Cookbook Giveaway!

http://doublenickelfarm.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-cookbook-contest.html

You need to go over and visit at Double Nickel Farm and take a gander at this cookbook giveaway - I'm IN.  Southwest/Mexican style cooking at its best, I'm sure!  If you haven't met Jen and Bill and the "goof troop" (as she calls 'em), well you need to!

More Chicken Poo

OK, girls, I get my turn at talking about my chickens.  I'm LLLOOOOONNNGG overdue.  I'm still trying to figure out what their personalities are in case I decide to name them.  I actually started with 6 chickens, and the next day, I acquired two more so now I have 8 pullets. I added a Brahma and a barred rock.  We sit in the evenings these last few days and just watch these silly juveniles.  They are so funny.  They finally learned to put themselves in their coop at night.  You should have seen me having to catch them one by one and put them in the coop.  Tony was having a hey-day watching!  Did he offer to help??  Nope.

One thing that we enjoy ... when I open the coop in the mornings, they have learned to prance down the plank that I made with the little steps on it.  But their wings are growing, and they've now taken to launching themselves from the door of the coop and flapping furiously trying to fly.  Then they fall in a clumsy pile, right themselves and act like nothing happened.

I haven't named them all yet. Just a couple...  my sister had a parakeet when we were young, and she asked me to name one of them Budgie after her bird.  So, my littlest bird, the Black Star is the bravest, the most courageous, the first one to try everything became Budgie.  Budgie is younger than the rest, she kinda does her own thing altho she gets along with everybody.

The two ameracaunas (above) are pretty shy and timid, they are followers, and they move out of the way when the more aggresive hens come around or look at them wrong.  They're pretty birds, actually, and they have a kind of ruff growing around their necks.

The New Hampshire, the Buff and the Black Aussie are all just middle of the road pullets in temperament. No problems out of them.

This little Barred Rock is the escape artist.  Every time she sees me coming out, she runs to the door and tries to dart out. I really have to keep an eye on her.  She came along with this one...

The Brahma Bully aka  "BB"

Yes, I have one.  A bully hen.  She is a bit larger than the other girls.  She and her co-hort, the barred rock came from the Idea*l hatchery.  They ran a tight ship at their place - they ran with about 50 other chicks and I imagine that BB was the boss of that bunch, too.  If she draws blood or starts a riot, she'll have to... well, let's just say we may have to make other arrangements.  I'm hoping that she'll settle down and be able to stay here at Sand Flat Farm.

These two are buddies.

I may have questions for you chicken people... stay tuned...

The New Girls Are HERE At LAST!

I am now officially a Poltergiest!!!  Yes, it's true - at least that's what my sweet husband calls me now.  I  now am the proud owner of 6 pullets.  Finally, after all this time, about 3 years I'd say, I've got my chickens!  The coop is finished and I'm very pleased how it came out.  I designed it, and then Daddy and I (and Tony when he was available) worked on the coop and pen.  See what you think!

I think my hens will love living here.  I'm hoping that they'll be able to range about outside, too, but we'll see.  We've got lots of dogs, coyotes, hawks and owls around here.  If we do let them out they'll have to have a fenced off area in the orchard. 

Above, let me introduce you to our 6 pullets - one Black Austrolorp, one Buff Orpington, two Ameracaunas, one Black Sex-Link, and one New Hampshire Red.  They are anywhere between 2.5 and 3.5 months old.  So they won't be laying for a bit yet.  They are used to people, but they don't want to be held or touched yet. I hope they'll get used to me.  I was hoping to get a couple more, and I might still - we'll see...

The first night, I had to catch them all and stick them in their coop.  The littlest black hen is spunky.  She doesn't wait on the others.  She was the first out of the coop.  She's a brave little hen.  She had the first new chick food and real grass and bugs all by herself before the other pullets decided they were going to come out.  Scaredy-cats!

Below, is one of the Ameracauans trying to decide if she's brave enough to come out.

Checking out their new feeder...

Well, that's all folks!  Just covered up with work,, gardening, and chicken poop around here - i'll be checking on you all in the next few days!  Bock-bock!