Chicken Down, Chicken Down!

 Friday night, after getting home from the spaghetti dinner and silent auction fund raiser at the elementary school, the chicken coop was needing to be closed.  After dropping my stuff in the house and grabbing a flashlight, I headed down to the coop to lock up.  There is a routine: close the fence door and flip the latch, look through the gap in the door of the Guinea Ghetto with the flashlight to count the ladies, walk around to the Chicken Condo to collect any eggs, and then head back to the house to deposit the eggs in the fridge.

This night was different.  When counting the ladies with the flashlight, there were only five.  Five?  There were supposed to be six.  Occasionally one will split from the crowd and go upscale and roost in the Chicken Condo.  After checking there with no luck, my attention went back to the Guinea Ghetto.  A couple times one or two would sleep on the floor of the Ghetto.  After opening the door to the Guinea Ghetto, and counting to five again, it was time to look elsewhere.

First up on the deck, where the lone guinea usually hangs out.  Not there.  

Then under the stairs of the deck where some of the ladies hang out during the day.  Not there.

Then a thought came to me.  When I picked up Oldest Son at the house after work before heading to the school for the big event, I noticed the dog sniffing around the garden.  He seemed very interested in something.  Being in a rush before, not much attention was paid to the anomaly.  

Upon arriving a the garden, the hen was discovered.  It was the Buff Orpington.  The head was gone and a bunch of feathers were off and around the body, but that was it.  The rest of the hen was still intact.  Not sure who the guilty party was, but we are now down to five laying hens.  

It's a good thing that spring is in the air and Southern States usually has a deal where you get six chicks if you buy a bag of feed.  We are going to need to replenish our flock to keep the eggs coming.

 

Buffy will be missed.  She was one of the friendliest and didn't mind being held, even by guests.

 

Molting Poultry

We have been wondering when it was going to happen.  Other blogs have been talking about their chickens molting and not laying eggs any more for the winter.  Fortunately, that hasn't happened to us...until now.

We are only getting three eggs a day right now out of our six chickens, which still isn't too bad.  The only chicken that we can tell is actually molting and losing its feathers is the Black Australorp shown above.  She looks so pitiful with her neck feathers all falling out and her body feathers looking a bit spotty.  Fortunately the other chickens aren't bothering her and she is still able to stay with the others in the same coop and run.

We have been wanting to get a ditch dug between the house and the coop so we can get some electricity down there.  When the Chicken Condo was built, I installed a light bulb fixture and an outlet inside.  When we ran an extension cord, the neighbor's dog ate through two of them that were linked together.  The only problem now is that the chickens roost in the Guinea Ghetto instead of the Chicken Condo.  Aaargh!

Pumpkin Time

October is pumpkin time.  So off we went and headed up to Carter Mountain Orchard.  Not only do they have great apples, they also pumpkins this time of year and a whole lot of festival every weekend.  It took us about 45 minutes to get up the road to the orchard, but parking was quick and they really know how to process a lot of people.  

After the three sons each picked a pumpkin, we picked a few apples, bought an apple cider slushy for each of us, and a dozen apple sauce doughnuts.  Being gastronomically satisfied, we headed home.  

First step is to cut open the top and get the guts out.  We weren't prepared to roast the seeds like we have in the past, so the Good Wife figured the chickens and guinea would enjoy the spoils of their work.

The initial processing took place down by the Chicken Condo and Guinea Ghetto so the ladies wouldn't have to go far from home to get the goods.  It took a couple days to finish it all, but they seemed to really enjoy the pumpkin inners.

Once the inside was cleaned out, each of the boys sat down to work their artistic magic on their pumpkins.

Oldest son went for a traditional face.  The triangle eyes and the fanged smile looking back at him as he worked his magic.

Middle Son used sticks on the sides to add arms to his pumpkin.  He made a traditional face on one side and a more modern robot face on the other side.

Youngest son went to work and cut multiple face on the his pumpkin, if you can call them faces.  There were eyes, a mouth and what appeared to be a lot of extra wounds on the pumpkin face.  I guess he was going for the scary look with his pumpkin.

