The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Thu Nov 08, 2012 12:08 pm

I drained & rolled up the hoses h. put them away.
Put a plastic garbage can full of leaves in the chicken pen they had fun scratching in that and spread it around works great for bedding and warmth plus it's free! They love the squash and pumpkin seeds too.
Bacon drippings mixed with scratch for a treat for the cold snap was a real hit. They love left over ppj sandwiches that the dgkids are done with too! They come running when ever they hear us out side to see what we have for them now. :mrgreen: It's SO funny and entertaining when any of the family comes by they head out to the patio to see them.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Harriet » Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:08 pm

Here are Dottie (left) and Penny. Was tough to get them both in a photo when one wasn't looking away!



Dottie has the short round body of a nice fat Plymouth Rock hen. She is a homebody and doesn't get far from the gate back to the roost.



Penny has the tall, blocky frame of a Rhode Island Red - brilliant color. She just lives for the outdoors. Loves to strut out on her own.


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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:26 pm

Awesome photos! Thanks Harriet for putting those up.

I have a few plums thawing on the counter that I froze for the chickens earlier in the fall I've cut the plums up to put out when I let them out of their pen as the grapes are nearly gone now.

Dgd loves to "decorate" with the squash and pumpkins I brought in when she's over she moves them around for one of her fun activities.

I've been making chicken mush with meat drippings one cup of water one cup [two handfuls] of oatmeal and one half of a cup [one handful] of corn meal. They love it!
Last edited by Nancy on Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

ellyphant
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby ellyphant » Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:46 pm

Beautiful hens, Harriet!

We like to watch P. Allen Smith around here. Love how he always advocates adding "a touch of whimsy" to the garden! :)
How you do your work is a portrait of yourself.

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helia
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby helia » Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:41 pm

They are beautiful girls, Harriet. Is Penny larger than Dottie? Dottie looks like our Iris, our Plymouth Rock hen. You have other hens, right?

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Harriet » Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:15 am

She's taller but I imagine Dottie weighs the most. Plymouth Rocks are a big breed, so she probably has a pound on my other hens, maybe 7.5 pounds. Yes, we have Hoshi and Cecily, Black Orpingtons, from the lady who had a breeding program to breed Lavender Orpingtons, which have Blacks in the pedigree. She had ended up with some beautiful extra Blacks she didn't need, since she's to the stage of breeding Lavenders to Lavenders now. And 5-year-old Fay the New Hampshire Red is the last of the little group we bought as chicks and reared in the cardboard box.

After seeing Iris, I was thinking she was a Barred Plymouth Rock, which is Dottie's breed. Right now Fay looks like Izzy did in her molting photo.

ellyphant, yes, P. Allen Smith is really good.

Nancy you are taking such good care of your chickens! They must love the extra attention and veggie/fruit variety!

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:13 pm

Yesterday a noon I noticed that the chickens were all in their pen after I'd let them out a couple hours before I thought to my self "that's odd" they are usually out in the yard running around. Then I heard a loud chirping sound so I went out to investigate thinking that maybe one of the neighbors dogs might have gotten one of the chickens, then just as I got on the other side of the house and rounded the corner to the back yard I see this hawk flying over head and I realize that it's a warning call.

Cleaned the nest boxes yesterday. Dgd was not happy to see all the bags of leaves in the play house LOL! So I guess I might be moving those we do have room in the other shed.

I've been planting bulbs tulips in the back yard 473 apx. and more to do the neighbor gave those to me. Dgd helped me and it was fun. I was happy that the chickens just pecked at the bugs and did not unearth the bulb yea! Sigh of relief! I have a few more to do in the back and then will begin on the front soon as it warms up a tad bit.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:39 pm

Yesterday H. offered to cut out the hole for the chickens in the play house, I'm sad today b/c I did not take him up on that due to the work it would have been to clear it out and get it set up for the chickens.
I'd have room for the hens I just saw on Craigslist for sale I want! :roll:

Hot mush rolled 2c. wheat/oats & 1/4 cup. corn meal with apx one and 1/2 qts. cooked road kill pumpkin mashed in usually they love this! :roll: they were not so interested in it a cold morning 25* morning that I thought they would be. They were not hungry enough. Old McDonald's buckets from dgkds Happy meals work great for fresh water for chickens. Changing it out in the mornings b/c it's froze over.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Wed Dec 12, 2012 12:19 pm

We've cleaned the toys etc. out of the play house getting it ready for being a chicken coop. [Dgd will play with this stuff in the toy zone in the basement.] Dgson crawled up in to the loft area with a flash light at dusk to tell me if it was nailed or screwed on last evening. A fun task for him. It was screwed on we are deciding if we should take those out so the chickens can roost on the 2" x 4" supports. I moved the bags of leaves and situated the straw bales. We still need to cut the opening to the run. Every one is excited about this!

I did the last of it this morning great exercise. The grand kids helped haul toys inside so that took less trips.

Dgd fed the scratch and rolled oat mixture over the fence by the patio both she and the chickens had fun it was a joy for me to watch her do it as well.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Mon Dec 17, 2012 2:35 pm

Got our first eggs today yea! A green one, 2 light beige ones, one is almost a rose colored. for a total of four!!! [One was broke but b/c I had the hen scramble out of the nest I considered that my fault.

My favorite roo is smarter than the other one and is learning to breed and is a gentleman so glad for a more productive back yard now.
Adding four new hens this weekend it's been great h. put up the light and cut the chicken door in to the coop. Still need to figure out roosts for inside there when it's really cold, and the heat lamp but for now this works it was 38* last night so they all but one slept outside. We got the ledges done on the nest boxes for inside done as well.

The new hens are lt. brama named Pudding, has raised chicks before love it that she's a sitting hen. Easter Egger that laid an egg so she's now my favorite hen we are calling her Butterscotch! Tonight she was roosting next to the other EE named Brownie.
A barred rock and black one Austerlop forget their names glad I wrote that down. Naming them all was h.'s & grand kids idea!

Found more eggs when I was out moving feeder and water bucket around hanging it in the coop. One was broken but I was excited to find a shell too. So there have been four eggs laid since the weekend! Yea! One hen is sleeping in the coop. The others are getting along well too so things are better glad it's more peaceful. Now if we could just get them used to going in and out of the new chicken doorway.

Hung feed and waterer in the coop today. Still need to make a "chicken ladder" for the loft area for when the ones that want to sit & hatch eggs to have a place out of the way.

Trying to get the roos out of the nest boxes at night now is a goal.
One roo got out early today the half door was open so will see about getting the feed out for him tomorrow. His name is Red.

Discovered the under the fire pit is a covered place for the outside feeder off the ground and is working awesomely, moved the other water bucket away from the house and I can see em better and it's great to have new ideas like this for them.


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