M.I.A.

Do you remember Mate the first?

We assumed she had fallen prey to the resident wild cat population in our neighborhood but we were mistaken.  Mate the First is alive and well!  A neighbor spotted her yesterday and we crept over ready to pounce . . . but chickens don't just flutter around, they really fly!   As soon as she spotted us she flew 30 feet straight up into the tree branches above.  Marco followed, but then away over the rooftop she flew!

We went scouting yesterday afternoon but saw not a sign of her.

She must be laying low :)

Weekend Project #1

Chez Chickens!

Note to self - Do not, repeat NOT, use double ended staples (U shaped nails) ever again!  My thumb is still recovering.  This project took a very loooong afternoon.

But we persevered and this is the result:

The chickens are ecstatic about their new abode - I know, I know chicken ecstasy is difficult to spot, but I guarantee that what you are seeing is it :)

Knight also loves the new chicken house - he has a new daytime soap opera to watch.


Will Mate and Babe ever be friends or will their jealousy over Captain make it impossible?  Who will get the highest roost?  The tastiest grub? It's all right here on Chicken Central!

Or . . .  he could just be contemplating dinner.  

I'll keep you updated here on School on a Schooner!  Stay tuned.

Exams!

Not that kind! Hen examinations.

We have determined that our new hen will be laying imminently!

Do not ask how we determined this.

Okay, if you really must know check out this link to "happy chicks". But I'm warning you it is quite disturbing! The hens did not like it either.

Mate is weeks away from laying so we are pinning our hopes on Babe. :)

The New Girl!

We decided that a little friendly competition might entice our hen to produce an egg :)  

Unfortunately Mate did not take too well to Babe - the new addition.  

Mate is currently in solitary confinement while she thinks about what she did wrong.

           Babe                                             Mate


                                    and

      . . . the man they are both fighting over . . .


                              CAPTAIN!

                  

Beaten by the Birds

"Marco, what else should I put on the shopping list?" I enquired.
"Milk, pears, eggs . . . " he listed off.
"Eggs?" I questioned.  We looked at each other guiltily and nodded in resignation.

We will persevere with our egg laying plan but it seems we cannot forgo eggs in the meantime :)

We measured for chicken wire today to enlarge our coop.  I think we may need to try our luck with more hens!

These are the chickens in question:

I also took some photos of our raised beds:

Bring on the Boys!

I completely understand why farmers traditionally wanted many sons.  We built our final raised bed in the garden today and Marco just wouldn't quit!  We put the final shovelful of soil in just as the sun was setting.  Of course by then it was too dark to see the fruits of our labour :)  Madison, meanwhile, sneakily sidled away when I wasn't looking.  I want lots and lots of sons!  I figure if we have a couple more now and raise them to age ten, we'll get eight years of hard labour out of them before they go off to college :)  We could build anything!  Seriously though, Marco is one of the most helpful children I know.  I am so proud of him.

No eggs.  What is wrong with that hen?!

Birds in my Backyard

We have a new, exciting addition to our- shall we say- life sciences course.

We are the proud owners of a rooster and a hen. Their names are Captain and Mate. Mate is actually Mate the 2nd since the very first thing I did was let the first hen go! So off we went to the store to buy another one - actually I sent Brock since I was too embarrassed to go.

We have converted our old crab pen to a chicken coop, created a laying nest, a roosting perch and we spent the afternoon searching for bugs to increase our chickens' protein intake :)

We are hoping for eggs in a couple of days. I have in fact been forbidden to buy eggs so as not to jinx our endeavour.

I'll let you know how it goes!