It has been all chickens here for a few weeks. The older bunch is trying to go broody (sit on their eggs... Maybe some will hatch naturally). And they are toying with molting, where feathers are lost and replenished much like shedding a layer of skin. Through this, the eggs take on a lighter shell color and may be produced less frequently.
The younger bunch are almost full of their mature feathers, rid of the baby down. The Welsummers are proving very friendly (the brown ones). The French Black Copper Marans are as soft as silk, also social but not to the extent of the Welsummers. The 'babies' escaped for the first time yesterday, which was terrifying! We wondered if they had been eaten. A short while into our hunt, we found them in the woods, happy and unharmed.
The Bear has really taken an interest in this bunch, quite a contrast from the last round. He proved his place as chicken keeper just yesterday when he caught his first chicken. The accomplishment had to be repeated dozens of times more, as we live in toddler land :) But it was a riot for the whole family and it didn't seem that the chickens minded too much, either.
*update *
We are down by two youngins. Rudy, the Bear's rooster friend is still with us, so we are hoping we can keep them safe till spring. Keep your fingers crossed that the coyotes don't get too creative :)
No comments:
Post a Comment