Eleanor

My number one word of advice for you if you ever get chickens is:
Never wear black nail polish.   I was stupid and did.  The result, Ellie always pecking at my fingers when I walked into the coop. She thought they were sunflower seeds!!! It would have been really funny if it had been someone else...  ;)

--Zoë

Freyja

 If you didn't think chickens could fly, then you haven't me Freyja.  The other day when I brought out compost to the compost pile I saw her looking at me from inside the coop, suddenly she flew all they way from the door to the compost pile which is an approximate distance of 13 meters!!!!
It is really stunning to watch creamy white Freyja fly over snow.  Even if it is to the compost pile ;)

--Zoë

Papagena

Even though she isn't very kind to the chicks ( she will peck them when they get between her and food) Papagena is super nice to Demeter.  When Deme was sick and in the garage Papagena looked confused and would always be looking around trying to find her.  And after I finally brought Demeter back to the coop will cozy up beside her and keep her warm. It is super cute!!!

--Zoë

You need to evacuate

I played a game outside with my younger siblings today. At one point in our game we had to evacuate some villages because a storm was coming. One of the villages I was trusted to evacuate was the Sunflower village (the chicken coop).   I had a nice conversation with Ellie who was perching on a board in front of the door of the coop.

Me:  "You need to evacuate"

Ellie:" brawk, b-brawk???"

Me: "Yes you really do."

Ellie: turns her head "brawk, brawk?"

By this time Una has come to the door and is staring at me

Me: "I'm sorry but it is true"

Ellie: "brawk, brawk, brawk???"

Ellie turns around

Me: "You need to evacuate"

All the chickens are staring at me. Ellie jumps down into the coop.

I turn and leave.  One village done, one to go...

--Zoë

Demeter

After christmas time Deme got sick.  I am not sure exactly why, maybe she was sick of the snow,  feeling depressed, or had stuffed herself with to many treats over the course of christmas (she is quite the glutton). But, she was just not her usual happy self.
So, I set her up a house in the garage gave her food, water, yogurt, and warm baths.  A few days later, she went from being on the verge of  conking out to being outside with her friends healthy and happy :) But, this is not the end, a few days later Demeter started molting, losing her feathers and growing new ones.  Obviously Deme has to pick the middle of winter to molt :P

--Zoë

Hello from the 'North Pole'

It has been so cold up here lately and has barely risen above -20C for the past few days, and dropped down to between -30C and -40C at night!!!   But, my chickens are super chickens, and have persevered.  At this point in time none of them have frostbite!!! I have been putting vaseline on their combs and I have found that it helps, because it hydrates there combs, keeping them healthy, so it is hardy for their combs to get frostbite.   The bad news though, is that the Nefi and Una have been getting hen pecked this winter.
 Due to the fact that they can't go outside and explore the great outdoors 'cause it is to cold.
To try to remede this situation I am going to buy some hay or straw for them to play in and have made a toy for them today.  I am not sure if this toy will work but it was worth a shot.  My toy is a bottle with holes in the bottom and sunflowers inside hanging from a string in the run. What is supposed to happen is that when they peck the bottle a couple of sunflower seeds will fall out.  This toy will provide hours of fun for the entire family.  Well, hypothetically.   We shall see if they are smart enough to figure out how to use it.
In my posts coming up I will focus on one of my chickens and something about said chicken  that is either amusing, cute, noteworthy or heroic.

--Zoë

Paths of snow

We have gotten tons of snow!!!!!  Am I stoked YES. Are the chickens stoked ye...... NO.
I wish they were snow chickens.  Delighted about the snow, frolicking in the snow, waiting for snow with bated breath. But,  the hard cold reality is that there is no reason for them to like it.  It covers up the ground so they can't eat yummy treats, it makes their toes really cold when they walk on it, and it keeps them confined in one half of their run,  'cause they don't want to touch the snow.  The only way you could EVER get them to touch it, is (me)  treats.  With that realization, I went outside today armed with snow shoes, compost and determination :P   I packed down a trail to the compost pile, around a tree and back to the coop.  Then, I dumped the 'fresh' compost in the compost pile and called the chickens.  What happened next was good and disappointing.  The chickens came when they saw the treats. Poppy in front leading the chicks, running on the trail but then veering of the trail and making their own through the deep snow.   Demeter, who came later,  didn't even try the trail. But she looked adorable plowing through the snow. Though practically, it wasn't that smart.   The chickens pecked and ate some compost and then walked back to the coop. Veering... on.... and.... off... the trail.  
So the good news is, that they had a pretty good time. The bad news is, they didn't like my trail ;)


--Zoë

Green Eggs and Ham!!!!

Jumbo

You know something is wrong when you can't even close a JUMBO egg carton :P 
Ouch, poor Deme!!!   

Oh, and just for the record,  on Monday the 3rd of December I got half a dozen eggs in ONE day :)))


--Zoë  


                                                                                                                                         ^Photo creds to 4 grain Jumbo egg Carton website^

Two funny little story's

Nefi:   Today when the chickens were outside I couldn't see the chicks anywhere, so I walked through our forest to our nieghbours house.  The chicks were over at the nighbours again.  I picked Ellie and Freyja up (yes at the same time!!!) and carried them across our nighbours lawn. Nefi followed me to the edge of the nighbours lawn and then started scratching in a pile of leaves.   I put Freyja and Ellie in the coop and started walking back through the forest to get Nefi.  Suddenly Nefi started making a surprised clucking noise while staring at the leaves she was digging in. I quickened my pace in her direction and watched her turn and start running through the forest back to our lawn I scooped her up and walked over to the place she was scratching and pecking. There in the leaves lay a dead mole!!!!  It had scared her.  Holding Nefi I walked back to the coop.

A cute thing about Nefi is that when you hold her she sticks her neck out and if you hold her against you, you can prop up her neck with your arm. It is adorable and makes her such a pleasure to carry!!!
A weird thing about carrying her though is that if you offer her a treat while you're carrying her she doesn't eat it, it's almost like she kinda zones out while you hold her :P

Ellie:  Today when Ellie was laying in the coop I walked over and opened up the egg door to see how everything was going.  I looked in the bottom nesting box, no Ellie,  I looked in the top nesting box, still no Ellie!!!  Then I turned and looked to my left and their she was looking in the wood shavings. She was looking at a feather.  She then picked it up and put it on her back she then turned and started walking towards the nesting box while meticulously picking up wood shavings and feathers and piling on her back, well the ones that didn't fall off.   It was really funny, but in a super cute way.

When chickens are laying they will pull wood shavings, or other nest materials, around them building their nest in the nesting box.  I guess Ellie was just building a transportable nest... on her back ;)


--Zoë