For some reason a final photo was never taken of the pumpkins.  They are still on the patio to enhance our fall atmosphere, but they are slightly wrinkled and somewhat compressed as they have not handled the heat of the midday sun very well.  Carving pumpkins is a fond memory of mine growing up, and I hope it passes down to my boys.

Guinea Staying Home

Now that we are down to one guinea, it seems to have gotten the idea that it is safer close to home.  So much so, that the last guinea has decided that even the Guinea Ghetto is too far from the house.  Instead, it has decided that the best place to "roost", if you can call it that, is on the patio furniture on the deck.

Guinea "roosting" on the patio furniture.

Luckily the patio chair cushions are stored inside, or the guinea may get so comfortable it would never leave the deck!  It doesn't bother me having the guinea on the deck, except for the extra guinea poop that seems to be accumulating underneath the chair.  That will be a good job for the Youngest Son to spray off the deck now and then.

Not only is the guinea hanging out on the deck during the night, it likes to spend a bit of time up on the railing.  Maybe it is the better vantage point of the yard that the railing provides.  Looking out of the kitchen window above the sink, the guinea has found it's perch.

Guardian of the yard.

As long as he stays around for a while and doesn't magically disappear, he is welcome to hang out on the deck.  

Chicken Gone!!

This chicken thing is fun and frustrating all at the same time.  Fun is seeing them grow up from chicks and get to know us, so that they come running to me when I get home from work.  Fun in lifting the lid on the nesting boxes and finding fresh eggs waiting for us every day.  Fun in listening to them talk to each other and us as they wander around the yard, eating bugs and grass, free-ranging to their hearts content.

Frustrating in watching them wander over to the neighbor's yard and hang out over there.  Frustrating in watching them start to roost in the Guinea Ghetto instead of the wonderful Chicken Condo I created for them.  Frustrating in watching them disappear, which is what happened this time.

At last count, we were seven chickens and one guinea.  One of the Black Australorp chickens went missing.  This time there was no evidence as to what my have happened.  No feather trail through the yard like there was when we lost four of the guineas.  Nothing.  Not a trace.

Last Black Australop left in the flock.

The feathers on the Black Australorps have a green tint when the sun reflects off them.  They are really a good looking chicken.  We started with pairs, and now the Black Australorp and Buff Orpington are singles.  The Ameracauna and Barred Rock chickens are still pairs.  Not that it matters since they are all hens and all seem to get along fine.

The most disappointing part is that they are all laying eggs, so we were getting a solid seven eggs a day, and now we are down to six a day.  Nothing to shake a stick at, but one less than before.  We're a little more cautious now with the chickens, keeping them in the run if we are going to be gone all morning and letting them out in the afternoon when we are home.  This seems to keep them closer to the house than if we let them out first thing in the morning.  It seems to be working and they are all hanging around closer to the house.  Hopefully, this means we will be at a steady six eggs a day until winter comes.

General Thoughts and Musings...

Sitting here in the middle row of the Ford Expedition heading south, time has presented itself to me. It's not time at home, which could be put to use doing a slew of tasks, including finishing any of the half started projects laying around the house. It isn't even time at work, which could be put to use looking forward and getting a development plan in place, or coming up with the next great thing. This is time sitting in a car with only the resources in my lap. Luckily my resources include a 3G iPad2. This is new to me as the driving duties traditionally fall to me. With this unheard of extra time, you will get a preview of some of my thoughts.

Chickens & Guineas
Only one guinea remains, and it decided it doesn't like us anymore. The last two nights it hasn't come to roost in the coop or the run. It is still around, but seems to spend more time at the neighbors than at our house.

Why do the chickens not roost in the Chicken Condo? They all have decided to bunch up in the Guinea Ghetto. There are two roosts in the ghetto that would hold all seven chickens, but three or four will use one roost and the others will lay on the bottom screen. They have a nice Condo with a roost, two four-pane windows and three luxurious nesting boxes. Luckily they still lay their eggs in the nesting boxes. That is except for one Americauana. It has decided to lay it's eggs in the woods. Hearing it do the egg laying sqwauk one day, I ran down to the woods but couldn't find the chicken before it finished it's duty. That chicken needs to be kept in the run for a few days so it will learn that the nesting boxes are where it should lay the eggs.

