A Week in Pictures

tying chicken wire over chain link

It's been a really long week, but I did make quite a bit of progress. Tying wire to chain link panels for the compost chicken experiment.

3 cut ends? mmmmm

mulching tomato plants

Mulching tomatoes with cardboard, junk mail, newspapers, topped with a little composted manure

Arizona Pistachio

The tree seedlings were getting root bound, so I potted them up into bigger pots.

soil blocks

I made up some trays of soil blocks and planted beets. Growing seedlings on the side in a protected area is a great way to get more out of your garden.

cardboard for nest boxes

I did minor repairs on the mobile coop and added some cardboard and shavings to the bottoms of the nest boxes.

almost ready

I have no idea why that pic is sideways. It's right side up on my computer. Almost ready for chickens, added a tarp for more shade over the top, some shade cloth on the sides, some bird netting for hawk protection.

Got everyone moved in, except one old biddy that escaped. I caught her the next day, but she's still over at mom's house. I'll bring her over in a day or two.

I'm getting a little routine going with them now. Each morning I shovel up the material they've scratched down back to the top, then add the days load of manure and wet it down. Later in the morning I'll toss weeds and kitchen scraps on top. That pile is heating up really nicely.

These hens are from 2-4 years old. A 2 year old and a 3 year old have been laying about 3-4 eggs a week. The 4 year old has been laying shell less eggs for months and it is not for lack of calcium. I think her shell glad is just giving out. So far the two laying are still giving me eggs plus I found a thin shelled egg in the coop this morning, so maybe someone else is going to start up again. These girls have had no commercial feed since July 29th. I did remember to bring them some oyster shell over today.

Tinkerbell and Lil' Bit

Tink and Lil' Bit seem to be getting along pretty well. I think there will be some kittens coming along in a couple of months. I was delighted to find the remains of a huge rat by the front door, so they are doing their job.