Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Day Off From Everything

For the first time in months, I have absolutely nothing to do today! No trees to plant, no mulch to spread, no one demanding my attention. Jim is out mowing the lawn and I'm about to *gasp, wheez!* take a NAP!

Earlier we were out in the chicken coop caulking gaps in the boards and I snapped this cute picture of Rocky sitting on his shoulder. The little bugger has grown quite a bit since he first stumbled into our lives. Jim is very attached to him and I have to admit I like him too, as long as he isn't nibbling on my ear!

The chooks have graduated to the big kids feeder. I'm glad they did, I was getting tired of filling the little baby feeder twice a day! I can fit 30 pounds of feed in the big feeder. I bought feed yesterday and noted that it hasn't risen in cost since last year. I braced myself when they gave me my total at the cash register but was shocked when the price hadn't changed at all. I bought 50 pounds of cracked corn for $7.34 which is exactly what I paid for it last fall. So it seems the grain prices at the elevator are holding steady, thank the Lord!

Here, Rocky tries to show the girls where to put the eggs. Squirrels are gravity-defying creatures.

I thought I'd post some photos of two of the named chicks. The first one is a friendly little Barred Rock named Betty. Notice her stripes showing on her wings. The Rocks started showing their stripes after 5 days. Betty loves to sit on my knee and take naps and sometimes she'll come up to me and practically beg to be picked up! Such a contrast from Roo, the BR who avoids people like the plague.

The second chick is Violet, who was named on Saturday. She's a medium sized Black Australorp with a quiet, calm temperament. She also finds her way onto my arm or knee when I'm out in the coop. The chicks are 16 days old today and have most of their body feathers, which are gradually making their way through all that baby fuzz.

4 comments:

  1. Ack! Don't post pictures like that! The cuteness will break the Internets!

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  2. You're right Susan! What was I thinking???

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  3. Your little Barred Rock is a cutie, Amy. Our little Australorps were a lot more timid than yours... I guess the Wyandottes we bought with them had them cowed down most of the time. Is Rocky the coop patrol?! LOL

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  4. Paula, yes Rocky is the coop patrol. He gets along pretty good with the chooks although he's learning to avoid their sharp beaks! Poor kid!

    I did some research before I chose which chicken breeds I wanted. As I read about Australorps, their description said they can be prone to bullying. So I avoided the domineering breeds like the plague. So far, so good! I'd really like to try some Faverolles and Brahmas next spring. And my son wants a Jersey Giant.

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