It's Still All About The Chickens

Buff Orpington chicks

Well it continues to be all about the chickens around here. (oh and yes, some ducks). Some Buff Orpington chicks hatched last weekend and some more are hatching today.

The weather is beautiful, though it is almost too warm out in the sun.

Welsh Harlequin Ducklings

hoop coop

Do you remember the hoop coop I built the first of the year? Remember how little the chickies were? Well all of those babies are growing up. The boys are starting to crow and a couple precocious girls have begun to lay tiny little eggs. (ignore all the junk laying around....)

The new chicken house

I've been working on the new chicken house whenever I can. It is post and beam construction and has required the digging of 8 post holes through rock and the caliche which is like concrete. Sometimes it has taken me two days to dig one hole. But I do go slow and easy and take frequent breaks. I don't have time to hurt myself! But this morning I finally got the last hole dug! The last four posts are plumb, braced and the concrete is poured! Oh Yeah! I might even have a drink to celebrate! The rest of the construction will be easy peasy compared to what the post holes have been!

And why do I go to so much trouble? Because I am having a lot of fun with my chickens. I love to get all the different colors of eggs each day. Can't wait until my Black Copper Marans start laying and add dark chocolate brown to the egg basket!

Eggs from March 12, 2013

SURPRISE!

pullet eggs

Well I had quite a little surprise when I went out to feed the babies this morning. Well I suppose at 3 & 4 months old they aren't really babies any more. Teenagers now, I guess.

Well there were two tiny little pullet eggs in the coop.

tiny first eggs

Two little cross breed pullets had laid their first eggs. These girls are only 16 weeks old. You can see how tiny their eggs are. They will get larger in a few weeks.

Their mammas were the barred rock banties hens I bought last year and their daddy was a mean Buff Orpington rooster. When he became even more human aggressive than he had been, I had mean rooster soup.

 These two girls are very sweet and calm natured. When I get the new  chicken house and pens built I think I will breed them to my Easter Egger boys and see what we get.