Back to Basic Living

I trust each of you had a nice Memorial Day. I had the day off work, so it made for a nice, long weekend for me. We spent most of it working outside, and took the time on Memorial Day to remember those that have given their lives in service of our country, and those that have served and continue to serve our country.

My parents are coming to visit us in six days. They will be here from Monday until Sunday. We are extremely happy that they are coming, and really look forward to the visit. We are also busy doing a few things around here that need to be done before they arrive. Not that it really matters, it’s just a good excuse to finish some things up. Trust me when I tell you, there will be plenty of things NOT finished before they get here. I’ve already told my father that if he complains about it, he’ll be handed the tools to fix it. He promised he will not be saying a word.

My blogger friend, Lilla, asked me for instructions to build a soap mold. I thought there may be others interested, so I posted a page on making your very own soap mold. It’s not difficult or expensive to make. Check it out

My two broodies are so much better at it this time than last. They are setting tight as little drums on those eggs. Two of the fifteen eggs they were originally setting on had thin shells and cracked, so they were kicked out of the nests. There is a total of 13 eggs between the two of them now. The biddies should start hatching out about the time my parents come for their visit.

I’ve also noticed a little Golden Penciled Hamburg starting to act like she wants to go broody, as well as yet another little Phoenix. I told Bernie that if either or both of them go broody, I’ll probably put about 5 eggs under each of them. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and then he announced “You’re going to have to do something with all those chickens”.

I stared at him blankly. “Huh?”

“We can’t have all these chickens running all over the place around here.”

I continued to stare blankly.

“Well, that’s a lot of chickens you’re hatching. You’re going to have to think about getting rid of some of them.”

In the saddest voice I could muster I said “Well, the reason I want more babies to hatch is because I need more pullets so that I can keep Jethro and Pico. You know I need more pullets to keep more cockerels. Without more pullets, the balance will be off and I just don’t have enough hens to handle two more cockerels right now. I don’t really want more babies, I really need more babies.”

Bernie gave me a blank stare.

“Thank you, honey. I knew you’d understand. We’ll get rid of any future roosters.”

As I walked out of the room I think I heard him mumbling something like “Yea, just like we got rid of Jethro and Pico.”

Look at what we noticed in the backyard this weekend - on a little figurine thingy in the bird bath:

That hornet nest is small right now, but it’s been growing every day since. And it’s in a really bad location - that bird bath is right in the backyard and we walk by it every day. It can’t stay there. Those hornets wouldn’t be very understanding if anyone were to bump that bird bath.

Did you notice that caterpillar on the hornet nest? And isn’t it kind of creepy that the little boy and girl seem to be looking specifically at that caterpillar? I would think they would be more concerned with the hornet nest growing out of the little boy’s cheek.

Oh, well. To each his own. I really only posted that picture for my no-blog-reading-picture-looking-only niece. I figured she’d end up with a migraine if I posted even one more blog without a picture or two in it.

Bee Free,
Penny

About a month ago I noticed a little Phoenix hen spending a lot of time in one of the nest boxes. She would leave for two or three hours at a time, but she slept in the nest box at night and spent a great deal of time there during the day. And then suddenly, a few days later, she stopped leaving the nest at all. Ever. It got to the point that I had to pick her up and put her by food and water, just to make sure she was eating and drinking. She had gone broody.

A broody hen is one that is ready to incubate eggs. Actually, a better description is a hen that is determined to incubate eggs. A broody hen desperately wants to hatch eggs and have little baby chicks to care for. I’ve read about hens that will sit on rocks for weeks at a time while broody. My little Phoenix had no eggs in her nest - thanks to the jerk that collects eggs so many times a day she often grabs them as they are popping out of a hen’s butt. (Note to self: Give the girls a break). She was sitting on one of the fake eggs. So, even though the last thing I need is another chicken in this yard, I decided to put an egg underneath her. It wasn’t her egg, but it was an egg - and she seemed extremely grateful. Doesn’t she look grateful?

OK, maybe she looks a little annoyed at the camera shoved in her face, but the point is she’s been sitting in that nest for over three weeks. And she’s been sitting on that egg for over two weeks. It takes around 21 days for a fertile egg to hatch and since we are going on about 16 days with that egg, I candled it last night. I’m new to this, so I’m just going to give you the about.com definition of candling: “Candling” is a term used to describe a method by which bird breeders check to see if eggs are fertile or not. When an egg is candled, a bright light is held behind it, to illuminate the shape of the contents of the shell. The breeder will then determine whether or not the egg is fertile based on the color, shape, and opacity of the contents.

It seems my little broody is sitting on a dud. When I candled the egg with Bernie’s ultra-blinding mag light, I saw no shape whatsoever. Like I said, I’m new to this, but I’m pretty sure a bouncing baby chick is not in this hen’s immediate future. So now I need to ask Cousin Julie how to get this hen off the nest and back into egg laying. Broody hens do not lay eggs. And egg laying is a big attraction around here for having hens. Besides, this little Phoenix is looking pretty run down. Her comb has withered and is a very pale pink.

It’s time for this girl to get back into the swing of things. Cousin Julie - expect a phone call.

So, just when I was thinking our broody little spell was about over, yet another little Phoenix hen began spending a great deal of time in a nest box. I tried to ignore it, but two days ago she stopped leaving the nest at all. *sigh* And, you guessed it, even though I do not need even one more chicken in our yard, I put six eggs underneath her this morning. I just can’t help myself. And I’m not even going to pretend she’s looking happy in this picture.

But look at that cute little saddle she’s sporting! She’s got it all discombobulated, but you can see it’s quite stylish.

And if you think she looks thrilled in that picture, just look at how happy she is to have me lifting her up so you can see some of the eggs she’s sitting on.

The red X’s on the eggs are how I marked them so I know what she’s supposed to be incubating. Those sneaky little hens will climb right up there and lay other eggs for her to sit on. I collect all the eggs each day, and just leave her the ones that are marked.

I would love for her to hatch some of these eggs, but I have no idea if that’s going to happen. I’ll let y’all know.

Oh, by the way, I added a page that has a couple of dog food and dog treats recipes. I’ll add to it over time.

Bee Free,

Penny