Diana's Desginer Hens
August 27, 2008
Pullet Update...the girls are no longer chicks!
Well, now the girls are four and a half months old, and getting gorgeous!! We have only eighteen and they are all pullets (we hope). The rest of the girls and the one rooster went to our friend Phil, an excellent home of course. We were sorry to see them leave, but eighteen is a lot of eggs...someday! We hope! Hens begin laying between five and six months, so we should start seeing some action soon!
Doug finished the lovely covered chicken run so now the girls can go outside and play come rain or shine. This gives them much needed room and stimulation.
Doug added a "jungle gym" for climbing, and they have two hot tubs...a big tire and a kiddy, rather, chicky pool. These are filled with 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 play sand and 1/3 diatomaceous earth for skin health. Promptly a four pm every day all of a sudden the girls burst out of the house and run toward the tubs and dive in...they like their rituals!
The feathers on the girls are really starting to take on their mature definition. The different breeds are very obvious now, and each individual has her own permanent color pattern. Their wattles and combs are starting to come in and turn red. Happy Feet, our Australorp pullet, has the most mature wattle and comb, and according to our research on the breeds, the Australorps mature fastest. Happy Feet is one of my favorite girls. She is absolutely gorgeous! It isn't obvious from this picture, but in the sunlight her black feathers shimmer with iridescent green like peacock feathers. She has darker eyes than the rest and the contrast of her feathers and bright red waddle and comb is striking! She also has a lovely, composed personality. She is calm, but doesn't take sass from any of the other girls.
In contrast, Feather Duster, the Salmon Faverolle, is all beauty and no brain. The Faverolles and the Golden Polish - I call them the Feather Tops - are not the brightest chickens in the flock! I give the Polish the benefit of the doubt since they cannot see as well as the others, but the Faverolles are pretty dim! But sweet and beautiful!
Reilly, our granddaughter and partner in chickens, comes over often and spends time with the girls. Actually, the girls seem to like her better than any of us. We have a chair in the coop (covered when we are not in it or the girls take over!) and Reilly and I often go in and sit with the girls. Honey, a Buff Orpington, and Terra, an Americauna, will hop up in our laps and snuggle in for long periods of time. several other girls will hop up and give us the chicken-eye and then hop haughtily down again!
Although some of the veggies in the garden have suffered from this summer's icky weather, the kale I planted for the girls is doing great!!!! THEY LOVE IT!! But of course, they love some weeds, grass, bugs, worms, berries, fruit, and on and on, also. We feed organic laying mash, but supplement with lots of fresh veggies. The kale should last well into the winter in the garden so I can continue to share with them. We don't turn them loose because of the dogs and the flowers, but they seem very happy with room service!
And here is a picture of some of our other treasures from the garden this year, just becuse they are so darn beautiful!! And tasty!!
Well, that's about it this time. I will write more when the girls start laying and give you some photos of the million dollar eggs! Doug says if we live to be 110, maybe we can pay for the accommodations with the savings on eggs! But probably not! This is the laying box Doug hung for me in the chicken house in hopes of the golden eggs!! You will notice it is dusty from lack of use!!
More later. Diana