Eggs!

It is still cold here, Puxawhatis Phil aside.   This morning, it was frozen.  The poor spring plants, crocus and daffodils were frozen. Again.  Mom said it looked like it had snowed.  The deputies were telling me about a few crash areas that occur, because the road never sees sunlight, and is icy. 

But...

Oh, yes.  There is the fine evidence that the season is getting started.  I have now surpassed my first dozen eggs from the girls.  It is now that I have to be a bit more careful what I feed them, so the flavor doesn't get imparted to the eggs.  (Read: bananas are OUT.)  They are getting out and wandering now, at least when it's warmer during the late part of the day.  I wasn't pleased to see they had dug up a bunch of my daffodil bulbs I had planted, but that is a hazard of chickens... Sigh.

But they are starting off slowly.  I am hoping to get a few more chicks this year, because I am now getting a few folks wanting to buy eggs from me, and so I will need to have a few more hens.  Some of the girls are getting... older, and aren't as productive as they were.  Aren't we all... Cough.

It's fun to watch them go out and wander around the pasture.  One will pull up some lawn, and gobble it down.  Another will walk, then spot a bug, and the chase is on.  Which, quite often, will lead to a couple more chasing the first, to see what she's chasing!  And Marshmallow, he's become quite a handsome rooster.  He insists on crowing at about 5AM, but I think he's far enough away from the neighbors that I won't get anyone upset.  He doesn't seem to crow all that loudly, but then, it doesn't bother me...  I might have another rooster.  Pepper's getting large and lanky, with turned down tail feathers.  Salt, however, is looking like a tiny, plump version of the other hens.  With moxy agogo.   I have to be careful, she is as bold as brass tacks on black silk.  She wants food, she will just up and fly to my arm, or if that isn't handy, hang onto my jacket, and peep loudly at me while flapping wildly and hanging on.  (I say peeping, because she still isn't clucking... Yet.)  I forgot to mark down how old she is, but with the way she's filled out, I wouldn't be surprised that we'd have eggs from her this season...

So, spring, while still in the thinking about it stage, is most definitely making an entrance!

A Cosmic Experience. Nope... And warm chickens.

I am looking forward to a new apple.  I had hoped to grow one, as well, but I guess that isn't to be, for a while.

Let me explain.

Washington State University has produced an apple that they call Cosmic.  It is a good keeper, it's pretty, and it tastes good, for all that I have read the reviews.  Great, huh?

Well, I want to get a tree!  Would be a neat new apple to have!  Hmm.  Well, let's just look this up...

Uh, Washington... Only?  Um.  What?  I start reading, they are keeping it JUST in Washington State for 10 years, to support state industries. 

Poo. 

Well, I guess I will have to just see what other trees I can plant.  Or vines. Or whatever. 

But it was still kind of cool to know there is a brand new apple around... 

In other news, I think Salt and Pepper are going to be girls.  Salt has figured out how to jump up on the feed barrel, which leads to incessant peeping when I am getting feed.  Pepper just waits, and then nabs food as soon as it's down.  Neither are very aggressive, which I am happy about.  I just wish they weren't quite so quick to run under my feet when I feed.  I have to be very aware where they are, they are as like to run under my foot as I step, as to run beside me! 

The group has FINALLY finished molt, and are looking good again.  They are not unhealthy when they molt, but it does nothing for the general glamour of the place.  Plus, there are feathers EVERYWHERE.  It looks like a pillow fight went terribly wrong...  But, making sure they have some extra feed, and kept warm, they pull through like little troopers.

Oh, and to the end of keeping them warm.  Husband, bless and thank him, went and bought me some covers for the windows.  I had been using plastic 'fabric' for a bit, and then feed bags, but neither really did the job.  I was grousing, because we needed to cover the windows again, and it was going to be really cold.  I thought that there should be something better for what we were doing.  That's when he came up with the window covers.  They are like tin roofing, but clear acrylic. He put several screw holes set in on the edges, and put up the panels on both sides of the chicken house.  When I went in the next morning, it wasn't balmy, by any stretch, but the roof panels, now window panels, had kept enough heat in to have the water in the chicken's waterer thawed.  And the chickens were happy and lively, until they ran outside.

They seem to like being inside, now!  At least until the sun is well and full on the chicken house...

Name update.

So, the twosome chicks that I asked for names about a few days ago. 

We have two votes for Chairo and Scuro.

We have two votes for Sunshine and Midnight.

And a vote for Positive and Negative.

And I will be nice to the ones who won't leave comments, but there were THREE votes for Salt and Pepper, which was soooo  obvious, and I totally missed.

So, I introduce to you,  Salt and Pepper.  (EVENTUALLY with photos.  Sigh.)

Salt now has little feathers on wings and tail.  Pepper, it's funny, has wing feathers, but still has a fuzzy baby chick butt, no feathers... But they are growing like crazy, and I have found out they LOVE themselves some blackberries!  Mom would cluck, and drop the berry, and zzzip, Pepper would grab it and run, Salt chasing after, until Mom would show that there was another berry.  Salt would then grab it, and run.  Whereupon, Pepper would run over and grab Salt's berry.  Salt then would run after Pepper, until realizing that Pepper hadn't eaten the first berry, grabs it, and runs to the far end while Pepper stays by Mom, eating the 'stolen goods'. 

So, they are doing well, and I will have more tales of chickling adventure in the near future.