There is not much to report on with the chickens. They just hang around all day in the spa and then move to the coop for the night. They have not really started going out of their winter pen, since there is nothing to forage, and unlike the ducks and geese, they are not drawn to the water puddles from the melting snow. They have started to lay eggs, with between 6 and 10 coming daily now. The young pullets have started to lay as well, but they choose the weirdest places, like the rabbit hutch or manger in the barn. They do not go in the coop for the night. Luckily for them, the winter was mild and they were able to stay in the shelter beside the coop without too much problem. No matter how many times I threw them in the coop and locked the door they returned to the shelter instead. Finally I gave up, except for the three who roosted outside in the pine tree. One perished that very cold night we had because I could not find him, but I did catch the other two and locked them in a little cage so they could not leave in the morning. Then they returned to the coop.
The day spa is a double size hoop shelter with a window facing south. That window makes all the difference. They bask in the rays of the sun while being sheltered from the snow and wind. When winter was here in full force, the ducks and geese in the spa raised the temperature considerably as well. The ducks and geese slept there in the winter, out of the elements. At one point when we got quite a bit of snow, the roof began to sway and I had to knock all the snow from it and prop it up inside, just in case.
These hens are 4-5 years old, the purebreds, and the cross breds are 1 to 2 years old. I will have most of them butchered at the end of the summer because I have new stock ordered. New Chanteclers, Ameraucanas and Cream Legbars will be hatched from eggs coming up from Calgary in April. Then they will be brooded in the granary out back of the little farmhouse, until they are old enough to join the chickens in the coop. Some will be sold too. Cream legbars lay sky blue eggs, Ameraucanas lay blue green eggs and white Chanteclers lay light brown eggs. The Partridge Chanteclers will likely be kept on, but I have not found a rooster in that breed yet, so they will marry the Ameraucana and the Chantecler roo.
Chickens provide bug control here and forage through the composting manure piles in the barn yard. The breeds are excellent foragers. In the summer, they are fed at the end of the day and must forage all day long. ON good days they eat very little grain because they are full of bugs and grass, the way it should be. Though the birds are tough when they are butchered, they are incredibly tasty and make the finest soups. I thank the chickens for their work and their eggs. I do appreciate them very much, even though they are not my favourite critters on the farm. They have a job to perform and they do it well. Today they were enjoying the sun at the spa, just like ladies do everywhere, clucking away to the other girls!
The day spa is a double size hoop shelter with a window facing south. That window makes all the difference. They bask in the rays of the sun while being sheltered from the snow and wind. When winter was here in full force, the ducks and geese in the spa raised the temperature considerably as well. The ducks and geese slept there in the winter, out of the elements. At one point when we got quite a bit of snow, the roof began to sway and I had to knock all the snow from it and prop it up inside, just in case.
These hens are 4-5 years old, the purebreds, and the cross breds are 1 to 2 years old. I will have most of them butchered at the end of the summer because I have new stock ordered. New Chanteclers, Ameraucanas and Cream Legbars will be hatched from eggs coming up from Calgary in April. Then they will be brooded in the granary out back of the little farmhouse, until they are old enough to join the chickens in the coop. Some will be sold too. Cream legbars lay sky blue eggs, Ameraucanas lay blue green eggs and white Chanteclers lay light brown eggs. The Partridge Chanteclers will likely be kept on, but I have not found a rooster in that breed yet, so they will marry the Ameraucana and the Chantecler roo.
Chickens provide bug control here and forage through the composting manure piles in the barn yard. The breeds are excellent foragers. In the summer, they are fed at the end of the day and must forage all day long. ON good days they eat very little grain because they are full of bugs and grass, the way it should be. Though the birds are tough when they are butchered, they are incredibly tasty and make the finest soups. I thank the chickens for their work and their eggs. I do appreciate them very much, even though they are not my favourite critters on the farm. They have a job to perform and they do it well. Today they were enjoying the sun at the spa, just like ladies do everywhere, clucking away to the other girls!
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