No eggs, just feathers.

Things are pretty slow in the chicken coop these days. It's time for THE MOLT.

Not having farm fresh eggs is a bummer. (Yes, we are spoiled.)
Squeaky would if she could, but she's in a permanent "molt" called old age.
No more eggs for this old gal.

She just eats and follows me around complaining about the big, bully hens that won't leave her alone.
She's such a sweet little hen. I love bantams. They are the laid back peace makers of the chicken world.

I try to feed her separately. First I feed the big hens outside... then ( and Squeaky knows this) I keep some scratch just for her and when I go around to the other door she is already inside waiting for me to clear a spot on the floor and give her some grains... just for my chicken little.
Of course as soon as I do, in comes big, bossy Miss Plymouth Rock...

She struts her coolest, most badass self into the hen house and scares Squeaky away. If I'm still inside, I tell her to leave and scoot her back outside so Squeak' can have a few moments of peace and quiet  before they all come in to see what's going on.
Miss Rock just gives me that, "What am I doing?" look and ...

leaves, until she sees me walk down the hill. Then she goes inside and finishes the scratch. She's a bully bird. The other hens are looking pretty scruffy right now, but Miss Rock looks great... and she's no Spring Chicken. She's a beautiful, big girl and she knows it.

The other day I told them to molt fast and get back to laying eggs, 'cause they could always be dinner... AND, if truth be told, I need to be able to eat raw chocolate chip cookie dough while I'm making cookies.It's one of my traditions. I can't do this with store bought eggs.

 The next morning I found this...

Do you think it was a statement?


(Losing feathers and re-growing them is called molting and occurs every year when the days get shorter.
 For chickens, shorter days and cooler temperatures are a sign that it is time to renew their feathers. This usually lasts for a month or more with our chickens. It's been two weeks so far.) 

Squeaky's Opinion on the New Chicks.

We have new blood in the chicken house.

They are in confinement until they are a little bigger. The baby Roadie is larger because he is older than the others.

 There was another one just like him but we let them out into the general population and one of the big hens killed his mate. The Feed and Supply said that they were really to mingle with the big chickens, but obviously not. So we put him back in with the little ones for a while longer,poor thing.
I want you to see the chick in the top middle of the photo below. Isn't she beautiful?

You can see her in every picture. This is a stand out chick. She's an Araucana. I'm going to call her Cleopatra because of her dark eyeliner. Even when we first got her she stood out.

Oh what a sweet beautiful chick she is.

There are two more Araucanas, a Silver laced Wyandotte and the Roadie.

 The Wyandotte seems more on top of things and very confident. Maybe he's a rooster. We'll see.
We have a symphony of chirping chicks to greet us morning and night. It's lovely!

Squeaky is not impressed.

She is being annoyingly broody right now, sitting on everyone else's eggs.I think she is doing this to get some negative attention. She is really upset that there is something littler and cuter in the chicken house.

"Squeaky! I looked up your breed today and they call you a Mille Fleur Bantam. This is a very special and  beautiful name. It means thousand flowers. Squeak'?, look at me. It will be alright. I won't give them your special pile of lettuce. Now, let me have the egg that you're sitting on..... Please."

She never looked at me and she wouldn't move. even when I reached down under her and took the big, brown egg. She just pecked me.
Tonight she laid an egg of her own... and left it for us.
I can't figure chickens out, but I'm working on it.
"Thanks Squeak'."

A Morning in the Garden and Squeaky tales

The temperature went to 86 degrees today. It was almost too warm for a spring day, but it was lovely in the morning.
I decided to go down to the vegetable garden and thin the lettuce.

 I can't believe the nettles. It's everywhere. It has reseeded all over the vegetable garden. I couldn't thin some of the red lettuce because I didn't have my gloves with me. This is a re-occurring problem of my own doing. I hate to wear gloves. I like to feel the soil between my fingers.
 I tried to pick around the nettles. (You can see the new nettles growing in the red lettuce below.)

I immediately felt that awful stinging sensation as I pick out some of the lettuce. I couldn't do it without touching the nettles. I tried thinning another area and left with a handful of lettuce for the chickens.
Looking over at the other raised bed that was filled with nettles I said to myself, "I will be down here tomorrow morning with the Prospector's gauntlet gloves and a long sleeved shirt. You are toast. There will be pumpkin seeds planted in this spot, my stinging friends, and you will be compost."

The nettle just sat there waving at me in the morning breeze, looking beautiful and green.
Tomorrow it will all be gone and I will have retrieved my vegetable bed from its clutches. I hope.

I took the handful of lettuce up to the chicken coop and threw it into the enclosure. The hens were so excited. They love lettuce. Squeaky, our banty hen, ran around them grabbing a piece of lettuce and running to a corner, squeaking the whole time.
I went around to the big door and into the hen house and Squeaky greeted me through the chicken entrance.

She expected me to bring a special bunch of lettuce (just for her) like I do with the scratch. I didn't have anything "special" for her this time and she was obviously miffed.

 She kept squeaking at me and running around.
"Well, Farmlady, where is my "special" serving of...?
 She walked over to the feeder with the egg maker grain in it and acted like she couldn't reach  into the feeder... like it was just too difficult for her.

She normally has no problem.
"Come on Squeak'. Don't be such a drama queen." I said.
I went over and checked for eggs. There was one in the big box. A pretty, light brown one.

  The Roadies had been laying this morning, all ready. Good girls!
Speaking of Roadies, one of my old red hens came in and started for the feeder. Squeaky saw her coming.

The Roadie was just looking for more lettuce but Squeaky thought the big hen was on the attack.
That's how Squeaky is. She always thinks the sky is falling..

 Squeaky got that look on her face... that wide eyed, deer in the headlights look. She whirled around...

and hightailed it to safety, behind a storage container.
Oh Squeak' What am I going to do with you. Life is just not fair and fears can be disabling , real or not.
See you tonight... I will bring some "special" scratch... just for you.
I promise.