has its own look about it.  The Buffs are just now starting to get some pinkish red in their combs and wattles.  The Buffs at four months will be laying soon.  We are consistently getting upwards of 8 eggs a day now.  There is a difference in egg shape and color between the hens.  There are variations of color also in the egg shell from a creamy light tan to a medium brownish tan. 

Fresh Brown Eggs

It is now official.  Sold our first six dozen organic brown eggs last week.  I have another delivery scheduled for tomorrow. We aren't at full capacity with the hens yet and we can't keep up with consuming the daily output.  Once the word gets out I look for more people to begin approaching me for their fresh eggs delivered to them at work. 



The weather this Summer has been dry with the day temps staying in the mid to high 80's however this Labor Day Weekend has been wet and humid, some of the remnants of Hurricane Isaac..    The hay fields have been baled twice this year however the second cutting wasn't as abundant as the first.  With the drought everyone's hay will be at a premium this Winter.  The angle of the sun is noticeably lower in the sky making for the sharper contrasts in light and color of late Summer and then into the early Autumn with its brilliance.  I look forward to the crispness in the air removing the hot and humid air of the remnants of Summer.  

1-2-3 & 4

Wow, our fourth egg from the only 4 month and some Barred Rocks.  It is a delight finding these gems in the nest box.  The eggs are progressively getting bigger.  Still not quite the size of a Grade A Large just yet. Some of the hens seem to have nice size waddles and combs which makes one think they could be roos, but as of yet I haven't heard any crowing making me wonder now if there even is a roo in the flock.

Reina, the Pinto American Saddlebred is coming along on training.  She and I are both novices with no 'formal' training.  Still attempting to line up an Amish person to break Reina and Flirty.  We tooled around the Amish countryside nearby and went to several houses and eventually left a note at one.  This will require more follow up since the Amish do not use electric, etc and it takes driving out there and finding them.  Reina has a halter on, and can take having the lead rope on her.  She really enjoys the grooming treats, and has had the saddle blanket on her.  This weekend, I'll see how she handles the saddle on her.  All the horses take in the grooming.  They will get fly sprayed today.  Ace the gelding who stands at 17+ hands is the only one that doesn't seem to like the sound of the bottle sprayer.  So he gets wiped down with the repellent.

The red golden pheasant chicks are growing nicely and are flying around more.  Last evening while refreshing their water supply and feed, one of the larger pheasant chicks and one of the smaller ones came up missing.  There are overhead roof rafters that have some tin and pipe up on them.  I hoisted myself up on the ledge to discover both of them had flown and hopped up into them and were standing on the rafters.  The rafters are about 7 feet high and for these little ones it is an amazing feat.  The half wall between them and the chickens is no longer a barrier.  One of the smaller pheasants, again negotiated the wall with no problem and joined the Buffs.  Looking like a mouse with wings, the chickens started clucking and carrying on.  Thankfully they didn't go into attack mode.  I'm sure it would have offered an entertaining sight to anyone watching me try to retrieve this little feathery and flighty cutie.

The Buffs are coming along.  (They are a little more skittish than the Barreds).  Once I pick up one of the Buffs up it will calm down but they don't come to me like the Barreds do, every time.  The Barreds still greet me and enjoy perching on me if they can and break into a chorus of louder 'graah-graah' cackling sounds.   They also follow me around in their yard.

Check out the cackling . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZhP5gsVzos&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Outside of their cheerful chorus heard in the link above, they are typically quiet.