I bought Moar Chickens! Image heavy!
This is a one year old shiny black Australorp hen we bought from the local grand-prize-winning Australorp breeder. She was only ten dollars because she is a hen post first moult and because when the seller turned her over to show her to us, she had something funny on her foot. After some research, it turned out she had 'bumble foot' (basically a common chicken thing of an infected wound that needed to be opened and drained and dressed).
Meesto and I have been treating her foot, thus the green bandage, and she is responding really well. After a few days with us she started laying again, and she also eats bugs from our hands and runs to the door of the run to see if we have anything yummy. Meesto loves her. He said her eyes were like limpid pools the other day. She is twice the size of the Araucanas, much braver, and clearly very experienced at chickening and I suggested we call her 'Zena'. Meesto thinks TV names are tacky, but I think it'd be hilarious.
Here's her egg. She's laying on the floor of the coop, not in the nest boxes, so we'll have to work on that.
And here are the 3 Araucana girls from before. They are slightly bigger, their combs are pinking up, about a month or two till they start to lay maybe? As for personality, they are a beautiful gang of nasty harpies, pecking everybody and each other in the head. Meesto had originally wanted mythical names for them (to go with our rabbits). I suggested Medusa, Stheno and Euryale, but he didn't like that. 'the Heathers' from that old movie? Hrm. Hmph. Well, something that celebrates their amazing bitchitude will turn up.
And then I also got a little french Houdan with a poofy hairdo and a teeny 4 week old baby gold-laced Wyandotte. These two are so tiny and so temptingly peckable that I have separated them into a separate pen. They can watch the big girls while they grow big enough to join them. Ms Houdan should get as big as the Araucanas, and Miss Wyandotte should get almost as big as the black Australorp (so we should name her Gabrielle, right?!)
Ms Houdan. She looks like a Veronica. Or maybe a Daria. (Meesto hates this idea.)
Gabrielle likes catfood. And caterpillars picked off of tomato plants.
And this is my poop board, the hottest new invention for handling chicken poo. Keeps the poop out of the litter and off the chickens, easy to scrape and clean every morning.
Also, it is a real joy to have every bit of our food scraps going somewhere useful. They like corn cobs, bacon rinds, unpopular catfood, wrinkled tomatoes, mushy fruit, leftover rice, potato remnants, everything!
Meesto and I have been treating her foot, thus the green bandage, and she is responding really well. After a few days with us she started laying again, and she also eats bugs from our hands and runs to the door of the run to see if we have anything yummy. Meesto loves her. He said her eyes were like limpid pools the other day. She is twice the size of the Araucanas, much braver, and clearly very experienced at chickening and I suggested we call her 'Zena'. Meesto thinks TV names are tacky, but I think it'd be hilarious.
Here's her egg. She's laying on the floor of the coop, not in the nest boxes, so we'll have to work on that.
And here are the 3 Araucana girls from before. They are slightly bigger, their combs are pinking up, about a month or two till they start to lay maybe? As for personality, they are a beautiful gang of nasty harpies, pecking everybody and each other in the head. Meesto had originally wanted mythical names for them (to go with our rabbits). I suggested Medusa, Stheno and Euryale, but he didn't like that. 'the Heathers' from that old movie? Hrm. Hmph. Well, something that celebrates their amazing bitchitude will turn up.
And then I also got a little french Houdan with a poofy hairdo and a teeny 4 week old baby gold-laced Wyandotte. These two are so tiny and so temptingly peckable that I have separated them into a separate pen. They can watch the big girls while they grow big enough to join them. Ms Houdan should get as big as the Araucanas, and Miss Wyandotte should get almost as big as the black Australorp (so we should name her Gabrielle, right?!)
Ms Houdan. She looks like a Veronica. Or maybe a Daria. (Meesto hates this idea.)
Gabrielle likes catfood. And caterpillars picked off of tomato plants.
And this is my poop board, the hottest new invention for handling chicken poo. Keeps the poop out of the litter and off the chickens, easy to scrape and clean every morning.
Also, it is a real joy to have every bit of our food scraps going somewhere useful. They like corn cobs, bacon rinds, unpopular catfood, wrinkled tomatoes, mushy fruit, leftover rice, potato remnants, everything!