Bees
Daylight time hasn't been available as I haven't had a chance to inspect my bees after the hurricane, but I assume they are all still standing as Possum hasn't called to notify me of any issues. The Oldest Son went with me to my bee club meeting last night. After hearing the discussions there, my bees need to be fed to get their winter stores up before the cost sets in. Their feed isn't just sugar water, but also pollen so they have the right nutrition. My confidence level is high that two of my hives will be fine this winter, but I am nervous about the third. It looked weak at the last inspection. The gentleman from my church that gave me my first hands on experience this spring has wanted to see my hives, so I need to schedule a time to get together with him to go through my hives.

Around the House
There are so many things to do: finish replacing can lights and sealing outlets from the home energy audit, finish pressure washing the deck and then seal/stain the deck, get a quote for installing a retaining wall and leveling a lower patio area in the back yard, get an estimate from the lumber yard for the materials to builds the detached garage/workshop, build a new larger coop and install a second run for a second attempt at the guineas next spring, replace the fruit trees that didn't make it this past year, install some trees along the driveway for the Good Wife, clear out the woods behind the house for the Good Wife so you can see further into the woods easier, wax both cars as it has probably been years, and all the regular maintenance that needs to be done, such as cutting the lawn and general clean up. Hmmmm. Time to prioritize a few of these tasks and get some projects completed.

A friend has also brought the possibility of raising a couple beef cows. I have a horse pasture we aren't using, and figured why not put a cow or two out there. Neither of us have a clue how to raise cows, but one of the Oldest Son's friends has some calves they are willing to sell us to start our project. The meat sounds real good, fresh grass fed beef without hormones or antibiotics. Not sure why we haven't started that project. Another thing to add to the list.

But not this weekend. This weekend we are heading to the beach with some friends. The mom of the family that is joining us grew up with the Good Wife, and they are both a lot of fun to hang out with. I'm just not sure who picked a shark infested beach to hang out at! The Good Wife's older sister is going with, and she is in the passenger seat of our car right now, which is why I am in the back. The Good Wife's other sister and family from Knoxville were supposed to join us also, but their schedule didn't work out. I am really going to miss them as I really enjoy hanging out with the Good BIL (Brother In Law). He is the one that is discussing the possibility of doing meat chickens with me. I have no clue how to process a chicken and he has done it in the past, so I have offered to raise them if he will head up the processing. I'll help, but not sure how helpful I would be as it would be all new to me. This opportunity is still in the discussion phase. Maybe next year.

Postscript
There was a bit of a problem with this post and my iPad, so it didn't get posted Friday afternoon as intended.  After finally getting it to work, it is now getting posted as we are getting ready to head home after the weekend.  Everyone a bit sunburned, but still alive and no sharks to be seen!

More Eggs...from the Guineas!

We got two more eggs.  Apparently our guineas like to lay eggs in pairs.  Maybe it is because they are so small right now.  These at least had the light brown appearance that they should be having.  One was crushed again, and the other was severely dented.  I didn't have my camera with me, so no photos of this one.

The dented egg was placed in the straw nest that I had created in the Guinea Ghetto, hoping to let the guinea know that it should be laying the eggs in the 'nest' and not just dropping them off the roost.  Looking into the Ghetto the next day, something apparently liked the new egg, as it was gone.  The entire shell and everything was gone, which makes me think that maybe one of the guineas ate it.  I would like to think that scenario, rather than a snake came and got it.

I placed two golf balls in each nesting box for the chickens, hoping that they will get the hint when the time comes. Maybe I need to do the same for the guineas to help them get the hint, and to keep them from eating any eggs they may lay.

Both the chickens and guineas started getting "layer crumbles" this week, so hopefully this will help them with their egg laying.  They are all around 18 weeks old, give or take.  They also need to have some crushed oyster shells available or something to increase their calcium.  That should help make their eggs stronger and also help them lay the eggs, according to all the information out on the internet.

Time will tell if the guineas are smart enough to procreate, or if it is survival of the species, and guineas need human help to keep them from being wiped off the planet, or at least off our little piece of the planet.