Saturday, October 20, 2012

Friday farm news

Look who was checking out a nest box Friday morning!
Goldilocks

And look what I found by the end of chore time!
Goldilocks' first egg

And look who's joined the flock!
Peaches

Sweet Cheeks
Yes, Friday was definitely full of feathery doings - and no, it doesn't take much to excite us here. :-)

I wasn't looking to get any more chickens; ten seems a good number for our accommodations. But while chatting with Laura Thursday I learned that she was seriously considering eliminating her two remaining Easter Egger pullets. Even though they had the distinction of being her only named  flock members, they weren't laying yet, nor were they integrating well in her flock. (Maybe having names made them the equivalent of "teacher's pets" and the other kids were beating up on them because of that?) Well, seeing as I am partial to Easter Eggers and Laura was coming to West Salem to pick apples the next day, obviously Sweet Cheeks and Peaches needed to join flockmates Brassy, Gilda and Goldilocks here at Boulderneigh. The arrival of Goldilocks' very first egg Friday morning seemed a fitting seal of approval!

I put the new girls in the "protective custody" cage within the henhouse when I got them home, but that night when I closed the pop door and counted beaks, Peaches wasn't there. She had somehow gotten out of the cage and was up on the roost! I left her there (and left Sweet Cheeks in the cage) and hoped for the best.

This morning when I went to open the pop door, Peaches was nowhere to be seen. I finally spotted her - hunkered under the nestboxes behind Brassy, who was already working on producing an egg in her usual spot. Interesting that she took refuge with an old friend from Laura's, even though they've been separated for four weeks!
"Lean on me..."

Today's egg haul? Three pullet eggs. The Golden Girls are showing the rest of them how it's done.

Counting my chickens at . . .

10 comments:

Christine said...

I love Sweet Cheeks! Hope they settle in soon for you, they look like they're all meant to be together.

melanie said...

Funny how the chickens seem to be multiplying WITHOUT a rooster...

Michelle said...

I had to incarcerate Miss Nasty again; that Speckled Sussex is determined to attack all newcomers. :-/

Michelle said...

Yes, "chicken math" is alive and well. :-)

Seriously, though, we are topped out at 12....

thecrazysheeplady said...

Good one Melanie! :-) I love that they remembered each other.

Kelly said...

I got 3 new girls this weekend too. Delivered a sheep to Beaver Dam and came home with there little partridge cochin bantam hens. (totally unplanned acquisitions) I love the EE-ers', so cute.

Laura said...

They really aren't as dumb as we humans make them out to be. I'm glad they're settling in, and that the girls are reunited. Those 5 (and the other 2 buffs that my sister has) were always separate from the rest of the flock - could be feather color, as the others were dark... Hopefully, they will all be producing for you soon!!

farmlady said...

Oh yes, hen house politics. Been dealing with a little of this myself. Glad that Sweet Cheeks (love that name.) and Peaches are fitting in... and that Peaches found comfort in one of her old friends.
The more I'm around these hens, the more I learn about them. I do think they are smarter than we give them credit for.
We got TWO eggs yesterday. The babies are starting to lay.

Michelle said...

The Golden Girls are fully accepted in the flock now, but the new Brown Beauties aren't yet, except by the Golden Girls. I put the BBs back in protective custody for awhile; I was seeing too many of THEIR feathers lying about!

Michelle said...

You'd think I would be fed up enough with politics right now to add more into my life! ha

This, too, shall pass....